The group arrived in a small town. They stopped at a local hotel and packed their stuff out. The siblings took two rooms. The Lin boys - Shao, Nao, and Chao - gathered in the same room, while the Shin girls - Lao, Tao, Gao, Mao, and Dao - took a common chamber. Naruto and Hinata took a room for two, as well as Sasuke and Sakura. Shikamaru and Gaara preferred to stay in chambers for single people. But Naruto noticed something fishy - Gaara took a room next to the Shin girls' chamber. Naruto screwed his eyes in suspicion:
I've got to keep an eye on Gaara. He's up to something...
The friends decided to spend a night at that hotel, and in the morning disband into the town and gather information about the enemy, who was known by the name Akuno Hei.
In the evening, while they were having a supper, some young boys who were also spending time in the hotel, came up to Tao, Gao, and Dao, and started flirting.
"Hey there, beauties, what are angels like you doing here?" One of them, with richly clothes and a fancy hairstyle, grinned.
Tao and Gao cackled shyly, responding to the flirting of the handsome young men. Dao blushed.
"Hey, you, little girl, you look really cute!"
One of the boys touched Dao. She grew even redder and averted her eyes from him. Chao grabbed the boy's hand and pushed him off:
"Get off my sister, scum, and mind your own business!"
"Hey, you, punk! How you dare?!" the offended man stepped forward to attack.
Chao stood still, with a frown on his face. Nao, on his part, gave the flirting boys a strict glare from under his hat and veil. This creepy look frightened them. The leader of the boys, who earlier flirted with Tao and Gao, grabbed the offended comrade by shoulder and gave him a sign to stop. They all retreated, grumbling. They went to the second floor, in their chamber. Shikamaru watched them with an annoyed look. Tao and Gao were still laughing.
"What did those weirdos want, anyway?" Naruto was confused.
"Ugh, just some jerks..." Chao looked away.
"Well, they got away easily from Chao this time." Shao chuckled. "I hope they won't mess with our girls again."
"Oh, come on! They were cute!" Tao cackled.
"They were stupid." Lao frowned, clutching her empty wooden glass.
"Oh, you're jealous they didn't flirt with you?" Tao smirked.
"What?! I will never get jealous over a childish thing like that!"
"Here you go again, acting like the only grown-up... Admit it, you're jealous that no boy ever pays attention to you when we travel."
"Like if I care..."
Lao turned away, but everyone could notice she was a little angry and sad. Gaara glanced at her and Tao - this argument between these strange sisters had interested him.
At night, Gaara, lying in his bed, could hear voices coming from the neighbouring room - the chamber of the Shin girls. He got curious and lent ears to the conversation. The girls were having a heated discussion:
"You can never revive our clan, Lao - forget about it! Let me, Gao, and Dao do the job! You and Mao can never be loved by any boy, you know it well!" Tao Shin's, the Green Ninja's, voice sounded.
Gaara widened his eyes and puckered. He listened more attentively.
"Oh, yeah?!" Lao's ferocious but sorrowful voice echoed. "Well, what makes you so sure? It is my duty to lead the clan and I will revive it. I don't care how monstrous I may seem!"
"Nobody cares about your opinions, Lao. Face it - soon you will have to hand over the leadership to your nephews or nieces, not to your children. You remember father's words, don't you? You will never be able to have a man beside. Just come on, who will lay their eyes on a blood-sucking monster like you? It's impossible!" Tao persisted.
Gaara heard whimpers, which belonged to Lao.
She's... crying?
He was astonished - that girl had never cried before! She seemed really strong - just too strong to ever cry.
"So, you have already forgotten I gave up all my hopes, my personal life, my youth, my joy, all for you, my little siblings?!" Lao's sobs sounded. "I wanted you all to be happy, and I gave up on my own happiness! You know you all should have been dead by now, and that was your precious father's decision, but I insisted! I insisted on giving my Diyuma spirit parts to you, for you to stay safe and healthy! And that is how you repay me? That is how you show your gratitude? Are you grateful at all, telling me I'm a monster, after all I've done for you?!"
"Lao, sister, please, don't you cry... We love you!" Mao's voice interfered. She was kind, mild, and soft as always, perhaps even hugging her sister right now.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you - you gave up on all of your chances, as you say, so quit whining and face the fact - you will stay single for the rest of your life! I thought you acknowledged and accepted it the moment you decided to take care of us." Tao remained cold. "And, by the way, we're grown-ups already. We're not your babies anymore who did whatever you bade! We have our own paths to follow now. We want to revive our clan as well. I'm telling you, it's time to hand your leadership over to me. I'm the eldest among our sisters after you, and the only eldest Shin-Lin Clan representative who has a chance to get married!"
"What are you saying?" Lao yelled, "There is no way I'm handing my leadership over to you! I will rather hand it to Shao if I have to, but I will not! I will never give up on the leadership as long as I live!"
"You will have to!" Tao raised her voice as well, "Just think about it - you can never have a boyfriend, because, who would ever fall in love with a bloodthirsty, monstrous demon?! Shao, on his part, possesses the dark spirit part of Diyuma - he is the Black Spirit, the Black Ninja. Thus, he can have no children at all. He's not naturally capable of it. Nao is the most monstrous among us - who on earth would ever fall in love with an eagle-headed beast?! So, I'm left, and you saw how those boys flirted with me! Every boy in every town we travel to lays their eyes on me, Gao, and Dao, and I'm the eldest among them, so the leadership is mine! Mao cannot have a boyfriend either, everybody senses the creepiness around her! Just watch her jutsu - she can hear the voices of the dead! Who could ever have a business with that kind of a girl?! It's nonsense!"
Gaara widened his eyes - a jutsu that permitted Mao to hear the dead? Incredible!
"So, that is what you were aiming for from the beginning?" Lao shouted, "You always craved for leadership, huh? You wanted to overthrow me? You shameless little... Ugh, there is no word to describe that behaviour of yours! You don't even know what that means to me! My only dream was to feel the true love of a man... How can you talk like that to me?!"
"Cry as much as you want, but tears won't change the facts."
Gaara could hear Lao whimper, and Mao try to comfort her. This dissidence between the sisters made him thoughtful. He turned aside and stared at the wall. He seemed to have made a decision.