Gaara sat patiently at the table, gaze fixed on the placemat in front of him. He had let Sakura and Temari take care of Emi's wounds while he and Kankuro went to gather his pupil's belongings. The address she had given them was on the outskirts on Suna, in the slums. He was mildly surprised, considering how well kept her appearance was but said nothing.

The closer he and Kankuro got to her dwelling, the more he felt anger pump through him, which wasn't a good thing. They had just finished at the wedding ceremony and managed to sneak away undetected. On their way back home they had come to a stop as they saw three jonin standing around a familiar black clad figure. His blood boiled as he watched the first blow being struck. He had taken off running, Temari and Kankuro following and venting their anger into curses.

One of the men grabbed her by the collar and twisted, his hand reaching up to take off her mask and Gaara unleashed his sand, hurtling it towards him at such a speed that he was knocked back several metres. Before he could rise, his sand was pushing another away down the street as Kankuro lunged at the third, Temari rushing over to Emi. Once all the men were gone, the questions started.

He couldn't say he was surprised to find out the man was her step-father. No, what surprised him was her admittance to her mother joining in on the abuse. He was lost in thoughts and musings of his own family as they bought her to the siblings shared home. He came to the abrupt decision to place her in their own dwelling. A bedroom was spare, so it was logical, the reasoning he portrayed to them even more so.

As he and his brother arrived at her dilapidated house and knocked, a sneering jonin answered the door, a timid woman peeking out from behind a corner.

He recognised Gaara right away and went to slam to door in the siblings faces, only to be pushed back by sand. The woman screamed as Kankuro darted inside and found Emi's pitiful room, stuffing everything of use he could see into a duffel he found shoved in a corner. His sand pinned the man against the wall, unmoving as Gaara waited patiently, ignoring the spitting threats and curses the man was illiciting. As soon as Kankuro ducked back outside, Gaara had told them that Emi was no longer their concern. As her sensei, he would take full responsibility for her. He couldn't help but add the threat of death if they tried to touch her again. They had sped away as fast as they had come, Gaara's sand flicking to deflect the shoddily thrown shuriken and kunai as his back.

And now here they were, waiting for Sakura, Temari and Emi to come down so they could share dinner.

Footsteps had Gaara's ears twitching and Kankuro straightening in glee, only to slump when only Temari came down the stairs. The wind kunoichi pinned them both with a steely gaze, hands on hips. Gaara inwardly sighed. His sister was in a foul mood.

"Where are the other two? I'm starving!" Kankuro whined. Temari growled at him, effectively shutting him up.

"I'm just going to give you a warning," Temari started. Gaara looked at her calmly, hiding his curiosity.

"A warning for what?" he rasped. Temari clucked her tongue.

"Emi is now a member of this household and therefore has to follow the rules, meaning she will be coming down here soon in casual wear to eat with us. She won't be wearing her training gear," Temari stressed the last sentence. Kankuro frowned.

"Okay but what does this have to do with them taking so long?"

Temari leant forward to smack the puppeteer hard on the back of the head. "Idiot! She won't have her mask or goggles on. She'll be completely exposed to people for the first time in years and she's nervous. The last thing I need is for you two to stare and make her feel awkward!"

Kankuro rubbed the back of his head and glared at Temari. Gaara watched the small tat with little interest, his mind conjuring up images of what Emi would look like unmasked. He wasn't the only one to wonder, but in the end he decided he didn't need to know. She was entitled to her privacy. She could dress like a chicken as long as she trained hard to become a fine Suna nin.

Movement from the stairwell had all three siblings turning to see Sakura descend with a smile on her face.

"Evening everyone!" she said brightly, giving them a small wave. She paused on the bottom step and turned, whispering to Emi no doubt. Bored, Gaara turned his gaze back to the table, his back to the stairs. He watched Kankuro almost stand as he tried to get a look. Gaara looked on in mild interest as his puppeteer brother sucked in a breath and plopped back into his seat, his face lax and eyes wide. Footsteps sounded behind him as Sakura and Emi approached the table.

"Emi?" Kankuro asked incredulously.

"Who else would it be?" Emi snapped. No matter how curious he was, he refused to turn and see, waiting for her to take her seat in front of him. Movement in his peripherals caught his attention. He watched as Emi silently walked around the table to take a seat next to Kankuro, the puppeteer still staring at her. Her hair was long and slightly wavy, an interesting rich brown that curtained her face from view.

Gaara never would have guessed that this was the same kunoichi who was so fierce on missions and in training. It seemed as though her coverings did the same thing as his sand armour. It made her feel safe and emboldened.

Temari had scuttled off to the kitchen to retrieve their dinner, plates and cutlery, spacing them out in the centre of the table. Emi still kept her face hidden behind a curtain of thick dark hair and Gaara absently wondered if she was going to eat like that.

"Okay, so what did you guys manage to make?" Sakura enquired, leaning forward slightly to eye the large bowl in the centre of the table.

"Sweet and sour beef stir fry," Kankuro stated, attacking the large bowl with gusto before handing the serving spoon to Sakura.

"Emi? Everyone helps themselves here," Temari said softly. Gaara watched on as he saw Emi's shoulders tighten slightly before she relaxed with a dejected sigh. Did being in the presence of others make her this wound up?

He observed in silence as Emi tucked her hair behind her ears and slowly lifted her face, Gaara absently passing the serving spoon from Sakura to Temari.

Emi glanced up and around the table, her flashing emerald eyes wary but softening as she realised that hardly anyone was looking at her. A crescent moon tattoo framed her left eye and eyebrow, making her eyes stand out. He didn't even glance at the birth mark creeping up her neck and down her arm, he already saw it when she sat down. Was that the reason she covered herself? Because of something she couldn't control?

Emi's eyes met his for a moment and held, his eyes showing curiosity more than anything. Emi broke contact as Temari handed her the serving spoon.

Dinner crept along in silence, the occasional burp from Kankuro disrupting the silence. Everyone was slightly wary around Emi, afraid to say anything that might upset her. She seemed so vulnerable; most defiantly not the kunoichi Gaara had been training for the last year. Once all the dished were cleared from the table, Temari having to snatch Kankuro's bowl away so he wouldn't lick it clean, dessert was served.

Homemade dango with sweetened pear sauce. Sakura almost squealed with delight. Emi seemed to relax some more since no one had pointed out her physical flaws. In the world of ninja, to be ashamed of one's appearance is ridiculous. People were cursed and physically altered all in the pursuit of power and yet his student covered herself from head to toe in thick black to hide a birthmark and tattoo. To Gaara, it didn't make sense, especially since Emi was an attractive young kunoichi.

He blinked. Where had that thought come from? He promptly shoved it away and calmly ate his dango stick, suddenly looking everywhere but at Emi.

The pear sauce oozed down Emi's throat and her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head. The Sand Siblings made a pretty tasty dango. No wonder Sakura was onto her fourth one. As she munched happily, finally relaxing in the presence of others without her mask and goggles, she tensed back up again as Kankuro turned towards her.

"So Emi, what's with the marks?"

Emi blanched and froze as Temari slammed a fist on the table. "Kankuro!" Temari shrieked as Sakura leapt forward to tackle him to the ground. Emi remained frozen, ignoring the puppeteer currently being pounded by the two kunoichi.

"You fear vulnerability."

Emi's head snapped up and looked at her sensei, a slight flush on her cheeks. Got it in one. Damn.

Emi said nothing, waiting to see if he cared to elaborate.

"Your vulnerability and fear makes you weak. Embrace it, accept your flaws and you will be more aware of them in a new light. The more aware, the greater the advantage against enemies who would seek them out for the sole purpose of destroying you. Turn your greatest weakness into your greatest strength."

Gaara stood silently, collecting his gourd from the floor beside him and walked up the stairs, Emi staring after him in silence, his words of wisdom ringing in her ears.

It was close to three in the morning and Gaara was once again on the roof star gazing, the crescent moon hanging low in the sky. Its shape reminded him of Emi's tattoo. How and why had she gotten it? He was human enough to realise that she was an attractive girl, but the reason for her to cover up baffled him. He thought back on his observations about her at dinner.

She had been shy and trying to make herself small without her usual garb of full covering, so he guessed correctly on the full coverings being like a comfort; a false face to present to the world. She had slowly relaxed when no one asked her personal questions but completely froze when Kankuro asked about her marks. His older sibling could be completely oblivious at the worst of times but he felt no sympathy for the puppeteer currently nursing a black eye and bleeding nose.

Temari had mentioned that she had not been uncovered in front of others in years. What had happened in the first place to make her cover up?

The soft sliding of a door had him leaning over the roof's edge to peer into the darkness. Emi hastily climbed the side of the building before slowly walking over to him, her steps hesitant. She was without her coverings.

Gaara's eyes met hers for a moment and whatever she saw in them made her steel her resolve. She approached and sat down next to him, her face tilted up towards the stars. Gaara stared at her newly revealed visage for a moment before looking skyward also.

Long moments passed in silence as teacher and student, despite being the same age, watched the night float by, the sound of the wind filling in the lulls.

"I want to learn," Emi said softly, Gaara turning his head towards her. She didn't meet his, just continued to stare at the sky. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"I want to learn how to be strong again," she finished.

"You were never weak, Emi," Gaara rasped quietly. Emi hugged her knees to her chest, her cheek resting on them as she faced him. They held each other's gazes, silent yet speaking louder than anything. Emi closed her eyes and gave a small smile, seeming to make her mind up about something.

"My dad was a shinobi," Emi stated. Gaara remained silent. She was telling him something personal and important, something he doubted that many people knew. Her eyes remained closed, as if she was merely talking to herself and not laying out her past for judgement.

"He taught me how to wield a katana and chain sickle, as well as a few easy jutsu. He was killed a few years ago, trying to protect me and my mother from a large group of missing nin bandits. I tried to help him but I couldn't, I was just a child. The tattoo on my cheek is a mark my clan gives to those who embrace 'The Light' as they call it. It's our bloodline limit. I was the first to awaken it in over six generations. It was once heralded as a gift, but my father looked at me and with his dying breath he called me a freak. The man who loved me and protected me called me a freak with his last breath in this world." She gave a dry laugh as a tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't wipe it away. "My mother saw a bit of my father in me every day. She didn't know whether to love me or hate me for it so I covered my face to stop her from hurting. Then she met Rino, who you've had the pleasure of meeting. I wasn't born here but it was the only thing close to a home I knew, so I love it all the same. My mom shoved me into the Academy so she wouldn't have to look at me. Rino wasn't too happy about it. Then the beatings and torment started and… you know the rest."

Gaara searched Emi's face, the pain evident there as she retold her story. Despite the painful background of her story, he noted her relaxed pose, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Is that what it felt like to confide in others? Others you call friend?

"Why did you tell me that?" he rasped, his gaze back on the sky. Did he consider Emi… a friend?

Emi sighed, long a weary before rising, the moon haloing her as she shrugged. "You are a good listener and someone I call friend. People say that the sensei has to believe in their students for them to achieve greatness and prosperity. Why can't the opposite be true?"

Gaara sat still as her words sunk in. Emi gave a small bow before straightening, a beautiful genuine smile gracing her lips.

"Good night, Gaara-sensei."

And then she was gone, leaving Gaara alone with his thoughts.