Gaara

Kurapika had plotted out dozens of scenarios based on the information he received from the Kazekage. Kurapika did not deem himself a master tactician—that was left up Killua. Killua was the main strategist in the group, but Kurapika was by no means stupid. He put thought into his actions; he did not act rashly except for few occasions. Those few occasions often centered on his clan which in turn reminded him why he had to think out his actions. One did not simply face the Phantom Troupe and come back unscathed.

He had been trailing Gaara through the streets of Suna. He needed to scout out the kid's personality and determine if it was safe to approach him casually. The statistics on the kid were not good. In fact, they had been downright scary. The cold stare he gave the villager's along with his death count gave Kurapika a good profile of what the kid was like. His conclusion was that Gaara was cold-blooded murder. If he had no prior information on the boy, he would have abandoned him immediately. The issue came with his background information. Apparently, Gaara used to be kind and timid.

Black-rimmed eyes shot towards his location and Kurapika froze. Gaara shouldn't have noticed him yet. He still had to determine the best way to approach him about the situation without getting maimed or brutally murdered. The red head returned to his emotionless walk through the village. There was something strange going on here. Kurapika's eyes were immediately drawn to a fruit vendor.

He had already been here.

The boy was knowingly leading him in circles! The world was dyed in red as he tensed in preparation. Gaara could attack hi—"Attack you any moment." A cocky male voiced Kurapika's thoughts just as a wooden puppet pinned both arms to his side. "That's what you were thinking. Man it took you long enough to figure out. Good thing Temari and I stayed away from Gaara when we noticed you." Kurapika inched his head towards his attacker to get a better picture of who they were.

"The Kazekage's children!" This was the worst situation possible. He was prepared to deal with Gaara, but he did not have a contingency plan for Temari and Kankuro.

"We've got a bright one here." Temari chuckled and knelt down beside Kurapika. She swung a kunai back in forth on her index finger. "How do you think we should handle him?"

"I'll handle him. His appearance disturbs me." Gaara gave a vile smirk. "Mother wants to taste his blood." Temari and Kankura backed off immediately. The puppet crushing his lungs vanished. Kurapika fell to the ground grasping his neck with rapid intakes of breath.

This is bad! Kurapika struggled to his feet and whipped out his chains toward Gaara. Sand rushed up to deflect the projectiles. The pointed ends passed through the barrier with ease and wrapped around Gaara. Within seconds the sand fell away leaving a startled Gaara bound to the spot.

"Who the hell are you?"

Kurapika cleared his throat and mustered the most courage he could have in this situation. One wrong move and he would be crushed under tons of sand. "My name is Kurapika. I apologize for acting rudely, but your father asked me to watch you."

"I do not need a babysitter."

"I told him that as well, but your father is not one to listen to others." Kurapika raised his chain ridden hand. "This chain binds your sand so you can no longer use it. The Kazekage wanted me to prevent you from killing anymore allies until the war operation can begin." Temari and Kankura were shooting nervous glances and fidgeting in place. Gaara would not take the news well. Gaara said nothing. He continued with the emotionlessness that seemed to be his entire persona. Kurapika gave a bow and released the visible chains and turned to leave.

The voice was barely audible, but it was clear and precise. "The moment you let your guard down I will kill you. I'll be sure to make you scream every minute of it."

Kurapika decided he liked Killua's ruthlessness better. At least he knew how to control it.