Chapter 6: Ready for the Mission?
"So, what do you think is so important that the Wind Lord has called us to his palace?" asked Izuka as she, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari walked out of the Kazekage building.
"I have no idea. Your guess is as good a mine." sighed Gaara as he took off his Kazekage cloak. It was already three in the afternoon and the temperature was already at 92 degrees. The streets were basically empty as people took cover from the immense heat, trying to keep themselves cool.
"Maybe someone's threatening to kill the Wind Lord and he needs extra security." suggested Kankuro as he too took off his council robe.
"You could be right, Kankuro. Maybe the Wind Lord needs to travel to another country and needs us to escort him there." added Temari as she took off her council robe. For some weird reason, Izuka was the only one who was unfazed by the heat, so she kept her robe on.
"You could be right, you guys. We'll officially know once we get to the Wind Palace." said Izuka.
"By the way, where is the Wind Palace?" asked Kankuro. Out of the four, Kankuro was the only one to never see or set foot in the Wind Palace.
"If I recall, the Wind Daimyo's palace is all the way on the other side of the Land of Wind in the west." said Izuka.
"What! We're all the way here in the east!" whined Kankuro. "That's at least a four days journey on foot."
"Don't worry, Kankuro. We can ride on Izuka's dragon, Ryu. (Not to be confused with Ryuna. Ryu is Izuka's pet dragon that she found years ago on an old mission.) Ryu can get us to the Wind Daimyo's palace in less than two days." said Temari.
Kankuro started to perk up at this bit of info, until Izuka crushed his hope with this next sentence.
"Sorry guys, Ryu won't be joining us for this mission."
"WHAT!" exclaimed the Sand Siblings. Even Gaara was stunned at this bit of news. He shared Kankuro's feeling of reluctance at the thought of going on a long four day journey, even if it was to the Wind Daimyo's palace.
"Why?" asked Temari.
"Ryu is not joining us because she's currently not in this village. She's in between villages."
"In between villages?" questioned Kankuro.
"Yep, Lady Tsunade wanted Ryu to help transport supplies to the Land of Tea. She won't be back until next Thursday."
"Curse you, Lady Tsunade." screamed Gaara in his mind.
"I heard that." replied Izuka.
"Forget what I said." said Gaara.
Temari sighed in defeat. "Well, looks like walking is inevitable."
"Sorry." repeated Izuka as she took in the Sand Sibs gloomy expressions.
"It's okay, Izuka, and besides, some of us need the exercise." said Temari in an exasperated tone.
"Hey, are you implying that I'm fat?" asked Kankuro.
"I'm not implying. I'm stating the fact." said Temari with a smile.
"Okay, that tears it." said Kankuro as he started to chase his sister all around the street.
"See, you're exercising already!" Temari screamed over her shoulder as she was chased by the irritated puppeteer. Random civilians started to look out their windows and doors at the spectacle that was unfolding on the street. Gaara and Izuka were standing around like innocent bystanders.
"Should we stop them?" asked Izuka as she continued watching the two older siblings run down the street.
"Nah. They'll become tired eventually." said Gaara as he began to walk home again. Izuka followed after her red-haired friend.
"Are you up for chocolate chip cookies tonight? I'm baking." said Izuka as the two made their way down the street.
Gaara smirked at the thought of Izuka baking another batch of chocolate chip cookies. He loved the way Izuka made them. Izuka told him that the recipe was a secret and that she would never tell anyone what ingredients she used in her cookies. Gaara was still curious, but he never cared about the ingredients as long as the cookies were being made.
"You're going to make some to take on the mission, right?" asked Gaara.
"I'll make some for the trip, but Kankuro isn't getting a single one."
"It's payback for eating the last batch, isn't it?" asked Gaara.
"Yes, yes it is." said Izuka.
Gaara smirked and the two continued home down the street. Meanwhile, Kankuro was panting on the ground as Temari was running circles around his forlorn body.
"Aw, tired already?" asked Temari, sarcasm present in her tone.
"You lucked out today, but next time, you are so dead." said Kankuro as he continued catching his breath.
"Like that will ever happen." said Temari. She stopped running circles around her brother and started to run after her youngest brother and her best friend down the street.
Kankuro sat down on the ground and looked up at the clouds that started to pass over the village. "One day" he said to himself. "I will get my revenge on you, sis. This I swear."
Two days later
Izuka, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were all standing in front of the western entrance of the Sand village. Each one had a backpack that carried all their necessary items for the trip. And as usual, Gaara was carrying his gourd, Temari was carrying her fan in a scroll, Kankuro was carrying his puppets in a scroll, and Izuka was carrying her chain whip with her sealed weapons around her waist. Temari looked over at Gaara.
"Gaara, are you sure you don't want to carry your gourd in a scroll? You know, to make carrying your backpack easier?"
"Nope, I'm fine. I've carried my gourd on my back for every mission I've been on and I'm not going to stop now." said Gaara. He was carrying one of those side bags to make carrying his gourd easier.
"Is everybody ready?" asked Izuka.
"Ready as I'll ever be." exclaimed Kankuro.
"I'm ready." said Temari.
Gaara only nodded his head yes in response.
"All right then. Let the mission begin." said Izuka as she ran toward the village's western gate.
The Sand Siblings followed the Sage out the village, through the gate, and into the desert. However, the trip to the palace won't be smooth sailing.
Authors Note: What will happen to the Siblings and the Sage? Find out in the next chapter.
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