Wind of Truth & Sands of Change

The Team: Lasting Impressions

053. Incompliant Pieces

They had been manipulated to become the Kazekage's small powerful army. The Kazekage had tried to turn them into his emotionless tools. But he failed on so many levels. He didn't control them at all. He hadn't ever controlled them.

Temari would always do what she wanted to in the end. Kankuro, for all his tirades on disobedient brats, tended to ignore all orders from authoritative figures. And Gaara would never listen to him after all the times he'd attempted to have him killed.

His pawns had turned out to be much more valuable than expected, and they would never play for him.

054. Regained Family

Temari had to admit she'd stopped believing adults knew everything when Gaara was born. She'd started believing adults knew nothing when Yashamaru was killed. She believed the Kazekage was an incapable fool when the Shukaku took control of Gaara for the first time.

She'd started realizing she was wrong when she, Kankuro, Gaara, and Baki were teamed up. Baki knew what he was talking about most of the time. But he did have the tendency to be wrong quite often, although unlike most adults he admitted he had been wrong. And the Kazekage wasn't such a fool; he had made one good decision: together Gaara, Kankuro, Baki, and herself were an excellent team.

And it allowed her the chance to regain the family she'd lost.

055. Because We've Grown

Kankuro was going to die. He was going to die, plain and simple. The only person nearby who could help him was Gaara and the little brat would never leave himself open to an attack to save him.

Why should he anyway? Kankuro had never done anything for his little brother.

Kankuro clenched his jaw and prepared himself for the oncoming final blow.

It never came.

A wall of sand instead stood before him, blocking the impact.

Kankuro looked at Gaara. The boy had a fresh gash on his arm. One he's probably gotten by protecting him. He'd diverted his attention from the enemy.

"Are you okay?" Gaara muttered blocking attacks from both assailants.

Kankuro stood up and took control of Karasu once more. "I'm fine."

He was glad Gaara was his teammate. The boy wasn't such a brat after all.

056. More than Just Militia

"Hah! I win!" Kankuro exclaimed punching the air above him happily.

Temari caught up to him and bent over resting her hands on her knees. "No fair." Temari muttered in-between gasps. "I demand a rematch."

Gaara reached them third, even more out of breath than Temari. "How…is he…faster…than….both of…us…?" He breathed.

"It's my fan." Temari immediately replied. "It weighs a lot. That's why he won."

"Please." Kankuro chided. "I'm carrying Karasu and Kuroari."

"My fan is way heavier than your puppets. Besides, look at Gaara, his gourd has got to be heavier than the puppets!"

"No way!"

Gaara smiled slightly and slowly as his siblings bickered. This team had been formed by the Kazekage as a small army. They'd been formed to be cold, callous, cruel, and indifferent, but they weren't.

They had changed.

They were a team.

And while the Kazekage wasn't there to see his plan fail, while he wasn't there to see them grow into their own persons, it still tasted sweet in his mouth and made the red-head smile. They were normal (well, slightly normal), they were happy. They were indulging in stupid games like races. But most importantly, they loved each other. They cared for each other. They were a team.

The best team in Suna.

The previous Kazekage must've been turning in his grave.

057. Luckiest Jounin

Temari grinned, "Happy birthday, Baki." The blonde elbowed Gaara.

The sand naturally stopped her from actually hurting him, but Gaara got the message from the nice wall of sand. "…We…Temari…" He held out his hands revealing a misshapen butter crème cake with the words 'Happy Birthday' in loopy, elegant writing in lovely purple icing. "Cake." He finished rather lamely. He stared at the cake, a frown on his face, obviously feeling he'd done it wrong. He looked at Kankuro, "I said that wrong, didn't I?"

Kankuro smiled, "Nah, I've always thoughts words were overrated. 'Cake' is all anybody needs to hear on a person's birthday." He looked at Baki. "Oh, yeah. Happy birthday. Gaara wrote the words. Temari baked it and I tried to eat it when Temari wasn't looking."

Temari shoved the puppeteer in annoyance, "It was Kankuro's idea."

Baki smiled. He had to be the luckiest Jounin in all of Suna. No other shinobi he knew would've done such a thing for their sensei. He looked at the three siblings. They were many things, but he was lucky to have them as his students.

A/N: I'm totally in agreement on the cake thing. 'Cake' is the most important word to hear on a person's birthday. (Although, I'll take anything sweet; cookie, brownie, chocolate bar…whatever. I'm just a huge choco-addict)