Aftermath (A Sequel to A Flash to the Future)

The Suna Arc I: The Village Hidden in the Sand

Sunagakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in the Sand. The military capital of Kaze no Kuni. And one of the 5 Great Ninja Villages in the Elemental Nations.

It was surrounded by large, earthen walls that provided an ultimate and impenetrable natural defense for the village. There was only one small entrance in the front that was in between two cliffs. It's sandy, hot terrain was unbearable to many foreigners and strong gusts of sand-carrying wind greeted residents and visitors alike. Unknown to their enemies, several secret tunnels ran through various parts of the village and within the rocky pastures were operations disclosed to only higher ranking officers and officials. The harsh climate coupled with the never-ending dunes of sand and mirages caused by the windy desert assured that the village would never fall to an enemy and has never fallen to an adversary in its history.

Running through the never-ending desert, was team Baki, trekking in the coolness of the night across the seas of sand. Gaara traveled using his sand to float above the ocean of earthy dust. They were currently traveling at chunin level speeds, eager to get home and finally rest. They were only an hour away from their village now and were in a rush to make it in time before the upcoming sandstorm.

When they finally neared the village entrance, the guards seemed surprised as the head guard signaled one of the guards to notify their steward and the council. The village had been in disarray for the past couple of days. It had been both a relief and gripe to see the Kazekage's children appear after being missing for a few days. News of the failed invasion reached Suna within hours after the return of surviving shinobi who had managed to make it out alive. Baki was one of the few shinobi that had made it back to the village in one piece. When didn't arrive with his team, the council panicked at the heirs of the Kazekage clan being missing.

Two days ago, two teams of shinobi were launched to go find them. However, they were only limited to the confines of the Wind Country since shinobi were still needed within the village to keep things in order. The assigned teams had reported the previous day that they hadn't found any evidence or sightings of the genin yet. At the moment, the council was keeping quiet about their M.I.A. status and had been saying that they were still in Hi no Kuni.

But, now that the prodigal children have returned, the village could be put at ease and they could finally tend to other matters. When they arrived at the gate, they were instantly greeted and granted entrance into the village. Team Baki traveled the quiet streets of the village, missing the sight of the stucco buildings that would insulate the rooms inside and maintain decent temperatures. Temari and Kankuro eagerly made their way to the Kazekage tower, hoping to see their sensei and needing to report to their father.

They nodded at the guards at the entrance as they walked up the stairs toward the top floor of the building. Once they arrived on the fourth floor, they were confused when they were greeted with an empty assistance desk. It was only 8:00 at night and the Kazekage's assistance usually left at 9, an hour and half before the Kazekage left. They also noticed that the Kazekage's office was closed and locked. Kankuro and Temari's eyebrows furrowed while Gaara just remained stoic.

"What's going on?" Kankuro said confusedly. "Isn't tou-sama still supposed to be here?"

Temari inspected the place for a little before she frowned a little. "Something's going on." she replied.

"Indeed." a voice said from behind them.

They all turned around to be gifted with the sight of the man they had been worrying about for the past few days. He still looked the same as the last time they saw him, the only difference being the band-aid over his eyebrow. They could see faint bruising along his arms that looked like they were healing well and he was still wearing his jonin uniform. Kankuro could see the light bags under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't gotten much sleep since he'd been there and was probably tired.