Chapter One: Lackluster Welcome

Temari loved both of her brothers dearly. They were the only family they had left. As annoying as Kankuro could be, and even after everything Gaara had done, they were still her blood. But, sometimes, she needed a break.

She could understand why the elders and her father had assigned the three of them to a squad despite their age differences. They were all highly talented; they had royal blood; it would be easier to groom them to become future kazekage.

But for the love of all that was holy, no one could travel for three days straight with their siblings and stay sane.

"I'm telling you, it's going to be so fucking cool. And I've just got to figure out how to get all of them to interlock. I mean, I can already get them to morph into what I need. That's easy. But when you think about it, I'm going to need a lot more than just crow and the others to make it happen. And then, I've got to figure out how to manage that many threads-"

Temari looked up at the sun. Four in the afternoon. Kankuro had been talking nonstop for over an hour. Neither she nor Gaara were even pretending to listen. He just loved the sound of his own voice. If she was honest with herself, she'd stopped listening after he'd said the words 'giant, morphing puppet monster.'

Maybe this is why Shikamaru smokes.

"Kankuro," Gaara rasped, looking ahead rather than at his brother. "We've still got some ways to go before we reach Konoha. You may want to save your breath for a while."

Temari bit back a laugh, surprised that quiet, reserved Gaara had spoken up before she did. She could tell by Kankuro's gaping mouth that he was caught off guard, as well.

"You know, if I didn't look just like Dad, I'd think I was adopted," Kankuro snapped bitterly.

"That would explain a lot of things." Gaara's voice was tinged with amusement, and Temari could hear the smirk he was wearing.

She couldn't hold it back anymore. Temari laughed into the palm of her hand, turning away from her brother. The look on his face would be too much, and she'd have to stop if she laughed too hard.

"The hell?! Don't team up on me like that."

"Then quit setting yourself up," Temari suggested once she had composed herself.

Kankuro bit his tongue, already planning his revenge. Maybe he'd go with his old standby of leaving Crow in unusual places. That one never failed to make Temari jump out of her skin. Gaara was harder to break, but he'd figure something out.

The three ran in silence until the sky turned a hazy purple. With the red walls of the village in sight, they slowed their pace to a leisurely stroll down the marked road. Only a complete idiot would risk attacking the trio so close to an allied village. Gaara would have sensed any enemies by now, anyway.

The kazekage stretched his neck to the left and rolled his right shoulder in a stretch. "Let's not forget why we're here. It's an honor for Suna to host the chunin exam without the aid of Konoha, and we can't afford to let anything slide. Kankuro, you'll be meeting with a few of the jonin squad leaders. Make sure they know what their teams will be up against when it comes to the survival challenge. I don't want anyone sending unprepared genin into the Demon Desert. It won't look good if too many die on our watch."

"Right," Kankuro affirmed. They had spent their fair share of time within that hell hole, and all three were intimately aware of the dangers that lurked within. He glanced at his sister out of the corner of his eye, trying to will away the image he had of her bleeding out onto the sand after an ambush by a giant scorpion. They were only genin; if Gaara hadn't lost control, Temari might not have survived. That was the only time Kankuro had ever been grateful for the sand demon.

"Temari, I trust you to take care of things on your end. I'd like to have everything smoothed out by the time we leave as far as the exam itself is concerned. Run the numbers and make any contingency plans you think are necessary."

"I've got it," Temari said confidently. The exams had been at the forefront of her mind for months; she'd even started dreaming about them over the last few nights. To her, this exam was their chance to prove themselves to the other nations. No other village was led by anyone close to Gaara's age, let alone advised by those in their late-teens or early-twenties. Being Kage had always been an old man's game. Sure, recent Kage had chipped away at that mold, but Suna couldn't keep appearing weak to the other nations. This was a time when they could prove themselves as the next generation, to show their predecessors that they were fit to take the reins and rule in their stead.

"The exams are in two weeks. We have three days here. Make the most of it." Gaara's serious tone didn't raise any red flags. So far, it seemed everything was going as planned.

The familiar faces of Izumo and Kotetsu were illuminated by the lights they held as they stood guard over the large, open gate. Darkness had yet to fall, but they had run behind, a fact for which Gaara made sure to apologize. The two leaf ninja brushed the incident aside, but it was clear that they had both been eager to shut the gate and abandon their post for the evening.

The air was full of spicy-sweet flavors that made Kankuro's stomach growl audibly. Fair enough, Temari thought. They hadn't had much of anything in the last few days, and the smells of dinner time in the leaf were enough to make anyone weak.

Her eyes darted around their location, clearly on the lookout. Her eyebrows raised ever so slightly before furrowing. He forgot, she was sure. That, or he was too wrapped up in having his own dinner to remember his job. She clicked her tongue in impatience before turning to her brothers. "Well, we should get something to eat before it gets too late."

Kankuro placed his hands on his sister's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "I would kill a man for barbeque."

Temari nonchalantly moved his hands away and glanced at Gaara, who shrugged. Pleased, Kankuro grabbed his siblings by the wrists and practically drug them down the busy street. No one paid them much attention. Gaara had chosen against traveling in his kage garb, which he found cumbersome. To the untrained eye, the three of them were just normal ninja. Gaara and Temari were finally released so that Kankuro could open the door beneath a large sign that read 'BBQ.'

After being ushered to their table, Temari plopped down onto a cushion and rubbed her wrist. "None of that was necessary."

"I beg to differ," Kankuro argued as he studied the menu. The one thing he loved about these trips was that their food and lodging was on Suna's dime rather than their own. He had developed a sort of masochistic ritual where, upon arrival, he would stuff himself silly and then lay in bed, sick, for the rest of the night. All the same, it only affected himself, so neither his brother nor his sister said or did anything to stop him.

Gaara and Temari informed their waiter that they'd be splitting one plate of meat to Kankuro's two, and Temari asked for extra vegetables and a bottle of sake. She knew Kankuro was looking at her as she ordered. As the waiter left after bringing her sake, she looked over at him and snapped "What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that someone's trying to flaunt their age a little too desperately."

Temari scoffed. "Don't blame me because you're underage. That one's all Mom and Dad. If you want it so badly, just order. No one here's going to check up on you."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Temari smacked her brother's hand, which was reaching across the table for her cup. "Get your own."

"Be reasonable," Gaara warned his siblings. Young as they were, the three of them were still visiting dignitaries. As the name implied, well, he hoped they'd both maintain at least some of their dignity.

And reasonable they were, to the best of their ability. Kankuro ordered his third serving at the same time Temari asked for her second bottle of sake. Even their younger brother was starting to feel full and content.

"Hey, look who it is!"

Temari looked up from their table to see her pleasant, and rather plump, friend standing beside them. To his left was Ino, who seemed more surprised than anything else.

"Mind if we join you?" Choji asked, although by that point he had already taken a seat. Temari tucked her legs back under the table to make room for him and to avoid being sat on. Ino followed his lead, slipping more gracefully down next to Gaara.

"Not at all," Gaara assured them. He did wonder for a moment if this meant that they would be paying for their companions' food as well, but he decided that wasn't important. It had been a long journey, and they were all happy to have the company.

"Here," Temari slid the plate closest to her nearer to the center of the table. "We'll go ahead and order some more."

Begrudgingly, Kankuro followed her lead before signaling to their waiter. A look of recognition crossed the man's face as he saw the new guests, and he made sure to grab a tray on which he could put more plates.

"Hey," Ino spoke up as she surveyed the restaurant. "Where's Shikamaru?"

"Don't know," Temari informed her as she tilted the bottle of sake over her cup, pouring out the last of it.

"He wasn't there to meet you?"

Temari lifted the glass to her lips before shrugging her shoulders. Her cheeks had turned a healthy shade of pink from the alcohol and the warmth of the grill. "He probably forgot."

"Yeah, the two guards were there, like always, but that was it." Kankuro confirmed as he took one of the plates passed to him by the waiter. Dishes changed hands and more sake was brought to the table before he continued. "I didn't even know he was supposed to meet us."

"Well, he always escorts Temari. So, when we heard you were coming, we just assumed," Choji informed them, mouth full.

Ino glared at him, scolding "Swallow before you talk, you idiot! Use your manners!"

Choji chuckled bashfully after doing as he was told. "Sorry, Ino."

"We were late getting here. Perhaps he thought we weren't coming?" Gaara suggested, not entirely sure if Choji and Ino were concerned for or disappointed in their teammate.

Temari let out a short laugh, perhaps a little louder than she had intended. "The day that man is on time for anything is the day the sun won't rise."

"I'll drink to that!" Ino exclaimed, and both women downed their cups of sake after toasting one another.

"Come on, guys. Lighten up." Choji jumped to his best friend's defense. He started flipping the meat on the grill as an excuse not to look at anyone in particular. "He means well."

"Meaning well and doing well are two completely different things," Ino corrected, earning a nondescript noise of approval from the sand kunoichi.

Kankuro groaned and shoved his empty plate further inward on the table. His hand snatched the black hat off his head, revealing a mess of brown hair. He rested both his forearms in front of him and lay his head down. "I don't feel so good."

"What did you expect?" Gaara asked his brother, who only groaned.

"Aaaand that's the end of that," Temari declared, gesturing for their waiter to bring them the check.

Gaara took the check before anyone else had a chance to say something, handing it immediately back to the waiter with the full amount they owed. He lifted himself to his feet before bracing himself, moving to help his brother to his feet.

Temari and Ino were stable on their own, but they'd both had a little too much to drink to be of any use. Choji took it upon himself to help Kankuro. His larger frame made it easier to help him along than it would be for the slight kazekage.

"Are you staying at your usual place?" Choji asked as the five ninja stepped outside into the cool, night air.

"Well, if my escort ever bothered to show up, maybe we'd know," Temari remarked snidely before she could stop herself. Her face reddened when she realized she had used a possessive pronoun, but the color in her cheeks masked it, much to her relief.

Ino laughed, easing Temari's nervousness. Her mind was still clear enough to realize that they wouldn't get very far without the keys to her apartment. In fact, she had no idea if her brothers would be staying with her at the small apartment, or if the hokage had arranged for them to stay elsewhere.

Gaara, who was far more lucid than either of his siblings, and the only one free of the effects of alcohol, caught on to this fact the quickest. "It seems like we need to find Shikamaru."

Kankuro groaned, putting more of his weight against Choji. "Please don't make me walk."

"Okay, easy does it." Choji did his best not to jostle Kankuro too much as he pulled him up onto his back. The sand ninja was too ill to feel any embarrassment at his current situation. Choji took it upon himself to lead the way. Gaara walked beside him, keeping an eye on his older brother. Temari trudged along behind, matching her pace with Ino.

"Where do you think he is?" Ino asked her teammate.

"Dunno. But he's gotta be around here somewhere, right?"

The group wandered through the streets of Konoha as the moon rose steadily higher. The further from the gate they went, the fewer people they encountered. Soon Temari didn't recognize the faces of anyone they passed. She let out a languid sigh.

"Tell me about it," Ino commented. She then turned her attention to the front of the group. "C'mon, Choji. He's probably wandered off somewhere. I say forget him."

"Let's just see if he's at his place," Choji insisted. "If he isn't, then we'll figure something out." It was getting late, and playing 'where's Shikamaru' wasn't how any of them had planned to spend the evening.

Temari was sobering up as the night went on, but that didn't stop her from cursing him under her breath. Apparently, she wasn't as quiet as she thought, because Ino put a hand on her shoulder in solidarity.

She'd been on the road for three days. All she'd wanted was a good meal, some hot sake, and a long bath.

Choji set Kankuro down against a stone pillar, which served as the base for a large gate. A banner hung down, marked with the Nara family symbol. It didn't look like any lights were on. "Let me check." Choji left his companions behind as he walked down the path and up to the door. He walked from one end of the porch to the other, peering around the house.

Temari placed her hands on her hips as Choji made his way back to them. When he shook his head, she reached her arms up to the sky and twisted, popping her back. She was exhausted, and she'd had enough. "Fuck it," she decided, catching the leaf ninja off guard with her language. "There has to be an inn around here. Shikamaru can pay the bill."

"Now, come on, don't do that." Choji did his best to placate her. "You guys can come crash at my place. My folks won't mind."

Gaara jumped in before his brother or sister could say a word. "That's very kind of you. We'd appreciate that. I'm sure we will get this sorted out tomorrow morning."

"Well, I'm out, then." Ino raised her hand in farewell. "Let me know if you find him, okay?"

"You've got it," Choji assured her.

Kankuro took it upon himself to walk the rest of the way, but he also didn't hesitate to complain. His voice was the only one in the group; Gaara and Temari were both physically exhausted. Thankfully, they didn't have much further to walk.

Temari sat down in the doorway of the Akimichi residence as she removed her shoes, and she wondered if she'd be able to get back up. She certainly didn't want to. One thing was for sure. She'd gained a lot more appreciation for Choji. She also felt closer to Ino after tonight, as strange as that was for her. New friends weren't easy to come by.

Choji offered her his hand, which she took and used to pull herself to her feet once more.

"Up you go." Choji smiled. "Now, come on, you guys. We've got some spare rooms. I'll explain everything to my parents tomorrow. For now, let's get some rest."

Bedding, blankets, and pillows were stored neatly away in closets behind sliding doors, much to Temari's relief. She dropped her pack onto the tatami and gathered what she would need, half-dragging it out into the room. At that moment, the clean bedding felt like heaven.

As she changed clothes, she could already hear Kankuro snoring from the next room. That was sure to keep her up a while longer. Quietly, as not to disturb their hosts, she slipped into the hallway and tiptoed until she found the kitchen. She took a moment to splash water onto her face from the sink, enjoying the cool sensation on her warm cheeks. Before she closed the faucet, she filled a glass of water and drank until it was empty. She knew she'd thank herself for it the next day. Once she filled her glass a second time, she retraced her footsteps. Quietly, she slid the door to her room closed.

Too warm for her tastes, she opened the door to the walkway, letting the night air inside. She took a moment to sit cross-legged on the wood, breathing deeply. She needed to let go of some of her anger if she was going to sleep. Still… how could he forget? She couldn't admit that she was personally offended. But, even as a mission, he'd failed spectacularly. In a word, she was disappointed.

The realization weighed heavy on her chest. Bitterly, she hoped that he'd lose just as much sleep as she would that night. A yawn caught her by surprise, and she gave up the fight. She fell down onto her bedding, asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.