Akane sat up in her bed upon noticing the serious look on the old woman's face. "Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade let out a sigh and stated calmly. "Akane, relax. I was just kidding. You don't have to say anything. I don't need to hear it." Those words put the much younger woman in state of pure shock. "W-what?"
"I already know everything that I need to know, so I'm not going to interrogate you for no reason. I just came to see how you're doing and to ask you- no, to order you to keep yourself out of situations like this in the future. Do I make myself clear?"
Akane sighed with relief. "Of course, Hokage-sama. Won't happen again." Wait a second! Something isn't right here! As soon as the thought hit her, Akane started glaring at the blond suspiciously. "Um... Tsunade-sama?
"Yes, my dear subordinate?"
What a h- What is she up to? Akane crossed her arms while narrowing her eyes at the Hokage. "Alright, spill."
Tsunade looked at her, acting surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I knew you were up to something the moment you began with that "I don't need to hear it" speech. So, what is it? I know you wouldn't let me off the hook that easily."
"Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise till the last moment, but since you insist-"
"Just say it already!"
Tsunade shot her a glare. "If you would just restrain yourself from cutting me of-"
"Fine, I will!"
"You didn't just cut me off just to say that you'll stop cutting me off?"
"Can we discuss my manners some other time? I don't think that I can keep my attention towards you for much longer..." With that Akane's eyes went to the window, proving her point. She wouldn't have been so carefree if she hadn't missed the sadistic smirk on her superiors face. "You're going to Suna."
"What?"
"I said, you're going to Suna. As soon as we get home from this mission, you're packing bags and leaving. You'll say there for at least three months."
That was the last thing Akane heard before passing out.
Meanwhile, certain siblings successfully changed roles. "Gaara, you have to believe me! I took your wallet by mistake, I thought it was mine! I would never spend your money without asking you about it first, you know that! Right?"
"Don't worry Temari, I believe you."
"Y-you do?"
"Of course. We're siblings, so it's quite natural." Just when she was about to jump out of joy, he continued. "And that's why I want you to believe me when I say that both Kankurou and I are going to miss you."
"Oh... Wait, what? Why would you miss me Gaara? I'm not going anywhe-"
"You are going to Konoha. It's a part of a program to strengthen our new alliance."
Temari barely spoke out, she couldn't believe what her brother was saying. "But, why me?"
"Consider it a payback... Besides, you're the only one who, by my opinion, won't do anything that would embarrass our village or start another meaningless war."
She sighed in defeat. "Fine. It's not like I have a choice... So, how long am I staying?"
"Three months."
"THREE MONTHS? WHAT AM-"
"Keep your voice down. My decision is final, and your screaming won't change that."
Temari shot her brother an angry glare, turned on her heel and ran into her room.
"I know you're angry Gaara, but sending her away for that long?" Kankurou was sitting on a chair, looking worriedly at their sister's shut door.
"She'll get over it, and I really meant what I said. She's one of rare people that I trust to do this job right. Of course, if you want to go instead, I'll-"
"No need to get hasty! You're right, Temari is definitely the right person for the job!"
Gaara just smiled at his brother's reaction. "I thought so."
After the week was up and the meetings were over, everyone got ready to leave. Tsunade and Gaara had decided to say their farewells in front of the hotel. "I'm glad that we managed to work things out. Ending this war and starting our new alliance was probably the best decision I've made in years!"
"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself, Tsunade-sama, we all did what we thought was best. There's no point in blaming ourselves now."
The older woman just smiled and nod her head in return.
In the meantime, Kankurou was staring at Akane. It annoyed her to no end. "What are you looking at?"
He smirked. "I was just thinking about how much I'm looking forward to you living with me."
Now she was really confused. "What are you talking about?"
"It's simple. You and Temari are switching places. She's gonna live in your house in Konoha, while you live in hers – in other words, with Gaara and me."
It took her a while to understand what he was saying. "With you and -" Her gaze got stuck on the read-head for a moment. "No way! Tsunade-sama?" Akane was looking pleadingly at the Hokage.
"I'm sorry Akane, but it's true."
"But... why?"
"To tell you the truth, it costs less that way."
"But what about-"
"I already sent a massage to your brothers and they agreed to let Temari stay with them."
Akane looked like she's about to scream, cry and faint at the same time. I can't believe this is happening! It's so unfair! Well... look at the bright side. At least I won't have to put up with Sasuke for whole three months! Oh joy...
After one whole and very boring day, they finally reached Konoha. "Alright people! Go home, have some rest, and Akane, I'm going to send Sasuke as your escort to Suna, so you better tell him to pack."
Upon hearing this Akane frowned. "But Tsunade-sama! I don't need an escort, especially not in a form of that j-"
"Enough. I've already decided. End of discussion."
"But -"
"No."
"Bu-"
"Akane! Shut up and go home already!" I'm so relieved that I'm going to get rid of her for whole three months! I don't think that I could take any more of her at the moment. Now if I could only find a way to get rid of Naruto...
Raven-headed girl opened her mouth to say something again (probably another attempted "but") but decided against it and silently turned around and left. Tsunade watched her retrieving back. Maybe I was too hard on her... She shook her head on that thought. No... She'll get over it in no time. That's one of the reasons I choose her for this mission in the first place. The blond woman smiled warmly and walked away towards the Hokage tower.
"I'm home!" Akane yelled through the door while taking her sandals off.
"What a surprise! You actually made it back alive."
"Funny, Sasuke. That really makes me wonder why you became a ninja in the first place, you should have been a comedian. You'd definitely be more successful at that job, but that would hardly be an accomplishment, considering that you suck at your original occupation." She stated with a smirk.
While Sasuke was gaping at her, trying to think of a comeback, another voice broke through the silence. "It seems that you've actually payed attention on those meetings, instead of pretending not to be asleep like you usually do. If it weren't for you childish behavior, I would say that you've really grown Akane."
"Itachi! You're back!" And before the pore male knew it, he was lying on the ground while being hugged to death. "I've missed you!" She was looking at him with a wide smile spread across her face.
"Akane... How many times have I told you not to do that? Come on, get of."
She quickly stood up, pulling him with her. "Sorry big bro. Won't happen again."
"Right. Till the next time." Sasuke managed to ruin another bother-sister bonding moment with a smart-ass comment. Akane turned around to face his I-think-I'm-so-cool smirk, and chuckled. "I think someone's jealous for not getting a hug."
"What? I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You so -"
"That's enough you two." Itachi turned around and started walking down the hall. The younger two followed him while exchanging some quite colorful and yet silent words. "Tell me, Akane, how was you mission?" Itachi asked while walking into the kitchen.
"It was fine... You do know that I'm going to Suna tomorrow?" She sat at the table, her eyes still locked on her brother.
"Yes. Tsunade mentioned it in her message. I hope you have good time there." Itachi put their dinner on the table and sat.
"I'm gonna miss you and Konoha. I still can't believe that I'll be away for so long..."
"I can't believe that you actually think that you're going to survive that long in the desert. It's completely different from here, you know. I'd hate to be you."
"Yes, Sasuke, I know that it's different. Fortunately, you'll be able to gain a first hand experience on how the desert is, since you'll be coming with me as my escort tomorrow." She ended with a smirk, waiting for his reaction.
"What are you smirking at? If you think that I'm going to give you the pleasure of seeing me panic, you have another thing coming. Besides, if you can take the heat, so can I."
Akane just lowered her head down and faced her food with a smirk. We'll just have see about that, won't we?
A while later, they finished their dinner and went to bed. Akane doubted that she'll be able to sleep very well that night, she was too excited. Oh well... It won't hurt to at least try. After all, I need all the energy that I can get if I'm planning to make Sasuke eat his words during the next three days.