"Love all, trust few." - William Shakespeare
It wasn't long before the wind and sand became an annoying problem as we passed into the Wind Country. If Gaara hadn't been with us, I'm sure the constant dust storms would have driven me completely insane. Luckily for us, his own sand provided a great shield. Also, it carried Serisu in a tight blanket, but we were forced to listen to her insults the entire way.
The heat pounded on us uncomfortably. I often wondered how in humanity Kankuro could be covered in black clothing without complaining while I felt as if I was being baked alive. I didn't even want to think about the sweat that was lingering on top of my skin. The first thing I was going to do when we checked into a hotel was take a three-hour long shower.
Halfway through the second day of traveling, we passed through a large crevice between two walls of hard sand. The inside was lined with Sunagakure Shinobi, their uniforms covering most of their faces, probably to keep the sand from whipping at their eyes and mouths.
At the end of the tunnel, a large man stood before us. He allowed the siblings to pass without any trouble, but when Kyan and I tried to follow them, he stopped us short.
"No entry without identification and purpose," he grumbled to us. Rolling my eyes in frustration, I dug through my backpack, pulling out two cards with our pictures, birthdays, names, and village of origin.
"They're with our party," Gaara told the man. "Its private business."
The man bowed to Gaara. I wasn't sure if it was out of fear or respect, but either way, we were able to pass without anymore nuisances.
Inside the village, there were no violent waves of sand grains or even heavy winds. Every now and then, soft gusts would float by, but the group of buildings was surrounded by the tallest wall of soil I'll ever see in my life, preventing the dangerous ones from sneaking in.
The houses and stores looked like sand-igloos. They reminded me of the domes Kyan and I would make when the snow rarely fell during our childhood years. Decorative paint was strewn across the surfaces of the structures, making each one unique.
"Welcome to Sunagakure," Temari said with a smile. "Pride of the Wind Country and main supplier of all of the sand in the world." Although it was a joke, I was too amazed to laugh.
I honestly expected the village to be a giant sandstorm. If you left your house, you would be swept up by the winds and carried off to oblivion, never to be seen again. But children, adults, and animals alike were out in the streets, laughing and conversing. Except the animals. They weren't laughing or talking. They were just doing animal-things, like peeing on buildings, following their owners, and eating random objects.
"I'll report to the elders about her," Gaara muttered, glancing over to Serisu, who he had knocked unconscious a few hours ago.
"All right," Kankuro replied. "We'll take Kyan and Haketa to the house to get their stuff put away."
With a quick nod and a controlled sand whirlwind, Gaara and the crazy were gone. I looked to Kankuro, confused. "Kyan and I need to find the hotel."
"No, you don't," Temari replied. "You really think we're going to let you guys stay in a crappy hotel?"
Kankuro added in with an amused snort, "Hell no, we're not. They haven't found a new Kazekage yet, so the mansion is still ours. We have a few spare rooms, so you'll be staying with us."
I shook my head quickly, looking back and forth between them. "No, guys, really, we can-"
"Mansion!" Kyan yelled, cutting me off. Temari grabbed her arm and pulled her off in a random direction, leaving Kankuro and I behind.
I sighed and watched them tumble through the streets, heading for an extremely large building. Kankuro laughed beside me and swung an arm over my shoulders.
"Come on. Living with us won't be that bad, I promise. You like food? We have food."
()()()
I complained as soon as we got there, saying how I didn't want to intrude or be a burden, but inside, I was screaming with joy. I'd never been inside a house so big and neat.
The living room was three times the size of ours back home. The walls (which were normally wooden-clad on the inside) were decorated with a large banner with the kanji symbol for 'wind' on it, many large windows, and pictures of what I guessed to be family.
There was a hefty bookshelf near a comfortable-looking chair and writing table, filled with different sorts of books, manga, and videos. A couch (longer than two of my beds put together) faced a large television set, complete with electronics we could never afford.
"Is this you?" I asked, pointing to a picture of a small boy, holding up his headband with a bright smile on his face. A man, the man I knew was their father, stood next to him, looking as proud as a parent could be.
"Yeah. That was when I graduated from the academy," Kankuro replied, standing next to me. "This one is Temari. That's our uncle, Yashamaru, next to her."
I studied Kankuro's picture for a few more moments. He had definitely lost weight since his little kid days, and his face had matured out. The adorable smile was still the same, though.
Temari's picture was about the same. She held her headband in her small hands and it looked as if she was crying from excitement. Yashamaru gave a small smirk, not quite looking as proud.
"Where's Gaara's picture?" I questioned, looking up at Kankuro. He frowned a bit in response.
"He took private classes. He was never enrolled in the academy."
A surge of sadness hit me. I felt horrible Gaara, being isolated all his life. It was no wonder he bore so much hatred toward people.
"C'mon, I'll show you the kitchen. And no, that's not a sexist joke, so don't even start," he said quickly, gently pulling on my hand.
I followed him past the cluttered bookshelf and listened that it was part of Gaara's studies. Most of the books were about the rules and regulations of the village, the governmental system, and other important things young people would have no idea about. Gaara was working toward the position of Kazekage.
The kitchen was just as big as the living room, but contained everything ours did: a stove, a refrigerator, counters with normal appliances on it. The only thing was that different about their kitchen was their table, which could seat three families.
"We always have food, so don't worry about eating too much. And if you leave a mess, don't worry about that either. We have a maid," he explained.
The next stop was the bedrooms. He explained that each room had a bathroom connected, so I wouldn't have to worry about sharing with anyone. That was new to me. I've always shared a bathroom with Kyan.
"This is my room," Kankuro said, stopping in front of a door. "It may be a little messy. I don't really remember how I left it. I don't like the maid touching my room."
The door opened a lot more slowly than I wanted it to. When it finally did, I looked upon the dark room. The only window was covered by a black curtain, which he quickly opened.
It was a simple area. A queen-sized bed against the wall stood next to a nightstand with a table lamp placed on it. In a small little room that was connected (it looked as if Kankuro had made this room himself; the wall had been torn out), a desk with puppet parts scrambled on it was placed in a corner. Drawers with different poisons sat next to it.
There weren't many wall decorations. Near the bedroom door, a corkboard hung securely, covered with pieces of paper. I looked over them quickly. Reminders of appointments, phone numbers, and one picture of a woman who looked exactly like Yashamaru.
She held a baby boy in her arms, while a little girl sat in her lap. I stared at it for a long time, knowing exactly who they were. Kankuro and Temari with their mother, who looked as if she was anymore happier to have them, she would explode into rainbows.
"Temari looks like her. I look more like our father," Kankuro explained from behind me. I was sure if I leaned back even a centimeter, I would be touching him.
"You look exactly like him."
"I guess that's why everyone is expecting me to step up and be the Kazekage."
I turned around to find I was right; he was as close as he could be without touching me. "They are?" I asked, tilting my head back to look at his face. He didn't look at me. He just kept staring at the picture.
"Yeah. I've lost count of how many times I've been asked when I'll be placed in the position. I keep telling them I don't know because I don't want to disappoint them by saying I have no interest in it."
"Why not?"
He shrugged slightly. "I just don't. I'd rather fight to protect something I love than being the one pulling all the strings." With a quick huff, he looked down at me and flashed a smile. "Want me to show you your room now?"
My reply was only a nod.
I had the choice of two rooms. One was directly across the hallway from Kankuro's room and the other was on the floor above. I chose the second, not wanting anyone to think there was something more between Kankuro and I. More importantly, I didn't want myself to think that.
My room was to the left of Temari's and when the door opened, I couldn't held but break into the most ridiculous smile I could ever muster.
"Do you like it?" Kankuro asked, holding the door open for me as I dragged my feet inside.
My eyes gazed over the large day-window, complete with pillows decorated with the symbol on the Sunagakure headbands. The view was amazing; just from standing in the middle of the room, I could see hundreds of sand rooftops and the gap we had entered the village through.
Another queen-sized bed was pushed against the corner. I ran my hand across the blankets and various shapes and sizes of pillows. I'd never felt something so soft.
A study desk sat against the opposite wall, a few feet away from the bathroom door. Small cabinets lined the sides and I was soon told they were still empty.
"These rooms were usually used for our father's party guests who were too drunk to remember where they lived. The maid keeps them especially clean, so if you don't want her coming in here anymore, just let me know," Kankuro told me, checking the dresser to be sure it was empty.
"Oh, okay," I muttered, sitting on the bed. My butt was officially in heaven at that point.
As I fell back onto the bed, he chuckled and told me if I needed anything, I knew where to find him before leaving me to my new room.
Maybe this wouldn't be so horrible after all.