Roses In The Sand

A Shift In The Reins

A young woman knelt at her father's side in a run-down old hut in River Country. His breathing was shallow, and every so often violent wheezing shook his brittle frame. Outside, it was storming violently, wind shoving against their shelter for all it was worth. A tattered old quilt covered the elderly man, and water drizzled down in torrents from holes in the thatched ceiling. The door, once boarded up, was a gaping hole through which the wind carried in icy spray as it bit and chilled the pair. White light split the dark clouded sky for a second, and then the world descended back into darkness as a rolling rumble reached the ears of Kyoisu and Tsubaki Tanuki. It was so loud, she did not hear her father draw his last breath, but she did see his eyes squeeze shut and felt him tense, then sag.

Her eyes burned with tears, and she leaned over him, clinging to her father's lifeless form as she rode out the night. Her hair was as black as the night, skin paler than the moon would have been if it were not covered by the clouds. She shuddered. Soon, the storm would break. The sun would come up, the wind would die down, her hair would turn silver, her skin would regain its tanned hue, she would be in charge of the family business...and her father would be gone.

She let out a sob, wondering what she would do now. Tsubaki was supposed to be going to the Leaf Village to tell them her father had arranged for her to be married and that she could no longer work freelance for them. But firstly, she did not want to be married, and secondly, her father never really said where it was they would be going. Could she consider Kyoisu's death a deal breaker, or was she still bound by the oath he made during one of his...contracts?

She jolted upright to the sound of birds chirping and looked around. She was soaked, her father was soaked...everything was, to be honest. Light streamed in through a large hole that had been torn in the ceiling by the storm, and her hair was a strange grey. Tsubaki hefted her father's body and carried it outside, slipping in the mud and moving towards their horse and cart. She laid him on the back, pulled a shroud around herself, untied the horse, put on a wide rimmed straw hat, pulled it low over her face, and got in the driver's seat, cracking the whip.

She couldn't just leave her father there, or bury him at all. The man had wanted to die in Fire Country, be cremated and scattered across the fields there. Tsubaki owed him the granting of at least the second part of his wish, if nothing else. He was a good man and he raised her right.

It took hours of riding over bridges and around the sides of mountains until she reached a gate where the rocky road abruptly broke off into dessert, and Tsubaki sighed. They were in Wind Country now.

Her gaze strayed over sands in the shimmering heat, and she frowned. It had been a very long time since she'd been anywhere near the Hidden Sand village. After they got to the Hidden Leaf home from her meeting Gaara all those years ago, he had hired a tutor and would often leave her behind when he left on business trips. Sometimes he would come home early with little trinkets from the Hidden Sand...and, eventually she began checking his pockets for papers because shw saw him burning letters late at night when he thought she was asleep. Tsubaki never found any, but she always suspected.

Had that boy been writing her all this time, but her father wasn't allowing contact? Why? And when she constantly asked about him, he arranged her a marriage that couldn't be farther away from the Hidden Sand...and away from Kyoisu, as well.

Tsubaki sighed and pressed the horse on, gliding across the sands until she spotted a blonde walking alone and pulled up alongside the familiar lady.

"Need a ride, Miss?" Tsubaki said, peering at the young woman from beneath her hat. She recognized the band the blonde wore as one from Hidden Sand.

"If you're headed to the Leaf." Her voice was familiar too...Tsubaki's eyes widened. This was Temari-san!

"Yes I am, actually. Climb on the seat next to me and let's carry on at least as far as the village's gates. I...I'm bringing my father home." She was suddenly worried about any stench the man may have been giving off, in all the heat and direct sunlight. "F-for his final rites."

The blond didn't say anything, simply nodded and climbed on. They rode in silence for half the day before Tsubaki broke it. "So what brings you out towards the Leaf?"

"Chuunin Exams." She nodded to some scrolls she brought with her. "Have to help with planning and preparation."

"Ah yes, it is that time of year again." She laughed. "Never did take that damn test..."

"Oh?" Temari's tone cooled considerably, and Tsubaki squirmed internally.

"Yes. You see, my father was one of the lead traveling salesmen in the Tanuki Company, and he got me into a school and paid for me to recieve a tutor after graduation, but...he convinced those in charge not to place me in a three man squad because he never intended for it to be anything more than self defense. He wants me to take his place in the company." She sighed. "It's upsetting to be the same rank as a young child though. Imagine...doomed to be a Genin for the rest of my life!"

"I wouldn't have stood for it." Temari shook her head, watching the sun dipping low over the sand dunes.

"When your father is Kyoisu, you don't have much of a choice. But now...maybe I can find some way to get in a team and advance to Chuunin. Traveling is nice, but all the paperwork and boot kissing is just..."Tsubaki stuck her tongue out, deliberately omitting the arranged marriage detail. "I tried it once and never wanted to do it again."

"Hmm...maybe I'll see you appear in Hidden Sand for next year's exam."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Sunagakure-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Gaara stood on the roof of his office, arms crossed over his chest as he stared out over the tops of the buildings in his village. His. Village. He couldn't get over that sometimes. The sight of them all going to arms in his defense when the Akatsuki came for him, and when both they and the Leaf ninja had been gathered around when Chiyo ressurected him. Had he ever, even in his wildest dreams, thought anyone would do that for him as a child? No.

His gaze turned skyward, head tilting back as his eyes closed. This was perhaps the happiest he had ever been. People cared about him. People needed him.

He opened his eyes and leaned against the railing, looking down below. He knew he had a month before his presence in Konoha was expected, but he wanted to see his friends...there was still work to be done here, of course, so Gaara knew he couldn't just pick up and take off a month ahead of schedule. He turned and walked inside, heading to his desk and sitting down. Picture frames littered the corners; him and the other Kages at summit, Kankuro, Temari, Naruto...his mother and father(surprisingly), him and an old friend from a long time ago...

He picked up a form from a stack in front of him, picked up a cup of fresh tea that had been waiting for him, and sipped it while reading it. Kyoisu Tanuki was to appear within the week, the teams selected for the exams needed approval...Temari had to bring him a summary schedule of how the exams would run, when, and where...the budget for the quarter needed to be set, and he needed to call a meeting with the advisors. People were applying for permission to annex more dessert and expand the village, some taxes have gone unpaid...another housing project...

He picked up a pen and some blank scrolls, signing the forms he could and writing messages inquiring further into things he needed more information on. He kept busy until eight in the evening, then sat back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began meditating. His alternative to sleeping, since even though he can now, he's not comfortable with the idea.