Adopted: Book 1 Refracted Sand [REWRITING]

Adopted Ch. 8 Give Me a Reason

Hisoka was sitting on Suzume's lap with the girl's arms wrapped around the cat. The cat and its owner's eyes went from side to side, arching a bit as it followed the ball as it was tossed to and fro above the tall net set up in the middle of the room.

They were sitting on the bamboo floor of the sparring room. The sound of skin striking leather echoed around the large, empty area and feet launching off the surface of the bamboo drummed into the beat. Suzume was observing the three shinobi toning themselves on the sport of Mintonette in which the goal was to make a sphere made of hard fabric make contact with the opposing team's territory over the net.

The Sand village was the most sport oriented Hidden Village amongst the Five Great Nations. In the past, shinobi would duel in hand to hand combat or even with weapons as a way to resolve differences. But this caused way too any internal casualties and the second Kazekage experimented with a way to decrease the deaths. He, along with a couple of his advisors, created multiple games that can make use of shinobi's abilities that had less risk of blood being spilled. The sports provided a way to compete with others without resorting to violence and soon were incorporated into the very heart of the village system. Sports were essentially founded and advocated in the Sand and was the reason why these games even became as popular as they were in the present. The people of Suna are very obstinate in recognizing their acknowledgement on that subject. Although, the sport of Aqua Aerobics was created in the Mist Village much to the displeasure of the Suna shinobi.

It was that time of the year where the Institute of Shinobi began its annual sports festival. Each class was assigned a sport and they were to train to essentially win in that field. The winner gets bragging rights and prize money. Likewise, the teachers and the teacher interns will also be competing for their class and since the Kazekage children were teacher interns at the Institute they were expected to participate. This year, they had been given the sport of Mintonette.

Suzume was enjoying watching her three siblings passionately practicing. It looked like they were having a lot of fun. Temari had her hair up in a single ponytail instead of her usual four tailed style and was wearing a tight tank top that showed off her hourglass figure. Sometimes when the training got heated, she would take off the tank top to reveal a sports bra and a bit of a 6 pack. Since all of her shinobi regimen was focused on her arms in order to swing her heavy metal fan, she'd put less emphasis on her abs which led to them fading a bit. She also had on very short shorts and was barefoot like the others.

Kankuro had on a very skintight jersey that, unlike his usual baggier outfits, accentuated his muscular body. His hair had grown out enough for him to be able to pull it back into a tiny bunny tail. That's what Temari called it as it reminded her of the brown desert rabbit's tails. Kankuro had been the one to say that they shouldn't be wearing shoes while practicing in order to achieve a bit more power in their leaping skills. Their knee guards and tennis shoes were neatly placed to the side of the room.

Gaara had on the same outfit as his brother, shirt and basketball shorts, but Suzume saw that he had less muscle mass compared to the others. Actually, it appeared like he just began to condition his physique. Gaara had told her that he'd relied mostly on his sand to fight in battles, never doubting its Absolute Defense, as everyone termed it. But Temari and Kankuro had advised him to build up his other specs ever since the raid on Konoha failed. Even if they wouldn't admit it, those two were worried that he wouldn't be able to defend himself should his sand be bypassed once more.

"Gaara!" Temari's mouth was spread into a horrifying smile as she readied to hit the bump pass from Kankuro. "Prepare yourself!"

The redhead seemed to steel himself as he locked his arms in the proper position. He made a fist with his right hand and put his left hand around it, making sure his thumbs are out and pointed forward. Gaara did it almost on instinct, showing how much he had trained.