Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…end of story...not the end of this story! Not yet! Just the end of the story where I don't own Naruto...argh!

Chapter 19: Announcements

Kina woke up in the bed she shared with Gaara in the apartments they had in Konoha. She blinked sleepily as she remembered what had happened. A warmth against her back caused her to turn and look down at her sleeping husband.

He really does look like a panda, doesn't he?

Kina smirked and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

Don't you dare tell that to Shukaku, she told her demon. Gaara's kind of sensitive about that.

Gaara's sensitive about a lot of things people don't expect, the eagle demon replied.

Yeah, he is.

Kina tried to get up to change her clothes, but arms suddenly came around her body and pulled her onto a warm chest.

"Not yet," Gaara murmured.

"I have to bathe and brush my hair," the girl pouted. "It's all tangled."

"Hn."

"Gaara, I mean it. It's grown at least a foot again. Let me go or I'll cut it!"

The boy's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up. "I'm awake!"

"Good," Kina smirked. "Now you can wash my hair."

They had just settled themselves in the warm water of the apartments' bathing pool when Naruto, Kankuro, Temari, and Temeki strolled into the area from a side door.

Naruto immediately closed his eyes and yelled out, "I didn't see anything!" The others just sighed and turned around.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked as he gently dunked Kina underwater to wet her hair.

Temeki grabbed Naruto's shoulder and spun the boy around so that his back was to the couple.

"We just came by to see how you were doing," Temari said.

"We're fine," Kina said. "Just rumpled."

"And hungry," Gaara added.

"Well, everyone's okay after that incident with the Shinkirou," Temeki said.

"Except Naruto's got a bump the size of a grapefruit."

"Nah, Kankuro," Temari said. "That's his head."

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Temari said. "We've received word from the new Head of the Shinkirou Clan and they all swear loyalty to you, Gaara. They don't want any trouble."

"There won't be if they behave themselves," Gaara said.

"That sounds like Gaara," Naruto said, relief evident in his voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were talking in your sleep about getting funky with Tsubakiri," Temari laughed.

"Kina talked in her sleep, too," Kankuro said. "Something about 'pleasurable punishment for Shu-kun's absence.'"

"You were making enough noise to wake the dead, but your bodies weren't moving," Naruto added. "We were getting kinda worried that you guys were in a kinky demon coma or something."

"WHAT?" Kina and Gaara shouted. They were both red from the neck up; and it wasn't due to the heat of the bath.

"You were asleep for two days," Temeki explained.

"Two days?" Kina asked. "That makes today's date August 30, right?"

"Actually, it is August 31," Kankuro corrected.

"Oh, shit," the girl swore.

"Kina-chan," Gaara started. "Why are you so concerned with the date?"

Kina sank down in the water until it covered her mouth. "Blb bb bllirbbbeell," she replied.

Gaara sighed and brought Kina's head out of the water. "Say that again?"

"It's my birthday," she repeated.

Gaara's eyes widened and he smiled. "How old are you anyway?"

"Fourteen."

"We should have a party then, shouldn't we?" Temari said.

"Take care of it," Gaara ordered. "And make sure to get a live band. The one from the Welcome dinner would be good. And a dance floor—a big one."

"Sure thing," she answered. The others followed her into the house.

Gaara looked down at his mate and gently hugged her. "Happy Birthday, Kina-chan."

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Temeki stood across from Tsunade, Jiraiya, Morino Ibiki, and Hatake Kakashi. She would rather have faced an army of angry shinobi than the quartet in front of her. She felt the presence of Gaara, Naruto, and Kina behind her and gladly accepted their silent support.

Kakashi and Ibiki were puzzled by the summons from the Hokage. They thought that the meeting would be about a treaty between Konoha and Suna or the ramifications of Kina being a demon vessel. Neither jounin expected to see the timid young handmaiden of the Kazekage's wife standing before them now.

"Naruto," Tsunade said, looking at the blonde. "You, Gaara, and Kina may proceed."

The three demon vessels surrounded Temeki and quickly formed a barrier that trapped her within it. They held their hands in protective hand seals as they cried in unison: "CD!"

Kakashi and Ibiki watched as Temeki fell to the ground and screamed in pain. After a few moments, she stood back up, but the body that they saw was different. The face was different.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Ibiki said. Kakashi remained silent.

"I'm sorry to keep his presence in Konoha a secret," Tsunade began. "But when the Kazekage arrived with Sasuke in his possession, the timing couldn't have been worse. The Festival was about to start and Kazekage-sama was here for the sake and safety of his wife, Kinabuhi."

"How did they capture him?" Kakashi asked calmly, his hands fisting themselves in his pockets.

"I was injured by my brother," Sasuke spoke for the first time. It was strange being in his old body. His shoulder, where Orochimaru's seal was, ached and he reached up to rub it.

"Why not just imprison him?" Ibiki said. "I could have interrogated him."

"And get out of participating in the dunking contest?" Tsunade laughed. "I don't think so."

"The real reason for allowing the Uchiha boy to wander around Konoha during the Festival is a simple one," Jiraiya said.

"Indeed," Tsunade agreed, serious once more. "Uchiha Sasuke once left Konoha because he believed that the village was weak and he could not grow stronger here. He didn't share the same love of this village that the strongest among us feel. The week of the Festival, Sasuke saw our village as it is. By masquerading as Kinabuhi-sama's handmaiden, he saw the village for the first time with the eyes of an adult."

"Now that he has…what happens?" Kakashi asked.

"That's up to him," Tsunade said. "Well, Sasuke?"

Sasuke took a breath and looked at the Hokage. "Konoha is a beautiful and strong village," he said. "The strength of will of the shinobi here is strong. But I don't think that I can return to the village."

"What?" the question came from Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi. Ibiki remained silent, but watching.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and felt confident that the other boy understood. They had had a long talk after the kidnapping and Sasuke could now honestly call Naruto his best friend.

"I love Konoha," he explained. "But I need to get stronger. I still need to kill my brother."

"So you're still bent on revenge?" Tsunade asked, disappointed.

The boy shook his head. "Not revenge," he said. "But because he needs to be killed. As long as he's alive, as long as Akatsuki is still around, Naruto, Gaara, and Kina are in danger. I need to kill him to protect my precious people."

"Why can't you get stronger here?" Ibiki asked.

"Because here, I'll always be 'Sasuke,'" Sasuke answered. "I'll always be the last Uchiha. I've let that go to my head enough."

"Uchiha Sasuke needs to disappear. Not only because I need to train in a place where no one knows me, but also because where he is, Orochimaru will go. I can feel the seal he gave me burning even now. But when I'm Temeki, when I'm in that body, the seal disappears."

"You're volunteering to remain in a female body?" Ibiki questioned.

Sasuke nodded. "Until my will gets stronger," he answered. He looked at his ex-sensei and asked a question of his own. "The seal you put on Orochimaru's was broken when I left. If you put it back and I become Temeki, will it be dormant until my will truly becomes stronger?"

"It depends on you," the gray haired jounin replied. "You succumbed to the seal once. You could do it again."

"Not if I get stronger on my own. If I train in a place where I know I'll get stronger without the seal."

"Where do you propose you go to 'get stronger'?" Kakashi asked.

"A place where good shinobi live," he answered. "But who also have dark sides to them that help them in battle. A place where I'll constantly be challenged and pushed and not coddled because I'm the last of my Clan."

"Where?"

Sasuke looked over at Gaara and caught his slight nod. He then looked over at Kina and noticed her small smile. Finally, he looked at Naruto and heard him whisper: "Go for it."

The Uchiha straightened his shoulders and addressed the four Konoha shinobi.

"Suna."

Tsunade sat quietly for a moment. She stared hard at the boy and nodded. She stood up and put her hand on her hip.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she said, power flowing in her voice. "As punishment for your betrayal of Konoha, you are sentenced to six years of exile in the Hidden Village of Sand. There, you will be the ward of the Kazekage. During those six years, you will not enter Konoha as a ninja or as a missing nin, but as a civilian or as a Sand nin. Whether the Kazekage will grant you that rank is up to him, but as of this moment you are neither a leaf nor missing nin. Naruto?"

The blonde nodded and the three demon vessels said the code word.

When Sasuke stood, he was once again Temeki.

Tsunade smiled and strode up to the girl. She held out her hand and said, "I wish you the best of luck…um…Temeki." (1)

"What is your last name?" she asked.

Everyone looked unsure for a few moments until Kina snapped her fingers and grabbed Temeki's arm.

"I just remembered that I haven't introduced you all properly yet," she said.

"Ladies and Gentleman," Kina said, pulling Temeki forward. "I'd like you all to meet my sister, Yawa Temeki."

Everyone nodded politely while Gaara looked at his wife in astonishment. She smiled at him and winked. His face broke out into a smile and he started to laugh. (2)

Naruto scratched his head. "I don't get it," he said. "What's so funny about a late night tea party?" (3)

The comment only made Gaara laugh louder and Tsunade started too, when she realized what the joke was. Soon, tears were pouring down both the Hokage and the Kazekage's cheeks as their laughter turned into howls.

The only answer that the others got was Tsunade gasping, "Yawa…Teme…Ki…" (4)

Kina's lips began to twitch as well and laughter bubbled from her like a fountain. "Hehehehehehe…"

Temeki tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?" she asked. "What's so funny?"

"If I tell you," Kina gasped. "You'd kill me."

"It's mostly Naruto's fault anyway," Gaara said, leaning against his wife.

"Why's that?" Tsunade said, sitting on her desk.

"He's the one who named her 'Temeki'," Gaara and Kina answered together.

That only set the three of them off again.

Naruto and Temeki looked at them and shook their heads.

"Hey, Temeki," Naruto asked. "Wanna go get some ramen?"

"You paying, dobe?" she asked.

"Yep. Ero-sennin, Kakashi, you can come too!"

Kakashi nodded and Jiraiya frowned at being called perverted.

"Ibiki-san," Naruto said. "You can come, if you want."

The scarred man shook his head and frowned at the laughing lunatics lying on the linoleum. "Someone needs to watch them," he muttered.

"Okay!" The quartet left Tsunade's office and headed toward Ichiraku.

Ibiki was silent for a while before he asked, "What does 'Yawa' mean that makes Temeki's name even funnier than it already is?"

Kina smiled up at the man and said, "In my language, 'Yawa' means 'demon.'"

He took the information in silently. Then he nodded and the three on the floor froze in horror as maniacal laughter filled the room.

"He's even scarier than you," Kina whispered to Gaara, who only nodded.

"Way, way, way scarier."

"And he works for me?"

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"Sorry we couldn't tell you Kakashi," Temeki apologized. "Naruto wanted to tell you both, but I didn't think that you could handle it."

"Look at me," Kakashi said. "I'm handling it. Sakura is a different story though."

The two nodded and continued walking.

"Temeki, I've been meaning to ask you something," Jiraiya said.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"This is something only you can answer, since you're the only one I know who has gone through the experience and won't kill me at once."

Probably has to do with Orochimaru and the seal, Temeki thought.

"Okay, shoot," she said.

"What's it like to suddenly grow a pair of breasts? And what wonderful breasts, too!"

Two fists plowed into the old man's stomach, while two voices cried:

"ERO-SENNIN!"

A/N:

Okay, done…19 chapters…whoo!

Chapter 20 coming up!

(1) Ever notice how when Tsunade is in "Hokage-mode" she says everyone's full names?

(2) Yawa means 'demon' in Cebuano

(3) Yawa in Japanese translates to 'night talks' or 'evening tea parties'

(4) Teme means asshole…ki means 'power' or 'spirit'…mix that with the Cebuano translation for yawa and Sasuke's new name means 'demon asshole power' or 'spirit of the demon's asshole'…see the funny?