New chapter! :) Enjoy!

Chapter 14, Getting It Together.

I stared into Youji's black eyes, seeing the intelligence deep within their black depths. She stared at me straight on, her nose twitching here and there. She was the first to move, her paw moving forward slightly, shifting the checkers piece on the board. Then her eyes took on a smug look. I frowned and looked down at the board.

"As if!" I gasped. "There is no way you beat me three times in a row!" I narrowed my eyes at her. "You cheated..."

Something in her eyes told me I was right. I reached for her, but she bounded off. I could almost hear her laughing. I ran after her, smiling despite myself. I chased her through the woods, jumping from tree to tree after her. But Youji is very fast. I was about to grab her tail when she quickly changed directions, throwing me off guard. I missed a branch and was forced to use wind to keep me from seriously hurting myself with the fall.

She was quickly by my side, licking my cheek and seeing if I was okay. I just laughed and rubbed her head, scratching behind her ear. Just like her father used to love.

"Doe!" came a distant shout.

Youji and I jumped for the closet tree, settling in its thick branches. Then we waited. Soon Temari came along, still calling out my nickname. Youji was gone in a red flash, rubbing up against Temari's legs and circling her feet. I rolled my eyes and jumped down, giving Temari a sorry shrug. How was I supposed to know it was her.

"Gaara and Tsunade-sama want you," she said.

They sent someone? Why didn't Gaara just come himself? He could be here in a second, and be back in the next. I shrugged it off. Temari and I started towards the Hokage tower. When we got there I was a little surprised at what I saw upon entering the office. The whole of Konoha nine was there, along with Kakashi, Guy, Kuranai, Shikamaru's father, Shikaku, Ino's father, Inoichi, and Choji's father, Choza. But the thing that shocked me the most? Everyone is dressed for battle. A hand was put on my shoulder and I looked back to see Kankuro, new war paint lines on his face.

I swallowed hard.

This is it. We are going to battle. My heart squeezed with panic, the thought of "I haven't had enough time to train!" being the first thing to enter my mind. But I quickly pushed it all away. I've done this before. I've fought in a war. This wont be a first for me. But it will be the first time my face is covered and I'm not allowed to use my powers.

I took a deep breath and took one step into the room.

The crowd in front of me parted, everyone's eyes turning to me. I looked every single person in the eye as I walked forward, making sure I remember their faces, the faces of them now. Ten years older. I stopped in front of Gaara and Tsunade, bowing to the both of them. Tsunade's chin lifted slightly, and she looked at me from narrowed eyes.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

I looked at her right in the eye as I nodded. I will do what I have to. There is no turning back.

She nodded back to me. "Then this is how it is going to be. Kakashi, Kuranai, and Shikaku, you are the leaders of the teams. Kakashi, you have Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru. Kuranai, your charge is Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. Guy, you have Neji, Lee, and Tenten. Shikaku, you, Choza, and Inoichi will be a team. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"Team Kakashi will be in the middle, at all times! You must guard them. Sakura and Ino will be the only medics with you, remember that. Team Guy will go in first, along with Team Kuranai. You will scout ahead to find the enemy, the second you find them, report it to the others. Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza will bring up the rear." Tsunade explained all, giving her orders like a true Hokage. "Along with you will be Temari, Kankuro and the Kazekage. He must be protected as well." Then her eyes turned to me. "You, Doe, will stick with Team Kakashi for most of the time. When Kazekage-sama says it is time, you will leave with him. Understood?"

I nodded, if a little confused.

"You have your orders!" she said loudly. "Good luck to you all, and may your way of Ninja protect you!"

With that we all were racing out and towards the city gates. We stopped there to regroup, putting together who would communicate with who. And where we will place the defenses around our medics.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy, don't leave!"

Everyone turned towards the sounds of the cries to see Yukio and Jessica running towards us at full speed. They raced at Gaara, almost knocking him down with the force of both of them running into him. "Children," Gaara sighed.

"Daddy, please!" Jessica begged, her eyes rimming with tears.

"Daddy, you can't go!" Yukio cried.

"Please don't go!" they cried at the same time.

My heart wanted to break, seeing them like this. They love their father so, so much. They know what war is. They know what death is. But they are still children. They need their father almost as much as he needs them. Gaara bent down and lifted them both into his arms, hugging them tightly. I wish they would run to me like that, begging me to stay. I took a deep breath and looked at the ground. But there is nothing I can do about that. And I won't tell them who I am now, just to leave and never come back. That would be wrong. They've lived without me this far, they don't need me now.

"You need to stay with Baki-sensei," Gaara said, setting them down. "You cannot come with me, either."

Tears spilled on their cheeks. "But, Daddy!" Jessica whined.

Gaara shook his head no. "I don't want to hear it, Jess. You are needed here. You need to finish your schooling. We aren't going to the front lines, so you do not have to worry. When it comes to that, every ninja will be called out to battle. You need to learn as much as you can before then," he explained. "Yukio, take care of your sister. And the same with you Jessica, take care of your brother. I will be coming home, so don't give Baki any trouble." They hugged again and Gaara stood up tall. Jessica and Yukio linked hands, stepping away from their father, trying to hold their head up. "I will be back, don't worry."

Jessica looked over at me. "Make sure she comes back, too, daddy," she said. "Don't let Doe-sensei get hurt."

Gaara met my eyes. My heart swelled with emotion. I bent down in front of Jessica and touched her face tenderly. I smiled my most loving smile and fisted a hand over my heart, trying to tell her I love her. She fisted her hand over her heart, too, smiling back at me. Then her arms were around my neck and I hugged her back.

"Be careful, Doe-sensei," she whispered. "And look after my Daddy, please." I nodded and stroked her hair.

Kakashi stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We need to get moving."

Hinata and Naruto were just saying goodbye to their children, leaving them with Iruka. They were all crying, and poor little Aiko was in hysterics when her father gave her over to Iruka. He nodded to Kakashi and we were ready to leave. I glanced over my shoulder before I started moving, looking at the children we are leaving behind. The next generation of the world. Hopefully there will be a world left for them to protect.

– –

We traveled until dark, then stopped to rest for the night. Youji ended up fallowing us and curled up in my lap as I sat near the fire, trying to keep warm. I didn't exactly have much time to get things ready for this trip. I had jumped into my room after we left Tsunade's office, shoved what I could in a bag, and was out again, sprinting to catch up with the others before they reached the gates. And I didn't grab anything that would keep me warm.

I pulled my bag next to me and started to dig around in it. I was startled when something sliced my finger, making it sting. I stuck my finger in my mouth and reached into the bag with my other hand and pulled out what cut me. I flipped the picture over and stared at the faces for a long two minutes. Then I shoved it roughly to the bottom of my bag. Crap. I grabbed the bag I brought with me from back home. I can't let anyone see in this bag, or they will know. I thought about that again. Maybe not.

Maybe they wont recognize me in the picture. I'm older in it, and look different from what I do now, which is how I looked ten years ago. The picture wasn't taken to long ago. We got it taken when Kaleb was accepted into the army and we found out he would be going to war soon. He is in his uniform. Mom and daddy are sitting in chairs with us standing behind them, Kaleb on the left, me on the right, and Savannah in the middle. Her smile is contagious, even from a photograph. I closed my eyes and thought of her. Like I promised, I've thought of her every single night. Even the night I fell asleep while crying in Gaara's arms. She had been in those thoughts. I wonder what they are doing right now? I wonder if daddy and mom are sitting next to my bedside crying because their baby girl is in a coma. I hope they aren't too heart broken.

But their lives aren't in danger. My babies, Jessica and Yukio, their lives grow more in danger with each second that passes. And that is why I am here. I am here to protect my babies, and other babies to come.

"Doe," Temari's voice jumped me. "I have an extra cloak, take it." She wrapped a thick cloak around my shoulders and put the hood over my head. "Don't worry about it," she winked, making like I said thank you. "Its just an extra." She waved her hand and went back over to the tree she had been leaning against, chatting with Shikamaru.

I watched the two of them for a moment, trying to figure out their relationship. They obviously are not a couple. What happened? Last I knew they were completely in love with each other. But from what it looks like, Shikamaru is smitten with Ino now. And Temari is all alone. And she is not one to be alone for long. So why doesn't she have another man dangling at her fingertips? I made a mental note to ask someone when we are alone. Naruto might know, since he is close to Gaara and everything. And I don't think Gaara would want to talk about his sisters personal life.

It was Hinata who came over to me next, handing me some bread and cheese to eat. "Sorry," she said, "It was all I could grab." I smiled my thanks to her and gratefully took a bite, my hunger suddenly very large.

Kakashi stood on the other side of the fire and called everyone over. Gaara stood at his side, his arms crossed and his eyes on something behind all of us. They look distant. "Tomorrow in the late afternoon we will reach our destination," Kakashi began. "Tomorrow we will split up into groups." His eyes turned to his left, to the first people there. "Shikaku, your team will be our information squad. Anything happens, you run around until you find each and every person until the message is spread." He moved on to the next. "Neji, you will take Tenten and Lee into the village and set up residence in one of the hotels. Once there, convey the hotel name and room number to a member of Shikaku's team."

Neji nodded with a, "Hai."

"Your story will be you are on vacation with your fiance and a friend tagged along. Two rooms, don't draw unwanted eyes." Kakashi moved on to the next. He eyed Naruto and Sakura for a few seconds. "You two will be with me. You are my... children," he gritted his teeth at the word, "and you are taking me home to my house in tea country. I will pretend to be blind." They both nodded, Naruto smirking. "Ino, you will be on your own. You need to find a local job, get a room at the same hotel as Neji, and get as much information about the other forces as you can. Careful not to draw to much suspicion. If you have any trouble, the others will not be far. Shikamaru and Choji, you two will find work as well. But you two will get a room at a different hotel, get as much information as you can."

All of them nodded, but Ino was fidgeting. She is a strong woman, that is why Kakashi gave her that job, I know. I hope Sakura doesn't feel offended.

Kakashi's eye crinkled before he started speaking again. "Kuranai, Guy, you are a wonderful new married couple." Kuranai's eyes almost popped out of her head, her jaw falling open. "Find an apartment, tell someone your location, and be a happy couple." There was a lot of snickering around the group, Naruto and Kiba were almost doubled over with their laughter.

Gaara cleared his throat and waited until things quieted down. "Kankuro, Temari, Doe, with me." That was all he said. A wind blew and Gaara went along with it, the sand taking him.

I smiled at Naruto as I passed, him, and nodded towards the woods. He nodded and sat down next to his wife. I walked towards the trees and moved far enough into the dark woods until I couldn't hear anyone's loud laughter. I sat in a beam of moonshine, where I could see my hands, and began to work. I evolved a small stick with a metal tip into an arrow, then into a wooden handled dagger, then into a large katana with an elegant wooden handle. The blade caught a moon beam and flashed it across my face.

Okay, I've got that piece down. Now on to the next.

I turned the katana into a mirror and looked hard at myself. This is going to be the hard part. Changing myself. I stared at my eyes. That should be the easiest, right? Changing the color of my eyes. I though of Naruto, how clear his eyes are. What a beautiful blue. That's the color I want. I visioned what I wanted in the back of my head and pushed myself towards it. The heat was unbelievable. I gasped with pain, dropping my mirror as I rubbed hard at them.

What was that! I rubbed my eyes harder and harder, trying to rub away the burning. Ah! Why does it burn so bad? I choked on a sob, not able to control it any longer. The burning got hotter and I bent over my legs, the burning so great.

All of a sudden hands were on my shoulders, pushing me up. Then they were pulling my hands away from my face. "Open your eyes," Gaara said urgently. I shook my head, feeling the red hot tears seeping between my eye lids. "Open them," he said again. I tried to, but they wouldn't open. It hurts so much. Gaara's hands were on my face, his fingers taking off my mask and pulling my lids open. He gently blew on my eye until I could open it more and more. Then he switched to the other one. "Does it feel better?" he asked softly, wiping my tears from my cheeks.

I nodded, taking a shuddering breath.

Gaara's hand froze, his eyes a little wide. Confusion swept across his face as he traced the bottom of my eye. "What did you do?" he whispered. I frowned, still blinking fast to keep my eyes cool. The mirror I had dropped rose in front of me, held by sand. I glanced away from him for a brief second, but what I saw made me look back. Both of my eyes were bright, sunny day clear, blue.

It worked!

Along with a great pain, but what doesn't have pain?

I gasped, like anyone would, and grabbed the mirror and held it close to my face, staring wide eyed at the bloodshot blue eyes. I felt the grin growing on my face, I looked up at Gaara with such a big smile his worry smoothed away into a relieved calmness. "It worked," I whispered to him, fearing someone would hear my voice. "It actually worked!"

Gaara's hands dropped from my face and he moved back. "Is this what you have been trying to do?" he asked. "Have you been trying to change yourself the whole time?" Something in his voice made me want to say no. But why should I lie?

"Yes," I answered truthfully.

He nodded, staring off into the dark.

"And it worked," I giggled. "Just think," I said, my mind far off, "I can enter a place without a mask and no one will know who I am." I gasped with realization. "No one will know who I am! It will be perfect to sneak into somewhere! Gaara," I grabbed onto his jacket and looked at him with my mouth hanging open with my smile. "just think what I can do to help everyone now! Only if I could change someone else so I didn't have to go alone..." I frowned and sat back, back in deep thought.

If I can change something not of my body, like the stick, then I should be able to change someone else, right? And I know now I can change body parts. Well, at least eyes. It shouldn't be too hard to change hair color. And then you can just style it differently. Like Sakura. Her hair is long now, all she would have to do it put it up in some way and that would be that! She would be a whole different person. Though, with what her hair color is, if you change it to a normal color, that would be enough in itself. The same with Kakashi. Just tame it in the slightest, and done!

I glanced up when Gaara moved. He crossed his legs and set his hands face up on his knees. "You can practice on me," he said. "Pain does not effect me."

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. My eyes still burn a little. Who knows what kind of pain he will feel if I try something different than his eyes.

Gaara nodded, his face blank, his eyes blank.

I licked my lips and moved closer to him, crossing my legs as well. I rose my hands, not touching his face, but close enough to feel the heat from his skin. When I finally did place my hands on both sides of his face, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. His skin feels like silk, I thought in the back of my head. I had to mentally restrain myself from running my fingers over his nose and around his lips.

I need to focus, I told myself. Focus.

I took another deep breath and held his face a little tighter, trying to focus. Lets start with his hair. Like Sakura, Gaara's hair stands out the most. What color should I pick, though? Brown like mine maybe? No, that wouldn't look right. I opened my eyes and stared into his, looking for the answer. That's it! I smiled and closed my eyes again, knowing what color to make it. I thought about each strand on his head, the color I want it to become. I felt the heat grow in Gaara's head, but he said nothing. He didn't move.

When I opened my eyes again, it was like a different person was sitting in front of me, but with Gaara's eyes. The top of his head, in stead of the flaming red I loved so much, a mop of shaggy light brown hair is atop his head. I smirked and set about to changing his eye color, making them a different shade of green. Gaara should never be without his green eyes. The more I tried it, the easier it came to me. His eyes changed, and only became slightly bloodshot. And he was able to keep them open the whole time, even though they watered slightly.

"Did it hurt?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

Gaara reached up with one hand and scratched his head. "A little, but not as bad as it hurt you." He rubbed one eye and stared at me hard. "Will it last?"

I frowned, letting go of his face and sitting back. "I don't know. But it take's a lot out of me," I gave him a lopsided grin. "I feel like I could sleep for a week."

Gaara reached up and twirled a strand of hair between his fingers. "Than sleep, I will watch over you. Plans have changed, we will go alone."

I nodded, not able to put up much of a fight. I could already feel sleep pulling at the edges of my consciousness. I was slowly slipping under. I leaned forward and rested my head against Gaara's arm, nodding. And I fell asleep like that, with my forehead resting on Gaara's arm.

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