A/N: Sorry to have been away for so long, life has been messing with me. Nothing exceptional, just distracting, especially when I have no energy. Damn you, cold from hell.

Part of this chapter is a passage of time in short events like in Chapter 15. Part of this is the beginning of a side trip from the main events, like Chapter 14 was featuring Kankurou. I thought I really should fill in some gaps because in Chapter 15 I did mention Temari had been give a team...this is that story. Some of the history of Touma Shinji can be found in my one of my other stories: Konoha Babylon: Sakura's Story (chapters 11-15.) Speaking of being off the air, I really have to get back to that story…you think I kept you waiting here…

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How Life Moves On

Shikamaru (after Temari had recommended it) had talked Ino into following their tradition of celebrating their birthdays as a transition from one into the other's. The Naras had left the boys, after having dinner and cake, at his parents place for the night. Yoshino loved to spoil her grandsons in ways their father had never thought was possible. It's already after dark; she'll probably let them stay up really late watching movies and eating popcorn. Then we'll have to carry them home in the morning and let them sleep it off…Troublesome woman.

The whole walk to the Yamanaka residence had been spent with his wife outlining strategies of how they could most discreetly try to leave Ino alone with Chouji for a while. Showing up late was not an option since Ino had requested that they pick her up…or she just might forget to go. "Nothing subtle about that request," the flaxen haired woman muttered. "It's like she's already on to us, and we haven't even tried anything yet."

"Ino can be amazingly stubborn when she sets her mind to it," her husband replied. "I have no idea why your brother's appearance bothered her so badly. He's married and even if there were some old feelings stirred up, they're both adults; they should be able to get past it."

"It still wouldn't hurt if she was back in a relationship herself." Temari looked to see that they were nearly at their destination, "I'll go up, I might just see my niece…if she's not asleep yet." She winked at her husband and headed up the stair that led to the apartment.

Shikamaru was left with his thoughts, It actually amazes me that she's so determined to get those two back together. It makes me wonder what she doesn't like about Ino that she doesn't even want to think of her in a relationship with Kankurou. Not that it matters since he's gone on with his life. Come to think of it has she ever had that conversation with her about how that Suna mission ended…?

In a matter of moments, the two blondes emerged into the early autumn night. Temari had a smile on her face.

She must have gotten her wish. He looked skywards as he thrust his hands into his pockets, "So off to Kuni's," he muttered.

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Chouji met them just outside the bar. He seemed just a little cautious as he spoke, "Happy birthday, Shikamaru," then his eyes drifted to look at Ino, but they returned to his oldest friend with a smile, as if trying to hide the fact he'd rather be gazing at pretty medic than him.

Shikamaru tried hard not to smirk at the thought, Sorry, buddy. I can't help you with this one.

They wandered inside and Temari deliberately selected a booth, immediately dragging her husband into her side, leaving the other two no time to react.

Ino's jaw started to drop, as if to protest, but Chouji just said politely, "If you want, I'll sit on the inside."

She hesitated for just a second then agreed to the suggested arrangement. Soon the four settled into the traditional rounds of sake and snacks.

By the time midnight (and the start of her birthday) had arrived, Ino was having a minor dilemma; though her drunkenness (helped along by Temari deftly refilling her cup when she wasn't paying attention) was tending toward being a happy giggly nature, it also was reminding her she had a itch she wanted scratched. She was desperately fighting the urge to come onto to her most convenient target.

Temari had been watching the way Ino would start to lean toward the man who shared the booth with her, then suddenly sit bolt upright or how her blue eyes would linger on him while she wistfully smiled whenever he and Shikamaru would actively dominate the conversation. She finally decided the time was right, "Excuse me, honey, I've got to visit the little girl's room."

As Shikamaru got up to let her, he recognized the little hand sign she gave him. Oh great, here goes, he thought, hope you're right about this. He glanced over to the bar to see who was there, He'll do. He waited for about a minute before saying, "Hey, Raido's over there, I've got to talk to him for a minute. Be right back." He stood up and headed over to the bar to the man with the scarred face.

Ino did a quick glance to see that things were on the up and up. It seemed to be, so she picked at the remnants of the veggie plate on the table. Since she and Temari were sharing it, Chouji had let it for them. Her eyes darted nervously at the man by her side, "My medical retraining is going well," she half-heartedly made an attempt at conversation with him while waiting for the Naras to return, "but you wouldn't believe what a slave driver Sakura can be."

"No," the burly man said softly, "I believe it completely. She knows that you won't give in under any pressure she puts on you. She knows that now that the two of you are working together your old rivalry will kick in again with a vengeance." He chuckled, the tone seemed comfortable.

It caused a slight ache in Ino's heart, some part of her realized how much she missed the easy-going tone of responses he gave. Another part shuddered, I want to, but it isn't fair to you. She suddenly saw her hand was almost next to his on the table, she suddenly moved it back to wrap around her cup.

They sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Then almost nervously, she turned her head to glance back toward the bar. And Shikamaru was no longer there: They skipped out on me. They were supposed to walk me home and they skipped out on me!

"What's wrong?" Chouji had read the agitation in her body.

"They skipped out on me…us."

"I'm paying, so it doesn't really matter," he replied.

"They were supposed to walk me back," she snapped, feeling slightly deceived. Especially now, since her body was having all sorts of urges that wanted to betray her. "I think it's my turn to visit the restroom."

"I can walk you back…" he started.

"We'll talk about it when I return," she half growled, the sense that she was starting to lose control on so many levels was irritating.

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As she washed her hands, she considered seeing if she could slip out on her own, but she could tell her movement were dulled. Dammit, I definitely need an escort, just to be safe. But my defenses are...questionable. Temptation, yes. Caution, yes. Which on is stronger right now? I'm not sure.

She walked slowly and deliberately back to the table and sat on the side of the booth recently vacated by Shikamaru and Temari.

"Whenever you're ready, we can go." He smiled at her with his usual sweet and gentle reassurance, "I already paid the bill.

She regarded the expression, I can trust him completely. Why do I hesitate? Because I don't trust myself, of course. She stared at her hands and again and awkward silence held between them.

Finally, she made a decision; she stood up without saying a word and headed toward the door.

"Ino," his voice followed her, "you can't go alone." Then his hand gently rested upon her shoulder.

The shudder that ran through her was not an unpleasant one. Control, I can keep this under control.

"Hey, you two are calling it quits too?" They both looked over to see the shaggy head of Kotetsu. Of course, by his side was Izumo.

Ino's mind ran the possibilities through her blurry mind. Alone with Chouji…temptation: I'll probably ask him to take me back to his place before we go a block. Walk with those two…double trouble: they probably still share their women after all these years. I'd regret that even more than being with some who I'm sure cares about me. To her amazement she came up with a successful solution. "Heeey, why don't you guys walk with us? We can all catch up."

Kotetsu looked to Izumo who merely shrugged. "I guess…"

So they four of them wandered the blocks back toward Ino's home. In spite of the 'catch up' comment there was surprisingly little conversation. The three men saw Ino to the door and waited until she turned off the light above the door as a signal that she'd made it to the top okay.

"Well, well, well," Izumo muttered, "having a little bit of woman troubles?"

"Excuse me?" Chouji's eyes narrowed.

"It's just that everybody couldn't help but notice that things cooled down drastically between you and Ino since the beginning of August." Kotetsu said.

"So there's only one thing to do when a man has something off his chest." Izumo continued.

Standing to either side of him, they each put a hand on the large man's shoulders. "You drink some more."

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An hour later, all they were able to get out of Chouji was that Ryokou's father had been in Konoha during the Chuunin Exams. Another hour after that Chouji carried a passed-out Izumo over his right shoulder while a staggering Kotetsu leaned against his left. He delivered both men safely to their apartment complex and headed uneventfully home.

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When spring finally came to Konoha again, Ino, Shikamaru and Temari proudly of enrolled Ryokou and Hajimeru into the Ninja Academy. They got to experience the opening ceremonies and speeches from the new perspective of parents.

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Hajimeru was wondering which he hated more: School or his name. At least once a day, this first week, he'd been laughed at by his classmates when he'd assumed the teacher had said his name instead of giving an instruction. The worst had been when they'd been outside lined up, they were told that they would have to run their fastest once around the academy. The instructor gave the order, "Hajimeru", the other kids took off.

He, on the other hand, approached the sensei and asked, "Yes?"

He'd seen the man flinch, then gesture for him to follow the others, as he said "Just run." Unfortunately the damage was done, the kids at the end started laughing.

"What were my parents thinking when they named me?" He flopped down at recess next to Ryokou, the only person who hadn't laughed at him…so far.

"That they loved you and wanted you to have as name as special as you are." Ryo smiled. She knew as well as he did the stories behind their names. Yet somehow the concept of symbolic names was not the easiest thing for five-year olds to understand.

It was after this awkward moment of silence that Iruka walked up to the two of them.

"Hello, Sensei!" Ryokou chirped it in her brightest tone.

The man couldn't help but smile. At first, most of the teachers had thought her behavior was something she strategically been taught by Ino, and were wary. Iruka had been the one who'd set them straight that this was the real Ryokou, all sunshine and smiles. After that, she quickly became everyone's favorite of the new class. The brown haired girl was sweet natured but very hard working. None of her skills were lacking: she'd smile as you gave her instructions, nail almost as many bulls-eyes as the best student in the class, then turn back to you and ask you if you had a pleasant morning. It certainly made Iruka wonder what her father was like. Then again, he wasn't here to talk to Ryokou.

"Hajimeru, are you okay?" He asked as he sat down next to the boy. The child was physically identical to what his father was at the same age, but his expression was very different. Shikamaru had been lackadaisical, while Hajimeru seemed perpetually annoyed since he'd begun school.

"The other kids are jerks."

"They just don't understand what a great name you have." Ryokou watched him, hoping he'd see that he'd smile back soon.

The light suddenly went on for Iruka, Of course, I should have known, other kids are making fun of him. The pack mentality always looks for someone who could be perceived as weak…or in his case easy to make fun of. I should have realized that his name would be a problem. The scar nosed man asked, "Do you have a nickname that you commonly use at home?"

"Yes," the boy looked up, "Haji."

"Okay then," Iruka said, "consider this an order: While you are on school grounds, you will only respond to 'Haji'. The only time you will respond to Hajimeru as a name is when it is prefaced by your family name of Nara." He smiled as reassuringly as he could, "I'll go and tell all your instructors exactly what I've told you. Do you think that will make your life easier?"

"Yes, Sensei," the black haired boy smiled.

"Then, I'm on my way." Iruka gave the boy a pat on the head, then got up to head back to share his information with the others. I still can't believe that someone as smart as Shikamaru wouldn't have foreseen that his son's name would be a problem in school.

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The next day Hajimeru also decided to further his 'new start' in school. He would drop the traditional Nara ponytail. Of course, he only did it during school hours. The first day when he'd worn it down Temari had freaked and was convinced he'd been in a fight. After that, he continued taking it down as soon as he got inside the academy, but enlisted Ryokou's help to tie it back up at the end of each school day.

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When Chouji's birthday came around she didn't have to worry about Shikamaru and Temari pulling a similar stunt as they'd done in September. First of all, it was a lunch gathering with no alcohol involved. The children were along as well for this occasion which made it much harder for the Naras to pack up and go at a moment's notice. With that pressure off, the only thing Ino had to worry about was how much Ryokou seemed to miss spending time around Chouji. That gave Ino excuse of putting her daughter between them while she sat next to Temari.

Her skill as a medic had shown all the improvement that her greater focus should. As it turned out there had only been two Character Assassinations since she'd made her decision to retrain her medical skills in August. If either of her long time teammates had asked her, she probably would have been honest and admitted that she missed going out on regular missions with them. Of course, she tried to lie to herself that the reason for missing the regular missions was the variety of them; working at the hospital day in and day out was a bit of a drag. There wasn't all that much excitement to be found in healing and all the heavy-duty research intensive case got snapped up by Shizune or Sakura, leaving her only a 'follow my orders' role. Although the grateful smiles from children of people she'd healed was certainly a better reward than she'd gotten escorting some spoiled brat from one village to another.

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It was late July in Sunagakure. As always, things were looking like it would be another busy day in the Kazekage's offices. He smirked at Baki as he prepped a stack of files that were labeled as urgent requests. "Are you sure you can handle the office alone for an hour or so? You do remember how insistent the drop-in visitors can be. Let alone these appointments." He wore no paint on his face this morning as he gestured at the desk calendar in the outer office.

"I remember," there was a grim seriousness on his lips, "but you know I can be very persuasive."

"Indeed," Kankurou replied, "that was why I asked you to do me this favor for the next few days. Haijun will be back on duty soon. Sometimes, I'm astonished how he thrives in this environment. I suspect you're the only one who could pull this off…with the possible exception of Kazue."

"But you'd be putting your life at risk if you dare try to interfere with her busy social calendar." Shiori chimed in as she shifted Mayonaka in her arms. "Now let's get going, so we can get in and back before too many visitors arrive." Balancing the child, she moved her fingers and her stunning features morphed into something more ordinary: her 'private look' as she called it. They had deliberately gotten their children used to it from their earliest days, as well as showing them their father's features painted and not. Shiori much preferred this to the clothing she wore when she visited Pokaru during his time as Kazekage, and she only had to do that because of his ability to see through any illusion. There were very few in Sunagakure who could sense disguise jutsu of the level the Kazekage and his wife preformed it at.

She had also extended her jutsu to Mayonaka, turning his distinct hair a dull brown and his eyes amber, like her own. The child's natural appearance was easily as distinct as her own…unlike his brother. Yuugure who could remain unrecognized as is, although Kankurou still pulled the hood of his almost two-year-old son's jacket up to cover his head before picking him up.

"Let's go," the puppet master said.

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They arrived at Suna's medical center and were ushered in to a special family friendly room. Mio smiled broadly from the bed, "Kazekage-Onii-chan, you honor us."

In the chair next to the bed, Haijun softly shushed her as he adjusted the tiny bundle in his arms. On a futon on the floor beyond him Ni-Nyanko raised her head as if to express the same concern: her three-week old kittens were curled up along side her.

Kankurou had to smile at this strange scene. When Mio had finally expressed her interest in Haijun he'd been…surprised.

-Flashback-

Kankurou had barely been Kazekage for five weeks when Mio barged her way into the office after having been away from Sunagakure for all but three days of his tenure. "Onii-chaaaan…" she started.

Haijun stood at the doorframe practically stammering out apologies. "I-I tried to stop her- them." There was a quick glance to Ni-Nyanko, then back to his Kazekage. He held a clipboard in his left hand and a brush-pen in the other.

"I have business. First," she spoke confidently as she approached the desk then she threw herself across it to wrap her arms around the Kazekage's neck, "congratulations, I hear you'll be a daddy in another eight months." She grinned, her teeth though more or less normal, seemed less so in this extreme smile.

"Thank you," Kankurou replied as he gestured and chakra whips pulled her arms away from his body, picked her up and deposited her on the floor on the appropriate side of his desk. "Now, what's your second piece of business?"

Mio giggled for a moment, "Business is not with you," she grinned, "but wait one moment, please." She turned to face Haijun, slowly she and Ni-Nyanko walked toward him. When they were both within a foot of him she said, "You like Kageneko."

The man's eyes glanced down to the black feline.

The jounin's hand flashed out to take hold of his chin as she leaned so close their noses almost touched. "You like this Kageneko in particular." She gave him a far softer smile.

He blushed furiously and dropped his pen.

Kankurou started to chortle, for quite a while he thought that the pen was permanently attached to his assistant's hand.

"Since you get off work at six, I expect to see you at the Tea shop on the Street of Dreams by seven."

Haijun blinked then nodded energetically.

Mio turned to the Kazekage and asked dumbly, "He does get off at six, correct, Onii-chan?"

Kankurou coughed into his hand for a second as he recovered his decorum, "Oh yes, definitely."

"Then it's a date!" she thrust her arms into the air. Then she started to walk out the door, at the last second she stopped to look back at Haijun. "Would it be okay if Ni-Nyanko stays home? She's tired after our mission."

"Sure." The one word response from the clerk sounded even stranger than his voice usually did.

She flitted one last little wave and was on her way.

As Haijun bent to pick up his pen, the Kazekage fought to contain his amusement.

-End flashback-

After that a lot of things started making sense. With all the bandit missions, when they'd returned to make reports he noticed that Pokaru's assistant addressed Ni-Nyanko as an equal member of the team. As it turned out the paperwork-genius had always loved cats but his apartment didn't allow them…

Funnier still was that the Kazekage never realized that this man was only a few months older than himself. His unkempt look and obsequious manner had made him seem older than he really was. But somehow Mio had seen through all that and made him seem like he actually had a personality. It made Kankurou happy that he'd let this Haijun retain his position when he had become Kazekage.

"So what did you name him?" Shiori asked.

"Kitten-boy," Mio grinned. "I figure he's going to be raised by Ni-Nyanko, along side Kiri-nyan nyan and Tsuki-neko."

"Seriously…" Kankurou's eyes narrowed showing he wasn't buying this for an instant.

"Haizuki," Haijun rasped softly, "he's named after my grandfather."

"You know all about boys…" Mio started to say, then immediately cut herself short as she caught the sudden quiver of Shiori's lips as she glanced briefly at her younger son. The Kageneko changed topic abruptly. She twisted in the bed to look to her feline partner, "Ni-Nyanko, can you let the Kazekage bring Yuugure over to meet the twins?" It was obvious that the older boy was interested in the felines in the corner.

Ni-Nyanko's response was to nudge her offspring in turn, both heads moved sleepily, but both returned to their curled up positions. So instead the large, mostly black cat walked over and offered herself to the curious child.

Kankurou crouched alongside her and set the toddler down. The boy set one hand along the furry body, then promptly returned to his father's arms. It was almost like Yuugure was saying; 'Okay, I touched it, so what?' More likely, Kankurou thought, he didn't realize how big she was until he was right next to her. He'll be a good ninja; he didn't let his fear show. He stood again with his son in his arms while the Kageneko walked over to curl again around her daughters.

"Well then, I guess we'd best be going," the Kazekage said. "I can't leave Baki alone at the office for too long. As much as he thinks he can handle the job, I don't need violence breaking out."

"There are skills required for that job that even the most seasoned of shinobi do not have," Haijun regarded his boss with a hint of smugness.

"That's why you only have two more days off." Kankurou smirked back, "Any more than that and I'm sure the place will fall apart completely." I'm amazed we managed during Gaara's time, maybe it was because Temari, Baki, and I all helped out.

Shiori gave each of them a final congratulatory kiss and then the Kazekage's family left the hospital. As they hit the streets, she spoke softly to her husband; "This is the most social interaction you've had with anyone in a long time. I think it was good for you, you've been so focused on business lately."

"Speaking of business, are you almost ready for your mission?"

"Next week. Shun will be back in a couple of days." She regarded her husband, "I'd like him to have a few days off. He's been running non-stop lately."

"I suppose…" the Kazekage glanced up at the entrance to the main complex. The guards were more than familiar with his chakra signature, so when he unconcealed it, they instantly stepped aside, heads bowed. Shiori dropped her disguises at the same moment.

She shifted Mayonaka to her left arm and held out her right for Yuugure. It turned out she needn't have bothered for one of her cousins appeared to take the older boy. Shiori gave Kankurou a kiss on the cheek, "See you later," she smiled, "you'd best get up there before the place explodes." Her musical giggle followed.

"That might be a welcome distraction."

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"Have a productive day at school," Temari ruffled the pulled back tuft of Hajimeru's hair as she dropped him off at the academy.

"See you later," he muttered as he headed off to the entrance.

So like his father, she smiled as she watched him go. She'd gotten here a little earlier than usual because she had some business to take of. It was the third of the month, a day that was dedicated regularly to one piece of business. When a mission doesn't get in the way, of course, she looked heavenward.

Time for tea. Heading down the street she wandered over to the place that had become their new rendezvous. She ordered genmai-cha and kept an eye out for him. A few minutes later, just as she finished, fourteen year old Hyuuga Hiromu came into view. The chuunin wore his traditional tan colored work gear. His brown braid tied neatly down his back, its length just past his ribs.

"Greetings Nara-san," he bowed in polite deference.

"Morning, Hiromu," she stepped out into street to stand beside him. They started on their way. After a few minutes of silence she spoke again, "Meeting up with Genma and the team afterwards?"

"Yes." He looked at her, "I'm surprised Genma-sensei hasn't asked you to work with Megumi again. She's very determined to pass the Chuunin Exams next time they happen. She getting a little miffed that she's the only one of our team not to do it"

"I was surprised she didn't make the final exam last two times." The blonde jounin frowned, "Does she have some kind of bad luck with these things?"

Hiromu looked at the woman with an expression that showed surprise at her words. You, of all people, talking about bad luck with the exams. "None that she'd claim," he replied.

They went back to silence as they walked on their pilgrimage and soon reached their destination. Konohagakure's asylum was a less dismal appearing structure than the one in Sunagakure had been, but it never lessened the feeling of dread Temari felt every time they approached it. I failed you, she thought, but I will not let you be forgotten. She glanced at her companion; certain he was lost in similar thoughts of his own. Though both of them were dedicated to this fallen comrade, both seemed to realize that neither was strong enough to face him on their own.

As they entered the woman at the main desk recognized them immediately. Of course she had been given a heads up by the fact that a package had arrived for morning inspections. The brunette handed a square paper box to Temari as she said "All okay," and gave them the passes they needed for sub-level 2. The next station matched their chakra signature to the tag, allowing only the living person who the tag was given to use it. No resident of the asylum could steal a tag and each person had to have their own tag to get out.

They descended the stairway that led to a series of access routes. Only one series was kept unsealed on a given day, and only one color of card corresponded to each sequence. The majority of the dangerous residents, those who had maimed or killed, were kept in underground 'cells' with special lighting that simulated the beneficial effects of sunlight.

As they waited for the bridge to align so they could enter the first corridor Hiromu finally spoke again, "So here we are." He looked at the white box, "What did you get him this time?"

"A personal sized cake from Wakana's Sweet Shop," she replied. "You know how he loves maple."

"Yeah, you usually bring him candy." He led as they went down the passage.

"We had one of the large versions of this for my husband's birthday last year," she smirked, thinking of Yoshino's shock that someone had gotten her son something other than the traditional white frosted cake decorated with strawberries. "It was just a whim to get it," she regarded the chuunin by her side, "one of the 'flavors of the season' line they've been experimenting with. Must have been successful, they brought it back as soon as September hit."

"Good thing my uncle, Ko, works inspections here."

"Yeah, having members of your clan doing those duties eases my mind. After an inspection in Suna, I don't think it would look very appetizing." She chuckled.

"If it even could pass for food," he smiled as well. "You desert dwellers are notoriously brutal."

"Yes, but remember because of that upbringing my youngest brother became Kazekage when he was not much older than you are now," she shot back. "Sometimes I think Konoha doesn't build the killer instinct into it's young the way it should." They arrived at the final corridor that would lead to the chamber they were seeking, "other times I just might be grateful they don't." I wonder sometimes how this all might have turned out if he was more battle hardened at those exams. She thought back to the events that had brought her here…

---Flashback--- (warning - long flashback)

Twelve days after Temari's return from watching Kankurou's elevation to Kazekage, she received a summons from the Hokage. She had to leave the boys with her mother-in-law since Shikamaru had already been called up to serve as a specialist for a short term study of strategy at the academy. She was wondering what kind of assignment she'd receive as she found herself at the doors to the office. Here goes.

From behind her desk, Tsunade smiled up at the jounin. "Thank you for being so prompt." She held out a hand to Shizune who placed a folder in it. Flipping it open she glanced down to the pages within and back up to the woman before her. "In your time in Konohagakure's service you've been exemplary. I'd like to open up a new opportunity that could better prepare you for some of your upcoming parental duties."

The flaxen hair woman raised an eyebrow, "And that would be."

"I wish to add your name to the list of jounin being assigned genin teams this year." She met the younger woman's teal eyes with a steady gaze. "The lists will be finalized within the next week or so. Team assignments will come out shortly there after. I think you have a lot to offer, and not just from your experiences in Sunagakure."

"This is a bit of a surprise," Temari regarded the Hokage. "I had thought for sure you would offer this kind of position to Shikamaru before me."

"I find your husband to be more useful here. I prefer not to send him too far away at this point in time." A slow twist of her lip, "Besides, you know he'd find the ongoing demands of keeping up with a trio of genin for days on end…oh, what is the word?"

"Troublesome?" Shizune offered.

"Exactly," Tsunade gestured.

"What a convincing argument." Temari's amusement at the show she had just seen was clearly written on her face. "Fine, as long as you intend to keep my husband close to home, I have no real problem with the idea."

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When Temari told Shikamaru that evening, he'd been happy for her. It showed that the Hokage had fully accepted her as a Konoha shinobi. What he didn't say was that it was also a relief that for at least the next year or so most of the assignments they got shouldn't go above 'C' rank which was good as far as Temari's personal safety. He knew her, if she'd have gone much longer without a regular assignment, she'd have probably gone into Tsunade-sama's office demanding a high rank mission. Plus there was the added advantage of keeping her busy so it would minimize her chance of telling Ino about Kankurou's current situation.

Temari speculated wildly about who she'd get as a team. She'd heard about various students among this year's class from her husband from the occasions when he'd taught specialized classes. There was one boy who she was genuinely curious about: Touma Shinji, she'd heard about him not just from Shika, bit from various members of their circle of friends. Ino had told her how she'd helped Sakura tame the boy's 'genjutsu gone wild'. The only catch was that he tended to have been a little slower in his social growth and other shinobi skills, so he was already about a year older than his graduating classmates. There was also one of new genin who seem to have a wind affinity, maybe she'd get her. Or perhaps she'd get called in as a specialist if they needed help just as Sarutobi Asuma had when Naruto needed some pointers.

She looked over the basic genin class list and stared putting her own fantasy dream team together. I want Shinji, Aburame Shigeo (one of Shino's cousins, of course), and Irino Megumi: Fake crawlies, real bugs, & a girl with wind potential. It couldn't get any better than that.

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When the finalized lists came out it turned out Temari did indeed get Shinji as part of the newly created Team 17. However, as she read the files given her the other two seemed to be a curious match: Hizuka Reito was an orphan who'd been found and adopted. He was considered to be a strange quiet boy, but he had a reputation like Tenten's for weapons and targeting accuracy. His personality was also what his instructors consistently called 'distant'. Banno Asuka was medically trained, in fact she was one of the best in the current class. Socially she was Reito's opposite, a non-stop talker, especially on her favorite topic: Banno Asuka. To say she was a braggart might be an understatement, but she had rights to it, she had been in the top three in pretty much every category of the standard genin training.

The day she actually met the members of Team 17, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Shinji wasn't so bad, that is, if he didn't act so much like a puppy who wanted to be your friend. He was a brown haired, brown eyed youth of fairly ordinary features. Asuka was every bit a self-centered as the reports had indicated. The strawberry blonde had intense blue eyes and a glare that could cut right through you. She wanted attention and praise like it was her life's blood, when she didn't get it, her tantrums were excessive. Reito had dark blue hair a little longer than shoulder length. His eyes were a reddish brown that reminded you of blood. When he took orders, he did only what he was told and promptly stopped once he completed it, but his sense of self preservation seemed strong. He seemed to react defensively to any attack thrown at him. Temari promptly labeled them: Puppy, Vanity and Machine.

Somehow, because of Reito's offbeat nature they managed to pass the pretest that Temari administered. She decided he was going to be the one to watch most closely. His movements seemed almost too perfected for a boy his age. Weirder still his chakra pattern and flow was almost unreadable at times. After all the things she'd heard about Shinji, she'd thought he'd be the one who'd surprise her.

After that, their first few missions were disasters. There was no teamwork to be found in any of them. Shinji's attempt at it was to do any duty Asuka found beneath a shinobi of her skills. Asuka's idea was to try to order the other two around, but Reito wouldn't take orders from anyone but Temari.

The traditional cat finder mission was only accomplished because Reito had fallen asleep against a tree in the middle of lunch after he had checked the locations he'd been assigned to check. Apparently, he had some of the cat's favorite food in the bento that had been packed and the beast had eaten it and decided the boy's lap was as good a place as any for a nap. Temari had come looking for him, seen the cat and told Reito not to let go of it. Then she had recalled Shinji and Asuka, so they could claim their assignment completion.

Because of these ongoing lapses, Temari requested a survival mission: a trip to the mountains. She deliberately chose a type of terrain that she herself had a more limited exposure to. She spent the evening convincing Shikamaru that this was the right thing to do. "If I add some element of personal risk, I too, will get something more out of it."

"You still don't like it here on the rare occasions it snows." He looked at her mildly concerned, "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"If it will give me a more cohesive team I have to try," her teal eyes narrowed. She didn't like it when he doubted her judgment, for a moment she considered sleeping with her sons as a show of her annoyance. They, at least, listen to everything I say without questioning. But she could tell by his body language that the whole situation had him tenser than his words revealed. So she decided, since there was no verbal reassurance she could offer to alleviate his fears, it was wiser to de-stress him that night with her touch.

The next morning she'd met up with the other members of Team 17 at the main gates. She double-checked their gear before heading out. They'd done well, planning for the colder elevations they were heading to.

Asuka exuded confidence as Temari let her take the lead. The girl had studied maps and carried the two she considered most useful with her. One featured population centers and landmarks, the other showed elevations and other topography. Temari felt a stirring of pride in the girl: she's not just talk, she's really taking this mission seriously.

They traveled steadily along in the trees to the north east of Hi no Kuni. They took a midday break for lunch in a small town that Asuka had charted on her map and said goodbye to civilization for what could last as long as the next month.

By the next afternoon they had reached the mountains, by twilight they had climbed high enough that Temari decreed it was time to set up their camp. As expected they set it up so Asuka and Temari shared one tent and the boys shared the other. They did their best to prepare a hot meal that evening, for the air was already showing a chill edge indicating a change in the weather.

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"Wake it, Temari-sensei," the girl's voice cut through the morning air, "sun's up, time to train."

The blonde jounin poked her nose out of the cocoon of a sleeping bag she brought. The cold in the air stung worse than it had outside the night before. Auuugh, she mentally screamed, how I hate the cold! She knew it was her responsibility to whip these genin into a cohesive team. She had thought that it would work best if she put herself in a less familiar environment to do so. Why did I think I could do this here? It's too late to turn back now, especially since my husband will say 'Told you so.' She started to crawl out from her covers and the morning chill struck her in a wave making her shiver. She tucked further back into the roll and inched closer to her clothes and gear looking like an oversized inch worm.

"Oooh, I think I see a weakness," Asuka teased. She was already dressed in a wool cloak layered over wool leggings and wore fitted leather jacket over a turtle neck. The leather gloves she wore were the only bright colored item, they stood out in brilliant scarlet.

"Banno-chan," Temari knew how much the girl hated the use of 'chan' with any part of her name, "this is just a demonstration of conservation of heat. If I maintain warmth in here and pull my clothing in here to warm up before I dress, I'll waste less energy than I would if I stepped out into the cold, pulled on cold clothing and had to bring my core temperature back up again."

"Yeah right," the strawberry blonde replied flippantly. As she slid out through the tent flap, she added, "You still haven't got your desert-ass used to our climate changes."

One of these days that girl's mouth is going to get her killed.

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The first day's training was a series of spontaneous moments of Temari deciding to halt their mountain ascent to try different types of combat in terrain along their way. Narrow ledges proved to be Asuka's bane, her shorter stature left her more vulnerable to physical attacks than usual. The longer limbs of her teammates, especially when combined with Temari's ordering Reito in a carefully directed assault on Asuka's weaknesses forced the girl into a slowly building rage that ended when Shinji managed to clock her in the back of the head with a stick that he'd decided to throw. When that happened she let out a furious scream and promptly broke away from the restriction of fighting on the thin path. She ran up the rock wall deliberately using a concentrated chakra thrust to smash a chunk of the rock face showering her teammates with a small scale avalanche. Shinji shielded Reito with an earth based jutsu he'd recently learned. Temari used her fan to fly up to catch up with her perturbed student.

Stepping onto this higher ledge she folded her fan. "That would have been better if you'd had used that wall shatter as a projectile weapon against Reito."

The girl glared with a pout on her lips.

"The rules I gave were limited to your own physical strength and found items. A smaller carefully directed version of using concentrated chakra could have forced Reito back. Stone shards can cut as well as any other weapon you could have even created an additional weapon in the process." The blonde jounin watched to see if her advice was sinking in. "If it's any consolation tomorrow should offer some payback. There's supposedly a crater like structure higher up, maybe I'll let you team up with whichever of the boys you want…and we'll see what happens from there." Her gaze turned downward to see the boys looking back.

"Do you want us to come up yet?" Shinji asked.

At least he was smart enough to recognize that we needed a little alone time. "Sure," she replied waving them up by gesture as well.

A moment later they fell in along side her. "Com'on, back to path walking." She pointed east, "next place we find that's open enough to sit comfortably is where we'll eat."

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The next day they continued their ascent, finding the crater Temari had informed Asuka about. When she'd offered the girl the opportunity for revenge, she knew exactly how the girl's vindictive nature would lead her. Even though he hadn't been as active a participant in yesterday's battle Asuka wanted a piece of Shinji because he's the one who'd made the final insult by nailing her with a well thrown stick. So the noisy strawberry blonde paired up with the silent blue haired automaton.

Temari smiled, "okay, Shinji and I vs. you two."

"I thought," Asuka gaped.

"No, you assumed." The jounin smiled, "Before we begin…Reito."

"Yes, Sensei?" He bowed his head to her.

"Until this battle is acknowledged as over by either Asuka or myself, you will only take orders from her."

Before Temari could step back, Asuka crowed, "Reito, formation two," as she sped after Shinji.

No surprise here, Temari thought as Reito ran a defensive pattern as he too, moved past her to go for the brown haired boy.

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Nearly two hours later Shinji caught Asuka above her ear with an elbow, knocking her cold. It hadn't been a deliberate move, he'd actually been trying to avoid Temari's wind slash that was deflected by Reito. The girl had somehow focused on the new potential threat and lost track of her opponent.

Temari promptly declared the battle as over so Reito could check his teammate. He had moderate medical skill, not as good as Asuka's, but it was kind of a relief to have two on the team who had these skills. Especially looking at the nice lump she's got going there. Temari preformed a quick ice jutsu to make a pack to help alleviate the swelling, and handed it off to the quite boy. Shinji came over with Asuka's bed roll. Reito helped his teammate pick her up and rest her on it before he tended to the girl, quickly bringing her around.

"So I guess that's it for the day," Temari smiled down, "I think you need a little break."

"Just a little one, Temari-sensei?" The girl responded, "that doesn't sound like you at all, are you going soft on us?"

"No, but your head is going to go soft if you don't rest for a while." She stood above the girl with her hands on her hips. Then she put a hand on the shoulders of the other two team members, "Boys, I think we're camping here tonight, got a problem with that?"

"No," Shinji said, while Reito wordlessly went to the packs.

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The next three days was spent alternately training and climbing as they strived to reach an elevation that actually seemed a little less comfortable for them. When they got there she decided this was finally the time for her to give Shinji a special order she'd never given him before. In fact, she'd wanted to wait until she saw how their team fit together before she tried this, especially since the boy had well developed earth based jutsu that served the team well enough on missions.

So as they continued to look for as site to set up their camp for what Temari had decided would be their home for the next week, Shinji came through. She felt it hit her, she was half expecting it anyways. In spite of her knowledge of the genjutsu's nature she stared at her arm for the first moment anyways. What a revolting sensation, her hands rapidly flipped through the gestures to release her from the hold of his power, I knew it was supposed to feel like something was moving under the skin, but I didn't realize that there would be that gnawing sensation as well. It only makes sense.

Now that she was free she watched for an additional few moments to see it Asuka and Reito had enough sense to figure it out. It is a training mission after all and they have been briefed on the nature of Shinji's power. The moment she saw Reito grab at his kunai she gestured for the brown haired boy to do the release. The victims startled when they suddenly realized that the pain and threat was gone.

"That was Shinji's genjutsu, wasn't it?" Asuka said after the first moment of relief had passed.

"Yes."

"I was just trying to get past my fear and wrap my mind around the concept so I could attempt to release from it," she actually sounded disappointed.

"Well, I would have let him go on a little longer, but someone else wasn't handling it as well as you." The blonde jounin looked at the blue haired member. "Reito, I expected better of you. I thought for sure those self-preservation reflexes of yours would find a more realistic solution than pulling out a kunai and digging it into your arm."

"The pain from that would have broken the genjutsu as well as anything else." His reddish brown eyes regarded his sensei.

Temari marveled at what he'd just said, not the concept, but the fact that it was the longest sentence she'd ever hear him say. If I'm lucky that a sign of some sort of breakthrough.

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The next day was spent training genjutsu releases and establishing a chain of command for the team. Temari wasn't sure what she needed to do beyond that, What would make this team really come together? She watched as they practiced some simple drills, I hate this cold, I want to get out of here, but can't until they show me they can truly work together.

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Two days later as Temari was mentally cursing the cold as usual while they moved about seeking new locations to train without climbing higher up the mountain. Through these past few days she had been letting her team take turns being advance and rear guard to get a feel how the required skills differed by placement. At this time, Shinji had been scouting in advance of the rest of the team. They caught up to him at a juncture when he'd immediately pointed out a gap in the rocky face of the mountain.

"I didn't see any indication of it on the maps we'd brought so I thought I'd wait for the rest of you before investigating," he spoke softly, almost uncertainly.

"Did you see any evidence of movement around the entrance while you waited?" Temari asked him, as she scrutinized the area for any evidence of recent activity. No high powered trackers in this group, we'll just have to do this by careful study.

"Nothing that I saw."

"Reito, you take the lead," Temari gave him the order, "and everyone remember our chain of command."

The blue haired boy slid silently to the front, He has the fastest reactions…normally.

Finally, something unexpected, let's see how this works for us.

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The first stretch of the cave seemed perfectly ordinary. However as they got deeper within there seemed to be evidence of something having been in it. They found sooty marks in rough hewn niches on the cave walls.

Smart, not visible from the entranceway, Temari notice it had taken them about twenty minutes to work in to this point. That was the other reason she'd put Reito up front, he had far superior night vision to the rest of the team. Temari had put herself second for hers was fairly good, she'd placed a small red light off the back of her pack to give Asuka and now rear guard Shinji something to follow. Another half an hour and they felt the air change: cold, stale with just a hint of something unnatural. Another five minutes and the blonde jounin saw a change in the front, Reito had moved off to the side of what appeared to be a large opening. He waited there for her to catch up. As she moved along side him she made sure she gesture in the red glow for the others to advance to join them.

She turned off the light and got Asuka to wrap a hand loosely around her own. "What did you see?" Temari leaned close to Reito's ear and whispered as softly as she could. As he described his discovery she used a form of sign language to silently form a message in Asuka's hand and transfer the information along allowing the girl to share the information to Shinji in as minimal a whisper as she could use.

When they all knew what Reito had found Asuka reversed the sign language position and queried her as to what they should do next. Temari's silent response was she would put out as strong and as cautious a feel for any active live chakra trace in the area, hoping not to reveal herself to a trap in the process. She slipped across to the area to the other side of the opening.

Two minutes later she gave them a go ahead to try to illuminate the area. As they carefully brought the light level up they could see evidence that the place they had found was some sort of abandoned lab. Could this be one of Orochimaru's leavings? Temari examined the place carefully, It might be fun to taunt Sasuke and tell him he might have missed one. She had been told that part of the reason Konoha's most famous wayward son had taken so long with his homecoming was because he was trying to systematically reduce all of the Snake Sannin's lairs to useless dust. "Shinji, make sure all this gets mapped. We'll have to give directions to this place to the Hokage. Where we found it, what the cave looks like and so on."

"Yes, Sensei." The boy pulled out a kit he had and began to sketch, making detailed notes.

Asuka chose to stand guard by him, as Temari and Reito moved to look more closely at some of the items along the walls.

There were items on selves that appeared to be jars. Most seemed to be broken remnants but there appeared to be two that were mostly intact. Temari warily handled one, while the blue haired youth moved closer to a marking on the nearby wall. There seems to be something still in here, she tilted the cracked jar carefully, trying to get enough light so see what was within. Her mind just registered that it was the mummified remains of what could have been a child when she heard Reito gasp a word and stumble backward into her. The jar dropped from her hands and collided into her left leg shattering on impact.

"Asuka, I need you." The blonde jounin jumped backward about ten feet on her right leg to get away from the glass then sat down and tried to see what kind of damage had been done by the glass.

The genin kunoichi settled in and began to cut away her sensei's pants from the wound. She removed the glass shard carefully, "Nasty, but not deep." Her hands cleaned the area and she attempted a brief healing and paused, "It feels weird, like an infection is already setting in."

"Let's take the shard you removed with us, and could someone pack up what's left of the contents of the shattered jar…just be careful." Temari looked over to see Reito still staring at the wall. "Reito!"

"Sensei," he suddenly returned to alertness.

"Find a way to gather and store the contents of the jar I dropped so we can take it home to study it. Ow! Asuka that stings," she grimaced.

"I wasn't doing anything at the moment." The girl replied as she turned back to her sensei's injury, her hands touched again, "I don't like this, your skin is discoloring." She set to healing it again. Soon the area like a normal cut again.

"Let's get out of here and back to Konoha," Temari told the team. They worked their way out and returned to their camp. They gathered their gear and decided to take as short a route down as possible, instead of following the paths like they had to get where they'd been.

When it got dark they made camp, and Asuka checked on Temari's leg again. "It's discoloring again and I don't think it's just because we're kept you active. There's something wrong, that I can't quite zero in on. Getting home is really sounding good to me, hopefully tonight's rest will do it more good than the climbing we've been doing."

"I'll trust your judgment on this," the blonde replied. "Everyone, keep in mind the chain of command in case something happens to me."

That night Temari remembered shivering from the cold as she tried to fall asleep, and hearing Asuka tell the boys to move their sleeping bags into their tent, "So we can keep Sensei warm."

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A/N: Yes, I know stylistically this chapter is a little more anecdotal than usual, but I just wanted to fill in this gap in the story. And will conclude it next chapter, also resuming the regularly scheduled dilemma, I mean, drama.

Thank you to those who reviewed last time: Awaii, shannny2k, shelvesinthecloset, Shubaltz Crazist & wwefollower, hopefully I won't keep you all waiting so long next time.