Chapter 3

"I can't believe this is happening, Tsume." A gentle groan erupted from the bead user as her head fell against her partner's shoulder. …Though Tsume was being anything but sympathetic.

"Aww…C'mon Rin, you're always telling me to quit whining and do what I'm supposed to, even if I don't want to." A smirk found Tsume's features. "So suck it up and deal with it." Sure felt nice to be able to say that to Rin, instead of hearing it for once. A soft snicker erupted from the male, followed by a rather loud squeal from the pinch that had been delivered from Rin.

Squirming, a soft whine came as Tsume rubbed the injured flesh.
"That wasn't very nice, Rin-chan…"
"So stop stealing my lines, butthead." The female twitched, relinquishing Tsume from her weight as optics stared out into the village, most of which was visible from their roof. Two years now…at least that's how long it'd been since they'd moved in together. Sometimes it seemed like just yesterday that they were still in the Chunin exams…but it wasn't. Yesterday was long gone, and that was a fact of life that everyone had to realize.

A soft sigh was given.
"He's only doing it because he knows I don't like him. I could have been in Iwagakure already." A gentle pout found Rin's features, which were unmasked for the time being. Unlike some other un-named ninja who wore theirs all the time, Rin preferred to take it off at home.

A ruffle sent her tresses flying about her visage, and a huff was given to Tsume through the blanket of hair.

"Well, don't let it bother you, Rin-chan…not much you can do about it now." Tsume's weight was lifted from her figure, and the sudden lack of warmth made Rin shiver, despite the warmth that radiated through the night. Pulling herself up, Rin shifted and crawled back into the window in which she had previously exited to steal away to the starry night. Tsume's lank figure followed after, and placed itself on the couch in which he horded oh so well.

A gentle roll of the eyes was given, and she padded towards her room, down the dark hallway and through the closed door into the comfort of familiarity. A flick of a switch flooded the room with light, revealing the spotless floor and a neatly made bed, in which was rarely used. The dark crimson blankets blended well with the carpet, and curtains that were kept over the single window in her room. It was a bland room, other than that…A plain square room with a slightly jutted out closet, giving it a smaller area than without. Flopping herself upon the bed, a gentle groan emitted from the female who blended in with the blankets upon the bed, only her sun-kissed hair stood against the crimson. Sleep came swiftly, stealing Rin into it's dark abyss.

As dawn approached, the world woke anew…And for the first time, it would seem that many could see through another's eyes. How long would that last? How long could the world live in bustling serenity of the new day? Rin mused about thoughts such as this, her figure perched upon the branch of a large maple tree, breathing in the fresh scent of the dew drop morning. However, her musing was broken by the movement in the motel room in which she had intently been listening in on. It seemed that Gaara did not sleep….mildly discomforting, but whatever. The window next to her opened, and the redhead peered out towards the blonde with an inquisitive look, as if unsure what to make of her presence.

"Look, it seems like I don't have much of a choice but to watch over you…" A gentle mumble was given. "As if I'm a babysitter, but I don't like you, just so we're clear, but I'm not going to let you tarnish my mission history….I have yet to fail, I'd like to keep it that way." Her mask brushed against her lips, muffling the threatening tone behind the words only slightly, but apparently the hint was given when a simple nod was all that she received in honor of her wording. Apparently…Gaara wasn't a morning person.

The thought of that, almost made Rin giggle…almost. If she hadn't been so well versed, she might have, but instead a gentle smirk flitted over her concealed features as her limber figure slid into the room through the window, a gentle lean given to it thereafter. Hawk like optics watched the KazeKage's every movement, as he trudged about the room, attempting to find his things.

Thankfully, however…he had managed to find his clothes…if he'd even taken them off. The thought made Rin grimace, and Gaara seemed to realize what she was thinking, because she gained a quick response.

"Don't worry, I showered and changed my clothes."

Well, at least knowing that calmed Rin some…if he were like Tsume…..

Well, she'd probably kill him. But that's besides the point. It took about another ten minutes before Gaara had cleaned up his mess about the room, and was finally satisfied with the state of array that it had been thrown into.

"So where to, Kazekage-sama?" The last thickened with distaste at having to say the formal title, and a smirk had found Gaara's boyish features at her discontent.

"How about the market…I'm feeling slightly hungry…" Rin could do little more than glare at Gaara's back as she followed his royal pain in the ass out the door and into the streets. Though, the job was relatively easy, Gaara always made sure to stay in her view….Which made her want to thank him, but strangle him at the same time…And he always seemed to want to make sure that everyone knew she was 'taking care of him.' As he so eloquently put it. He stopped at many a shop, but never bought anything…Much to Rin's frustration. After about an hour, she started to believe that God was torturing her, and was questioning to herself, 'Why…why god why? What did I ever do to deserve this?' But her thoughts and whines got her no where…mainly because they were to herself, but they had distracted her….Causing her to completely miss the fact that there was a person in front of her. Poor Kiba was bowled over by the lost in thought Rin, and they both went down in a tangle of limbs. Rin let out a yelp as her back hit the ground, mainly out of surprise as she stared up at Kiba…who looked equally surprised to be atop of Rin.

'Of all people, I had to run into Kiba!' Her mind shrieked at her, and a heavy blush cascaded across her cheeks, thankfully hidden by the dark cloth covering most of her visage.

"K-k-kiba! I'm so sorry, I wasn't p-paying at-ttention to where I was going…" Rin squirmed, attempting to pry herself from the entanglement with her long time crush, known only to her…and Tsume.

"Rin…Damn you hit hard." A toothy grin came from the canine familiar boy, and Rin's flush deepened, if at all possible. "S'cool, just eh…" His hand reached up, rubbing the back of his hooded head. "Try not to run into me so hard next time, I bruise easy." Of course that was a lie, but it always helped when someone could make light of the situation…And realizing Rin's desperation to loosen herself from their situation, Kiba drew himself to a stand, brushing off his pants. A hand rose in farewell, and Kiba disappeared into the thick mass of people that had begun to pour from the doors of homes and bars.

"You know…I thought you were supposed to be protecting me, not the other way around." Gaara's hand circled around Rin's upper arm, and he tugged her to her feet, where she stood somewhat numb, at a loss for words for the first time in what seemed like a long time.

When Gaara's words had sunk in, however, Rin gave a rather haughty huff, and twisted, spinning on her heel to face him.

"You know what, I don't care who you are…Keep your fuckin' mouth shut, okay? Good." Embers smoldered within her vision, and had Gaara been less of the person he was, he might have backed down…but when you share your body with a demon, you become desensitized to certain things, and when you have an older female sibling, you definitely become desensitized to certain things, so Gaara found himself probably not as afraid as he should have been.

And that was how most of their day went…at least until the sun had reached high noon, and it was deemed safe to wake Tsunade from her mid-morning nap. It was then that they ventured to the Hokage tower to have their fates decided should Tsunade remain in her slumbered state.

Much to their luck, Shizune had already suffered the fate for waking Tsunade, and so they were spared when the room was invaded.

"Hokage-sama…I came to Konohagakure not for pleasure as I had wished, but for a matter far more desperate." Rin rolled her eyes at Gaara's formality, but he continued. "Sunagakure has fallen into a state of disarray, war has come upon our borders, and we respectfully request the assistance of Konohagakure."

Tsunade was quiet, and Rin was as well, both women absorbing the newfound information. Finally, Tsunade spoke.

"I wonder…why you did not tell us of this yesterday, when you first arrived…But it is no matter. We will offer any resources we can afford."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama…but at the moment our only request is for able bodies to assist our battles."

A simple nod, and then Shizune was called over.

"Please gather Team 8, Team 10, Team 6, and of course Tsume, because we both know how he will feel if Rin goes and he does not." Shizune nodded, and bounded away to accomplish her task.

Saying that the trip had been unpleasant would have been something of a mild understatement….the trip wasn't pleasant at all, in fact, it had been hell. They stopped very little, and only when necessary, but what had bothered Rin the most was Gaara's constant lingering over the tent setups, requiring that only certain people be near others, but what annoyed her the most was that he separated herself and Tsume. …It wasn't very often that Tsume and Rin were separated, and so the distance was discomforting, if a little unnerving. Not having that constant warmth near her made Rin a little touchy, and quite cranky.

By the time they reached the outpost, dark had fallen over the land of sand, and tents were well on their way to being constructed for their bodies to rest in before the next mornings patrols and schedules were handed out.

"Will you shutup?!" A female voice rang through the camp, and a male voice followed after.
"No, I won't! Stop being such a bitch, Temari! Just because you're older…" The last trailed off, and Gaara visibly rolled his eyes at the siblings he dared relate himself to. After silence filled the camps, two figures stormed their way towards the Kazekage, both clad in black, but one with a mop of dark brown hair atop his head, and makeup smudging his features…the other, puffballs of blonde adorned her head, and rather boyish looks accented her body, a large fan across her back being her only means of defense.

"Gaara! Kankuro's arguing with my choice for tents and who goes where…Last time I checked, you hadn't put him in charge of such a thing." A haughty huff came from the one that was assumed to be Temari, her arms crossing defiantly over her chest.

"Please, like you really want to do everything, you can't even let me set up the tents…Next thing we know, you'll be after Gaara's job!"

Gaara was tempted to roll his eyes, and walk away…or find a very tall bottle of sake, but instead he lifted his hands, silencing them both.

"Where are the diagrams and lists for the tents?" Temari produced them…from only god knows where in her outfit. Gaara took a pen, also from Temari, and made a few quick scribblings.

"Problem solved, now get back to your stations! Everyone else, look at the list and diagram and figure out where you're to be, and get there…tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

There was a swarm, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were all in one tent, Kiba Shino, and Hinata were together, but it appeared that Rin and Tsume were once again, separated. As the mob of people dissipated, Rin approached Gaara, her hand reaching out to stop his movement towards his own tent…had he not stopped, she would have closelined him.

"Hold on. I've put up with your childish bullshit all week, but I'm done. Why are you separating my teammate and I? That's bullshit, and I won't stand for it!" Her voice had risen, drawing the attention of a few nearby Sand nin, wondering if the Konoha kunoichi might go ballistic and kill their Kage.

Gaara merely smirked, responding. "I think it will be better that way…It will teach you to work with others, instead of just one person."

"Bullshit." Her teeth ground together, a soft growl emitting…"You put the other teams together. Tsume and I are tenting together, and you know what? You can take your list, and shove it where the sun don't shine." With that, Rin spun on her heel and stormed off towards her tent, which had just been her. The rows of tents had been set up in a four by four formation. Four across and four down…Rin was on the closest corner to Gaara's, which was on the side closest to Suna. Along the way, Tsume had been snatched from his way, and drug to the tent. He didn't protest a lot…if whining isn't counted as protesting, but as they reached the tent, Rin's grip on his collar released, and he huffed, brushing off and straightening his lanky form before pushing his way into the canvas tent.

"So, how'd you manage to convince the Kazekage to allow us to tent together?" Tsume questioned, a slender brow raising as he threw his bag under the bed, not bothering to make the cot before he flopped down onto it.

"I told him that he was being an ass, and that he couldn't keep teammates separated when he kept all of the others intact." A gentle shrug came from her shoulders as she dropped her own bag, kicking it under the cot before laying out the monotone green sheet and pillow, flopping down atop the itchy fabric.
"Besides, It's no fun when you tent by yourself." Rin gave a gentle snort, mocking in the term "fun." Making sure that those around them could clearly understand.

Tsume snickered.