Sorry for the wait! Here is yet another chapter :)

First, I would like to thank sockmonkies4ever, anamorales25 and Goikuchan for the favs and follows, you guys are my sunshine!

Next I would like to thank Goikuchan yet again for being my first review! I did in fact jump around the house and I did do a little happy dance, I will put a reply to the rev on the bottom :D

And last, I am officially beta-hunting! I really need a second opinion and some help with my grammar dilemmas :P

Now we have our playlist for this chapter:

Joe Hisaishi – Ashitaka Sekki

Toshiro Masuda – Naruto's Daily Life

Toshiro Masuda – Kakashi's theme

Kawai Kenji – Nahji no Uta (Also spelled Naaji or Naji)

Chapter three is dedicated to Goikuchan and it is the chapter in which:

Gaara retaliates…

Once upon a time, when the Spirit world and the Material word were one, there was a woman. She was not known across the land for her beauty, but for her skill. She was a magnificent dancer. It was said that when you watched her dance, you fell into a trance and forgot time and space. She lived safely, behind tall walls of the city, away from all the raging spirits in the Wilds.

One day, a famous warrior, leader of the Hunters who roamed the Wilds, asked to see her dance. It was his one wish, and then he could continue being a Hunter for the King until the end of his time. The King of the City allowed the woman to leave the borders, just to please his best warrior.

When the woman arrived to the warrior's camp, he set up a huge tent for her to dance in. They dined together and smoked the pipe to show their peace. Then the woman started dancing. The warrior and his tribe fell into a trance and didn't notice the spirits that had come to the camp. The woman noticed them and kept dancing, enchanting the beasts. She danced and danced and danced.

The pearls from her hair fell onto the ground, creating stars. The veil she used flew to the heavens creating the oceans. Her bracelets full of bells finally stopped ringing and all the spectators regained their senses. The spirits then, walked away, their rage forgotten and the warrior decided to keep the woman forever.

They had upset the rhythm of the world. She had flipped the Earth and the Sky for the Hunters and the warrior had fallen in love with the King's dancer, disobeying his master. The King enraged sentenced them to wander endlessly in the Wilds.

Shura had gotten up pretty late that morning. She did however wake before both Kan and Toru. She wondered outside slowly, only to see some of the Wanderers begin packing up everything. They would have to have the ships ready for departure by the time the sun came up. She caught one of the passing men and asked him where Chaizen was. Since the leader was still out cold from the partying, she decided to wander around. Her side was stinging. She needed to change the bandages and wash it before it became infected.

Shura had found one of the kitchens, asking there for some medicine and water. She had been surprised the first time Chaizen had addressed her. His accent and his dialect were impossible for her to distinguish. She had been taught only the basics of the formal language after all. Shura had to keep reminding all the Wanderers to slow down a bit and repeat their sentences sometimes, but she was getting used to it. The woman that was smoking a pipe and drinking in the kitchen gave her the items. After re-dressing her wound Shura felt better. She couldn't wait until they stopped at an oasis. After a day of running she was sweaty and really just wanted a nice cool bath.

She had walked back to the deck of the ship where she had slept. The huge tent was being taken down. There were Wanderers running here and there, pulling and untangling the large sails. They would have the ships set in less than an hour. Shura noticed Gaara and a Wanderer youth sitting on the railing. It looked like they were talking. Interested she had walked over to them. The tan youth saw her first, and he happily waved her over. Gaara gave her a long look. Then he said a sentence in his monotone. What surprised her was that it was in the Wanderer's language.

She took a moment to understand it, with the weird accent and the obvious slang. This youth had probably taught the Kage a bit. Then she got the meaning and her face went tomato red. Gaara looked at her, confused. He had just greeted her and asked how she was, why was she blushing? He turned to Lim, only to see him holding in his laughter. The Wanderer looked like he was going to burst any moment. Gaara totally fell for it. He got tricked by this youth. Shura coughed, getting his attention back. The red was almost gone from her face.

"Good morning to you, too, Gaara-san." She said. "And please don't repeat that to a woman again, unless you are intimate with her."

Now it was Gaara's turn to blush. His ears went red and it spread down to his neck a bit. He now understood why Sul wasn't too thrilled about his morning greeting. She could've told him something, though, instead of just walking away without a word. And Lim's hysterical reaction to it was explained quite clearly, too. Shura coughed and mumbled something about getting breakfast. Lim jumped up, introducing himself to Shura and offering to escort her.

"Gaara." The Kage stood up , too. "We food go." The Wanderer connected the foreign words clumsily. The Kazekage gave him a small smile and followed. The trio stumbled upon a groggy Chaizen, who looked like he had just woken up. He greeted them all and they walked towards the still-intact kitchen area. Shura again greeted the woman who was still smoking her pipe. She received a nod and followed Chaizen and Lim to get a plate.

They all settled onto some pillows from last night, the tables already gone. Sul joined them in a moment, Chaizen introducing the stoic woman to Shura. They exchanged polite nods. Gaara found himself a bit, dare he say, embarrassed about the greeting he had given Sul that morning and a bit jealous that Shura had gotten an acknowledgement from the warrior woman.

He ate quickly, in silence, until tan fingers snatched a piece of fruit from his plate and put something suspiciously green and evil looking in its place. He glared at Lim on instinct. It was weird, how easily he had gotten accustomed to the childish Wanderer. Maybe the youth had too much in common with Naruto. Gaara hadn't been a victim of the blonde Jinchuriki's pranks, but he had heard rumors about the not so hidden talent his friend possessed.

A loud shout interrupted Gaara's meal again. He looked up from his plate, only to see Chaizen turning blue. The warrior quickly downed his Fruit Water, giving Lim the evil eye. Sul sighed, hitting Lim's wondering fingers. Her eyes promised that she would stab him with her fork the next time he tried to steal her food. Lim laughed nervously, switching seats swiftly yet again. Now he was in between Gaara and Shura. The tan youth talked quickly while eating, not paying attention to his plate, but to the woman next to him. Gaara used that chance to slip the green thing back onto Lim's plate. The youth didn't notice in his conversation and he grabbed the item and swallowed it. Then he turned a very nice shade of green in Gaara's opinion. Needless to say further chaos ensued.

After the rowdy and rather quick breakfast, Sul left in a hurry towards the berth. She did spend the whole night like a gargoyle, so Gaara didn't blame her. He had done the same thing many times, and he knew the way your body felt stiff and uncomfortable when you moved in the morning. He just never had the luxury of sleep after night watch. Chaizen explained, through Shura, that they had to get ready to leave before the sun goes all the way up. Gaara ended up getting dragged to help with the rigging by Lim, while Shura went to help fold the many carpets and clothes and store all the soft pillows. On his way to one of the ships, Gaara saw Kan with a long haired woman. She was showing him some kind of plants, squishing them with her fingers and then letting the older shinobi taste it and smell it. It seemed like he was fitting in fine, despite the language barrier.

~~~~~ Page Break Which I have no idea how to put in ~~~~~

Toru slowly came to. He sat up, only to hit his head on the bunk above him. He looked up, still half asleep. His bed didn't have a top bunk. Then, the whole place shook and leaned to the side. Toru flew from his bed and greeted the floor with his face. He jumped up now, fully awake. Frantically he looked around him, identifying everything he could see. It looked like an inside of a ship. Right! The ships! He had been selected to go with the Kazekage-sama on a mission. They were in the hideout of those savages. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep so easily. He had to give it to them, savage or not, their food was exquisite.

The ship swayed again and then did a small jump, causing Toru to fly to the side. Panic overtook him and he flew towards the exit. He needed to get out. They were under attack. Where was Kazekage-sama? Being near that man did scare him, but next to him, Toru would be safe. He wouldn't need to fight or get hurt with a Jinchuriki next to him.

Toru missed a couple of steps in his haste. Another lurch of the ship threw him against the wall. He stumbled up and onto the deck. Wind hit him in the face and he coughed for a bit, trying to get the sand out of his eyes. What he saw shocked him. The huge vessel was running across the desert, gliding on top of the sand as if riding the waves. As they descended a dune, the ship swayed and then jumped as it went up another one.

His ears were filled with the howling of the wind and shouts in the strange language of the Wanderers. He noticed them running around carrying things, being generally busy. Some of them, men and women alike, were swaying on the ropes and going up and down the mast like monkeys. He saw Kan's sandy colored Jonin vest and headed towards him. The shinobi was following around one of the Wanderer women, doing what she instructed through hand motions. Toru frowned at that. He had calmed down a bit now, noticing that they weren't under attack.

He looked around once more, trying to locate that woman who was with them, Shina or something and the Kazekage-sama. He saw the redhead first and changed course. Kazekage-sama was currently pulling a thick rope, along with one of the savage boys. When someone from the top shouted, they both stopped pulling. Toru finally made it, after a few more sways of the vessel, to the Kazekage-sama. He noticed that the Kage was gourd-less. The redhead gave him a small nod when he saw Toru. Then the ship lurched again, sending Toru flying. The shinobi braced for another painful impact with the wood of the vessel, but instead strong arms caught him. He opened his eyes, only to see the savage boy grinning down at him. The tan youth steadied him, still smiling. Toru pushed him away in a hasty motion, straightening his rumpled clothes.

The tan youth threw a confused look in Gaara's direction. The Kage was frowning at the sand shinobi. Toru gathered himself, puffing out his chest. He nodded to the Kazekage. The ship jumped onto another dune, causing Toru's stomach to lurch. He felt terrible. He was also dirty, sweaty, in last night's clothes and he needed to go to the bathroom.

"Good morning, Kazekage-sama." He greeted the man, as if nothing had happened. Gaara's frown deepened.

"Good morning." He answered, his voice a monotone, not betraying anything. The youth beside Gaara was looking in between him and the newcomer. Lim quite liked the redhead. His comrade, he wasn't really sure about. The man seemed afraid and disgusted by him. He didn't like it.

Lim nodded to Gaara, gave him a grin and leapt up into the sails and rigging. Gaara looked at Toru for a moment. The man didn't look too good. He seemed quite green in fact. Gaara opened his mouth to ask the shinobi if he was fine, when the man in question ran towards the railing and hurled. Gaara could hear snickering from above. Obviously Lim was having a blast. He walked to the sick shinobi and cautiously patted his back. Toru didn't react. Chaizen passed them, pausing in his order giving to laugh boomingly.

"Water." He told Gaara. "Water good." He said with finality, nodding to himself. Then he left, laughing. Gaara wondered which water the warrior was talking about, the normal kind or the intoxicating Fruit Water. He remembered the way it knocked the vomiting shinobi out last night and smirked to himself. While getting the sick shinobi under deck Gaara caught sight of a grinning Lim swinging on the ropes as the ship swayed. He looked pretty smug.

~~~~~~ Lookie another page break!~~~~~

Kankuro sat in the Kazekage's office, doing all the paperwork. Gaara had gone and done it yet again. He hadn't been Kazekage all that long, yet he kept going against the council. True, all he had done until now, turned out quite well, but going on a mission? At first Kankuro thought that the Council would reject the whole idea all together. When they didn't he got suspicious. It turned out that not everyone in the Council considered Gaara safe. Sending him out on a mission, to the Wanderers, was a perfect opportunity. They even gave him a formal escort. Of course, Gaara figured it all out, and still went. Temari was going to kill him.

The door of the Kazekage's office slammed open. Speak of the devil. A strangely calm kunoichi entered the room. She looked a little tired from her three day trip back to Suna, but otherwise, Temari was in perfect shape. To kill him that is. Kankuro sank low in Gaara's chair, abandoning his brush in favor of the sturdy desk's sanctuary. After all, you never knew when the giant fan was going to leave Temari's back and greet Kankuro's head.

"Is it true?" Her question was so quiet that he barely caught it. It was an icy tone. Gaara owed him one for this. Kankuro peered carefully over the piled up papers. It had only been two days, and he couldn't keep up with it already. He had no idea how the Kages that actually slept did their paperwork.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kankuro smiled at his sister, looking cautiously at the fan. Her eyes narrowed.

"You let him go on a mission." She continued. "You let him go to those Wanderers." Now she was advancing. Alarm bells were ringing in Kankuro's head. "Even if it's Gaara, those people are dangerous." She was now right in front of him, and she sounded quite defeated. Temari had, after all, had contact with the desert dwellers. Gaara had wanted her to come with him for the mission, but he didn't know when she would return to Suna, so he had formed another team.

"I let him go because he is Gaara." Kankuro gave her a small smile. "Not like I could've stopped him, anyway. You know how he is when he decides something." The young woman scoffed. "He will be fine." Kankuro told her. Temari looked at him softly. Silence took the room. She placed her fan on the floor and leaned it against Gaara's desk.

"Give me half of that." She demanded the papers. Kankuro looked ecstatic.

"Great! Help me keep my head above water until he gets back!" All he got in return was a silent glare.

~~~~~ I will figure out how to put them in the online form eventually...~~~~~~

The sun had risen all the way up by the time Gaara was shooed away from the deck by Chaizen. He found working on a ship very interesting and he enjoyed it. Lim had left him a few hours ago, the sleepless night taking its toll on the energetic youth. Toru was safely put back into his bed, along with a bowl. Kan was working on the deck with the long haired woman who knew about spices. Gaara leaned that her name is Kara and that she is one of the best cooks. Shura was nowhere to be seen.

Gaara stumbled down the stairs. He couldn't remember the last time he did so much labor. Maybe all the office hours had made him soft. He checked on Toru. The shinobi had finally fallen asleep. Even though Gaara wasn't too happy about his escort, he wished he could help Toru feel better. He wondered if he should give the shinobi some Fruit Water. Gaara had carefully stayed away from it this morning, but at the mere thought of the heavenly liquid, he tasted it on his tongue and wished for it.

During the day, the men and women that weren't working on the deck rested in the berth. The pillows and carpets and all those fabrics were put inside, creating a rather stuffy, but comfortable space. He joined one of the circles of people. They all shifted a bit, creating room for him to sit. A small girl was sitting to his left. She extended some of her sweets to him cautiously. He took one, thanking her like Lim taught him, all while praying that the prankster had actually taught him to say thank you. The child smiled at him, shocking him and went back to eating her sweets. He put the treat he was given into his mouth and relaxed. The sweet chocolaty taste spread through his mouth. He didn't care much for sweets, but he had to admit that it wasn't too bad.

Gaara noticed then that the ship was gradually slowing down. He looked to the group he was sitting with. They were all picking themselves up and taking bags and clothes with them. He wondered what was going on. Had they already arrived to the summit? That was unlikely. He needed to find out how long it would take them to get there. He was a bit anxious leaving the village for a long time. Kankuro was probably buried in papers by now. That is, if Temari hadn't come back and killed him already. Maybe they ran out of wind? Or there was something wrong with the ship? At times like this he wished he knew more of the strange language.

The Kazekage followed the group of people to the deck. They had indeed stopped. And even better, they had stopped at an oasis. Gaara wasn't a big fan of baths, but he could use one right now. And a change of clothes while he was at it. He waited by the railing while all the Wanderers went off the ship, setting up a small tent between the ships to create more shade. Men and women alike were fetching water, preparing supplies, washing clothes and dispersing to different parts of the oasis to wash themselves. Children were running around, playing in the water and interrupting the adults in their work.

Gaara felt at peace. There were no stares. He couldn't feel the constant pressure in the back of his head, making him aware of all the people, whispering and fidgeting. It had gotten better, but you couldn't change a whole village in a second, and Gaara was aware of that. He wished they understood him better. He wished they understood that he had changed his ways. He was going to make sure his feelings reached them. Until then, he could bear to relax a bit with these people who had accepted them in a second. The Wanderers weren't too fond of shinobi, but all of the people he had met waited and formed their opinions after spending time with him. He couldn't quite explain how he felt about that, but it was a good feeling.

"Gaara-san, are you coming?" He hadn't even noticed Shura and Kan coming. The older woman was giving him a soft smile. He nodded, following the duo.

"Maybe we should get Minami-san?" The woman wondered out loud. Kan shrugged at her and looked to the Kage. The redhead didn't give them the ultimate answer, he just brushed the question off. Shura turned around, running below deck.

"I'll catch up!" She yelled over her shoulder, head disappearing below the wood. Gaara and Kan continued on. They were soon stopped by Chaizen. The tall man waved them over and showed them towards the water where mostly men and some children were. He pointed to the soaps and shampoos.

"Lim come." The Wanderer warrior said brokenly, looking at Gaara. Neither the Kage nor the shinobi quite got the meaning of that, but neither was going to admit it out loud. Gaara decided he would just wait and see, while Kan debated if there was any theory he hadn't covered about soaps and contamination. His theories, of course, lead towards imminent death, pain, carnage and gore, and he was the only one who could realize what was happening and stop it. He supposed he brought some of his overactive imagination from the time of the Third War.

They stripped and joined the bathing men. Soon a green looking Toru and a smiling Lim arrived. Lim dropped off a package first, and then jumped into the water with a giant splash. Toru on the other hand, folded his clothes carefully, put them as far away a possible from the clothes of the Wanderers and the closest possible to the Kazekage's clothes and then calmly joined the men in the water. He glared in distaste at one of the children that splashed him while playing.

When they were all finished, Lim stopped them from putting on their shinobi clothes, offering hem each a bundle of tribal clothing. He looked adorably happy when Gaara and Kan accepted. The Kage thanked him in the Wanderer language. Toru on the other hand, looked at the clothes, inspecting them slowly. Better than the sweaty, rumpled ones, he decided getting slowly dressed.

The outfits were similar, short decorated loose pants, similar to harem pants and a sash at the waist. Lim showed them all how to do a fairly complicated knot at the hip. To complete the outfit, they were each given a plain light shirt. Kan also accepted a decorated short vest, which Gaara declined. He was too hot already.

Soon, after washing their dirty clothes and leaving them to dry, they met up with Shura and Chaizen, who were eating a light snack with some of the Wanderers. The kunoichi had changed, too. She was wearing light pants and a decorated long shirt, leaving her feet bare. Kan plopped down next to Shura, greeting them all in normal language. Chaizen passed them each a golden goblet of Fruit Water. Gaara cautiously sipped some. He noted that Toru wasn't touching the drink. Shura and Chaizen were laughing together, it seemed like they were already on their second or third glass. Kan nibbled on some of the fruit from the small table. Pretty soon Lim joined them, shirtless, now with a bandana around his head. The woman Gaara had seen with Kan earlier, Kara, followed the light haired youth. She threw a smile in Kan's direction. A funny three way conversation ensued, where Shura was translating back and forth.

The Wanderers were pretty interested in their lives. They asked how it was to live in a village, not constantly moving around. Kara was interested in their food and Chaizen asked about their blades. He explained that he was a blade master and that he found the shinobi kenjutsu fascinating. Kan in turn, asked about the way they made the Fruit Water, Gaara would never admit that, but he, too, was very interested to hear about that. However Chaizen just mysteriously smiled, telling them it's a secret. They also learned about the ships and how they sailed the sands. Apparently, there were some kind of scales, Shura translated Cloud Guppy, but Gaara was doubtful, which they sewed into a cloth, and then put on the underside of the hull to make it float as soon as it picked up speed.

A man interrupted their conversation, whispering something in Chaizen's ear and then leaving. The tall Wanderer stood up. He said something fast to Shura and left.

"There is a visitor, he says." The kunoichi translated. Toru stopped eating in a second. He looked around frantically. The Kage was still without his gourd. He looked quite relaxed, too. Toru felt fear grip him. Maybe he could fight off the new savage if needed even without his sand? There was plenty lying around. Gaara noticed the shinobi's twitching, but didn't react. He considered Chaizen's tribe peaceful. He considered them to be under the warrior's protection. The Kage looked at the Wanderers. They weren't worried. He deemed panic unnecessary and sipped some of the Fruit Water. Kan was probably thinking of all the possibilities and how to prevent them anyway. The War veteran was too cautious. Shura, too, didn't look very bothered with the news of the visitor. He briefly wondered whether Temari had caught up to them in her rage. No reason to overreact, the redhead decided, and if they turned out to be a threat, he could take them.

Soon, Chaizen returned with a kid in tow. Gaara noticed that the youth wasn't a clan member right away. Their clothes were completely different. While the tan warrior wore clothes similar to what Gaara himself was wearing now, the kid that followed him was dressed in what looked like a really large poncho and short pants, with no shoes. Some Wanderers did go barefoot, but most had sandals and flip flops, because of the heat of the sand. The kid was tan from the sun, too and had blonde hair. He was scrawny and tiny compared to the beast of the man next to him. The members of the circle quickly moved, making room for the boy. They all settled and the boy gazed at all of them slowly with his unnaturally red eyes. Gaara couldn't quite pinpoint it, but something about the kid was off. He seemed… old, even though he looked about ten. Ruby eyes locked with Gaara's green ones. A flicker of amusement and surprise flashed in the red depths. The Kage noticed that the boy had no presence whatsoever. It was like he was there, with his normal chakra and all, and yet wasn't. The kid then smiled at all of them and spoke in their language, surprising them.

"Hey y'all, I'm Jin. Most of ya' know me by the name Devil's Merchant, tho'. Wanna buy somethin'?"

And there we have it folks! A little bit more of Gaara's mischievous side. He likes to retaliate ;)

We have yet another OC! Oh my, what am I going to do with all of these? You shall wait and see heheheheheee~ My plans are absolutely diabolic! Tell me what you think of them? Does Toru annoy you? Do you like Kan's paranoia? Is Lim adorable? Oooh I want to draw all of these guys :D

Goikuchan: Thank you very much for the review! Oh you made me rush to update sooo much :P I'm motivated now! Yoooosh!

I am unbelievably happy that you can keep track of all the OCs, cause there is a ton of them, as I am creating a whole new… well… everything…

And Gaara... I worry about him at times... He gets a bit out of control under my fingers xD I adore him and I am very happy that you like my take on what is happening inside his head. I think that even though he is a shinobi and a Jinchuriki he is still very human, at least he becomes much more human after Naru pounds his head in. My take on him is a bit child-like and I sometimes worry I am going OOC with him, I actually rewrite him a lot xD I think that he lost a piece of his life, his teens and a part of his childhood, to Shukaku and that he is a tad childish and maybe even a bit of a prankster. Even though his sense of humor is dark, and he is a serious Kage at times, he has a part of him that he doesn't show when he is with others, and the Wanderers cough Lim cough made that part of him come out and play. Everything around him is new here and he wants to try it and explore and experience it for himself. And then of course, decide whether he should destroy the threat, because the Wanderers are thieves, or not. To be honest, I'm pretty sure that Gaara could take them, warriors or not xD

Oh my, I went all out with this reply :P I hope that you will stay with this story, I am going to try and update fast :D

Give me more reviews y'all! I eat those and then spit out chapters :D