The Wind and Her Shadow

The Fall of the Kazekage

"Temari! Nee-chan, please!" a voice cried, pleading her to wake up. Temari rubbed her eyes and slowly dragged herself into an upright position in her bed. "What is it, Gaara?" That was when she noticed the fear in her little brother's voice, the worry in his eyes, the anger and vengeful feelings that were present in his words. Gaara was small, but he was immensely powerful and strong. He never acted this way around his sister, he never showed his feelings, he never let anyone ever know what he was thinking. Temari had last seen him this angry in front of her years ago, so whatever had happened tonight had to be something that had shocked and enraged him more than anything else.

"Tell me, Gaara!" Temari was yelling now, out of her extreme worry.

"It's Father. He's-he's-" His voice cracked in fury and trailed away into silence. Temari didn't need him to finish; she knew the words that he was incapable of speaking. Her father was dead. Her father, the Kazekage, her father, the greatest ninja of Sunagakure, her father, the leader of the Wind Country--dead. She simply could not process this seemingly impossible idea in her mind, and she was so busy in her own thoughts that she nearly missed Gaara's next words.

"The Hyou came. They were here. They must have used hidden jutsus, and..." He turned away, not wanting his sister to hear his voice shaking out of pure fury and panic. The Hyou were the rebels who wished to kill their family in order for their leader, Kuro Ken, to take over the position of Kazekage. This man, whose name meant "the black sword," or "the strong ninth son," was vicious and bloodthirsty. Nothing good could possibly come from having him as a leader. He and the rest of his merciless organization had tried to kill the siblings' father multiple times, and finally, one night, when he had been least expecting it, they had succeeded.

"Go get Kankurou, Gaara. Wake him up. I'll get our things ready." Temari grabbed her fan from the corner of the room and slung it onto her mattress in order to have space to open the closet. Pushing the wooden panels to the left, she stepped forward, shifting through her clothes until she found a black kimono. She pulled it out and paused to look at it for a few moments.

This plain, dark, traditional outfit was her favorite, with a low v-neck, a red sash and a long slit on the right side to have room to move her legs. Perfect for both combat and distraction, she thought to herself. Men she fought always seemed to look at her tan legs while she was walking or running towards them, which she of course used to her own advantage.

She slipped the kimono over her fishnet shirt and shorts, which she wore everywhere, even to sleep. Over the fishnets, Temari wore a tight shirt and shorts ensemble that concealed a pocket, lined with thick leather, which contained a small pouch with a kunai knife. She slept with it, she trained with it; it was always with her in case of an emergency. She knew the dangers of an unexpected attack which a person was unprepared for, like an attack during the night. Temari had to be prepared for anything, or else she would end up like-like... Her thoughts trailed away into nothingness, soon replaced by a feeling of realization that struck her as suddenly as if a stone the size of Gaara had dropped on her head.

Neither of the siblings had ever loved their father, just as he had never truly cared for them. When he was angry at his children, he would show it, entering a fit of rage that caused Temari, Kankurou and Gaara to run away from the house as quickly as possible, or they would be beaten black and blue. But no matter what they thought of him, to the rest of the village, he was simply a wonderful, strong and powerful Kazekage. This was the only reason she cared about his death; not because he was her father, but because now that the Kazekage was gone, his children would be the next victims. Temari's teal eyes acquired a hard look, and she brought down her fist upon the first thing she saw, which happened to be her bedside table. It didn't hurt. She was so furious that nothing could give her pain.

A few minutes later, Temari stood in the kitchen, packing food that could last them about a day. She suddenly stopped, put down the sandwich she was making, and collapsed onto the counter, her head in her hands. For what seemed like hours, she stayed there, silent, in that position, as she listened to her two brothers upstairs. Kankurou was screaming and crying out angry shouts of vengeance, but his rage was causing his voice to crack, as if he was entering puberty once again. Those hadn't been pleasant times, Temari recalled.

Gaara was silent, as he always was, but Temari knew that he was thinking the same thing as her: they had to run away. They could not stay in this village, where the Hyou were waiting at every street corner, attempting to kill each member of their family. But where could they go? Around Sunagakure, there was nothing but desert for miles and miles. Then the answer came to her: they could go to Konohagakure. They knew the people well enough there, and her first chuunin exams, when she had battled Tenten and Shikamaru, had been held in that village. Her family would surely be welcome.

Loud footsteps descended the stairs, and Kankurou arrived in the kitchen, prepared with his three battle-ready puppets safely sealed in scrolls that were strapped upon his back, and fresh lines of purple face paint. Softer steps then followed, and Gaara stepped into the room, fully equipped with his huge sand gourd and vengeful, shadowed green eyes scrutinizing every corner of the room. As she stole a glance at her sibling, never had his tattoo, the kanji for love, seemed so meaningful to Temari. Throwing the sandwiches, water, fruits and the rest of the cookies that she had made the day before into a fabric bag, she tied her fan securely to her back. Although she was not an adult, she was the oldest sibling, and both of her brothers knew that they would have to listen to her, or there would be consequences. They both remembered an occasion when they had not done so, and Kankurou had ended up with a broken arm while Gaara had stayed away from the house for three days.

Temari grabbed the bag of supplies, and turned towards Kankurou and Gaara.

"We're going to Konoha."