T H E L O S T Y U N A

Hopeless

"Hya!" I yelled, blasting chakra through my palms as I threw a sword towards another set of wooden dummies. Their necks splintered apart in an instant, sending one of their wooden heads barreling in my direction. I quickly steadied my breathing and twisted my body, ignoring the sweat running down my face and sending a roundhouse kick in the air that collided with the debris. It flew back in the other direction and I returned to an upright position.

Taking a deep breath, I spun around and called on my chakra once more before forming quick hand signs and slamming my fists on the ground.

"Earth Style: Rolling Ground Jutsu!"

The sand began to ripple and roll away from myself, gaining incredible height the farther my attack spread. It was as if I managed to turn the solid ground into liquid, if only for a moment, as the sand replicated the action of waves in the ocean. The rippling ground collided with more training dummies 50 kilometers away, weakening their forms and ripping them apart as the sand devoured them.

I let out a long exasperated breath that I didn't realize I was holding as I realized the ground was still vibrating off my hands. It was an odd sensation, creating a warmth in my palms that I wasn't accustomed to. Dismissing the sudden realization as an aftershock from my jutsu, I placed my hands on my knees. The wind was particularly absent today, and I silently wished for a breeze to waft by to cool myself down. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, and I decided that I probably had about an hour before I had to be at Gaara's office. I smiled down at the sand before straightening my back.

Things between Gaara and I have been pretty easy going for the past week, ever since our two a.m. tea. Knowing that we shared something, even something as small as lack of sleep, seemed to make me feel more comfortable around him, and I think he noticed that. We shared more conversation now, most of which was still centered around being Kazekage and the village, but it was progress. He was opening up more, slowly but surely, and so was I. The awkward tension that once was, was now almost gone, and he seemed to be more at ease because of it.

He almost seemed more human somehow.

Maybe I could actually ask him soon...

I let out another breath, and suddenly I was torn from my thoughts as I began to hear a slow clap emerging from behind me.

I quickly grabbed a kunai from my pouch and spun around in a defensive stance, but immediately dropped my guard upon seeing who it was.

"Very impressive. That last jutsu did a lot of damage," Kankuro admitted, gesturing to the now absent training dummies on the other side of the grounds.

My face turned red without my consent as I gave him a closed eye smile.

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't really realize that I had an audience..." I trailed off, wiping my brow on the sleeve of my jacket. "How long have you been here?"

"About twenty minutes or so."

I cocked an eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

"Sorry," he said, placing a hand behind his head awkwardly. "Guess I should have announced myself sooner, but I assumed you'd be able to sense me, what with your skills and all."

He winked at me and grinned, causing me to roll my eyes.

"I guess I just wasn't paying attention," I said, simultaneously cracking my knuckles. He stood and stared at me for a moment with a twinkle in his eye before subtly shaking his head and smirking.

"Anyway," he started, "Gaara sent me out here to find you. He, uh, wanted you to meet him in his office a little earlier than usual. Apparently he has some stuff he has to go over with you."