In which a rivalry forms and Gaara meets some family members.
Warning for depictions of death in this chapter (of unnamed background characters).
O-O-O-O-O
For Sasuke, the first week at the Academy was a dull affair.
He already knew everything they had covered so far, and he wished he could skip ahead a few years. Every day he was increasingly frustrated with all his classmates since no one else was on his level. The worst one was the loud blond boy named Naruto.
After demonstrating his inexplicable knowledge of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, he had only shown himself to be an idiot. He was loud and talked only about becoming the Hokage, despite being barely able to read. Sasuke tried to ignore him, but the other boy was too loud for him to tune out completely.
The only thing Sasuke had to look forward to was the fitness exam. According to Itachi, at least half of the students failed when they didn't meet the benchmarks. Not everyone had the physical conditioning to become shinobi, after all. Sasuke looked forward to never seeing the loudmouth ever again.
On Saturday morning, Sasuke was the first to arrive at the training grounds. He watched as the other children showed up one by one. Most fretted and muttered with their friends in nervous groups. A few did some stretching or warm-up exercises.
He looked around at some of his classmates and snorted. Except for some children from the clans of Konoha, he doubted anyone could come close to his level. He looked around once again and was unsurprised that Naruto had yet to show up. Figures. I bet he was all talk and too chicken to show his face.
He waited impatiently for the teachers. One minute before the exam was set to begin, a streak of orange and yellow arrived panting at the training area. Naruto walked toward the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and collapsed on the ground next to her.
"Argh! Hinata-chan!" he yelled while wheezing. "I woke up late and I had to run over here!"
"Oh, Naruto-kun," she said with a relieved smile as she squatted down next to him. "I was getting worried you wouldn't come."
Naruto grinned up at her, sweat dripping down his face.
"Should've stayed home," a boy Sasuke didn't care to remember said. "It's not like you're gonna pass, anyway."
Angered, Naruto jumped up from the ground and shook his fist. "Wanna say that to my face?" he yelled. "I'm gonna be Hokage and there is no way I'm failing the exam, ya know!"
The boy and a few other children laughed at Naruto's declarations and shook their heads. Naruto only looked angrier and the Hyuuga heiress placed a hand on his shoulder. In an instant, the boy calmed down and met the girl's eyes with a bright smile.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," he declared. "I'm sure we'll pass! We're super strong!"
Sasuke held back the snort. He doubted either of them would be anywhere near what he could do. He was about to say something to the loser when a puff of smoke indicated their instructors' arrival.
"Good morning, kids!" a man with a scar across his nose and his hair pulled back in a ponytail greeted with a smile. "In case you don't know me, my name is Iruka."
"My name is Suzume," Suzume-sensei added as she pushed her glasses up her nose.
"We will start with the cardiovascular portion of the exam," Iruka-sensei said. "We have a 100-meter sprint first and will continue with a 5-kilometer endurance run. Are you ready?"
"Yes, sensei!" Naruto said with an excited grin. Iruka looked startled but smiled at the enthusiasm. "Well, in that case, we will begin with the race. When I call your name, head to the starting line."
Iruka called on the first ten students and made them run. When their times were recorded, he called upon the next set of ten.
Sasuke watched the other children in disinterest. Most were as slow as they looked, but a few exceeded his expectations. A boy from the Inuzuka clan sprinted the distance within a few seconds without breaking a sweat. The heiress from the Hyuuga clan and a girl from the Yamanaka clan also got decent results. Everyone else, however, was mediocre at best. He waited impatiently for Iruka to call out his name as he tuned out everyone else.
"...Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki..." Iruka called out a few other people, but Sasuke didn't care about them.
Hands in his pockets, he walked to the starting line. Naruto was already there, bouncing excitedly with a stupid grin on his face. Sasuke wanted to punch him. At least starting next week, he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.
"On your marks!" Suzume shouted as all the students got into position. "Get set... go!"
Sasuke sprinted. He expected to leave everyone in the dust, but to his dismay, Naruto kept up the pace. Sasuke called upon an extra burst of speed, yet, he barely arrived at the finish line before Naruto.
He glared, panting, at the other boy and was mortified to see that Naruto was not even breathing hard. Instead, he stomped his feet, complaining about coming in second. How is he so fast? And how come he's not winded?
Unnerved, Sasuke rejoined the other students. They whispered amongst themselves about Naruto's results. Ignoring their classmates, Naruto joined the Hyuuga heiress's side to talk. They chatted amicably as they compared results. For the first time, Sasuke wondered how two completely different people became friends.
"Well, we have the final results for the first test!" Suzume announced and the students turned to listen. "First place, we have Sasuke Uchiha with a record of 11.14 seconds. Second place..." Suzume paused to push up her glasses in disbelief, "we have Naruto Uzumaki with a record of 11.35 seconds. In third place, Kiba Inuzuka with 12.15 seconds."
A lot of his fellow students congratulated Sasuke on the win. However, he could only grind his teeth in frustration. He forced himself to maintain his calm facade. Naruto might have come close, but he doubted anyone would beat him in the other stages.
"Well, now that that's settled," Iruka said, "we will start the 5-kilometer endurance run. Everybody, please head to the starting line. Remember to pace yourself."
Sasuke grunted in assent and walked to the starting position. When all the students had joined and Suzume had finished explaining their route, she shouted for them to start.
Predictably, the other students fell back and Sasuke took the lead. He smirked to himself. This is gonna be so easy.
A few seconds later, however, Naruto joined at his side with a mocking smile.
"Taking the lead early, huh," he said while jogging. "You might be faster overall, but you can't beat my stamina, ya know!"
With those parting words, Naruto surpassed Sasuke. Sasuke gritted his teeth and called upon extra speed. He caught up. Naruto lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Annoyed, he frowned and looked away from Sasuke to stare into the distance. Sasuke did the same.
For the first four kilometers, they ran side by side. However, to his dismay, at the four-kilometer mark, Naruto turned to him, smiled, and sped up.
"Sensei said to pace myself," Naruto yelled as he looked back at Sasuke and smirked. "Kiss my ass, jerk!"
With those words, Naruto sprinted away, leaving Sasuke behind. Sasuke clenched his fists in anger. He took a deep breath in and out and forced his legs to move faster. Despite his determination, however, he couldn't catch up. The blond boy crossed the finish line almost a full minute before Sasuke did.
To add insult to injury, Naruto didn't look winded while Sasuke had to make an effort not to collapse on the ground. He glared at Naruto, the palms of his hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back under control. What kind of monster endurance does this idiot have?
Minutes later, the rest of the students crossed the finish line and joined them as they awaited the results. Suzume once again made the announcement. Sasuke forced himself not to glower at the results as everyone looked at Naruto with new eyes.
"W-well, let's continue with the other exams," Suzume said as she dealt with the unexpected results. "We will do some flexibility tests and strength tests. Then some weapons skills, and finally end with a practice spar."
A few students groaned at her instructions. Sasuke knew that none of the complainers would return on Monday. Good riddance.
Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other as their teachers led them to a different part of the training area.
I'm gonna get the top score, Naruto's eyes seemed to say.
Try it, loser, Sasuke wanted to respond.
They started their new tests. Despite their shared determination to surpass each other, however, Sasuke and Naruto were tied neck and neck. Sasuke forced himself to call upon more and more energy, but it was almost pointless. Naruto matched and sometimes exceeded his results.
While Sasuke broke the school's push-up record through sheer force of will, Naruto won by balancing on the tightrope for longer than anyone else. Sasuke managed more pull-ups, but Naruto was much more flexible. Sasuke could lift more weight, but Naruto could climb a tree faster.
Because of his training with Itachi, Sasuke hoped to do better in the shuriken and kunai skills portion. However, Naruto's accuracy was admittedly amazing. While Sasuke was better with shuriken, Naruto had better control with kunai. To his dismay, Naruto managed to hit 10 bullseyes to Sasuke's 8.
A few of the weakest students had already given up and left, but Sasuke didn't care about the losers. He only had eyes for Naruto. By the time the sparring sessions started, Sasuke was ahead of Naruto by only one challenge. It was a slim advantage and he vowed to win no matter what it took.
As they were led to the sparring grounds, Sasuke looked around at his classmates. The remaining students were ragged, covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. Even Naruto looked exhausted, his shirt stuck to his body with sweat and face red with exertion. Sasuke dreaded to know what he looked like in the mirror.
"This is the last event of the day," Iruka announced to the remaining students. "There will be no weapons or ninjutsu. Only taijutsu is permitted in these matches. Your opponents are randomized. Do no permanent damage and please try not to hurt each other too much."
Everyone nodded obediently, too exhausted to speak. "Good!" Suzume said. "In that case, the first match is between..." she checked her clipboard, "Hinata Hyuuga and Ino Yamanaka."
Two girls entered the arena to stand in front of each other. The blonde girl stood with her feet planted on the ground. She smirked while the dark-haired girl pushed her fingers together in a nervous gesture.
"Yeah! You can do it, Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted from the crowd with a grin on his face.
Upon hearing those words, the girl stood up straight and fell into a fighting position. She bowed briefly to the Yamanaka girl, who blinked and followed her lead with a smaller bow. Suzume counted down and the fight began.
At first, the Yamanaka seemed to have the lead as she avoided the Hyuuga's attacks without effort. However, her evasions tired her out and at an opportune time, the Hyuuga hit the other girl on the shoulder. While it looked like only a glancing blow to him, the blonde girl shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, defeated.
The Hyuuga blinked in surprise at the victory and gave a small smile before helping the girl stand up. She bowed her head and together they linked their fingers together as a show of friendship.
The Hyuuga joined Naruto's side and he started to gush about how "cool" she was. Sasuke tried to tune him out on principle, but the other boy was too loud to ignore completely.
He watched the other students fight. Some matches were unfairly one-sided while others are more interesting and took longer. To his disappointment, Naruto was not matched with Sasuke. Instead, Naruto was called forth to fight against the same boy that had teased him earlier in the day.
The boy gulped and shivered while Naruto smirked. It took only a few seconds for Naruto to take him out. Sasuke snorted. Naruto wouldn't stand a chance against me, though.
Eventually, Sasuke was called to spar against a slim boy from the Nara clan. To Sasuke's frustration, however, the boy surrendered immediately without a fight. He was forced to watch everyone else's fun instead.
Finally, after hours of fighting, Iruka clapped his hands together. All the exhausted children turned to look at him.
"Everyone who is still here, congratulations!" he said. "I will now announce the final results and the top three winners. Depending on your performance for each test, you received a certain number of points. These points were added together with a possible total of 1000 points."
He cleared his throat and glanced down at his clipboard. "First place, with 695 points out of a possible total of 1000..." Sasuke held his breath in anticipation. "We have Sasuke Uchiha! Congratulations! Second place, with 692 points, we have Naruto Uzumaki. Finally, in third place, we have Kiba Inuzuka with 668 points. Good job to everyone!"
The other students clapped their hands enthusiastically, looking at Sasuke in admiration. Despite their adoration, however, Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away from Naruto. Only three points difference? He gritted his teeth in frustration, his eyes focused on Naruto. The other boy glared back with his hands clenched into fists.
Iruka called out everyone else's names, giving their point totals. He said that anyone with more than 400 points would be allowed to stay in the Academy. He heard sighs of relief from the majority of the remaining students. Iruka and Suzume dismissed them for the day. Before they left, they told them to rest up and get ready for class on Monday. They would be combined into one class now that the worst students had been culled.
With relieved sighs, the remaining students left. However, Sasuke could only grit his teeth in anger. How can a loser that can barely read do so well in these tests?
Forcing his face to remain neutral, he shoved his hands inside his pockets. He tried not to pout as he left the other students at the training grounds. Furious, he wandered the school grounds as a way to calm himself. Once everyone else had left, he wandered back to the entrance, where his mother had promised to pick him up.
He sat down at the steps that led to the school. To his surprise, Naruto was nearby, sitting at a swing that hung from a tree a short distance away. The shade from the tree kept Sasuke from making out his features. Yet, based on his posture, he could tell that Naruto was staring at him.
"What are you looking at, loser?" Sasuke shouted with a frown.
"Nothing!" Naruto yelled. "What do you want with me, jerk?"
Angry, Sasuke stood up and stomped closer to the other boy. A three-point difference was almost nothing. He wished they had been chosen as sparring partners. Then we would know who is truly the strongest one.
He stared down at Naruto, who was sitting on the swing as he glared with all the seriousness possible in a six-year-old.
"Where the heck did you learn all of that?" Sasuke asked. "You don't even know how to read. How were you so good at everything?"
"I know how to read, jerk!" Naruto jumped up from the swing and grabbed onto the front of Sasuke's shirt. "I'm not stupid, ya know!"
Sasuke snorted. "That's not the impression I get."
Sasuke was not sure who ultimately threw the first punch. It might have been him or it might have been Naruto. They might have started swinging at the same time for all he knew. Whatever the case, Sasuke felt a fist smash into his cheek and he winced in pain. He also heard the impact of his own fist on Naruto's face as the other boy cried out in pain.
While Naruto recovered, Sasuke crouched down and tried to trip Naruto with a low kick. Instead of falling, however, the other boy jumped up and retaliated with an attack of his own. Sasuke flipped back and avoided a broken nose by inches. He fell back into the taijutsu stance Itachi had taught him.
Naruto held himself back as well, falling into an unfamiliar taijutsu position. They stared at each other, waiting for the other one to move first.
Sasuke leaped forward with a punch to Naruto's face. Naruto dodged and tried to kick Sasuke from behind. Sasuke jumped up, putting his forearms to protect his face as Naruto went for his nose once again.
Sasuke landed on the ground gracefully and attacked. He tried a second low kick. He smirked when Naruto fell to the ground. Before Sasuke could press his advantage, however, Naruto rolled away. He stood up, falling back into a taijutsu position.
Sasuke took a moment to catch his breath. He saw Naruto take a short rest as well. They stared at each other, waiting to see who would act first.
Sasuke inhaled. When he exhaled, he jumped up and headed toward Naruto, a fist extended to hit him in the face.
As expected, Naruo caught his fist with the palm of his hand. Sasuke smirked. With the momentum from the jump, he twisted and kicked Naruto on the side of his ribs. He heard a grunt of pain as Naruto collapsed. Taking his chance, Sasuke expertly pinned down Naruto's arms with the weight of his knees.
Naruto struggled from under him. However, Sasuke's weight combined with the exercise from earlier in the day meant he was out of energy. Sasuke panted tiredly but grinned to himself in satisfaction.
"I guess we know who's stronger now," he boasted as Naruto growled under him.
"Asshole!" Naruto yelled. His eyes looked shiny, but Sasuke didn't care to figure out why.
"At least I'm not a loser like you," Sasuke retorted.
"Get off of me!" Naruto yelled. "Let's try again!"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "As if you stand a chance. I don't want to-"
Before he could complete his threat, a strong arm pulled Sasuke up and away. He glared at the person who interrupted and his heart sank into his stomach when he saw his mother.
"Sasuke! What's wrong with you? Are you fighting again?" Sasuke struggled briefly, but his mother's grip was made of iron.
Sasuke panicked as he looked up at his furious mother. After the first day of school, she had threatened him with severe punishment if she caught him fighting again. His father had gotten involved as well, admonishing Sasuke while also saying how Itachi would have never gotten into a fight with a random boy.
"We were only sparring, Mom!" Sasuke said, holding himself back from wincing at the obvious lie.
"Outside of class?" His mother raised an eyebrow as she stared him down.
Desperate, Sasuke turned to Naruto as a final option. "Sparring! Isn't that right, Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Sasuke speculatively. Sasuke almost winced when he saw his face. Naruto had a bruise forming in his eye that would become a black eye. He was covered in dirt and his lower lip was cut and bleeding freely. If he looked like that, Sasuke was afraid to look in the mirror. Sasuke sent Naruto a pleading look. Please, just tell her we were sparring.
Sasuke saw Naruto considering his silent plea and watched as he contemplated the issue. Time seemed to stretch on and Sasuke's heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Please, please, please. I'll get in so much trouble if she thinks I'm fighting.
Naruto smiled and Sasuke's stomach flipped over itself in worry. "That's right, Uchiha-san!" Naruto lied easily. "We were only sparring! I guess we got a little carried away, ya know!"
Sasuke wanted to breathe out a sigh of relief, but his mother still had her hand wrapped around his arm.
She hummed. "Is that so?"
"Yes, Uchiha-san," Naruto said meekly as he bowed his head down in apology. "We'll be more careful next time. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"
"Y-yes." Sasuke couldn't help but stutter slightly in surprise. I can't believe this loser is going along with this.
His mother raised an eyebrow in obvious disbelief and Sasuke's heart threatened to beat out of his chest. However, considering Naruto's words, she seemed to find their excuse acceptable. Sasuke waited for what felt like hours for his mother to speak again.
"Well, in that case, you need to be more careful," his mother said. "You can easily hurt each other if you don't hold back. I think both of you are going to be bruised for a few days at the very least. It won't look pretty."
"Yes, mom," Sasuke said in his meekest voice, burning up at the realization that Naruto was watching him.
"Of course, Uchiha-san!" Naruto said with a grin. To his surprise, Sasuke saw that one of his teeth was missing. He felt an involuntary pang of guilt. He hoped it would grow back quickly.
His mother shifted her gaze between them, trying to get either one to crack, but Sasuke was silent and Naruto only smiled. The gap caused by his missing tooth only served to make him look more innocent.
After what felt like ages, his mother sighed and finally let go of Sasuke's arm. Sasuke forced himself not to rub at the place where her hand had been.
"Well, Sasuke, say goodbye to Naruto-kun," his mother ordered. "And then we're going home. I need to clean up those wounds before they get infected."
Sasuke nodded obediently and turned his gaze toward Naruto. "I'll see you later... Naruto." Loser.
"See you later... Sasuke." Jerk.
Sasuke turned to leave and his mother followed behind him with an exasperated sigh. Now that the adrenaline had run its course, he could fully feel the pain from the fight earlier. Sasuke might have won, but Naruto had managed to hit him a few times. Based on how Naruto looked, he was no doubt covered in bruises, cuts, and dirt.
When they arrived back at the Uchiha compound, his mother immediately shepherded him into the bathroom. There, she cleaned his injuries and lectured him about fighting carelessly. Sasuke tuned her out and nodded periodically to keep her satisfied.
At dinner, both Itachi and his father stared at his injuries but said nothing. His mother sighed and shook her head slightly when it seemed like his father was about to speak. Sasuke flushed at the knowledge that his parents would be talking about him later. He went to bed early, exhausted from a long and painful day.
On Sunday, he woke up sore. He cleaned his injuries like his mother had shown him. He spent most of the day in his room, reading books and playing with Itachi's hand-me-downs. His family said nothing about his injuries. Even so, he could tell that they had discussed the situation somewhere outside of his hearing.
By Monday morning, the pain had barely lessened. He walked alone to school. He sat down at the front of the new classroom now that the two classes have been grouped into one.
He could tell that his classmates were looking at him in curiosity but Sasuke refused to acknowledge their attention. He stared determinedly at the blank blackboard, trying to project an aura of boredom.
It didn't take long for someone to stand in front of his desk, blocking his view. With an exasperated sigh, he looked up at the face of the person in front of him. He blinked as he took in Naruto.
To his absolute annoyance, Naruto looked completely unmarred, his split lip and black eye already healed. Only his missing tooth remained as evidence of their fight. What the heck? Is it some kind of kekkei genkai?
To his surprise, Naruto sat in the chair next to his and Sasuke turned to look at him. He waited for Naruto to speak and enjoyed watching the other boy squirm as he got his words in order.
"What do you want, loser?" Sasuke finally asked once he saw that Naruto refused to talk.
Instead of the familiar anger, Naruto only looked uncomfortable. "I just... wanna know if you want to practice sparring after class, ya know?"
Sasuke blinked. "Practice?"
Naruto nodded. "Practice. You're stronger than me right now, but one day, I'm gonna beat you!"
It was Sasuke's turn to blink. "I thought you hated me."
"I kinda do, but I can admit when I need more practice. What d'ya say?"
"Hn, fine. Just don't slow me down."
"Thanks, jerk," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. "I need to be the strongest person if I ever want to be Hokage, ya know!"
With that final message, he left Sasuke's side to sit somewhere in the middle of the classroom. Sasuke almost wanted to turn around and look, but he had some pride left. He sighed and waited for class to start.
O-O-O-O-O
Gaara liked ninjutsu training with Baki.
While the other jinchuuriki had already taught him some of the basics, with his time limit, he preferred playing more than training with them. Baki, on the other hand, focused exclusively on ninjutsu. He tasked him with exercises to improve his sand control and lectured him about chakra.
He had given Gaara a large gourd where he could store his chakra-infused sand. At first, Gaara struggled to lift it, until he figured out that the sand could carry itself. After that, he took his large gourd everywhere he went.
"Your control is improving remarkably fast, Gaara-sama," Baki commented. He watched as Gaara pushed the sand back and forth on the training grounds.
Gaara hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing. He never talked to Baki unless necessary. Baki fell silent as Gaara recalled the sand back into his gourd. He sighed, exhausted. It was sunset, and he had been practicing since dawn to improve his stamina. He stretched and turned to walk back home.
"Wait, Gaara-sama," Baki called out.
Gaara stopped and turned to look at his teacher. For the first time in a long time, Baki looked nervous. His eyes darted back and forth as he refused to look Gaara in the eye. He sighed and walked closer.
"Your father made a request for your presence, Gaara-sama," he said, meeting Gaara's eyes.
Gaara felt a surge of anger. The sand inside the gourd swished back and forth. Baki flinched at the sound and Gaara forced himself to exhale and for his mind to go blank. The sand settled down.
"My father?" Gaara asked with forced calm.
Baki nodded, relieved at his student's self-control. "He wishes to speak to you about taking your first mission."
"First mission?" Gaara was curious despite himself. Even Fuu nee-chan hasn't gone on her first mission yet.
"Yes, Gaara-sama. He thinks that you are ready to complete your first official mission as a shinobi of Sunagakure."
Gaara hummed to himself before nodding. Baki sighed with obvious relief and together they ran to the Kazekage's office. The man held the door open for Gaara as they entered.
"Kazekage-sama," Baki greeted and bowed down to his father. Gaara stayed silent and still.
"Baki, Gaara," the Kazekage said. "I believe I have the perfect mission for you to get started."
"Of course, Kazekage-sama."
His father nodded. "Good. It's a simple mission. We received reports that a group of bandits is attacking merchants traveling from the capital. They have been disturbing the commerce routes. Your mission is to locate and eliminate them."
With that, the Kazekage extended a small scroll with more relevant information. Baki took it and started to read. "Are they shinobi or civilians?" he asked.
"We have received no sign that they have any shinobi among them," his father answered. "They have only attacked civilians without armed escorts."
Baki nodded. "When shall we set out, Kazekage-sama?"
"Tomorrow evening. You need time to prepare and all reported attacks have occurred in the evening or at night."
"Of course, Kazekage-sama." Baki bowed down and left.
Gaara followed behind his teacher immediately. He didn't want to spend any more time than necessary inside the office. His father said nothing and Baki led them back to Gaara's house.
"I will teach you how to prepare for a mission outside of the village, Gaara-sama," Baki said when they arrived home. "What supplies do you think are most necessary for this mission?"
With that opening question, Baki started the lesson, helping Gaara prepare everything. Gaara listened attentively, focusing on survival techniques for the desert. He needed to know for the inevitable day he left the village.
O-O-O-O-O
After the lesson ended and preparations are complete, Baki went to his own home to sleep. Impatient and bored, Gaara could only wait for their mission to start. He visited the Room to talk to the other jinchuuriki, where they played and talked. When they went to sleep, he practiced his sand control just to have something to do.
When Baki finally returned to start the mission, Gaara followed at his heels as they left the village.
Away from Sunagakure, the desert was beautiful and empty. He breathed the clean, dry air. For a second, he felt completely at ease. There were no angry people in his vicinity or anyone to call him a freak. He could live in the desert for the rest of his life.
Where would you find water, though? And food? Where would you live? His thoughts brought him back to reality and he looked down at his feet. He couldn't afford to get his hopes up.
"Reports say the previous attacks happened in this area," Baki explained as they walked on the road that connected Suna with the capital. "We will pretend to be travelers and wait for the bandits to come out."
With that announcement, Baki took out a sealing scroll. With a pulse of chakra and a puff of smoke, their disguises appeared. Baki took out two traveling cloaks, one of which he passed to Gaara to cover his distinctive hair and gourd. Baki opened a second scroll to release a wagon that looked full of expensive trinkets.
Baki looked at Gaara critically and nodded. "You look like a merchant's son," he said. "Stay close to me. We'll travel along the road and wait for anyone to attack."
Gaara nodded. Baki gave him a rare smile and walked on the road, pulling the wagon behind him. Gaara walked beside him.
It didn't take more than an hour for someone to attack. As they walked under the light of the full moon, someone holding a cheap sword jumped in front of Baki.
"Stop and hand over the wagon if you don't want to get hurt," the man threatened.
"W-what do you want with me?" Baki pretended to stutter. "Please, don't hurt my son! I'll do anything you want!"
The bandit smirked. "Good to hear, now step away from the wagon and we'll let you go."
Baki followed the instructions, motioning for Gaara to step back. The bandit chuckled and stepped forward to collect his loot.
"See? That was very easy, wasn't-"
Before the man could complete his boast, Baki threw a kunai. It hit the man through the eye, killing him instantly. Gaara heard an angry shout and two more men jump out from behind the dunes.
Gaara had no chance to strategize. His sand rushed out from his gourd and floated to attack the two new men, wrapping itself around them. They froze and looked pleadingly into Gaara's eyes.
"Wait! Please! Stop! I don't want to die!" one man yelled while the other one sobbed like a child. This is too easy. Why is this so easy?
"Gaara..." Baki said. Gaara looked up at his teacher. Baki nodded and Gaara gulped. He knew what he had to do. What would happen if I refused, though?
The two men cried and begged for their lives, but Gaara had an order, and he knew he had to follow it. He couldn't afford to turn against his father yet. At the very least I can make this as painless as possible.
Gaara clenched his hands into fists. Immediately, the world fell into absolute silence. Even his heart seemed to have stopped beating. He stared as the blood seeped into the desert sands.
It took a few seconds for his sense of hearing to come back. It took longer to realize the sand had floated back into the gourd without his conscious control. Baki walked to stand at his side.
"Good work, Gaara-sama," Baki complimented.
Gaara nodded in acknowledgment, feeling strangely heavy. He wasn't sure if he could speak even if he wanted to. It's too easy. No one told me it would be so easy.
Baki stared at Gaara speculatively and Gaara stared back solemnly. They looked at each other for a few seconds in unnerving quiet. Why is everything so quiet?
"What's the name of that technique, Gaara-sama?" Baki asked, breaking the silence.
Gaara mulled over the question. "Sand Coffin," he decided.
Baki nodded. "How are you feeling, Gaara-sama?" he asked. "Do you feel anything about your first mission?"
Yes, I do. However, Gaara only shook his head. He wanted to talk about his first official kill with somebody, but he couldn't trust anyone in Sunagakure. The other jinchuuriki were the only ones that might understand why his mind and body felt so numb.
Baki opened his mouth as if to speak before reconsidering. With a nervous gulp, he opened the sealing scroll again. With a puff of smoke, all of their supplies for the mission disappeared. He took out three new black scrolls to put away the corpses.
Gaara watched him impassibly as he worked. There was something different but he couldn't put his finger on why. It was only when Baki had packed up and they had turned back home that Gaara realized why everything felt so quiet. Shukaku.
Ever since the kill, the beast had been silent. He heard no insults, threats, or growls. The only things he could hear were the gentle desert breeze and the sound of their footsteps on the road. The silence was disturbing and Gaara didn't know what to make of it. Is this what normal people hear?
The beast was quiet until they reached the outer gates of Sunagakure.
'Thanks for the offering, little boy,' Shukaku said. 'I've been missing the smell of blood.'
Gaara shuddered. He hoped that Baki dismissed his reaction due to the dropping temperature.
'What do you want?' Gaara asked the tanuki spirit.
'Give me more blood. That's the only thing I want. I'll even pretend be your mother if you want, so long as you give me blood.'
Gaara ignored the bijuu with practiced ease. Nevertheless, the words struck fear into his heart. The beast would only be quiet and satisfied if it received blood offerings? Gaara doubted that would happen often.
After passing through the gates of the village, Gaara expected Baki to dismiss him and separate. However, his teacher signaled for him to wait instead and Gaara turned to look up at the man.
"Gaara-sama, there is only one thing we must do before we part ways."
"What is it?" Gaara asked calmly.
"We must give our mission report. Your father also made a request for our presence."
Gaara's heart began beating faster and the sand inside the gourd swished back and forth. He clenched his hands into fists and looked impassively up at Baki. "Why?" he asked.
"He wished for you to meet your siblings, Gaara-sama," Baki answered. "He wants all of you to work together as a team."
"My siblings?" Gaara racked his brain to remember any information about them. From his birth, he had always been isolated, with only ANBU and his uncle to keep him company.
"Yes, Gaara-sama," Baki answered. "He believes that your brother and sister would be suitable as your teammates."
Gaara nodded hesitantly as he started walking toward his father's office. Baki followed close behind him in silence. Gaara's stomach turned over itself and a wave of nausea hit him. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but he didn't allow it to show on his face.
In the back of his mind, Gaara always knew that he had siblings. His uncle had mentioned them a few times, although they had never met in person. After his uncle's death, he had seen two children a few times at his father's side from a distance. So those were my brother and sister. I'm finally going to meet them.
Together, Baki and Gaara entered the Kazekage's office, Baki holding the door open once again. He looked up at his father, who sat at the desk with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Two children stood beside him, both squirming nervously but trying not to show it.
"Gaara, come closer," the Kazekage ordered.
"Yes, Father," Gaara said meekly, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check. He stepped closer and stared at the two children to avoid looking at his father.
"These are your brother and sister, Gaara," the Kazekage explained. "Your sister Temari and your brother Kankuro. You three will work together under Baki's supervision and complete missions for the village. Am I to be understood?"
Gaara nodded obediently, but he refused to turn his gaze away from his siblings. They shuddered under his gaze.
His sister appeared to be Fuu's age, but slightly taller and stockier. Her blonde hair was tied back into four pigtails at the back of her head. She smiled at him, but he could tell that it was fake. His brother, covered in face paint typical of puppet trainees, was nearly the complete opposite. Unlike their sister, he had his arms crossed in front of his chest and he glared at Gaara with fear and anger.
"Hello, Gaara," Temari broke the silence, nodding her head slightly. "F-father told me we would be in a team! I hope we can work well together!"
Gaara hummed as he turned his gaze toward his brother. Kankuro's frown deepened, and he only grunted at Gaara. Gaara looked at his siblings for a few seconds more before turning around and leaving.
"Don't get in my way," he told them as he departed.
The two children were his brother and sister, but they had done nothing for him and he doubted they ever would. They were only two more people from the village to hate.
O-O-O-O-O
A/N: One of my favorite things is when Naruto and Sasuke are frenemies. Gaara suffering is one of my least favorites.
Once again, my Tumblr is waffledogwrites if you want to yell at me for whatever reason.
Next chapter: Fuu learns a new technique.