A/N: Hello lovely readers! Longer A/N at the bottom, but for now hope you enjoy this chapter! Plus, what you've been waiting for... guest appearances by canon characters!?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but wouldn't that be cool if I did?

CW: elder abuse, mild child abuse, auditory hallucinations

Last chapter:

She reached up to grab the doorknob, and turned it to pull open the clay-based door to the street. Daylight burst through the open entrance, and warmed her from head to toe.

Sunari beamed with a smile as bright as the sun. It's time to explore Sunagakure.

Let it be stated on record that Suna in the summer is a literal waking hell.

Sunari was nervously excited for all of five seconds when she burst through the orphanage door and into the street, until the heat wave from the unrelenting desert sun bore down on every part of her body. It was just after lunchtime, early afternoon, so the sun was still high in the sky. Even her feet were starting to burn from the heat radiating from the ground, and she was wearing sandals with thick soles.

It was then that she reconsidered her little escapade.

Why did I come out here again…? Sunari thought with a deadpanned face.

She turned around to take a look at her reflection in the orphanage front window. Her tan face was frail and slim, her eyes black like the night sky. Coffee brown hair fell to her shoulders in slightly frizzy strands, parted to the left. Her hand-me-down sandals were of a brown shade matching her hair. Judging from the distance between her head and the ground, she was probably around two and a half feet tall. Short for her age of three years, but given the relative malnourishment, unsurprising.

To bring all of Sunari's messy-but-cute-enough-to-give-food-to orphan look together, she wore a baggy cream-colored tee with black shorts. Like the rest of the clothes that the orphans wore, both items were thrifted or otherwise obtained by asking for donations from the villagers.

Her attention was then brought to the thin layer of sweat developing on her skin from the scorching heat. That didn't mean anything good, because if she was sweating, that meant she was exhausting her limited supply of energy. And if she was burning through her energy as quickly as the sun was burning through her skin, that meant she probably didn't have long to look around if she wanted to get food and get back home safely.

Head to the marketplace first. Someone has to have scraps.

So, Sunari dragged herself toward the buzzing chakra that she came to recognize as the marketplace, the gathering of civilians, goods, and trade where Michi got all the orphanage's necessities. From how active it was every single day and how lively Michi made it sound, she was expecting grandiose tabling set-ups, colorful foods from all over the world, and bustling bodies moving about in nonstop motion.

She entered the district, and was met with a… depressing sight.

The marketplace was nothing more than a constricted alleyway, lined by worn vendor booths on both sides. A few booths were shaded by beige canvas awnings, but most were left to bake under the sun. Oh, there were people too, alright. But if Sunari were to describe them, she would say they looked like slow-moving skeletons that had risen from a sandy grave. The vendors, the customers, everyone in the Suna marketplace had a haggard look to their countenance, and while trade was still happening, it was moving at a heavily sluggish pace.

What completed the finishing touch on this already decrepit landscape was the fact that in the vendor booths, the amount of supply was nowhere near close to the amount of demand.

Sunari winced. If she thought she was the only one going hungry around here… well, she was just proven wrong.

Was she really so naïve to think that people here just had a bunch of food lying around that they'd give to starving orphans?

Her body shivered with the pangs of pins and needles slowly infiltrating her body, and she shook her head of any lingering thoughts.

She started walking through the marketplace (alleyway), browsing through each of the stalls. A select few of the vendors, surprisingly, carried a decent amount of items for sale. For instance, one fellow originating from the Fire Country had a great supply of wooden utensils and trinkets.

But she was shocked to find that most of them had literally only one or two products to sell, and at astonishingly high prices. Even the vendors selling food, the most important good on the market in Sunari's opinion, had only enough at their booths for a small family.

And all of the walking dead civilians, who passed through the alleyway exhaustedly, left each booth almost as quickly as they approached them. Sunari overheard a number of conversations (failed attempts at bargains) that made her want to cry.

No vendor had food. No customer had the money to buy food. There was simply no economic circulation even happening. What the actual fuck?

Despondently, Sunari trudged onward, eventually walking into a circular quad that she assumed to be the central point of the marketplace. Most marketplace centers from her home world had some kind of hubbub happening. She expected to see something similar.

But here in Suna… there was nothing. It was like the people were ghosts of themselves, lost and grasping for a reason to keep them tethered to this world.

She looked from one end of the circular quad to the other, standing on the edge of the alleyway she came from, and she grew even more uncertain of what to think, what to do.

She stood in shock, gaping at the rampant poverty and neglect that Suna's citizens were facing. What the hell was the Kazekage doing? Didn't anyone bother to inform him that his people were dying?

Making one last scan of the quad, she weaved her way into the scattered crowd. They were all most certainly civilians, like Michi.

Speaking of which, what the hell was the woman talking about when she said the marketplace was one of her favorite places in Suna? Did she not see what the circumstances were like here?

A yell interrupted her thoughts. "Get out, peasant! You can't enter this alleyway!"

At the opposite side of the quad from which she came, Sunari found a ninja (a real life ninja holy shit) glaring down at an old man on the floor. The latter looked like he'd just been pushed or kicked down, and shifted into a begging position.

"Please shinobi-san… my family is starving… my children, my grandchildren… just one meal, just one morsel of food can help…"

The dark-haired ninja kicked him again into the center of the quad, this time in the gut. Sunari's stomach twisted in outrage.

"You don't think the rest of the village is starving too? If you civvies are in such a state, imagine the shinobi, who risk their lives daily to keep you alive." The shinobi guard sneered and looked up at the crowd who watched the scene in horror. "Entrance to this side of the marketplace is forbidden to non-shinobi. You all know the rules."

Enraged, Sunari turned her attention away for a second to peer at the alleyway in question. Her eyes bulged at what she saw.

Goods of all kinds littered the booths. Colorful awnings covered every single station, and both vendors and customers were smiling. She saw bills, copious amounts of bills, being passed back and forth.

Most prominent to her critical eye was the flash of the Suna hitai-ate tied onto the forehead of every single patron in the alley.

She gritted her teeth, fuming at the injustice she was watching unfold right before her very eyes.

The old man, persistent (desperate), got to his knees and bowed in seiza. "I beg you. Please, I'll do anything."

The ninja sneered. "You want to know what you can do, jiji? You can tell your kids to stop having so many children, and stop sucking up the village's welfare. And while you're at it, roll over and die so they can be rid of another mouth to feed."

He spat on the man, and proclaimed to all witnesses, "This is a warning. The next time I find a civilian attempting to make off with even more charity from our generous village, the punishment will be death." Then he turned to disappear into the shinobi marketplace.

The tension in the air dissipated, and the spectators resumed their business as though nothing had happened. Sunari noticed that they kept a safe distance from the old man, who still remained in his bowed position on the floor.

Sunari's fists clenched, to the point where she nearly drew blood. She just… she just stood there. She just stood while a ninja abused an old man, who could have died. She just witnessed the equivalent of police brutality in the shinobi world, and she did nothing. Nothing.

Biting her lower lip in resentment, she rushed over the old man, gently placing her hands on his back and checking him for injuries.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Slowly (painfully), the old man came up from his bow and gazed into Sunari's ebony eyes. Blood trickled from both sides of his cracked lips, his wrinkly skin dusted with sand. Upon seeing Sunari's concern, he smiled.

"Yes. Thank you… young one," he returned politely.

Sunari bit the inside of her cheek to stop the flow of tears that she knew would come. She hated crying. They were useless for things like this, and they only served to make other people feel worse.

The grandfatherly figure swiped a thumb under her eye, wiping away a tear that had fallen without her knowledge. "Don't cry. It is not your concern, you have much to live for. It is better they attack me than someone like you…"

"But they hurt you!" Sunari protested bitterly. "Shinobi are supposed to protect you and keep you safe, and they hurt you!"

"Such is how it is, young one. The shinobi come before the civilians. You will learn, as you grow here in Suna, that some things are just not fair. They have their reasons for acting as such, and we can only hope they use their power wisely."

Tears were definitely falling now. Tears of sadness, anger, disappointment, disbelief.

How easy it is for humans to fall into violence to reinforce their own power.

She closed her eyes, and breathed in a familiar pattern. Her thoughts were a muddled mess of feelings, and she needed to re-center herself. Right now, she didn't need to feel the anger consume her. She didn't need the emotions to control her. Right now, she needed to focus on what was important.

Her eyes calmly fluttered open, her composure restored and resolve strengthened.

"Jiji," she placed a hand on the old man's shoulder gently but steadfastly, "you wait right here. I'll come back with some food for your family."

The old man's eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrist as she turned away, "No! Did you not hear what that shinobi just said? He'll kill you!"

"Not if he can't catch me," she grinned. "Besides, if he tries anything, I'll just yell that he's a pervert and he'll stop."

"You…"

"Just hang out in the shade, okay jiji? It's hot today. I'll grab a whole bunch of stuff, so don't you worry!"

The old man looked down, and struggled to get to his feet. Sunari helped him up, and was given a warning of safety and a thank you of gratitude.

Then, she turned to the shinobi alleyway, facing her quest head on. The grin on her face faltered, as she came to a disheartening realization.

Now what?

Sunari really didn't think this through. She thought she did, but her overconfidence and arrogance really clouded her judgment. How the hell was she going to get in and out of a marketplace full of trained ninja without anyone noticing? She didn't even know how to use her chakra!

Which, speaking of, was spiking again in tandem with her hunger and body heat. She could walk for a limited amount of time with her pain, but she could only go so far before it hindered her movement.

She mentally face-palmed, thinking herself to be a downright idiot for making a promise she wasn't sure she could keep. She also had no idea if the pervert name-calling idea would even work. Because really, if they were willing to beat the elderly, what stopped them from beating a kid?

Deciding not to let her indecision stall her any longer, she did what she thought would look most normal and just walked in. She grimaced preemptively, waiting for something to hit her or someone to stop her.

Nothing came. She just kept walking.

Wow. Infiltration success. These "shinobi" ain't shit.

She moved at a slighter quicker pace, scanning the booths for what would look like a decent meal and an unobservant vendor. Her heartbeat was racing.

She passed a yakitori stall, where there was a plentitude of skewers already available and more being cooked on the grill, the vendor's back turned to her.

She kept walking, marking that stall as her target and moving on to examine the rest of the selections, as though she were just a nonchalant passerby. When a reasonable amount of time had passed, she turned around and resumed pacing in the direction she came from. From a distance, she eyed the stall. The cook's back was still turned, as he was grilling up the next batch of chicken. If she was quick, she could be in and out of this wretched place and avoid detection.

Just get enough for the jiji's family and for yourself, then get out. Her palms sweated, adrenaline being the only thing that kept her from succumbing to her chakra-induced pain.

Sunari casually moved closer to the stall, reaching her arm up to the table as though it were a completely normal thing to do. Making one last check from the corner of her eye, she swiped seven skewers and kept walking, gripping them tightly as though her life depended on it.

She managed to walk five stalls away before she heard a livid shout. "Hey! Who took my yakitori?!"

She started pacing faster, hoping to get away from the scene as quickly as possible.

"You there! Kid! Get back here!"

She heard footsteps racing toward her, so she dropped all pretenses and raced away as quickly as her little feet could take her.

"Thief!"

"Pervert!" she shouted in response. "There's a pervert chasing me!"

None of the faces she sprinted past even turned to acknowledge her.

Damn it! Unoriginal!

She felt something tug on her ankle and recognized the feel of gossamer threads (Takuma's weapon of choice) before she caught on them and tripped over. The skewers fell out of her hands and onto the sandy floor.

She tried to crawl away, but the chakra threads wrapped around both ankles and dragged her closer to their user. She turned to see the darkened face of the shinobi who threatened the civilian crowd earlier, bending over with hands on hips to sneer at her.

"Well, well, well, look what scum crawled in this time."

She spat in his menacing face. "How dare you beat an old man."

Then, her entire body froze as a current of malice, foreboding, evil, murder washed over her. Her lungs were suffocating, like she was drowning, and her heart raced as though shocked by a defibrillator. Any of the usual pain she felt was negated by this overwhelming feeling of imminent death. The only thought she could even muster was that she should have just stayed at the orphanage and waited for dinner, because she was most certainly going to meet her second death here.

The ninja was incensed, and he slapped her across the face. It stung, but she could hardly move to even touch it.

Then he whipped his hand over the other side of her face. She didn't move, peering at him from barely the corner of her eye.

He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, and lifted her up so that they met eye-to-eye.

"You think you're a smartass, kid? It's civilian brats like you who make our lives difficult, who we have to clean up after, who we die for! And you think it's fine for you to steal from us, after everything we do for you?!"

Sunari had no answer, because the Killing Intent (and his grip on her shirt) was asphyxiating her.

"Well, no one's going to notice if you suddenly disappear."

Sunari's eyes widened as he pulled a kunai from his hip pouch. This asshole is seriously going to kill me?!

She voiced a soundless scream, feeling a miasmic sensation seep out of her body, and for a split second, she thought she saw the shinobi's eyes obscure with panic.

"Takahiro-san, please stop!"

Sunari peered behind the shinobi holding her captive to see a man with sandy blonde hair and violet eyes holding his hand up in a halting gesture, dark blue kimono top slightly ruffled. (Where had she seen him before?) Takahiro, as he was apparently called, dropped her suddenly and turned his attention entirely to the newcomer.

"Yashamaru-dono."

She choked violently, as a result of both her strangling and her disbelief. If it had been possible, Sunari's stomach would have coiled with even more dread. As it stood in her current situation, however, she was still petrified from the after-effects of the Killing Intent and prickled by her inner chronic chakra pain, so she merely stared, mouth slightly agape.

"Takahiro-san, I will pretend I did not see that kunai you were going to use toward a civilian child. I cannot, however, dismiss the Killing Intent you blatantly directed at her—"

This is actually a joke right? Of all the people to save me, it's the doting uncle of Gaara, the major canon character of Sunagakure?

"—she is clearly starving! I understand we are in the middle of a recession, but there is no need to murder—"

I'm in a sitcom. I must be in some twisted Naruto AU sitcom, because if Yashamaru's here, that means…

"—she is nearly the same age as young Gaara-sama!"

He then gestured to a small boy with the brightest red hair Sunari had seen on a person's head, ever, in either of her lives. His eyes shone with a shy seafoam green, and he wore a poncho-like top over a dark short sleeve and black pants. He stood somewhat hidden behind Yashamaru, one hand clutching his uncle's pant leg, the other gripping a small teddy bear.

Sabaku no Gaara, in the flesh, staring at her with a worried gaze.

Staring. Directly. At. Her.

… Fuck.

"Takahiro-san, I am very sorry. I truly am, but I must report this incident to the Kazekage—"

Slightly delirious from the lack of oxygen, Sunari's eyes widened and before she could think, she shouted, "No!"

All eyes turned to her.

She still found it hard to move, but she pushed through it and got to her feet because like hell was Michi finding out she got caught stealing and had to get bailed out by the Kazekage's right hand man. Nope, not today Satan!

"A-ano… it's not that big a deal. Thank you very much, shinobi-san," Sunari bowed to Yashamaru, "but I… understand. I shouldn't have done what I did, and I am very sorry." She bowed again to Takahiro, who stood seething but pacified.

"I… I don't have the money to repay the cook for the yakitori… but I can find a way. I humbly apologize for my misconduct." She bowed deeply one final time, holding it for as long as it would take for her to get out of here ASAP Rocky.

Michi didn't raise no impolite tramp, after all.

"Stand, young one." Sunari rose shakily to Yashamaru's command. "You are very well-spoken, and humble indeed. Do not concern yourself with the finances. I will take care of it."

Yashamaru dismissed Takahiro with a final warning, who left with a Body Flicker (wow that's cool she should learn that one day), a cloud of sand swirling where he formerly stood. Then, he walked to Sunari and checked her over.

"Are you okay?" At her nod, he continued apologetically, "I am so very sorry you had to experience that. Takahiro-san… he recently lost a brother on a mission. He is… not taking the loss well."

Clearly.

"My name is Yashamaru. Allow me to handle everything with the yakitori vendor, okay? You won't have to worry about anything."

"Ahh, but—"

"No buts. Consider this an apology on behalf of Sunagakure. Now, you had…" —he looked over at the sorry mess of skewers she left on the floor behind her— "about… seven… skewers?"

Still feeling jittery from the adrenaline rush of the near-death encounter and on edge from Gaara's presence five feet away from her, she rasped, "I… I wanted to get some for a jiji and his family. And me," she added truthfully. Considering her next words carefully, she continued, "He tried to earlier, but... the other shinobi-san said no. So... I wanted to try."

"… I see. Well, wait right here. I'll be back in just a bit, and we can share with that family, ne?" he promised with a soft voice, patting her head quietly.

And then he left her standing there in the middle of the street, shinobi passersby staring horrified in her direction.

She shifted her feet uneasily, uncertain of how to act because she was basically a lucky delinquent who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Then she felt the brush of a light desert breeze on her chakra sense, and heard someone clear their throat. She looked up to meet the concerned eyes of Gaara (who looked almost like he was afraid?), and she flinched.

"Are you… are you okay?"

She didn't realize she was holding her breath after his inquiry until she started seeing stars, and promptly released it to nod in affirmation to answer Gaara's question.

He looked relieved at her answer, and replied, "Oh phew! Tha' shinobi was so… so mean!"

Sunari's face dropped to a shocked expression, unbelieving of the words she heard spilling from his mouth. Then her eyes veered to his bare forehead, and she resumed an unknowing smile, remembering that he was still a sweet, innocent little boy at this point in time.

And hadn't he always been?

Recalling that she was supposed to be a child talking to another child (and not a grown woman talking to a boy with a tailed beast inside him), she tried to bare the smile while responding, "'Ts… 'ts'not his fault. He was jus'… really sad. An' I think… it made 'em feel better, t'do that."

"Buh he tried t' hurt you!"

She recognized a parallel in Gaara's accusation to her own when the jiji was victimized by Takahiro, and smiled weakly.

So that's how it is…

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and admitted, somewhat candidly, "Well, ya... But I forgave 'em. So maybe he won' do it again!"

Well, maybe she didn't forgive him yet. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't see where his rage was coming from. Hard to miss, seeing as how it was a pretty standard story in this world. Not that that made it okay.

Then, of all things Gaara pouted, and crossed his arms in frustration.

Sunari was still scared shitless being around him, but she thought he looked just a tad less terrifying with that mopey expression on his face.

And... she couldn't explain it, but she felt a minute sense of serenity standing next to the crimson-haired boy. As illogical as that sounded, it felt like something in him resonated with something in her, and the reassuring rhythm of those somethings echoing off each other kept her fears at bay.

Her contemplations were broken off by Yashamaru's return, and she consequently gawked at the seven bento boxes that he carried in his hands.

"Y-Yashamaru-san…" she stammered in incredulity.

He beamed. "This is nothing. Now, let's go find that man, and then I'll fix up your face, okay?"

She rubbed her cheeks to find that, indeed, they were sore and probably bruised from the hits. That man, Takahiro or whatever shit, had to have used chakra or something because her face stung like no other.

Or maybe that was just her hypersensitivity being a bitch.

"T-thank you, Yashamaru-san," she bowed, fully meaning it. "You, you didn't have to…"

"Nonsense," he waved off as the three started walking toward the quad, "And what is your name, by the way?"

"Sunari, sir."

She felt a slight pause in his chakra, though his body betrayed no such change.

"…Sunari, you say?" he asked slowly, handing her one of the bentos.

She nodded distractedly, focusing more of her attention on the contents of the bento. She salivated with craving, ready to devour everything inside, but upon recognizing a particular item in the container she reluctantly decided to bring it home to the orphanage instead.

So concentrated was she on the bento that she missed Yashamaru's apprising gaze. Instead, she looked up to meet a warm mien painted over his expression. "…Well Sunari-chan, it's good to meet you. Have you met young Gaara here?"

The man gestured to his nephew on the other side of him, who blushed and turned his head away, finding the ground suddenly more interesting.

"Mm. He's super nice!"

She heard a slight gasp and shuffling from the other side of Yashamaru's legs.

Yashamaru laughed. "He certainly is…"

At the quad, Sunari quickly located the old man and ran to him, checking over him and asking him if he was okay. He was glad to see that she was safe and alive, and responded wholeheartedly in good mirth, thanking her sincerely for doing her best to help.

"About that…" she gestured to Yashamaru behind her, who handed the old man six of the seven bentos he had acquired earlier in the shinobi alley.

The old man's eyes bulged, and he quickly entered a deep bow on his knees. "Yashamaru-sama!"

Oh fuck was I supposed to call him sama? Is he technically sama? Why do these honorifics matter so much? Wait, I'm not even supposed to know who he is. Wait, then do I have to pretend to act flustered about not calling him sama? Wait, but I am flustered!

The younger man waved his elder off, in a similar fashion to his earlier gesture to Sunari. "Jiji-san, I am honored to provide for you and your family. I apologize for all the inconveniences the shinobi here have caused, and I hope that there will be no… repeat encounters."

So he did see what happened... and did nothing.

"Thank you… thank you. Bless you, Yashamaru-sama." He looked up to meet my eyes with a deep gaze. "And thank you too, young one. You have a strong heart, and I am certain it will lead you down a great path."

She blushed at his honest words, thanking him with equal conviction.

The old man got up to leave, and with his departure Yashamaru prodded Sunari and Gaara to enter a separate alleyway exiting from the quad, one that didn't lead to either civilian or shinobi marketplace.

Sunari looked back at the quad with uncertainty settling in her gut, but didn't stop walking.

Yashamaru took the pair of children through what seemed like an endless maze of twists and turns, until finally they approached a small park. There wasn't any grass like in the parks of her old world, but the sand looked softer and the air felt calmer.

Yashamaru sat the two children down on the bench, along with the bento, and kneeled in front of Sunari to examine her.

"Sunari-chan, I'm a iryo-nin, so you can trust me to heal you. I'm going to use a diagnostic jutsu to see what the damage is, and then from there I will heal it. It doesn't look like you have much more than cuts and bruises though, so it won't take too long. Okay?"

Well, it wasn't like she could say no.

"Mm. Thank you, Yashamaru-sama!" she chirped, correcting for her previous indiscretion.

Yashamaru chuckled, "San is just fine. Sama is usually used by civilians, and even then I prefer not to have such a formal honorific!" Then, his gaze turned slightly distant, and he stated rather than questioned, "But you're not a civilian, are you."

Sunari blinked, and very carefully did not react.

He brought his hand up to her face with a smile, and it glowed green. His chakra felt like a murmuring heartbeat, one with love resonating in every pulse.

He placed his hand over her cheek, and she could have sworn his chakra paused again, with slightly more confusion than before.

"Is something wrong, Yashamaru-san?"

He smiled, and Sunari couldn't help but be reminded of her orphanage mother.

"Nothing at all, Sunari-chan. Just as I thought, nothing more than cuts and bruises. I'll heal you now."

"Yay, thas' great Sunari-san! You're awesome, Yashamaru!" Gaara chimed in from beside Sunari.

Yashamaru hummed with mirth, and placed his chakra over Sunari's cheek. The feeling was… not as comforting as she expected.

On one hand, it felt pretty soothing to be healed by the magic stuff. Like wow medical treatment from her old world had a ways to go if this was the norm here. In seconds, she could literally feel her cells rejuvenating and restoring, as though she'd woken up from a particular good night's worth of sleep.

But on the other hand, he was introducing his foreign chakra into her hypersensitive system. Meaning, although her physical body was healing through his iryo-ninjutsu, it was rejecting his chakra at the same time, which caused some slight stinging.

Altogether, it just left her feeling numb, like she lost sensation in the parts of her body that he healed. Like... like he didn't just take away the pain, he also took away the relief.

It was odd. But who was she to question the biology of this world?

Yashamaru retreated his hand, and Sunari beamed at him with all the gratitude she could muster. She thanked him repeatedly, which he accepted.

She turned her head to look at Gaara, and uttered, "Well, I wonder how Gaara is—"

She froze.

The redhead was sleeping.

Every muscle in her body tensed, and she put all of her energy into not screaming her head off because oh my dear god Shukaku is going to come out I'm not ready to die why am I always thrown in these life-death situations ahhhhhh—

"…Sunari-chan?"

—oh, I'm not supposed to know that, huh?

She gently brought her head back to face Yashamaru, with an extremely delicate smile on her face.

And by delicate, she meant grinning like an over-caffeinated three-year-old taking an elementary school picture, baby teeth exposed and eyes expanded like headlights.

"Yashamaru-san… should Gaara-san be sleeping like that?" she whispered.

Yashamaru's face was unreadable. "… Well, he has had some trouble sleeping recently… so I'm actually quite glad he is able to do so now. Surprised, in fact."

She turned again to observe the boy, but not before missing the narrowing of Yashamaru's eyes.

Act normal! Act normal! Stop dropping bombs of canon knowledge now!

"Oh, has he now? It's good… he is… getting some rest now…" She added on quickly, "I've actually been having a hard time sleeping too! Yeah, it's probably super normal for our age!"

If it was possible, Yashamaru's eyes narrowed even further.

Gah! Just shut up, shut your trap before you make things wor—

BahaahAHhaHHAhahahhAHahAHa!

She gasped, spinning her head around in alarm to glare behind her. Her eyes scanned the children's sandbox for the source of the frenetic voice, but found there was nothing (no one) in sight.

"Sunari-chan?"

"Did you hear that voice, Yashamaru-san?" she asked sharply.

He paused, looking confused. "No… did you hear something?"

He's asleep he's asleep! The little boy's asleep and I get to come out and pLaY!

She rotated her whole body this time, searching feverishly for the sound.

But maybe since you're the one who's awake now… I'll play with you first!

"What the fuck, man?!" Sunari shouted at the voice she couldn't see.

"Sunari-chan!" Yashamaru scolded, no doubt reproaching her for her foul language.

"Yashamaru-san," she hissed, turning back to him briefly, "There's someone screaming at us right now, and he's being super creepy!" she claimed, in somewhat of a panicked voice.

Like, pedophile-level creepy!

I'm not a pedophile!

She gripped the sides of her head with both hands.

You're in my head?!

Ehehehehe… you are more fun after all…

Sunari started to hyperventilate. Because, well, it seemed that apparently, at some point over the past three years she had developed schizophrenia.

"Sunari!" Yashamaru clutched her shoulders sharply, causing her to come out of her head and back to reality. "I promise that there is no one else here but you, me, and Gaara-sama."

She brought herself to a reasonable smile, and composed herself. There's a time and place for everything, Sunari. And right now is not the time to let a powerful ANBU shinobi know that you have a voice in your head. A creepy one.

I take offense to being called creepy! Ehehehe…

A creepy one that is also conversational, apparently.

"You're right, Yashamaru-san. I think I'm still tired from earlier. I'm just being silly! Sorry to worry you," she reassured.

Yashamaru gave her a saccharine smile, and merely said, "Of course, Sunari-chan. Perhaps it's best for you to rest as well. Shall I escort you home?"

"Oh no no no!" she raised her hands in protest, "I can't take you away from Gaara-san… 'specially since it's so hard for him to sleep! I'll find my way home, don't worry!"

Then she channeled her inner… Maito Gai… and gave him a thumbs up, hoping her teeth would give that trademark sparkle.

There is no way I'm giving Michi a chance to hear about this. I'm in too deep, and I need to get out.

"Are you sure, Sunari-chan? Where's your ho—?"

"Ahh you know what? I've really got to get going!" She got up from the bench and bowed deeply to Yashamaru, who was still kneeling on the floor. "I'm gonna get in trouble if I'm out too late! Thank you for the bento and saving my life and everything, I will repay you for sure!"

Before he could respond, she started running out of the park, shaking that odd voice out of her head and the fear from her heart.

Safely out of the way of danger, Sunari slowed her pace and stopped entirely to catch her breath. Nearly dying by kunai, meeting Gaara and Yashamaru, and sitting next to a sleeping host of Shukaku was not something she expected breaking out of the house for the first time.

Also, what the hell was that voice in her head?

Her mind was eerily quiet, as though it had just been her occupying it the whole time. She was waiting for the other voice to make some unsettling comment, but none came. She supposed the auditory hallucinations came and went as they pleased, shrugging it off and temporarily filing it away for later examination.

Having determined her mind to be at a more stable state, she looked around her surroundings, and face-palmed.

She was completely lost.

The only recognizable thing she could see was the wall surrounding the village. The history texts she once read said it was a strong defensive fortification built in Suna's early days, as it protected the village from all sides and had only one entrance.

An entrance that… Michi said the orphanage was close to.

Hm.

If the wall supposedly wrapped around the entire village in a circular fashion, then she'd have to hit the village entrance eventually if she walked around the wall's circumference, right? And if she found the entrance, she could find the orphanage.

Bingo.

The only problem was… she was exhausted. Now that she had a chance to really pause and stop worrying about all the problems that decided to show up that day, she was finally registering the sensations around her.

And that... wasn't really a good thing either. The heat was still oppressively burning every inch of her body on the outside, and the pins and needles spiking her on the inside started to scream all over.

She took several minutes just to breathe and recuperate from her sudden spurt of physical action. She looked up at the sun and realized it was starting to get low. She really had to get going soon.

She'd be so lucky if no one figured out she was missing yet—maybe Michi wouldn't lecture her ass after all.

But judging by the position of the sun… she'd been gone for at least four hours by now. The orphans wouldn't give a shit; they'd be enraptured that she was out of the house. The caretakers probably wouldn't have noticed either.

But, there was still Takuma. The little puppeteer-in-training who always seemed to be watching her, and "testing" (attacking) her when she least expected it. He would absolutely notice her absence, even if he had been napping at the time she left.

And he would most certainly inform Michi of Sunari's escapades. There was no doubt about that.

"There's no lying my way out of this one," the girl sighed.

Feeling slightly more rejuvenated, though still stiff, she made her way to the main road, continuing onward in the direction of the village boundaries until she came face-to-face with a high wall that looked like a naturally eroded mountain range. Staring upward, she couldn't help but voice her amazement at the beauty of the formation.

It was definitely man made, that was certain enough—possibly by a number of shinobi putting up some strong Earth Release walls. Yet at the same time, it seemed that over time, sand erosion softened the edges enough to make the whole cliff formation look like it was made by nature itself.

The walls themselves were essentially huge sandstone cliffs towering over the village, leaving the latter in something like an enclosed valley. Huge rocks, the size of a minivan in her old world, lined one of the cliff's plateaus, which she supposed served some purpose or other. (The Kazekage was probably not the kind of man who was interested in the impractical.)

There wasn't anyone patrolling the wall; in fact, there were no signs of life at all surrounding the border.

Isn't that… bad for security? Or do they only patrol the outside?

Regardless, Sunari was on her own for this one. And if she had to choose between two directions, she'd have to pick the one that was right, didn't she?

My puns will get me into a buttload of trouble one day, I swear.

Little did she know, that day was today.

An hour and a half later, the sun had set far enough that the heat wasn't frying her like an egg anymore, but the light it provided had dimmed to the point where Sunari needed to feel along the wall to get her sense of direction. A layer of sweat still plastered all over her body, clinging to her clothes and hair uncomfortably, and her hunger pangs remained on the rise.

Worst of all were the burgeoning pains of chakra skewering her insides. She'd had to stop every few minutes after a certain point because she just couldn't continue otherwise without stumbling over her own two feet.

At this rate, she would have to camp somewhere for the night. She couldn't keep walking like this, no way. Otherwise, she'd find herself to be a meal for the vultures in the morning.

Losing all sense of self-preservation, she collapsed, bento still in hand.

Just a quick nap… and I'll get back up soon.

Her eyes drifted closed as she felt herself falling in and out of consciousness.

"Hey, hey kid!" a voice shouted in the distance, steadily approaching. "Kid, you alright?"

Sunari jolted awake, freezing all movement. The sun had fallen entirely, shrouding her in complete darkness. She must have been asleep for some time, because her pains had receded slightly and surprisingly so had her hunger. Replacing them instead was adrenaline (or was it chakra, she could never tell), flushing her veins.

The voice was about ten feet away, and from it she sensed a vibrant chakra like that of a faithful dog, with the smallest, barely detectable twinge of malice.

She wasn't sure if this was a friend or foe, and given that it was fully nighttime now and she was a three-year-old girl, she needed to calculate all possible escape routes in case she needed to get the fuck away. Maybe if she just played dead, he'd leave.

She laid unmoving, for what felt like eternity but was realistically only a few minutes.

A finger poked her. "Hey, you're not dead are you?" The voice, which sounded like it belonged to a teenage boy going through puberty, placed a hand on one of her shoulders and tried to flip her over to face him.

The toddler responded by launching her fist at the teenager's face, but he caught it easily with one hand and laughed airily.

"Little girl, someone taught you well. Don't worry, I'm not a bad guy, I—"

"That's what all bad guys say," Sunari interrupted bluntly.

But the teenager just chuckled again, this time releasing her from his hold and backing up to give her space, still kneeling on the ground. Then, his hand glowed in the darkness to reveal the face of a young male with choppy black-blue hair, dark mischievous eyes, L-shaped metal face-guards covering both his cheeks connected by a black strap over his nose, and a laughable excuse of a teenage goatee lining his chin.

But what set Sunari on edge was the Sunagakure symbol etched into his hitai-ate.

She stilled, and slowly started to back away on her hands.

"Hey… I'm serious, I'm really not a bad guy. You don't have to worry," he ensured with a hearty grin.

Five hours ago, she probably would have believed him. But after that disastrous incident with Takahiro, well, forgive her for wanting to ensure her survival.

"Shinobi are… shinobi are mean," she whispered.

"Haaaa?" the teenage shinobi sounded in disbelief, "That's not true!"

She withdrew further, holding her hands up in front of her.

"Ah okay, okay… I know, we can be a little scary sometimes. But I promise you, if I'm a bad guy you can punch me all you want," the teenage shinobi grinned.

"But first things first, allow me to introduce myself. Sunagakure no Yuura, at your service," he ended with a flourish of the hands.

"Yuura…" Sunari muttered to herself. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Yep, you got it. I'm a chuunin, assigned to village guard duty! I was walking and—"

Ohhh… oh nooo…

"—just making my rounds when I thought I spotted someone on the ground, and looking more closely I saw it was you. What's your name, little missy?"

The future Suna council member who was mind-fucked by Sasori and/or Orochimaru, turned into a bad Itachi cosplayer, and inevitably got Gaara killed, this fucker was Yuura?

"Hellooooo, I'm talking to you! Little girl!" Yuura waved his hands in front of her face.

Sunari flinched, and narrowed her eyes. She didn't remember much of what happened in Suna, but wasn't Yuura some serious ass jounin who took out the entire village guard platoon that he had assembled himself? This little shit was just a teenager, and an obnoxious one at that!

Oh right, time skip.

I guess a lot could change in a decade.

"C'mon, can't you tell me your name? I promise I'll help you find your way home," he nagged playfully, whining out the last word in a singsong voice.

But still, at this point, Sasori had to have put that mind-washing seal or whatever into his brain. He did it when he left the village, and that was a while ago, right?

Gahhh what happened to avoiding canon?

"Hey," he stated firmly, placing both hands on her shoulders and gaining her full attention. "Enough messing around. It's getting really late, and your parents must be worried sick. Can you please tell me your name and where you live? I'll take you back to our village check-in station, and we'll find someone to take you home."

Sunari shifted uncomfortably, still untrusting of this shinobi and unwilling to divulge such personal information. "You… you can take me to the village entrance. I'll find my way home from there."

"Heh? Okay, well, we'll see about that… and your name, little missy?"

Sunari remained silent.

Yuura hmphed. "Well, fine, if you don't want to tell me your name, that's fine… I'll just call you Tanuki Neiri! Because it's like you were a sneaky possum trying to trick me into thinking you were dead!"

"…"

"…"

… Does Sasori's seal make people batshit weird too?

Yuura's grin fell to a reasonable curve. "Well Tanuki-chan, let's get going! Don't want to keep your parents waiting~"

Then, before she could protest he hefted her up and carried her on his back, running at a slight pace. Clinging onto his throat (and the bento) for dear life, all she could do was wait.

Soon enough, Sunari saw lights in the distance, illuminating a sandstone kiosk about ten feet high, boxed on all sides except for the front window. Inside was a counter that presumably enabled ninja to interact with all incoming entrants. The Suna symbol, as with most things in the village, was engraved on the outer face of the counter.

A man standing in the booth, with a large muscular frame (and earthy-feeling chakra) donning the standard Suna uniform, gave a confused expression upon seeing the teenager running toward the booth.

"Ehh, Yuura? You're back already?" the man tilted his head to look behind Yuura, "Who's that with you?"

"Yo, Takeshi! Yeah, just started my rounds when I found a lost little bird along the way," Yuura responded, gesturing to Sunari with a thumb.

Sunari remained silent, examining the dark-eyed newcomer with wariness.

"Ohhh," he put on a play voice that Sunari recognized adults used for children, "what's your name, sweetheart?"

"..."

Yuura rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then moved to put the toddler in question down. Sunari noticed a number of blisters and recovering cuts on his knuckles.

"She doesn't take well to strangers," he explained. "I've been calling her Tanuki Neiri, or Tanuki-chan for now!"

Takeshi guffawed. "A playing possum, eh? And she took well to you?"

"No," Sunari deadpanned.

The older shinobi bellowed even more loudly. "You've got good senses, sweetie." He returned to his normal voice, and turned to Yuura, "I'll take her from here. Continue your rounds, and make sure to check the walls for disturbances."

Disturbances? That's interesting.

Playing the part of a timid three-year-old who totally wasn't information gathering, Sunari looked the other man with fearful eyes. "D-disturbances?"

Takeshi looked back to Sunari, and his eyes broadened as he breathed in, realizing how his words might sound to a child. He held his hands in front of him, shaking them back and forth, "Oh, no, n-nothing scary! We just want to make sure no bad guys can break through our walls."

He pumped a fist in the air, then beat it on his chest. "Sunagakure is a strong, safe village, and we won't let anyone harm you!"

They seem… harmless enough. But it's a shame they're also smart enough to not share sensitive security information with a kid.

Feeling comfortable enough to drop her guard, Sunari decided to mess with the chumps. She stuttered out, "B-bad guys like, like Yuura-san?"

His distress visibly disappeared, amusement filling in its place. Yuura looked betrayed. Takeshi laughed heartily. "Ah, little girl. Yuura-san here," he gestured to the teenager in question, "is a horrible guard."

"Hey!"

"He shirks his rounds sometimes, he talks too much to the shinobi who walk through, and his taijutsu has poor form."

"Takeshi-san!" Yuura whined.

"But," he whispered, "Yuura-san is not a bad guy."

Sunari nodded hesitantly.

"See this hitai-ate?" he pointed to his headband.

Sunari nodded again.

"The symbol here, of the gourd with the lid, represents our village, Sunagakure. Understand? Anyone wearing this symbol is a good guy.

"But, if you ever see a headband with a different symbol, like a swirly leaf, a set of misty squiggles, a bubbly cloud, or a jagged rock, you are looking at a bad guy. A very bad guy. And you ought to find someone with the Suna headband straight away. Got it, sweetheart?"

Sunari thought that was ironic since one of their own assaulted her earlier in the day, but she dipped her head in affirmation anyway.

"Good," he smiled, "Now come over here so I can help you find your way home."

She turned her head to look to said ninja, and backed away slowly, whispering hesitantly, "I live close to here… I can go home by myself…"

Yuura moved to block her, standing behind her firmly. "I'm afraid we can't allow that, Tanuki-chan. It's dangerous at night, and your parents would murder me if they found out I let you walk home alone!"

Sunari was still uncomfortable, but it wasn't like she could say no to two chuunin-level ninja. Plus, her body was aching with hunger and prickly pins. She gave in and walked to the booth, where Yuura lifted her up to sit on the counter.

"Good girl," Takeshi smiled, "You'd make a good kunoichi, you know?"

She gave the smile that she always saw Michi-sama make when she was hiding something, responding, "Mm!"

Like hell I'm signing up to be a kunoichi. I'll pick up the cool ninja stuff without conscripting myself to a lifetime of forced military service, thank you very much.

"Now, just hang out here for a second while I talk to Yuura-san for a little bit okay?"

"Okay."

He gave a grin, and turned to walk back to the teenager. "Now Yuura, like I said, look out for anything odd along the cliffs. Iwa's been pushing closer to our borders lately, and…"

Sunari placed her bento aside, and took a closer look around the check-in station, crawling to the edge facing inward of the booth. Aside from the expected clipboards and paperwork, she was startled to find rows upon rows of kunai and shuriken hanging hidden along the counter's inner surface. She supposed that was convenient in case of invasion or something, but it was a little much for her to see after a day of surprises.

She picked a kunai out and inspected it closely. It looked brand new, glimmering in the light of the station lamp. She squinted at her face reflected in its glint.

Dirty, grubby, sandy. Her hair was covered with grains and matted down with sweat. Even though Yashamaru managed to heal up her external and internal wounds, there was still some dried blood crusted across her face.

She frowned. I'm in so much trouble.

Then, she examined the kunai's edges. It was razor sharp, likely just polished. She wasn't sure exactly what led her to her next action, but she felt compelled to feel her thumb along the edge, which led to her cutting her thumb unintentionally and drawing more blood.

The sharpness of the incision didn't escape her pain receptors, but for some reason she felt more mesmerized by the scarlet shine of the viscous liquid, illuminated by the light of the full moon. In fact, she was almost… captivated by the sight of her…

Blood…

"Oi Tanuki-chan, put that down! That's not a toy!"

She snapped out of her daze, seeing an alarmed Yuura march toward her. He took the kunai out of her hands and placed it on the counter beside her.

"S-sorry…"

Yuura let out an exasperated but fond sigh. "Too eager to get into the shinobi profession, huh? Well, it's not your fault, you didn't know." He picked up the kunai, holding it a safe distance away from the girl.

"This knife is called a kunai, ne? Shinobi use it as a weapon, and while we can handle it safely, children your age should be very, very careful around it. Got it?"

"O-okay…"

What… just happened?

Takeshi approached the counter to face Yuura. "That's enough playing around, Yuura." He then turned to Sunari on the counter and asked, "Young one, it's time to go home. I know you're tired, but please help us out so we can help you. Where is home? Who are your parents?"

"I don't…" Sunari turned downcast, ignoring the latter question. "… Home is the orphanage called Mirai no Saryu. I told Yuura-san, it's super close by."

Takeshi's eyes lit up with surprise. "Mirai no… isn't that Michi-san's place?"

Heh? How did these shinobi know Michi?

"I think so… she's out on a mission though isn't she?"

Mission?!

"Ah, speak of the devil herself! Michi-saaaan!" Yuura yelled with excitement and waved.

"Yo, Michi-san! You're back already!" Takeshi rumbled.

Sunari felt the warm chakra of the woman before seeing Michi herself walk through the narrow cliffs of the village entrance, looking nearly as battered and dust-covered as her orphan daughter.

In what looked like ninja clothes, ninja shoes, ninja turban, and ninja flak jacket.

The only thing missing to complete the image was the glint of metal that Sunari definitely noticed was hidden quickly behind Michi's back upon her entrance.

"We have something of yours, Michi-san," Takeshi said as the woman approached, "and I take it Kiri was dismal as alw—"

"Sunari-chan, what are you doing here?" Michi cut in.

Kiri…?

Yuura's eyes widened in revelation and narrowed mischievously, "So that's your name, little birdy!"

He turned the girl so that she was facing forward, legs dangling over the front of the counter. "I found Sunari taking a nap in the southeast sector, right by the wall. We were actually just about to take her back to your place, Michi-san."

Michi waved it off, reaching her arms out to carry Sunari to the floor. "No need, Yuura-san, Takeshi-san. Thank you for looking after my ward."

The teenager saluted. "Of course, Michi-san!" He then crouched so that he was eye-level with Sunari, and patted her head warmly.

"I hope to see you again, Tanuki-chan," he grinned. Sunari's stomach chose right then to growl, loudly.

Yuura laughed, patting her belly and swiping some dirt from her cheek. He handed her the bento from the counter. "But maybe under better circumstances?"

"Okay, Yuura-san," Sunari acquiesced absentmindedly, her mind focused on processing the latest information on her orphanage mother's second occupation.

"Oi, Yuura! Fun's over now, get back to your patrol!" Takeshi commanded.

The teenager jolted straight up, and started dashing away. "Yes sir! Ja ne, Sunari-chan, Michi-san!"

Michi took Sunari's hand and bowed to Takeshi. "Thank you again." The man nodded in acknowledgement as the pair started walking away.

As Sunari took each step, her mind started racing a million miles an hour, with thoughts like holy fuck is Michi a ninja and why didn't she tell us the truth and most importantly, I'm in so so so so much trouble.

"Sunari-chan."

Sunari tensed, looking up slowly at her orphanage mother.

Michi met her lavender eyes with Sunari's black, and spotting her pale countenance, simply sighed in exasperation. "You're going to be trouble in the future, aren't you, little minashigo?"

Sunari remained silent, suddenly extremely interested in the path straight in front of her.

Like Sunari hypothesized, the orphanage wasn't that far from the entrance. They returned home within minutes, and stopped at the front door while Michi looked for her keys in her pocket.

"Michi-sama," the woman turned to look at Sunari, who was looking down at the floor, "your… nii-san is safe, right?"

Looking slightly puzzled, Michi replied, "…Yes. He is a little tired, but otherwise safe."

"Because… Michi-sama has been going out a lot to take care of her… nii-san. But sometimes, brothers can be nasty and scary. So… I just hope Michi-sama is being careful when she goes to take care of her… nii-san."

At this, Michi smiled, and knelt down to face Sunari. She placed both her hands on the girl's shoulders, and beamed, "My smart little girl. You have nothing to worry about, Sunari-chan…"

Then, she put on something like a vicious grin that threw Sunari for a loop. "…I am very good at taking care of my nii-san."

She then stood to put the key in the lock, and pushed open the door to their home. Sunari followed, still slightly disturbed by Michi's facial expression.

Aaaand Takuma was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed and irritation blatant on his face.

Sunari rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, and rushed quickly past him to the kitchen. Michi stopped the girl's flight with her arm.

"I'll cook you some dinner dear, so please wait on the couch."

"Yes, Michi-sama," she assented.

As she walked toward the couch in question, Takuma grabbed her by the arm and spun her, whispering dangerously, "Where did you go earlier?"

Which… was the equivalent of him expressing his infuriation. God damn it, was she never going to catch a break today?

Sunari, still holding the bento from earlier, shoved it in his arms and reluctantly muttered, "For you. Now leave me alone."

"A bento?" Takuma grumbled, letting her go and opening the box. "If you think this makes up for anything, you're—"

His eyes widened, and he gawked at Sunari.

She purposefully avoided his gaze, tilting her chin upward and waving him away. When she was finally alone, she let herself sink into the couch with all the exhaustion pouring over her body, drifting slowly into the embrace of sleep.

Today was, quite simply, a disaster. How the hell Sunari ended up meeting not one, not two, but three canon characters in one afternoon, she will never understand.

That whole thing with Gaara too… well honestly, she was just lucky to get away with her body intact and functional. Her mind held conflicting sentiments toward the redheaded boy, because each time she looked at him she saw overlapping images of him murdering his uncle and him leading the Allied Shinobi Forces.

She knew he was going to be great, she knew he was going to love the village with all his heart, but… her survival instinct couldn't let her forget that he wasn't the one in control before the age of twelve—Shukaku was.

It was pleasant enough to be around him, though. He was kind, polite, and showed genuine concern for the well-being of others. If she thought about it, the more time she spent with him, the more at peace she felt with her chakra-ravaged body.

I guess my chakra sense just has an intuition that caught up with my foreknowledge, ne?

And fucking Yuura of the Suna Council? That baka must have hit puberty hard or something in canon, because the only thing that resembled the Yuura in her memories was his appearance. Even then, he was cutting it pretty close with his childish goatee.

Well, it's not like I'll ever see those two again. Meeting canon characters once doesn't do anything to the plot... right?

There was still the whole issue with Michi, though. There was no doubt in Sunari's mind now that her orphanage mother had a side job as a kunoichi, maybe even as a badass one if she took a quick trip to Kiri and made it back in one piece. Or was the orphanage the side job? Either way, Michi was definitely hiding this half of her life from her.

It all made sense now, why she knew so much about shinobi things, why she was always so secretive, and why her favorite place in the village was the marketplace - because she shopped at the marketplace for ninja.

Well, at least Sunari didn't have to rely on just Takuma anymore to teach her cool ninja magic. She was a little hurt about being lied to, but she understood well enough why Michi had to do it.

Well, today was just… once in a blue moon. The most important thing is, I got away with sneaking out of the house.

Then, as if hearing Sunari's thoughts, Michi poked her head out of the kitchen doorway. "Oh, and Sunari-chan?"

The girl looked up, shaken awake.

Michi smiled brightly. "Don't think we aren't going to talk about you sneaking out today."

Ah, shit.

A/N: Silly Sunari... you met four canon characters, not three. Anyway, that's a wrap! Boy this chapter went through so many versions and revisions...

First, thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with the story - reviewers, favoriters, followers, lurkers, y'all are fantastic. I hope the story has been enjoyable so far! This chapter is way longer than all my other ones... but hopefully I have added enough plot to keep all the world-building from boring you to death!

Second, I have received some comments regarding Sunari's age toward the beginning of the story, and I've decided to revise previous chapters to make her age more realistic. I know it's a horrible faux pas and I'm literally only 9 chapters in... but I just feel ridiculous for making such a mistake and I want to keep the story as reasonable as possible. I apologize for being trash with planning/timeline. The changes shouldn't affect the story as it currently stands (i.e., you won't have to reread old chapters), and I will concurrently write new chapters while revising old ones. Thank you to the reviewers who brought it up, I wouldn't have recognized it without your insight.

Third, if you're wondering about OOC Yuura... well, let's just say I have plans for him.

Note: "Tanuki neiri" is a Japanese idiom equivalent to "playing possum" or playing dead. It also happens to be the name of the jutsu Gaara uses to give full control to Shukaku.

Thanks again for reading! Next chapter - Sunari (finally) starts basic shinobi training! We meet more canon characters! Yuura reveals his serious side! Stay tuned.