Summary: Baki revisits his private life while his students get students of their own. Minor spoilers for a filler arc where Matsuri is introduced.

JOSTLING WINDS

Desert Mouse

Journal:

The most exciting thing to happen today was that our Dorm Mother, Iku, got a visit from her sister, Raku, who is a kunoichi. I tried to listen to what Raku was saying, hoping it would give me hints about life as a female ninja, but they were talking about girl stuff. Raku has spent a year trying to get a date with this man, so they were talking about the dress she should wear and the perfume she should use. And there was something about 'getting some' but I never really understood what they meant. So I learned nothing about being a ninja. I find it hard to sleep knowing that in three days I'll be attending the new Suna Academy. I haven't told anyone that I signed up because I know they'll just make fun of me here at the orphanage. And sometimes I wonder if I will go through with it, if I will show up on the first day. So I can't sleep and just sit in my bed and stare out the window making my wishes.

-Matsuri

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sunakagure

It was three days before the opening of the Suna Academy and the Sand siblings had been working hard. Temari especially came home tired since she was in charge of scheduling, so she went to bed by ten o'clock. Once her brothers thought Temari was in dreamland, Kankuro and Gaara snuck out of the cliff house.

Kankuro, who was carrying a large box strapped to his back, leapt onto the platform of floating sand Gaara created. A dull twittering and thumping was emanating from the box. "We're likely to piss off the new jonin. Can you handle it?"

"Oh, I can handle it." Gaara's even tone held just the slightest tremor of excitement. He was always curious about Kankuro's latest idea to prank the jonin barracks. But he also knew that Kankuro's question referred to controlling the Shukaku. "Let's go."

Unbeknownst to her brothers, Temari sat up in her bed to send a wind whisper across the village. "Baki? Are you awake?"

The kunoichi could not have anticipated where the wind whisper would find him. The Wind Sword, who for once was actually to be found in the embrace of a woman, murmured into his date's ear, "I definitely am awake."

Raku was on his lap, her short skirt riding up high on her thighs with one strap of her dress falling off her shoulder. His kiss moved from her throat to her lips only to hear the voice in his ear again rather persistently. "Baki! Come on, I need you!"

That's obvious, he thought to himself as Raku pressed against him suggestively while practically ripping the buttons off of his shirt. But wait. How could Raku be talking if...

"Damn it, Baki, get up and get dressed. They're at it again!"

This time Baki's eyes opened wide as he realized he was hearing a wind whisper and recognized the voice. He pushed Raku away and muttered, "Temari?"

The woman blinked. "Baki? What did you call me?"

Baki stood up and Raku abruptly caught herself before landing on the floor. In the meantime the jonin was quickly refastening what buttons were left on his shirt and grabbing his vest while explaining, "Tomorrow. I need to go now because of--tomorrow."

"Baki, wait--" But her words were cut off as he vanished from her apartment in a whirl of sand. Raku flopped back on her bed and slammed her fist into the mattress. It had taken all night to get the man to loosen up sufficiently to get him to her flat. And now this! "And they say men only think of one thing."

Baki reappeared on the ground outside of Raku's flat and took a deep breath. He frowned when he realized her perfume was strong enough to leave a lingering scent, then remembered to wipe the lipstick from his mouth. After the recent events, the Wind Sword determined he needed to reacquaint himself with the company of real women. Obviously fate had other plans.

He took a deep breath and sent a wind whisper to Temari. "I heard you. I bet they're targeting the rookies. Meet by their barracks."

By this time Temari was slipping her fan onto her back. She made haste to meet up with Baki, so left her hair down. She found him perched on the roof of an adjoining tower to the jonin barracks reserved specifically for the rookies. In fact, most of the occupants had just completed their jonin trials and would be rather vulnerable.

Baki almost didn't recognize her with her hair down, so he moved closer and lightly touched her hair. "Temari?"

"Uh, I rushed to get here," she said as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Thanks for coming; I'm sorry I--" She stopped abruptly and sniffed. "Is Kankuro drenching them with perfume?"

"No, he has something else in mind," assured Baki. At this point Temari followed his gaze as a stream of young jonin ran out of the barracks in various states of undress followed by a large, furry creature with red eyes, a drooling maw, and razor-like claws.

"What the hell is that?" asked Temari as she whipped out her fan. "A sand goblin?"

"Hold on. I think Kankuro is perfecting a jutsu," suggested Baki.

Temari blinked and took another look. "It's a pyramid of small, furry things. Are those desert mice?"

At that moment, one of the new jonin, a tall man with swirl tattoos on his face, turned to perform a hand seal that sent blasts of wind into the 'goblin' behind them. A sand shield formed quickly to protect the pyramid of desert mice. The shield then fell to reveal the furry little horde hopping madly after the young jonin.

"What the hell!" "Damn vermin..." "...wipe out the..."

But when the jonin attacked in force, they were again met with a sand shield that gave the little rodents a chance to hop away. As suddenly as the attack began, the 'goblin' had now vanished. The grumbling of the sleep-deprived contingent could still be heard as they dragged their comrades back to into the building in the aftermath.

"Over there on the southwest corner," said Temari as she pointed to a familiar silhouette marked by feline ears.

"I'll manipulate the currents; you knock some sense into your brother," directed Baki.

"With pleasure," agreed Temari as they set off to intercept the pranksters. It wasn't a difficult task given that Kankuro was holding his gut trying not to burst out laughing.

Before Gaara realized it, his platform of floating sand ran into turbulence that literally dumped both boys onto the ground. He heard his brother murmur, "Oh, man, busted!"

Baki was pleased to see that Gaara merely summoned his sand back into his gourd while Kankuro dodged Temari's blows.

"Hey, ouch! Come on, ow!" Kankuro was now hopping on one foot since his sister had lovingly struck his shin using her fan as a club. "You have to admit it was funny."

"Funny?" Temari spun her fan and thwacked her brother across the rump. "These guys are worn out after their jonin trials and you decide to pull this stunt?"

"Not my fault that all their sentries fell asleep," inserted Kankuro as he successfully dodged the next blows. "Besides, these guys were saying we'd never make jonin. And Swirly Face made a point of saying that women shouldn't be ninja, especially a dumb blonde with more boobs than brains like the Kazekage's daughter."

"What? Why, I'm gonna--" Temari was about to open her fan when she felt the tug on it and found Baki holding it firmly in hand.

"There's been enough havoc tonight," admonished Baki.

"Please, Baki? Just a little sunabokori to leave that moron's mouth with sand?" begged Temari as she turned with a doe-eyed look.

Damn it, he thought he'd become immune to it, but next thing Baki knew, he was letting go of the fan and nodding his head.

"Haha! Get him, sis! He's under the third window, second floor," informed Kankuro as Temari sent a whirl of sand to stream into the window.

A sunabokori formed to plague the jonin who had finally settled into his bed in the barracks. The cloud ensured he'd be feeling sand in more than his mouth.

"I suppose that will have to do," conceded Temari as she leaned on her open fan.

Kankuro moved closer to her and Baki and sniffed. "You wearing perfume now, Temari?"

"No, that's--Baki?" Temari blinked in confusion.

All three turned to their sensei who was now rubbing his temple as he said, "It's from my shirt. End of story."

But Kankuro's active imagination had no trouble coming to an inevitable conclusion, especially when he noticed that his Neat Freak Sensei was missing buttons on his shirt. "Dude! You were getting laid?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Kankuro!" admonished Temari immediately.

"What's getting laid?" muttered Gaara. "What's ridiculous?"

To change the subject, Baki injected, "Using desert mice to scare the new jonin is ridiculous. What if they'd gotten hurt due to your escapade?"

"They weren't hurt; I used my sand shield," said Gaara firmly. He sort of liked the little scampering creatures.

"I meant the humans, not the mice," explained Baki. "They could have begun attacking each other in their confusion."

"Jonin should be able to take care of themselves. I keep telling you that they've lowered standards and this should prove it. Would you have been chased out of your bed by a 'sand goblin'," here Kankuro flashed his index fingers, "even after your jonin trials?"

"I couldn't sleep for a week after my jonin trial," admitted Baki with a frown as he also remembered the new jonin who had challenged Temari. The rascal had a point.

The Puppet Master grinned at him, "And you have to admit, that jutsu was awesome."

Baki gave up the argument when Temari met Kankuro's high five. Instead he said, "Fine, but you're to capture every mouse and release them into the cliffs where they belong. If they don't eat the eggs and larvae, the village will be overrun by scorpions."

"Oh, right, I didn't think about that. Come on, bro, we're mouse catchers again." The brothers set off to look for their little friends.

In the meantime, Baki turned to Temari and directed, "I'll walk you home before you decide to sandblast the jonin again."

With a small pout, Temari folded her fan and strapped it onto her back. As they walked together, Temari turned to Baki, then looked away from him before asking in a rather petulant tone, "So, I really did interrupt you on a date?"

"Ridiculous as it may seem, I do have a personal life." Baki frowned as he realized he was feeling guilty about that admission, so he added, "Besides, it was nothing."

"You're with a woman and you call her nothing?" asked Temari with a bit of outrage.

"Oh no, don't pull that female logic on me," said Baki as he suddenly stopped and faced her. "I was not denigrating the woman. I meant that she isn't as important to me as you are--and your brothers."

"If this mystery woman is nothing, why were you with her in the first place? What kind of example are you setting for my brothers if you go tomcatting--" Temari abruptly stopped and accused, "Don't tell me you were at some brothel!"

"I was not with a--" began Baki in equal outrage. He couldn't even say the word in front of Temari, so he changed tactics. "Look, I drop the first date I've had since--I can't remember when--just to come running when you call. At least give me some credit for demonstrating where my priorities lie instead of acting as if--as if I'm some unfaithful womanizer."

His uncharacteristic outburst was followed by silence before their gaze met. Suddenly, they both burst into laughter. Baki a womanizer? That certainly was ridiculous.

Temari sobered and reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I sounded like a cross between a jealous girlfriend and a nagging mother, didn't I?"

"Won't you just get mad at me again if I agree?" asked Baki tentatively.

"No," assured Temari with a poke to his shoulder. "I'm mature enough to understand that you deserve to keep your personal life private. I was also being disrespectful to even suggest you'd be at a brothel."

"I've never been accused of such indiscretion," Baki said as he collected his composure.

Temari sighed. "Baki, I want you to be happy, but just not without us. I know that sounds weird, but it seems like you've always been with us, and--and I guess I see any other relationship as an intrusion."

"How about I just acknowledge that you own me and leave it at that?" offered Baki with a note of humor in his voice. "I can emboss Sabaku Slave on my hitai-ite with a wind jutsu."

"Leave it as sensei," chided Temari as she punched his shoulder. "I prefer to think of you belonging with us, not that we own you."

"Fine, you've beat it into me," agreed Baki as he covered her hand with his, but with a squeeze he moved it and released her hand. They continued the walk in a comfortable silence.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Journal:

There was excitement in the village last night according to our Dorm Mother. Iku said the new jonin were attacked by a vicious sand goblin that appeared out of nowhere. The jonin fought bravely to defeat it and only came away with minor cuts, except for one brave soul who looked like he'd walked through a sandstorm. Funny, but when I was looking out the window last night toward those barracks, I thought I saw a bunch of mice scurrying away. I guess they were scared of the goblin, too. Another odd thing is that I saw 'them' again: two figures riding on a carpet. I only see their shadows, but one looks like a humpback and the other like an enormous cat. I've seen them before when weird things happen in the village at night, but our Dorm Mother just thinks they're figments of my imagination. Maybe she'll believe me when I become a ninja! If I become a ninja. If I even go to the first day of academy...

-Matsuri

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Councilor's Quarters

Rap, rap, rap. Kankuro knocked on Baki's door the next evening once he tracked the jonin down after the Council meeting. "Hey, Baki, you there? Alone?"

The Wind Sword was dressing after having taken a shower. He sighed when he heard Kankuro at his door, but just draped his face quickly and called, "Come in, Kankuro. And when am I not here alone?"

"I just didn't want to bust up another date," explained Kankuro as he slipped in the door.

Baki merely scoffed, so Kankuro ventured, "So, did you make up with your date from the other night?"

"No." Baki would have stopped there, but he needed a sounding board. "You know the saying about wrath has no fury like a woman scorned?"

"Yeah?"

"Well it should say 'Never piss off a kunoichi.'" Baki sat down and explained, "I even went to her flat personally. I said, 'Sorry, I won't be wasting any more time with you.'"

Kankuro literally winced before asking, "Was that an apology?"

"I said I was sorry," emphasized Baki with a frown. "I didn't expect the senbon, but I was ready for the kunai. I about made my escape when she threw a bottle of perfume at me. It hit the wall, but splattered all over me."

"So love stinks," observed Kankuro blandly.

"What's love got to do with it?" asked Baki. "I felt like I was in a war zone."

"At least that put you in your element as opposed to dating," suggested Kankuro.

"True, I didn't think about that," replied Baki with a shrug. "I was in the shower for a half hour, but I think I'll just burn the uniform. Given the stench it ought to be highly flammable."

"Sucks to be you, huh?"

"Where women are concerned, you've nailed it," admitted Baki as he let his head fall back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling. "It's a good thing I'm so sexually repressed."

"Hey, I have a question." Kankuro sat in a chair facing him. "If that betrothal contract between you and Temari still applied, would you be, you know, seeing other women? Because I figure that if the two of you were betrothed, you'd still wait a couple of years to get married."

Baki frowned. "That's a moot point since you destroyed the scroll."

"Right, you did tell me to get rid of it," agreed Kankuro easily enough. "But would you? See other women?"

"No, a formal betrothal contract requires fidelity; there would be no other women even if we waited a decade to marry," explained Baki. He frowned at this line of questioning, then considered how close the boy had gotten to Kagami Shugyoku, Lord Houshu's neice. Their youth and waiting to actually marry fit the nature of Kankuro's question. "Why? Are you thinking of negotiating a betrothal contract of your own?"

"What?" replied Kankuro as he laughed nervously. "It's just that, well, we've been really busy since the Kazekage's funeral, so, I haven't done it yet."

"I should think not," agreed Baki. The boy was too young to be thinking of marriage.

"Oh, so you're cool with it?" said Kankuro with a sudden grin. "Great! And I will let you know as soon as it's done."

"Don't rush such things," advised Baki as he turned his attention back to the ceiling to contemplate his dismal track record with women.

"Well, okay," agreed Kankuro with a shrug. "It's not like you have a hot and heavy dating life anyway. See ya."

The Puppeteer was out the door before the meaning of the conversation hit Baki like a sandstorm. He shouted, "Kankuro! Get back in here!"

"I knew it was too good to be true," muttered Kankuro to himself as he pivoted and walked back to the door. Still, he merely poked his head around the doorsill to ask, "Yeah?"

"Sit." Baki pointed to the chair.

Kankuro sat, silently.

"Well?"

Kankuro shrugged.

"Why?"

"Why am I sitting here? You tell me."

At Baki's glare, the Puppeteer decided not to be so glib and offered the real question at hand. "Why are you still betrothed to Temari?"

Baki merely nodded.

"Well, you know me, I procrastinate! Besides, I have been really busy."

"Not too busy to keep you from planning pranks on the jonin," countered Baki.

"I have my own set of priorities," declared Kankuro, but then scratched his head. "But after your botched date, I realized that maybe keeping it was doing you no favors. So, I did try to burn the scroll last night."

"Try? Isn't it ashes yet?"

"Nope, I put it in a flaming brazier and waited. Nothing. So I took a kunai to shred it, but the blade just bounced off. I even tried unraveling it with chakra strings and only got a headache for all my trouble."

"Damn! I should have known the Kazekage would imbue it with all sorts of jutsus to prevent tampering." Baki shook his head, "Your father is a cunning adversary even in death."

"Yeah, the old man never knew when to quit," said Kankuro. "I could take it Chiyo--"

"Are you kidding? She'd drag Temari into this! We'll just have to do the research ourselves." Baki rubbed his visible eye and said, "But, you're right that we have other priorities at the moment. The betrothal scroll is harming neither party at present."

"Okay, I'll check the Academy library for anything on protecting legal documents," assured Kankuro. He punched Baki in the arm and said, "Hey, marrying Temari is the worst thing that could happen, right? Would that be so bad?"

Kankuro left without getting a reply from his sensei.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Journal:

Our Dorm Mother got another visit from Raku today. It was late, but the kunoichi was ranting about how her date the other night had suddenly left and then had been seen walking with some buxom blonde later the same night. Then when he met her today, the man had the gall to say he wouldn't see her again. What a jerk! But then I felt sorry for the poor man after hearing how Raku attacked him with every weapon she could get her hands on, including her favorite perfume bottle. If she liked it so much, why did she throw it at him? I got tired of hearing the ranting, so I took a walk toward the Academy. I use a shortcut that takes me across the garden wall of the Councilor's Tower. Once I got to the top of the wall, I saw a scary looking man who had half of his face covered by a drape. He had a fire blazing in a metal barrel, then he tossed something into it to burn. The stench was awful, so I quietly turned around and walked back to the dorms. Is this a sign that I shouldn't attend the Academy? Will I get burned just as easily if I try to become a ninja? I have to admit that my courage has left me. What should I do?

-Matsuri

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Suna Academy

It was again the middle of the night when Baki decided to do a final walk through the Suna Academy on the night before it opened. As soon as he stepped into the darkened hallway, he smiled when he heard the familiar voices coming from the second floor.

"Don't tell me Kankuro's setting up a prank in the Academy?" ventured Baki in a wind whisper.

Temari replied in kind. "No, he's cool. We're on the balcony. Couldn't sleep."

"I'll be right up," he replied, but when he reached the balcony, he was surprised to find not just Temari and Kankuro, but also Gaara.

"So, are you antsy about tomorrow, too?" asked Kankuro as he leaned against the railing of the balcony. "Temari's been freaking out that we've forgotten something. Dragged us out here to rearrange desks, check the plumbing, and inspect the grounds."

"I'm just being conscientious!" declared the kunoichi.

"Isn't the proper term neurotic?" inserted Gaara in his monotone.

"I'll stay to finish checking things out with Temari since I share her neurotic conscientiousness," offered Baki.

"I told you wind masters are control freaks," muttered Kankuro to Gaara. "Come on, bro. Make that sand glider of yours and we can buzz the jonin barracks."

Gaara created the platform so Kankuro could jump on. The Puppeteer gave a last wave to the two who remained on the balcony as Baki called, "No pranks! Take him straight home, Gaara."

The boy merely raised a hand to acknowledge the directive as they disappeared from view.

"Did you ever think you'd see that? Gaara acting like a real brother?" asked Temari as she flipped on the bright hallway lights of the Academy.

"He's come a long way in behaving like a human," began Baki as he walked with her to check the classrooms, "but we can't forget the Shukaku he carries."

"The village never forgets," sighed Temari.

"Did something happen?" asked Baki with a note of concern.

"I heard some women talking, mothers of students coming here tomorrow. They said they told their children to stay away from Gaara." Temari turned to look at him. "Do you think Gaara will get any students when we form our groups for weapons training?"

"Do you think Gaara cares whether he gets any students?" countered Baki. "He's been reluctant about teaching."

Temari looked down before explaining, "When I went by Gaara's room tonight when I couldn't sleep, I heard him talking. He was telling his bear to call him Gaara sensei."

Baki held back a chuckle at the image of the dreadful Shukaku vessel playing make-believe with a stuffed toy. "He did?"

Temari laughed softly, "Yes, he even changed his voice as if the bear replied, 'Gaara sensei.'"

"Well, now I've heard everything. He actually does want to teach," observed Baki. Still, he shook his head and said, "It will take a special individual to accept Gaara."

"Should I assign--"

"No," interrupted Baki. He stopped the progress of their inspection to place a hand on her shoulder. "It will mean more to Gaara if even one student elects to work with him. I know it's a gamble, but you've got to have faith that there is a brave soul in Suna who will look beyond the demon. And if there isn't, then it's best that Gaara find this out and learn to deal with the rejection."

Temari leaned her forehead against Baki's shoulder for a moment before conceding, "You're right, it's just..."

"That you feel like a mother hen?" suggested Baki, but he squeezed her shoulder to soften his remark. "For your information, I'll be watching the weapons class like a hawk, but I don't intend to intrude unless I have to distract Gaara. Satisfied?"

Temari nodded, her apprehension dispelled, and they completed their inspection. Baki turned off the lights and walked Temari home.

They were silent for most of the walk, but before she entered the cliff house, the jonin asked, "Why didn't you call me instead of dragging your brothers out tonight?"

"I was trying to be considerate," admitted Temari. "It wasn't an emergency and I didn't want to interrupt your private life again."

"Ah, that," said Baki with a smile. "Don't fret over it again. If I ever have a date, I'll let you know about it."

"Really?" Temari was pleased, but then asked suspiciously. "Is this just a way to get me to promise I'll tell you about any date I might have?"

"No, I already expect that," explained Baki reasonably. "So it's only fair that I exchange the same information with you."

"Male logic is exasperating," sighed Temari. "So are you coming over to the house after the first day of classes? I'm in charge of dinner and you can bet it won't be cheeseburgers, salted lizard tongue, or something with ogure."

"Let me guess; you're making vegetable soup?"

"You have complaints about my cooking?" challenged Temari. She began throwing some light punches his way, "It's your grandmother's recipe."

"It's a very delicious vegetable soup," assured Baki immediately as he put his palms up to deflect the half-hearted blows.

Baki then caught her hands in his larger ones and just stopped to look at her for a moment. Given the indestructible scroll, Temari was his betrothed, a woman he should protect and honor, but the promise implied nothing about love, only duty.

He released her hands and said, "I surrender, Temari. I'll be there."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Journal:

I had trouble getting to bed tonight because I'm so anxious about what the morning will bring. I needed a sign to build my confidence. So I walked to the end of the hall and looked out of the window toward the Academy. I could see the dark silhouette of the building against the night sky, then a wonderful thing happened. The lights came on! I know it was probably some janitor or the like, but still, I would not have seen the building lit up if I'd stayed bed. I watched until the lights were turned off and sent a silent thanks to whoever had been in the building.

-Matsuri

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Suna Academy

The first day of classes at the Academy had been hectic, but exhilarating. The roster was full, all students were present, and Baki worked hard to control the chaos of the day. Generally all he had to do was look at the students to disrupt mischief in the hallway or classroom.

At the end of the day Baki had the duty of laying out the weapons on the tables for the Academy students to select their special tool. He checked the layout of the weapons one last time before taking his perch on the balcony to watch the class. Temari and Kankuro led the students and Baki noted that with Gaara bringing up the rear, no stragglers were to be seen. He smirked at that strategy.

He liked the ease with which Kankuro addressed the class and the enthusiastic faces of the students. As he listened to the youth's casual tone of authority, he could see the leader this shinobi he had trained would become. Still, he directed his attention to the grounds when the choice of weapons was announced.

Baki was surprised when he heard Gaara trying to explain about weapons, but the boy soon faltered and fell quiet. Inwardly, the jonin grimaced at the boy's actions. Such behavior did not engender trust. The murmurs of the crowd soon filled his hears, so he performed a hand seal to capture the comments of the students below.

"...smile, Gaara..." That admonition came from Temari.

"Not the redhead...." "...demon, mom said..." "...puppeteer is cool..."...she's hot!"

Baki looked sharply to find the prepubescent boy who dared to voice his thoughts on Temari, only to smirk when he saw a young girl swat him on the head. His attention turned back to Gaara and he noted that while Temari and Kankuro were now surrounded by students, they, too, turned to glance quickly at where Gaara stood alone.

"Man, come on, someone, go to him..." Kankuro's murmured under his breath. From the balcony, Baki's thoughts echoed his sentiment.

Then to the jonin's surprise, the shy girl who had asked about weapons approached Gaara. Baki searched his memory for her name: Naosu Matsuri.

From the grounds below, Baki felt Temari and Kankuro turn to him quickly with a grin. Gaara had a student.

That night at the cliff house, Baki arrived for dinner while Temari was ladling the soup into bowls. Kankuro was leaning against the counter tossing grapes into his mouth in the kitchen.

"Where's Gaara?" asked the jonin.

"He's at the training grounds with his little mouse," said Kankuro with a grin.

"His little student," corrected Temari, "and her name is Matsuri."

"Whatever," said Kankuro with a shrug before assuming a monotone as he echoed Gaara's words, "A kunoichi must work twice as hard to keep up with her male counterparts."

"Sound familiar?" asked Temari as she looked up at her sensei.

"Certainly, and your hard work paid off," replied Baki. "So Gaara is putting in more time for Matsuri's training? Good."

"I was so relieved to see someone choosing Gaara. She seems like a bright kid, even if she is rather wimpy," said Temari. "But she didn't quit at the end of the day."

"Yeah, the Mouse has spunk, I'll give her that. She pet Karasu on the head on the way out from the chakra control class," offered Kankuro. He grinned and poked his sister with his elbow. "Did you see how Gaara showed off, though?"

The blonde chuckled as she nodded, "Yeah, some of my crew turned to watch him with the jouhyou."

"Leave it to Gaara to make the weapon look cool," said Kankuro as he tossed another grape high into the air and caught it with his mouth.

"So I managed to walk closer to them once my students were working with their weapons," began Temari as she set the bowls on the table, "and I swear that Gaara almost smiled when the Mouse--I mean, Matsuri called him sensei. I just hope she comes back tomorrow."

"Who comes back tomorrow?" asked Gaara as he suddenly appeared at the doorway.

"All of the budding kunoichi at the Academy," inserted Temari suddenly before throwing a glare at Kankuro to keep quiet. "I think it's time we actively recruited more girls. Konoha has a 1 in 3 ratio; ours is barely 1 in 9. I hope we keep all of the girls."

Silence fell on the table and Temari released a sigh, thinking that they had averted the discussion. But when they began their meal, Gaara thoughtfully asked, "Why would a student not come back?"

His siblings quickly turned to Baki to deal with the awkward question. The jonin addressed Gaara directly. "It could have to do with the student, the parents, or the teacher. Think about it. I was your third sensei, right?"

Gaara nodded. Indeed, he still felt no remorse over killing the doddering scholar who spent more time complaining about his various ailments than teaching or the boastful jonin who couldn't comprehend the power in a demon vessel until he experienced a practical demonstration.

Then Gaara shook his head and frowned. "Matsuri is incapable of striking a dummy with full force; killing me is ridiculous."

Temari and Kankuro didn't know whether to be appalled or amused by his observation, but Baki continued. "Your student could decide on another sensei, however."

Gaara again blinked, but then his lips quirked up into the ghost of a smile. "Matsuri made her decision today. She promised to work even harder tomorrow before we parted; she won't change her mind." Then his frown was back. "But, you said that parents could make the choice for the student?"

"Your father chose me to be your sensei. He didn't back down when I tried to talk him out if it," admitted Baki.

"Hey, come on! We weren't that bad!" declared Kankuro. Then he remembered, "Although I guess we did attack you with chakra strings, wind, and sand on our first meeting."

"Ah, yes, such fond memories," said Baki drily before turning back to Gaara. "Parents are not an issue with Naosu Matsuri; she's an orphan. She saw her parents get killed by raiders, but kept her head and didn't panic in the aftermath. Yura said that she was hiding quiet as a mouse so that they almost didn't find her. The Kazekage sent us on the trail of the raiders afterwards."

"Wait a minute; I remember that mission. We got the raiders when Gaara--uh, yeah, I remember," ended Kankuro. He scowled at his sister for kicking him under the table. It was the first time they had seen the Shukaku unleashed.

"Then I see no reason why she won't be there tomorrow," Gaara finally said.

"I dunno, bro, she did seem kinda shy and timid. You know, sorta mousy."

"A mouse? Yes, someone called her that." Gaara considered this for a moment. "Matsuri said she was scared of a lot of things: other students, edged weapons, Baki--"

"What?" the jonin was incredulous. He had been his usual impassive self, but threatening?

"She thought you were watching the grounds like a hawk about to pounce on its prey," explained Gaara.

"Take it as a compliment, Baki. You haven't lost your touch in intimidating ninja wannabees," suggested Temari as she gave her sensei a few reassuring pats on the shoulder.

"I suppose I did glare at a few of the slackers," conceded Baki. "Matsuri seems to have a lot of fears."

"Yes, but Matsuri didn't--she could--" Here Gaara stopped as he tried to gather his thoughts. "She looked into my eyes without fear."

A thoughtful silence fell upon the table until Kankuro lifted his glass in a toast, "To the students and senseis at the Suna Academy. I think we've just begun something really big!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Journal:

I did it! I went to the Academy. Sure, I was scared sometimes, especially when the Wind Sword was watching us. I'm sure he's the one with the burning barrel at the Councilor's Tower the other night. He probably just glared at it until it flamed. I never caught his name, but maybe we aren't supposed to say it, like avoiding calling a demon by name?

And although the others here at the orphanage call me stupid, I'm not going to believe it anymore. I was able to keep up with our lessons and I even answered a question right in class about wind control, although I whispered it so softly I didn't think I'd be heard. The kunoichi, Temari, smiled and winked at me because a boy had given a wrong answer to her question before me.

I also think I know the identity of one of the Shadows on the flying carpet. It's the chunin named Kankuro and he paints his face and wears a mask and acts sort of weird, but in a cool way. He was showing us about chakra strings and made his puppet do a funny dance. He didn't get mad when I quickly reached out to pet the top the puppet when I was leaving the classroom, just smiled and winked, which reminded me a lot of Temari for some reason.

But the most exciting thing was Weapons class where we got personal instruction. I am very lucky to be Gaara-sensei's only student. I followed his advice about selecting the jouhyou, although I wonder if I'll ever be as graceful as he is with it. I don't think I struck my target even once. I felt pretty hopeless and heard one of the boys from the orphanage saying that a mouse would never learn how to use a weapon.

Gaara-sensei heard that remark, so I apologized to him. I thought he'd be ashamed of having a student that others called Mouse, but he said we should appreciate the desert mouse. When I asked him why, he said the mice are able to withstand scorpion stings so they can eat their eggs and larva. That without the desert mice in the cliffs, the village would be overrun by the scorpions with their deadly sting. So now if anyone calls me Mouse, I'll remember my sensei's lesson.

Gaara-sensei did say that girls have to work harder to keep up with the boys, so I'll need extra training with him. But the best thing about my sensei is that he never discouraged me and he's willing to give me his time so that I can become a ninja.

Wow! This is a long entry and even though I'm tired, I'm determined to become a shinobi of the Sand. I think I'm the luckiest student in the Academy.

-Matsuri

End Chapter 3

Author Notes:

Sorry for the delay in updating; the past few months have been incredibly hectic. I have at least two more chapters to complete this story, so hopefully I can update more frequently.

At first I thought to do the rescue Matsuri arc with this chapter, but then Baki's date and revelation about the indestructible scroll appeared, so that will come next. Matsuri's family name is not given, so I used Noasu which means to heal, to cure, to replace, to transform. She seemed a bit ignorant of who exactly Gaara and his siblings are when first introduced in the filler arc, so I kept that tone in the journal.

Desert mice are not canon, nor is sunabokori. Yes, any titles of 'silly' love songs were intentionally inserted during Baki and Kankuro's little talk.

Thanks for reading and if you leave a comment, I will appreciate it. However, this story will be completed, albeit slowly, regardless of feedback, so reviews aren't necessary. Just keep reading it!