[6]⇐TᕼE ᕼEᖇO ᖴIᑎᗩᒪᒪY ᗩᖇᖇIᐯEᔕ ꕤ⇒

Nikko

"There! Fresh as a daisy," Nikko said with a beam to the beautiful tea cup. It sat pretty as you please on the tiny decorative saucer awaiting it's next use. The fresh gold which sealed the crack she had made earlier by dropping it was now fixed. The girl had been clumsy and nervous all day after yesterday's happenings. Meeting Team 7 like that had been enough to set her on edge and the last thing she wanted to do was be in the main story. Yet the characters where here--and why? She hadn't asked but was now curious. As far as she knew, the Land of Tea was not even a shinobi village. What could they be doing here?

Aponi, her trio of monarch butterflies, lit on the edge of the cup. "Hime-sama, don't forget the reason you're here."

The green haired teen shooed the butterflies away. "Oh hush! I know, I know. True love and all that--Oh! I-Idate-kun...h-how long were you standing there?"

Her good friend Idate Morino chewed his piece of straw and glanced away from her. Nikko was surprised that she hadn't heard the bell above the entrance ding. Something in his dark gaze made her on edge; it was frustration she saw. He ignored her at first and leaned over the counter she stood behind, eyeing the tea cup she'd fixed. "....Rough day?" He asked.

"Eh? No, not at all!"

He quirked a brow and twirled the straw in his mouth. "Nikko-chan...something you wanna say?"

"No! What makes you say that?"

Idate scowled. It was surprising seeing him in this mood, making the girl blink and swallow. She tried to think of something to say. "Have you been training for the race?"

Her words broke the tension. Idate smiled at her finally. "Yep. Sure have! There's nobody faster than me. I've got this in the bag."

She carefully filled the repaired teacup with fresh green tea and pushed it to Idate. "I see. Shizuka-san said that I could have the day off to watch it."

Idate took the tea and blew the top before taking a careful sip of the hot liquid. He then sat it back down on the counter and pushed it away. "I'd love to stay and hang out but...Jirocho-san is expecting me. So I'll have to take a rain check. Will you be alright on your own?"

Nikko nodded, took the cup and rinsed it in the sink behind her. "Yes!" She kept her back turned from her friend so he couldn't see the clear nervousness. "I'll be fine. Uhm, I'll just...go shopping or something."

Warmth. Idate placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to see his sun tanned face close. "Idate-kun! You scared me. You're faster than a ninja!"

He pulled his hand down and let it hang limply. "Ninja..? Don't compare me to those losers."

Nikko had never saw Idate act this way before. What do I say to him? She wondered. Aponi landed on his head and suggested, "Hime-sama, now would be a good time to show affection." At the idea she flushed but did as the butterflies said and took his hand, squeezing it. "Idate-kun? Is there...something wrong?"

The two gazed at one another silently. At length he tilted her face to him and asked, "You came from a ninja village. I know that I've never asked you about it, but...tch. Nevermind. It's not my business."

The teen girl had to look away from his stare. She felt guilt welling inside for keeping her background a secret from him. Still, Nikko held her tongue. Idate noticed she didn't say anything and stepped away. "Well, I've got to go Nikko-chan. Take care."

She forced a smile and waved as he left the tea shop. The bell above him dinged.

Gaara

He made it to a town. The dirt beneath his feet gave way to cobblestone. The area he found himself in wasn't poor by any means. It appeared to be a place where many foreigners came and went. The Land of Tea. Gaara sniffed the air and felt his gourd thrum a little. A familiar scent. Matcha tea. Which meant that he was nearing a tea shop.

His sandals tapped on the sidewalk as he headed towards the nearest business to inquire about Utsuri Nikko. From his left hand dangled the girl's shoes, and as he passed by a corner his sand darted out protectively and made a wall. Gaara paused, hearing, "What the hell? Why is there sand--? Hey, that looks familiar!"

The boy knew the voice anywhere. Excitement rose up inside of Gaara. The sand fell down to the sidewalk and sure enough, he saw bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Uzamaki Naruto.

"Hm?" The fox boy squinted then jumped backwards in shock. "Woah! What the! Gaara-san?! Am I seeing things?!"

Beside Naruto stood Sakura, who's mouth fell down, and a tall man with silver hair. Gaara recognized him as a jonin from the Hidden Leaf. What had his name been again? Kakashi-san, the copy ninja. Some feet behind the trio was Sasuke.

The copy ninja's eyes widened. "My. You're a long way from Sunagakure. I can only imagine what would bring you here." His gaze flicked over to a tea shop on the opposite side of the road where a bell dinged. An older teen left the shop and spotted the group of ninja. He scowled at them. "Tch."

Naruto followed Gaara and Kakashi's gaze and saw the older teen making a disgusted face at him. "Hey! What're you looking at?" Naruto demanded.

"A waste of space," the teen replied. He shoved his hands into his short pockets and spit out the piece of straw in his mouth. "What's a bunch of midget shinobi doing here?"

Naruto pushed up his sleeves and stomped over to the dark haired boy. "You got a problem with ninja? C'mon, let's take this outside!"

Gaara smelled the air. That scent again. It went away before he could place it. Sakura smacked her forehead and told Naruto, "You baka! We already ARE outside!"

Naruto rubbed his neck. "Oh yeah. He he he! Well, whatever then! You better be glad we're here on official business or I'd cream you!"

The dark haired teen rolled his eyes. "Pfft. As if you could even catch me."

Of course the boy's words fired up Naruto's spirit. He grinned wide. "Oh yeah? Bring it!"

"Fine. Not here though. Racing in town is forbidden."

Gaara furrowed his brows at the scene before him. He felt slightly left out seeing Naruto chatting easily with a stranger and ignoring him. A tiny pang went through his chest. Perhaps I'm not as memorable to him as he was to me, the sand ninja pondered.

"So...are you here on a mission too?" The tall jonin asked him, clearly ignoring Naruto and the strange teen.

"Yes."

Kakashi and Sasuke stared at him expectantly. The boy knew they were curious, but the Utsuri Clan's kekkai genkai was a top secret weapon; he couldn't discuss it. But perhaps Gaara could tell them a little bit. "I'm here...to find someone."

That got Naruto's attention. He and the dark haired teen stopped throwing insults to listen. "Find someone?" Naruto repeated. "Who is it?"

It wasn't in Gaara's nature to lie to anyone. But telling them out right who it was wouldn't be wise. The alliance between the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Leaf village was shaky at best. He would be a fool to let something that would give Utsuri Nikko away slip. So he said the first thing that entered his mind: "A girl with hair of jade and skin the shade of moonlight. She is...precious."

Naruto grinned cheekily before leaning close to Sakura and saying, "Oh, I get it. Gaara-san has a--you know--" he stuck out his pinky finger and wagged it teasingly.

Gaara tensed. It hadn't occurred to him that he could be misunderstood in such a way. But it suited the situation for the girl to be his girlfriend, so he remained silent.

The teen with dark hair clenched his fist and walked to him. Gaara watched him, curious. The angered boy glared into his eyes. "This girl--she's precious to you? Is that true?"

The Jinchuriki didn't understand why the teen was so clearly upset. As far as he knew he hadn't said anything offensive. Shukaku offered to kill him, but Gaara ignored the whisper and looked up into his brown eyes. "...Yes. Have you saw her?"

"Tch! And what if I have?" The boy replied.

Gaara couldn't fathom why the dark haired teen was acting so hostile to a complete stranger. He didn't like the boy's attitude, however, and let it show on his face. In response the boy backed up two paces. A trickle of sweat trailed down his jawbone. "...I don't have time for this," he mumbled before taking off. Everyone watched him run towards a hill.

"Huh..funny," Naruto remarked with a rub to his head, "That's right where we're going."

Sakura sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about this." She then spoke to Gaara: "Say, you said this girl had green hair and pale skin right?"

He nodded.

Sasuke walked forward and addressed him. "We've seen someone matching that description not too long ago."

Gaara nodded. "I see. And where was this?"

Naruto looked around before pointing toward the trees. "Way over there I think! Toward the baths."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her comrade suspiciously. "And just what were you doing at the women's baths, Naruto-kun?"

The fox teen flushed, stomped his sandals and waved his arms wildly. "Hey now Sakura-chan! It isn't like you think! I mean, I was there and all, but it was for research purposes only! I-I was just seeing if that pretty girl was okay or not! I swear!" He looked to Gaara pleadingly, "You believe me right? Right?"

Gaara blinked. It was a first time having such a conversation with anyone. He felt a dart of happiness tingle his chest. "Uzamaki Naruto," he replied, "you were peeking on her?"

Naruto froze into stone before cracking and falling over. Sasuke snorted at him. "Hn. Of course. Idiot. Way to go, spying on someone's girlfriend. What do you expect from a complete loser?"

A loud sigh made everyone look at Kakashi. He nodded at Gaara and said, "It was nice seeing you Gaara-san. At least this time we aren't enemies. Now, if you'll excuse me and my team, we've got our own mission to attend to. Good luck finding your special lady." He then proceeded to drag Naruto away by his ear while the boy yowled in protest.

Gaara watched them go before sighing a little. Their boisterousness was somewhat endearing. He wondered what it would be like to have a friend around like that all the time. Sasuke had Naruto, but who had Gaara?

Nikko

"Man...I'm pooped."

Nikko plopped down on a bench and rubbed her temples where a headache was beginning to set in. She couldn't figure out the reason behind Idate's strange behavior, but felt like it was all her fault. "He doesn't know that I'm from a ninja clan. What would he do?" She sighed and stared up at the fluffy cotton candy clouds that passed by. They slowly moved, exposing a hazy sky that was turning orange as the sun began to set.

Aponi lit on the bench beside her. "Hime-sama...maybe it's time to tell him. It would be better to find out through you after all."

"You're right Aponi. I'll do it the next time we meet!" She pounded her palm. "I've got to be truthful! If Idate-kun is my true love, then he'll be understanding!"

"That's the spirit! Go Hime-sama!"

Nikko smirked and hopped up. "Yosh! Why wait? I can do it now! C'mon, let's go find him Aponi!"

The wooden sandals she wore clacked with every footfall as she ran over the cobblestone and up the hill toward Jirocho's mansion. That was where Idate stayed, and where he had been headed when he'd left the Fukashima tea shop earlier. Nikko got halfway up the hill before beginning to tire. She stopped to catch her breath. "Ha..ha...this mountain is no joke. Jeez. Why...did they make it so ridiculously high?"

"Aponi doesn't know Hime-sama. You're almost there. Keep going!"

"Easy for you to say! You've got wings. And I've got these damn flip flops on. Ugh." She blew a strand of sweaty hair away from her forehead and eyed the hill. It seemed to grow longer but she ignored the dread and continued onward. After a few minutes she had finally reached the top. Jirocho's mansion stood pompously over the city below. It had several floors and was european in style. Overall, it was evident to anyone that someone important lived there. The entire area was gated with tall pointed iron surrounding it.

Nikko gulped in air and leaned against the gate's entrance. "Ha..ha..damn...I need a inhaler."

Two guards who were out on patrol spotted her and darted over. "Hey, you! What're you doing here? It's after hours."

The girl smiled and bowed politely. "I'm here to see Idate-kun. Please."

At the beautiful appearance of the girl and her polite manner, the two guards grinned and scratched their cheeks. The batons they held went limp. "Oh yeah? Why didn't you say so? Right this way Miss."

When the guards turned to let her in she quietly pumped her hand in the air. Yes! It pays to be beautiful!

She was led beyond the gate and down a stone path decorated with rose bushes and vines. A gazebo was to her left and a trellis on the right which led up to the second floor balcony. Large white columns held up the foundation. Arching windows were spaced evenly. Nikko took all of it in with wonder and awe. It was the home of the most important person in the entire town.

"Wow..." she mumbled.

The guards stopped at the large double door entrance. One of them lifted the knocker in the shape of a olive leaf and banged it loudly. Shortly thereafter the door opened a crack and a tiny elderly woman peeked out. "Hm? What's all the racket at this hour?"

"Madam, we have a special guest for Idate Morino." The guard said with a tip of his hat. The elderly woman squinted her eyes at Nikko then shrugged. "Eh whatever. Bring her in."

The door swung open and Nikko walked inside and looked around, in awe once more. The mansion was beautiful and gilded to the heavens with gold statues. Truly a place fit for a king. In front of her was a large grand staircase with led to the second floor. The elderly woman grabbed a candlestick from the nearest table and lit it. "Well come on then, I don't have all day! I'm needed down in the kitchen for tomorrow's party." The woman said. She walked quick for an older person.

"Hime-sama, Idate-san is living in the lap of luxury." Aponi remarked. Silently Nikko agreed. Idate had once told her how he had been adopted by Jirocho. Now the girl understood better of what kind of life he led. Her insides clenched. Idate-kun, you're so far above me.

The second floor was just as pompous as the first. Maybe even more so. Nikko gazed around until prodded by the elderly guide. "Go on then! His room is third on the right. Don't be here when I get back, you hear me? It's after hours."

"Y-Yeah. I got it. Thanks, miss...?"

"Brunswick! Matilda Brunswick, and don't you forget it!" The woman winked and shuffled off, candlelight dancing from the hallway walls. "Kids these days.."

Nikko smiled and turned to the third door. Idate lay just behind it. "Okay Aponi...here we go."

She worked up the nerve and knocked. A moment went past as she held her breath, then it swung open. "Hey...? Oh. Nikko-chan! What in the world are you doing here?"

The girl's ego deflated at the lackluster greeting. Her bangs hid her eyes. "I...was just coming to see you. Uhm, since we didn't eat together today."

Idate was silent.

A grandfather clock in the hall ticked away the seconds. Anxiety began to whirl into Nikko's stomach until she said, "W-Well, aren't you going to ask me inside?"

He snapped alert. "Yeah. Sure...come in." Reluctantly Idate moved to let her in.

What's his problem? Nikko gnawed her lip and studied his room. She had never been in a boy's room before and was surprised by how tidy and clean it was. So unlike her own. Idate's room was populated with varying furniture, such as a bed, end table, long chest of drawers and a desk with chair. All was top of the line and polished to perfection. There was nothing extra.

"Wow...it's so...nice in here," she said lamely.

"Nah not really. It's pretty boring." Idate put his hands on his hips and looked at Nikko quietly.

The girl felt his eyes and made haste to bring up why she was there. "So I've been thinking and..."

"And what? Here to say goodbye?" He guessed.

She froze. "Wha? No, not at all! W-What gave you that idea, Idate-kun?"

"Gee I dunno. Maybe your little boyfriend coming to find you."

His voice was flat and lacked all the warmth Nikko was used to. She glanced up into his once kind chocolate gaze to find even they were lacking familiarity. "What are you talking about? I don't have a boyfriend."

One side of Idate's mouth pulled back in a semi snarl. "Oh, cut the crap Nikko-chan! You were just using me this whole time weren't you! Toying with me!"

"Eh?! No! Not at all--!" The girl reached for his hand and he smacked it away boldly. "Don't touch me. You...make me sick."

"Idate-kun! Why are you doing this?" She cried out and felt tears welling up, blurring her vision. Nikko's chest throbbed painfully. "I-Idate-kun...I came here to--to tell you the truth about me. About--"

"What? That you're really a ninja from the sand village?"

Nikko froze. How did he? Did he know this whole time? "Where did you hear that?" She whispered, scared.

"Like I said. Your boyfriend." Idate scowled and faced his window which was open and allowing air inside. The darkness of night was the only view to be seen.

The girl put a hand to her chest and fearfully looked at the butterflies above her head. Aponi fluttered around wildly. "Hime-sama! Oh no! Oh no! That means someone has been here! Someone knows where you are, Hime-sama!"

Nikko wanted to tell the butterflies that she had already figured that much out for herself. And their freaking out was only making her own freaking out worse. Instead of that she gulped and crossed the distance between her and Idate, flinging herself at his back. "Oh, Idate-kun it isn't like that! Whoever said that was lying! I don't have a boyfriend! The truth is that I ran away--some bad ninja were trying to kill me.."

At last Idate seemed to relax and actually listen. Nikko tucked herself against his back and tried to calm down but it wasn't happening. Her eyes overflowed. "I'm--I'm scared!" She confessed.

"Hime-sama..." Aponi landed on the window sill and quietly listened to their owner sobbing away. Idate turned and held the crying girl tightly, pressing her head to his chest. Her purple eyes glistened as tears rolled down. "Nikko-chan," he mumbled, "I'm sorry I didn't listen at first. But I...I'm here, alright? And I may not be a ninja but..I'll protect you all the same."

The sobbing Nikko looked up into Idate's face, feeling her chest warm from the inspiring words. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down. Slowly, the distance between the two became shorter and shorter...

Then a loud noise interrupted their moment. It was a scream, and from the sounds of it someone was in big trouble. Nikko backed away and fell down on her behind. Idate grabbed Nikko's arm, yanked her aloft and tossed her roughly into his embrace. Before the girl could even squeak he jumped with her in his arms out of the window.

Gaara

Not her.

Gaara frowned at the corpse of the girl with green hair before shutting her eyes. His sand had detected blood in the ground and he'd followed the trail only to find the Utsuri girl's twin. Well, he guessed it was her twin. The corpse was covered in the darkness of night so he'd drug her to the edge of town for a better view. From there Gaara noticed her skin wasn't silky nor bouncy like Utsuri Nikko's had appeared. And her hair wasn't long or shiny like spider silk either. He stood and left the body there, intent on his task again. Utsuri Nikko is in danger. Where could she be?

He told the sand to come forth from the gourd and scout out the area. While he waited for the results, Gaara shut his eyes and thought. An image of the girl's bouncing breasts squished in her kimono as she asked him, "Are you okay, Gaara-san?" came to mind.

"What am I thinking about...?" He wondered aloud.

Still...

For a brief second the sand Jinchuuriki allowed his mind to wander off. In the daydream, Nikko was a lot less clothed and only had eyes for him.

"Kya!"

An ear splitting scream brought him back to his senses. Just in time, too. He had almost dozed off. Days had passed since his last accident and he planned to keep it that way. The last thing Gaara needed was to lose control in this village. His attention turned towards the owner of the scream and saw a woman running down the dark street, the lights lining it only helping a minute amount. He ran over and wrapped his sand around the woman and lifted her onto the nearest building.

"No! Let me go!"

Gaara rose up using his sand as a levitation device and took notice that the woman had green hair. So, he thought, they're definitely after Nikko Utsuri. This woman bears a minor resemblance. He smirked. The Utsuri girl's attackers clearly had no better idea of her looks than he did. That would work in his favor. "You there," he said to the woman, "stay here. I'll protect you."

"Please! Don't let them get me!"

Now that the woman was as safe as she could be at the moment he turned his attention towards the direction she had came from. Within moments he had used the sand to travel to the end of the road and looked around. The dark forest lay beyond, and it led to a hill where a mansion stood with the lights on. He saw two figures in the second floor window before he blinked. They both vanished.

"So you're onto us....no matter..." he heard below.

Quickly Gaara's sand caught several shuriken inside it's protective shell. Then, with a wave of his hand the shuriken all returned to sender. The attackers cried out and gave away their location. With quiet intention Gaara began to send sand below in a tiny undetectable amount. Once the sand reached the earth he instructed it to separate the minerals and produce more.

'If you sleep I can take all of these assholes' Shukaku said to his mind. He ignored the beast and focused, drawing chakra out and doing the hand signs for Eye of Sand. Snake → Monkey → Rat → Monkey → Bird → Monkey → Dragon → Monkey → Rat → Monkey

The third eye formed and blinked. Gaara concentrated and used his chakra to tell the eye where to go. It hovered above the tree line and began looking towards the hill. There it spotted two figures, one holding the other. "I-Idate-kun! What's going on? Where are we going?" He heard. The soft feminine voice was strikingly familiar. He pressed more chakra into the sand eye and caused it to lock onto the moving figures. "I don't know what's going on. But you said there's ninja here after you. You heard that scream; someone was attacked. And I'll be damned if they're getting the girl I care about!"

The sand on his back thrummed, letting Gaara know that his little trail had proven successful in it's mining and had quantified itself. While still using his sand eye to hone on the moving targets, he led the sand to his enemies last known location. At first he thought to merely kill Nikko's attackers but knew if he did so nothing would be gained. For all he knew, the enemies were pawns of the ringleader.

His third eye alerted him, revealing in the moonlight that the teen from earlier today had the Utsuri girl in his arms. He couldn't see her very well for the darkness but recognized the jade colored hair that shined in the moonlight. She's there. But why does that boy have her? He frowned, recalling the words spoken. The dark haired shinobi hater had voiced his clear disapproval of all ninja. Why, then, would he be with her?

Distracted by this, Gaara didn't at first notice the umbrella above his head. He then sensed it as his sand covered the top of him protectively. "What?! A sand barrier?" He heard someone exclaim.

"No! I-Idate-kun!"

The sound of many needles pelting his sand was heard before Gaara moved the eye to see who had attacked. A tall ninja stood on the top of a tall tree and grabbed the umbrella which fell back towards him. Utilizing the eye again, Gaara spotted Nikko crouched over a figure lying on the ground with several needles in their limbs. She grabbed his shoulders, "Idate-kun! Get up!"

The sand he had produced was ready to attack now. He sent it swirling around the ninja above the trees, distracting them enough that he was able to move the injured one called Idate before covering the Utsuri girl and pulling her towards his protective shell. No sooner had he opened the shell to allow Nikko inside then Gaara was attacked. One single kunai flew into the opening and slashed across his face. Hotness began dripping down his cheek. He ignored it for the moment, intent on getting Nikko to safety. The blood doesn't surprise me now, he realized. The fight with Sasuke and Naruto had done much for him.

Finally the girl was close enough to his shell he simply reached forward and yanked her inside before closing it up. "Ah--that sand! So it was you, Gaara-san!" She exclaimed rather loudly. Her voice echoed off the shells walls.

"Don't speak," he said gruffly. It was difficult to focus on the third eye he still had active with her so near. From what the sand told him however, the injured Idate was a safe distance away now on a building.

"Sorry! But...uhm, well, what's going on? And--is Idate-kun okay?"

Gaara sighed in defeat and broke the chakra connection to his sand eye and crossed his legs on the floor of the sand barrier. "The one you call Idate-kun appears to be injured but is breathing. I've moved him to a safer location on the nearest building. As for what is happening, I assume you're aware of the ninja who are here for you?"

Nikko could be heard rustling before he guessed she tried to stand. "Kinda, yeah...It's so dark in here! I can't see a thing! But..thank you Gaara-san. You saved not just me, but Idate-kun as well."

The sincerity in her voice gave Gaara goosebumps. A pleasant tingle grew in his chest and made him tremble from the unexpected sensation. He ventured to start a conversation while he awaited the enemies next move. "Utsuri Nikko...you were presumed kidnapped. Yet you are here in the Land of Tea."

"Ah...I'm sorry...its just...I..." she sighed. "It's a long story, okay? And now probably isn't the best place to--!" Her words cut off by a loud smash into his shell. Gaara could feel the intensity of the attack trying to drill it's way into the barrier. He quickly grabbed her to him and did the hand signs for the sand eye once more.

"Gaara-" Nikko began, but he clamped a hand over mouth.

"Don't talk now. I need to concentrate." He ordered and shut his eyes. "I don't know the other enemies location, and there may be others nearby in hiding."

***