Alliance

The Land of Wind had always been a land of extremes. The desert heat and arid climate made it desolate and unforgiving. Only the most resilient thrive; a mentality that the people of the sand village carried even after transitioning from their nomadic pasts.

Lives and resources were wasted during the failed invasion of Konoha. Most were still reeling from the bitter reality that they were leaderless and weakened. But like everything in the desert, those that adapt, survive.

Inside the main governmental building, someone was doing just that.

The interregnum was an opportunity only a fool would waste, and Nitaka was no fool. His whole life he'd survived on his cunning insights; when to make a move and when to wait, it was all a game. The decorative regalia in his office was a like time capsule, each piece a prize commemorating his success through the years. The game was on, and now well into his 60's, he had experience as well.

"Well?" Nitaka, asked as someone entered his office.

He didn't bother to look up, his focus was on the proposition he was drafting, one that he would give when the time was right. On either side of his desk were piles of untouched paperwork, neglected by Nitaka in favor of his current task.

"..." Touma respectfully lowered his head as he stood before his superior's desk. The sand-colored robes Touma wore fell loosely on his body, effectively hiding the man's athletic physique.

"They were…difficult to negotiate with," Touma began his report.

"And?" Nitaka impatiently rose from his chair, "Did they agree?" The old man came around the desk to hear his response.

"They agreed only after I altered the deal. It will be done, sir." Touma answered.

"Good…very good!" Nitaka's satisfaction was evident, the 'altered deal' was inconsequential.

"…" Touma waited for further instructions or dismissal.

"I want you to ensure they stick to this plan, Touma," he explained the next set of instructions. "And... when their role is finished, there won't be any deal."

"…" A few minutes dragged on, and Kankuro grumbled impatiently while he scanned the entrance again. "Is this right?" he questioned Temari.

"Rendezvous with the Leaf nin at noon," she recited their given instructions to him.

"Did those guys get lost or something?" he grumbled, stepping out from under the shaded awning in the hope of spotting them in the surrounding area.

"Well, they sent us genin; the journey might've been hard—" Temari began to explain.

"Yeah?" Kankuro scoffed at that detail and started pacing. "What good is that going to be for the accelerated program? Genin from our own academy will have better training."

Temari responded by rolling her eyes at her brother's comment, "Are you going to keep whining? They probably don't have higher-ranking nin to spare either."

The accelerated program was a product of the alliance, where academy students would be taught a new version of the curriculum, taking what would have taken a full year and condensing it into just a few weeks. With the shinobi of the Sand Village spread thinly, an influx of new genin was eagerly awaited.

Suddenly, an idea struck Kankuro as he turned to his siblings. "We could have some fun," he suggested, glancing between them. "Test them before we start? Let's see if they'll actually be useful."

"…I have no objections," Gaara was the first to agree.

After another 10 minutes of waiting, the siblings' attention was drawn by a loud voice.

"Yooooo," the source called out, and their heads turned to see who it was.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kankuro frowned when the person waved.

"That's who they sent?" Temari wrinkled her nose as a casually dressed blonde boy sauntered over.

Roughly the same age as them, the boy wore only a black tank top, sunglasses, and khaki shorts. His hair was tucked under a bandana, with wisps of blonde peeking out haphazardly; without the leaf symbol on it, he might not even have been recognized as a ninja. He stopped when he reached the sand siblings and continued fanning himself to combat the heat.

"You're late," Kankuro watched as the boy lifted his sunglasses, revealing lavender eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," the boy's free hand waved dismissively. "We got here early; since it'd take waaaay too long to wait, we decided to get some lunch," he motioned to his partner.

"…" Another Leaf nin lingered nearby.

"You're the other nin?" Kankuro squinted at her features. Tan with straight brown hair that reached her chin, she bore some resemblance to the boy, but her eyes stared back at him coldly.

"What are your names?" Gaara asked with his usual stoicism.

"I'm Ayame," the boy grinned.

"Jun," the girl replied curtly.

"So, you're showing us around, right?" Ayame put his sunglasses back on. "Let's get this over with before I get heatstroke."

"Tch," Ayame's nonchalant attitude irritated Kankuro, and he reached out to grab him by the shirt. "Is this a joke to you?"

Jun stepped between the two, grabbing Kankuro's wrist tightly before he could touch Ayame. "We're here as requested; that should be answer enough," she spoke up.

"Tch," Kankuro withdrew his arm with a glare once she let him go.

A brief silence hung between both sets of nin, which was finally broken when Temari tilted her head, gesturing for the Leaf ninja to follow. "Let's go."

As they walked, Kankuro matched pace with his sister, "Do you still think it's a good idea?" he whispered.

"Where do you think I'm taking them?" She replied.

While they planned to carry out their test of the leaf nin Ayame unfurled his hand fan with a loud snap. "Ugghhhh," he whimpered dramatically, "This is the worst... how can you stand this heat?"

"Are you always like this?" Temari asked Ayame.

"Just shut up, you'll get used to it," Kankuro retorted, glancing back at the boy. He wasn't entirely pleased with Ayame as the liaison for this program. His glance shifted to Jun; it was subtle but Kankuro noticed her fixate on his younger brother. When Jun felt his stare she met his gaze and Kankuro quickly looked away, rolling his eyes. He wasn't thrilled about her either.

After reaching the training ground, the group entered the sparring area. Once in the center, Temari turned back with a grin. "Heh, take your pick—"

"Oh, come on! You're gonna challenge us—why?" Ayame's head dropped back to groan. He was desperate to avoid whatever the sand nin had in mind. "Can they do that?" He turned to Jun now, hoping she felt the same.

"You're both genin, right?" Temari sized them up, clearly skeptical. "I don't know how much use you'll be to us." Her remark didn't seem to elicit the desired reaction, as Jun's expression remained unreadable, and Ayame just shrugged.

"What are your concerns? Or is the only concern that we are genin?" Jun asked the sand kunoichi directly.

"Tch," Temari made no attempt to hide her irritation.

"You're both probably fresh out of your own academy, right?" Kankuro didn't wait for their answer. "Yeah, I'd say that's a concern," he stated, crossing his arms. "Unless, of course, you can prove otherwise—"

While Kankuro continued talking, Ayame was mentally evaluating his potential opponents. He decided against challenging the creepy redhead and the one in black.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ayame finally spoke up, walking to the center and stopping in front of Temari.

Kankuro and Gaara stepped aside, and Jun kept her distance, standing a few meters away from them after taking Ayame's fan and sunglasses.

"This should be good," Kankuro commented, expecting the match to end quickly.

"…" Gaara reserved his opinion on the genin, knowing that Konoha had produced skilled nin before.

The two opposing nin headed to their respective marks and the match began. Ayame made the first move and unzipped his hip bag, causing Temari to unfurl her fan in response. As soon as Ayame took a step forward, Temari swung her fan, sending a gust of wind in his direction. He quickly sidestepped to evade the attack and reached into his bag.

"Not too bright if he thinks he can use weapons against Temari," Kankuro commented loud enough for Jun to hear as well.

"Hmph," they both turned their attention back to the fight to see Ayame's next move.

The blonde boy retrieved a kunai from his bag and tossed it toward Temari. She effortlessly deflected it with another gust of wind, and the kunai landed a few meters behind her.

"Is that all?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nope, I still got a few more," Ayame responded, readying another kunai, aiming it differently.

"Heh," Temari's fan blew it back, and the kunai whizzed past Ayame, embedding itself in the wall.

Ayame wasn't finished yet; he dashed to Temari's left and continued tossing kunai one after the other until the ground around her was littered with them. It was a gamble he was taking, and he hoped it would pay off.

"He's worse than I thought; you'd think after the first one he'd give up," Kankuro remarked.

"It will be over soon," Jun assured him. Kankuro raised an eyebrow, unsure if they were watching the same fight.

"Is that right? Maybe for Ayame," he scoffed, convinced she had no idea what she was talking about.

Ayame charged toward Temari, his weapon drawn. His straightforward approach made him appear even more laughable to his opponent.

Temari raised her fan, preparing to aim her wind attack at the charging ninja when suddenly, he vanished in a puff of smoke. In his place, a kunai was blown back, and from behind her, she heard something approaching.

"A substitution!?"

It took a few seconds for her to turn in the other direction and swing her fan, but by the time she did, Ayame had already switched places with one of the other kunai surrounding her. Temari turned again and swung her fan as Ayame executed his final substitution, this time with the kunai nearest to her. Closing the distance was the last thing he had to resolve, and he gathered chakra to finalize his plan.

As Temari pivoted to face him, he continued his charge. "W-What?!" she gasped in confusion.

Ayame's hunch paid off; he had transformed himself. While Temari was momentarily distracted by his new appearance, Ayame brought his face closer to hers, catching her off guard.

"You didn't forget about me, right?" with a wink he lightly touched her blushing cheek.

"Nnhh," she stepped back, realizing that it had to be Ayame, but he was faster and swiftly disarmed her, taking away her fan.

"T-That isn't fair—"

"Hmph," he stuck out his tongue. "You're just salty because you fell for it," With a puff of smoke, he reverted to his original appearance.

"Tch," She yanked her fan back as her brothers approached.

Kankuro recognized who it was and tried to ask his sister, "…Wasn't that the guy you fought during the chuunin exa—"

"Shut up!" she kept her face turned away so no one would see her fading blush.

Jun walked over to Ayame and handed him back his things, remaining quiet and offering no congratulations. The match was won the moment the Sand nin underestimated him.

"Phew, now that that's over, we can get on with the tour part, right?" Ayame suggested.

When Kankuro heard that, he cut in, "No, I wasn't going to let her have all the fun. Now it's my turn."

"Hmph!" Ayame stuck his nose up and crossed his arms defiantly. "Well don't expect me to go another round—"

Tch, don't flatter yourself," He walked past the blonde boy to the girl beside him. "I want to take on…you," he eyed Jun.

"…" His request didn't surprise her and she accepted. Ayame patted her shoulder before getting out of the way.

"Heh," Kankuro set his puppet on the ground as he tried to figure out what type of combat she'd use. Ninjutsu? Genjutsu? Maybe Taijutsu…but she'd taken a neutral stance. If she wasn't going to make the first move, then he'd seize the opportunity himself. He let the wrappings fall to the floor as he attached his chakra strings.

Jun had no difficulty assessing what tactics a puppet user would employ. She knew that he would keep his distance and the puppet would have offensive components. Given the lack of cover, he'd most likely divide her attention, treating his puppet like a second enemy.

Kankuro's puppet moved to her left, while he veered right. This positioning forced her between the two, so she leaped back to avoid this and landed near the back wall. Two kunai were thrown at her while she was focused on the puppet, and Kankuro had maneuvered her back to where he'd originally planned.

Too easy, the sand nin thought.

"Do you plan on just jumping around?" He used blades hidden in the puppet's limbs to stab at her, so she took a kunai from her bag to block. Jun could only step back as she deflected the blows and soon her back was pressed against the wall. She had nowhere to run, and his puppet lunged in for an attack that cut into her abdomen. Jun's body bent over, and she touched the ripped cloth in pain as a thin red line formed.

"Nnngh," she grunted in pain as the attack continued.

If this went as planned, he'd beat her in no time. The puppet's blades swung to distract her while he ran closer to block any escape. Then he could capture her in his puppet and the match would be his.

But Jun glanced up. The pained expression dropped quickly, replaced by a calculating stare.

"W-What the—"

"Overconfident…" she remarked as she broke through his guard. He felt the kunai stop and the pressure of the blade on his throat.

"TCH?! You took that hit just so I'd get closer?" He was angry she'd lured him like that, even more angry that she was right.

Jun withdrew her hand and stepped back.

"If you still have concerns over our performance, we would just be replaced with more genin. Unless you want to waste more time, I suggest you allow us to get to work,"

The next day the two Leaf ninja approached a round beige building. It resembled the one they had seen during yesterday's tour, but most of the architecture in the Sand Village looked the same in Ayame's eyes. He let Jun go first, and she seemed to know where she was heading, skillfully navigating through the various hallways until they reached a room.

"Finally," Temari said when they entered, "I thought you were eager to get to work?" Jun took a seat across from her at the table, and Ayame plopped down as well.

"Before we narrow down our list of topics for the accelerated program, we're reviewing both curriculums." Temari explained to them.

"Understood," Jun responded.

"Whatever you say," Ayame added casually.

"…You didn't bring anything?" Kankuro pointed out.

"Huh? Bring what?"

"You didn't take anything about your own curriculum with you?" He stared at Ayame, then to Jun. "Well?" he asked her, assuming she was the more competent of the two.

"I've prepared samples of our academy's curriculum," she replied.

"Good," At least they managed something.

"So," Ayame rested his elbows on the table. "Which one do you want to start with?" He heaved a bored sigh, keen on letting the others do all the work.

"You start," Kankuro motioned across to them, "We'll just see what the differences are and if anything is actually worth adopting,"

Jun produced what was asked for and set the document on the table. She was unable to say anything as footsteps grew louder just outside the door.

"Sorry for the intrusion!" A man burst into the room. "But the council wants to see you!" The sand trio stood up noting the urgency in his voice and moved to follow the nin. "I-I meant all of you," he pointed to Jun and Ayame. "The Konoha nin as well,"

At this point, Jun narrowed her eyes and forced her brother up. With all of them in tow, the man motioned for them to follow.

"Why would they need to see us? Is this about the program?" Ayame whispered over to Jun.

"We'll find out soon,"

The man led them to another floor and then to the entrance of a meeting chamber. Members of the council sat nervously around a round table, but some expressions seemed to ease when the five entered.

"We were," Kankuro eyed Jun and her brother, "Apparently all called here?" He voiced his concern about their involvement immediately.

"Yes," An elderly woman on the council answered. "Irie Jun and Irie Ayame, you've both been given a temporary commission,"

"Woohoo!" Ayame enthusiastically held up his sister's hand, attempting a high-five, but Jun's skeptical expression dampened his excitement.

"Your hokage had no chuunin to spare for the mission we have in mind, so she's decided to make you both chuunin." The older woman grumbled. "With that out of the way," she turned to the man seated beside her. "Baki, give them the details of the mission."

"An outpost near the northern border was attacked last night. One of the nin patrolling that region managed to make it back, but they succumbed to their injuries before we could get more information. You will investigate," Baki explained.

The northern border was incredibly dangerous and remote; nin sent to patrol it were skilled. If they couldn't hold their positions this might mean an invasion.

Another council member drummed his fist against the table, "More than investigating, you must stop whatever this is!" He seethed, "We don't need the world looking down at us with incursions like these." His anger dissipated into a sigh as he composed himself.

"Nitaka is right, it stops here," The old woman agreed. "We will defer our decisions on border security and maintain our current facade until you return. Now, show them where and have them leave immediately." It was marked quickly on a map and handed over.

"Be careful," Baki warned before they left.

The unyielding rays of the midday sun shone over the outpost like a spotlight. Remnants of the attack could be seen from their position hundreds of meters away. Then they stumbled on the first of many dead nin, and the sharp metallic smell of blood prompted them to quicken their pace. As they drew near the ruined outpost, the silence only intensified.

"I…don't sense anyone molding chakra," Ayame was the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"…Do you want us to split up?" Jun asked, hoping it would spur their counterparts to react.

"R-Right…" Temari stammered first. "You two…check the perimeter. We'll…"

"We'll look for survivors." Her brother finished.

"Ayame, let's go,"

During their perimeter scan they only found bodies of sand nin from the outpost. Jun's attention was drawn to a particular corpse; blackened and surrounded by signs of a fierce confrontation.

"…Strange," she muttered.

Ayame was familiar with the aftermath of attacks, drawing on his memories of the invasion in Konoha. "A dead nin? Why is that weird?" He questioned her curiosity and was about to step forward and turn them over when Jun held out her arm to halt him.

He squinted at the impacted sand more closely and soon spotted the presence of another set of tracks, suggesting that someone had fled the scene and continued in the direction they had come from. The fact that the attackers let anyone escape perplexed them both, but Jun urged Ayame to focus on finishing their perimeter check.

Behind the outpost was a chain of limestone mountains that formed a natural boundary. If ninja had crossed the border, those mountains would be the perfect place to retreat or hide more forces.

They checked the perimeter wall at the foot of the mountains and scoured the area for signs of infiltrators but found nothing. The siblings continued casing, looking for anything suspicious and assessing the security.

"Hopefully we're almost do—" Ayame hadn't finished his sentence when his sister took off. He ran after her, following her line of sight, and spotted two people in the distance.

"NNNH?!"

Jun lunged after the fleeing boy, skillfully taking him down with a forceful slide across the sand. While he was still picking himself up off the ground she ran after the other person and tackled them as well. Ayame caught up and grabbed hold of the boy's arms to yank him up.

"Got 'em!"

The other man struggled under her as she patted him down for weapons. He gave a grunt, twisting himself under her and ripping his cloak off in the process.

"Paper bombs?" she said in surprise. A few had been activated when he removed the cloak giving her little time to get out of the way. Sand immediately enveloped the body just as they went off, protecting her from the blast.

Ayame helped her up as she stared in confusion at the deceased. Once the sand had receded from the body, there was little left of him to investigate.

"No you don't!" Kankuro had grabbed the boy and held him tightly as his siblings came upon the scene. "Now is someone going to explain what the hell just happened?"

"They were attempting to flee," Jun answered.

"Think they attacked the settlement?" Ayame's question made their captor furious.

"I am not responsible!" the strange boy yelled. "Let me go!"

The others found it hard to believe. He must've been 13-14, and no children lived here, and his worn clothes and headscarf made him stick out.

"Then…who are you?" Gaara asked.

"…" The boy looked him up and down and clamped his mouth shut.

"If you're not the one who did this, then why were you running?" Temari called him out.

Instead of speaking, he just tilted his head forward to the body. "If you outsiders hadn't interfered, I could've captured him."

"Are you from here?" Temari pressed him further, questioning his motive for running.

"…I am," the answers they received were cryptic and guarded. The boy claimed not to be responsible for the attack and was elusive about his true identity and intentions. "The ones that caused this; they will be taken care of. So go back to your village,"

It was clear the strange boy wanted them gone. His request was immediately rejected, and Kankuro scowled at the notion first.

"Are you insane?!" Temari was also adamantly opposed.

"We'll keep him here," Gaara offered, "And if we need his input, we'll know where to find him," With tension still lingering in the air, his eyes flicked towards the blackened corpse, a dark reminder of the stakes involved. "Unless he plans on leaving like that."

The boy's reluctance was evident, but he relented, knowing that they held the upper hand.

They'd regrouped in the outpost's makeshift hospital. The presence of survivors was a relief, but near the back was a pile covered by white cloth – the death toll was 11.

While the sand siblings conducted interviews, Jun tended to the injured. She couldn't help but notice Ayame's avoidance of the hospital as he sought solace outside, despite the blistering heat. She understood his unease; the place must have triggered bad memories.

When she caught herself reminiscing, she focused on the current situation. The past and her emotions about them were irrelevant; all that mattered was the mission.

Once the interviews were concluded, it was gathered that the attack happened around the shift change at midnight. The assailants' actions were puzzling - If the attack was a precursor to an invasion, why only target ninja? Why not kill the civilians as well to secure the outpost?

Then, when asked if anyone could identify the attackers, nothing to denote village affiliation was seen. They were masked and used paper bombs to destroy themselves when caught. Great lengths had been made to ensure no evidence was left.

Everything about the situation was off…

Certain that the nameless boy they had captured held valuable information, Jun made her way to him. The investigation was yielding more questions than answers, and she was determined to pry the truth from him.

"Leave me outsider,"

"…Outsider?" she mumbled, "The people at this outpost don't seem to recognize you either."

"Tch," he stopped himself from reacting to her comment. "I don't have to speak with you," his mouth pursed tightly, as if to prove he would not answer her.

"…Then listen," Jun knelt to his level. "It should be obvious by now, that we are not leaving until we've guaranteed another attack will not occur and the perpetrators are either eliminated or in custody." he listened carefully to what she was saying, but his frown just deepened.

"You speak for all of them?" he motioned to the sand nin. "Already you go behind their backs, why should I trust an outsider?"

"We share a problem,"

"...Hmph…"

"And you can call me Jun,"

"...Zan," he mumbled back. After giving his name, she undid his restraints and helped him up. The two moved towards the sand nin and Temari was the first to voice concern, she broke away from their current conversation to chastise them.

"Why did you release him?!" Temari pointed out the missing binds.

"Our…'shared' problem," Zan answered her.

He wanted to work with them. This forced them to make a choice, their best option was to accept the shaky alliance or risk wasting more time. The siblings shared a glance with each other, a nod of confirmation from Gaara settled it.

"We should leave now. Already we are hours behind them," Zan said impatiently.

"You see anything on your perimeter scan?" Kankukro asked Jun.

"Besides the dead patrol nin, no."

"So we have no leads and no idea who we're looking for, great."

"I can track them," Zan volunteered.