"We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon"
― Konrad Adenauer
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The wind blew across the sand village tousling Kira's hair and grabbing the ends of the many strings in her hands, scrambling them. Frowning the teen brushed the grains of sand away from them, before continuing to weave the colorful earth tones together into patterns of knots and twists, her hands moving methodically with speed only known to those who have done the motions for years.
As her hands moved, twisting string this way and that, she listened for the door to open in the room she was sitting on top of. The Kazekage's tower was the highest point in the village and his office was at the very top, making it both a good vantage point and strategically vulnerable, Some Kira had taken notice of years ago.
"They should be done with the meeting soon, Kira."
She looked behind her from her seat on the roof, her black hair swishing as her ponytail brushed over her shoulder. Her two companions were standing, one stiff and straight, the other leaning forward slightly so she could look over Kira's shoulder. The girl was smiling, her blond hair rumpled by her ANBU mask sitting atop her head like a hat.
"Yeah. Thanks, Aya," Kira muttered, glancing behind her friend to look at the other person on the roof with them.
All three of them were ANBU, but the two girls were younger than the man behind them, who kept his almost plain mask, the bottom half covered in red cloth, in place. Shura was a stern man, something that two girls probably needed to keep them in line, even if one of them had been in the force most of her life.
Kira relaxed her neck again, going back to her belt in the making. There were twenty pieces of smooth twine in all – half of them were tan like the sand and half were dark blue. Her steady hands worked, taking the one section she had been working on – the middle – and finishing off another flat circle that was mostly tan with just one small blue bead in the middle. She was almost done, just another hour or so and she'd have a new belt for herself.
Even with her hands busy, she wanted to be done waiting. Her need to calm her mind was much greater than that of finishing her latest project. Her anxiety had been on high since they had gotten back.
They had just returned from a mission in the Land of Grass, and yet they had already heard enough to make her blood simmer in frustration and worry. Gaara, their Kazekage, had been kidnapped a week ago after single-handedly protecting the village, leaving him vulnerable. Thankfully, their allies in the Hidden Leaf were able to rescue him. Their team hadn't even known about it until today; no one had contacted them. She hadn't been there, and it made her feel a bit sick to her stomach thinking about it.
Of course, they wouldn't have made it back in time, but still...
She sighed, carefully rolling up her work and pocketing it in one of her pouches where a handful of glittering beads waited to be used as well. She tilted her head, turning around as she heard the door below them open and footsteps leave the room as the meeting ended. It had been about what happened, she assumed, as Gaara had only been back a few days and was recovering.
"Come," Shura's voice commanded from behind them and Aya smiled slightly before slipping her mask back on, a sad oni-like face replacing her ever-cheerful one. Kira had never understood that, how she could always smile, even after everything. Then again, she and Aya were quite different from each other.
Making sure her weapons were in place on her thigh, she pulled back on her own wolfish mask. She had learned from a teasing Aya that it was not actually a wolf but rather a desert coyote, though she still wondered if it had originally been a trophy from the Leaf before their alliance since most ANBU masks from the Sand were some form of oni or comprised completely of cloth like her two teammates'.
None of them spoke another word and with a small nod from the squad leader, all three of them vanished in a flash, quickly descending from the roof and entering the building. They reappeared in moments, all crouching in front of their leader's desk.
His siblings were there and the elder brother, Kankurō, flinched slightly from his spot near a lone couch at their arrival. Gaara sat behind the desk calmly, his arms crossed over his vest, his sister leaning on the front of the desk, her hands gripping the edge as she tilted her head. Finally being able to see him in person – alive and well – left Kira relieved.
"Team Fukurō reporting in from our mission in the Land of Grass sir," Shura stated. Gaara raised an unseen eyebrow ever so slightly before nodding his head.
"Proceed."
Kira and Aya stayed quiet as Shura gave their report on their Bingo Book assignment. Their job had been to track down a wanted ninja who stole Intel on their village, and dispose of him quickly. Upon finishing his report, Shura stood and pulled out the recovered scroll, placing it on the desk.
While he was doing this, Kira was surveying the Kage. Gaara had always been hard to read, and given his past, he had reason to hide his emotion. Still, even though he had been cruel and bloodthirsty as a child, she had never felt it was his fault; it was his father's. Kira had never felt any sorrow at the loss of the last Kazekage, but then she had never liked him. In fact, she always had loathed the man she had worked for in her younger years; she just hadn't had a choice in the matter. Kira frowned, worry swallowing her hate as she looked at Gaara. He didn't even know who she was, not really, just another ninja, but she knew him. She wondered how he felt, with the one tails now gone.
Even with his façade though, something about him was off. He looked more tired, and his posture was stiff instead of relaxed like he normally was when she saw him these days. The whole event had left an unseen mark on him, and she had no way of knowing what it's impact would be. She bit her lip under her mask and shifted a bit.
"We heard about what happened," Aya said once her leader had finished and they all stood. "We're all glad you're back safely."
As always, Gaara looked slightly surprised. Even after two years, it was hard for him to really get used to the fact that people were no longer scared of him. They looked up to him, loved him. He was a good leader, to be sure, but his actions on some points bothered Kira.
Like the fact that he had a problem asking for help...
"Yes. All things considered, things turned out fine. Thank you for the sentiment."
...All things considered?
As if nothing else could have been done?
He'd died for God's sake!
Kira scowled, her fists clenching at her sides, the leather fabric squeaking slightly and drawing the attention of the others in the room. Aya shifted next to her and even through the mask she could feel Shura's glower of warning.
The siblings all looked curious, though, not angry. She'd spoken with the elder siblings from time to time as they had grown up, Kankurō had even been a friend that she'd lost contact with, but Gaara only knew her as much as most did. She was an ANBU trained Ninja, part of team Fukurō. Just another ninja.
"Is there something you would like to say?" Gaara asked bluntly. Kira swallowed, wondering if she should just drop it. It had been her job before though, even if no one had known knew about it, and now she felt liked she'd failed. It was a silly thing to say; yet if she stayed quiet, nothing would change.
"Yes." She stepped forward slightly, getting in better range of the people she spoke too. "Perhaps in light of recent events, you should reconsider strengthening your personal guard."
"Kira!" Shura snapped. "Forgive her mouth, my lord," he muttered bowing slightly.
Kira scowled under her mask before stepping back again. She was out of line and she knew it, but still, she didn't feel bad about stating what was on her mind. Gaara stared her down for a long moment, before nodding his head and dismissing the group quickly. With that, Kira and her team flashed away and she knew quite well she'd be in for a lecture once they reached ANBU quarters.
...
"Well, it would seem she didn't take missing something so important well," Temari observed once the siblings were alone again. Kankurō shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not too surprised. It's not as if people haven't been hinting at it recently. She just stated it outright," he replied tilting his head. "Still, it was a bit odd of her to voice it, she's always been rather quiet, kind of shy."
Gaara, who had simply been listening, frowned.
"Do you know her?" he finally asked glancing at Kankurō of them. His brother nodded his head.
"Yeah, I used to run into her at the training grounds. She's younger than me, and for a little while, I helped her with taijutsu. She was pretty bad at it. We were friend for a long while, I use to spend time at her place when...things weren't easy at home. I guess we just... kind of lost track of each other." He shrugged his shoulders.
Gaara nodded his head. Most ANBU were rather quiet people from what he had seen. ANBU did see the worst of what it meant to be a Ninja after all.
"She brings up a good point, though," Temari pointed out, looking to Gaara who simply eyed her. It was not as if his siblings hadn't brought it up before, but it had been a while since the last time.
"Oh come on sis, we can handle this. Besides, we both know Gaara prefers people he can really trust," Kankurō reasoned. Gaara could remember a time when his brother had been scared of him, was too afraid to even be near him. Now, though, Kankurō felt the need to protect him in person. No one could do it better, or so the puppet master had said.
"I know, and I get it, but we can't always be there, you know that. You both do." Her sharp gaze turned from one brother to the next with her words. "I'm an envoi to the Leaf, and in a few weeks I'll be gone for over a month, and it's something only I can do. Gaara you know that both Kankurō and I would be more helpful as reaching hands, not just silent guards."
Of course, he knew.
It never left the redhead's mind that his position was one of careful balance. He was young and powerful, but he also had a very negative past and really no leadership skills other than what he had picked up along the way. Gaara had made his sister an envoi because she was friendly with several of the ninjas there and she was smart, so she could pass intel back and forth with ease.
He was also aware that his brother could probably do much the same. While not as smart as their eldest sibling, Kankurō had a way of convincing people to listen, and he was far more approachable than the Kazekage himself.
"While that may be true, I wouldn't even know where to begin with such a process," Gaara relented. He certainly didn't need an entire team watching him along with his siblings when they were available, but he also knew that his family did have lives other then what they were doing now. He could not take opportunities from them just because it made him feel better.
Kankurō rubbed his neck, standing up from his place on the couch. "There's no need to figure it out right this moment bro, these things take time," he reasoned. "I would think about looking into the ANBU who just brought this up, though, don't you think? I mean, it's been a while since I had more than a few words with her, but she's in the field she is for a reason, right?"
The redhead eyed him for a moment, his teal eyes skating over both older teens in thought before he turned to stare out at the village below him. The puppet master did have a point, but Gaara was not one to take chances. He needed to find out more about the ANBU nameád Kira before he put her in a position of trust.
"I'll have to speak with her then."
From behind him, in the reflection of the glass, Gaara saw his siblings give each other a sideways glance as smirks crawled upon their lips.
This would be interesting.