The Legendaries (Revisited): A Naruto Isekai (PART I)

by Rose1991

"Fred? Fred!" someone hissed in Winnifred's ear, poking her harshly in the shoulder. "What?" she grumbled, trying to go back to sleep. "The sun's up. And I don't think we're in Pennsylvania." Five girls from our world arrive on Konoha's doorstep with no clue how to return home. And when five dragons choose them as their masters, they begin to realize something bigger is at play.

11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Reconcile

Over the years of watching Naruto, Cordi had always wondered where exactly the sand siblings lived. It was never really shown, and Suna, besides being the second most featured ninja village in the series, was actually rarely featured. So, when Kankuro led them to the Kazekage tower, and showed her that the topmost floor of the tower was actually a penthouse apartment for the current Kazekage and his family, she was surprised. Kankuro mentioned that when they were younger, Kankuro and Temari lived with their father in the penthouse while Gaara stayed with their uncle in a house their father bought closer to the school and hospital where Yashamaru used to work. There was also apparently some ancient estate on some oasis on the outskirts of the city that the siblings only used for mainly vacations, but was frequently used to house noble guests if they were visiting the village.

Anyway after Yashamaru's death, Gaara moved into the penthouse with them for a few months until an incident between the two brothers led their father to place Gaara back in the house, which was when he hired Baki, the previous leader of the Suna Anbu, as Gaara's second guardian effectively. For obvious reasons, Gaara didn't bond with Baki as he had with Yashamaru, but the jonin proved to be capable in handling the young jinchuuriki's outbursts, which was why he was named as their team leader when Gaara became a genin. He was also considered the Fourth's right-hand man after Yashamaru. Even after their first run in with Naruto, Gaara remained at the other house until their father's body was discovered and Orochimaru's full crimes against Suna were understood. The Suna Council announced their plans on finding a new Kazekage immediately for Suna's security, while also issuing Temari and Kankuro with an eviction notice.

That was around when Gaara was searching for a new purpose in life, and decided to help his siblings and strengthen their bonds, he would save them from destitution by becoming the fifth Kazekage. Kankuro mentioned that he thought it was a long shot, given Gaara was only thirteen and most of the village was still terrified of him. Gaara shared his new goal with Baki, who supported him whole-heartedly. Being a councilmember as the previous head of the Anbu and the Fourth's right-hand man, Baki was possibly the best person to recommend Gaara to the Council for the position. The Council accepted Baki's recommendation, but pushed for Gaara to prove he could work with others outside of his team and lead them. He was put on another ninja team for basic missions and asked to teach at the new academy that Tsunade was helping setup as a sign of forgiveness for the village's actions against Konoha at the Chunin Exams. Temari and Kankuro's eviction notice was put on hold, and after a year and a half of Gaara's hard work, he earned the title Kazekage. He'd already moved into the penthouse a year before at his siblings' request.

Kankuro told Cordi they felt bad that Gaara was doing this for them, while they still distanced themselves from him. So they asked him to move in, allowing him to pick either of the remaining two rooms, other than the master. Gaara agreed with them that their father's room should be left untouched. Gaara picked the only bedroom with an ensuite, which sat on the opposite end of the hallway Kankuro's and Temari's rooms sat.

The room Cordi was given sat directly between Gaara's room and Kankuro's room, smack dab in the middle of the hallway. In total, the penthouse has five bedrooms, and three bathrooms, of which one bed and bath set was totally unused, as it was the master's suite, which door sat opposite Gaara's. Gaara's room had the only other ensuite, meaning she was sharing the last bathroom with Kankuro and Temari.

As she woke the morning of the seventh, she was greeted with the smell of eggs, bacon and toast. She pulled herself up, taking in her new bedroom, which she was slowly moving into. She'd unpacked her hang-up clothes items into the wardrobe in the corner, while her open bag of dresser clothes had been tossed in the opposite corner under the big portal window, which gave her a good view of the northeastern skyline. Her room wasn't super large, at least in comparison to her bedroom back in Virginia. It was just big enough for the full bed, a wardrobe and a dresser with a mirror. The furniture was all beige or off-white. The comforter and sheets on the bed were white linen. The walls were sandy stucco, and the floors were sandstone tiles, which were covered by a large creme area rug. There was also a door, leading to her very own deck, but she had yet to really check that out. It looked walled off from any other deck, if there were others.

She snagged a sweatshirt to make sure her braless chest was better covered. Especially with the village being so cold in the morning. Honestly, she was shocked at how cold it was in the morning. She did her best to suppress the goosebumps that raised her hairs on her arms as her foot contacted the tile, and the shooting a chill up her spine. She pulled he sweatshirt on as she made her way out of her room down the hallway that curved around to the main living area where the pleasant aroma's drifted from.

She stepped out of the hallway and into the kitchen where Kankuro was dishing eggs to two plates already dressed with toast and bacon. He smiled as his dark eyes landed on her bedraggled form. "Morning, Sunshine," he said chipperly.

She only grunted in response as she grabbed a stool at the island bar.

He laughed at her disgruntled answer as he dished the last of the eggs. "Not a morning person, are you?"

"Not without some form of caffeine," she grumbled at him.

He rolled his eyes as he passed her an empty mug, and then poured some hot tea. Oolong, if Cordi guessed by the smell. She muttered a small, "Thanks," as she spotted the sugar jar, and added a couple spoonfuls. She sipped her tea, and immediately calmed as its warmth spread through her, waking her body.

He passed her a plate full of food, sitting on the stool next to her and dug in quickly with his food. Cordi grabbed the fork he supplied, and asked as she shoveled her first bite, "So, what's the occasion for breakfast?"

"Other than breakfast?" Kankuro asked between mouthfuls.

Cordi nodded.

He frowned. "Well, I figured today I would show you around Suna."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "All around Suna?" Last night, he'd kept their walk short. It was essentially to the Oasis Cavern and back. No stops or detours.

He nodded. "All the sights. So, eat up. You'll need your strength."

She ate quickly with the prospects of seeing the village to its fullest brightening her spirits considerably. It would definitely be educational somewhat. Again, Suna, while being the second most featured village in Naruto, was barely featured enough to get an idea of the layout other than the Kazekage tower's location. As soon as she finished, Kankuro shooed her off to get dressed while he prepared some water bottles for them. That was the danger of dwelling in a desert city in the middle of summer. The dry heat would dehydrate you quickly, and before you even knew you were feeling poorly, you'd pass out in the sand swept street.

When she waltzed back into the living space wearing short shorts and a tank top, Kankuro's eyes bugged as he sputtered, "You don't want to wear something a little less … revealing?" Apparently, Suna was a prudish village. She should have known. She rolled her eyes, then walked back into her room and traded her shorts for capris and threw a crocheted poncho over her shoulders.

As they walked through the village, seeing the temple in the North Wall, and the Oasis Gardens, as well as the academy, hospital, and market square, they discussed Cordelia's old home. How society functioned without ninja, or really beings without super powers. Cordelia told him about their cars and airplanes. He was most fascinated by their world's invention of robots. He couldn't imagine a world with more sophisticated puppet mechanics than Suna currently used. But there was Cordelia, promising to show him her favorite movie, Jurassic Park, which according to her used mostly robots and puppets for the dinosaurs.

"That can't be real," Kankuro declared, shaking his head as they made their way back towards the market to grab a drink. They'd long drunk the last of their water. "That's a total waste of mechanics. Who would buy that?"

"A lot of people," Cordi argued. "Hell, I want one to cut back on cleaning."

Kankuro's gaze narrowed. "Bullshit. Cleaning's not that hard."

"Oh?" Cordi asked, her eyebrows raised. She paused as they passed a woman clearly having difficulty keeping her children in tow as they walked down the street. "Excuse me," Cordi called.

Kankuro frowned as he watched her. "What are you doing?"

Cordi ignored him as she called again, "Excuse me, Miss. I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on something?"

The woman turned to her with a tired scowl, her grip tightening on the wrist of a wayward four-year-old boy, who was trying to chase after his older siblings, as she soothed a crying teething baby strapped to her chest. "I don't really have time …"

"It's a yes/no question, and will only take a moment," Cordi offered.

The woman huffed, then gestured for her to proceed.

Cordi cleared her throat, then asked, "If there was something that cleaned all your floors once a day with a press of a button, and no more effort on your part than that, would you want that?"

The woman looked at her as if she'd spoken another language, then laughed, "Of course I'd want that." She suddenly looked a mix between hopeful and curious as she asked, "Why?"

Cordi waved her off as she said, "No reason. Just proving a point to this jerk." Cordi jutted her thumb over her shoulder to Kankuro who gave the woman a curt nod.

The woman immediately blanched, then bowed as she greeted, "Lord Kankuro. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." When her children didn't immediately bow, she hissed at them and thumped their heads before apologizing, "You must excuse their manners. They get them from their father," as they finally bowed. "You know how Konoha shinobi can be."

"It's alright," Kankuro replied with an easy smile. He looked over the children carefully, then noted the oldest boy had a puppet training doll. "What have you got there?" he asked the boy interestedly. When the boy didn't answer, Kankuro squatted down and said, "It looks like a puppet training doll. Is it?"

The boy nodded, sheepishly.

Kankuro's smile grew. "You want to be a puppet master in the puppet corps one day?"

The boy nodded more eagerly.

Kankuro gave a thoughtful shrug, then said, "Why don't you show me?"

The boy pursed his lips nervously, looking to his mom as if to ask permission, and she gave an approving nod. The boy placed the doll on the ground before lifting his hands to attach the chakra strings. The doll stood from the sandy ground, shaking the grains from its joints before lifting its arm and giving Kankuro a wave.

Kankuro beamed at the boy, and said, "Very good. How old are you?"

"Haruto just turned six," his mother stated, placing a loving hand on his head.

"So, you'll be entering in the academy in the fall," Kankuro filled in. The boy nodded nervously. Kankuro smiled more as he stood. "I'll tell Nobu to keep an eye out for you. He's always looking for a new puppet prodigy to teach."

The boy looked up with hopeful eyes shining as his mother bowed again, saying, "Thank you, Lord Kankuro."

Kankuro gave a dismissing nod as he turned, waving for Cordelia to follow him. "That was sweet," Cordelia started once they were a good distance away.

"What was?" Kankuro asked blandly.

"What you offered the boy," Cordelia answered. "You don't see your softer side all that often in the anime."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, clearly trying to brush off her compliment as he huffed, "I wouldn't have offered if he didn't have talent. I could barely work my toy snake at his age." He shoved his hands in his pockets defensively before added, "Plus, I wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't for your innate compulsions to talk to random strangers on the street." He leveled her with an annoyed frown with his critique. Cordelia only rolled her eyes in response. "Is that really such a normal thing for your world?"

Cordelia shrugged, "Not world. Just country. We had an exchange student at school two years ago from England, another country," she filled in for him when he frowned, "and she said it was the hardest thing to get used to in America. Strangers will just talk to you about nothing." He raised a quizzical eyebrow at that before returning forward. "Point is," Cordelia chimed in, "I was right. Even here, there's a market for cleaning robots, which do exist in my world." Kankuro rolled his eyes now, realizing that was her whole point roping in a stranger to talk to. He decided to let the silence hang between them. "They're called Roombas," she added matter-of-factly. Again, Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"KANKURO!" they heard call down the street. "LORD KANKURO!"

Cordi and the puppeteer stopped, turning back to see who was calling him. A girl was bounding towards them. She wore a pink dress with shoulder cut-outs, black leggings, and ninja boots. Her mousy brown hair only reached her shoulders, and her eyes rivaled Cordi's for color, the brown only a shade above black. Cordi did her best to force a smile to her face as she realized she was seeing Matsuri, in the flesh.

"I thought that was you," Matsuri greeted as she came closer, her smile beaming. "Does that mean you all are back from the Chunin Exams?"

"Not all," Kankuro answered boredly. "Gaara and Temari stayed behind to watch the Exams, and Gaara sent me to escort our new guest home." Kankuro gestured to Cordi, who forced her smile wider. He gestured to Matsuri as he made introductions, "Cordelia Turner, this is Matsuri. Matsuri, this is Cordelia Turner."

Matsuri gave Cordelia a once over, and if Cordi wasn't mistaken, a flicker of jealousy flashed in her eyes before she quickly masked it under a friendly façade. "It's a shame," Matsuri sighed, looking back at Kankuro. "I was hoping to catch up with Gaara before my mission in the Hidden Grass village. We leave this evening."

"Guess you'll miss him then," Cordi said a little too cheerfully. She mentally cursed herself for it as Matsuri shot her a momentary look that said she caught Cordi's underlying joy at that news.

"Well, what brings you to Suna, Lady Cordelia?" Matsuri asked, clasping her hands in front of her and looking all too proper, like many of the mothers of the Shenandoah Debutante Society Mrs. Turner tried to enlist her daughters in. It didn't work out. Mostly because Cordelia didn't play the fake friend or frienemy bullshit necessary to navigate those social circles. "Just a passing visit or …?" she trailed off at the end.

"Gaara invited her to live with us for the time being. It's kind of an international thing," Kankuro filled in, clearly hoping the explanation was enough, because both he and Cordi knew he wasn't allowed to say anything about the otherworldly stuff. That was top secret until further notice from the Council.

Cordi didn't miss the flash of anger through Matsuri's eyes before she quickly shoved it down, masking it with a smile as she laughed, "International meaning Kage clearance only?"

"Yeah," Kankuro answered scratching the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. "It's nothing personal."

"Well," Matsuri chirped, jutting her thumb over he shoulder, "I promised Yukata I'd meet her for tea in a bit before we got the rest of our supply shopping done. So, I've got to run. It was nice to see you, Kankuro."

"Yeah, you too," he breathed, earning a quick side glance from Cordi at his wistful tone. She could have sworn the way Lynne had talked about it, Kankuro's thing with Matsuri was nothing more than the occasional bumping of uglies. She worried if it was actually more. If it was worse than him just sleeping with his brother's girlfriend. If it was actually … love? Definitely not full blown, but maybe a hint.

Matsuri turned to Cordi as she added, "I hope you enjoy your stay in Suna, Lady Cordelia."

"It's just Cordelia," Cordi corrected.

Matsuri clearly ignored the correction as she turned to Kankuro as she added, "And, I guess, I'll catch up with you later. I've got to make sure everything is in order before we set out tonight."

"Of course," Kankuro stated. "What time are you leaving. I'll come see you off?"

Matsuri waved him off as she added, "That's not necessary. I'll, uh … I'll see you around." Matsuri quickly turned on her heel and ran off.

Cordi watched her carefully, even as Kankuro turned to return to their tour. He stopped as he saw Cordi still staring, and asked, "What?"

Cordi pursed her lips, then decided there was no better time to ask. It was just her and Kankuro, and she just met Matsuri. "Are you and Matsuri together?"

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Cordi, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes before it was drowned with a smile as he laughed, "What makes you say that?"

"My spidey-senses are tingling."

"You're what now?"

"Colloquialism," Cordi dismissed with a wave of her hand. "You just sounded love-lornly wistful talking to her." She shrugged to seem unattached to the idea, hoping it would trick him into talking as she added, "I don't know. I just get a vibe something is going on between you two."

Kankuro crossed his arms as he said, "It's complicated," before continuing on their walk back towards the market.

"Then explain it," Cordi urged, falling in step with him.

He shrugged, "We've been friends since she became Gaara's student. I've always cared for her in a mentor or older brotherly capacity. But recently we've …. we've …." He trailed off, chewing on his lips as he thought of the right words.

"You've what?" Cordi pressed, a knowing smirk gracing her features. When Kankuro pursed his lips, Cordi pushed again, "You've started a quilting club?" Kankuro rolled his eyes. "… Joined a band? … Discovered a love for cake decorating?" She paused, letting the silence sit between them. "Started scrapbooking."

"We've fucked," Kankuro answered pointedly, not wanting to listen to her endless list of inane scenarios. "Several times over the past couple months."

Cordi's smirk turned victorious as she said, "Was that so hard?"

Kankuro pointed an accusing finger as he scoffed, "Not a word to Gaara. I need your word you won't say anything." She raised a curious eyebrow at that, but gave a sincere agreeing nod. Did he know they were dating? He huffed before he added, "Matsuri's his student, and he's always been really protective of her." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he added, "I wouldn't put it past him to pull the whole protective father role over her when it comes to whoever she dates. Which means me fucking Matsuri would make me a dead man."

Cordi shrugged. "I think Gaara knows fratricide won't leave a good mark on his record. Not to mention he'd know Matsuri would hate him for killing her boyfriend."

Kankuro scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, don't think that will matter at that point. And we aren't in any way together. It's just the sex."

That was a surprise. She was right. It was a secret friends-with-benefits thing. So why was he acting so weird earlier? Was it just the brotherly affection he'd mentioned earlier? They walked in silence for a moment before Cordi asked, "Can I ask what brought it about?"

Kankuro puffed out his cheeks and sighed, looking to the skies before answering, "Yeah. But warning, I don't come out looking so good until you know all the facts. So, please reserve your judgement." Cordi again gave an agreeing nod. She'd been living with them for two and a half weeks now. He knew she was an excellent listener. "A couple months ago, she started dating some guy who she apparently liked. But after a while, she realized it's a bad relationship. He's taking her feelings for granted and they're just generally not on the same page. They had an argument one night that left Matsuri feeling horrible about herself. Probably just him being a general asshole. You know how guys are. Anyway, she sought my advice about it over a few drinks two months ago, one thing led to another…"

"And you did it," Cordi filled in, now slightly uncomfortable with the deeper knowledge of Gaara's and Matsuri's relationship. It was totally doomed.

"Yeah," he grunted, picking his fingernail with his thumb. "Then I told her to dump him, because from what she told me, it's a toxic relationship." He shrugged as he rolled his eyes as he scoffed, "But she wanted to work things out with him. And, since then, whenever something happens with her boyfriend, she seeks my advice, then usually sex, and I tell her to dump her boyfriend because he's not appreciative of what he has. Then she doesn't listen, and the cycle continues."

"So, you aren't dating her because she's dating someone else, and you're just the other man?" Cordi asked.

Kankuro frowned. "I'm not sure what you're asking."

"I mean, if she was single, would you want to be with her?"

Kankuro made a weird face. "No?" He cleared his throat before clarifying, "I mean, I'd still be open to the casual sex. But Matsuri isn't the type of girl I'd like to date. Maybe that's why she's still holding onto that guy. She knows what we have is only the sex. She's the type who needs a boyfriend. She's way too … girly. And prim. Very prim. She's not the assertive, 'take-charge' type of woman I like."

"No," Cordi sighed, "I guess she's not." Again, they continued a small distance in silence before Cordi asked, "Do you know who the guy she's dating is?"

Kankuro shrugged. "Some civilian who works in one of the offices around the village." He smirked at her as he puffed his chest a little and added, "Probably an accountant."

Cordi allowed herself to give a small laugh before she pursed her lips and forced herself to look forward, to keep from snidely joking, "Well, your brother has an office." It was more prudent to stay silent. They'd figure it out eventually, and she didn't need to be the nosy girl who put herself in other people's relationships.

If Kankuro noticed her pointed silence after his comment, he didn't mention it. They arrived in the market square, and it was full of shops and street vendors. Kankuro pointed around and asked, "Is there any store you want to go to? Anything you need?"

Cordi looked up and around the market place as she grumbled, "Oh. I didn't realize we were doing any shopping."

"Well, we need to get some groceries anyway," Kankuro reasoned. "So I figured if there was anything else to make you feel more at home, might as well get it."

"Oh, is there a place I can get some photos printed?" she asked, remembering her camera in her purse. "And some picture frames."

Kankuro nodded, and directed her to a general store that had a photo area in the back. He got a few things while she got things squared away with the printer. It took a few minutes, but she came out with five photos and appropriate size frames in a bag. Kankuro met her in the checkout line, armed with tea bags, snack foods, and a case of beer. Nothing perishable. He gestured to the items in his hands as he added, "We'll get more groceries when Temari and Gaara get back."

They paid for their items and made their way back outside. Kankuro pointed across the square and asked, "Are you ready for lunch? That place has Suna's best kushikatsu platters."

Cordi frowned. "What's kushikatsu."

"Deep fried meat and veggies."

"Sold," Cordi answered quickly. It had been a while since she'd had anything deep fried.

They got a table rather quickly, and their food even faster. Kankuro placed his hands together over his food and breathed, "Itadakimasu." As he looked up to see Cordi already scarfing down her food, he raised an eyebrow at her in disapproval.

She caught his gaze mid-chew, pursing her lips before muttering a small, "Bon apetit?"

He gave a small eyeroll and dug into his food, remarking, "It's basic manners to say 'itadakimasu' before eating your food."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she remarked, "Are you a mind-reader? How do you know I didn't say a mental blessing before eating?"

"Blessing?" he asked around a mouthful of food.

She shrugged, "It's traditional where I'm from to say a prayer over the food to God. But since my family's blessing is a little long, it can be embarrassing to recite it in public…"

Kankuro shrugged, taking another bite before commenting, "Well, you're in Suna. Maybe you should pick up some of our traditions."

Cordi smirked around her food. She swallowed before responding, "When in Rome?"

"What?" Kankuro asked.

"A saying back home," Cordi stated, dropping her stick of fried chicken, which was delicious. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." She waved it off as she clarified, "It means when traveling abroad, adopt local customs to not stand out or get in trouble."

"Then it's a very wise saying," Kankuro agreed.

"Fine," she huffed. Cordi placed her hands together and said, "Itadakimasu."

"See," Kankuro said with a grin. "Not so hard."

"I feel like a weeb," Cordi grunted, going back to her food. Kankuro laughed at her sour expression before taking another large bite.

They didn't talk much as they ate. About halfway through their meal, a man walked up to their table, planting his hand on the surface as he laughed, "I didn't know you were back, Kankuro," the man said, leaning in. He had dark blond hair, hazel eyes, and a general haughty air about him. If Cordi was to judge, he was fairly attractive with his strong cheekbones and jaw, but she got a vibe form him that he was nothing more than a playboy. It might have been the black shirt only buttoned just above his navel to give a glimpse of his decently sculpted chest.

Kankuro stood to greet him with a big smile. "Hiro," he said, pulling the man in with a hug.

"I thought you weren't due back for another day or two. They announced the delay for the Chunin exams, so I figured …"

"Gaara asked me to escort Cordelia here early," Kankuro explained as he pulled away.

Hiro raised an eyebrow at that, then pointed to the woman sitting across from Kankuro. "Cordelia, I presume?" She nodded her answer with a smile. He stuck his hand out with a welcoming grin as he said, "Nice to meet you. Name's Hiro."

Cordi grabbed his hand and gave it a firm shake and replied, "Nice to meet you too."

Hiro turned back to Kankuro and continued, "Well, it's good I found you then, Kuro. I was tasked to get a team together for a quick mission. Set out tonight, get back tomorrow. You'd be ideal for it. D'ya want to join?" He smirked as he added, "It's a B-rank, and the payout's good."

Kankuro pursed his lips, clearly interested in the offer before standing and saying, "Let's talk."

Cordi was taken aback immediately as he walked off with Hiro. She scoffed that she expected any more than him before turning back to her food. After ten minutes Kankuro returned and placed money on table. "I'm going to join Hiro on this mission. So, I've got to go get ready."

Cordi pursed her lips before commenting, "But I was hoping to do a little more shopping before going back to the penthouse."

Kankuro frowned as he straightened, then sighed, "I guess you'll need to get something for dinner and lunch tomorrow." He sighed as he reached back into his pocket again and pulled out his wallet. He flicked through the bills, and then sighed, pulling out two bills. "I've got one fifty I can lend you." He handed the bills to her as he said, "Just pay me back when you can."

Cordi was flabbergasted as he turned to Hiro and lifted a hand to signal he was ready to go. "But Kankuro," Cordi called, standing up quickly to chase him down. "I don't know how to get back."

He frowned with a shrug. "You like talking to strangers. Just ask for directions." She gaped at him as he smiled with a wave. "See you." And like that he was gone.

She stood there frozen for a moment as she realized the older Sand brother had abandoned her in downtown Suna. She gripped the bills in her hand, then shook her head in disbelief as she shoved the bills in her pocket and grabbed their bags of snacks and her pictures, and one last stick of kushikatsu for the road. Kankuro was right. It was very delicious.

She stepped back onto the street and looked around to see what stores would most likely carry what she needed. She made a mental list of what she needed to get, realizing that she didn't have enough money to get too much beyond necessities. Two meals minimum and shower stuff, which she realized she forgot to get earlier. She found supermarket on the edge of the market street, and ducked in to get her essentials. She was surprised to find pizza makings, and decided she'd make her specialty pizza for the Sand Siblings when they all arrived home. The past several days, she'd admit, were rough on her relationship with them. But she was willing to forgive this instance. Although, Kankuro abandoning her did significantly dampen her view of him. But to be honest, while she'd liked him as a character in the show, her expectations for him weren't that high to begin with.

She'd gotten most of her supplies and was sniffing shampoo in the seventh aisle, not sure if she wanted to switch to a new scent. She found a brand of shampoo here that had her old scent, but it was for frizz control, and Cordelia had always had naturally straight hair. What she needed was root help and scalp care, but the shampoo for that was a sickening floral scent that reminded her of her great aunt Mildred's house.

That was when someone ran into her from the side, causing her to drop the bottle of shampoo which busted and exploded as it hit the concrete floor. "Oh, my. I'm so sorry," a man said as she stepped back, trying her best not to slip on her shampoo covered feet. "I should really watch where I'm going. I'm such a klutz. I'll get someone to help with this."

"Thanks," she breathed, unsure of what else to say.

She looked up as the man ran to the end of the aisle and called, "Can we get a clean-up on Aisle Seven?" He turned back with a smile, and the vision she was met with stopped her heart momentarily. He was tall, over six feet. He had wavy light blond hair that was a beautiful mess, expressive gray green eyes, and a perfect white smile. He wasn't super tanned, and wore an army green button up shirt that had its sleeves rolled up past his elbows and was unbuttoned to the end of his sternum, showing off another decently sculpted chest. He had a light brown scarf tied at his hips like an obi, and he wore long black trousers that were tucked into black ninja boots. Suna standard by the toe shape. And he had a brown leather band around his left wrist.

She had to admit, Suna was full of beautiful people. Cordelia wasn't even sure she'd ever seen a man so beautiful. "Oh," she breathed, a small stupid smile drifting to her face. She realized she sounded idiotic, and cleared her throat before adding, "Oh, no, it's alright. I'm a bit of a klutz too."

"Thanks," the man laughed walking back towards her, "but you don't need to make me feel better."

"No, seriously," Cordi laughed as she thought of an example. "One time, I was torch-bearing for church and caught my own hair on fire. So, I totally get it."

He laughed with a strange curious look, then gave an acquiescing nod. "I'm Ryomen," he offered holding out his hand.

She offered her hand as she said, "Cordelia." Although, she paused when she notice a large glob of shampoo had landed on her hand earlier, and pulled it back, trying to shake it off as she muttered a small, "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Ryomen chuckled. "Again, it was my fault." He reached in his pouch and pulled out a handkerchief as he said, "Here, clean yourself off with this."

She took it with a big smile. "Thanks." She quickly began to wipe the shampoo off all the spots it splattered on her.

"So, Cordelia," Ryomen started. "I've never heard that name before."

She gave a small knowing chuckle as she replied, "Well, I'm not exactly from around here."

Ryomen looked at her curiously as he asked, "Oh? Where're you from?"

She was thankful that before she could answer, one of the store workers arrived and started to get to work on cleaning up the mess. This man was so pretty she forgot that she wasn't supposed to be talking about her past so freely. She was technically a need to know issue. When inquired, Ryomen explained what happened, letting Cordi dodge the question he'd asked completely. Quickly, she decided to go with the frizz control for the time being, thinking having super smooth hair wouldn't kill her, and her scalp would survive. But she could not smell like her great aunt Mildred. The shampoo and conditioner were the last items she needed, and she needed to get back to the penthouse since it was already reaching three o'clock.

She moved to leave, turning to Ryomen as she said, "I've got to go. It was nice meeting you Ryomen."

"Oh," she heard him breathe as if he had more he wanted to say, but she kept walking. Thankful for the distraction to make her escape. She checked out and got directions from the store back to the Kazekage Tower from the cashier. She was only a couple blocks away. One block south to one of the main streets, then she'd have to follow it to the center. Suna's center was set up like a clock with twelve main streets stretching from the Kazekage Tower to the perimeter cliffs through the mid-circle and the outer-circle, which got a little more haphazardly sectioned than the standard radial city blockage in the inner circle the further out you got. The market square sat on the border of the outer and inner circles.

As she made her way back to the tower, she saw a flower shop and slowed. The store was called Sandy Blooms, and was only eight blocks away from the tower. In the window she saw a cactus that had a couple pretty blooms, and she peeked in the window. The cactus was short and round with a two notches off the main bulb, and the peak of each notch had a flower that was yellow in the center and red on the edges of the petals. The colors reminded her of her favorite flower the sunset rose. She smiled as she thought, So, this is why Gaara likes cacti. He'd probably love this.

As she thought about the Kazekage, she remembered their last conversation, and she felt guilt gnaw at her heart. Calling him a heartless son-of-a-bitch. Even when he tried to apologize at the train station, she blew him off. She regretted her words and actions. Her anger with him had ebbed in the past few days as she realized he didn't really have any other option. She regretted her immediate reaction to the news and with all her heart wanted to apologize. Especially after getting as close as she had. He wasn't one to open up usually, but he had shown her a vulnerable side once or twice that she doubted anyone else saw. She didn't want to throw away the relationship that they had begun to build. She still wanted to be his friend, … maybe even more. She remembered how he held her as he ran her through Konoha late at night. How he smelled as he held her close to his chest. How just his hands on her body made her brain short circuit and her heart stop. No, she didn't want to lose what she had fought so hard to gain between them.

She realized immediately that meant she needed to make a gesture. Offer an olive branch to tell him she meant no ill will, and that she forgave him for what he did. She stepped inside, and a woman asked, "Can I help you with something?"

Cordi immediately grabbed the cactus and asked, "How much for this?" as she placed the cactus on the glass counter.

"The potted prickly pear? Forty dollars," the woman answered.

Cordi looked at it with a frown, pulling out her change from grocery shopping. It wasn't enough. "Damn," she breathed, frowning at her cash. "I only have thirty-eight."

The woman looked at her pityingly, then smiled. "That's alright. Let me see if I have a coupon over here," she offered, pulling out a few coupons on the side. She held one up victoriously as she scanned it, then rung up the cactus, and said, "That's ten percent off of succulents and cacti, so now it's thirty-six."

Cordi beamed at her as she handed her the money. "Thank you."

The woman gave a sincere smile back as she said, "It's nothing. Please come back for any other floral needs."

Cordi left the shop with a smile as she held the cactus close to her, thinking how much Gaara would like this new cactus for his collection. Whatever damage she'd caused to their relationship in her anger, this cactus would surely be a balm.

---

"Alright," Shikamaru called out boredly as he looked at the remaining otherworldly girls, quickly averting his gaze from Rox and then Lynne, who he had to keep reminding himself could read his mind.

Rox was wearing some jogging pants and a tank top, with her hair tied back in a high braid. She looked perfectly ordinary today, which boded well for him. Their break-up would go a lot smoother if she didn't flaunt herself. Not that he particularly liked pushy and vain girls. In truth, if a girl was high maintenance, like Ino, he did his best to steer clear. But there was nothing wrong with a girl who knew she was pretty. Rox, he felt, was in the later category. Because even in such basic, unassuming attire, she was pretty. She wasn't even wearing makeup, and was still pretty. What was important was what he felt her choice in presentation symbolized. She put little effort to look appealing when she knew he would be there, so hopefully that translated to not pushing him, or guilting him, back into a relationship.

It was already bad enough that after she mentioned having a family at the festival, he couldn't stop thinking about all that would entail. Especially the more intimate parts. He wanted her. Wanted that life. Even when he was breaking up with her, he wanted to take it back and kiss her.

But he was their team leader. If he pursued it, his reputation would tank, and he would ruin hers. No relationship would end well with him being their team leader.

He frowned as he noted one was missing from the secluded training field he and Hinata had picked for the girls' assessments. "Where's the last one?" he asked the other three.

"Sorry!" they heard a high-pitched call as Ronnie came running into field, her hand holding fast to Kiba's. A bark chimed in as Akamaru came trailing behind them. "We woke up a little late."

Shikamaru's gaze narrowed on the dog trainer before he asked, "And what are you doing here?"

"I invited him," Ronnie brushed off, beaming back at Kiba as she added, "for moral support."

Shikamaru scowled annoyedly at the two clearly besotted idiots, but realized there was little he could do about it without expending too much energy. And when he heard Hinata chuckle in happy acceptance behind him, he just rolled his eyes. Fuck it. "Today, we are only doing an assessment of your skills and powers to get an idea of what level of training will need to be added to your education for you to become full-fledged ninja. To do that, each of you will run an obstacle course I've laid out." He lazily gestured to Hinata as he added, "During your runs, Hinata will be observing you with her Byakugan. Seeing how your powers work, assessing your skill levels, everything." He stepped over, gesturing towards the course. "First are the fifteen hurdles of varying sizes. Next is the stump jump. You will cross the logs without falling, or start over. After that, you'll have to hit ten targets. Then finally, you'll need to ring the bell at the top of that tree." He reached down beside the first hurdle where a small pile of ninja packs sat. He handed them each one as he stated, "Each pack carries the standard six kunai, and twelve shuriken. Keep in mind, we do want to see how you use your powers to tackle these obstacles." He sighed as he put his hands back in his pockets. "All in all, this shouldn't take more than an hour. So, let's get started."

He frowned as he looked at each of the girls, then pointed first at Winifred Buchanan. "You first. Everyone else, take a seat." Fred stepped forward to where he marked the starting line, a bored expression on her face. He nudged his shoulder back to Hinata, as the Hyuga heiress pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, as he ordered, "State your full name."

"Winifred Buchanan," Fred answered with a frown. When Hinata frowned, Fred spelled it out for her before assuming her ready lunge.

Shikamaru eyed her unimpressed, his hands still in his pockets as he sighed, "Begin."

She sprung forward, and jumped over the first hurdle with relative ease, then the second and third. The fourth was a little tall for her, but almost instinctively, she raised the ground beneath her landing to provide her assistance. She deftly cleared the first section, moving onto the stump jump. Shikamaru pulled out a timer from his pocket with a small shrug and purse of his lips as he eyed the time.

As Fred stepped onto the first stump, she smiled, and closed her eyes. From the first stump, a branch grew out thick and strong, making a bridge to the next one and the one after that until all the stumps were connected. She opened her eyes, then sprinted across the bridge to the third task. She held her hand out, summoning her throwing stars out of her pouch, lining them up telekinetically before spraying the targets with perfect aim in a second. Then she was on the final test. All she did was look up, and beneath her a bud started quickly growing into a bush, then into a large oak tree, raising her up as it grew. Once she was high enough, she reached out to the small bell pull and gave it a tug, ringing loudly around the field. Her tree collapsed evenly under her, landing her safely on the ground, and she walked back to the group with a victorious smirk.

Shikamaru looked at Hinata as he stated, "4 minutes, 33 seconds." She nodded, writing it down quickly with some of her own notes. He looked back at Winifred and directed, "And if you could clear your changes?" Fred frowned, but stepped back to the stump jump, touching the first stump and retracting the bridge all the way. Then with a few swift movements, the stone columns she added to the hurdles shot back into the ground. Fred shot him a pointed scowl before stalking off to the area her friends were sitting. Her mouth twitching at the sight of Ronnie snuggled against Kiba. It wasn't that Kiba was a bad guy, per say, just that Ronnie got annoyingly lovey-dovey in new relationships. Fred sat promptly between Lynne and Rox, who were also trying to distance themselves from the new couple.

Hinata looked up when she was done with her notes, and Shikamaru pointed to Rox. "You're up."

Rox sheepishly stepped forward to the starting line. She shot him a longing glance, causing him to quickly avert his eyes. She gave a small pout before masking it before anyone could notice. Before Shikamaru asked, she turned to Hinata and stated, "Roxanne Turner."

Then she got in a ready lunge, and Shikamaru called, "Start."

She barreled forward, and with ever jump, she used her air to send her over with ease, continuing with ease through the stump jump in very much the same manner. Then she was at the targets, and she frowned that she couldn't do something as flashy and easy as Fred. She pulled out her stars, and threw them as best she could, then using her wind to help blow them on the right track. None of them hit the bullseye like Fred's, but each of them got arguably close. Then she was on the final test. She knelt down, then sprung up, summoning a visual Jetstream under her that rocketed her up. She grabbed the bell pull, ringing it out, then floated back down like a weightless feather. She wordlessly walked back to her friends as Shikamaru called out, "4 minutes, 49 seconds." She frowned, knowing her added time was the throwing stars. She'd been quicker on hurdles, stumps and the bell.

Hinata finished her notes as Rox found her seat next to Fred. Shikamaru pointed at Lynne. "You're next."

Lynne popped up and made her way over to the starting line. "Lynne Belfoco," she stated to Hinata, who wrote it down quickly.

"Start."

Lynne sprinted forward. Lynne sprinted forward, jumping over the hurdles with relative ease. Even though Rox was the sports star among them, Lynne ran track and field and was just as fast as Rox. She continued easily through to the stump jump, and deftly jumped from stump to stump. Then did just as Fred had with the targets, using her telekinesis to nail the bullseye of each of her targets with her shurikens. She then spun to look at Shikamaru with a smirk before flicking her finger towards the bell as it rang out.

Shikamaru shot her a scowl for skipping the task of actually making it up the tree, but she did complete it. "4 minutes, 15 seconds," he called out.

She did a little victory dance on her way back to her friends as she sang out, "Woohoo. Best time! Yeah!"

As she crossed Ronnie, Shikamaru pointed to the water user, and said, "Finally, you're up."

Ronnie pouted as she stood. "Any particular reason I'm last?"

"Other than you were late?" Shikamaru snarked back only loud enough for her to hear.

She gave a small eye roll as she continued on to the starting line. She stated to Hinata, "Veronica Buchanan, or Ronnie." She frowned as she added the last bit.

"You got this!" Kiba called out, an affirming bark from Akamaru behind him.

Fred shot a heavy eye roll at Rox and Lynne. Lynne suppressed a laugh with a snort as Rox chided, "Hush," despite her smile.

"Start."

Ronnie ran forward, hurdling over her obstacles not as easily as Rox or Lynne, but still quickly. She only knocked over two, but she continued on with fluid movements. She handled the stump jump easily, landing at the targets with ease. She raised her hand to the sky, and after a moment, a cloud syphoned down from the sky and encircled her before condensing into a small ball of water which then shot through each of the targets' bullseyes, before flying up at the bell with a final PING!

"4 minutes, 19 seconds," Shikamaru called out.

"HA!" Ronnie barked, pointing at her sister. "I beat you!"

Fred frowned. "This wasn't a competition."

Ronnie smirked as she sauntered back. "Only because you lost."

Fred pursed her lips, then muttered, "Technically, Rox lost." Rox shot her oldest friend a small scowl before going back to picking the grass, and tossing it. With Fred sitting next to her, it grew back quickly.

As Ronnie sat back down, snuggling back into Kiba's chest, Shikamaru walked up to them with a bored, even expression. He was also clearly trying to ignore Kiba and Ronnie's obvious pda. "The obvious note is that we need to work on all of your speed. You all are so slow, it –."

"You don't have to say it like that," Kiba interrupted with a scoff at his old classmate.

Shikamaru shot the dog trainer a bored glare. "I'm sorry. Is this your team or mine?"

Kiba tongued a fang as he glared back at the shadow ninja, a protective hand grasping Ronnie's shoulder, who situated herself further in Kiba's lap. "Your team or not," Kiba growled, "Ronnie's my girlfriend, and I don't like anyone talking like that about her."

Shikamaru eyed him carefully before looking at Ronnie and then her friends. All of Ronnie's friends made faces that said this was behavior they were used to with Ronnie and her boyfriends. "Kiba," he tried again, "Lord Kakashi has tasked me with their training. If that's going to be a problem, we can take it up with him."

Kiba set his jaw, clearly about to retort back. Ronnie quickly grabbed his hand on her shoulder and said, "It's ok, Kiba." Kiba didn't look ok, but he bit back any response he had.

"As I was saying," Shikamaru grumbled back to the other three girls, "your lacking speed can cause some serious problems in a fight." They each nodded their understanding. "The good thing is that it looks like Temari trained you to control your powers pretty well. Your current prowess might be able to make up for some of your speed problems. And you seem to be able to fit them creatively to solve the problem in front of you, which is a good sign." He put his hands in his pockets as he turned towards Hinata, who was walking towards them, and added blandly, "Hopefully with Hinata's observations, we'll be able to fine tune your control over those powers, and turn you into decent shinobi." He smiled at her hopefully as he asked, "So what have you got?"

Hinata closed her notebook with a sigh as she stated, "Well, it's difficult to explain. They don't have a chakra network like we do. And whatever their powers are, they don't function like our chakra does. It looks like it burns in their core," she gestured at her heart, then moved her hand out as she continued, "then surges out when they use it." She rubbed her chin as she finished explaining it, chewing on her lower lip. She shot Shikamaru a sorry frown as she added, "Surely, I'll need to make further notes. But I'm not even sure if that'll be enough."

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully. "What do suggest?"

She sighed as she said, "The Byakugan can see how chakra flows in the chakra network. The Sharingan sees different chakra better and how it behaves outside the body."

Shikamaru pursed his lips. "Sasuke?"

Lynne perked up at that.

"Not to mention with his Rinnegan, he'd also be able to better see how their powers function in their bodies," Hinata added.

Shikamaru sighed dejectedly. He chewed the inside of his cheek before muttering, "Damn." He scratched at the base of his ponytail. "You're right. He'd probably see their abilities a lot better. But Kakashi might be reluctant to pull him from his current mission."

"I'm sorry," Lynne cut in with a smile as she stood, "I couldn't help but overhear. Sasuke is alive?"

Shikamaru pursed his lips while Hinata looked away guiltily. "Yeah," Kiba answered annoyedly. "But he's almost never here."

"But he wasn't killed with the rest of the Akatsuki?" Lynne asked clarifyingly, looking at the three jonin.

Shikamaru exhaled sharply out his nose, closing his eyes as if searching for some internal zen for such a topic. "Right, you all only know up to the Kage Summit." He crossed his arms, turning to the girls. "Well, during the final fight against the Ten Tails, Madara, Obito, and Kaguya, Sasuke arrived with Orochimaru and all the previous Hokage. Orochimaru helped save the five Kage from certain death while Sasuke and the previous Hokage provided crucial support to the ninja army that made it possible for us to actually win. Lady Tsunade stepped down from her office officially after the war, instating Kakashi as Hokage, and letting him decide Sasuke's fate. So, yes, he's still alive. And mostly works counter-intelligence on the Otsutsuki clan, since he's the only living being with a Rinnegan."

Half of what he said didn't make any sense, but Lynne didn't care. All that mattered was that she could read that he was telling the truth. That meant Sasuke was alive, and that was all that mattered to her.

"I'll talk with Kakashi to see if he can summon him back for some input," Shikamaru stated. He turned back to the girls as they stood up, Rox and Fred dusting the dirt off their pants as he said, "Tomorrow, we'll really crack down. We'll start on speed drills, then move onto basic taijutsu technique, then if we have time, we'll practice your elements." He put his fingers in a standard seal, then said, "I'll see you tomorrow at one." Then he poofed away. Rox lifted her hand, then sighed slightly dejectedly as she realized he was already gone.

Hinata gave them a small bow, performing a similar hand seal, and poofing away.

"Well," Kiba huffed, standing up as he helped Ronnie up as well, "since you're done for the day, do you want to go on a walk with me and Akamaru?" Ronnie beamed up at him, wrapping her arm around his elbow as she stared up dreamily at him, and they made their way out of the training grounds.

The girls left behind watched Kiba and Ronnie leave the field hand in hand, gazing at each other in that gag inducing, starry-eyed way. "Well, that could have gone better?" Fred huffed, crossing her arms.

"You mean Ronnie?" Rox filled in as she took her first few steps back to town, Fred and Lynne walking along with her.

"No, I mean you," Fred clarified, shooting a disappointed look at her oldest friend.

Rox's innocent, wide brown eyes connected with her best friend's green gaze. "Me?"

Fred nodded. "You should know by now, every break up is a competition," she stated. She pursed her lips as she shook her head and crossed her arms. "And judging by today, you're losing, bad."

Rox scoffed skeptically. "What are you talking about?"

Fred looked pointedly at Lynne. "Lynne, back me up. Break ups are a competition."

Lynne looked up, apparently surprised to be addressed. Both Rox and Fred could tell the mind-reader was in her own little world. "Yes?" Lynne asked, uncertainly as she looked at both of them. Then she nodded after getting a second pointed look from Fred. "Yes. Break ups are absolutely a competition."

Rox looked at both of her friends as if they were crazy. "You see, he broke up with you. You need to show him that was a mistake," Fred explained.

"Yup," Lynne agreed.

Rox shook her head. "I don't even …"

"You don't have to do much," Fred interrupted. "Just if you're going to see him, you need to be hot and happy."

Rox rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. "And what if I'm not feeling happy … or hot?"

"That's not the point," Fred argued. "He needs to think you are." She gave a small shrug as she added flippantly, "And honestly, if you tell yourself you're happy, hot, and confident, it eventually stops being a lie."

Rox looked to Lynne for verification, since she was the psychology expert of them. Lynne puffed out her cheeks and mumbled, "I wouldn't recommend that to people suffering clinical depression, because that's more of a chemical imbalance that's better fixed through actual medication. But generally speaking, yeah. Shifting your mindset to be more self-affirming leads to more confidence."

Rox pursed her lips. "I don't know."

"Trust me," Fred stated. "If you put in the effort he'll either beg to be back with you, or you'll get a better guy, which is the best way to get over a relationship."

Rox stopped, looking at her friends worriedly. "Fred, I'm not like you. I can't just jump into a new relationship."

"We know," Lynne supplied. She grabbed Rox's hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm just saying," Fred started with an equally sad frown, "when Shikamaru looked at you today, he regarded you like a wounded animal. Like he pitied you. And I hate that. He hurt you. Why shouldn't he hurt the same?"

Rox sucked on her upper lip for a second, her eyes darting between both Fred and Lynne. She finally settled on Lynne, and asked, "Was he really pitying me?"

Lynne pursed her lips, then answered, "I tried not to read his mind, because … yeah." She sighed and closed her eyes tiredly. "Yeah. His mind was a mix of pity for leading you on … and annoyance for Ronnie and Kiba," she added the last bit like that was a given, "and where we were lacking in our obstacle runs."

Rox set her jaw, feeling an odd tingle in her throat that more fueled anger than sadness. Pity wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't what she deserved. Yeah, she really liked him, but they'd only gone on three dates. It wasn't like she wasn't heartbroken. It was upsetting sure, and a setback. But she was stronger than that.

Her dark eyes snapped up to her friends'. "What do I do?"

Fred smiled, and looped her arm in Rox's at the elbow. "First? We go shopping."

---

The gates of Suna were a very welcome sight to the travel weary Kazekage and his sister. It was around breakfast the morning of July 8th they caught their first glimpse in the past two and a half weeks. Oddly, to Gaara it felt so much longer than that. So much had changed in just two weeks. It was around eleven when they took their first steps onto the Suna steps where they were met with raucous cheers and a podium had been set for his return speech about the exams. He did his best to keep the speech brief. He said he was proud of all the teams that qualified and took the test. That a team from Suna made it all the way to the final rounds against teams from the other great nations in the first test where all of them were present was something to be proud of. He ended with his hopes that this was a sign of strengthening bonds between the nations as well as a sign of stronger ninja in Suna in the years to come.

He shook the hands of each of the team members who took part in the finals before he was met with Councilman Ebiso. "A Council meeting has been called in thirty minutes. Just normal checking in and discussing missions executed in your absence. And of course the other thing," Ebiso stated, waving off the last topic as if it meant nothing. Of course, Gaara knew he meant Cordelia and Aleera, which was likely the main reason for this meeting.

Gaara gave an understanding nod as Ebiso moved on to greet some other ninja. Temari scoffed, "The other thing. What? We can't say her name in public?" as Gaara began to make his way down the steps.

Gaara didn't remark on Temari's annoyance, and instead decided to make his way home. It was still odd to him that he'd thought of the Kazekage tower as home, even though the majority of his life he saw it as his father's domain, and home, for lack of a better word, was the small two-story house in downtown Suna by the school. At least it was a home for the first six years of his life with Yashamaru. When Baki was assigned to watch over him, it became more of a dwelling. But now the tower had been his home for the past five and a half years. Really, since Temari and Kankuro begged him to stay with them a couple months after their father's passing.

It was an odd time, those first several months after the chunin exams. It took two weeks for Suna to realize Orochimaru's full deceit when the council called in the three siblings to ask if they had received any word from their father after the Crush. Gaara didn't hear anything, which wasn't that odd, given he didn't live with the man and their relationship was strenuous at best. But when Kankuro and Temari revealed that they had heard nothing for two weeks, and were starting to worry, Gaara also began to worry for them. The Anbu were sent to look for the Kazekage, and the three of them were issued into the confidential puppet government proceedings that the Suna Council would adopt when a Kazekage was missing. Kankuro and Temari maintained their distance, even though Gaara made clear actions to open up to them. Gaara would be the first to admit, he had no idea how to relate to them then, but he did try. Then Baki's Anbu team returned with their father's body. Temari and Kankuro mourned. Gaara didn't know how to feel about the news. A large part of him was numb, and another part was sad that he was numb and not hurt by the news like his siblings. He felt out of place there, and he remembered turning to his siblings and saying, "I'm sorry for your loss," before turning to leave.

He remembered Kankuro snapping at him, "That's all you have to say? Our Dad's dead. And you don't even give a shit!" He remembered Temari trying to pull Kankuro back from picking a fight with Gaara. But Gaara understood Kankuro was just angry and needed a target. It wasn't personal. And Gaara had turned a new leaf since Naruto. He wasn't going to attack his brother for being hurt. So he paused, allowing his brother to aim his venomous words at him. Reminding himself Kankuro was just hurt and needed a target. He decided to leave when Kankuro spat, "It should have been you. Not Dad!" Temari reprimanded the puppeteer immediately, but Gaara felt the sting of those words. Temari apologized quickly and said Kankuro didn't mean it, but Gaara decided the best course of action was to leave.

The next day, Temari showed up at Gaara's house to apologize for Kankuro, stating he didn't mean a word of what he said, he was just too proud to admit any fault. Gaara accepted that, and commented he knew he was hurting. Temari reasoned that she knew Gaara was hurting too, even though she added he hid it well. She invited him to their father's funeral, which was being held privately for only close family and friends. She reasoned that Gaara was as much a part of his family as her and Kankuro, and deserved to be there just the same. She also added that with them all being orphans now, it was important to strengthen their family bonds, since they were all each other had. Gaara realized she opened the door of opportunity to him and he agreed, happily taking his first step to becoming more like Naruto.

At the funeral, Kankuro at first was upset to see Gaara, until Temari waved him over to sit next to her. He was quiet during the ceremony, but he eventually made a half apology of his own, admitting he shouldn't have said what he did. After that he did add that he didn't think Gaara should have come. Son or not, Gaara hated their father. And Gaara found himself quoting his uncle for the first time in ages. "It's not easy for us to hate one another." It was word association, pure and simple. He blinked at that, wondering why that would come tumbling out. He cleared his throat before adding, "I don't think I hated him. But after he hired six assassination attempts on me as a child, I feel like I should. I don't though, and because of that, I feel conflicted, if I'm being honest." Kankuro didn't know how to respond to that, so Gaara continued to confess, "I think mostly, I'm disappointed. I was created and trained to be father's weapon, but now …" He trailed off as he realized what he was feeling. Lost. He had a resolution to be more like Naruto, but he had now way of going about that. Meanwhile the purpose behind his creation, and thus his life and his sense of self, was now all but obliterated. What use was a weapon if it's wielder was dead?

Kankuro seemed to recognize that in him, and said, "You're lost without him, too." That was the first time Kankuro and Gaara really began to understand each other. They talked the rest of the supper. It was stilted at first, but then Kankuro began pointing out who was who, and how they knew their father, even making small jokes about them to Gaara quietly. Temari joined in shortly after, and that was the first time Gaara felt like he was actually their brother.

The few months after that, Temari began inviting Gaara for a weekly family dinner. Then a biweekly dinner as they grew more accustomed to their new bonds. Months later, well after the Sasuke thing, the Council issued a notice that they would be searching for a new Kazekage, and therefore Temari and Kankuro needed to vacate the penthouse for whoever took over, Gaara saw another chance to be useful to his siblings and take another large step towards being like Naruto. By becoming Kazekage. When he submitted his candidacy, his siblings invited him to move in, and after he passed his tests and earned the title, he accepted.

"What are you thinking about?" Temari asked. They'd made it almost halfway through the town, silently walking with small waves in response to others greeting them.

"Home," he answered blandly.

Temari nodded sagely as she sighed, "It's nice to be home."

"Yes," he replied agreeably.

They comfortably continued their pace in silence, nearing the base of the tower before Temari asked, "What do you think Kankuro and Cordelia have been up to?"

His eyes widened at the sudden plummet his heart took just thinking of that question. Gaara liked to think he could trust Kankuro with anything, but he'd be foolish to think he could trust him with reasonably attractive woman he wasn't related to. And with the dream a few nights ago still weighing heavily on his mind, Gaara wasn't sure what to feel about Cordelia. Not to mention the dream hadn't been a one-night show. Oh no. It had repeated last night and the night before, and the night before that. Each slightly varied, because his dream-self remembered the first dream. The cause never changed, neither the people. Just slight differences in the act itself. Over the last three nights, he'd had her several different ways, each until she was gasping his name with throaty moans. In his dreams at least. And that was the problem. They were so vivid, he was beginning to wonder if he was just lusting for her or if the dreams meant he was harboring deeper feelings for her he didn't yet understand.

Not to mention Dream Cordelia wasn't the same as Real Cordelia. Last they talked, she'd called him "a heartless son of a bitch." To be honest, he didn't know where to go from that. He'd never experienced someone calling him something like that to his face. All things considered, he was a little bit impressed by that, because both he and she knew that he'd killed people for less. And maybe that's exactly what brought on these dreams. The best he could hope for right now was that he'd see the real Cordelia, and this spell the Dream Cordelia had him under would shatter under Cordi's somewhat annoyingly bombastic demeanor and vulgarity.

As he saw some of the council members making their way into the building as they walked up, he realized Cordelia wasn't a problem he had to face immediately. He had a whole Council meeting to dread seeing her through.

"Temari!" someone called from the side. Temari and Gaara both turned to see who it was, and saw two of Temari's childhood friends. Sen, a tall skinny woman with curly blonde hair, with another woman, Rinri if Gaara wasn't mistaken. Rinri had dark hair and hazel eyes that popped against caramel skin. "We heard you were back. D'ya want to join us for lunch?"

Temari pursed her lips, shooting a worried glance at her youngest brother. Gaara could tell she was asking through her glance if he would be ok without her, and he gave a small nod. She smiled, then turned to her friends and quickly fell into an easy chat with them as they walked off towards the market district.

Gaara made his way inside and up to the Council chamber on the fourth floor. To accommodate the large Kazekage statues, it was the only room in the building that was two full stories from floor to ceiling, except for the lobby, but he wasn't sure that counted, since it was the lobby and the labeled second floor started at the base of the sphere of the tower. In all honesty, Gaara didn't have a mind for architecture, so he didn't question the design choices made when constructing the eighty-year-old building. The council room took up a third of both the fourth and fifth floors, which housed most of the higher-ranking offices, and to him again seemed illogical, but again he wasn't an expert. Gaara's office was on the fifth floor, situated in front of the elevators and half way between the main stairwell and the private stairwell leading to the sixth floor, the Kazekage Penthouse. The seventh floor, if it was even worth mentioning contained all the major equipment to make the building functional, and then the roof, where Gaara liked to look at the skyline and think, especially when faced with a particularly troublesome problem.

As he walked into the opened oak doors where council members were filing in for the meeting, Gaara found himself pausing at the doors, as his dream-self did the last few nights, and bracingly looking towards his chair to see if the Council had brought in the dream-table he'd used to violate Ms. Turner the past three nights. When the space behind his chair was blessedly empty, he breathed deeply through his nose and closed his eyes to focus and calm his heartbeat as he reminded himself that it was just a dream. One that would never happen in real life, under any circumstances.

"Lord Kazekage?" one of the Council members asked, pulling Gaara from his thoughts as he took in the full Council room with every member seated, except Kankuro's Gaara noted. And Temari, he knew where she was.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he made his way to his chair. He did point to Kankuro's usual chair and ask, "Was Kankuro not informed of this meeting?"

"He joined Hiro's team yesterday on a short mission to a border village near the Land of Rivers," Baki answered gruffly. "He should be back this evening."

So his brother had left Cordelia alone for two days. He wasn't sure if that was better than Kankuro seducing her. But that didn't matter now. He cleared his throat as he situated himself, crossing his arms as he said, "Well, then let's get started."

The Council filled him in on the missions carried out in his absence, the majority of which were genin missions, helping around the village and the region. Most of the C and B rank missions went to experienced chunin and younger jonin. Although, no A or S ranks were issued, as they needed direct Kazekage clearance first. Out of the updates, there were only a few things Gaara felt warranted of note. Kankuro was on a mission with Hiro's team. Another jonin team was sent on a peace keeping mission to the Land of Earth to retrieve a daimyo's stolen artifact from a bunch of thieves. Matsuri's team was on a peace-keeping mission to the Land of Hills. And the Feudai Daimyo of the Land of Wind was looking to up his security, and was looking to Gaara to recommend some ninja for the job.

"Now, onto the main matter at hand," Ebiso started, clearing his throat to draw the attention of the room. "Most of the Council has met Cordelia, but are unsure if she'll be a valuable asset to the village."

"I could sense that she has absolutely no chakra," Councilwoman Mai spoke up, "which means she won't be able to function as a normal ninja."

"Even the taijutsu specialists we've added to our forces from your decree four years ago have chakra that allow them to move as a ninja should," Councilman Reo added. "From Temari's notes the Hokage has graciously sent to us, she's the slowest of the five girls in speed. Temari set a standard academy length obstacle course that academy students usually take two minutes to clear. These girls averaged seven minutes with Cordelia coming at seven forty-five."

"So, she's not fast, and can't walk up walls. Are we also going to just forget Temari's other notes on the girl's prowess with controlling fire and lightning," Riku argued. "Let's also remember Temari noted their lack of chakra had no bearing on their elemental powers, and that using these powers don't wear them down. Pakura with her scorch release was only able to handle three fireballs at a time before she needed to wait for her chakra to recharge."

"You did not just compare this girl to Pakura," Reo scoffed. Pakura was a hero to Suna who died when Gaara was very young. He barely remembered her, but did hear of her resurrection during the Fourth Great Ninja War. It was well known Reo came from the same family as Pakura. He was her cousin. So his offense at the comparison was understandable, but unwarranted.

"Cordelia has no such limitation," Riku yelled over the offended Councilmember, shooting a small annoyed look at him. "Temari has noted this girl has summoned several pillars of fire on accident, limitless fireballs, and remote combustion of a target with a flex of her hand. All without breaking a sweat or needing a moment's pause. It's well within reason she could summon a firestorm that could wipe out this whole village if she so chose. This girl also summoned a lightning bolt and was able to redirect it with incredible precision. Even the world's strongest chakra based electrical attacks aren't half as strong as an actual lightning bolt. And this is all just the tip of her prowess with only two weeks training. Are we really to ignore this?" Reo looked at his other Councilmembers incredulously at the implication.

Gaara had to admit, when phrased like that, Cordelia had power of monstrous proportions, and he was very thankful Temari took the initiative to train them all to control said powers. He only needed to look at the earthquake that delayed the exams for a good example of what that power could do unchecked.

"Not to mention her dragon more than makes up for any lack of speed," Kiyoshi stated. "Sure, in a fight she won't be fast. But getting from place to place, her dragon, according to current estimations, is much faster than the average jonin." He let out a small bark of a laugh as he added, "That's leaving out the flight test, which has yet to be conducted." He turned to Gaara as he added, "Konoha has already sent their results for their dragons' speed tests, and judging from Aleera's ground speed test, her air speed we're predicting to be very fast."

This intrigued Gaara. "How fast?"

Kiyoshi smiled excitedly. "Seven hundred fifty kilometers per hour. Cruising speed, not sprinting."

Gaara's eyes bugged at that. "As in she could go faster?"

Kiyoshi positively grinned. "Much." This caused a murmur to go around the table.

"If Lord Rasa was still Kazekage, she would never be a ninja," Mai grumbled.

"Then it's a good thing Lord Gaara is the Kazekage now, and not his father," Riku snipped back. He rolled his eyes as he added, "No disrespect to the dead, but our taijutsu masters prove that Rasa had a habit of looking gift horses directly in the mouth."

That immediately started an argument between the older Councilmembers and the younger, the conservatives and the progressives. Mai, Fuka, and Bunta were definitely on the older side, and had been Councilmembers longer than Gaara had been alive. Probably even from the third Kazekage's reign. All three usually highly conservative, frequently harking back to the way things were done and tradition. Ebiso was the only one who might have been on since the second's time, but he rarely got in between the political debates thrown at the table.

Kiyoshi, Reo, Toska, Baki and Haruko were appointed during Gaara's father's time. Both Toska and Kiyoshi were old friends of his father's. Kiyoshi was also on his father's genin team with Gaara's mother. From what Gaara could tell, they easily fell in the midground in political leanings, with Reo and Toska being the more conservative, and Kiyoshi and Baki being more progressive and supportive with where Gaara was leading Suna. Haruko was very much the even mindset of the Council. She was highly traditional and followed a strict code of ethics in all things. But, one of those ethical rules was to never keep with a tradition that was also illogical. There were several times Mai thought Haruko would side with her and Bunta on an issue because it's how it has always been done, only for Haruko to ask why such a procedure was still in place. Gaara respected that about her a lot.

Then there were the newer members. Riku was one of the more recent additions, joining the council just four years ago to replace Yura after Gaara lost the Shukaku. Several of the other Councilmembers during his time as Kazekage had been replaced, mostly from being caught leading coup attempts. Like Fugi, who committed seppuku when he was caught leading the coup attempt during Gaara's first Chunin Exams as Kazekage, and was replace by Temari when Tsunade requested a Councilmember become an ambassador between Suna and Konoha to strengthen the villages' bonds. Kankuro was added at Baki's request after the first coup attempt not even a month after Gaara became Kazekage. Recognizing Kankuro's ability to read a person better than Gaara, both Baki and Gaara felt Kankuro would provide good support, and one of the few who'd have Gaara's best interests at heart. In Gaara's time only five Councilmembers had been found attached to coup attempts. All have been thwarted clearly, as Gaara was still alive. Each had been replaced by Temari, Kankuro, Riku, and the newest addition a year and a half ago, Keiko, who was one of the three medical ninjas Gaara sent to Konoha after war to study under Tsunade and Sakura, and currently was head of the Medical Corps of Suna. Keiko was the youngest on the Council, other than Gaara himself, and specialized in field medicine, but was considered the most proficient in Suna in all aspects of medicine. For the most part, she stayed quiet in Council discussions unless it affected the medical community. The Council was still down a few members with the coup from March led by Tojuro. To be honest, Gaara didn't feel the need to fill their voids immediately. Thirteen advisors was already enough to settle disputes against.

Ebiso slammed his empty cup loudly against the table as he called, "Quiet! Every one settle down!" The Council members quieted at the eldest member's orders and slowly went back to their chairs as he huffed, "Now, we've already agreed on a suitable course of action. Tomorrow, Lord Gaara will test her skills in a sparring match with us all in attendance. As Kazekage, he will decide if she is skilled enough after the bout to become full fledge Suna shinobi."

Gaara frowned at this, because that meant he would have to assign her a genin team in the off season, as the Suna Academy wouldn't churn out any graduates until September. That was two months away. Gaara would have opened his mouth to poke holes if the elderly man looked as if he was done speaking.

He most definitely was not. "Given her circumstances, and her lack of chakra to keep up with a usual team, we think the best position for her now is as Lord Gaara's assistant."

That news blindsided him almost as bad as when Ebizo told him to take a wife. Gaara let out a strangled, "What?" He swore he heard his voice crack a little in surprise. He cleared his throat before he clarified, "I've … I've never needed an assistant before."

"Perhaps it's time you acquired one," Haruko commented. "Lady Tsunade had one for her term as Hokage, as does Lord Kakashi. The Raikage has one. The Mizukage has one. With the steady increase in jobs and teams at Suna's disposal, that means paperwork for you." There was a mischievous sparkle in her eye as her gaze connected with his as she added, "Not to mention the increase in meetings for foreign diplomacy, maybe having an assistant will make sure you're on time."

Gaara pursed his lips but maintained eye contact, so she knew he got her jab.

"In all honesty, Lord Gaara, there's nowhere else for her to go," Toska added. "She has no family here for financial support, so she's falling back on yours, which is problematic. Even if she becomes a ninja, she won't be able to join a team. And because she's from another world, that means she could be tied to another Otsotsuki plot –"

"Or not," Baki added pointedly to Toska, as if reminding him through his glare that Gaara himself did invite her to live in Suna, and going against that judgement might not be prudent.

Toska huffed, giving a small eye roll to Gaara's old teacher for his interruption. "Because of that, she needs to be under constant supervision of one of the Council members, which includes you."

Gaara scoffed. "But she's already living with me."

"And now, she will also be working with you," Toska added. Gaara opened his mouth to rebut him, but Toska held up a hand and said, "It was already put to a vote, and it won three to eight. So, even if you push for your vote be added, it won't overturn." He grabbed his drink as he finished with an odd sort of finality, "She'll start as your assistant officially on Friday, the tenth. We suggest you train her for the position tomorrow afternoon after the bout."

Gaara could only give an acquiescing nod. These were orders, not suggestions. Now he really hoped she could forgive him for telling Kakashi and the Council about her and her friends. Otherwise his job was about to get a thousand times harder.

Gaara stood awkwardly to dismiss himself stating, "Thank you all. I will go ahead tell Cordelia the current plans for her. And then, if you don't mind, reset my clock." They all knew he was referring to the fact Konoha was four hours ahead of them, and he needed to readjust to Suna's time. The Council members stood, and gave a small bow, signaling Gaara was allowed to leave.

Tiredly, he made his way up to the penthouse, hoping Cordi was there to get this dread off his chest. If not, he would see her that night anyway. In all honesty, he was exhausted from travelling, and all he wanted was a nap. He past his office without even a curious glance at what was assuredly a ridiculous amount of paperwork waiting for him, and continued on to the penthouse staircase. As he made his way up the stairs, he heard something that never happened in the penthouse before. Music. His siblings never blared music louder than the village sirens. He got closer to the front door, and it got louder and louder. It was samba music. He'd recognize it anywhere. Samba was the cultural dance of Suna, and was played at every major festival, with scantily clad dancers swiveling their hips along with it. But it wasn't a song he'd ever heard. This song had sultry guitar singing over the beat, and a strange organ sound accompanying it.

He reached for his key and unlocked it, and he realized with how loud the music was playing, there was no way he was heard coming in, even shutting the door normally. He ventured past the entryway, looking around for how Cordi had infiltrated his home. This music was clearly her handiwork. As he looked around, he saw nothing in the living room except her laptop set up to speakers and blaring the suspicious samba music. He walked towards it as the music dropped its volume to just it's loud samba tempo, most likely to pick up again, even more stridently than before. He saw scrolling at the top of the screen above the odd, colorful visuals rippling in time with the music, "Oye Como Va – Santana."

As the music climbed to a climax, he sensed movement from the back hallway, and he turned, seeing Cordelia arrive at the mouth of the hallway, swaying her hips violently with the climax of the beat. Lucky for him, she was looking down at the ground. It wasn't often he was caught completely off guard by random happenstances, but this time his jaw dropped seeing that she was wearing was a black t-shirt that barely covered her butt with a cartoon picture of him emblazoned on it beside "Sabaku no Gaara" in stylistic letters, underwear, and nothing else. Clearly she had just gotten out of the shower, as her hair was still wet, and it moved as she snapped her head up, signing along with the music and continuing to samba perfectly into the kitchen. "Oye como va, mi ritmo! Bueno pa' gozar, mulata." She opened the fridge, still swiveling her hips as she continued, "Oye como va, mi ritmo! Bueno pa' gozar, mulata," before pulling out avocados, cilantro, a clove of garlic, and a lime, and placing them on the counter. She then continued to samba perfectly over to the pantry where she pulled out some salt, before bending over to give Gaara a perfect view of her white panty clad ass, still swiveling it in time with the music.

Gaara felt his heart drop to his stomach as his mouth and throat dried faster than the desert itself. His cheeks burned at the vision. This was wrong. This was very wrong. Surely, he should alert her to his presence. Cough or call her name or something.

She stood back up, still dancing as the music neared its final crescendo, placing a medium mixing bowl on the counter before looking up and shrieking. He gave a small wave, and after a moment, she gasped in relief with her hand over her heart as she took him in, before dropping down to lean on the marble counter tops with a small laugh, "Jesus, Gaara. You scared the shit outta' me."

"I'm sorry?" he more asked than stated. He awkwardly pointed to the door as he said, "I just … Should I come back later?" He closed his eyes with mild self-loathing as he realized this was his home and he was asking if he was unwelcome. Stuff like this was why he tried to avoid interactions outside his normal circles.

She waved him off as she said, "Don't be ridiculous. I was just making some of my Dad's quick guac before making a quesadilla. Do you want one?" Gaara opened his mouth to answer not to trouble herself, but again she waved him off as she laughed, "Of course you do. It's twelve forty-five. You're probably starving."

She pulled out two tortillas, butter and cheese, and started putting together the ingredients.

Gaara cleared his throat, looking away as he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Looking away gave his mind some clarity while he searched for his words. "Are you sure you don't want to get dressed first?"

"All my clothes are in the wash," she replied, pointing to the laundry room on the other side of the kitchen wall as she dropped the butter on the skillet and it began to sizzle. "Otherwise I would be properly dressed," she paused as she added self-deprecatingly, "and not wearing this shirt, which is its own circle of hell level of embarrassing." She placed the cheese filled tortillas on the pan as she continued, "Especially now that your real, and I'm kind of living with you. I really should just burn it." She flipped the tortillas, not turning around to face him as she segued not so subtly, "So, uhm, you're back early."

"Yes," he mumbled, appreciating the change in topic, while also noting her subtext that the only reason he caught her in such a compromisingly personal moment was because she thought she had the penthouse to herself all day. "Our team was decimated in the first round."

"Bummer," she sighed, moving over to grab some plates. Gaara did his best not to look after his primary note of her was her legs were more toned than he was expecting. Her thighs were soft, but her calves had some definition to them that showed she wasn't a stranger to training. He quickly realized such an observation was bound to lead nowhere good. "So, did you just get in?"

Gaara nodded as she turned, placing the quesadilla in front of him at the bar. "Uh, no. I had a Council meeting first." He wasn't sure if he should just go ahead and sit down to eat. She had placed her quesadilla on the island across from his, but she moved to peel the avocados, dicing them down and dropping them into the mixing bowl. As she steadily made the 'guac' as she called it, the silence between them grew.

He chanced another look at her, so many questions whirring through his mind. Her gaze flicked up to his while he stared, and she smiled weirdly. "What?"

He decided the best course of action was to pluck one of the questions whirring around his head and just ask it. "Why is there a picture of me on your shirt?"

She made an awkward wince as she cut into the lime and laughed, "I told you, you and your siblings were my favorite characters." He made a face that still seemed to question that answer. She tongued her cheek, putting the knife down as she added, "Rox and I never got a lot of paraphernalia from our favorite animes because our parents thought we'd outgrow it. So when Lynne went to a convention last year, she got my sister and I shirts of our favorite characters and got them signed. See?" She stepped out to show him just above the hem on her hip was some writing in shiny gold marker that was a little faded.

"L B?" Gaara asked, confused by the only two letters he could make out.

"Liam O'Brian," she clarified, going back to her guac. "He's your voice actor in my world." She rolled her eyes as she said, "That's probably the most meta thing I've said since coming here." She shook her head as she continued her slices, then squeezed the juice. "Anyway," she sighed, "I usually just use it as a night shirt, because it's really soft, which is why I packed it for vacation. But, since I've been rooming with your sister, I opted to keep it buried in my bag rather than look like a psycho. So, instead I've slept in and dirtied up all my camisoles, which are now being washed. And with all of you out, I felt much less weird about wearing the shirt."

Until I ruined it, he inferred. Gaara furrowed his brow thoughtfully, then asked, "So, even after what happened, I'm still one of your favorite characters?" It was weird. After he asked it, he realized he was actually nervous about her answer.

She scoffed as she zested the garlic on a grater. "In all honesty, I'm finding through this whole experience that knowing you as a character is not the same as knowing you as a person." She moved onto the cilantro as she continued, "I know and appreciate what you've been through and done, especially in the anime. So, my feelings about your character will never change, but my perception of you from the anime isn't the real you. The real you is still making slow progress."

He frowned at her answer, feeling a little insulted by her insinuation that he still had a long way to go to be a good person, but he supposed he somewhat understood. Her feelings for him from the first two weeks was much like admiration of an idol, like many ninja in Suna, especially his "fan-club" as Temari called the fervent kunoichi of Suna. He was only an ideal to her starting out, which would explain some of the awkward interactions between them.

She winced. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm wording it right." If he was being honest, he thought she hit the nail on the head. But he didn't want to interrupt her. She took a calming breath. "What I'm saying is I'm sorry. My prior knowledge of you as a character made me presume I knew you well enough to put you in a difficult position, and that my feelings would outweigh the other problems that I didn't even know about, and which you'd have to take into account with your actions." She licked her lips and looked away shamefully as she added, "And my reaction was unbecoming."

"I betrayed your confidence, and you were justifiably angry," Gaara stated evenly, admitting his own fault.

She held up a hand to silence him, which caused him to raise his hairless eyebrows. Not many people dared tell him to be quiet. "I called you a heartless S.O.B. Which you aren't. And I definitely shouldn't have insulted your mother like that. I'm sure she was a very nice lady."

He pursed his lips, knowing she only meant it as a figure of speech to insult him, not his mother.

She scratched her head guiltily as she continued, "Kankuro explained that the hard-fought peace between the five major nations is still rather young and fragile. And the circumstances of my friends and my arrival put you and Kakashi in an awkward position, you even more so, because you had to figure out transit and housing for a dragon, which we essentially did all that for Kakashi. So, I asked something impossible of you, and reacted rashly and harshly when you didn't pull through. For that, I'm sorry."

He chewed on his cheek, then said, "Since we're apologizing, I too am sorry I didn't give you time to say goodbye to your friends and sister. The rush was for Lord Sixth's sake, as well as the Council's urgency, and in small part to get Kankuro out of the village after his hand in the earthquake. It was callous and unfeeling of me to assume you would be fine moving to a country where you are a complete stranger without a final word to those you care about."

"Accepted," she replied. She held up a finger quickly as she added, "I got you something."

Now he frowned. She'd gotten him a gift. He wasn't expecting that, and now he felt woefully ill-prepared.

She turned around and grabbed something off the counter on the other side of the fridge that he hadn't seen and she turned around. His jaw slackened as he saw her holding a nicely potted prickly pear cactus with a few brilliant blooms on its bulbs. His heart did an odd flip as she held it out to him. "I remembered reading from the guidebooks that you like cultivating cacti. So when I saw this, I immediately thought of you, and thought it would be the best peace offering."

His heart warmed as she handed it to him. She saw this beautiful cactus and thought of him. And bought it for him. After his last encounter with Cordelia, he never would have expected such a wonderful gesture from her. He smiled gently as he took in the colors of the flower. The center of the flower was a vibrant yellow with bright red tips on the end. It was a discus prickly pear if he wasn't mistaken. "It's beautiful. Thank you." He frowned softly, remembering his first cactus, as he added, "Although, given you've just moved in, I should be giving you the cactus." The only other person to give him a cactus, which started his hobby in the first place, was his siblings when he moved in with them. The barrel cactus was a house warming gift that was supposedly meant to symbolize good luck in a new beginning. They also got him the aloe plant sitting in his office when he became Kazekage.

Cordelia laughed as she replied jokingly, "Please don't get me a plant. They tend to die around me." She went back to mixing the guacamole.

Gaara eyed her a little sadly. "They just need water, sunlight, and care."

"Yes, but unlike an animal, plants don't tell you when they need it."

"Then maybe you just need to practice," he offered.

She rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Yes. The desert is the perfect place to practice gardening skills."

Her joke brought a small smile to his face as he shook his head. "So, how are you finding Suna?" he decided to ask, taking a bite out of his quesadilla. It was very cheesy and tasted rather nice, if not plain.

She pursed her lips as she finished mixing the avocado dip, then spooned some onto her quesadilla before taking a bite and stating, "It's weird. Every time Suna was featured in the show, they'd give it middle eastern to Indian style music, with sitars and the generic Arabian style of singing. So, when I came here, I was expecting Arabian with some Japanese thrown in. Then walking around town yesterday, I find adverts for samba festivals with full Carnivale feather regalia. Food vendors selling Latin fusion food. You've got Brazilian Barbeque steakhouses, which you just call barbeque here. You've got wild west saloon doors some places, which is culturally speaking from my own country. Even the structures of the buildings are incredibly similar to my country's desert cities."

This caused him to raise an eyebrow. "Funny. From what your friends said, I assumed you came from a forested country."

Cordelia shook her head as she swallowed another bite. "My country is huge. We've got six different biome regions. We've got tropical volcanic islands, an arctic ice tundra, two large forest biomes, grassy plains, and a desert biome that spans ten to twelve of the fifty states. I mean, Spain settled that area originally anyway, but after the Spanish-American War, we got them." She waved it off as if it meant nothing, but Gaara was interested by that fact. "Which reminds me, I saw people busking with Spanish guitar music, and Spanish lutes. And, of course, I'm throwing all these words at you like Brazilian and Spanish, and you have no clue what I'm talking about. But they're on opposite sides of the world. From the Arabian region, I mean. Brazil was settled by Portugal, which is a neighboring country to Spain, so that makes sense. But I came here thinking Arabian, maybe Jordan, and those countries aren't even on the same continent or remotely culturally related.

"Then you add the Japanese influence, because that's where the show's from, and it's all really bizarre. It's …" She shook her head trying to find a way to describe it, then snapped her fingers as she said, "It's Taco-Sushi."

He quirked his head at that. He wasn't sure exactly what that meant. "Taco-Sushi?"

"Yeah. It's restaurant my parents like to go to. Japanese and TexMex fusion. It sounds bad, but then you eat there, and it's not bad, just pleasantly weird. You wouldn't think to put them together." She gestured to the general area around them as she finished, "Suna is just Taco-Sushi on every cultural scale. Food, music, art, style. That's the best way I can describe it."

"So, you think Suna is pleasantly weird?" Gaara asked, unsure of her analogy. He guessed it was probably difficult to understand since he'd never experienced her world.

She chewed her lip as she spread more guac on her quesadilla. "Well, it reminds me of home, but not quite. It's an odd mix of what is familiar to me but dissimilar, making it unfamiliar." She sighed as she took another few bites before gesturing to her computer and stating, "That's why I put on some Santana. He was one of my Dad's favorite guitarists, and we'd listen to his music all the time. He's famous for his latin music vibes. Y'know, more taco than sushi. I felt like I needed something familiar."

"Yes," Gaara murmured with a small smile as he recalled, "Am I right in assuming the Samba is one of your national dances?"

Cordelia laughed and shook her head. "No, that's Brazilian." When he quirked his head at that, looking back to the entrance of the hallway, she sighed with a nod. "Yes, I do know how to samba. My sister and I were on our high school soccer team, and our coach requested everyone take latin dance classes leading up to the soccer season. Apparently, it significantly helps with footwork and movement, and he didn't want us getting rusty." She stuffed the last bite of quesadilla in her mouth and dusted off her hands as she added, "In my world, Brazilians tend to be the best soccer players."

He made an intrigued face, then stated, "Not many people outside Suna know how to samba."

She gave him a curious look. "So, is the Samba a Suna thing in this world?"

He bobbed his head. "It's our cultural dance. It's done at almost every festival."

She shot him a mischievous smile as she asked, "So, do you like to samba?"

Gaara's face fell at the question. "Ah, no," he said as he cleared his throat. He gave a small pursed smile as he clarified, "I don't dance."

"Oh, shame!" Cordelia laughed, throwing her head back elegantly. "The Kazekage doesn't even know his own village's cultural dance?"

His brow furrowed as he crossed his arms. "It's not exactly a job requirement," he stated defensively.

"So?" she scoffed back. "It's a cultural staple of your village. As head of that village, shouldn't you at least know the basics?" He opened his mouth to refute her, and she shook her head and stood, offering her hand. "Stand up."

He frowned at her as if she were crazy. "What?" he almost croaked.

"Stand up. I'm going to teach you how to samba."

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh, come on. I already have the music playing," she argued.

He shook his head again.

She looked him over appraisingly, then smirked, "It'll help with your taijutsu." He looked at her, clearly doubting that claim heavily. She held her hands up as she said, "Studies in my world show learning to dance significantly improves martial artists' fighting prowess by teaching rhythm, balance, and dance steps that can be used for evasive maneuvers or misdirection."

He eyed her carefully before asking, "What makes you think I want to work on my taijutsu?"

"Please," she scoffed again. She held up a hand and ticked off a finger for each reason as she said, "You're a ninja. You're a Kage, meaning you have to be well-versed in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. And you're forgetting I've seen you fight, which mainly consists of you in a power stance and occasionally moving your arms." She shrugged sarcastically as she added, "Doesn't take a genius to know taijutsu isn't your specialty."

He scowled at her, hating her for knowing that. She was a walking encyclopedia of his weaknesses, and he hated that.

She offered her hand again as she ordered again, "Stand up."

He looked to the ground, not believing he was doing this, but grabbed her hand and stood. "Ok, so the rhythm of a samba is in mostly eighth notes. So, one- and two- and three- and four- and …" she explained, speaking out the rhythm, "with each step set going to eight." She had him stand across from her first as she started her lesson, performing the steps as she counted, then again slowly for him to see, then pausing to see him try. He felt foolish when he tried them, and he felt wrong watching her move in such a provocative manner, especially since she was only wearing a t-shirt and underwear, still. She assured him the swivels would come later when he commented, "It doesn't look like I'm samba-ing." Once she felt he'd learned the basic steps enough, she had him hold onto her as they danced. She placed his right hand between her waist and shoulder blade with her left hand resting delicately on his shoulder, their other hands conjoined and held up away from themselves. "You lead here. I'll count for you."

His nerves swelled at the thought that he was leading her in this dance that he barely knew the steps or movements. But she started counting to the beat of the song, and that meant he had to act. He started a little prematurely, and stepped on her foot, causing her to hiss. "Sorry," he breathed.

"Don't worry about it," she said quickly, brushing it off as she offered, "I'll just count again." And she did.

He looked down at his feet to make sure they were moving correctly, but then saw her feet weren't moving the same as his, but instead moving in mirror. He mis-stepped again, and she hissed at her foot pain again. "Sorry," he mumbled again. This was a bad idea. He was horrible at this. As they started again, he grumbled, "I think dancing is just not my forte."

"You'd probably be doing better if you looked up and stopped overthinking your movements," Cordi offered. He frowned at her as he slowed, and she said, "Keep moving." He resumed as she added, "I'll prove it. I'll stop counting, and we'll just chat."

"Chat?" He sounded skeptical.

"Yeah. Like, tell me something I don't know about you."

He made a face as he asked, "Like what?" He stepped on her foot again and she winced. "Sorry," he grumbled again. He was beginning to sound like a broken record.

"What's your favorite color?"

He paused to think. "I don't know," he confessed. "Probably blue or green."

She eyed him strangely. "Really? Not burgundy?"

"No."

"But you wear it … all the time."

He shrugged. "That's just my battle clothes."

"So, it's a strategic color?" she inferred. He remained silent. She smirked as she said, "Kind of reminds me of a joke my dad loved to tell." He looked at her, waiting for her to share it. She smiled, licking her lips before starting, "Ok. So there's an old warship sailing the high seas. The lookout in the crow's nest calls out, 'Enemy ship on the horizon!' The captain turns to one of his men, and says, 'Bring me my red shirt.' The man thought it was weird, but got it for him anyway, and the captain wears it into battle. The men fight bravely, and the ship comes out unscathed with its victory. The next day, the man finds the captain and asks, 'Sir, I have to ask, why did you ask for your red shirt before the battle.' The captain answered, 'Because if I happen to be shot in the battle, the crew would not notice me bleeding, and continue to fight on.' The man was surprised by the wisdom in that statement. A moment later, the man in the crow's nest called out, 'Twenty enemy ships on the horizon!' The captain turned to the man and said, 'Bring me my brown pants.'"

He pursed his lips, trying not to laugh as Cordi chuckled at her own joke. She grinned at him as she chided, "I can see you're trying not to laugh."

He allowed himself a small laugh as he said, "Alright. It was a little funny."

"I can tell you more jokes if you want," she offered. She grinned mischievously as she said, "Can a ninja throw a star?" He frowned at her weirdly, and her grin widened as she said, "Shurikan."

He closed his eyes and shook his head disappointedly. "That's a terrible joke."

She nodded. "It is a dad joke. They're supposed to be puns. Hold on, I got some more ninja jokes."

"Please spare me," he breathed.

"What is an office ninja's greatest weapon?"

He grimaced. He shouldn't be encouraging this. "What?"

"The element of supplies."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, a bad joke like that wasn't going to get him to crack.

"What do you call a redheaded ninja?"

"Me?"

"A ginja."

He shook his head disappointedly. "That's dumb."

She looked at him carefully, a mischievous glint in her eye. He didn't like that look. "Did you hear about the premature ejaculator that's training to be a ninja?" He looked at her tensely as she laughed, "Guy's a natural. He comes out of nowhere."

He did his best to suppress a chuckle through his nose. "That is bad," he finally managed.

"Well," she huffed, "I would tell you Naruto jokes, but they'd probably go over your head, or you'd take them too seriously."

"They wouldn't go over my head," he argued.

"Why did Naruto keep chasing after Sasuke?" she asked, an eyebrow raised challengingly at him. He knew the answer was Naruto wasn't one to give up on people, but as a joke, he wasn't sure what the answer was, so he shrugged. "Because no one forgets their first kiss."

He actually stopped at that. "What?" he croaked. That couldn't be real.

"Didn't know that one, did you?" Cordi asked with a smirk, pulling him easily back in the dance.

"Naruto would never kiss a man, much less Sasuke," Gaara reasoned.

"Well, it's not like he did it on purpose," Cordi corrected. Gaara was floored by this knowledge as she explained. "It was the day of their ninja academy graduation, before they got their team assignments. Naruto was squatting precariously on Sasuke's desk, because Sasuke had said something he took offense to. And Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, which knocked Naruto into him." She smiled knowingly as she added, "It caused quite a commotion."

Gaara shook his head. "I don't believe it."

"I have the episode on my computer if you need proof." Again, he shook his head no. She laughed. "You know," she drawled, "before I shocked you with that fun fact, you hadn't made one misstep while we were dancing."

He frowned as he looked back to his feet. They were moving with ease, his legs in perfect time with her bare legs. He'd almost forgotten she was half naked. He looked up with an odd smile, trying to hide his thoughts. "Huh."

Cordi smirked as she said a little quietly, "I guess you're better than you think you are."

It sounded so intimate to him. He didn't know why, but his heart flipped just at her tone. He chanced a look at her eyes and was met with the same gaze from his dreams. All fire and challenge. Stirring to life his dreams and fantasies from the past few nights. And he felt himself blush. She noticed it, and smiled.

Before she could comment, the laundry chimed, announcing that it was finished. He broke away quickly with a small bow at his neck. "Perhaps you should get dressed, now that your clothes are done," he commented.

She blushed, muttering a small, "Yeah." She moved towards the laundry room, scratching her head awkwardly.

"Thank you," he said quickly, causing her to pause and turn. He gestured to the music as it sang its chorus, "Ay, oh ay, oh ay, oh ay, and the voices rang like the angels sing." "For teaching me the dance. … And the cactus," he added clumsily.

She shrugged. "Don't mention it." She shot him a sincerely happy smile before going back to her clothes.

Gaara decided that was a prime time for his exit, grabbing the new plant and heading back to his room. He took the cactus out to his deck off his bedroom where he'd kept most of his cacti. It was walled off from the other decks, so the master bedroom's deck and Cordelia's bedroom deck. The only room in the penthouse that didn't have its own deck was Kankuro's room, which was bumped out to accommodate his puppet workshop. Other than the master, Kankuro's room was the biggest room with a walk-in closet.

Gaara liked his own bedroom with his small deck for his plants. He set the new cactus on a small table next to the barrel cactus his siblings gave him so long ago, which had grown to the point of needing to be put on the ground, leaving the table it used to sit on bare for a little over half a year. The barrel cactus had budded and bloomed just a few weeks ago before he left and was haloed in peachy flowers. Its colors looked nice against the new prickly pear's blooms. He had another prickly pear in the opposite corner he'd bought on a whim shortly after becoming Kazekage. It sat in its raised pot in the other corner of the deck, a bright red blossom reaching for the sun.

He grabbed his watering can and went back to his bathroom, filling it before going back out to water his cacti and his small hanging planter of succulents. He had to be careful to make sure not to over water them, even though he'd been gone for a while. He didn't want the roots to rot from the saturation. When he finished, he finally sat in his deck chair and closed his eyes peacefully. Finally, he was home.

---

A knock sounded at the door as Kakashi finally finished the paperwork finalizing the plans to refurbish the library. He looked at his clock, and saw it was twelve forty-five. Time for lunch. He rubbed his eyes, supposing now was a good time to stop. He dropped his pen and called out, "Enter."

He was surprised to see Shikamaru Nara walk in looking apprehensive. Kakashi could tell immediately that he had a request about the girls. "Shikamaru?" Kakashi addressed, leaning over his desk, somewhat suspiciously. He'd only been training the girls a few days now. "Is there a problem?"

"Just wanted to give you our reports so far for the girls' preliminary tests, with Hinata's notes," Shikamaru explained, holding up a folder.

Kakashi gave a tired nod, and gestured to the corner of his desk where a paper tray sat. It was still lined with paperwork yet to be done. Shikamaru set his folder on top before adding tiredly, "We also figured that Hinata will not be able to see how the powers of the girls works as well as Sasuke. She's noted as best as she can observe them, and has offered to continue her observations, but we both feel Sasuke's eyes might be better equipped to understand how their powers work."

Kakashi pursed his lips. Shikamaru and Hinata wouldn't make this suggestion lightly. He interlocked his fingers as he murmured, "Sasuke was just here two weeks ago. He won't be back for almost a month at the earliest."

"Is there no way to summon him?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

Shikamaru grimaced. "It was worth a shot. We'll continue to monitor the girls progress, but the next time you see him, tell him what's happened, and that we need his assistance for at most a week."

Kakashi scoffed. "He's not going to like that." On the outside, it seemed like a small request, but Sasuke's leads left him very little down time. A week could be the difference between stopping the Otsotsuki and losing the next battle of Earth. And there was another battle coming, of this Kakashi was mostly certain. "Thank you," Kakashi offered with a small bow.

Shikamaru bowed back before leaving. He wasn't expecting the meeting to be long. He did what he needed to do, then made his way towards the practice fields. He'd already eaten his lunch. It didn't take him too long to arrive. He arrived five minutes before the girls would arrive.

Hinata arrived shortly after. "Hello, Shikamaru."

"Hey," he grumbled.

"Did you talk to Lord Kakashi?" she asked crossing the clearing towards him.

He nodded vaguely.

"And?"

"And Sasuke won't be back for another month at the earliest."

Hinata's shoulders dropped a little as she uttered a small, "Oh."

Shikamaru scratched his head as he offered, "He did say he'd talk to Sasuke the next time he sees him." He looked down, pursing his lips in thought. It would be better to train them with Sasuke's input early, rather than waste a month waiting for him. That's even if he agrees to pause his own missions to check them out. Shikamaru wouldn't voice it, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to happen.

"Well, that's something," Hinata sighed hopefully, looking off toward the training field entrance where the other worldly girls made their way in. "I can keep observing them until we get his input." When she noticed Shikamaru hadn't even looked up from the ground, she poked him. "Hey," she whispered, "they're here."

Shikamaru looked up, and the vision he was met with caused his breath to suddenly get caught in throat. The other girls surrounded Rox to make her stand out more than before. She wore tight, form hugging purple pants, a black tank top that dipped so low at the arms and collar that her gray sports bra. For a brain-dead moment, he stared at her with his mouth slightly agape as her eyes flashed up to his, and a happy smile graced her beautiful lips. Lips that he'd kissed several times before, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget the feel of them. Her dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and her skin glowed today with her smile, more so than the previous days. It was the perfect length to grab and hold her in position for him to kiss down her neck, immobilizing her as he'd push into her and make her moan.

He blinked hard, stopping his thought process and taking a deep breath before he turned to avert his eyes. This was problematic. He chanced a look back at Rox to confirm that it wasn't just an intrusive thought. The quick glance showing him soft curves, intelligent eyes, and full lips. He realized quickly that he wanted to do carnal things to Rox. Things he thought about a lot during the festival, but didn't act on, then thought about even more so after the earthquake.

He turned again, mentally berating himself that she was off limits. No matter how much of a taste he wanted it.

Hinata eyed him curiously before glancing back at the girls.

Shikamaru didn't care about the Hyuga heiress's curiosity. All he knew was these feelings he had for the wind girl were a problem.

AN: This is the longest chapter I've written … ever, I think. 20,400 words. It's a lot. I've also had to cut this chapter in half, just because the length was so long. But because of that, I'm able to fit in another plot twist in the next chapter which should be fun. Sorry this took so long. Just the length meant it took longer to write and edit. Please remember to like, follow, and review!