Chapter 7 : Tourney Hopefuls, Sand and Sound

That Evening...

On a plateau overlooking the grand desert of the country of wind, two young shinobi, one female, one male, waited.

Kankurou had grown up. He was now the spitting image of his father, the previous Kazekage. The primary exception being the odd, black bodysuit and purple facepaint he wore. Kankurou had always worn these as a way of distinguishing himself from his famous father. Kankurou was still stout, but had made up for it by growing vertically. Side by side, he now towered even higher over his younger brother. Kankurou was no fool, however, and still deferred to Gaara in most situations.

Kankuro dug sand out of his ear with his little finger. "Oy, Temari," he called to his sister. "Any sign of Gaara yet?"

Temari drew her attention away from the desert below. She shrugged. "Nothing yet."

The passage of time had shaped Temari. She was now tall and lanky, taller even then her younger sibling Kankurou. She had shed her previous white garments in favor of similar clothes of a very dark grey. She had kept her hair just as she always had, no longer, no shorter. In addition to the immense fan strapped to her back, she possessed a large assortment of smaller fans, attached by cloth rings.

A gust of wind blew in from the south, producing a dust devil.

"There you are, Gaara," Temari exclaimed.

The youngest of the san siblings appeared within the cloud of sand. Shorter than Kankurou by nearly eight inches, Gaara of the desert stood straight, his arms crossed. He wore a fine garment resembling a black overcoat. On the chest of the coat was a vest-shaped patch of gray. The rings around his brilliant green eyes were not so pronounced now, as if he possessed more control over the beast within him. His mouth was a straight line, completely neutral. Though Gaara was now able to express his emotions more fully, a smile was something rarely seen on his face.

"Hey, Bro!" Kankurou called, pulling himself to his feet. He clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Ready to go?"

Gaara started briefly at the physical contact, then relaxed. He looked up at his brother, unblinking. He closed his eyes, and the merest ghost of a smile flitted over his face.

Kankurou raised an eyebrow. He grinned. Oh yeah, a Gaara who wasn't threatening him constantly? He could live with that.

"You're late," said Temari boldly.

Gaara opened his eyes again. "I'm sorry, Temari. I had a few things to attend to."

"You didn't bring Nyurr along, did you?" asked Kankurou.

"Nyurr? No." Gaara made a negative gesture. "I left him at home."

"I'm surprised he listened to you," laughed Kankurou. "He's about as stubborn as you are."

"Indeed?" Gaara looked almost pensive. The cork on his immense sand gourd began twisting and squeaking. This was not lost on his older siblings. Just about every time the gourd had done this in the past, it had resulted in injury and brutal death as their brother allowed his killer's instinct to overwhelm him.

A single syllable filled Temari and Kankurou's minds: Eep.

"Uhhh, Gaara?" Kankurou asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No not at all. Why?" The corked squeaked further as it continued to work itself out of the neck of the gourd. A few grains of sand trickled to the floor.

"Just wondering," Temari responded, edging slightly away.

With a muted POP!, the stopper fell to the ground. Kankurou and Temari, for lack of a better term, "freaked out".

"What the hell are you on about, Gaara?" yelled his brother, falling over backwards and landing on his ass.

"What are you doing!" his sister echoed.

Gaara glanced at his shoulder. "Eh?" he queried, nonexistant eyebrow rising. A spurt of sand ejected from the opening. Gaara bent down and picked up the stopper.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. He brought around the stopper and attempted to replace it in the gourd.

He didn't make it.

"Nyurr!" came a chirp of protest as a tan lump extricated itself from the neck of the gourd and batted Gaara's hand away. It was a small tan kitten with black spots over his eyes. The kitten licked his slender tail and jumped up to rest himself on Gaara's head.

Gaara's siblings sweatdropped.

"I thought you left him at home," Temari said sternly.

"I thought I did," Gaara defended. He looked crosseyed up at Nyurr who was now dangling his tail in Gaara's face while gnawing on his hair and head. "You're a very naughty cat, Nyurr. We're going on a mission, it's not safe. I told you to stay home."

"Nyurrrrr..."growled Nyurr, giving one tuft of hair a shake.

"Ow." Gaara glanced at his siblings.

"He has a point," Kankurou snickered at his little brother. The sight of Gaara crosseyed with that silly tail dangling in front of him was too much.

Gaara glared, which only made Kankurou laugh harder. Nyurr then left off savaging Gaara and turned. He decided to continue the greeting cycle with the 'painted one'. Giving a quick leap, Nyurr landed on Kankurou's head.

"Owch!" protested the puppeteer. Kankurou sighed, resigned to his fate as Nyurr batted and chewed at the earlike projections on his jumpsuit. "Hi, Nyurr."

"Nyurr!" came the bright response.

Temari, in turn, suffered through her greeting. Nyurr did enjoy the taste of her hair.

With Nyurr returned to a relaxed perch on top of Gaara's head, the three could continue their discussion.

"Gaara," Temari began. "You said there were complications?"

"Yes. Some of my 'supporters' believe that I should not be leaving the Sand at this time."

"Orders are orders, I guess," admitted Kankurou. "But Gaara, you've got enough support among the elders to be Kazekage if you wanted to."

"I don't care about that," said Gaara passively. "And those dubbed my supporters are simply those who believe I can be easily manipulated." His eyes narrowed. "I will not be used by anyone. I shall do as I see fit. So long as the Kazekage's orders do not run contrary to my interests," he glanced at his siblings. "Or my family's, I will serve him in my fashion."

"You're a danger to him, Gaara," said Temari. "We all are. He will move against us."

"We will see how things stand when that day comes." Gaara scratched Nyurr behind the ears. "Let's go. It's a long way to the hidden Stone. We don't want to miss the tournament."

"Nyurr."

...

At that moment, many miles away in the country of Earth. Three young ninja sat huddled around a campfire. The first was definetely female, with long lavender hair. On her neck she had a strange mechanism, one that seemed to be attached directly to her vocal cords. Around one arm, she wore a headband with a single musical note. Her bright orange eyes gave a certain mad glitter in the firelight

The second was of average build, dressed in a black training uniform. His face was shadowed, impossible to discern in the dim light available. In one arm, he held an intimidating-looking mask, black, with a a silver and red breathing grille at the front.

"Well, Nhaki?" snarled the woman. "Don't just sit there. Report!"

The one called Nhaki glared at his compatriot. "Don't presume to give me orders, Sakebu Discorujia. I answer only to Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"Orochimaru," corrected Nhaki coolly. "I am here at his request. It's hardly my fault you two didn't have another suitable partner."

"We'll find Nova. Don't you worry about that," said Discorujia.

"Someone so dangerous, running free? I smell incompetence."

Discorujia's eyes narrowed.

"I wasn't neccessarily talking about you, Dis."

"Now, now," interjected the third Sound-nin. "We're supposed to be on the same team, aren't we?" This ninja's voice was relaxed and lazy. His appearance was singularly odd. He was wrapped nearly head to toe in bandages, with a grey training gi over that. His eyes were the strangest of all. One was deep violet, the other green. Stranger still, the color seemed to be changing constantly.

"I know that, Nameless." Discorujia huffed.

Nameless gave a cruel smile beneath his bandages and winked his right eye, which was now blue.

Nhaki harrumphed. He brought up his mask to his face and put it on. "Where is Kabuto, anyway?" His voice sounded filtered.

"I'm right here," came the arrogant response. Orochimaru's top lieutenant leapt down from the tree in which he had been hidden. "How is the mask working?"

"It's difficult getting used to, but I'll manage."

"Good," Kabuto stepped next to the fire. "Orochimaru-sama and his bodyguards are already in the village. As a village leader, he is receiving V.I.P. treatment.

Nhaki snorted. Kabuto glanced sidelong and Discorujia glared.

Kabuto sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Anyway. Get some sleep you three. In the morning we'll head for the village of Hidden Stone."

"Right," Discorujia nodded.

"You got it," Nameless winked, showing off his new silver eye.

"Hmph," was Nhaki's only response.

"I need not remind the three of you not to take any risks. It is indeed likely that Konoha has become at least partially aware of Orochimaru-sama's plan. If they have sent any shinobi, we must be extra careful." He turned an eye on Nhaki. "Especially you."

Nhaki stared impassively.

Kabuto gave a nasty grin. He held out his palm. "Of course, if any Leaf-nin have actually entered the tournament..." Kabuto snapped his hand into a fist. "...do feel free to kill them."

Nameless and Discorujia laughed.

"Of course," affirmed Nhaki.

Next Chapter: Tourney Hopefuls, Wanderers and the Dawn