Adopted: Book 1 Refracted Sand [REWRITING]

Adopted Ch. 11 Echo

Temari woke up one morning and cracked her neck of all kinks that she managed to develop overnight. After washing up and changing into her casual clothes, the blonde kunoichi descended down to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She found Gaara already there, sipping on his own brew and seeming to be thinking over something. At the sight of her, he reached into the cupboard, pulled out a mug, and poured the steaming coffee into it.

"Thanks, ototo," Temari said when he placed the cup on the counter top and pushed it over to her. "Your food may be hazardous to mankind but your coffee is another story."

"I don't know whether to be pleased or offended." Gaara replaced the pot back in the machine.

Kankuro, bleary eyed and scruffy, stumbled into the room. His siblings watched silently while he staggered to the cupboards, pulled out a bowl, poured his box of crushed cereal and mixed milk into it. Then, he chugged it down. He reemerged fully awake.

"That's still as disgusting as it was when we were kids," Temari commented, watching her brother wash the bowl and place it on the rack to dry. "Can't you eat it normally?"

"Too much effort and I'm a lazy person." Kankuro accepted a coffee from Gaara and leaned against the counter. He took a huge inhalation, appreciating the scent of the hot drink, then took a sip. "Aaah... nothing like boiled bean juice to wake you up in the morning, jan."

"Kankuro, once you finish that," Temari rinsed out her cup and poured in some orange juice. "Wake up Suzume."

"Os..." the puppeteer responded nonchalantly.

Gaara pulled open the refrigerator door and bent down to look into its contents. His sea green eyes slid over the empty shelves indifferently and passed by a bowl of unidentifiable substance without another glance. He closed the door and opened the one on top that revealed the interior of the freezer. He dug around for a moment before he pulled out an empty ice tray. He stared down at it.

Gaara was by the sink, filling in the trays, when Kankuro and Suzume entered.

"Good morning..." Suzume yawned widely, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, a huge bump throbbing on her head.

"Sheesh," Kankuro scowled, rubbing his sore neck. "I'm still amazed that you can trip over nothing like that."

"Gomenasai..."

"Suzume."

"Hai, Gaara-sama?"

"We're out of food."

"And Kankuro drank all the milk," Temari sighed. "The prices have skyrocketed recently. Damn economy needs to improve."

"I'll go out and buy some box bentos," Suzume offered.

"I'll come with," Temari said. "Last time you went to the market alone, they made you pay 12000 yen for a carton of eggs."

Suzume frowned. "They said they came from a rare species of chicken."

"Suzume, the moment someone tells you anything comes from something rare, you can call bullshit right then and there."

The two sisters ventured out into the village. Suzume had her umbrella in her hand and Temari, unfazed by the stares, stuck close. They went into the grocery store and dove into the aisles. Thankfully, the early morning granted them a relatively empty store and only two or three other people were in there besides the employees.

"Hey," Temari called, raising her voice so Suzume could hear from wherever she was, "do we need to stock up on toilet paper?" She considered the sale sign attached to the shelf filled with giant packs of toilet paper.