A War to be Fought
Chapter 3: Recovery and Preparations
Temari and Kankurou had had Gaara returned to them by a tall dark man. His raven hair contrasted with his cerise eyes. There seemed to be three different shades of red in them. His appearance had been suspicious until he had flashed them an ancient Hunter-nin mask, sand beaten and cracked. Temari had recognized as one from a generation ago, during the rule of their Yondaime Kazekage. It was suspicious though that he was not dressed in their standard garb.
Though not having warmed up to him yet, they acknowledged his returning their sibling and that was enough. He smiled at them simply and added, "You might want to clean him up a little." His chuckle made them wary of his benevolent smile.
Gaara had only been half conscious and still drowsy. His wounds had been slowly healing on their own, but they still weren't completely closed. To Temari he was in a completely vulnerable state and needed to be cared for. She used this single moment of weakness to decide to give him a decent bath. Needless to say, this gave her and Kankurou more than adequate 'bonding' time. Instead of picking the sand out of his hair, more time was spent tossing wet sponges around. Fortunately for Gaara, he had not regained full awareness during the whole ordeal. His siblings had found nothing abnormal on his body.
By the time they were done dressing Gaara, his wounds were already closed, but Temari was more than confused about why he was still sleeping. Going out on a limb, she guessed he was still under the effect of Genjutsu. "Kai" She tapped his head twice for good measure. His eyes dilated into consciousness and he appeared to be disoriented until Kankurou walked in to announce the advent of his breakfast. Temari had to clean the bathroom.
"What happened there?" Gaara's bland monotone seemed a beacon to his brother sanity. He could finally stop worrying. "It's her fault." His smile seemed less than apologetic. Gaara asked no more questions.
>>>>>
The desert was calm beyond measure. There was no dust, no wind, only the unwavering beating light of the afternoon sun. One platoon formed of three Gennins and one Jounin was using the landscape to blend into the Eastern forest. Suddenly, there was a stream of kunais with small tags flew towards their cover. The explosion that ensued was carefully contained in a now flying pile of sand.
As soon as the kunais were discovered, bushins flew in that direction. Gaara's squad headed east. They moved with the haste and efficiency of promising ANBU. There was no reason to get caught because of their movement. Their targets were taken by surprise. Baki, their team leader easily took out their genjutsu user with ease. He was easy to recognize, with his stereotypical garb. He then flew higher up so he could monitor the movement of his team. Gaara was to stand and observe and prevent survivors from fleeing. The sounds of the dying breaths of men filled the air around him.
Gaara's eyes were strained; the night before had been the last day before the full moon and Shukaku's stress had been more than usual. Even he could smell the impeding battle that would be coming. He had been tempting him with the smell of blood and the sounds of torn flesh. There was no mercy on Shukaku's part to help him bear with the after effects of the night's trials. He couldn't feel the blood move.
Gaara suddenly became aware of 2 men in the ground below him. As they attempted to break his legs with their Decapitation technique, he launched himself up and swung on a nearby branch: they followed. He only had to glance around to know that he was on his own. His armor of sand was activated.
He barely avoided claw in the face. He released all the sand from the gourd: fighting with an extra weight in a real battle was troublesome. He touched and left the ground only to avoid another explosion jutsu. He landed, hand first and moved as fast as he could to punch the man in the solar plexus. He barely grazed him.
The hair on the back of his neck suddenly curled as he felt massive chakra behind him. He lifted the shield only long enough to give himself space to imbed a kunai in the man's forehead. All too easy. What are they doing? The other Chunnin with the claw was already on him with unpleasant speed. Gaara was surprised as his back was scratched. Speed first, strength second. The clawed arm was near his right elbow, so he grabbed it. He channeled extra chakra to his legs and somersaulted backwards into the neck of his opponent. All he heard was an inhuman crunch. More armor. Damn it. He twisted his grip and let go.
As he landed, he felt the familiar tingling at the base of his skull. He was been watched. It was unsettling because it was gone as soon as it came. It felt different from Baki's. After having putting up with this for years, he knew better than to let himself be distracted by someone spying on him. He ran for a close by tree doing familiar hand seals. He leaped off the trunk: Sand Shuriken. His armor of sand was put to a more useful purpose. He aimed in the general area of the man's legs. Gaara's eyes didn't blink: his opponent was no longer there. Too late: He had caught the movement. A sea of sand and earth ripped the man's body and armor apart before he wildly attempted last minute seals. He crushed his body for good measure.
Gaara landed on the ground, his face a grimace of pain. The sun shaped tattoo on his stomach burned with a furious intensity. It itched, thought not unpleasantly. Breathing slowly, he attempted to quickly lower his heart rate. It had been 4 days since his encounter, and since then, he had found it extremely difficult to manipulate his sand.
Gaara's heart hurt as it had taken to of late. Shukaku was having problems again. He slowly gathered up his sand, leaving the body despoiled. He glanced quickly behind: the others were done and were quietly waiting for him high above. Baki eyes were glaring at him.
Moments later, the only remnants of life on the battlefield were the falling sand and moving air.
>>>>>
"That wasn't a training assignment. You need to take mission seriously from now on." Baki was a rock on his doorstep. "Why didn't you use it?" He needed an answer. Gaara looked him in the face. "I didn't need the sand to beat them. I don't need his strength either." That was a lie. He couldn't bring him out. All he would get for his efforts was one hell of a burn on his stomach.
Baki neither ignorant nor blind and could well see what was happening. "Tomorrow is the zenith of the full moon." /Make sure you're ready/ was the unspoken message.
Gaara was used to being looked after as a petulant child and tool. After all, that's what he was. "I can take care of myself." Baki was already gone.
Temari was waiting in front of the door, looking irked. "What was …"
"Don't worry about it." Gaara went straight to the kitchen. Shrugging, Temari closed the door and followed him to the kitchen.
"The gourd stays out of the kitchen." Gaara glared at her. He seemed already settled for a snack. She felt as if she shouldn't have said those words. Still, she managed to put on a scolding face. She thought she saw his left eye twitch.
"…"
She went for the milk in his hand, ignoring his annoyed look. Was he pouting? She stopped looking at him and got a slice of dried bread for herself. Stepping into the living room again, she sat at their round table, chewing silently. Gaara was dumfounded. What just happened? Did she just… a tremor went through his chest. He resisted the sensation to clutch it. "I…" She gave him her attention.
Gaara carefully walked across the room, all to aware of the sand on the floor. Removing the sash from his waist, he deposited his gourd in a corner of the room. Slowly, he pooled the sand into a little pile near the gourd. He sat down across from Temari and glared at the glass of milk in her hand. Still chewing, she made a face; "Get your own." For a second, he looked a little dejected.
Temari wasn't dissuaded. "I left the carton on the counter top." Nod. He returned with a full glass of milk and a plate of cookies. To see him dunking them in the milk was inexplicably cute. She laughed. He raised an eyebrow. "What?" She gave him a 100-watt smile. "How was the mission?"
He paused mid-bite and actually thought about it. He gave her the information grudgingly. They had suffered 0 causalities. The remaining sound Nins were to be taken care by ANBU tonight. The "missions" were no longer necessary. Things were finally under control. Temari nodded vigorously. She couldn't help but feel a stroke of warmth in her chest. Gaara had much more control over himself since the Chunnin exam. Though not friendly, he was much more approachable. That loud-ass kid must have done him wonders. "What are you doing tonight?" He asked. She shrugged in a noncommittal manner. She took her glass to the kitchen. "Nothing much. I'm going to be working on my scrolls."
>>>>>
Unlike like Konohagakure, Sunagakure was truly a hidden village. The village was built in a sunken valley in the middle of the country of wind. High dunes around the village contained ANBU lookout towers. The almost constant sandstorms outside the ruins seemed to discourage most people from approaching without caution.
Inside, this city was built in a circular fashion. There were 19 levels, each with it's own function. They were split into 4 partitions for practical purposes. The outer, the ruins were a reminder of a time past. It was also used as a training ground for the higher-level ninjas who weren't afraid of being caught in a storm.
It was a calm day when the Council of the Three met again, creating an ominous atmosphere in the room. It seemed as if something was coming. In the most recent weeks, the weather had been most kind. The Sand Gusts had abated, while the humidity had increased. This was a decent trade off considering that the humidity could actually be taped for creating a water source. Such was the same reasoning used to ally with the Leaf once more. They were there, and they were convenient, the lesser of two evils. This decision had been made by the sages in the upper room of the tower in the middle of the village. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade had acknowledged the sages in the room as its leaders.
These were no figureheads, but were in fact the placeholder Kazekage. A trinity or any variation thereof was a common form of sustaining balance for a village in transition. These, though aged, were not the oldest in Sunagakure. Each represented one of the 3 schools of thought in the village. They were probably ninjas in their past lifetime, but they had lived the last good portion of their lives, influencing their world with their minds alone. Geniuses they were called in their prime, but now, surely, they were called wise. No shall or veil covered their faces; the netting in front of their enclose was purely ceremonial. There were no guards in the room.
Their only form of protection came in the form of multilevel seals placed along the perimeter of the walls. One could force their way in with one of two ways; either with a massive amount of chakra, or with a proper counter spell or jutsu. The latter had yet to be found seeing how the protection spell had been written with the construction of the room in mind.
A call for attention was initiated by the interruption of a throaty cough.
"He's stabilizing."
"That's what his psychological evaluations indicate. However, we have reason to skeptical that their validity due to previous occurrences of relapses."
"Insignificant. We cannot continue to make decisions that accommodate Shukaku's disposition."
As of late, Gaara had started to volunteer in many 'A' rank missions. This special status had been cleared for him and several others in the village the week following the Chunnin exam. His delicate condition made him a 'Special Gennin'. Other heads thought that this was a way for the council to advertise the power of their Gennin without any actual political measure. Notably a certain exam. This usually required he placed under the direct control of a Jounin. The real reason was that the village was extremely low on ninjas and needed their remaining soldiers to have as much battle experience as possible.
"That means that he can no longer be depended on 100%."
"I disagree. He can no longer be treated as a child. Combine that with was has been happening on his last 3 missions, and you get an undeniable pattern. He has a mind of his own."
Suddenly a knock at the door ceased their deliberations. Baki stepped in. He bowed with the grace of his kind. He wasn't a bad choice for Kazekage.
Baki kneeled in front of netting. Their faces were barely visible to him. He spoke, "Sabaku no Gaara is improving."
No response.
"He refuses to feed Shukaku of the Sands." A grave voice began. "You don't believe he will survive tonight's assault."
"I don't simply believe it to be in his best interest to restrain Shukaku. After all, we know that sometimes too much pressure…" Baki looked through the netting, noticing their stern looks. He steeled his face "I'm only worried about the interests of Sand. I will do all it takes to revive her."
An ancient female voice chuckled. "It's okay to say that you are personally worried for the boy. After all, he does take on after you." She waved her hand at him passively. "After all, look how you turned out." Baki wisely kept his mouth shut.
There was some quiet rustling of loose sand as it scraped across the walls outside.
"The Magus is coming." This got his attention. "He wants free passage to Konoha, through Wind."
Baki blinked; his mind was racing. When? How? How could a man who didn't exist send messages?
"He wants to see Gaara."
>>>>>
[Afternoon the following day]
"So where are you going now?" Kankurou asked. He was lounging around the room, tuning his puppets. Apparently, his training partner had completely disarmed him (and his two puppets). He was still a bit shaky on using one hand for each. Bolts and nuts were spread on the floor. His dark T-shirt hid well the grease stains. There was a bandana around his forehead to keep his mass of hair from obscuring his view. Gaara was already tired of watching him methodically remove, clean, and replace every nut and bolt. He could only have so much of an attention span.
"…"
"Since you're going out, could you get me these nuts?" He reached underneath his bandana to get a well-creased list. He threw it at Gaara casually. Gaara looked at the dirt in his brother's hair.
"Kankurou?" He headed for the door.
"Hnn?"
"Take a bath."
>>>>>
The council had discussed many matters. Baki included. As the head of the Jounin directive team, he might as well have been sitting in there with them. Just when he was starting to get ready to leave, the air behind suddenly felt heavier. As if gravity had increased. Then, the pressure was gone, leaving a man in a dark robe. A large rimmed straw hat adorned his head, obscuring his eyes. In less time than it took him to think about it, Baki had unleashed his swords. The wind had left behind a thick fissure that ran across the ground. He rushed forward only to feel a breeze near the back of his neck. Fast. He couldn't attack for fear of injuring the council members, who didn't even seem to be worried about this intruder.
"How did you get in?" There were also wards placed around the room to prevent the Apparition Jutsu. The man shrugged and took of the hat from his head, and turned halfway towards him. His red eyes took him in. "Do you not recognize me, oh Master of the Winds?"
A pause. Red eyes, black hair. "Kaworu-sensei?" His eyes widened in surprise; his stomach clenched. Before him was a Sand missing-nin, a former Leaf hunter-nin, and a man who was once his mentor.
An ancient voice chuckled. "So you plan to assassinate us?" The veil was now pulled as if to facilitate the coming assault. The other wizened faces grinned mirthlessly.
The man grinned too. "Better than that." A bandage arm was removed from the robe. He taped it twice with his right hand, murmuring choice words. The effect was not as surprising as it was effective. The dressing loosened itself on it's own accord, unwrapping itself and falling on the floor. Turning his body to the left, he lifted his sleeve a little higher.
The council was petrified. Cold sweat broke out their face. Baki could suddenly feel the wave of dread. The room started to feel a little too hot for his liking. Wishing to see the offending display, he took a step to the left.
On the man's biceps was a seal, the sigul of the Magi. He had only seen it a few ancient scrolls involving summons; this man was supposed to be a legend, not someone he knew. On his arm was a large serpent snake eating its own tail. It was bleeding but never full of blood. Squeezing the bandages in his hand, his lips moved and his arm was covered once more.
"So, you are now Melchior?" The man's eyes were now humorless, disgusted. "Correct." Apparently these old men knew their fairy tales much better than him seeing how they even remembered which of the Three he was. There was no disguising the aura of fear in the room.
"I find it hard to believe that you have inherited his will."
"You saw all the proof you needed. Besides, it wasn't my decision."
He looked around the room, glancing at the wards. "That's some heavy stuff. You could hurt someone with that." He faced Baki.
"Baki, I believe our discussion has reached an end." The dismissal from the meeting couldn't be anymore obvious. Bowing to the old faces, he added, "I hope we meet again, Kaworu-sensei." Nod.
Baki walked out of the room, and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
"So what do the Magi what with us?"
"There is nothing Sunagakure could give us." He paused fingering his hat. "Things have happened."
Yuuhi kneeled down on the mat all the while pushing the door closed with a gust of chakra. His face was now grim. Lips tight, he removed his hat and breathed in deeply. "While I was gone, I was doing more than just gathering information. You should know about Akatsuki, the organization that Orochimaru, your former ally, murderer of the Yondaime Kazekage was part of."
>>>>>
Gaara was now in the market. His presence was inconspicuous as possible, seeing how he had left his gourd at home. Having a blank face and moving at a leisurely pace helped detract attention from him. He walked into the hardware store.
Ringing the bell, he waited to be served.
A man in a dusty apron approached him. He was mumbling to himself, not really paying attention to his customer. "What you want?" Gaara slid over the list of parts. Squinting, he held the list up to the light, turning around without a word. Gaara leaned against the nearest wall.
Expecting a nice steady stream of silence Gaara once more returned his attention inward. Minutes later, his trance like state was interrupted by an increasingly annoying rhythmic drumming noise. There was only one other person in the store; judging from her dress and her aura, she was a Gennin, a bit older than he. She was impatiently waiting in one of the conveniently placed chairs. She groaned. "You'll be here till nightfall." Looking at him, she almost jumped having immediately recognizing the tattoo above his left eye.
Gaara humored her. "What are you here for?" "Just getting a plate fixed." He paused. "You could just return tomorrow or come back later."
"Well you know…" She shrugged. She was obviously uneasy. He ignored that. Changing the topic, he asked her, "Are you still on a team?" She shook her head in the negative. "Whom are you training with?" She listed three names. Gaara only recognized two of them.
"Kankurou?" He was surprised. She sheepishly grinned. "Well, you know, it's good to get acquainted with different styles." Puppet handling in battle was certainly different. "Plus, he's trained with the Kazekage and he's given me some useful tips." She looked nervously at Gaara, expecting him to flinch at the name. His eyes were unreadable. "In fact, I saw him today." He arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I put his two 'friends' out of commission." She was smiling tentatively.
"So it's your fault I'm here."
"Eh?"
"He needed some replacement screws." She nodded, grinning now. "Sorry!" He shrugged. The graying man returned with 2 brown envelopes, hastily closed. He immediately recognized the mop of red hair in front of him. "A…Ah… Gaara-sama! Sorry, if…" He swallowed visibly. "If I had known it was you here, well..." He shook his head, picking up both packages. "No problem." The man seemed relieved to get off the hook. He handed the carefully wrapped plate to the girl.
"I could give it to him if you'd like." She laughed nervously now. "Nah. I rather do it myself."
It was an interesting sight, seeing the two of them walk out the store together.
>>>>>
"So that was his true intent." The center Council scratched his head. "Surely that cannot be the only reason you are here."
"True that you have given us valuable information, but how can we trust you? You single handedly created the last alliance with Konohagakure and Sunagakure and then you disappeared." Their eyes met. Ancient green eyes against red ones. Melchior didn't even want to waste effort with this contest of wills. "If you think that I am here to justify my missing status, you are mistaken. By ancient law, you are required to give me immunity. Your hunters can verify this information if you feel it necessary to spy on Konoha this early."
"What of the other two?" Her eyes clearly said she was interested, though she kept her posture as detached as possible. In her hands was a scroll on which she quickly wrote quick points.
Melchior snorted. "The business of the Magi is our own." He leveled a glare at the woman. "However I will tell you that Balthasar has fallen to chaos. For you the worst case scenario is he joining Akatsuki." Turning back to the others, he continued. "Regardless, I have come for Gaara. You have limited his potential tremendously by bending to the snake's wishes. Continuing to train him as you have, his future is possibly as the most talented Wind Assassin in years."
"However you feel about Gaara's level, we cannot surrender any ninjas currently. That is too high a gamble for us to take. He is worth at least three Chuunins."
"A ninja is worth one ninja." Melchior replied, showing his growing impatience. "You should know that the payoff is much greater. Your lack of foresight is, " He grimaced, "less than amusing." The council was silenced. In all their wisdom, they had sacrificed the future for the present.
Melchior didn't waste time to continue. "Gaara has grown this far using his will alone for his will to survive is greater that any I have ever seen. That is why he has lived this long alone and has not succumbed to Shukaku yet. I will take him and mold him into what his father truly wished." He stood to his feet and readied to leave. "None of you understood what Kazekage wished for, by sacrificing his own child to this demon."
The head council finally spoke, his eyes ashamed and downtrodden. "You will discuss the arrangements with his master. However, if you permit him to fall to chaos, we will hunt you as the missing-nin you are."
"The man named Kaworu Yuuhi exists only in flesh and soul. His will is my own to control and I will tell you now!" his back was now to them, he opened the door. "Melchior, the Magi of the West owes his allegiance to no one." His immense presence seemed to have left a void in the room.
The council were still perturbed by the sacrifice they had to make. The ancient woman started, "We must discuss this information with the others."
"I agree. Akatsuki posses a much higher threat than the loss of a few ninjas."
And in this way, these aged people continued their day, continuing in their planning. Though they had been foolish before, the war that was coming was not one that could be avoided.
>>>>>
"You surely make yourself suspicious by trying to hide right behind me." Baki was really not interested in however was stalking him. He needed time to think. "Sorry." He almost jumped. How did they get so close to him? His muscles were tense now. He turned his head.
"Do you mind I join you?" Baki wasn't one to be taken off-balance often. This man was just too surprising. He scowled. "Then I hope you won't mind a duel." Before a moment had passed, the man's body was torn with fists of wind. Then, poof, clouds vanished. Bushin! Baki jumped up to avoid an underground grab only to meet a chakra bullet launched at him. He responded in kind. "Renkuudan!" Both attacks met, but their strength was not comparable. Baki barely had a moment to analyze the situation when he was blown back from the excess chakra released. Before he could land he realized that his body was trapped in the air with metal chains. All he could see were chains. What? This had to be genjutsu. The strain increased on his muscles increased exponentially every second. It felt as if the life was being wrung out of him. Suddenly he remembered. The only way to escape the chains was to… "Kai!" Just as he landed, he met a blow to the face. Dodge. Counter. His open palm was crushed into the solar plexus of his opponent. His opponent flew back a good 10 meters. Baki rose to his full height.
"There's only one man who can use that Genjutsu. Show yourself Kaworu-sensei." The beaten man's form had already disappeared and in it's place was an imposing figure, barely Baki's own height. His red eyes were glistening. There was a smile on his calm face. "You're still not to be taken lightly." This time it's hair was it's original shade of silver. Arguably a gray so muted it was white.
"I hope you didn't think that using that on me again would work. After all, I've grown."
The man laughed. "So the student surpasses the teacher?" Baki's face relaxed. "Not even close."
The two men stood for a moment measuring up each other, and comparing the other to the image left in their minds. Baki turned away and continued walking towards Gaara's place. "Why did you return here?"
Yuuhi advanced. "Just to fill out a Declaration of Name Change form. After all, isn't that what …" Baki bristled, "This is no time for jokes!" Yuuhi was still smiling. "Sorry, sorry."
>>>>>
"Eh? You again? I thought you caused enough trouble for today." The brown haired girl frowned. "And here I thought you would be happy that I picked that up for you."
Kankurou unwrapped the package and held it up to the light. He sighed. /What a lousy wielding job. It's a completely different color./ "Whatever." Karasu was going to need a new coat while Kuroari were pretty much re-assembled except the missing screws, and the faceplate. "And you had to go and hit him as hard as you could." Gaara tossed him the pack of bolts, along with his list. "Look, it's you're fault if your little dolls bend like plastic." Angry dark eyes clashed with complacent green ones. She contorted her nose. "You need to shower." Before Kankurou could do anything, Temari decided to walked in. "Who's your friend?" It was her turn to make dinner.
"No one." He countered.
"I didn't know there was a party tonight." The girl reddened. Turning towards Temari, she bowed low. "S-s-sorry. I'm… I'm Mitsuga Kayura." By now, Gaara was already back on the couch, looking interested. Nodding, Temari asked, "Why are you here?" She was fumbling over her words now. Temari was being downright scary. Kankurou covered for her. "She's my training partner and she brought me a gift." Kayura glared. "See?" His Cheshire grinned was irritating her. "Oh, it's for your dolls. Not interested." Temari went to the kitchen to get herself some snacks.
Gaara suddenly tensed. This got Kankurou's attention. "What?" There was suddenly a knock at the door. "It's Baki." Baki opened the door, as it was unlocked. Temari was now back, seeing whom the visitor was. "Gee, it really is a party." Gaara froze when he felt the presence of the man behind Baki. The sand from his gourd started moving.
He could tell both men knew each other, but there was a certain lack of familiarity coming from Baki. Like always. The stranger was way too comfortable. His smile seemed stuck on his face. "I guess you passed my survival test. You can't even get home without causing a ruckus."
All neutrality was gone from Gaara's face only to be replaced with anger.
"Now, now, what's with that look?" Gaara could still remember the pain on his abdomen from his half crazed slumber. This was a man strong enough to single keep Shukaku at bay.
Baki broke the tension. "Gaara, this is Kaworu-sensei. He will…" Gaara ignored him. "I don't care." Temari placed the soda she was drinking on the table. Her muscles were tense. This was the same man that brought Gaara home, not four days ago. Except for the hair color.
"It was in your best interests." He pointed at Gaara's chest. Gaara's face prominently displayed his anger now. "What did you to me?" Smile. "All in good time, young friend. Besides, you don't even know who I am! My apologies." He cleared his throat then began again.
"I am Kaworu." Baki's eye twitched. "We already established that." "Really? I wasn't paying attention."
"Are you ever?"
Gaara was getting irritated. He wanted the seal on his chest off. Now. Kankurou subtly asked, "Why don't you close the door first." Slam. Damn, Gaara was mad. "I ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"
His face suddenly serious, "You couldn't control him. If you let him out too long, he would have consumed you in his blood rage. I had to separate you two." Baki was suddenly pale. "Don't tell me you put that on him?!"
"Hey, hey, don't get so exited."
Temari was sort of relieved to know that the slightly taller man was on their side. She had enough of the attacks on Gaara. "Why don't you stay for dinner?"
Kaworu flashed her a dazzling smile. "Sorry, fair lady. As much as I would like too, I have other business to attend to tonight." Temari shrugged and returned to the kitchen. Kayura was back to 'helping' Kankurou fix Kuroari. Baki cleared his throat again.
"Kaworu-sensei will be in charge of your training for the next couple months." His friend raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even broach that topic." Baki ignored him. "I'll be taking my leave now. See you in the morning at the training grounds." Now, instead of his body was a vacuum of air. A slight pop in the air indicated the space being filled. Kaworu went for the door. "Well Gaara, I'm sure we'll see each other again tonight." He waved at Kankurou, who just grunted. Click.
There was moment of silence until Kankurou grudgingly said, "I'm going up for a shower." Kayura mumbled "About time."
"You better have put the arm screws in by the time I get back." She gave him the finger.
"Gaara!" He was being called into the kitchen. Why? It wasn't even his night to cook. Temari handed him a dirty apron, which he just hung around his neck. "Gee, tie it up. Oh, and wash your hands or you'll get sand all over the soup." A quick look told him that it wouldn't have mattered anyways; Temari couldn't cook to save her life. As Gaara was rinsing out the sand in the sink, she finally asked, with a hint of trepidation "So, you know how to make rice balls?"
>>>>> End Chapter 3
AN: I need a beta reader (or more) if anyone wants to do it. Reviews appreciated!