The Siblings

Chapter 11

"This is such a drag" Shikamaru grumbled, leaning on a rock with his arms folded across his chest. "We've been waiting ages. I just want to get this over and done with so I can go home" he whined.

A slap echoed through the desert, drawing the entire Division's attention. Temari was towering above the pineapple-haired boy, her hands on her hips, while Shikamaru caressed his cheek.

"Pull yourself together, Shikamaru" the blonde scolded. "Everyone here is relying on you, so stop being such a whiny brat and be patient" she yelled.

I shook my head. "Knock it off, you two" I raised my voice at them.

Temari huffed and turned to me. "You pay attention to finding the enemies and I'll handle this lazy ass, ok?" she almost growled.

"Alright, alright" I shouted. "I need him silent, otherwise I can't stretch the radius of the Karuigan much more" I growled back.

"Gah, I'm too old for this shit!" the dwarf Tsuchikage called from somewhere in the back.

Both me and Temari turned towards him angrily, but then found each other's gazes and sent daggers at one another.

The stress of the battle was maddening. We would shout at each other, fight over the stupidest of things, misinterpret meaningless gestures and start brawling. Everyone was jumpy and nervous, startled by any sudden movements. We were all paranoid and stressed out. Tired due to sleepless nights, each of us dreaded the moment we would have to be on watch or the moment the battle would start. I hated the watch more than any of them, because I had the longest shifts. Having special abilities had its down sides. And the others feared that the enemy would show up while I was resting and I wouldn't sense them from afar.

"What's with all the growling, girls?" Gaara sighed, rubbing his temples.

Temari huffed. "She started it" she whined, pointing at me like a small kid.

"Yeah, sorry for interrupting a lover's quarrel" I retorted.

"You don't see me stepping in when you and Gaara have a falling out" the blonde continued, a smirk playing at her lips.

I went beet root red. "That's because we don't have any" I huffed.

Gaara raised his hands. "Alright, alright" he tried calming us. "How about you both focus on your respective assignments?" he asked, but his tone demanded obedience.

I shrugged and closed my eyes, focusing my energy towards the Karuigan. With its radius fully stretched, I sat still, waiting. It wasn't until about half hour later that there was some movement on the edge of the radius.

"I sense enemy movement" I shouted, eyes still closed.

I heard rustling and then I sensed Gaara's chakra settling next to me. "How many of them are there?" his voice rang through my ears.

"Only one" I furrowed my eyebrows.

The enemy kept advancing. At some point, he stopped and I sensed him calling upon the Summoning, after which three more enemy chakras appeared on my radar. There was one resembling Gaara's, soft and sandy. Then there was a strong, electric one, resembling the Raikage's. And between the two I couldn't compare to anything there was one steamy and warm and a dry, rocky one. And even though they were enemy presences, they seemed rather confused, like they didn't know what they were supposed to do or where in the world they were.

"Now there are four of them" I shouted. "But they seem confused. They are all powerful shinobi, but their intentions are mixed" I continued.

"Alright, rest now" I felt the red head's hand on my shoulder and I opened my eyes. "I'll take over from now" he said and held out his palm.