Disclaimer: ………… What? What are you looking at?

Enjoy the crisp refreshing taste of chapter three. Oh yeah, and beware the penguins. (dobeeedobeedoooo)

Domino Effect: Are We There Yet?

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Twenty games of Janken, twelve thumb wars, four rounds of 'I Spy' (before they got back to sand), two round robin stories, and a nap later Sunakagure came into view. At first it looked like a huge mountain cliff rising up out of the ground but Sasame pointed out the large crack in the rock that served as the gate to the hidden village. Naruto and Haku eagerly strained to see as much as they could of it and Naruto soon spotted men spread out on ledges of the cliff, all of them keeping guard of the entrance. Sasame checked in at the opening gate and they were soon entering the village. The buildings were both wide and short, the tallest being only three stories, and each was an earthy brown/beige color which blended in well with the sands around them. The people also wore earth-toned clothes and wore what looked like blankets around them.

"Those are wraps that people wear to protect them from the occasional sandstorms," said Sasame when he saw the boys starring.

"It rains sand here, Sasame?" asked Haku in confusion. Sasame laughed and Haku blushed in embarrassment. Sasame quickly smothered his laughter and gave him a reassuring look.

"I'm not surprised that you don't know, Haku. After all, you never had to worry about it in wave country. You see, in the desert big winds will occur that bring a lot of sand up into the air so that it seems the sky is storming with sand. It is actually very dangerous but this village is well protected by the cliff so they only get it occasionally." Haku and Naruto gasped and tried to imagine the sky filled with sand. It was almost too much for them to believe.

Sasame made a quick stop at the Kazekage's building and paid for a D-rank mission. When the genin team arrived he instructed them to watch his stock while he went to sleep in the inn. This fact didn't bother Naruto until supper. If Sasame was afraid that his stock might be stolen then why hadn't he arranged for an escort from Konoha? Being an untactful five-year old he asked. Sasame froze for a moment but did answer.

"When I was a child I lived in Mizukagure and attended the Shinobi Academy. I had a very good friend there that helped me to become strong. I always thought that we would be on a team together but that didn't happen. The day before the graduation exam my friend did something and I was not able to take the exam because I was in the hospital. That was probably his last kind act. The next day he took the exam and passed but he was the only one who did. I dropped out of the academy and opened up a clothing shop that same year. I never rejoined but I'm still strong enough to be a ninja of about chunin level."

"Do you hate him?" asked Haku.

"No, I forgave him long ago. He did help me to realize that I never want to be a ninja, after all. It was his weird way of protecting me."

"Why wouldn't you want to be a ninja?" asked Naruto in shock.

"Boys, you should know that I will never lie to you so you have to be sure that you're ready to hear the answer before you ask the question. I think that I'll put this in the 'I'll tell you when you're older' category." Naruto and Haku nodded slowly.

Later, Sasame tucked Naruto and Haku into bed and turned out the light. As he settled into his own bed a voice came form the boys' bed. "Sasame, will you really still talk to me when we get back to Konoha?" Sasame smiled into the darkness.

"I dare say you'll have trouble getting rid of me Naruto." Sasame listened until the boys' breaths evened out into sleep. Only then did he allow himself to fall asleep, sadly dreaming of his lost friend…. "Zabuza."

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Sorry that I was so late with this update but RL decided to screw with me. I took the next few days to kick its #$. I offer two chapters to make up for it. Good news is that I spent that time thinking about extending this story into the arcs. Originally I was just going to make a summary chapter at the end of this story. If there is enough interest though I'll just nix that chapter and make a trilogy with a sequel that will span the wave arc. The summary chapter will be at the end of the third part, which will span the chunin arc.

If I get enough interest to extend the story then I will need pairings! Requests welcome. :)