Sorry this chapter was a little late but it's nice and long for all your waiting! Enjoy and review if you like. --G-chan

Chapter 4

Temari yawned as laid back in her bed. She has spent the day shopping with Shikamaru and talking. It was a nice change from the boring life back home. Kankurou stayed out of her way and she hadn't seen Gaara since they arrived. She was a little worried but since nothing happened that she heard about she assumed that he was keeping out of trouble and probably to his own company.

It was a sad thought, she mused, that Gaara was only able to find peace by staying by himself. It was partly why she pushed Kankurou to be more of an older brother to him and less of a bully. She was still a little pissed off that he didn't bring Gaara home last night but he promised to look for him again tonight.

And so that is where he was now. However, she didn't expect that he would really go and look from him. Instead, of his usual raiment, Kankurou was rather dressed up. She couldn't imagine that he found a girlfriend. He was a big hog and a dork. What girl would date him? But she couldn't deny that he did look nice when he tried.

Which lead to another question. Why was he trying to hard and why only at night? If he found a girlfriend, wouldn't he want to spend all day with her and not just at night? Temari sat up in bed, something deep inside telling her that something was not right. Today was a little strange, now that she reflected.

Not was Kankurou acting strange there was a lot of fuss about some prankster today. Shikamaru had assured her that is was probably Naruto but when she saw him being dragged into the pachinko parlor he looked utterly confused as to what was going on. And not only that she saw a strange boy walking around that reminded her of Gaara but he was very different…

The feeling that something was not right wouldn't leave her alone so she got out of bed and got dressed to get some fresh air. The night was cool and crisp. It felt good but she still felt uneasy. She thought back to an earlier conversation with Kankurou…

"I hope Gaara's keeping out of trouble. He always seems so lonely."

"He's fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because, we're brothers. I know things about Gaara that would make your head explode."

"Like what?"

"It's a secret among brothers."

"When did you get so close?"

"Oh…I dunno. Some of the strangest things can bring people together."

Temari stopped as she walked and narrowed her eyes. Kankurou had lied to her…He did find Gaara that night. He knew something. "That's it…I'm going to kill him." With new resolve she stalked off to find them.

The first places she looked were the quiet places; training ground, park, cemetery, hell, she even looked in the library but neither Gaara nor Kankurou were anywhere to be found. She stopped in front of a small restaurant and pondered. Where could they be? She looked inside, wondering if they were within and assumed that they were off eating somewhere.

With that she began to search high and low, in every eatery, and stand-up restaurant she could find but still there was no luck in locating them.

"Excuse me," she finally asked a waitress taking a tray up to be cleaned. "Have you seen a red-haired boy and an older boy with brown hair? One boy should have a gourd."

The waitress seemed to think about it. "Well, I know some guys that fit the description, maybe, but neither of them carry a gourd around." Temari sighed.

"Well, the red-haired boy will have the kanji "love' on his head for sure. It's hard to miss." Temari stressed her point by pointing to the location on her own forehead. The waitress suddenly lit up and nodded enthusiastically.

"You mean Gaara and Kankurou! I met them last night. We did karaoke together." The waitress put down the tray and wiped her hands on her apron. Temari looked liked someone just told her that the sky was falling.

"Kara…oke? With…Gaara?" she stammered.

"Yeah, he's got a great voice and he sings really well."

"Gaara?"

"Yeah. Kankurou's not to bad either."

"Gaara did karaoke?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Did he like it?"

" He LOVED it! He's a real party animal." Temari stared at the young woman as though she were speaking a completely different language.

"Gaa-huh?" She shook her head. "No no no, we must have the wrong guy. My Gaara has blue eyes, kinda greenish. And he looks like he hasn't slept in ages."

"And he has a freckle on his chest right here, right?" The woman pointed to a spot on her chest. Temari nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's him-WHAT?! How do you know that????"

The waitress blushed. "Well, let's just say that karaoke isn't the only thing he's good at…" She giggled. Temari sank to the floor in shock. The world was spinning. She had somehow been forced into another dimension.

The waitress looked down at her. "Are you okay? He's not your boyfriend is he?" Temari shook her head.

"No…He's my little brother. My sweet little baby brother that used to carry a little teddy bear and cry all the time and never does anything bad…besides kill people… sometimes."

"Oh yeah…he tried to kill my ex with a Desert Coffin but Kankurou stopped him." It was all Temari could take. She passed out on the floor.

(66)

Kankurou snuck up on Gaara from behind, clasping his shoulders. Gaara turned, expecting him. "Hey. You're early," he responded.

Kankurou nodded, jovially slapping Gaara on the back a few times. "Well, little brother, I have to admit that I like hanging out with you. So I came early." Gaara smiled and nodded. "Hey, did you hear about all the crazy stuff that happened in Konoha?"

The red-haired child of the desert chuckled as he shoved his hand in his pockets. "I am all the crazy stuff that happened to Konoha." He peered at Kankurou's shocked visage from the corner of his eyes. "I hope the Nines is going to be pretty peed off if he figures out it was me."

"Nines?"

"Ah…I guess you all call him by Naruto." Gaara started walking off. "But that's neither here or there. How about we grab a bite to eat?"

Kankurou shrugged off his confusion. He hadn't really eaten too much during the day due to anticipation of tonight. "Sure. Where to?"

"Where else would I take family but to Shinobi, the best restaurant in Konoha." The eldest son of the former Kazekage stopped dead in his tracks. Shinobi 's was legendary among the upper class of not only Konoha but the entirety of the Fire Country. The first and last time he ate there his father only got him fries and rice assuring Young Kankurou that it was better that way.

"Aah…Gaara. That place is really expensive… I mean I've heard that people can't even afford the water," he said with concern.

Gaara waved his hand dismissively. "I have it covered. Don't worry. I have a lot more money than you think." Kankurou had to jog in order to catch up with Gaara but if his little brother was willing to assure him that they could afford it then he wouldn't pass up the chance.

The front of the building was done in a very traditional style with wooden pillars and two large wooden carved of oni, or low ranking demons. Rumor had it that the place was riddled with secret passage ways and that you never saw the face of the servers. The recipes were as secret as the jutsu in the Forbidden Scrolls. Reservations were unnecessary since it was harder than the Chuunin Examination to get into. Kankurou couldn't help but to wonder how the hell Gaara was going to pull this off.

They entered the building and a kunoichi in black silently led them up a flight of stairs to a room where there were two pillows and tea already waiting for them. Kankurou felt a little creeped out by the silence but Gaara plopped down on his pillow and guzzled the tea in front of him.

The walls were decorated with the tale of one shinobi against a dragon. It was beautifully down with gold sparkling all over it. Kankurou was afraid to sneeze in a place so high class so he sat down gingerly fidgeted a little. The cup must have been several hundred years old. It looked expensive.

"Gaara…Is this-" Kankurou started to speak but he noticed Gaara using his pinky to dig in his ear. It was in this atmosphere that he noticed how uncouth his little brother had become. Formerly, Gaara has more manners than Kankurou new any boy his age could have. Now he was trying to find a place to hide his ear wax. "Gaara, come on and act like a gentlemen. This is a once in a life time chance to eat here."

Blue eyes gave him a condescending look. "You're too sober and so am I." He reached out into thin air and from the ceiling descended a shinobi with a saké bottle. Gaara took it and pour two shot glasses for Kankurou and kept the entire bottle for himself. "If this is a 'once in a lifetime chance', then why are you acting so uptight. Live it up! It's not often that I get to do this anymore…"

"Anymore? Gaara have you-" Gaara cut him off by announcing that the food had arrived. Kankurou's jaw dropped when he saw the feast waiting for them. Suddenly, he realized Gaara was right to an extent. He was worrying too much. And maybe… he was too sober. He downed his two shots of saké and held out his hand for the bottle. "Gaara, have you… got anymore of that?"

(99)

Temari felt something cold on her forehead and opened her eyes. She was staring up at the waitress she was talking to before. "All you okay?" the young girl asked. Temari sat up and looked around. They had taken her to the managers office and laid her on the couch. How long had she been out?

"What happened?" Feeling a little dizzy, the eldest child of the sand lied back down. The waitress grabbed a glass of water and offered I to her but Temari refused it with a shake of her head.

"You were asking about Gaara and Kankurou but something I said sent you into shock." The waitress tilted her head. An apologetic smile was spread across her lips. "I guess some people aren't who you think they are."

"I guess not…But Gaara." Temari shook her head. "I don't believe it. This is totally out of character for him."

The waitress shrugged and straightened some papers. "Well, my mother always was saying that when you drink you're the exact opposite of how you act. Gaara put a few away while I was there and I'm sure he had been drinking before we met."

Temari sat up again quickly. "Gaara was drinking?" The girl nodded. Something clicked inside of her mind. It was a long shot at best but if she was right… "Hey, were did you see them hanging around?"

Kankurou lay beside Gaara on the warm tatami mat floors of the restaurant. He ate enough for three people and could barely move. Gaara looked as though he ate twice as much as he did and was staring into an empty saké bottle.

"They're out of alcohol? Time to go," the short sandnin grumbled. He jumped to his feet and headed for the shoji.

Kankurou didn't move. "Hey, Gaara. Can't we just lie here some more. I mean, partying is awesome, especially with you, but don't you just want to take it easy for a while?"

The expression on Gaara's face was unsettling. It was irritated and reluctant. It was if Gaara did not want to end his fun and had no intention of doing so anytime soon. However, soon they would have to return and the fun would have to end. What had happened?

Fearing what would happen if he didn't comply with his powerful younger brother, Kankurou stood up slowly and followed Gaara out docilely. He never saw the bill but it looked as though his brother paid out a fair bit for their meal and drinks.

The walk around town was quieter than it had been last night. Two nights of drinking and Kankurou felt as if instead of knowing his brother better he was coming up with more questions. This Gaara was entirely different. Fun for a while but now the fear of imminent danger was back with him.

"Hold it right there!" called out a voice from behind them. They boys turned and Temari was standing there, her fan at ready. "I want some answers."