Suna's Kekkei Genkai

Chapter 12- How To Put up Xmas Decor, Kankurou Style

'Ha! What? Does Temari think I'm stupid?!' Kankurou mused to himself. 'Doesn't think I can put up decoration my self?' ......."BITE ME, SHE-DEVIL!!!!!"

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Neji called from where he and Gaara sat on the back-porch-slash-dock that went out over part of the lake.

"NO!! SHUT UP! I'M CONCENTRATING!!!"

"....ok...."

Gaara rolled his eyes as Kankurou slowly inched across the roof of the house, wonder how long it would take the puppeteer to realize he left all the lights he was putting up on the deck next to him and Neji. Kankurou got to the middle of the roof, sat up, and realized just that.

"Damnit...." he muttered. He sat and thought for a while. Kankurou knew that since he had said he didn't want help, Gaara wouldn't help him now even if he asked. He suddenly remembered a certain time he was training without Neji during the time Gaara was gone with Tsunade. he had been experimenting with the Kiokubun'ya and he found a very interesting ability he had.

Concentrating, he focused his chakra to his eyes and opened his bloodlimit. Looking down at the two talking boys on the deck he focused on the bag at Gaara's foot. There were traces of chakra on it. Why? Because, one: Temari had touched it with her bare hands, leaving a trace behind, and two: it was made of paper and he learned that trees give off chakra too. He pulled the chakra off the bag and formed it into the thinest strand he could from that distance and attached it to his finger tips. Just like during the training when he had pulled chakra off a tree branch, the chakra harded and became a strong strand of wire like substance attached to his fingers. Laughing triumphantly to himself, he pulled the bag up to where he was.

Mean while....

"I don't believe you," Gaara said, crossing his arms and looking at the amused Neji suspisiously.

Neji laughed. "I swear I'm telling the truth!" he insisted.

"There's a man that brings everyone around the world presents on a flying sled?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, Santa Clause," Neji decided earlier that he wouldn't freak out everytime Gaara didn't know something that was a given to all others, such as Christmas and Santa Clause (and birthdays, but they haven't gotten that far yet). He himself didn't believe in Santa Clause, but he knew that no life was complete unless you believe in santa clause at least once in your life.

"How does he get into the houses?"

"Through the chiminey."

"What if you don't have a chiminey?"

"Then he comes through the air vents."

"What if you don't--"

"He'll find a way."

Gaara sat back and thought. "I'll see him when he comes then," he decided.

"You can't!" Neji said. "If you stay up and see him he wont leave you presents. You have to be asleep."

"......no wonder I never got a present..." Gaara mused, not in a 'oh-I-feel-sorry-for-myself' way, but a 'that-would-explain-some-things,-who-knew?' kind of way.

'Shit...' "Heh heh... maybe he'll come any way, he leaves presents for everyone in Konoha," Neji said.

"But, Sakura said people give gifts on Christmas, not 'Santa Clause'," Gaara argued.

"Oh, people give gift too, not just Santa. It's to show someone how much you love or appriciate them," Neji explain.

Gaara leaned back on the bench they were sitting on and happened to glance up at the roof. He made a choking sound that could have been a laugh, causing Neji to look up as well.

STARE.

Snicker...

Gaara and Neji exchanged a glance, then both started laughing.

"SHUT UP!!! I'M JUST HAVING TECHINCAL DIFFICULTIES!!!!" Kankurou shouted down at them from where he hung by a bunch of strands of lights off the side of the house. He began trying to untangle himself. Quite unsuccessfully.

Ten minutes later...

"(sniff sniff).. Gaara?..." Kankurou whined. "Help me please!"

Using sand, Gaara lifted himself up to Kankurou and untangled him. Kankurou gingerly sat on the poof of sand too and looked up to better decifer what he should do. Gaara however, was studying the light strands with a slight interest. He leaned over the poof to look down at Neji who had gotten up and was standing underneath them.

"Neji, what's this?" he called down.

"Christmas lights!" Neji called back. "It's decoration!" Finally realizing that Gaara was going to stay up there and that the thought of asking him if he wanted help getting up himself hadn't crossed the sand-nin's mind, Neji focused his chakra and walked up the side of the house.

They spent half the afternoon helping Kankurou put the lights on the house. When they were done, they stood back on the deck and surveyed their work. Quite proudly, in fact. Actually, Gaara still didn't see the point, but hey, shiny stuff all over the house. Kankurou suddenly glanced at the two boys in suspision.

"What are you two doing?!" he demanded loudly, making them jump. "Didn't I tell you I didn't want your help?! Jeez....." he stomped away with the rest of the decorations.

Gaara and Neji exchanged a look.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata called as she and Naruto entered the yard and stepped onto the dock. "Gaara-kun!"

"Hello, Hinata-sama," Neji said as he and Gaara trudged through the layer of snow on te ock to greet them.

"Ano sa, ano sa, Gaara, Tsunade-obaachan wants you to meet her and Sakura-chan for 'a bit'," Naruto told his friend.

Gaara grumbled as he trudged back inside with Neji behind him. He went up to his room and slammed the door in Neji's face. Neji stared at the door then watched as Gaara opened it two seconds later for him to come in.

Neji sat on Gaara's bed that had yet to be used in anyway shape or form as Gaara went into his closet and changed into his ninja clothes. He picked up the kunai bag (why he needed it, he didn't know, but Tsunade wanted him to have it anyway) followed Neji back down stairs. While Neji headed for the door, Gaara stopped at the kitchen and peeked in, hoping Temari wasn't there. She wasn't, she was to busy with Shikamaru at the mall for time in the kitchen. Gaara went in and grabbed random things to eat on the way.

Naruto and Hinata were in the front yard watching Kankurou put up decorations. Every once and a while they tried to give some advise only to be shot down with a death glare. Naruto called goodbye to the two boys as they left then turned back to Kankurou who was trying to put up one of those white trees with lights on them.

"Um..Kankurou...?" Hinata spoke up shyly.

"WHAT?!!?"

Hinata gulped then smiled slightly. "Um, did you know that the decorations come with direction on how to put them up?"

"Goddamnit!" Kankurou mumble-grumbled to himself, going through the box for the directions as Naruto busted out laughing. Kankurou found the directions, skimmed it, then threw it away. "To complicated," he stated then returned to doing it his way.

"But--"

Kankurou turned and glared at them. "There's ramen in the kitchen in the far right cabinet, there is also lots of other food and there's movies. Go have fun," he told them.

"Uh...heh ok," they said and went into the house, leaving the murderous looking sand nin to his own toys.

Completely naive to the happenings at the sand house, Kiba stopped by with Akamaru...and saw the decorations.

Now, in Naruto, the one who's labeled as being loud and obnoxious is always Naruto himself, however, if you think about it, the true, truly obnoxious character in Naruto is actually Kiba and when he saw the decorations that Kankurou had put up, you know he couldn't pass up the chance to say something smart. So he did.

"Dude are you blind and on crack? Those decorations look horrible!" the dog-nin said, pointing and laughing.

Ten minutes later found Akamaru hiding inside the mailbox and Kiba strung by the christmas decoration, stuck to a tree while Kankurou stormed inside. 'Stupid decorations....they can put themselves up for all I care!!'