I was awakened by someone gently shaking my shoulder, it took a minute for me to fully be conscious. The first thing I noticed was that I was now laying on my back with one leg hanging off the side of the bed while my other leg was folded underneath me. I was a bit confused on how I could possibly find this position comfortable, but then I realized that I must have been more tired than I thought which would make sense being that I haven't slept for several days.

Baki was the one to shake me awake and he now stood back a couple of paces from me. "I tried waking them up, but didn't have any luck so I assume you must have used your chakra."

"I did, Temari wasn't playing on sleeping at all, Gaara can't sleep on his own, and I didn't want Kankuro to wake up in the middle of the night." I said. As I was talking, I let go of the control I had over Kankuro and Temari's chakra networks. I thought it would be best if Gaara woke up last. That way he won't glare at Kankuro for using my abdomen as a pillow. I wonder, can Kankuro not sleep without moving? Maybe he just likes to be near someone while he sleeps?

"You should all start getting ready for today. People have already been entering the village for the last hour." Baki said. "The new Hokage Tsunade Senju is here too."

"Tsunade Senju? I think I would like to meet her." I said. Both Temari and Kankuro were still sleeping even though I wasn't influencing them. I moved my one leg to push against Kankuro's back a bit and try to wake him up because I knew that he would probably try to sleep for awhile longer. Temari would definitely sleep for a few more hours if I let her. Kankuro groaned and moved to his side. "Kankuro, it's time to get up."

"Hn?" he moved his arm up to his face and started to rub his eyes, but then froze suddenly. He slowly sat up and moved away from me. "Again, why does this always happen?"

"Can you give Temari a shake to wake her up?" I asked. I was a bit stuck, Gaara's head rested on my shoulder as his arm wrapped around my chest. I looked back to Baki and said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure they get ready. I'm sure you have other things you need to be doing?"

"Right, I'll see you all at the ceremony." Baki left the room leaving just me and the siblings.

Kankuro crawled out of bed and went to Temari's side to shake her awake. "What do you want Kankuro?"

"You need to get up or you're going to sleep through dads funeral." Kankuro said.

"It's that late already!?" she jolted up suddenly and leapt from the bed. She made it across the room to her wardrobe before Kankuro said anything.

"We still have time." he said. "Ketto just told me to wake you up."

Temari looked at him with a glare. "By telling me that I was going to miss our fathers funeral? Who wakes a person up like that?"

"You're up aren't you?" Kankuro yawned and started to walk out of the room. "I'm going to my room to get ready, I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, yeah." Temari mumbled. She continued to dig through her wardrobe before pulling out black mourning she turned back to me and Gaara who were still in bed. Her eyes grew wider and a goofy smile spread across her lips. "Sleep well Ketto?"

"I did, I didn't notice anything off until I woke up in Gaara's embrace and Kankuro using my abdomen as a pillow. It's like I sleep as if I'm dead." Slowly, I let go of any hold I had over Gaara's chakra so that he could wake up.

"Wait, did you just say that Kankuro was sleeping on you again?" her smile turned more into a smirk as she talked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, no reason." she seemed satisfied enough with whatever thought came to her. "I'm going to take a shower." With her things in hand she left the room.

When Gaara's chakra network changed, I took my free hand and gently shook his arm that was wrapped around me. "Gaara, it's time to wake up." His head moved up on my shoulder to look at me with his teal eyes. He looked as if he couldn't be bothered to move. "Baki came in a little while ago to tell us that people have been arriving from outside the village for the last hour and that we should start getting ready." he moved his head back down where it was before and laid still for another minute or two.

I was going to shake his arm to get his attention again, but before I could move he already withdrew his arm from me and he rolled onto his back. "I would rather not go." he said. "I'm expected to because I'm his son, but that has never meant anything to me or even to him for that matter."

Without having any restrictions, I pushed myself up and sat cross legged next to Gaara. "You will go for Kankuro and Temari then. Something tells me that neither of them want to go either, but their obligation as his last of kin dictates their actions."

Gaara looked up at me, "What about you? If you were in my position, what would you do?"

"That's a bit difficult to answer." I said. "Most of my family has already passed. I've never had an emotional attachment to either parent, I honestly don't even think of them much. When Zabuza died I was too far away to be of any use to him and I've already come to realize that he was never going to return to Kirigakure alive anyway. The only one I have left is uncle Yagura, if he died I would have no one, so consider yourself lucky that you have both Temari and Kankuro."

"You still didn't answer the question," he said.

I sighed and thought about it. If my father lived to see me grow up and my mother still died the day I was born what would I have done if he suddenly died? Would I have attended his funeral with Zabuza, would uncle Yagura have cared enough to go? What about myself, just myself. Would I have wanted to go to his funeral?

When I was younger it was still the era of the Bloody Mist, so I doubt I would have had any emotional attachments to him anyway. There would have been no reason for me to go to his funeral if he died other than obligation just as Gaara and his siblings are faced with. "In Kirigakure our main goal is to produce as many perfect shinobi as possible to strengthen our military. My father was part of Kirigakure's cypher division, a secret intelligence squad. He was one of the best or that's what uncle says. If I was to attend his funeral it would be in respect of his skill and not because it was required of me."

"You didn't attend your fathers funeral?" he asked.

"No, he died months before I was born while he was on a mission. Reports from anbu who investigated say that the whole mission was compromised. Uncle Yagure says that my father was an exceptional shinobi and that he was able to fight his way out of nearly every situation. Even at the end he fought with all his might, he was severely outnumbered and only gave up when he ran out of chakra. It was listed as a suicide while protecting the villages secrets as part of the cypher corps, but uncle told me that my father really just killed himself because he fought that hard. According to him, my father was the kind of person to always pick himself up. He never gave up and that's probably when the loss of chakra and blood got to him." I explained. I know I get my bloodlust from him, at least I don't let it control me. Gaara was staring at the ceiling with a thoughtful look on his face. "You should go get changed into your mourning clothes and attend the funeral, you might regret it later if you don't go."

"I really don't think I will." he said.

"You may say that now, but you might think differently in the future." I said. I nudged him a bit. "Go on, I'll meet you outside."

Gaara sat up and got off the bed, "I'll see you in a little while then."

He left me alone in Temari's room. I left the bed to search through the pack I had brought with me here. The only set of clothes that I had when I came here was a black mourning dress. I made quick work of changing from Temari's dress into that one. I didn't want Temari to come back while I was uncovered. Then she would see that most of my body is bandaged and she may ask questions. I didn't bother changing any of my bandages, it would take too long. Once I'm done here, I'll be traveling through the desert alone to get back to Kirigakure. There really is no point in changing out the bandages if there just going to get filled with sand again.

I did spend more time on my hair. First, I pushed my forehead protector from my head so that it rested around my neck, then I unbraided it and pulled my brush out of my pack to try and get any tangles out. It was easiest to start from the top and then work my way down so that I didn't miss any. By the time Temari came back fully dressed in her mourning clothes with wet hair I was nearly finished brushing. I just needed to get to the ends and to do that I held a chunk of my blue hair in front of me while my other arm brushed it away from me.

"Do you need help?" Temari asked. She reached out to me as she approached.

"No, that's fine. I'm almost finished." I said. "Are you ready?" I put my brush away and looked to her.

"As ready as I'll ever be." she said. "We should go, I'm sure it'll be starting soon."

"Where exactly are we going for this?" I wondered. I've never thought of where the funeral would be held. I think Ebizo mentioned there being a cemetery here where the ground as more firm, but I still don't know where that is.

"Being that my father was Kazekage, the funeral will be held in front of the Kazekage building and after his body will be carried off to the wall for burial." Temari said. She walked partially out of the room before she said, "Are you coming?"

"Yes, this is just all different than it would be in Kirigakure." I said. I joined her and together we walked through the Kazekage building.

"How so?" she wondered.

"Our funerals are usually held in the cemetery or at sea." I said.

"In Kirigakure there are actually burials at sea?" she faltered in her step before continuing. "I didn't think that type of burial existed."

"It's a more traditional burial, not many people prefer that way over a land burial." I've never seen a burial at sea myself, I've experienced plenty of death but I've only ever attended the Hokage's funeral. This would be my second one. "I think I might like to have a sea burial when I die."

"You're too young to be thinking of your own death." Temari said.

I didn't bother telling her that it was probably wise to have some kind of plan in place for our own deaths. She might not like hearing that, but it's true. Living the life of a ninja it's more likely that we'll live shorter lives. Take our parents for example, Rasa couldn't have been any older than his late thirties while my father died in his early thirties, which is still quite young. I wonder if Temari has ever been in a situation where she has thought of her own death? Another question that I probably won't ask.

We exited the Kazekage building to see the beginnings of a large crowd forming. The area in front of the Kazekage building was the most open for a gathering like this being that all roads in Suna lead to this very spot. I didn't think everyone was going to fit and those that were stuck further back on the streets probably knew that too, but that didn't stop them from attending today.

There was a small throne like chair placed off to the left that seated who I could only assume was the feudal lord of this land. He seemed to act as if he was above everyone and that the rest of us were only here to serve him. He was wearing an emerald colored robe and his wind daimyo headpiece that covered his hair. This lord was fat and bulbous with a black pointed mustache and small beard that sprouted from his chin. I've never met a feudal lord who so obviously lived better than his subjects and had no care for them. From the things that I heard from this man, like the defunding of his own village, I've grown a strong dislike for him. He made me grateful to have been a part of the Bloody Mist as opposed to living here under his rule. I'm actually surprised he decided to come here today.

Kankuro was already near the feudal lord talking with some of his advisors. I nudged Temari, "You should go over there too."

"What about you? Won't you come with?" she asked.

"No, I have to look for the Harumori's and the Osei's. They should have a spot in front too being that this ceremony is for them as well." I started to walk off in the direction the two families lived in hopes of running into either of them on my way there. "I'll see you all when it starts."

It didn't take long for me to get lost in the crowd, as more time went by the more people gathered for the event. I was halfway to the Osei's when I saw Joden Harumori first, him and his family were with the Osei's. Joden held Carrai's five year old as she carried the infant. Orae was talking with a woman next to Vaon, who I assumed was his wife who was working at the hospital when I visited. It was kind of touching to see that the two families really were close like Joden said.

Orae while using her hands to explain something to the woman glanced up and noticed me. "Oh, it's Ketto! Hello dear, how have you been lately?"

I approached the two families and stopped in front of them. "I've been well. There's always something to do, so I've been keeping myself busy. I'll be able to go back to my own nation soon."

"You must miss it." Carrai said. Her infant was playing with her hair as she spoke.

"I guess you could say that." The truth is that I don't have much waiting for me back in Kirigakure. Uncle Yagura will give me another mission and send me on my way like it's always been. "I actually miss the weather most, I never thought I would say that." While it is nice to see some sun, I could do without all the sand and dry winds. I would rather be chilled in the overcast village of Kirigakure than dehydrated. People die from dehydration, like Mangetsu. "Are you all on your way to the funeral parlor?"

"Yes, we wanted to see them one last time before the service started." Joden said.

"Then I'll walk with you." I stood next to Carrai and walked with them. The child she was holding seemed entranced by my hair and kept reaching out for it. Carrai kept grabbing the child's hand to try and distract from my hair and I tried to pretend that I didn't notice.

At Solace Funeral Arrangements we were met with Adun the mortician, Chiyo, Ebizo, and a priest in red robes. The Harumori's went to pay their respects to Bast, though first Joden handed the young boy off to Orae who then went to Datura. I approached Chiyo and Ebizo to distance myself from the grieving families.

"It's nice to see you again Ketto." Chiyo said.

"Likewise Chiyo." I looked over to Ebizo and said, "The Harumori's and the Osei's are the families of the Kazekage's bodyguards, I told them that their deceased could receive the same service as the Kazekage."

"I suspected as much, so I already talked to the priest." he said. "Now we're just waiting for the Kazekage's children. Then, we can start the ceremony."

"Kankuro and Temari were last seen talking to the feudal lord. I don't know how long it will take for them to arrive." I didn't say that I haven't seen Gaara since this morning, because I wasn't even sure if he was going to be a part of this. I felt as if he would rather have this time to himself.

"Have you met the slug princess yet?" Chiyo asked.

"Who is that?" I questioned. I've never heard of any princesses of slugs especially any in this nation.

"Tsunade Senju of course." she said. Chiyo waved a hand at me. "Maybe you're too young to know that."

"That's the new Hokage, no I haven't met her yet." I was curious so I asked, "Why is she called a slug princess?"

"She's one of the legendary sannins of the Leaf village. Her summoning is a remarkably large slug and she's considered a princess of the Senju clan." Chiyo explained.

"I'm sure I'll have a chance to meet her after this funeral. We still have negotiations to take care of." I said. I wondered what Tsunade thought about negotiating with the Sand. Would she think an alliance with them would be a lost cause or would she be willing to renew the alliance? I guess I'll just have to wait to find out.

I wasn't paying attention to anyone's chakra because there were so many people in the village, but when I felt Gaara's chakra approaching I did. Temari seemed to be with him and I wondered if Kankuro was with the two of them too. I'll have to get used to not being able to sense someone else's chakra, I'm sure this is how my opponents feel when they're trying to track me down.

The door to the funeral parlor opened and Temari walked in with Kankuro. Gaara was behind the two and seemed more hesitant on entering the shop. Temari must have sensed something because she turned around and grabbed his hand to drag him inside. Gaara didn't try to resist her, he just let her pull him.

Kankuro walked over to Rasa's body first. Rasa was donned in his Kazekages robes that I brought for him and his veil rested on his stomach with his arms folded neatly to hold it in place. Kankuro was quiet as Temari and Gaara joined him.

"We can start the procession soon." Ebizo said. "Chiyo, Ketto, we should leave now." Ebizo and Chiyo started to move towards the door and I followed them.

"Wait a minute, Ketto, I thought you were going to be walking up with us?" Temari had a hold on my wrist.

I looked back at her and said, "Why did you think that? I don't have any ties to Rasa the Kazekage, it wouldn't be right if I walked up with your family and the other families of those who lost their lives."

"What if I need you?" she asked.

I made eye contact with Temari whose eyes started to glisten over with unshed tears, then Kankuro and Gaara. "The three of you will have to find comfort in each other. I can't be the one to console you throughout this. You wanted to be closer to each other as family, this is your chance." I slowly pried Temari's hand from my wrist, she has more strength than I thought she would considering her emotional state. "I'm actually a bit surprised, none of you were close to your father so why are you so emotional?"

"You said that you cried for Zabuza. How is this any different?" she demanded.

"I told you that I didn't cry because I missed him, I cried because I thought of what our lives would have been like if he was still alive and he loved me. There is no changing the past, so I got over those feelings." I joined Chiyo and Ebizo by the door. "However the three of you may feel, don't end up like me and Zabuza. Don't be afraid to love each other freely. Now, I'll see you after the funeral."

I exited the building as Ebizo held the door open for me and Chiyo. I didn't look back at Temari, Kankuro or Gaara as I left. I need to distance myself from the three of them a bit otherwise they'll turn to me for things that they should be going to each other. Besides, there hasn't been much progress between the three of them, maybe this is just the push they need?

The three of us made our way through the crowd trying to get back to the Kazekage building. Chiyo and Ebizo had more luck getting through the large crowd than I did and I think it's mainly because they were well known here. No one knew me, which I didn't mind, yet if a foreigner came into my village during a time like this I would be on high alert thinking that they were plotting something.

When we made it back to the Kazekage building Chiyo and Ebizo went over to another council member who I remembered as Saro, the rude outspoken one. I didn't follow the two of them because Saro irritates me and I would rather not spend more time than needed with him. I'm sure I'll see enough of him later. Instead, I settled near some shinobi who wore Leaf forehead protectors around their biceps.

I wasn't planning on engaging any of them in conversation until later, but one of them, a woman with short black hair kept staring at me. The strangest thing about her was that she was holding a little pink pig in her arms. It was when she tried and failed to get the attention of the blonde woman standing next to her that I said anything. "Could I help you with something?"

"U-uh, no it's not that, it's just you're Ketto Karatachi." she stuttered. She didn't seem afraid of me, so her stuttering must not be from that. Could she have stuttered because I embarrassed her by calling attention to her when she was trying to be inconspicuous?

"How did you know my last name was Karatachi?" I asked. It was only just confirmed to me in the letter elder Shun sent me that uncle Yagura legally adopted me, how does this woman know about it?

"We received a letter from Kirigakure saying that Ketto Karatachi was the representative from the Mist." she said. "You were the only Mist ninja that I've seen here so far."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm Shizune." she said with a smile. She stuck her hand out to shake mine which jostled the pig. I looked at the pig curiously still wondering why she was carrying one. "Oh, this is Tonton." it was said as if the pig was another human, almost as if I shouldn't be concerned that it was a pet of some sort.

Slowly, I raised my hand to shake hers. "It's nice to meet you Shizune, have you traveled here with the new Hokage?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade seems to be busy right now but you can be introduced later." she said.

A hush fell over the crowd and people started to move aside to make room for the priest who was leading the procession followed by Rasa's body with Bast and Datura's bodies on either side of him that were carried by ninja. Judging by their chakra, I would say that they were at least at a jonin level. Temari, Kankuro and Gaara followed behind with the Osei's and Harumori's who all followed behind their fallen loved one.

When they stopped in front of the Kazekage building and turned to face the crowd I'll admit that I didn't pay attention to a thing that the priest said. Instead, I was observing Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Temari seemed to be doing better, at least she wasn't crying uncontrollably like she was the other day. Kankuro was more calm and seemed less angry than he did in the funeral parlor when Rasa's body was first brought there. Gaara's expression surprised me. It wasn't obvious, but it did seem as if he did care to some extent. His eyes weren't glaring at his father's corpse, he actually looked a bit thoughtful. I wonder if he felt anything in this moment? Did he feel connected to his father, did Temari or Kankuro?

I abruptly stopped thinking of thoughts like that. Soon enough I'm going to try and imagine myself in their situation and I know I won't be able to fully put myself in their place. I won't ever know what it's like to have a mother or a father. It's said that their love is supposed to be unconditional towards their child, but I know things would have been different with my parents anyway. Just look at what Rasa put his children through. I know that uncle Yagura's care would pale in comparison to the kind of love that I know exists between some children and their parents, but I'm satisfied with just uncle Yagura so none of that matters.

How long has it been? Maybe eight days since I've last seen uncle Yagura. If he left the Leaf village the same day I did he would have been back in Kirigakure for at least four days. I wonder what could have happened in four days for the elders to take matters in their own hands. Shun Shimizu and Shohei Imamura stay out of Kirigakures affairs. Shun is actually the one who is wary of uncle Yagura, yet he seems to have some kind of respect for me.

I felt antsy, ever since I received that letter from elder Shun I've been wanting to go back to Kirigakure and not because I have an attachment to the village but to make sure uncle Yagura is okay. I don't understand what he could have been busy with. He's never had someone else give me an order like elder Shun did. During the Kiri-Kumo war I served under Ao, he was our regimental leader but even then he hardly gave me direct orders. Could I be reading into it too much? Probably, but still, something doesn't seem right.

Maybe I'm being summoned back to Kirigakure for a greater mission? I can't think of anything that would be of that much importance. Is Kumo trying to break their peace with us too? It couldn't be that, could it? The Raikage, A may be stubborn but I don't think he would actively break our fragile alliance after years of war. I should have pressed Chojuro for more answers while I had the chance. I know he would have cracked under pressure soon enough, still, I respect him enough to let him keep his secrets. He said he was ordered to not reveal more than I already knew. I wonder who gave him that order? Was it uncle Yagura? Or was it also Shun?

The first thing I'm going to do when I get back to Kirigakure is get some answers. I feel as if I deserve them. I'm usually going from one mission to the next, yet this is the first time I've been ordered to not complete a mission and it's leaving me confused. Even more confused than when uncle Yagura demanded that I save Kankuro's life. I understood the purpose of that, but I'm having trouble understanding this now.

I'll just have to put all of my effort into making sure our alliances are back in place here with the Sand even if I hold no respect for most of Suna's council. Hopefully, Tsunade will be helpful. I know Chiyo and Ebizo along with Baki will try to be. Things might not end the way I want them too, but I'll have to keep compromise in mind. I have to be able to bend a bit too.

The sun rose higher than before and people started to disperse from the crowd. I didn't miss the feudal lord being carried off on a lounger down the street. The people in the crowd made room for his party as they continued out of the village. Rumors of the feudal lord living in a different village must be true then.

"I pity the souls of those who have to carry that man." the blonde woman that was standing next to Shizune said. I already assumed that this was Tsunade when Shizune frantically tried to get her attention earlier. "Wouldn't you agree?" she turned towards me.

"I suppose I would pity them. I definitely wouldn't want to be stuck having to carry that man." I said. I watched as the lounger slowly moved out of sight.

"You're Ketto Karatachi, the adopted daughter of the Mizukage Yagura." Tsunade said. She was now turned to me. I was surprised that she didn't try to cover her large chest a little more. Her hair seemed a bit childish in low pigtails, but she didn't seem to care. This is a curious person to name Hokage.

"I am, and you're Tsunade Senju. You were named the new Hokage after Hiruzen passed." I said.

"I was, this will be the biggest gamble I've ever taken part in." she gave me a small smile. "Hopefully this one ends better than all of my other gambles."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything. Is she not particularly good at gambling? That's another thing to worry about, but the Land of Fire isn't my nation and I shouldn't be too worried about it. Yet, the Land of Water will have to work with the Land of Fire so it's something I should be concerned with.

The bodies were being moved again, which got my attention. I didn't realize that Bast and Datura were going to be moved to the wall along with Rasa's body. They must have truly been remarkable shinobi if they are receiving that honor. I went to Temari, Kankuro and Gaara with Tsunade and Shizune following me. "Temari, I was wondering if you would allow me to do something."

"What would that be?" she wondered.

"In the Land of Water there is an act done to prevent the bodies of the deceased from being used after death. If they are to be resurrected they can't use any chakra and can cause no harm to anyone." I said.

"I was wondering if that practice was truly used." Tsunade said. "It's mostly for those who are buried at sea because their bodies disappear into the water am I right?"

"We do it to all of our deceased." I turned to her. "Our number of defected shinobi has always been quite high, we don't have a way of predicting what any of their actions may be. Once a man tried taking the corpse of the first Mizukages son Kuroba because he thought he could collect the lingering demonic chakra from him."

"That's understandable." Tsunade had a hand cupping her chin while she thought.

"You think that someone would try to come for our father's body?" Temari asked. She looked worriedly after Rasa's body that was still being carried away.

"She's not saying that it's going to happen," said Shizune. "Just that because of your father being the Kazekage it's more likely that he may continue to be a target."

"Wait a minute, stop!" Temari called out to the shinobi carrying her father's body. She turned to me again. "What would you be doing?"

"It's quite simple actually, I'll use my chakra to destroy all of his chakra receptors." I explained. "If anyone even attempted to collect what remains of his chakra they won't find anything. My chakra will burn itself away and even that won't be detected."

Temari looked to Kankuro and then to Gaara before they looked back to me. Kankuro was the one to answer, "You should do it."

With all of them watching me, I moved closer to Rasa's body. Tsunade moved to follow me, Shizune followed along too, she was still carrying Tonton. Slowly, Kankuro and Temari also made their move with Gaara following. I didn't look at any of them as I stopped at Rasa's side. My hands raised in front of me and I placed them on Rasa's chest. Suddenly, I directed as much chakra as I could to my hands and transferred it to Rasa's body. His body jerked a bit from the amount of chakra I was using, I didn't let up quite yet, I wanted to make sure all chakra receptors were damaged before stopping. Then, I backed away from the body.

My chakra burned within Rasa's body. It didn't start to dissipate right away, but started after a couple of moments. I could still feel the demonic presence, the one that makes me The Demon of the Mist. It was stronger than I anticipated it being and I almost wondered if it was a good idea for me to do this. Though I decided that it was the least I could do for Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, so I tried not to think about what everyone would think of my chakra.

"You can continue now." I nodded to the shinobi that were carrying the body. They remained quiet as they started to walk.

"Your chakra." Tsunade started, "What they say about you being The Demon of the Mist is true. I never expected it to feel like that." she had a dumbfounded look on her face and her eyebrow twitched.

"Lady Tsunade, be nice." Shizune scolded. She tried to be quiet, but I managed to hear her anyway.

"Shizune, did you not feel that?" Tsunade questioned. "It was so great that I could see her chakra in a physical form. The flames demonic aura exceeded that of what I know of the demon of a past carnation."

"That shouldn't be a problem, we are allies are we not?" I looked to her to see her reaction. Her teeth were clenched and she seemed on edge.

Shizune was more composed than Tsunade. She nervously laughed as she apologized, "Of course it's not a problem! Right Lady Tsunade?!"

Temari looked back and forth between me and Tsunade confused. "What's going on here?"

"Really Temari, you didn't feel that?" Kankuro asked. "Even I felt it. Ketto's chakra is unlike anything I've ever felt before."

"Lady Tsunade." Shizune lowered her voice menacingly and glared at the blonde haired woman.

"Right, we're allies." Tsunade said. "We should move towards the council room and wait for the other council members. I don't want to have to wait around for those geezers to make up their mind about meeting with us, so let's have them come to us." Tsunade smirked at the thought. "Let's go Ketto, Shizune, I leave our accommodations to you."

"But, Lady Tsunade that's hardly proper!" Shizune argued. "You should wait until you're summoned. You shouldn't be doing things this way, it's disrespectful."

"I'll see you later Shizune." Tsunade walked up to me and grabbed my arm to direct me into the Kazekage building.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune called, only Tsunade didn't bother to turn around as we walked into the building.

"Tsunade, don't you think we should change our clothes?" I asked. Both of us were still in black mourning clothes. I wondered if that would cause some trouble with the Suna council, but then again we are already being disrespectful by essentially summoning the council to us so there is really no point in me worrying about any of that.

"We have other things to worry about than what we're wearing." she said.

"They also wear white robes to meetings." I said. "I'm sure I could find some for us." I remembered that the one I used last time was still in Temari's room, I would just have to ask around for another one for Tsunade.

"We won't be needing those. We shouldn't have to conform to their traditions if they are the ones who broke our alliance." she said.

What she said made sense, but I still felt that as the Suna council being the only organization of power we should respect them. "Still, don't you think that if we wore robes it would show we're more willing to make negotiations? It also shows respect, we don't know if the Suna council had anything to do with breaking our alliance with the Sand or if that was something that was decided by the Kazekage."

"You know Ketto, for being a young brat you are very mature." Tsunade looked to me thoughtfully. "You're right, we don't know if the council had anything to do with what happened in the Leaf village or even who was responsible for that happening. Did the Kazekage already agree to work with Orochimaru before he was killed? Or did he refuse and that's when Orochimaru killed him? We won't ever know the truth and I shouldn't be so harsh to the council because of my lack of knowing, but the fact still stands that the Sand betrayed the Leaf and the result left my sensei dead and my village torn apart." Tsunade was scowling at the end of her speech, "Can you bring us to the council room? I have no idea where I'm going."

I gently tugged her into the correct direction for us to go to the council room. "Try not to let your anger show too much when we speak to the council. I'm not sure why, maybe he knew more than he told me, but uncle Yagura thinks that we need the Sand to be on our side."

"Why would he think that?" she watched me curiously as if she thought I had more to say.

"I feel as if it has something to do with the Akatsuki." I said. I stopped in front of the door to the council room and gestured for Tsunade to open it. "They're an organization that my uncle has been keeping an eye on for awhile."

"One of my old teammates, Jiraiya has been doing some reconnaissance for the third Hokage on them. It's been hard for him to get intel on them seeing as how no one knows where their base of operations is, how many members there are, or who those members are." Tsunade pushed open the door to the council room and moved to sit in the farthest chair so that it would be better to observe everyone else once they arrive. She gestured to the seat next to her and on her right, the one that I remembered belonged to the Kazekage. "Come on, might as well sit down. We may be waiting for awhile until anyone else comes." I hesitated for a moment longer before I walked over to the chair. I gathered my long hair and piled it on top of my head in a messy bun so that it wouldn't be in the way. There were a few shorter pieces that framed my face that I couldn't get but I didn't think I was going to get them to cooperate anway. As I sat down I wondered when the council will start making selections for the next Kazekage. I feel as if that should have already started once it was confirmed that Rasa was dead, but they seem to do things differently here. "What can you tell me about the Akatsuki? What do you know?" Tsunade lounged back in her chair as she asked me her question.

"I can't really tell you too much about them." I started. "I can confirm that Hidan and Kakuzu are members, I don't know which lands they originally come from and I only know a little bit about their abilities. It seems that the pair of them are in charge of finding the means to fund their organization which lies heavily on collecting the bounties of those who are listed in the bingo book. That's how I encountered them, they said that after my brother died my bounty doubled and that's why they were after me."

"Their organization has long term goals that require funding to complete?" she questioned. "This organization is a bigger threat than I first anticipated."

"I don't know what their ultimate goal may be, but my uncle seems to think the Akatsuki is planning on collecting all of the tailed beasts. The purpose of them having all nine tailed beasts is unknown, but can you imagine the power they would have?" I asked. "They can do anything. They will become the most powerful organization if they achieve that goal and for that reason they are a threat." I looked down at the table in front of me as I continued, "I believe one of their strike teams consists of Kisame Hoshigaki who hails from my village and Itachi Uchiha from yours. I've heard of Itachi, and I'm sure you've heard that Kisame is considered a tailed beast without a tail, if this is only one of their teams for the collection of tailed beasts then I wonder what the other teams would look like."

"This would mean that all of the jinchuuriki are in danger." Tsunade said. She tapped her nails against the table. "How many jinchuuriki reside within the Mist village?"

"Uncle Yagura is the three tails and Utakata is the six tails." I answered. The three tails is still in Kirigakure, or at least I'm still affiliated with them. "Though Utakata defected several years ago, we've had hunter ninja keep an eye on his movements but recently they've lost sight of him."

"Then the Mist currently has one jinchuuriki, possibly two, while the Leaf has one." she said. "We should probably inform the other nations about this so that they can take the appropriate measures to protect their jinchuuriki. I'll have to have Jiraiya continue to gather information on the Akatsuki."

"Could you share any new information that you come across with the Land of Water?" I asked. Just because we're allies doesn't necessarily mean that she'll report any new information back to us, so I thought to ask anyway.

"As soon as I know anything new, I'll send it to the Mist in a sealed scroll for the Mizukage." she said. Tsunade didn't seem to be entirely focused on our conversation anymore. "Ketto, what do you plan on doing once you get back to the Mist?"

"I'll do what I always do, I'll continue to do missions that my uncle sends me on." I said. I was a bit curious about her question, but I decided not to ask.

Tsunade slowly shook her head as she said, "Let's just say that there isn't a new mission waiting for you, what would you do then?"

"I'll be training in the South Sea with my summoning." I said. "Any and all free time is spent training."

"Training? You're young, don't you have any friends that you would like to spend time with?" she wondered.

"I didn't have any friends in my village until recently. Even now I don't know if I would want to spend time with them being that the notion of having friends is still a bit foreign to me." I said. "Instead I spend my time training, so I can protect the village and that's not because it's my home but the village is precious to uncle Yagura. I want to help him turn Kirigakure into the Kirigakure he wants."

"What kind of Kirigakure is that?" she wondered. She now had her hands folded underneath her chin as she observed me.

"He wants to get rid of any notion of there being a Bloody Mist. It wasn't one of our greatest moments in history. It's pushed us away from other nations and if another war were to break out it would be best to have allies. Besides, over the years I've become more aware of how emotionless we are. We only have children to raise ninja in our image, we don't have any emotional ties to anyone. Yet, I still found myself caring about people. I want others to know what that feels like too." I said.

Tsunade smiled at me. "Something tells me that Kirigakure is going to go through some changes soon."

"Why would you say that?" I could feel my forehead crease as I frowned. "There hasn't been much progress lately, so why do you think there suddenly will be now?"

"It's just a feeling I have." she said.

I felt a single chakra signature approaching us. I was able to identify it as belonging to Baki before he entered the council room through the open doorway. He was changed out of his mourning clothes and now donned his jounin uniform again. "I've informed the other members of the council that you would be here waiting once I overheard you outside. Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizo will be here shortly."

"What about the others?" I asked.

"They intend to make the two of you wait by the suggestion of Saro." Baki moved to take the open seat next to me. "I hope you don't mind waiting longer."

"We have all night." Tsunade said.

"Neither of us has anything else we should be doing in the Sand right now." I agreed. "Baki, I was curious. Will the feudal lord take part in the selection for a new Kazekage?"

"The invitation to help select a new Kazekage will be offered to him, but the last time he didn't want anything to do with it, so I'm not sure." Baki said. "We will still offer him the same chance to be involved. I don't think that he'll take it though."

The three of us chatted with each other for sometime before anyone else came. I found out that Tsunade likes to gamble, as in really likes to gamble. She almost never wins unless if something much more dire is being bet like say a life. I couldn't help but think that she was perfect for her position. To be a kage you would have to gamble a lot, but then again a lot goes into each thought when sending ninja out on missions. Let's say you were sending a group of ninja to apprehend a rogue ninja, you would have to assess the rogue ninja's skill, the skill of those in the unit you're sending, the geography the rogue ninja is located, and any other deciding factors before you can even send a unit out.

I understand strategy and how things like this are handled, I've just never been in a position where I would have to do this. I'm able to assess any situation I find myself in, but I've never had to for other people because the only other people I've ever had to work with on missions were Utakata and Zabuza and even then they made the decisions.

Ebizo arrived with most of the rest of the council all donning their white robes, but Chiyo and Saro were still missing. "Sorry for the wait, we've had to come to an agreement before we met with the two of you." he gestured towards me and Tsunade as he took a seat. The other council members followed his actions.

"Is this everyone?" Tsunade asked.

"No, my sister Chiyo and councilman Saro are still coming." Ebizo said. "They shouldn't be much longer."

"Get moving you old bat!" I recognized the voice as being Chiyo's.

"There they are." Ebizo said.

First Saro appeared in the doorway, Chiyo was behind him trying to push him into the room. "It's the middle of the night Chiyo, surely this can wait until morning."

"You've made them wait all day you old geezer. We could have had this all dealt with but you chose to wait." Chiyo snapped. Chiyo pushed him into the room a little further before she left him to take the only available seat next to Ebizo.

"What is the meaning of this? Where will I sit?" Saro demanded. I was about to move to stand, but Tsunade stopped me.

"I'm afraid you'll have to get another chair." she said.

"This is ridiculous." Saro grumbled. He left the council room only to return with a chair that he placed at the other end of the table. "Alright then, proceed."

"You know what this is about." I said. "This is about reforming an alliance between our nations." Before I continue, I tried to remember everything I know about the Sand and how the Mist could benefit by being in an alliance with them. "The Sand would receive military support from the Mist in times of need while the Sand will provide the Mist with any of their medical research. We've been trying to expand and build our medical corp and have been gathering information from as many sources as we can. We would also like to utilize your sealing corp."

"You're asking a lot of us if the Mist is only to give military support in times of need." Saro sighed.

"If you would like, we can send a few squads of elite ninja to train some of your ninja here?" I suggested. "That way the Sand will have an immediate benefit."

"That would be more than enough, thank you Ketto." Ebizo said.

"What are you doing?" Saro questioned. "We shouldn't be agreeing so easily."

"Maybe you've already forgotten our position." Ebizo reminded him. "It was our nation that betrayed the Land of Fire and by extension the Land of Water. We should be trying our best to mend that broken alliance and it should start with appealing to Tsunade Senju as their new Hokage as her nation was the most affected."

"Tsunade, is there anything you wish to demand of us?" Chiyo asked.

"Why don't you tell me what you could offer the Land of Fire." she said. "There's a smaller population here, the military is weak and the economy is nothing to be desired. As far as I'm concerned we can break all ties between our nations and the Land of Fire will be fine."

"Those things you mentioned are the reason we can not allow this alliance to be passed over." Chiyo said. "We do have a weak military." she stopped whatever Saro was going to blurt out before he could speak. "You know that we do, don't deny it. With help from the Mist we can grow stronger. You also know that our economy is weak and our population is small. There really is no reason for there to be an alliance between us. I'm sure the Mist can gather whatever research data they need from other lands and sealing isn't something they would need to be strong at anyway. This is our chance to help Suna grow. Tsunade can deny us if she wants to." Chiyo turned back to Tsunade. "I'm sorry there's nothing we can offer you, we just want peace between our nations."

"Actually, I'm starting to see why Ketto wants this alliance." Tsunade said. "What Ketto is asking of the Sand is less significant than what she offered. The Mist would receive medical research information that could be gathered from my own nation and she would use the opportunity to train some of her own ninja in the art of sealing when her family knows one of the strongest seals in fuuinjutsu history. Can any of you guess why Ketto would want this alliance?"

I stayed quiet. Would she really tell them about the Akatsuki already? I was under the impression that she had no trust in them. Several of the council members turned to look at me. "Is it possible that she knows more than she lets on?" one of the council members said.

"She is the right hand of Yagura Karatachi, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew more than she shared." Ebizo said. He gave me his full attention. "It's like playing Shogi, you want to be three steps ahead of your opponent without them knowing you're ahead. Tell us, what is the Mist preparing for?"

I looked to Tsunade wondering if I should tell them or not when she said, "If you truly want this alliance to work then you'll have to tell them. I've decided that the Leaf will fully support the Mist, even if you find a need to still be allied with the Sand. I understand why you see a need for this though it will take time to get the Sand in the condition you want them in."

I slightly nodded my head in thanks to her before I spoke, "Recently an organization has surfaced calling themselves the Akatsuki. We don't know a lot about them just that one of their goals is to harvest all nine tailed beasts. From the information that I know, there is a duo of men who are tasked with collecting the bounties of ninja listed in the bingo book, so we know that they have a more long term goal. I also crossed paths with another partnership who I believe are tasked with the collection of the tailed beasts. I'm not sure how many more teams or members they have. The Mist would like to aid the Sand in becoming stronger because if a war was to start over our tailed beasts then we would like to have more combat ready ninja."

"The only tailed beast we have is Gaara with the one tails." a council member said. "Wouldn't it be easiest to give him to the Akatsuki so that our village be spared? He's nothing but a hindrance anyway."

"You would willingly give the Akatsuki a tailed beast not knowing what they are going to use that power for?" Tsunade growled. "Besides, it's nearly impossible to survive a tailed beast extraction. You would be willing to kill one of Suna's own citizens?!"

"If it meant protecting the village then yes." the same man responded.

"You're not certain what the tailed beasts are going to be used for?" Baki asked.

"No, but if they acquire all nine tailed beasts they would have immense power." I said. "We don't know what they would use it for, so we can only assume it's for malevolent purposes. With that power, the Akatsuki can do as they please and create a new world order as they see fit."

"Very well, I now see the need for this alliance." Saro said. "Tsunade, is there anything you would like to add? Is there anything you need from us?"

"No, it'll take awhile for the Leaf village to get back up on its feet." Tsunade said. "Even with the limited help the Mist has given us for rebuilding it will take some time before everything stabilizes. I'll leave the training of the Sands military forces to Ketto and the Mist."

"We should write up an agreement for the three nations being that we have at least one representative from each one." Ebizo said. "Did anyone bring paper?"

Baki pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from one of the pockets of his jounin vest. "What should I write?"

Tsunade spoke up, "On this day July twenty-seventh the nations of Wind, Fire and Water come together in unified peace if not for harmony of three of the five great nations then to unite against a common enemy seen in the organization known as the Akatsuki. All three nations will share any pertinent confidential information with each other in regards to said organization so that we may build a stronger front against them. There will be no secrets between nations, if one nation is in need of help then they are to rely on their sister nations. Ketto Karatachi will be placed in charge of the development of Sunagakure's military forces and intelligence organization to help get them to a battle ready state for when the day may come where the three nations will have to face the Akatsuki."

"Why are you placing me in charge, I thought we only discussed military training. I thought you would want to do intelligence?" I asked Tsunade.

"Even I have to admit that the Mist's Cypher Division is more advanced than that of the intelligence division of the Leaf village." Tsunade said. "As for placing you in charge, I don't see a problem with it. You're of a high standing within your own village and you were the one to suggest training the Sands military forces."

"I guess you're right." I said.

"Is there anything else that needs to be added?" Tsunade asked.

"If we've forgotten anything it can be revised at a later date." Saro said, "I'm tired and I wish to go back to sleep."

"Then all that's left to do is sign." Baki said. He signed his name on the paper before handing both the paper and the pen over to me. I almost signed Ketto Momochi when I suddenly remembered elder Shun's letter. I passed the paper over to Tsunade right after I wrote Ketto Karatachi in fresh ink. The paper made it around the table for everyone to sign stopping in front of Baki once again. "I'll take care of this in the morning."

"We should all get some sleep now. It's early morning, I'll probably sleep through half of the day." Ebizo said with a yawn.

"Don't go falling asleep on me, I'm not carrying you home." Chiyo scolded.

"Meeting adjourned." Saro said. He was the first to get out of his chair and head for the door. You would almost think he had something better to do than creating peace between nations.

"Well, I better go find Shizune." Tsunade said. She also got out of her chair and I copied her by also standing up. "You're heading back to the Mist later today right?"

We both left the council room and entered the hallway. "Yes, I've been away from the village for long enough. Apparently something's happened, but Chojuro wouldn't tell me what it was because he didn't want to compromise this." I gestured around us and the council room we just exited.

"I see." she mumbled. "Ketto, I want you to know that whatever has happened you can come to me for help if you need it okay? Usually, I can't stand young brats like you, but you're mature and easy to talk to."

"Thanks." I wondered why she would offer her help to me, unless if we've somehow connected on that kind of level already. Why are people from the Leaf so caring?

"Make sure you get some sleep if you're going to leave right away." she said. "Oh, and if you don't mind, I have a jonin I would like to send with you. I need him to deliver a message to the Mizukage for me."

"It's fine, if he's going to my village anyway it would only make sense for us to travel together." I said.

"You're right, good night Ketto and if I don't see you tomorrow then goodbye." she said. She left me with a wave and a smile.

I went to Temari's room with the intent of getting some sleep like Tsunade suggested. It would take seven days to get back to Kirigakure on foot, I should get as much sleep as I can. I was silent as I let myself in Temari's room. She was already in bed asleep and I didn't want to disturb her. I closed the door behind me as I entered the room and immediately took off my sandals. There wasn't really anything I could change into to sleep in so I just crawled into bed with what I had on and attempted to sleep.