Bozenjishitsu
Howdy!! I got this one done fast cuz I love you all!! BTW, I had someone review and tell me that Temari was the oldest of the three, and I just thought I'd say now that that's not how I see it. Kankurou just screams "oldest" so that's what I put him as. I understand you were trying to help me out and, all, whoever you are, but I just like it my way.
Kyuubi: You really boss these people around. You always tell them, 'no flamers,' 'don't ask for a pairing,' 'don't yell at me,' 'yatta yatta;' it's amazing you get any reviews at all.
SNG: YOU KNOW WHAT!?
Kyuubi: You need therapy?
SNG: No... I was thinking we should join that 'Counseling, for you and your demon' thing that Gaara joined last week.
Kyuubi: Uh... no, those were excorsists in disguise.
SNG: ...They were?
Kyuubi: Yup.
SNG: They tried to hurt him?!
Kyuubi: Yup.
SNG: I'M GONNA KILL 'EM!!!
Kyuubi: (snif) I'm so proud of you...
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kyuubi.
Kyuubi: THE HELL YOU DO!
SNG: What happened to you bein' all proud of me?
Kyuubi: That was a one-time thing.
SNG: Dammit... BTW, FF dot net messed it up with my arrow things that Ialways use, so change of location AND change of time are in bold.
Kyuubi: I think they prolly figured that out by now, dumbass.
Chapter Four: Separation Anxiety
Kankurou starred at the ceiling in his room. Shadows danced across it, distracting him. The almost-full moon cast silvery light over the room; with a slight grin, he remembered what Kyu's sleeping face had looked like in moonlight. Sometimes, he lay awake for hours, looking at her face, almost afraid to touch it, in case she woke up. Then, her bright blue eyes would open, and she would smile tiredly, that smile she always gave him. Then, she would move her head to rest on his shoulder, and probably start stroking his hair... Kankurou reached up, touching the long, thick locks, trying to recreate the feeling...
It didn't work.
With a sigh, he got up, throwing on his bathrobe, and wandered downstairs to the kitchen. The house was dark, but he knew his way by now. Going into the kitchen, he was temporarily blinded by the light.
"Wha...?" He shielded his eyes with his arm, looking around.
Gaara looked at him from where he was seated on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, licking a spoonful of ice cream. "Couldn't sleep?"
Kankurou shook his head, pulling up a stool to sit across from him. "It's kind of hard to sleep when you can't stop thinking about them, you know?"
"No."
"Oh, yeah..."
Gaara plucked a spoon from the cup full of utensils next to him and gave it to his brother. Kankurou took it and dipped it in the carton of ice cream Gaara pushed over to sit between them.
Ding. Light bulb. "Hey, Gaara?"
"Hmm." (I'm listening.)
"Why don't you go to work with me tomorrow?"
"Why?"
"Well, I was going to call the elders to me tomorrow, so I thought you'd like to be there."
"Hmm." (Ok.)
"Cool." Kankurou licked ice cream off his spoon. It was vanilla, he noticed. "Kyu liked this ice cream..."
Thwack!
"Ow!" Kankurou rubbed his head, giving Gaara a glare. "What was that for?!"
"If you keep thinking about her, you're never going to get to sleep," Gaara said plainly, dipping his spoon in the carton again.
"Oh, yeah..." Kankurou got up and went to the fridge, taking out a carton of milk. "You didn't have to hit me, though..." Popping open the carton, he took a long gulp.
"Temari's going to kill you for drinking out of the carton," Gaara said behind him.
"Please." Kankurou set the carton on the island next to him and sat down. "I'm the Kazekage. I can drink out of the carton."
"Does that mean I can, too?"
"Are you the Kazekage?"
"No."
"Well, there you go."
"...Don't make me squish you."
Konoha
Chuimaru sat on his bed for a long time after Kyu left. Whatever he had done had obviously either grossed Kyu out, or made her uncomfortable. He wondered if he'd done it right. Then he remembered.
Kyu was engaged.
To a sand-nin.
Was that legal?
Obviously, if the Fifth didn't argue, it was probably ok.
He should probably go and tell Kyu he was sorry, that he was just kidding.
After all, he reasoned, she had been the one teaching him, right? It was just a lesson.
Right?
Rynn's Room
"Are you serious, they emptied your room?" Rynn cried, sitting on her bed.
"Well, I kind of emptied it myself," Kyu admitted, sitting on the futon Rynn had gotten for her. "But they didn't even keep my bed!"
"That's just wrong," Rynn mused. "Oh, well. You can stay here!"
"Thanks." Kyu laid back on the futon. "I wonder what the guys are doing?"
"Probably missing us," Rynn said with a grin.
"Or working on the seal."
"We should call them, and see if they're up."
"What time is it, there?"
"Probably around midnight, with the time difference." (A/N: I just made that up...)
"Gaara'll probably be up, if Kan-kun isn't."
"True." Rynn picked up the phone and hit the speed-dial.
Sand
Gaara looked at his phone where it lay next to him on the counter. "What are they doing awake?"
"Probably missing us," Kankurou suggested, licking his spoon.
"I doubt it," Gaara shook his head, picking up the phone. "Hello?"
Konoha
"I told you so," Kyu boasted, picking up her phone, as well. "Hey, Gaara."
"Hello, Kyu."
Sand
"Kyu?!" Kankurou scrambled upstairs and grabbed his phone. "Kyu? Ack..." Turning the phone on, he said again, "Kyu?"
"Hey, Kan-kun!"
"What are you guys doing up?" he asked, going back downstairs.
"I was gonna ask you that," Rynn said, from her end.
"Couldn't sleep." Kankurou shrugged, replacing himself on his stool. "What about you guys?"
"We were talking," Kyu answered.
"About what?" Gaara asked.
"Snails," Rynn said sarcastically.
"...What?" Kankurou raised an eyebrow at the phone.
"She's lying, dumb ass."
"Oh." Rynn snickered. "Shut up."
Konoha
Knock, knock, knock.
"Go away!" Rynn snapped, putting her hand over the phone.
"Is Kyu in there?"
Recognizing the voice, Kyu shook her head violently.
"No," Rynn called.
"Yes she is, I can smell her."
Kyu glared at Rynn.
"What can I say, the boy is good." Rynn shrugged.
Kyu gave her another glare and got up, going to the door, opening. Chuimaru gave her a weak smile. Tossing her phone on the bed, she went out into the hall with him when he beckoned her.
"Sorry," he said quietly, so that Rynn couldn't hear.
"For what?" she asked, barely audible, so only he could hear her.
"I dunno, you seemed sort of freaked out..."
"Not really, but I don't think I should give you anymore 'lessons'."
Chuimaru gulped slightly, and nodded. "Yeah, I think that'd be best... Who're you talking to?"
"No one," she lied, going back in Rynn's room and shutting the door.
"What did he want?" Rynn asked.
Kyu shrugged. "I've been trying to train him, but it hasn't been working, so he decided to stop." (LIAR!)
The Next Day, Sand Village
Kankurou yawned heavily, reclining back on his chair behind his desk, his feet up on the desktop. Gaara sat on the chair next to him, looking through a book, as usual. Seated in a neat row before them were six of the ten elders of the Sand village.(A/N: They're in a room like the one the Third was in with all the Jounins, explaining the situation with Orochimaru). The meeting concerning Gaara's seal would begin as soon as the other four elders arrived.
When they finally did, Gaara put his book down and sat with his arms crossed, looking at all of the elders. There was silence for a few minutes, then one of the elders finally asked, "What is the purpose of this meeting, Kazekage-sama?"
"And why is he here?" another asked, nodding at Gaara.
Kankurou gave the latter elder a very stern look. "My brother is the purpose of this meeting."
The elders grew silent, all ten of them starring at Gaara.
"But before we begin," Kankurou continued, taking off his hat and shaking his hair out. "How many of you were involved with the sealing of the Shukaku fifteen years ago?"
The elders looked at each other, then all ten raised their hands.
"Good." Kankurou nodded, and they put their hands down. "How many of you know exactly what the former Kazekage did to seal the Shukaku?"
Again, all ten raised their hands.
"Then, I suppose you would know how to reserve the procedure?" Kankurou sat back, slightly pleased.
The elder who had questioned Gaara's presence jumped up. "You're not serious!?"
Kankurou gave him another stern look. "Very."
"It can't be done!" the elder cried, shaking his head.
"Sit down," Kankurou ordered, his brow furrowing.
"We would need an unsurpassed amount of chakra to reverse the procedure! Without it, all of us could die! We had to use his mother's life chakra as a sacrifice just to—"
"Sit!" Kankurou shouted. "I did not ask for your opinion!"
The elder did as he was told, crossing his arms.
Turning to the other nine, Kankurou asked, "How many of you are willing to reverse the procedure?"
The eight who had not spoken yet raised their hands without hesitation. The first to speak raised his hand after a moment of thought. Which left the one who obviously hated Gaara.
"Why?" Kankurou asked him, frowning.
"It was the former Kazekage's wish that Gaara be a tool to this village," the (evil) elder said stubbornly.
"This is not the former Kazekage's village anymore," Kankurou countered, just as stubbornly. "It's mine."
"What about the tool?" the elder asked.
"We don't need it. It was a tool for Orochimaru, and we are not tied to the Sound anymore." Kankurou stood up, putting his hands on the desk. "Let me make something very clear. The former Kazekage's 'wishes' were bloodthirsty and heartless. If you are trying to preserve his memory by punishing my brother, you may leave now, because there was nothing honorable in what he did."
The other elder stood up, as well, obviously deciding he had nothing to lose. "You're a freak, just like him! All three of you are freaks, your sister, too! Everyone in that house of yours are freaks and foreigners!"
Kankurou lunged at him, but Gaara beat him, sand encasing the elder, another wave coming to pull Kankurou to a gentle stop. Turning, he saw Gaara's hand raised.
"Sabak—"
"Gaara, wait!" Kankurou said, before he could clench his fist, therefore killing the elder. Turning to the other nine, he saw they had all drawn kunai, and raised to kill the man themselves. "Do any of you object?"
"Kazekage-sama," cried one of the other nine. "I only object to not being able to kill him myself!"
"He had no right to say such lies!" another cried.
"Gaara-sama should kill him," another concluded.
Kankurou turned to look at Gaara, who nodded.
"Sabaku Sousou!"
(A.N: Yay!! Gaara killeded the bad guy! AND EVERYONE ELSE LOVES THE KIDS!!! I am so happy!
Kyuubi: Again... doesn't take much.
SNG: (ignores) Kan-kun should get the big brother award of the century for doin' this. Does anyone else agree? C'uz I think Kage did...
Everyone: (holding pick-axes) JUST GIVE US THE NEXT CHAPTER AND NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED!
SNG: (cowers in fear) Well, give me a couple of days!
Kyuubi: Give the people what they want. (pushes SNG into the crazed crowd of reviewers.) Because SNG has been temporarially killed by an insane review, I'd like to take this time to say.. REVIEW SO SHE'LL FUCKIN SHUT UP!!!
SNG: KYUUBI YOU ASS! IF I DIE, YOU DIE!
Kyuubi: NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!