Yeah, first off, sorry to those few of you that I said I would updating last Sunday. Issues with school came up, and I gotta talk to my girlfriend after all! Between those two things, and I admit to playing dragon age to 'de-stress', I haven't had much writing time. However, I was able to plan out the next 7 or so chapters in pretty good detail, so I won't be having too much writers block in the coming weeks.
Okay, as everybody knows, we're now back to the main story line. What will Gaara do now that he knows his sister is alive? Will the sand sibs keep quite about it? Will any missing persons come back before this chapter is over? (brownies if you figure out who I'm talking about before the end of the chapter; they'll be at the end of the chapter)
Generic disclaimer, sorry for a relatively short chapter, etc etc.
PLEASE REVIEW! :3
"Well…that was weird," Naruto commented as the three Suna gennin walked away. Despite her exuberance, she knew their reaction to her name was odd. "Why did they act like that?"
"I don't know," Sasuke said, eyes narrowed as they followed the genin around the corner. "But I don't like them. We'll have to watch out for them in the exams. I didn't even notice Gaara in tree until he talked."
"I agree. He felt…weird, too." Naruto nodded at Sakura.
"Yeah; I don't think he was kidding when he told the other guy he would kill him." She shuddered. "Well, we should make sure we're ready for them next week then! Let's go Sakura; back to shopping!" Sasuke and Konohamaru sweat dropped.
"Dobe…" Then he eyed Konohamaru eyeing him.
"Hey, you want to play-"
"No!"
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"Temari, tell me now," Gaara said, stopping in the alley they were taking a short cut through. "Is she who I think she is?" Temari started before both his siblings turned to face him.
"I, I think, she could be. I, we thought she was dead, though." She shook her head. "She should have been. We, we could find her…"
"And mother? I believe I was told that mother died giving birth to me." This time it was Kankuro.
"No, she didn't. Father lied in order to control you, and we could never give it away. You wouldn't have believed us either."
"Perhaps not," he mused. After all, why trust anyone when they would just turn on you later?
"He was going to trap in demon in her, like he did to you." Gaara's eyes snapped wide open in interest.
"Another demon? Hmmm…. I think I would like to-" you may never meet her…but if you do, do you promise to take care of her? For now…please promise you'll… protect… her… Gaaaaraaa…. "I believe I have a promise to keep."
"Huh?" He tilted his head, staring at his siblings so hard it unnerved them.
"Mother made me promise to take care of Naruto. As much as I would like to test my strength against her demon, I made the promise. She is returning to our family."
"But, but Gaara," Kankuro sputtered, "how do you even remember that? And besides, what if she wants to stay here?" Gaara gave a short chuckle.
"We're destroying her home anyway, but when you never sleep, you have much more to remember." He moved past them. "Now, let's get going. I want to learn more about my sister." Temari and Kankuro looked at each other.
"Well crap."
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Gaara spent the next few days in his room, following Naruto with his sand eye. He wondered why she was so kind to those around her. Didn't she see how little she could trust them? Everyone was a monster, just some were not as powerful as others…and some not as smart. His sister, for example. She thought that she could use him later, but it was he who was using her. As long as she was alive he had easy access to more victims through missions, and no one got in his way. He would continue to spare her for now.
Naruto though, she was odd to him. Once Kankuro had told him of their father's plans, he wondered why he hadn't noticed before. She did have a demon inside her, just like he did. They would make a wonderful pair, he though, etching out their existence on the rest of the world. And yet, she did nothing like he did. She always smiled around others, gave them hugs, worked with them and encouraged them. However, that wasn't why he was actually in the woods watching her today. No, the reason he was here today, the day before the exams, was he had seen her kiss a boy. He felt rage for the first time in years. There was a boy, and he was kissing his sister! He would have to study her personally now, to keep that Uchiha away. Didn't she understand such things were tricks?
As he watched her spar he remembered another thing that confused him. She had the power of a demon within her. Why did she not use it? She had much more power than she acted like she did. If she used it, then this Uchiha would be flattened easily. Why did she let him beat her?
Soon after, the Kakashi man, the son of Konoha's White Fang, dismissed them, calling for the coming day as a reason for them to celebrate and rest for the next day. He was about to move to follow when he learned he'd been spotted.
"Alright, come on out; I want to know why you've spying on my students." Gaara lighted down from the tree.
"Spying I may have been," he said, a small growl in his voice, "but I care nothing for your students. It is my sister that interests me." Kakashi raised his eyebrow.
"Oh? And here I thought you were from Suna." Gaara squinted his eyes.
"Don't play with me, Hatake. You know of what I speak; you don't talk like an innocent." Kakashi chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
"No, I suppose I don't at that." The shinobi turned serious. "So, what do you want with Naruto-chan; and how did you know she was your sister?"
"A shinobi doesn't reveal their secrets," he said, "but then again, I'm a monster." He grinned, putting a hand to his eye, and another eye appeared few feet in front of him, hovering above the ground. "Though I admit, until this week we thought her dead." Kakashi nodded.
"I see. I thought I felt a small bit of foreign chakra when Karura san was still here." He frowned. "So why hasn't Suna come to claim her before? Why did you think she was dead?" Gaara lowered his eye, a small growl escaping his lips.
"We couldn't see her anymore; the place where she had been was destroyed. Would you think someone survived such a thing? And besides, my sister belongs to me, not my father. He thinks he can control me, but he does not, and he will not control my sister's demon either." Gaara began walking away.
"She won't come with you." Gaara halted.
"She will." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.
"No, she won't. She may be a knuckle head, but Konoha is her home. She is the daughter of Konoha shinobi. No test will show your father's blood in her. She won't leave, and she'll fight you to the death to stay here." Gaara laughed.
"She'll know soon enough how little she can trust the world, and she'll come home with me." With that he disappeared into the trees. Kakashi sighed.
"Karura san, I'm sorry your son turned out this way; I'm sorry Naruto has the burden she has, too. What should I do?" He turned and left his own way. He needed to visit an old unmarked grave and think.
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"Hahahah, stop it, stop it!"
"Not till you say uncle!"
"N-n-never!" Naruto was being attacked…by Sasuke's tickle jutsu. Of course, she never gave in. He would stop soon enough and they would curl up beneath the tree, talking about Kiba's latest advances. He kept trying to ask her out, brought her flowers, and even tried to kiss her again. Sasuke's patience was running thin. He would have to have a talk with him.
"Why can't that mutt leave you alone?" Naruto sighed.
"I don't know, and Hinata's not much good either. I never would have thought she liked you, too. She was always so quiet, and she never talked about you. I mean, we used to make jokes about you during lunch back at the academy!" She blushed. "Umm, not that I really, that is, well, you know-" Sasuke laughed.
"I know, I know. I was a teme. Still am, really, but since we started dating, you keep making me smile."
"Oh yeah, how dare I make you lose your 'emo'-ness." Sasuke tried to glare, but Naruto's pout won over.
"Gah, how do you keep doing that to me?"
"Oh, I'm just too cute," she said, putting a finger to her lip. He sighed and gave her a quick kiss.
"Whatever dobe. Now come on; we said we'd meet Sakura at her place."
"Nah, go on ahead. I've got to talk to Haku-chan real fast before we all go out. I was thinking I might invite her." A quick hug and they were off on their own ways. Naruto skidded to a stop, though, as the strange boy from Suna stepped out in front of her.
"I forbid you from being with the Uchiha."
"How, when, what-" Then she got red. "Hey! How dare you spy on me! What gives you the right to order me around! You don't even know me." The red haired boy, Gaara, grinned at her. It gave her the creeps.
"Of course I do. You're my sister." Naruto almost chocked on her breath.
"Si, sister? What the heck are you talking about!" A waved a hand in the air calmly.
"You are the daughter of my parents, the Kazekage and his wife, our mother. She made me promise to protect you when she died." Naruto laughed hesitantly.
"Okay, whatever. I don't know what game you're playing at, and while I may not know who my father was, my mom was an Uzumaki, from the whirlpool village. This forehead protector," she said, motioning to her pouch, "was hers." Gaara frowned.
"I don't know what lies they have told you, but this…Uzumaki, is not your mother." He jerked his head. "Come on; it's time you met your family."
"Like heck it is! Sexy jutsu!" A poof of smoke and a tall red haired girl appeared. Gaara raised an eyebrow.
"Is this supposed to do something other than make you appear a fool?" The girl winked, then spoke in a coy voice.
"Maybe, but then again, it distracted you, didn't it?" Gaara looked at her confused until the figure disappeared in smoke, leaving no one behind. Gaara sniffed in frustration. Such a base technique…and yet she had slipped away from him. He shrugged. There was still the exams. He would get her then. He left, heading back to his apartment. He was getting hungry.
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"Yes, these will be a wonderful pick for your wife," Haku was saying. Then Naruto barreled into her.
"Haku-chan!" They both tumbled to the ground to the amusement of the man setting up his anniversary. "Sorry it's been so long, but guess what! I'm in the chunnin exams! They start tomorrow; isn't that great!" Haku laughed as she patted the younger girl on her head.
"Yes, that is Naruto-chan, but I need to finish up with this customer first you know." Naruto blushed, quickly getting off Haku as the man laughed good naturedly. A few more moments and he was out the door with a beautiful arrangement. Haku took off her apron and called out to the back of the store. "Yamanaka-san! I'm going to take my break now, okay?"
"Alright; I'll be up front in just a second." Sure enough a blonde woman appeared from a door behind the counter, brushing the accumulated dirt off of her hands. "Ah, a friend of yours, is she Haku?"
"Yes ma'am," she replied, smiling at the word. It still seemed odd sometimes that she had a friend. It was…an unusual experience for her. "Alright, take as long as you need, just be ready to work by the time my lunch comes around."
"Arigato, Yamanaka-san," Haku said, bowing, a bright smile punctuating both girls' faces as they left and went for a walk.
"So, the chunnin exams you say? Zabuza-san, he told me about his once…actually took him two exams before he passed." Naruto's eyes widened.
"Two whole exams? But, but Zabuza, he was, you know, really powerful, wasn't he?" Haku chuckled, a faraway look in her eyes.
"Yes, he was, but he wasn't very good with teams. He was always better at leading than working together. Me? I was good at taking orders…" She paused to wipe a tear away from her eye. "I'm sorry, but I still really miss him." Naruto patted her shoulder.
"I know; don't worry about it. He was like your dad, after all."
"And so much more…" They continued for several blocks before Haku looked up at Naruto's groan. "Naruto? What's wrong?"
"It's time for annoyance."
"Naruto-chan! I've been looking for you all day!" Naruto pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Not now, Kiba," she told the boy rushing up to her, hands waving, dog barking.
"Aw come on, don't be like that; I just wanna grab a bite to eat, that's all."
"Well, too bad! My team and I are already doing that." Kiba darkened.
"Naruto-"
"Don't say it! I don't care what you think; you lost your chance, and Sasuke took his. If you can't respect a girl's boundaries then I don't see why I should give you another one!" Kiba looked down, slowly unclenching his fists.
"It's not fair," he said. Haku's confusion finally won out.
"Umm….what's going on, Naruto? What's he talking about?"
"I liked you long before he did." Haku's eyebrows shot up. This was interesting. "Even back in the academy I, I tried to get your attention, but you never, you never gave me a chance. I, I know I was stupid, but I'm a guy! Come on, please-"
"Shut UP!" Naruto was getting a little red in the face, eyes tearing up. "Maybe, maybe if you hadn't been so dumb it might've worked, but I already told you, I'm with him now, so unless you've got something worthwhile to tell me, go away!" Kiba began stomping forward.
"Darn it Naruto! Why can't you-" He stopped, arching backwards slightly as he nearly walked into a needle. He had to cross his eyes to see the point, and that was preferable to seeing the glare of the girl holding it.
"I believe you were told to shove off; so do it. I may not be a shinobi anymore, but I'm still fast enough to take you, so do what she said before I poke you full of holes." Kiba gulped, holding up his hands in surrender and backing away. Naruto almost felt bad for him, especially the way he slapped his face as he walked away around the corner.
"He gives you a lot of trouble?" Naruto blushed.
"Well, he kinda, um, well, he kissed me a couple weeks ago."
"What? Hold on, you let him kiss you?"
"He took me by surprise!" Haku laughed. "This isn't funny! I went years with everyone hating me, then I finally get someone who does, and another guy decides that that's when he should finally make a move. How the heck I am supposed to see that coming?"
"Well, I guess I can't really blame you. He seems to be decently strong, though. Would you have gone out with him?" Naruto stopped. She hadn't really thought about it before. Would she have said yes to Kiba if he'd asked her before she started dating Sasuke? He was funny, and unlike Sasuke he didn't hold himself back so much. He wasn't reserved, and he could be pretty funny…but then there were the times he joked about her being strong for a girl…
"Nope. Nu-uh no way." Haku rolled her eyes.
"Alright alright, fine. Let's keep going." A moment later… "Didn't you say something about eating with Sakura and Sasuke?"
"Ahh, that's right! We're eating out to relax before tomorrow. I actually came over to invite you to eat with us, but you have to be back by lunch and everything, and now we've gone so far out of the way, and that thing with Kiba happened-"
"Naruto!" The blonde quieted from her speed talking. "The flower shop does lunch a whole hour after normal businesses so that people like that guy earlier can use their lunch to set up surprises for their wives or whatever. I've got time."
"Phew, that's a relief. Still…" They both stopped then, sensing the same thing. Normally Naruto wouldn't have sensed it, but after what had happened only a half hour ago, she'd been on guard.
"Naruto, what is that?" She shivered.
"This creepy guy form Suna's been following me around, saying I'm his sister."
"What? His sister? I suppose it's possible-"
"It isn't," Naruto said firmly, surprising Haku with the vehemence of her declaration.
"Okay…but if you're an orphan, how would you know?"
"His name is Gaara," she said, motioning for them to walk again. "He's the son of the Kazekage. My mom was a shinobi of Konoha, and so was my dad. Jii-san told me so. This guy's just crazy. Even his chakra…now that I'm feeling for it, it just feels unstable and shifty." Haku nodded.
"I can't feel him that well, but that sounds right. Still, there must be a reason that he's acting like this." She looked around. "Alright, let's loose him," she said, grabbing Naruto with one hand and signing with the other.
"Gah!" Was all Naruto could say as she was dragged into an ice mirror and shot around through and between them for what, in her nausea, felt like forever, but was only a few seconds. They landed on a roof top where Naruto lost what remained of her breakfast.
"Sorry about that, but it seemed like the best way to confuse him. I don't think he'll find us again for a while."
"Probably not, but next time, how about we just act like he's not there, eh? Besides, the exam's tomorrow. I can live with a stalker for that long…but I am gonna tell jii-san about it tonight. He'd want to know."
"Hmm… hokage-sama would want to know, you're right, but I think I want to keep an eye on him, too. Luckily I have tomorrow off, so I think I'll tail you all in the exams."
"Hey, isn't that cheating?" Haku shrugged.
"I'm not a ninja; I'm not even from any of the villages. How is it cheating?" Naruto laughed.
"I love the way you think, but let's wait and see what happens, k? I, I don't want you to be in danger just 'cause some guy's being a creep."
"Naruto, my life has been full of danger, traveling with Zabuza-sama. I'll be fine…but since you're giving me those eyes, fine, I'll wait and see first."
"Thanks," Naruto said, her gratitude genuine and radiating. Haku soaked it in joyfully. Yes, Zabuza, I'm happy. As long as I have someone to protect, I can have a purpose. Thank-you, for freeing me, even though I miss being by your side. I miss you… A lone tear fell again from her face, wiped away with her shoulder as the two girls jumped back down to the ground outside the restaurant that team 7 was waiting at. But thank-you for the new friends. Then she followed Naruto in and ate.
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"Alright, let's go." Kankuro nodded, stepping hesitantly outside. Baki had left some time ago, mystified by their news. They had told him months ago about their mother's escape, her having their sister, and them both dying. They had told him about Yashamaru, and how their father had manipulated him, all to turn Gaara into a weapon. Now he needed to 'clear his head,' and Gaara was still out. Now it was Temari and Kankuro, and as shinobi are in any village, they were being watched, and they needed to get a message out.
So, two figures walked away from their apartment, whispering as they went. And of course, the shinobi followed them. No one was left to watch the apartment…and a few minutes later, another figure left, shadowed in the darkness of a cloak, and they headed outside the village.
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There was a small cabin, just outside Konoha. It didn't see very regular use, which came as no surprise due to rot and mold that permeated the place. This made it the ideal hiding place. Of course, the man winced at the smell even as he tried to comfort himself with those thoughts. He didn't like it, but this had been his way for years now. He was the unseen, the unknown; he was the dead. If only being dead also lead to having no sense of smell or taste… He jumped as there was a knock on the door, pulling out a kunai and set of shuriken.
"Uncle, it's me: Temari!" Yashamaru dropped his weapons and leaped to open the door, pulling Temari into a quick embrace.
"What are you doing here? It's too dangerous to see me. What if your father," he said, spitting at the word, "realizes I'm still alive?" Temari smiled hesitantly.
"Well, Kankuro and I kind of decided that we needed to tell you about what happened this week, and we found a way to keep from being followed; after all, since he hasn't used it, no one knows about Kankuro's puppets…" Yashamaru slapped his forehead.
"Temari, never assume things like that. You're smarter than this."
"We tested it first, you know."
"Still-"
"We found Naruto." Yashamaru paused.
"You, found her? Naruto?" Temari nodded.
"Yes, uncle. Mother is dead, we've confirmed that, but Naruto is still alive!" Yashamaru rocked on his heels before walking back into what was once the den of the small cabin and sitting down, Temari following him.
"Naruto…my sister's fourth child…my niece…" As he reconciled everything they thought they knew, Temari waited patiently. Finally he looked up.
"How sure are you?"
"The last time we saw Naruto, she had very distinct marks on her cheeks, like whiskers. Her birthday matches very closely with when Naruto would have been born. Her hair is the same color and shade. And she's an orphan."
"I see…you may be right. It seems it be right. But that was about the same time the kyuubi attacked Konoha, so lots of children could have been orphaned."
"There's only a couple days Naruto's birthday could have been listed as, and very few children were born on those days. We've checked as well as we can, and there are no other Naruto's in the village of Konoha, especially not with whisker marks on their cheeks." Yashamaru nodded slowly.
"Well, I guess there's nothing else for it, then." He stood up, shrugging off his cloak and walking over to a pack lying against the wall. "I should be relatively safe. After all, yours is the only genin team from Suna, and your father won't be here till around the third exam. No one here will even know what to look for, but I'll need to dye my hair anyways."
"Wait, what? Uncle, you can't do that! No one can know you're alive!" He waved a hand at her.
"Mah, it will be fine. Besides, we all knew that I would need to reveal myself again eventually. I can only look from the shadows for so long if I am to redeem myself."
"But uncle, what about Gaara? If, if he sees you, you know he'll kill you." The man sighed, standing up and taking Temari into his arms.
"Temari, I've been hiding for years now. I can hide from Gaara, too; he won't be looking for me, after all, and I want to see my last niece, my sister's fourth child. I need to see her, too."
"Alright, but, but be careful, okay?"
"Of course; of course."
So, who figured out it was Yashamaru, eh? Who what did yawl think of Temari and Kankuro using his puppets to sneak out like that?
Gaara is pretty territorial, isn't he? What do you think he's going to do during the exams, I wonder? Let me know what you think will happen in the review section! I want to see all of your creative juices flowing!
Yawl have a good weekend, later!
(next update soon!