Hey people!!! sorry for being so late. shame on me. i promise there will be at least two chapters over winter break because i will have nothing else to do :) i hope you like this chapter. i will admit that its all little boring cause its more of a transition chapter but read it anyway. thanks to everyone who reviewed! you hold a special place in my heart *tear*.

disclaimer: oturan nwo ton od I

Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Matsuri POV

"AHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed as a night of uninterrupted tranquility was harshly brought to a screeching halt by the sound of a spoon hitting a frying pan.

"Time to get up you lazy bums!" Temari cried playing her make shift instrument.

"Sensei!" I groggily turned to Sari who was surprisingly displaced from her bed to the floor. I assume the sudden jolt awake had knocked her off the mattress.

"Sorry girls, but I had to get you up for a special crack of dawn training session." We both moaned simultaneously. "Hey, I'm not doing this for your sake, not mine." Temari said slightly irritated.

"And it's appreciated." Sari said with a hint of sarcasm. "But a frying pan, Really now?"

"Tough love, honey." She smirked and walker out of the room. Sari and I hastily dressed and marched out after her.

"Hey, what about Yuudai?"Sari asked but Temari looked confused. "I mean, isn't he coming?" Temari smiled.

"Psh, no. If Kankuro is going to snooze the day away, then his precious student can kiss my ass." I giggled and Sari frowned. Of course I wasn't Temari's student either, but I was almost certain her gripe was less about Kankuro's sleeping habits and more about her loathe of his pupil. Speaking of negative people, I wondered where Gaara was anyway.

Temari jogged with us all the way to the training grounds. She called it a "Warm up" but a near sprint through the freezing morning fog didn't fit into that category in my book. Our trio finally reached our destination and was greeted by the sight of a certain red head. He was leaning against one of the Konoha target poles. One of his legs was bent up so that the bottom of his shoe was flush with the pole he rested against. With his arms crossed and head bent down slightly he looked like he had been carved to hold that position forever and I bet he could. I squinted and tried to think of a perfect comparison. He looked like… like one of those pale Greek statues; yeah that's it, like a Greek god.

"Oi! Sensei! There you are." I called to him. The statue came to life and tilted his head in our direction.

"Good morning." He said in a husky voice.

"Same to you! Did you sleep we-… I mean, how was your night?" Gaara doesn't sleep of course.

He blinked slowly before saying, "Fine." His eyes, which had rested on my face, changed their trajectory to the girl standing next to me. Sari quickly looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze. She tried to smile but only revealed how uncomfortable she was. Temari finally released the tension.

"Come on you two! Let's get started." Gaara tilted his head back down resuming his previous pose. As we made our way towards the konouchi who beckoned for us, I asked Sari,

"What's the matter?"

"Oh uh, nothing." She faked a grin.

"… Are you afraid of Gaara- san?" my eyes narrowed.

"What? No! ... Well, I don't know. Maybe, I'm not afraid of him exactly. I'm more frightened of what people said happens when he gets, well… you know."

"Yeah, I know…" my faced saddened as I remembered those intense yellow eyes full of abhorrence and loathing. I shuttered. "You don't have to be afraid, Sari." I said recalling Gaara's ability to suppress his other half.

"I know… I'm sorry." She sounded sincere. "I'm trying my best, really I am."

"Thanks."

Gaara POV

A frigid gust of early air blew across my body causing goose bumps to appear on my arms and a shiver to rocket down my spine. My toes were freezing because of my stroll through the dew kissed lawn. I furrowed my brow in an attempt to suppress an oncoming headache. In short, my morning was going fantastically… I continued to internally grumble to myself as Sari and Matsuri spared mere feet ahead of me. Though it was hard to determine who had the upper hand because they both excelled in different areas. Sari was utilizing the wind element, no doubt influenced by my sister. She held one small fan in each hand and channeled her chakra in the blades. It became evident that she could only create wind gusts strong enough to push her opponent back, thus her wind technique was only powerful enough to be used as a defense rather than an attack like Temari. She made up for this disadvantage by skillfully using the edges of her fans as a surprisingly effective close combat weapon. This approached proved useless against Matsuri's mastery of her jouhyou. By twirling it over her head, she created a barrier impeding Sari's attempted assault. The push for supremacy went on for an hour or so until Temari called it off.

"Nice work. Now rest up a little before we set off for the first exam."

"Hai!" they said in unison and then walked off to rest their muscles.

"See you before the first challenge, Sensei!" Matsuri called over her shoulder. I gave her a single nod but that was enough to make her smile. Temari moved to my side.

"So what do you think?" she said full of anticipation.

"Hn?"

"Do you think Sari's doing ok?"

"Yeah… she should focus on chakra conservation. I noticed a portion of her energy is utterly spent." I said in an attempt to sound constructive rather than critical. Temari didn't deserve the wrath of my foul mood.

"Ok, yeah. I noticed that too…" she trailed off. "Are you alright? You look miserable." I just shook my head. "How do you feel?" I knew my sister was referring to the state of the malevolent creature sealed inside my body rather than my physical health.

"It's okay, Temari. You don't have to worry." She smiled back and made a crafty subject change.

"Matsuri's looking solid, eh?" she prodded me gently with her elbow.

"She is. I fear for her though. The Chunnin exams are brutal on the body as well as the mind." It wasn't like me to doubt Matsuri, but she seemed so innocent and fragile. I have witnessed firsthand the most resilient of souls crumble under the pressure forced upon them, even my own.

"Oh stop worrying. You're going to get premature wrinkles." Temari teased. I didn't usually like people this close but for some reason I didn't mind letting Temari in.

It wasn't long before Temari and I met up with Kankuro to see our students off to the first exam. Matsuri wore a worried expression. Feelings of anticipation and uncertainty were pulsing off her in waves. Her breaths were short and quick with the occasional deep breath as she tried to cure her anxiety. I wanted to make an attempt to reassure her, but I didn't know how, so I remained still. At last the wait was over. It was time for her to pass though the double doors in front of us and demonstrate if she had what it takes to become a ninja.

She sighed to release built up tension.

"Well her I go." She turned to me. "I guess I'll see you in a couple of days." I nodded in confirmation. "Well… that is if I make it through the first exam and through the forest of… death." Her last word was significantly softer. There was a brief pause and then she looked up. "I won't let you down sensei! There is no way!" her eyes were intense now. It seems that saying the words out loud gave her much needed confidence. I nodded again and she turned to leave.

"Matsuri." She whipped around. "Be careful." She smiled warmly.

"You got it."

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