Welcome to Gaia! ::

Life Goes On

“Mom, I may not be home ‘til late,” Karin said as she filled the bento boxes while her mother served breakfast to the three red heads at the table.

“That’s fine,” Mira smiled, “You’re one of the first native teams to Danshoku,” she straightened out her daughter’s headband, ignoring the annoyed “Mo-om.”

“But there’s gonna be more,” Karin argued, “And you can’t be fixing my hair like that.”

“I won’t get the chance again sweetie,” the red haired woman pointed out, “Haru and Sora,” the five year old twins looked up from their cereal, “I don’t want to get any messages from Iruka about either of you today.”

“We didn’t mean to scare that kid,” Haru muttered.

“He just doesn’t know how to take a joke,” Sora added.

Mira ruffled their hair, “Well, make sure that your jokes don’t scare anyone else, or I’ll regret giving you that scroll,” they nodded and turned to Neji coming into the kitchen with a very sleepy girl with the same dark brown hair as his.

“Daddy!” Karin grinned she asked placing her hands on her hips, “How do I look? I’m joining my team for the first time today.”

“Beautiful,” he smiled, “You’ll have to show Gaara when he gets home tonight, he’s very proud of you,” he sat next to the twins, as Mira served him and the little girl breakfast, “He missed all of us very much.”

“Usagi sit next to us and Chihiro!” the twins chorused, taking the two year old from him and sitting her next to their other four year old sister.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she ate her cereal, “Dada?”

“He’ll be home tonight,” Mira promised, before glancing up at the clock, “You kids finish eating, school’s going to start soon. He be surprised at how big Usagi and Chihiro have gotten for certain.”

“What about us?” Haru asked.

“We’ve gotten bigger too,” Sora added.

“Nah, you shrimps are the same height,” Karin said crossing her arms, “Ow!” she covered her head as two small bones hit her and then disappeared.

“Stop quarrelling,” Neji said quietly, “Karin, you’re a gennin now, you need to stop egging on your brothers. You should act like a proud shinobi off your village.”

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“Argh!” Umbra exclaimed as she ran into her son’s room, “Quick! Get up!” she pulled her son out of his bed, “Go and brush your teeth! I’ll throw something together for breakfast!” Curses! Why did Lee leave for his morning training without waking her.

She knew the reason… he had tried but she was out cold from the training the previous night.

The dark haired boy rubbed his eyes, then immediately shot up and ran for the bathroom, doing his morning routine as energetically as he could.

By the time he got downstairs, Haru and Sora were already waiting on him, “My friends!” he grinned, “Is it not a glorious day?”

“Stop talking like that,” both said as they stared at him, “And you’re late again.”

Umbra looked out the window, “Hey do you guys have…”

“An extra bento?” Haru asked as Sora held it up, “Mama figured you didn’t have time again.”

“Thanks!” she grinned, reentering her house as the three started off for school, “Oh! We’re training after school! You guys can come if you want!”

Both twins paled, “Dad’s coming home tonight, so we’ll pass,” Sora said quickly.

She grinned, seeming to accept that answer, “Have fun at school Kano!” and as she put her head back through the window bonked it, “Oww…”

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Many miles away, in the village of Kiri, Yuko yawned as Itachi cawed from his post by her bed, “Mama it’s time to get up,” Karasu said as he peeked in, the crow flapped his wings and hopped to his shoulder, “Da’s getting Sachiko and Ryuuichi ready. He left the room then

She stretched, still a bit in awe of her current position as the Mizukage, a post left to her by Mei when the older woman had fallen in a skirmish with Konoha a year earlier. She rose out of bed, grateful to Choujuuro for letting her sleep and taking care of the three year olds, and went to get dressed.

A sudden crash made her looked worriedly. A second one and she was out the room going down the hall. By the time the third crash sounded she had flung open the doors to the kitchen and stared at the mess.

“What happened?” she asked, crossing her arms.

The blue haired girl and red haired boy pointed at each other, “She started it!” Ryuuchi said.

“Nu-uh, he did!” Sachiko argued as both snarled at each other, showing their sharp teeth.

Yuko clapped her hands, “Enough.” she said, “Clean this up, both of you. Now where is your fa…”

“What happened here?” Choujuuro asked as he came into the room, carrying food from the pantry.

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Kano pumped his fists as they walked, “I thought that Chihiro was beginning school today,” he asked the twins.

“Mom is taking her to register.” Haru pointed out.

“Otherwise she would have come with us,” Sora finished, “We need to keep an eye on her class.” his twin nodded, “She’s too shy.”

Kano grinned, “We’ll protect her maiden heart!”

“Seriously who talks like that?” the twins asked.

He pulled their arms, “Awesomesauce! Let’s go see who Chihiro has as a teacher!”

They reached the academy and went inside, the twins ignoring the slightly frightened looks in their direction, Kano completely oblivious to it. “Oi! Auntie Mira! Chihiro-chan!” he said as he saw the two standing outside Iruka’s office.

Chihiro smiled and hid a bit behind her mother as he bounded over, “Chi-chan! You should embrace the day! One as smart as yourself will do well in school!”

She bit her lip and nodded, “Will I see you and my brothers during the day?”

He nodded energetically, “We’ll have lunch and recess together! And I’ll show you some training techniques to become a strong shinobi!”

Hey eyes widened a bit, “Um… I do the gentle fist kata for training like my brothers,” she said quietly.

“You better hurry and get to your class or you’ll be late,” Mira smiled.

“Awesomesauce!” he bounded over to Haru and Sora.

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Mira waved to Chihiro as she left her daughter, albeit a bit nervous and wide-eyed at all the different children, at her class and walked out of the academy smiling as she stretched. The village was finally seeming to come around, despite the war still being on, and in recent years it seemed a veritable baby boom had hit, ensuring a future generation for Danshoku without relying on refugees looking for acceptance.

She reached her bar and went inside, smiling at Usagi spinning around on a stool at the counter as Neji cleaned the tables. Tonight Gaara was coming home from Suna and it might be one of the last the three of them would all be together before Neji’s upcoming mission with Team Gai.

As for herself, she was still on maternity leave, but that didn’t excuse her from cooking up all the rations to go with the nin leaving for missions or for running her place, something she considered almost a haven to the people of Danshoku.

It certainly did seem that everyone was happier in her bar. No matter how bad this war was getting, for a few hours at night it seemed that the old days of fangirling and buttsecks were back. The only thing missing was Shane, despite his promise to visit, no one had seen him since he and Naruto left for their honeymoon, and Yuko, who had somehow become the new Mizukage.

She caught Usagi who had gotten so dizzy that the pearly eyed girl was falling off the stool, “Sweetie do you want to color a picture for Daddy?”

“Mmm-hmm,” the girl smiled and happily let Mira settle her into the small table and chair at the end of the counter, conveniently placed so that she couldn’t see any of the going-ons in the bar, but still where Mira could keep an eye on her.

The red-head smiled at her youngest daughter and went into the kitchen to prep for the lunch rush, leaving Neji to greet the customers while she cooked.

She heard the chime of the door and peeked out to see Lee and Umbra come in, “Thanks for the bento for Kano!” Umbra said happily, “How come you always know when he needs one?”

“I go by how late you guys are up training,” Mira smiled, “Now are you and Kano coming over to my place while Lee’s on this mission?”

“Actually, it’ll be just Kano,” Umbra said chewing her lip, “I just got a mission tomorrow as well.”

Mira stared at her for a moment, while she wiped her hands on a towel, “I guess I better prepare some rations for you as well then. Geeze, it seems like everyone’s being called out.”

“It is still a war,” Neji pointed out, “And with the rumors that the Akastuki is reforming, Dyzzi can’t be too careful.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek, “True. But I still don’t like it.”

The door to the bar opened and Dyzzi came in followed by Gaara and his siblings. “Mira, you’re back on duty. We’re ushering the civilians to the shelters first thing in the morning.”

Neji and Mira exchanged a glance, “Something happened then,” the Hyuuga said quietly.

“Yeah. The lazy idiot who was gathering information broke up with me,” Temari snarled, “There’s more…”

Gaara took Mira and Neji aside to the kitchen, “Your clan knows about Usagi,” he said quietly, anger deep in his voice.

“You think that they’ll do something to her?” Mira asked worriedly, casting a quick look at the little girl scribbling happily at the table, not noticing the others yet.

Neji chewed his lip, “They’ll try to seal her at the very least… and you’re not exactly clan stock, they might try something even more.”

“We can’t…” Mira started but stopped at the look in Gaara’s eyes, “Something more happened then.”

“Suna is occupied,” he said quietly, “Shikamaru led them straight through our defenses. I was able to get a few out,” he clenched his fists, “My escape was due to Temari and Kankuro dragging me away from the battle.”

“We’re next,” Neji said, “No wonder you’ve been put back on active duty.”

Dyzzi walked into the kitchen, “Your three teams are going to form one battalion,” she said crossing her arms, “Neji I trust you to inform Gai. Mira, yours will be you, Umbra, Allora, and Pnum,” she closed her eyes, “Gaara I hope you don’t mind me adding a gennin to yours, but Mira probably trusts you to keep her safe.”

“You don’t mean…” Mira’s heart stopped, she knew this was coming, but she had hoped it wouldn’t this soon.

“I do. Karin just can’t sit this one out. I need her fighting too. You leave in the morning.”

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Mira sat down a cup of tea for Temari, “Want to talk about it?” she asked.

It was late at night and the household was quiet, the children mostly asleep, though Mira suspected that Haru and Sora were still up plotting for the shelters and Chihiro was under her covers with a flashlight looking at a book.

Temari gratefully took the tea, “He found out Hidan was alive… I think that was the start of our troubles.”

“Hmm,” Mira took a seat at the small table, “Revenge is a funny thing sometimes.”
“I never understood it,” the blonde woman shook her head, “I never realized just how much in love with Asuma he was. I missed all the signs that our relationship was bad, but I thought that maybe…”

“I can relate,” Mira mused, thinking bitterly of Kei.

“I’m sorry… I was the one who told him about your children…I wanted him to be a part of my family I guess,” Temari looked up, “I’ll watch out for Karin. And I’ll somehow make this right again.”

Mira nodded, “It’s alright already. The war was coming for us sooner or later.”

Both sat in silence for a bit then, drinking their tea.

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Yuko slammed the message down, “Choujuuro!” she barked, “Get ready to leave.”

“Erm,” he stared at her confused, “What… what happened?”

“Suna’s been taken over by Konoha. Danshoku’s gonna be next, and I want us there as soon as possible to support them.”

“What about the children?” he asked quietly.

She stopped for a second, thinking, “Damn.” she paced back and forth, weighing all the options, “We’ll take them with us. Danshoku’s shelters are safer than our own, and I don’t trust anyone else to look after them. I know there’s a spy somewhere in my council.” she snapped her fingers and an anbu appeared, “Send for Ao.”

“Makes sense,” Choujuuro breathed, “He’s the only other one your sister trusted.”

“Which is why I’m leaving him in charge of Kiri’s defenses. You and I will lead a small force to support Danshoku ourselves,” she chewed her lip, “I only hope that we get there in time.”

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Back into Hell

Mira woke up before everyone else in the household did, well before sunrise, and quietly crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Gaara or Neji.

Gaara’s sleeping… that just goes to show how depleted he was from that battle… she chewed the inside of her cheek and went to her closet, pulling out her fighting uniform and apron, and putting it on.

She braided her hair, it now reached her waist, and wrapped the scarf around her head, and then went downstairs, wanting to make one last breakfast for everyone before the mission’s start.

She checked the bento boxes and rations she had prepared while she was at it, and setting them on the table was a bit surprised to see Haru and Sora already perched on the stools at the breakfast bar.

“Usually it’s Chihiro who wakes up at this time,” Mira said, quietly noting the concerned look on both faces.

“You’re coming back right?” Sora asked, an oddity for them, usually it was Haru who spoke first. She gazed at both softly before going to hug them.

“It’s a simple mission,” she said smiling, “Your fathers leave on them all the time.”

“That’s different,” both said as they relaxed into the hug.

“Karin said they were after Usagi,” Haru said.

“Is it true?” Sora finished.

Mira sighed, “It’s a possibility. Neji…” she chewed her lip, “He wasn’t going to…” she blushed, “Usagi was a bit of a surprise.”

Both of them stared at her a moment before turning to each other and then back at her, “We know where babies come from.” they pointed out.

She reached over and bopped the backs of their heads, “And you’re way too young to be asking for more details… and don’t deny that was what you were doing,” she rubbed her shoulders and sighed, “Look boys, I’m going to need you both to do me a favor and watch out for Chihiro and Usagi. I’m counting on you to protect them.”

They nodded, and she smiled again, “Good. Now let’s get this breakfast going.”

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Karin chewed her lip as she stepped into formation with Gaara’s team as she tried not to look at the line of civilians heading for the shelter.

Temari and Kankuro each patted one of her shoulders, “Don’t be nervous,” the wind mistress smiled, “You’ll learn a lot with us anyways.”

“I’m glad they stuck you with us instead of a green team,” Kankuro agreed, “We’ll be able to cover if you screw up…OW” he rubbed his head where Temari had hit him with her fan.

Karin resisted the urge to laugh as they bickered behind her back, instead looking up at where Dyzzi was addressing the army, Gaara and a few other men she recognized as high ranking officers in Danshoku standing behind the Yaoikage.

“…remember to be careful and listen to your battalion officers as well as your jonin. Meet up with the other squads in your group, your battalion leader has your orders… Dismissed!”

“Come on,” Temari said, grabbing Karin’s arms, “Keep up, we’re meeting them at the eastern border.”

Karin nodded and leapt after them, suddenly very grateful for Lee’s torturous training drills he had guilt tripped her family into doing. Temari and Kankuro were exceedingly fast, and it took a lot out of her to keep up.

But she did, she wasn’t about to not pull her weight, not when she was Danshoku’s first native-born gennin.

After hours of running, finally, finally, they stopped, and she bent over, touching her knees as she caught her breath.

Temari tossed her a waterskin, “Drink up, it seems like we’re the first here.” she smiled, “Good job kid.”

Karin nodded as she took the canteen and took a swig from it.

“Not quite the first,” Gaara’s voice said as the three looked up to see him gazing thoughtfully towards the direction of Suna, “Teams Gai and Mira are almost here.”

“Correction, Team Mira is here,” Mira said happily as her team landed, “Inactive for five years and I still beat Neji’s team.”

Umbra panted, “Only because you distracted Lee and Gai long enough for us to get a head start,” she gasped, “I seriously didn’t think that either of them would fall for it.”

Allora and Pnum nodded as Team Gai landed beside them.

“We make our glorious entrance!” Gai exclaimed.

Lee grinned, “Umbra-chan! You showed such youth getting here before us!”

Neji and Tenten sighed, “Couldn’t we have left Gai-sensei?” she muttered.

“Do you really want Mira and Gaara to be holding private strategy meetings with just me?” he whispered back, “Dyzzi was being careful not to give us too many distractions.”

Mira blushed as she caught the teasing undertones and placed her hands on her hips, “Well boss, what’s our mission.”

Gaara stared once more towards Suna and then jumped down from the tree, “You recognize this place,” he said quietly.

She nodded, ignoring the worried looks from everyone but Karin, who had a confused look on hers, “Five years ago this is where the machine was stopped.”

“It’s not here now. Three months ago it was.” he stated.

Karin stared, “Three months ago… that was the last time you were home.”

“Shh,” Kankuro chided her, “Now’s the time for listening.”

She nodded, closing her mouth.

“I left for Suna when I had heard it disappeared, my sources were a bit better at finding out information there,” here he looked at Temari, who simply bit her lip and turned away, not wanting to be reminded that once she was in charge of Suna’s spy networks.

He sighed, “We were able to turn up very little information and pressing matters turned my attention away. But I don’t believe in coincidences, and this weapon was too powerful to simply ignore it’s vanishing. Our mission is to find out what happened to it and make sure that it isn’t operational.”

“And if it is?” Gai asked, suddenly serious.

“Somehow we have to destroy it,” Mira said, answering for Gaara, still remembering the pain she suffered at that thing.

It was something that she would never forget, something that caused her to wake up screaming in the middle of the nights, a fact she had mostly kept from her children.

Karin stared at her mother, wondering at the fear and anger she showed, “What happened?” she asked, not meaning to voice the question.

“That was the weapon used to destroy Danshoku,” Gaara simply said.

She looked around It fired from here? Home is miles and miles away! She sensed there was more, but accepted that it was more than likely the cause of her mother’s nightmares, and decided that perhaps it was best if she didn’t know.

Uncle Haru and the b*****d died around here then, she thought suddenly. That much she did know for certain of the battle five years ago.

“It might be best to split in teams of two to search,” Gai said, “We’ll cover twice as much ground as we would if we split off in our teams.”

“Excellent suggestion sensei!” Lee exclaimed.

“The idea is fine by me,” Mira said.

Gaara nodded, “We’ll make base camp here then. Report back at sunset if you don’t find anything, use the wireless if you do.”

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Haru and Sora nodded to each other, then turned to Kano, “We’re to fight,” they said.

Kano stared wide-eyed in awe, “How on earth did you get permission?”

“We didn’t,” both sighed, then Haru narrowed his eyes, “They going to do something to Usagi.”

“We can’t let that happen,” Sora finished, “Mama’s trusting us to protect her and Chihiro.” both added/

“Awesomesauce,” Kano breathed, “But how ever will we get away from Iruka-sensei’s and Hidan’s watchful eye?”

“Um,” Chihiro said, pulling a sleepy Usagi behind her, “Wouldn’t it be safer for all of us to stay in the shelters?”

“You’re our sister, don’t be such a wimp,” the twins chided her, “They’ll obviously look for her here.”

She bit her lip, and seemed about to say something when the shelter doors opened again and all of them looked to see three more children, a boy with black hair, a girl with blue hair, and a boy with red hair enter the shelter.

“Who are they?” she asked, “They’re not from around here.”

Haru and Sora smirked, “Fresh meat!” they exclaimed.

“And what about protecting Usagi?” Chihiro pointed out.

“Always the voice of reason!” Kano grinned at her causing her to blush, “But perhaps they can help us keep Usagi’s youthful cuteness safe!”

“Seriously who talks like that?” the twins asked.

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Yuko sat across from Dyzzi, “So that’s the current situation then,” she said chewing her lip, “And you have a battalion already searching for signs of the Akatsuki and the machine.”

“You were in it, do you know anything?” Dyzzi asked.

Yuko shook her head, “I wasn’t given access to that level of information. I only knew that we were searching for eidolons. But it should be safe right? The only one around is Mira’s. Shane hasn’t been seen since his wedding.”

Dyzzi sighed, “I wish I knew for certain. You yourself saw the reports of rising spottings of the Akatsuki cloaks, and with the recent taking of Suna…” she shook her head, “Besides the ones currently searching for information, I have every man readying my front lines. I expect Konoha to attack at any time now.”

Yuko nodded, “Then I shall add the men I brought to yours and join the frontlines myself. Thank you for adding my children to your shelter.”

“Hey, they belong there anyways,” Dyzzi smiled, “They’re supposed to be my future nin!”

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Mira eyed the wet tracks on the ground, gently touching them, “Umbra look here.”

Umbra bent down, “It looks like something heavy was dragged here, and recently.”

Mira nodded and touched her wireless, “Raccoon, We might have found something.”

“Good job Ramen,” Gaara’s voice came through, “You and Mirror look further into it and contact me again when you know for sure.”

Mira nodded and looked to Umbra, “Let’s go.” the purple haired kunoichi nodded and both vanished from the clearing chasing the tracks until…

Mira touched her wireless again, “Raccoon… we definitely found something. You and Owl get your asses over here now.”

Both women stared at the large contraption in the middle of the clearing ahead, being surrounded by hundreds of workers.

Mira gasped and pulled Umbra back further into the bushes as she saw the black cloaks with the red clouds being worn by what looked like overseers to the thing.

“What are they doing?” whispered Umbra.

Mira chewed her lip, “It looks like…”

“They combined the bijuu container with the eidolon machine,” Gaara said with wide eyes as he stared at the work camp in front of them, “Now what on earth could they be planning by that?”

Player

Haru and Sora stared at the new children as Iruka directed them towards them.

“Alright kids,” Iruka said, “You may not remember Karasu, but he and his brother and sister are visiting us from Kiri.”

“What idiot comes and visit a village about to be caught up in a war?” the twins asked.

Iruka closed his eyes, mentally counting to ten, “Their mother…” sighing he pinched his nose and simply walked away, he was in no mood for the twins right now.

“My mom’s the Mizukage,” Sachiko said crossing her arms and showing her teeth, “She’s here to bail you guys out.”

“Oh Auntie Yuko,” the twins said, clearly unimpressed, “She’s finally paying Mama back then.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ryuuichi shouted, “If anything you big bullies, my mom‘s saving you!”

Karasu covered his face with his palm and calmly took a seat by Usagi and Chihiro, “They’re only my half-siblings,” he said in almost apology.

“What’s wrong with that?” Chihiro asked, “We have two half sisters, Usagi here and our eldest sister Karin.”

“Do they drive you crazy?” he asked in undertone, looking back at his brother and sister who were facing off a very bored looking Haru and Sora.

“My mom’s the Mizukage! Aren’t you impressed at all?!” Sachiko exclaimed, stomping her foot.

“No,” they said.

That stopped her, “Well…why not?!” she was used to people at least giving her looks of awe.

They closed their eyes and yawned, “We have enough problems. Now if you be a good little girl and boy, we might let you tag along.”

“Don’t you two have any individuality?” Ryuuichi asked, “You even yawn at the same time.”

“I’m me and he’s he,” they said, “That’s individuality enough for us.”

“Such great energy,” Kano said suddenly, “The children of the Mizukage meet the children of the Kazekage and we’re already great friends!”

“Seriously, have you been paying attention?” Haru and Sora asked him.

He beamed, “We cannot sit in here and fight when our parents are battling to bring peace! Let us all form the bonds of friendship and youth.”

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Gaara and Mira stayed in the treelines as Neji and Umbra went back to the base camp, “They don’t have too many sentries posted,” she whispered.

“They don’t need them,” he chewed his lip, “I’m counting seven members of the Akatsuki that I can see.”

She nodded, “Make that eight… I don’t recognize any of them though. Maybe they’re not as strong?”

“No,” Gaara mused, “I can feel them from here…” he suddenly pulled Mira to himself, the sand wrapping around both of them.

She stayed silent as her arms wrapped around his waist, and he placed a hand to his eye, as a small round sphere separated itself from the sand.

“They’re on the move,” he whispered, “We haven’t been spotted yet.”

She nodded, “Are they heading in the direction of the base camp?”

“No…opposite of that. It looks like they’re heading towards the east.”

She nodded, “Are they taking that thing with them?”

“Yes,” he whispered, suddenly bending down and kissing her, “How have the children been?”

“Haru and Sora have been their usual devilish selves. Chihiro started school yesterday,” she smiled, “We miss you a lot you know.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised, “I don’t like missing…”

She put a finger on her lips, “We’ll talk about it later,” she sighed, “When this is all over, we’ll even go out and eat, make a huge celebration of it.”

“Do you think that’s wise? The twins alone might cause us to be banished from a place.”

“They’ll behave or I leave their daily training to Lee,” she said before chewing her lip, “Have they vacated yet?”

He smirked, “Almost. But I think it’s safe for us to return to the base camp and plot our next move.”

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Yuko stood next to Dyzzi as the two poured over the incoming reports, “I’m keeping Gaara’s battalion as the forward team,” Dyzzi said, “But at least now we know where that thing is.”

“Something about all of this isn’t making any sense.” Yuko chewed her lips, “Why start moving now? He had the manpower from the start.”

“Hmm…” Dyzzi looked through her notes, “Maybe he was waiting on somebody.”

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Karasu crossed his arms, “I think the best idea is to stay here.”

“You’re boring,” Haru and Sora said, “And what if they do come after Usagi?”

“We’re going to protect her maiden heart!” Kano said excitedly, “Haru and Sora know of a place where no one would ever look!”

The twins grinned, “It’s stupid to stay walled up in here.”

“But why would they go through all this trouble just for sealing her?” Karasu pointed out, “That makes no sense. Just do as your told.”

“Yup. Boring,” they sighed, “What if all of this is because she is unsealed,” Haru suddenly said.

Sora looked at him, “And Karasu’s an Uchiha. That guy in charge of the Akatsuki wanted both for something.”

“How did you know that?” Kano breathed.

They shook their heads confused, “Maybe something Uncle Haru knew…” they said quietly.

Chihiro bit her lip, “I say we go,” she said suddenly, holding onto Usagi, then turned to the three children from the Mist, “You guys can stay here if you want.”

“What made you change your mind?” Haru and Sora asked.

She looked down, “If Uncle’s spirit gets involved, it’s serious. Maybe it is dangerous to stay here.”

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Gaara was pacing back and forth at the base camp, well aware of the concerned stares Neji and Mira were giving him from where they were setting up their sections.

“Why join those two machines…” he muttered, “There’s something that we cannot see here…” he stopped, “See.”

Neji’s eyes widened as Gaara grabbed his arm and the sand surrounded them. Mira raised an eyebrow, but turned back to the small kitchen.

“Mom why do you have me on vegetable duty,” Karin whined, potato peeler in hand, “I suck at this.”

Mira noted the pile of skins were remarkable thicker than they should be, “No dear, I need the hash brown materials, you’re doing fine.”

“If you really want to do something else,” Temari said from where she was setting up the communications tent, “I need some help with running some wire…”

“Go ahead,” Mira smiled, as Karin put down the peeler and rushed off.

“MIRA-CHAN!” Allora called out, “When are we gonna eat?”

“Have you set up the traps in the surrounding area?” she asked the blonde nin.

“Yup,” Allora grinned, “If anything comes anywhere near us, we’ll know!”

“I finished setting up the cameras too,” Pnum said as she wiped her hands and sat at the bar, “So Boss, how’s the food coming.”

Both were suddenly handed a pile of veggies and a knife, “Chop those up for me,” Mira said, “Dinner will be so…EEP” as Umbra suddenly grabbed her and pulled her aside.

“What’s wrong?” she asked at the annoyed eyes.

The purple haired kunoichi didn’t say anything, just pointed to where Lee was setting up the tents.

“I’m not following…”

Umbra sighed, “He told me that we’re sharing the tent… so it’ll be Lee, me…and Gai! I’m so not getting laid tonight.”

“I don’t think anyone was…” Mira started.

“At this rate it’ll be another month before he pays attention to me again!” Umbra pulled at her hair, “Ugh! Why do I have to compete with…” she took a deep breath.

“Think of it this way,” the red-head said gently, “He loves you enough to want you to be close with his teacher, a man that greatly influenced him.”

“OH GAWD!” Umbra’s eyes became wide as saucers as her hands flew up to her blushing face, “You’ve GOT to be KIDDING me!”

Wide bluish green eyes stared at her a moment before Mira realized what Umbra had thought of, “…” she covered her face with her hands, “That’s not what I meant…”

“Excuse me,” A hand touched Mira’s shoulder and both looked up to see Neji, “Mira, we need to speak with you.”

“Lee and Gai never took their…” Umbra started.

“Finish that sentence and implant that mental image in my head, and I swear I will never again let Kano come over and visit with our children,” Neji said pulling Mira away.

A few feet away he pinched his nose, “Damnit! Too late,” he muttered as the red-head chuckled.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Chihiro narrowed open her eyes to blue slits as she prepared herself to perform her part of the plan. Looking over she saw Haru and Sora snuggled close to each other, soft breathing to give the illusion that they were asleep.

Movement and she closed her eyes, not wanting to get caught awake… at least not yet… the footsteps drifted away as Iruka went to check on the other children.

“Alright Chi,” came a quiet whisper from Haru.

“Do your thing.” Sora added.

She opened her eyes as wide as she could, “Ki-yaaaaaaaah!” she screamed sitting straight up and grabbing her braids as she shook.

Iruka came running, “Chihiro… what’s wrong?”

“The eyes! The golden eyes!” she panted, “Oh gods! There’s blood everywhere…” she held out her hands in horror, “It won’t come off!” tears were forming in her eyes, “Why won’t they stop? They’re not moving anymore, why won’t they stop screaming?!”

Haru and Sora smirked as their sister’s supposed nightmare kept Iruka’s attention on her and they picked up the sleeping Usagi and snuck away while Chihiro was still screaming and crying.

She even added shaking and words in the secret language the twins had made up and taught to her and Kano, which simply added to the performance. Iruka was not even thinking of the other children as he attempted to calm her down.

Kano met them as they made their way outside, “Chi-chan is really youthful about this,” he breathed.

“She actually has nightmares, remember?” the twins said, “This is nothing compared to when she really wakes up from one.”

They made their way to the entrance, well aware that they still had to slip past Hidan.

…who wasn’t there.

Karasu crossed his arms as he waited on them, “I’m coming with you guys,” he said, “My brother and sister might be mad at me leaving them, but I’d rather see what it is you guys are doing.”

“Welcome aboard,” Haru and Sora grinned, “Thanks for paying off the fanatic.”

Usagi being held over Kano’s shoulder, the boys ran out of the shelters and headed for Haru and Sora’s secret place.

White Reflection

“You can’t be serious,” Mira sighed as she sat down, “But what could they be trying to pull by that.”

Neji chewed the inside of his cheek, “If you can see the chakra echoes… or at least know where they are, then you can manipulate the flow of chakra, even in inanimate objects.”

“Why stop at the machine,” Gaara pointed out, “What if they plan to combine the jubi with the eidolons?”

Mira shook her head, “I should have stayed with the children.”

“It’s only speculation,” Gaara sat next to her, “The last time, he wasn’t interested in the Hyuuga at all.”

She smiled a bit at that, “There aren’t any such thing as coincidences remember?”

Both nodded quietly at that, “There are too many distractions,” Neji sighed, “Where were they heading?”

Gaara looked at the map, “They headed west,” he placed a finger on the chart, “Towards the southern border of Fire Country, they could get a clean shot of Danshoku from there.”

“They had a clean shot already,” Mira pointed out as she leaned over him, “But they would be able to fight from the sea…” her head shot up, “Leviathan.”

Both looked at her confused for a second, “But you defeated him,” Neji started.

She shook her head, “I only caused him to retreat because I defeated Kei. They don’t have any other ones, so far as I know, so even if they did have eight of the bijuu…”

“That’s their most powerful weapon… why not move him to his element,” Gaara nodded.

Mira opened her mouth to say something when Umbra peeked her head under the pavilion, “Um… Mira… we just got a message from Danshoku.”

“Dyzzi has another order for us?” Gaara asked.

“Oh no,” Umbra assured him, “It’s uh…” her voice turned small, “It’s from Iruka.”

Neji pinched his nose, “Please tell me…”

Mira already had opened the scroll Umbra gave her and was reading, “Gaara… I think the twins came to the same conclusion you did. They and Kano left the shelter last night with Usagi.”

“Chihiro didn’t go with them?” He asked a bit surprised.

“She provided the distraction,” Mira gave him the scroll, “I’m not sure whether or not to be angry at them for being so reckless or a bit impressed.”

“A bit of both I think,” the Kazekage mused, “We can’t send anyone back right now to look for them,” he turned to Umbra, “I’m certain that they’re safe though.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

Chihiro sighed, “Iruka-sensei, is this really necessary?” she asked from where she sat in the time out chair with a leaf on her forehead.

“No talking,” he crossed his arms, “I expected as much from the twins, but Chihiro, you and Kano ought to be ashamed of yourselves! And pretending to have a nightmare, knowing it was on your profile that we had to look out for it!” he sighed, “Why can’t I ever have a normal student?” he turned to her, “Now concentrate on that leaf! Even if this isn’t Konoha, you can learn from what the previous Hokages stood for!”

She closed her eyes and sighed again, opening them suddenly as he placed a book in front of her.

“However since you’re the Kazekage’s daughter, this should suffice. I want a report on the history of Sunagakure to be turned in when you’re finished. And don’t try and give me an excuse about being too young to read or write, I happen to know your levels on that.” He gave a wry smile, “It’s impressive actually, how intelligent you and the twins are. Imagine if you three used that to stay out of trouble.”

“It would be boring then,” she said, opening up the book.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Karasu sighed, it had been hours and they were still walking, the twins seemingly oblivious to direction or time, or so he assumed when they suddenly stopped at a sheer mountainside.

“Here it is,” they said happily.

“There’s nothing there!” Karasu exclaimed, “You had us walk all this way for a…” he stopped as the twins both formed a hand seal and a entrance appeared.

“I didn’t know you found a place like this,” Kano said happily.

They grinned, “Last time Dad was here we all went camping remember? We found this place then, and figured, why not make our own shelter.” their looks turned serious, “No telling where it is. Not even Chihiro.”

Kano nodded energetically.

“We’ll wipe Usagi’s mind so she can’t find it again,” Haru said thoughtfully.

“She’s asleep,” Sora pointed out, “And it’s not like she has much of a mind to wipe.”

Karasu stared at the two, “Wha…” a sudden cawing caused him to look up, “Oh no…”

“Hmm?” the others looked up.

“That’s my mom’s crow. There’s a chance that he’ll…” the crow flew down to Karasu’s shoulder and pecked his forehead.

“Well if you have to go back, don’t tell anyone where the cave is,” the twins said as they dragged Kano, still holding Usagi inside, “Otherwise hurry up so we can disguise it again.”

Karasu stood there for a moment staring at the cave entrance before finally walking inside it, not noticing the crow’s sudden head turn as he did so.

The mountainside returned to it’s normal face. Passer-bys would have not suspected a thing as they walked by.

What they would have suspected was the shifting plant across from the mountain, or the black and white head that appeared and smirked before it vanished.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Yuko paced as she waited for the crow to return, “Damnit,” she muttered, “It’s been hours, they can’t have been that hard to find.”

Dyzzi pursed her lips, “You haven’t been in town lately, so you haven’t heard any of the rumors surrounding Mira’s twins. They’ve got a bit of a reputation here.”

“So! Karasu’s a sweet child, he wouldn’t just run off like that,” she continued pacing, “Maybe I should go and search myself.”

“Yaoikage! There’s a report of a ship coming in,” one of the yaoinobi came running in, “It looks like it traveled a long way to get here, and it’s bypassed all security for our port… almost like they knew how to get in.”

Dyzzi cursed, “Now they’re attacking from sea? Yuko, I’ll leave you in charge personally of finding the kids then, I’ll deal with this.”

Yuko nodded and vanished from the office.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Temari sighed as she stood up and stretched, “Alright Karin, I think we have this all set up.”

The girl nodded and almost fell asleep where she stood, and the sand nin had a bit of a guilty feeling, they had pulled an all-nighter and into the next day working on the communications. But at least now they had a direct line to Danshoku…even if it was coded…

“Come on,” Temari smiled, “I’m not used to people who can actually sleep, sorry about that. You’re officially on break until you had the chance to rest up some. Kick Kankuro out of the tent if you have to. Lazy b*****d hasn’t done anything yet anyways.”

“I heard that,” the puppet master muttered as he passed by the communications tent, “And Temari, stop working our niece to death.”

“You stop having sex with your puppets,” she retorted.

He turned bright red, “It wasn’t what it looked like!” he exclaimed.

“Excuse me,” Mira said quietly, “But I thought you guys might like a bit of dinner.”

Kankuro grinned as he took his plate, heading off to report for his watch patrol.

“Ima going to sleep Mama,” Karin yawned, “Can you save some though?”

“No problem sweetie, you go on,” she waved her hand as Karin stumbled into the tent she was sharing with the sand siblings.

“Thanks for bringing it,” Temari grinned as she sat down and picked up the headphones, “Let me get a message to Danshoku, and then I’ll eat,” she felt Mira’s look as the red-head placed the food down, “Promise! And I’m gonna train Karin to all of this, she’s a natural.”

Mira smiled at that and went back to the mess tent, smiling gently at Gaara who was going over the maps as he tried to compile some sort of strategy.

“Thanks for breaking them up,” he whispered, “They‘ve both been on edge since the invasion.”

“No problem,” she winked back, “Though I have to ask…”

He smirked, “Yes. Caught him red-handed, and she and I refuse to let him live it down.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dyzzi crossed her arms as she stood at the port awaiting on the ship. One of her runners came to report that they had confirmed radio connection with the forward base, and she sighed, “One worry gone.”

The ship came into view then, and she chewed the inside of her cheek, “Another one here though.”

She knew that the ballista were all trained on it, but she wanted to confirm exactly who had the audacity to sail through all of her defenses as if they were nothing, so she ordered that the ship was to make it’s landing and once she saw who it was that threatened her village, she would take care of them herself.

A long moment of silence as the ship docked and the plank came down. Her eyes widened as she saw the blond step down, three men next to him, two she recognized immediately, the other unknown. Behind them stood two bored children.

“Oi! Dyzzi!” Shane yelled, “How’s…oomph” he grunted as the silver haired woman launched itself at him, embracing him in a big hug.

“You idiot!” she cried, “We’ve all been worried sick! Don’t you dare stay away so long again!”

Gales of Wind

Neji jumped back down to the camp, exhausted from the night’s watch duty, sighing he walked to the mess tent, “Some soba and some tea please Mira,” he said as he sat down next to an annoyingly energetic Lee.

“Uh…sure thing!” a voice not Mira’s said and Neji looked up shocked to see Umbra scurrying in the kitchen.

“What are you doing… where’s Mira?” he asked.

“She left me in charge!” Umbra said happily, “Dyzzi called her back last night to help Yuko look for her son, apparently he went off with the twins and Kano too.”

Neji stared at her in horror, “B….but you burn toast!”

“I love her cooking!” Lee said as he ate happily, “There’s so much love and youth in it.”

The Hyuuga turned to the bowl of…something… Umbra put in front of him, “Didn’t she leave any rations or anything?” he said in a weak voice.

“Don’t be a baby!” Umbra said, “Mira said specifically not to use those unless there was an emergency, that Gaara decides upon.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mira waved happily as she parted from Shane, heading towards the shelters to meet up with Yuko. Once there Iruka waved her into his private office where Chihiro was writing some papers.

“I expected it from the twins,” he said, “But I’m still upset about Chihiro being a part of it,” he said crossing his arms.

She sighed, “I do apologize Iruka, but I need to take her with me now to go find my other children. Since the only other child to leave shelters was Karasu, perhaps you could let this slide.”

He seemed to consider that, “Alright, but I’m hoping that you’ll do some sort of punishment for them.

She nodded, “I promise, Come on Chi,”

Her middle daughter hopped down from the chair and took her mother’s hand, when they got outside, Yuko was waiting upon them.

“Any ideas?” the Mizukage asked.

Mira looked down at Chihiro, “Think, did they tell you at all where they were going?”

The girl shook her head, and Mira sighed, she had expected as much, “It’s a bit easier than you would think to narrow it down though,” she said to Yuko.

“How so?”

“There’s only a limited number of places Haru and Sora would even consider using as a secret hide-out,” Mira concluded, “My guess is somewhere far enough away to not be in the village, but close enough that they could walk to it, and there’s only one spot that they’ve been to with their father like that,” she took Chihiro’s hand, “Come on.”

“Where?” Yuko said a bit impressed, “And what does their father have to do with it?”

“Everything,” Mira sighed, “And after all this, all three of you are coming to the forward base for vegetable duty!”

Chihiro nodded, “Yes ma’am.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Karasu sighed, the damn crow kept pecking his ear and hopping around.

“Wonder what’s agitating him?” Haru said thoughfully.

Sora nodded, “Did you realize that’s not a normal crow?” he asked the Uchiha.

Karasu looked at both and was about to say something when Usagi bounced back into the room, “Pweety Birtie!” she said trying to grab him up and give him hug, pouting when he flew away.

Kano came in after her, “Haru and Sora! We did not see anything when we checked if we were followed!”

“Good job Kano! Now let’s get out Mama’s bento and eat,” the twins said, “Usagi, you sit down now.”

She nodded and did as she was told, “Eat-eat!” she said happily as they gave her some rice balls, “Pwetty birtie want some?” she asked holding it up.

He flew back down to Karasu’s ear, pecking it again, trying desperately to tell him of the Akatsuki forming outside the cave.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mira nodded as she appeared in the forest where clearing where she and Gaara had taken the twins and Chihiro the last time he was in town, “There,” she said nodding towards the mountain face, “That was a cave the last time we were here. They’re pretty sloppy.”

Yuko took a step forward then stopped, “Mira…”

The other woman nodded, and turned to her daughter, “Sweetie, are you carrying the sand Daddy gave you?”

Chihiro nodded and held up the clay jar she wore on her belt.

“Uncork it,” Mira said and the girl quickly did as her mother said, “And then you go hide… go in the cave and tell them to stay in there, it’s going to get ugly out here.”

Chihiro ran inside, shocking her brothers and Karasu, “What’s going on?” the twins asked.

“Mama and another lady are outside and I think they’re about to fight someone, there were some crazy chakra…” she stopped for a moment as she panted, “Mama told me to uncork the sand and stay in here with you guys.”

“How convenient for me,” a sinister voice said as a figure swirled into the cave, “Both a Uchiha and a little Hyuuga gathered in one place.”

The twins and Kano stood protectively in front of their sisters as Karasu jumped up. The children were unsure of how to fight this foe, the chakra that poured from him was almost smothering them.

“Chi, Kano, we’re going to make a distraction,” the twins whispered, “Take Usagi to Mama.”

The other two nodded, and the twins’ eyes turned silver as they reached down for a scroll.

Suddenly there was a squawk as the crow launched himself from Karasu’s shoulder at the masked man, All of you. Get out! a dark voice sounded in their heads.

The children ran out, to see Mira and Yuko facing off against a large dark man.

“I told you to stay in the cave!” Mira called out.

“A masked man attacked us in there,” the twins called out, causing Yuko to pause her attack.

“Madara,” she breathed, “He’s…” she looked to Mira, “We need to run.”

A large club came down between the two, “Pota won’t let you leave,” said the man.

“Scatter!” Mira called out as she flared her fists, the children and Yuko nodded and all flew off in different directions.

Chihiro held Usagi as she ran, for the first time almost frightened, she had never been in a real fight before. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the twins summon bones to throw at the man, causing him to turn towards them before getting punched by Mira.

“Go Mama!” Haru and Sora cheered.

“Get out of here,” she said, “You’re both too young to have your first fight.”

“Awww…” they pouted but listened, quickly climbing away.

“Pota, deal with these two,” Madara said, suddenly appearing in the clearing, “I’ll take care of the children.”

“No you won’t!” Yuko cried directing a wave at him, “You’ve destroyed enough of the Uchiha clan, leave my son out of it!”

Karasu stared at his mother then back at Madara, “Who is he?” he whispered. The crow returned to his shoulder, pecking at his ear. He looked at it, then nodded, heading up into the mountain to meet up with the other children.

Kano caught up to Chihiro, “I can carry her,” he offered.

“I have the sand,” she panted, “So I’ll do it.” both stopped short as a new figure came out.

“Hand over my niece,” the Hyuuga woman said quietly, “I won’t allow a lowly branch member to run around as she pleases.”

“Who are you?” Kano said stepping in front of Chihiro.

“I am Hyuuga Hanabi, and thanks to Neji disappearing as he did and my sister’s incompetence, I am the leader of the Hyuuga clan.”

Kano settled into a fighting stance, “Kano-kun…” Chihiro said quietly, “Be careful.”

He nodded and launched himself at the teenaged girl who merely smacked him away, “You see little girl, I’m the strongest Hyuuga there is. Now if that b*****d had stayed missing, you wouldn’t have a problem now would you.” taking out a kunai she advanced on the two girls, “I suppose I’ll give you the seal mark too.”

“You’re not the strongest Hyuuga!” Chihiro exclaimed, “Daddy is! And he would never do something like this!” Hanabi kept advancing on her and Usagi.

The sand shifted around her, but no one noticed, “Are you working with those bad guys?” Chihiro asked.

Hanabi snorted, “Of course not. We Hyuuga are much too refined to lower ourselves to dealing with the Akatsuki. It’s merely a coincidence that they’re here. Too bad for you that it‘s your blood that tainted my line.” she raised the kunai and drove it down, intending to strike Chihiro’s heart as she reached another hand to pull Usagi away.

The blow never came, Chihiro stared with wide eyes as her sand enveloped Hanabi, “N…no…” she whispered, this was too much like one of the scenes in her nightmares.

A constriction as the sand grew smaller, blood red droplets exploding outwards, a few hitting Chihiro on the face.

When Kano regained his consciousness and leapt back onto the bloodsoaked battlefield, Chihiro was still screaming as she held her head, a sleeping Usagi lying next to her, the sand swirling chaotically around her.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Yuko and Madara faced off each other as Mira and Pota fought, the twins cheering their mother on and causing small bones to fly towards the large man.

“He’s retarded!” they called out, “Just punch him in the gut!”

“Boys, go!” she called out, “This is no place for you,” she sighed.

Suddenly a scream was heard, “Chihiro,” breathed Mira, fearing the worse.

A plant shifted and a black and white head appeared to Madara, and whispered something before disappearing, “Pota, fall back. We’ll come after them another time.”

“Pota obey!” the big man vanished.

“My dear Yuko-chan, I hope to see you again soon,” Madara seemed to smirk as he started to vanish, “Both you and dear little Karasu.”

Suddenly they were left alone in the clearing, Mira and the twins already running to where the screams were coming from.

-------------------------------------------------------------

It was late when Mira finally arrived back at the forward base, holding a crying Chihiro as Yuko came behind her, holding Usagi and leading the four boys.

Gaara was the one who saw them first, “What happened?”

Mira leaned over and whispered some words, his eyes widened and he took his daughter, holding her close as her tears began afresh, “Take care of the others,” he told her, “And take back over the kitchen before Neji has a fit.”

Mira nodded, “You four come with me,” she said, “We got some potatoes to peel and veggies to chop.”

The twins sighed and nodded, pulling Kano behind them, who gave a worried glance at the crying girl, “Auntie Mira will Chi be alright?”

The red-headed woman smiled as she took Usagi back from Yuko and ruffled his hair, “So long as you keep being her friend, and keep giving her your smile, she’ll be just fine.”

He nodded at the words of wisdom, “I will always smile at her then!” he promised.

Spread the Small Wings

Chihiro sat across from her father in the tent, nervously avoided his gaze, as the sand swirled around her.

“Calm,” he said quietly, “Clear your mind, concentrate on the grains.”

She nodded and took a breath, “Daddy… I…”

“I should have taught you before,” he whispered, “You shouldn’t have been placed in that situation.”

There was a great deal of pain in his voice, and Chihiro thought quietly back to the nightmares that had haunted her since she could remember, the concerned looks her parents gave her whenever she woke up screaming, the whispered discussions she heard outside her door, “…it can’t be Shukaku…”

That name filled her with fear and she didn’t know why.

Monster, monster, you’re a monster… From somewhere in the depths of her mind she heard the singsong chanting, recognized it as some memory from her father’s sand.

“Chihiro!” he called as the sand became more violent, swirled even closer to her.

She couldn’t hear him over the storm, tears fell down her cheeks again as she covered her ears, hoping desperately that the screaming would stop.

Where is it coming from anyways?

Strong arms wrapped around her, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Gaara whispered as his daughter cried into his chest.

She was one and toddling after her brothers, tripping at one point and falling down, instead deciding to crawl.
Dada was home, and she remembered being happy about it, his sand swirled around her as he picked her up and she grasped at it, laughing musically as it seemed to rub against her like a small cat. When he put her down, a small bit of it followed her as she toddled off again, eventually falling asleep under a table.

A few minutes later she was screaming, the first of the nightmares coming to her.

She was two and already addicted to coffee, drinking the warm strong smelling liquid like most children would drink milk or juice. She hated bedtime, because that was when the monsters came. She remembered sneaking out of her room and hearing her parents fevered discussion about her dreams.

It was the first time she heard Shukaku’s name, and she wondered at the fear that came with it.

She was three and following her brothers as they ran through the town with Kano, trying desperately to keep up, so wanting to fit in. She remembered the girls that made fun of her, the sand accidentally flying towards them as her feelings were crushed, how Kano had stepped in and defended her and her brothers threw bones at them.

She wondered what would have happened if they had left her.

She was four and she just killed someone who had attacked her and Usagi...
She killed someone…
She killed…

MONSTER!

“Aaaaaaaah,” she screamed, holding her head as her father’s arms still embraced her, “I…I’m not!”

He smiled sadly, “No, no, you’re not, you’re Sabaku no Chihiro,” he closed his eyes, “Hold on to that, don’t let anyone say that you’re anything but mine and Mira’s precious daughter. We love you, your brothers and sisters love you, your uncles and aunts love you, your friends love you.”

She just barely nodded, “I’m afraid,” she said in a small voice.

He was silent a moment, “There was a book I read once that had a passage in it, a mantra that I think would help you,” he took a deep breath, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

She looked at him, “I…I must not fear…” she started as he nodded.

Hours passed as she stumbled over the words, but it seemed to work, and as the sun was peeking up, the sand around her finally calmed down.

Gaara wondered if his eyes had looked so old when he was her age though…

-------------------------------------------------------------

Kano yawned as he followed Haru and Sora to the mess hall tent, blinking in surprise at Karasu already being there, quietly peeling the potatoes.

Mira handed each of them a knife and set them to work, turning to make breakfast for the rest of the camp.

“This is boring,” the twins said, “We want to go play with those kids that came with Uncle Shane.”

“Not happening,” Mira said, “You’re still on veggie detail. And then training with Lee.”

Kano missed his friend’s eyes widening in fear at that, “Oh I am looking forward to that!” he said happily ignoring the glares from the twins, “No one ever seems to want to train with me and my father.”

Mira simply smiled and turned back to her cooking, “Tell you what. Do the veggie detail in the mornings and when Lee releases you from exercises, you can have the whole rest of the day free. So long as you stay in the base camp where we can keep an eye on you.”

“Deal,” the twins said.

“Oh Auntie Mira, how is Chi-chan?” Kano suddenly asked.

A worried look stole over her face, “Her father is helping her, she’ll be fine,” she said, almost trying to convince herself, “Kano, why don’t you take their breakfast to them.”

He nodded and smiled as she handed him the thermos and bento, “Take your time coming back,” she said, “Chi needs her friends right now.”

“How come we can’t go?” the twins asked.

Mira turned to them and placed her hands on her hips, “Because I know you two cutie-pies put Kano up to sneaking out.”

Both sighed and resumed cutting the veggies as Naruto and Shane came to the mess tent, both yawning as their two children followed behind.

Haru and Sora smirked, “Oi Uncle Shane! Uncle Naruto!”

“Minato and Aedan still sleeping?” Mira asked, as she set out their breakfast.

“Nah, they just weren’t hungry,” Naruto said as he dug into the ramen, “Gods I forgot how great your ramen was.”

“Eat up there’s plenty there,” she smiled, turning back to her cooking, “So how are you boys liking Danshoku?”

Saisei shrugged as he played with his food, while Odin gave her a shy smile.

She smiled back, “Well, if you need anything let me know, my kitchen’s always open.”

“For buttsecks,” smirked Shane.

Mira sighed, “Welcome back Shane.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

In front of the camp, a figure wearing the black robe with red clouds stepped out from the forest, “Come out, come out little kids,” Kakazu said, “Leader is paying me good money to take care of you.”

Beyond the Deep Sea

Gaara and Chihiro looked up as Kano came in, “I brought you two breakfast,” he said happily, “Father says that it’s the most joyful meal you have to take!”

Chihiro blushed as he flashed her his most youthful smile, “Thank you,” she said in a very small voice, feeling as if a weight had been lifted by just his presence.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The day after the fight with Kakazu things remained normal in the camp, Team Gai and Allora, Pnum, Kankuro, and Karin were dispatched to scout out the Akatsuki camp.

Mira kept the children on vegetable duty, but as promised, and since Lee had been dispatched, something the twins were exceedingly grateful to their father to, they were free after lunch. The forward base seemed more like the village itself. Haru and Sora dragged Kano off to explore the surrounding forests, careful to keep in exact specifications of Mira’s conditions while Karasu read quietly as Usagi chased butterflies around or stayed by her mother’s side. Saisei and Odin were rarely seen without one or both of their fathers.

Chihiro watched the others as she sat quietly at the mess tent or over by the command tent, small grains of sand floating around her.

She was the one who overheard the discussion between Gaara and Yuko about keeping the children at the camp.

“I don’t like it,” Yuko said, “We should send them back to the village, keep them in the shelters.”

He shook his head, “We know for a fact that the Akatsuki is after your son now. With him here we can lure them into a trap. As for the rest, Haru and Sora will simply drag Kano off again. And Shane’s children would not be able to be parted from them.”

“Well, at least send the girls back, Chihiro and Usagi…”

Gaara looked up, noted his daughter on the edge of his vision as sand danced around her outstretched hand, “Chihiro cannot go to the shelters.” he said in a small sad voice, “And Usagi can’t go by herself.”

That was the end of the conversation, he swept away from her and went to Mira, ordering her to make a tent specifically for the children. She nodded and grabbed Umbra, quickly going to work.

Yuko turned, and seeing Chihiro her gaze softened, a look of almost pity that the girl didn’t want or appreciate, before the Mizukage shook her head and walked away, leaving the camp to go after Madara herself.

Quietly, the girl sat there until sunset, moving only when her mother came to put her to bed for the night.

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Inside the tent where Mira and Umbra had placed all the children for the night, they were sitting in a circle, the twins finding some way to not have to go to bed.

“Hmmm,” the twins mused as they looked over at the two blond children that came with Shane, “What do you think?” Haru asked quietly

“They don’t look boring. I say we put them up to the test,” Sora whispered back.

Smirking they nodded to each other then turned to the other children, “Let’s play a game!” they exclaimed.

“Excellent! Which one!” Kano smiled happily.

“You and Chi are disqualified because we’re gonna play the ‘Which of us is Haru’ game!” they smirked, “The winner gets a prize!”

“Sounds stupid,” Karasu crossed his arms.

“Then you give up already?” the twins chorused, “Too bad then.”

He huffed, “What’s this awesome prize then?”

“Ta-da!” they pulled out an orange book, “Make-out Paradise, the special version written just for Danshoku!”

“I’m out,” Karasu sighed holding his hands up. Saisei and Odin just stared at it, they were certain they had seen their fathers read that book to help with their relationship. They drooled at the possibilities contained within… or inwardly drooled at least, outwardly Saisei rose an eyebrow while Odin gave a small smile.

Chihiro pinched her nose, “Where did you idiots steal that from?”

“We didn’t,” they assured her, “We’re certain that the Prude was done with it.”

“Chi-chan!” Kano said happily, “You’re becoming like your old self.”

She blushed and took Usagi to one of the bedrolls in the back of the tent, “Tch,” she said quietly to him, “You better get some sleep yourself before the idiots rub off on you.” she sat down next to her sister.

The twins hugged each side of Kano, “Too late,” they grinned.

She rolled her eyes at them, “You realize that they could just ask me how to tell the difference.”

“Is that allowable?” Odin asked.

“Of course not,” Haru and Sora snorted, “You get ten questions, addressed to either one of us.”

“Ten questions between us all or ten questions each?” Saisei asked.

“Each,” the twins smirked at the apparent interest of the two, “Since Karasu’s out, twenty total.”

“Whatever,” Karasu waved as he made his way to the cots, “I’m going to sleep.”

“Kano and Chihiro are judges because they know,” the twins added, pulling their sister and friend back up to the front, “And…Begin!”

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At the Akatsuki base, Madara smiled as the reports came in from the camp, “Oh, they defeated Kakazu already then… but now I have confirmed that there are more eidolons for my collection.” He turned to one of his subordinates, “Is the machine ready?”

“Yes sir,” the faceless individual turned to his controls.

“Good,” Madara said, “I’ll send to collect our missing pieces, but for now…” he whispered something in the technician’s ear.

He nodded and flipped a few switches, the machine whirled to life.

Outside the base, a gate opened into the sea and a large green serpent sped into the sea, swimming towards Danshokugakure.