A/N – Drunk Lee and socially awkward Gaara. There should be dozens of stories covering this subject. Get to work, people!

The Wild Night Out

Temari picked up a pair of stray kunai and tossed them into the weapon pouch. She peeked into the suite's bedroom.

Gaara sat on the bed and stared at the wall.

She found the scrolls she needed for the meeting and skimmed through the content once more. She peeked into the suite's bedroom.

Gaara sat on the bed and stared at the wall.

The kunoichi checked herself in the mirror, and tugged at her pigtails, tucking in an escaped blonde strand. She peeked into the suite's bedroom.

Gaara lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Gaara," she said, "don't you have any plans for the weekend?"

One pale eye peeked at her, stating how the 'plan for the weekend' was already in motion. Obviously.

Temari sighed. "Wasn't there something you wanted to do?"

The air surrounding Gaara's sprawled body tensed with... pouting. "I'm accompanying you."

"Only to the big meeting tomorrow." Honestly, despite having two younger brothers, Temari had no clue how to deal with childishness. There had been little time to act childish in their childhoods. And now all of a sudden Gaara of all people decided to enact an 'antisocial teenager', instead of simply being 'antisocial'.

Ever since he learned Uzumaki Naruto was not in Konoha.

"That's it." The fan slammed against the hotel room's floorboards. "You will not stay in this room while I'm out with the Hokage, is that clear? You will go out and socialize, because socializing is what people do on diplomatic missions. That's an order from your superior!"

A year ago pulling out the rank card would have probably cost her a part of her body, but now it only got her a surprised blink. Still, Temari softened her voice: "After everything that happened between Suna and Konoha, we have to show the Leaf that we're capable of being friendly. Especially you."

Gaara sat up. "... Fine."

But I won't have any fun.

Temari turned around and rolled her eyes.

'There's nothing to do outside.' 'Going out' usually entailed roof-hopping, and Gaara doubted stalking Konoha's rooftops would be seen as a friendly gesture. A brother's arrest wouldn't win Temari any points with the Hokage either.

Staying in the hotel was the safest thing to do, especially with Naruto gone out of the village.

He came to Konoha to work on his bonds, but there was no one to bond with. And still Temari had compelled him to roam the streets and risk recognition. He was a conspicuous individual, and it took only one villager to –

"Gaara-san?"

– recognize him. An attacker from less than a year ago.

Gaara cautiously turned around.

The first thing he noticed were the eyebrows. The rest of the face slowly fell into the picture.

"Oh. It really is you," Rock Lee said.

Gaara didn't greet him back. The first time they met he had almost sent the older Genin to early retirement. The second time he saved his life. That evened out well, but where were they standing now?

"Are you here on a mission?"

Gaara straightened up. "I'm accompanying a Sand's Jounin on a diplomatic meeting."

"I see," Lee said. "Well, uhm..." he shifted. "Welcome to Konoha."

Gaara nodded his thanks and turned away.

He ambled through lamplit streets, feeling like a misplaced tourist. The encounter replayed in his head. Rock Lee's face was ridiculously expressive, but at that moment it was impossible to guess what Lee really thought about finding Gaara in his village. Temari was the one who had to nurture relations with the Leaf – Gaara's role was that of security. He should return to the hotel.

"Wait up," somebody behind him yelled, and Gaara stepped aside not to block the running villager's way. The running villager stopped next to him. "Gaara-san. I have a free evening. Would you like me to show you around?"

Streetlight bounced off Lee's peculiar haircut as he waited for the reply. His eyes were as ridiculously round as usual, but not easily readable.

Gaara processed the turn of events. An uncomfortable minute dragged out.

"... Alright."

He hadn't expected to meet Lee, and he hadn't expected their meeting to pass as it did. But most of all, he hadn't expected Lee to bring him to a bar.

'Well, it is late', he glanced through the dingy windows at the dark street, 'and this is what people usually do. Isn't it?' He just didn't imagine Lee would be the type.

"I've never really been here before, but several senpai recommended it to me," Lee innocently looked around, examining the shelves full of bottles lined across the walls. All walls. "They all said nice things."

Gaara eyed the other shinobi. He felt out of place, but Lee stuck out like a sore thumb. The manner of speaking, the bowl-cut, the jumpsuit, the eyebrows... Everything. But mostly the eyebrows.

He had already registered a few other customers snickered and elbowed their beer-mates. Gaara's mouth curled into a frown as he resisted the urge to squirm in the heavy wooden stool. 'One drink, and then I'll excuse myself.' He had agreed to socialize with Lee, but retained a dose of caution. The most plausible reason Lee had for inviting Gaara was following him around as to make sure the Suna shinobi had no bad intentions. The best way of reassuring Lee was withdrawing to the hotel.

Gaara's wishes weren't enough. This bond didn't seem probable.

So, one drink. But was there anything age-appropriate to drink in the joint?

As if on cue, the bartender appeared and helped Gaara decide on the order.

"What can I bring you, gentlemen?"

"I'll pass. Thank you."

The bartender had more teeth than Shukaku and all of them sparkled.

"Oh, don't be like that! You're young, you're alive – that's always a good thing with you shinobi, am I right or am I right?" He laughed as if there had been a joke somewhere. "Come on and celebrate! Take one on the house."

Gaara just stared at him.

Beads of sweat covered the man's forehead, but the smile toothed on. "How about you, lad? A relaxing drink after a hard workout, yes?"

"I'll have juice, please," Lee ordered politely.

The bartender winked, and Gaara felt the urge to keep a good eye on their kidneys.

"You're not thirsty, Gaara-san?"

"Not really."

Lee's spirits deflated. "I see..."

The situation was awkward. Gaara was out of depth. The meager stockpile of bonds he had managed to develop thus far didn't really offer a model that could navigate him through social snags.

"Lee-san. Why did you approach me today?"

"Eh..." Round eyes wandered toward the ceiling, flaring Gaara's suspicion. "To tell the truth," Lee finally spoke, "you looked like you could use company. And I wanted to thank you somehow."

"You already thanked me for the battle with Kimimaro."

"It wasn't just that," Lee said. "This will probably sound strange, but I was thinking about what happened at the Chuunin Exam."

Lee fidgeted, but his voice was firm.

"Somehow, that experience helped me grow as a ninja. Because of the injuries you gave me I was on the verge of quitting my dream, but Gai-sensei and others helped me remember giving up was not a part of my nindo. My determination to prove everyone that a failure can beat a genius through sheer hard work has tenfolded – no, hundredfolded!"

Gaara's eyes widened.

"You put obstacles in my way, but I managed to overcome them and became stronger. I don't see the point in holding grudges, truly. To be completely honest, I want us to fight again, Gaara-san. To see whether my dream can become true."

Lee smiled. Determined – not angry. His thumb went up.

"Let's fight again some day, Gaara-san!"

Gaara looked away. Slowly, cautiously, a smile broke out.

"Hai. Let's do that."

With hindsight, he shouldn't have said that.

The bartender placed Lee's juice in front of him and retreated, all but rubbing his hands in content. The guy was awfully suspicious.

"Kanpai!" Lee rose the glass, and downed the content.

Gaara was soundlessly debating whether he should stay longer when Lee hiccuped and put a hand to his mouth.

"Hmm, it tastes kinda funny. Maybe it's past the expiration date."

Lee hiccuped again, thoughtfully examining the empty glass in his hand.

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, the bar leaped into the air. Jumped. Into the air. And crashed against the shelves behind.

Gaara sat on a stool amidst slivers of wood and glass. The following silence was so full he could hear spilled alcohol soak the floor.

Before he could turn his head, before his sand had the chance to protectively wrap itself around Gaara's body, something boomed like a bomb.

Lee's voice.

"WHY THE HELL'S THIS JUICE PAST ITS ESQPI...EPSQUI... ESPIRATION DATE?!"

All hell broke loose.

At some point during those blood-curling ten minutes, Gaara managed to get a hold of the bartender.

"What is it?" he growled at the man, "What did you put into his drink?"

"Nothing! It's just a normal drink, but..."

"But?"

"I... I..." the man twitched in Gaara's grip, trying to avoid flying pints. "He said juice, okay? But since it's past ten, I thought he meant vodka-laced juice!"

"You just thought that?" Further conversation was rendered impossible by an airborne floorboard which mowed down the defendant. The man went limp in his arms and Gaara let him hit the floor. He had his own head to save.

The speed was incredible. It exceeded everything Lee had shown during the preliminary round and was truly hellish. Lee broke the laws of space-time continuum and transformed into a green speck of spandex, armed with fists that flew out of unexpected corners.

The place was taking on a war-zone feel, what with the cries of the innocent, and Gaara suddenly realized there was more than one life he had to think about. Because, ironically, he might have been the only one capable of stopping the carnage.

He cornered Lee with sand and didn't like how easily Lee's fists zigged and zagged through protective barriers. Rebreaking Lee's bones was a viable option, but... But, what about the bond?

He tried talking.

"Lee-san!"

"Whoz that?"

"... Gaara."

"Which one?"

"Huh?"

"Which one of the two of you?!"

Lee had slowed down and regained his human form. Drooping eyes, rosy cheeks, murderous scowl. His movements were fluid and unstable. Human algae.

"Oh I can seee your plan, clever opponent." Hic. "Sand clones!" Hic. "But sand clones won't going to work this time around!"

Lee went for the nonexistent sand clone and thankfully attacked the air left of Gaara, giving the latter a chance to sand-coffin the devil. Lee wriggled against the constraint.

"Lee-san, you said you didn't hold a grudge."

"Who said that? Now who said- hic -that?! Of course I do, who wouldn' hold a drudge?! You broke my leg, you... you... hic... fathermucker!"

"Well done, boy! You hold the Monsterbrows, and we'll go find help!" one of the still mobile customers yelled to Gaara. But Lee heard.

"Mosterbrows? Wha, like brows? ... Ya mean like eyebrows?"

Lee stilled. Glassy eyes searched for the speaker. Reduced to a flushed face peeking from a blanket of sand, Lee resembled a monstrous caterpillar about to be hatched and unleashed on humanity. Hearts stopped beating.

"How dare you?" Lee said.

The retreating clients froze in their tracks.

"Did ya hear me?"

Thunderclouds gathered.

"I said how daaaare you? Thas not how people talk about... hic... people. Yousssir can be ashamed. Ashamed!"

The man backed toward the door.

"In his prezense, too? Well lemme tellya somethin', misser," his voice shook with disgust. „He may not have any eyebrows, but that doesn' make 'im any less of a human being, ya hear me?"

Gaara blinked in surprise for the second time that evening, and Lee used that moment to free himself from the sand's grip. The sand rushed to encrust Gaara's body just in time before Lee's hand landed on his right shoulder... and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"This guy..." Lee pressed the other hand against his own heart. "This guy has a name. Hic. Gabaku no Saara. Hic. And this guy is waaaaaay better than the likes of you. And he don't need disrespestin' from ya. Hic." He turned bloodshot eyes to Gaara. "Lez go, Gaara. We're better than them."

With those parting words, Lee stepped over the rubble and reached the exit.

Gaara had two options. He could remain in the tavern and wait for the official investigators, then calmly explain the course of events and offer to partially cover the damages. Of course, Sabaku no Gaara's presence at the crime scene would initially raise tensions, but the tavern's personnel would surely come to his defense.

The second option was less tempting and therefore probably the right thing to do. He could follow Lee and make sure he didn't run into any civilians. All the other shinobi at the bar had run for cover a long time ago, making Lee his responsibility. And... there was the bond.

There was the eyebrow-thing.

Having taken in a deep breath, Gaara kept the gourd uncorked and stepped into the moonlight. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and landed on a freakishly tall stork, perched on one leg in the alley's shadow. Suddenly, the stork let out a high-pitched movie-ninja call and straightened up.

"You comin' or not?"

Again too quickly for Gaara's ease of mind, the freak-stork draped one arm over the redhead's shoulders. Gaara resisted the urge to break it immediately. Lee hiccuped to his ear.

"I toldya I show you around Konoha, didn'I? Come on. We'll have a blast!"

'Yes, through somebody's kitchen wall if I don't get him under control.' There was nothing youthful or beautiful about Konoha's Green Beastin its current form.

"Lee-san, I'm interested in Konoha's training grounds. Will you take me there?"

Midnight was creeping along. Nobody should be using them.

Lee's eyes instantly lit up with a thousand drunkenly swaying stars. He pumped his fists like an excited child. "Maybe Gai-sensei'll be there! I wanna show him wha my Drunken Fist can do now!"

'Drunken Fist?'

Even though Gaara had no true desire of ever meeting Senior Lee again, some backup would be useful. He nodded. "Let's go."

"Lez go!"

Lee happily teetered and tottered down the street with Gaara in tow. "Ladies," he rose an invisible hat to two scantily dressed working women who hovered around the street corner. Professional smiles dripped from their faces like melted ice cream. Lee watched them leave.

The alarm went off and Gaara hurried to Lee's side. "The training ground?" he tried to distract the dazed Genin.

"Uhm? Yeah. This way." Lee pointed straight ahead and made a few wobbly steps before taking a sharp turn left and striding down a nearly invisible passageway.

"You showed this way!" Gaara called.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna go prom... porc... Hic!... proclaim my love for Sakura first!"

Gaara simply stood and stared until Lee turned around and shouted: "Gaara-kun, come on! You can be my wingman!"

'This is getting out of hand,' Gaara thought even while trailing after the unsteady Genin who was about to harass some unsuspecting girl. 'I have to distract him somehow.'

But he still couldn't make himself club Lee down with a sand fist.

"Lee-san, tell me about this Sakura," Gaara said to buy some time.

The drunken stars broke through the vodka-gauze and danced in Lee's eyes again. "Sakura? Sakura-chan's amazing! She's pretty as a picture, sweet as... well, uhm, sakura, and has an amazing uppercut!"

'Uppercut?'

"And now that Sasuke-kun's out of the village, I can finally work my mojo on her!"

'Good. And she'll get to work her uppercut on him.'

"If only Naruto wouldn't interfere!"

A light bulb went on.

There was a girl on Naruto's and Uchiha's team. Somebody weak, pinkhaired and scrawny. Somebody he had almost snapped in two while undergoing the transformation.

Gaara paused mid-step as his brain raced with thoughts.

If that was Sakura, she would definitely recognize him and grow alarmed. And if Lee heard what he had almost done to his precious Sakura-chan... Gaara's invisible eyebrows scrunched.

"Lee-san, we should-" Lee was gone behind a corner before Gaara could finish.

'Too late.'

Moonlight basked the scene in soft silver light. For once Lee stood perfectly still, gazing at a building with an eerily determined look on his face and a choppy bouquet in his hand. The neighbor's window box had been heavily violated.

They needed to get out of there.

"Lee-san," Gaara closed the distance and dropped his voice. "Now is not the time. Sakura-san's asleep."

"I know," Lee whispered back. The whisper was embarrassingly loud. "That's why I'm gonna wake her up. Gently."

Before Gaara realized what was about to happen, Lee swung his arm like a pro and sent a rock flying through the first-floor window. Crash! Broken glass showered the street, and a choir of alley cats cried out in pain. Gaara winced.

Lee's hands flew to his mouth. The already huge eyes grew twice their size.

"... You think she heard that?" Saucer-eyes blinked. "... You think she'll be angry?"

Gaara crossed his arms. The sand flew out of the gourd. The time had come to call it a night.

But when the wave of sand rushed to neutralize the target, the target was already scrambling up a drain, bellowing apologies. "I'M SORRY, SAKURA-CHAN! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" The lights in the neighboring houses went on, faces showed in the windows. Vicious meowing accompanied Lee's cries.

Gaara was about to take Lee down with violence, but Lee froze mid-crawl on his own. His eyes stared into somebody else's. And the new pair was far from green and shiny.

"Whaya doin' here, boi?" A voice demanded, gruff and slurring. It boomed out of a thick bush of dark, tangled, indubitably masculine beard. Beady eyes hovering above the beard suddenly widened, and the man bonked Lee on the head. "A THIEF! A THIEF! ERRYBODY, THEREZ A THIEF ON THE SHTREET!"

Lee fell onto a cloud of sand. The cloud ran off together with its cringing cargo, and whizzed down the mazelike streets until it halted at a small clearing on the forest edge.

Temari would have no right to complain. She was the one who ordered him out of safety. She was the one to talk about socializing.

'Disturbing the public peace, disorderly conduct, property violation...'

This was not how Gaara imagined bonding worked.

And yet the bond with Naruto had grown out of a fist-fight.

Gaara cautiously approached Lee's sprawled body nestled in the sand. Lee wasn't moving. Maybe the sand had squeezed him too hard during the flight.

When Gaara came near enough, he saw Lee wasn't broken but breaking apart. Fingers twitched nervously, eyes rippled with tears. Pouted lips trembled and parted to utter wordless messages.

Gaara leaned closer, uncomfortably aware that his neck was exposed to Lee's twitchy fingers. "What was that?" he played along.

Lee's mouth moved, imparting soundless syllables.

"I didn't catch it."

"SAKURA-SAAAAN!"

Gaara jumped away in time not to take the shower of crocodile tears that burst out of Lee's sockets. Twin rivers flowed into puddles underneath Konoha Genin's head.

"Seeing another man! In her room, too -!" Gaara lip-read the last few words, since Lee's voice betrayed him once again. The murderous stork-algae had left the building, leaving a deflated, weeping balloon in its stead.

"And Sasuke and Naruto none the wiser!" the bowl-cut head bobbed from side to side. "What does that man have that the three of us don't?!" a fist slammed into the ground with restored force. "Maybe a beard?" he scratched his head, and quickly inspected his hopelessly smooth chin. He pulled at the spandex to check up on the chesthair situation, too.

Gaara spoke to clear up a nagging suspicion.

"Lee-san, have you ever visited Sakura-san's house before?"

"Never," Lee shook his head, appalled at the sacrilegious thought. "But I know her address by heart. 27 Matsu Street!"

Gaara recalled the big, glistening '72' stamped in the house's facade. And he did find it a little strange that Sakura would live in what was obviously a seedy hobo station. But it was better not to say anything to Lee, or he might go hunting after the girl again.

The time had come to knock Lee unconscious and work out an explanation for the authorities. It would be the reasonable, even the responsible thing to do. But it would also be a small betrayal.

A third river trickled down Lee's face, springing from the boy's left nostril. It was disconcerting to see an ally/rival this pitiful. Gaara sat down beside him.

"An' she doesn't know, ya know? She doesn't know she deserves better, ya know? ... Argh! What's wrong with girls, Gaara-kun? There's something seriously wrong with them. They're all like Neji-this, Neji-that, Sasuke-this, Sasuke-that... Those guys are always so cold, stupid rivals, and I'm burning with youthfulness, yet nobody ever goes Lee-this, Lee-that?! I think I could have as many fangirls as any one of 'em! Sure I could! ... But I don't wanna fangirls, I want Sakuraaaaa!"

Gaara regretted sitting so close. His sand was getting wet.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Gaara-kun?" Lee turned red-rimmed eyes on him, and Gaara inwardly winced.

Bonding was all about sharing, but he expected sharing the pain of being a Jinchuuriki with Naruto. Nothing prepared him for these kinds of talks.

'Temari.'

"I don't." He had tons of problems, alright, but was not yet on the level where girls could become one. He might never reach that level. A smile escaped him, bitter round the edges.

Lee sniffled again, but when Gaara glanced over, he saw that the sniffles were a part of a sickening display of compassion directed at him.

"Is it the eyebrows?" Lee said knowingly. "And the shortness, too?" He sighed on Gaara's account.

A foreign hand found Gaara's shoulder again.

"Don't worry, Gaara-kun. We'll surely find you a nice girl who thinks nothing of such things. Maybe even in Konoha." Lee paused for a second. "But not Sakura!" Fingers dented the sand armor.

"Don't worry. I'll stay away from Sakura-san."

"Why? She not good enough for you?"

'Breathe in, breathe out, break nothing.'

Gaara slapped Lee's hand away, yet willed his voice to be calm.

"You're a better match for her. I acknowledge that."

Lee kept silent, inspecting Gaara's face. "Why, thank you..." he said at last.

"You're actually a really decent guy, Gaara. And I mean what I said about helping you out. Just not with Sakura! ... Maybe Pen-Pen."

Gaara felt pressure in his temples. An oncoming headache. The nights were always tedious in their monotony, yet it seemed this 'eventful' one would never end.

Just as he closed his eyes, wishing he were able to sleep, Gaara felt something heavy land on his shoulder again. He peeked at Lee's unconscious head. Light snoring disturbed the quiet of the night.

Gaara blinked and moved away, letting Lee's head unceremoniously bang against the ground. A petty act of revenge, perhaps, but he would relish it.

Why did crap have to happen every time she went out for the night? Today's dinner wasn't even for fun, but a formal meeting with the representatives of the Sand Village. Tsunade's eyes grazed over the crater previously known as the Kawabata's. Temari of the Sand peeked from behind the Godaime's shoulder and petrified at the sight of scattered sand.

That's right.

Sabaku no Gaara's presence was mentioned in the urgent summons which called the two kunoichi away from the table.

The diplomat quickly snapped out of daze. "Hokage-sama. It can't be as it seems. Believe me when I say that Gaara has changed!"

"I'm not presupposing anything. Let's hear out witnesses first." Her tone was terse, though.

"Kawabata." The owner was leaning against a slanted doorframe and sniveling over the loss of many a fine sake bottle. Tsunade couldn't help but feel her heart go out to him a little, but the feeling passed as soon as the guy turned around.

"Hime! Hey, hime!"

Tsunade's fist clenched on a reflex. Kawabata and she went a long way back. The acquaintance, rather than friendship, was firmly founded on the basis of numerous late night binges, begrudged gambling debts and drowned sorrow.

"Tsunade-hime," the man wiped snot with his sleeve as he waddled over the debris. A fresh shiner graced his face. "It was ninja! I have five witnesses! It was ninja's doing, and I demand recompense!"

"Relax, Kawabata!" she crossed her arms in a meek attempt of restraining her temper. "Whoever did this will pay for it, ninja or not."

"It was a ninja, alright! Do you think a civilian could do something like this?"

Tsunade glanced at the ripped piping flooding the ground. 'Twenty civilians with twenty hatchets, maybe.'

"Is the culprit one of your regulars?"

"No," Kawabata said, and suddenly turned sheepish. "Two of them came earlier this evening. They looked like shinobi. One was redheaded, a tattoo on his forehead, and he carried something like a gourd around, and the other one looked even weirder. A funny-looking haircut and bugs for eyebrows."

Tsunade's own eyebrow shot up. The first description matched Gaara, and the second could be...

"How old were these men?"

Kawabata humbled down even more. "Oh, you know, Tsunade-sama, all these young ninja look so mature that I have real trouble guessing their age on the spot, hahaha. I'd say they were in the range of twenty – twenty-five... fifteen..." he added after Tsunade's glare pinned him down.

"And what were these fifteen-year-old shinobi doing in your bar this late at night?"

"Nothing!" Kawabata straightened up. "Actually, they asked for drinks, but I said to them: 'Looka here, boys. We don't sell alcohol to minors, and that's our firm policy. You can get some water or juice if you're thirsty, but that's as far as I can help you.'"

"That can't be true! Gaara doesn't drink! And he wouldn't start doing it all of a su-„

"Is that so? And how did they react?"

Kawabata encompassed the wreckage behind with a broad sweep of his arm.

"One of them grabbed the bottle from behind the bar, and started thrashing the place. My mama can testify to that, she saw the whole thing."

A cross-looking old woman in a nightgown nodded to back up her son's words.

"I'm sorry I turned out to be the one to break it to you, Tsunade-hime, but some of your shinobi sorely lack in discipline. I hope you will not restrain yourself from punishing them accordingly."

"I'm restraining myself from punching you, accordingly! You served them, for sure, and I'm in doubt if they asked you to do that at all!"

"I would never-!" A vein popped out of the Hokage's forehead.

"Where are they now?"

"How could I know?" Kawabata's voice turned surly. "One of them tried to stop the other, and they went away. There's probably a path of destruction to follow."

As if on cue, one of Konoha's Chuunins materialized on the scene, and delivered the news.

"Hokage-sama, Gaara of the Sand has been spotted in Matsu Street together with one other unidentified shinobi. They seemed to have tried to break into a house and woke up the neighborhood in the process."

"This is ridiculous!" Temari shouted. Kawabata smirked.

"You two! Follow me," Tsunade turned on her heel.

'Path of Destruction' was a proper term.

A bunch of people in various stages of unclothedness gathered on the street, murmuring and glancing at a broken window. Even though clearly surprised at seeing Hokage herself, they quickly flocked to her.

"Hokage-sama, this will not do!"

"Where were the shinobi patrols?"

"My children were trying to sleep!"

"Mr. Snuffles got cut behind the ear!"

"MY AZALEAS!"

Tsunade rose her arms in a placatory gesture. "I've been told what happened, and I assure you the thieves will be caught – if there were thieves at all."

The voices rose again.

"What do you mean if there-"

"Crash was heard all the way up in-"

"-difficult it is to put a three-months-old to-?"

"MY AZALEAS!"

"As an honesht shitizhen, I'm outraged at the attempt at treshpashin' mah property!"

The last voice belonged to a poorly dressed man with a face overgrown in a thick black beard. His face went stupid after taking a second glance at Tsunade.

"Are you the owner of the house which got broken into?"

The man shifted uneasily. "Shure, I jusht don't have it in writin'..."

"Have you taken a good look at these 'burglars'?"

The man perked up.

"Yesh, maam! One of 'em was ugly as hell, and the accomplishe was just plain weird!"

"Can you be more specific?"

"The one who was tryin' to get into my room had funny eyebrowsh and I think he migh've been on drugs. He kept apologizin' to sherry bloshomsh."

'Sherry blossoms? No, cherry blossoms.'

"The other guy picked him up with shand after I clubbed him... As was my shivil right!" he added quickly.

Tsunade summoned a dissatisfied Chuunin to deal with formalities.

"Hokage-sama," Temari said. "That other shinobi. Could it be-?"

"We'll find out as soon as we find them."

"But they could be anywhere by now."

"Not really. Look, they left us a clue."

Tsunade pointed at shiny specks gleaming in the moonlight. Traces of sand.

"Let's go. I don't think they've made it very far."

Temari couldn't help it but feel guilty. Even though it wasn't likely that Gaara could break bad again, he was clearly in trouble – and she was the reason.

'That physical description fits Rock Lee from the Chuunin Exams.'

That was one special individual whom she couldn't quite figure out. During the preliminary fights, he showed some seriously impressive fighting skills, and after the Uchiha's flight an even more impressive willingness to forgive her brother for dealing him near-fatal injuries. The dismissed grudge was in fact so impressive that Temari never really believed it to be sincere. She doubted Gaara bought it, either.

What had the Konoha ninja done to drag Gaara into a series of minor delicts? Did he... challenge him to a fight?

Gaara had been putting so much effort into repressing Shukaku's urges these past few months, and actually succeeding. But the unspoken fear she shared with Kankuro and Baki was that one of these days Gaara would be dragged into a major conflict and go into a relapse.

And back in the bar there hadn't been a single board unscathed, and plenty of sand.

'But a house break on top of that?'

Her eyes searched for the Hokage's back.

'What is she really thinking?'

The sand trail took them away from the village's center towards the dark outskirt of the forest.

Temari squinted in the growing darkness. Something lay in the grass ahead. The shape split into two, and the taller one moved. The moon broke through the clouds, shedding light on Gaara and a sprawled figure of Rock Lee.

Temari stopped walking. Dread flooded her chest.

It was impossible to tell whether the Konoha shinobi breathed or not.

"Gaara..." Her brother rose his gaze, and it was pale and unreadable. Seated next to an unconscious body in soft moonlight. The scene was too familiar.

A platoon of shadows surrounded the two, placing themselves between the threat and the Hokage. Gaara's eyes narrowed.

'No.' She had to protect him. Regardless, she had to –

A jungle beast roared its night call, leaving a dozen people utterly baffled. The sound repeated, and the dozen pairs of eyes lowered to Rock Lee's lifeless body, which scratched at the air, and continued snoring.

"Gaara-san. I'd like to hear your version of this night's events," Hokage said. Gaara looked up, and rose.

"I don't... understand all of it myself," her brother admitted.

Five minutes later, a dozen Konoha shinobi awkwardly scratched their chins and nodded along. Tsunade crossed her arms and sighed.

"As I expected. I think we owe you an apology, Gaara-san. Also our gratitude. If you hadn't been around, the damage would have probably been much greater."

Gaara looked somewhat uncomfortable under this praise.

"As for you," Tsunade turned around with a glint in her eyes. In the backrow, Kawabata gulped but bravely kept his stance.

"He still thrashed my place," the man nodded towards the sleeping Genin. Temari noticed his mother wasn't beside him anymore, and when she looked around, the old crone creeped towards Lee with a walking stick and a vendetta. A Chuunin tried to divert her course.

"You will get your money back, don't worry. But," Tsunade emphasized, and the word howled DANGER, "if I ever hear of you selling anything to minors, you can kiss your license goodbye!"

The man must have had either a death wish or a trump card, because he kept fussing over the matter, ignoring the countless veins popping out of Godaime's forehead. In the cover of their hassle Temari quietly approached Gaara.

"You were right. I should never have made you go out. Good thing we're heading back tomorrow. You won't have to leave the hotel in the morning."

"No, I will."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. I should pay a visit to Lee."

"Why?" she was suspicious. If he wanted to hurt the other boy for making him a temporary fugitive, he would have done so already.

"Bonds should be worked on continuously. Also, I'm curious to see how much he'll remember," Gaara smirked.

And despite her surprise, Temari had to smirk, too.