47: Trouble in Sand and The Pack: Part I 3

Yet to his amazement he would need to rethink that as he could tell that while Naruto was not exactly going full out. He was holding back far less against the women he was involved with. All in all it left Kiba with a bad taste in his mouth and as a result he had challenged the jinchuriki to a one on one match. Furthermore he had demand the blond not hold anything back. Naruto had hesitantly agreed. The last thing Kiba remembered was hearing Kakashi giving the signal to go and watching Naruto disappear before being hit harder than he had ever been in his entire life. Which considering his mother wasn't known for pulling her punches when they trained was definitely saying something.

The sound of humming pulled Kiba from his embarrassing loss back to the present. He focused on the source, who happened to be cooking, but as opposed to it being his mom he found that Aeris had finished chopping the ingredients she had gathered and was now sautéing them. She sensed his eyes on her causing her to look back with a gentle smile as she said, "I hope you're done brooding. Dinner is almost ready and I don't feel like eating in silence."

Kiba smiled as he got out of his chair to ask, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"You can get the plates and utensils," Aeris said as she turned back to her task.

Kiba did as she asked and again was confused by his current home life since at times Aeris almost seemed to act like he imagined a girlfriend would as she took over certain tasks around the house, such as the cooking of meals. Furthermore, he tended to feel that she valued his company especially as he would often offer to help.

Heading to the cabinet that stored the plates he asked, "Who'll be attending?"

"Just us," Aeris answered. "Yuffie and Tifa are being stubborn still."

Kiba nodded since while Aeris appeared to be trying to make the best of the new arrangement. The other two were still trying to find a way to circumnavigate the controls Kiyomi had placed on them. He chuckled as he recalled being called to the Anbu headquarters to collect the two women as they had been arrested for making a scene. He had believed they had tried to shout out how they were shinobi of Taki that were being kept against their will, but instead the two had ended up acting like a pair of drunks as their motor controls became sluggish and they started slurring their words as they spoke gibberish. As a result, they had been arrested where Yuugao had told him to keep a better eye on them. Fearing another meeting with the disproving Anbu Captain he asked, "What do you think they are doing?"

"Likely trying to test how far they can get from the village before collapsing due to it feeling like the gravity around them is increasing," Aeris replied smiling in amusement. "Considering some of the prisons we've been in you'd think they'd feel this one was a step up."

"I suppose," Kiba replied as he grabbed two plates, "But then again a cage is a cage."

Approaching Aeris, he held them out so she could fill them and then began to take them to the table. Aeris stopped him as she asked, "D-do you think it would be okay if we ate outside?"

Kiba nodded as he changed course and heading outside set the plates down near a bonfire pit that his family occasionally sat around. Finding it already set up, he lit the kindling at the base and watched for a moment as the small fire grew into a blaze. Sitting in a chair next to the Taki-nin he watched the fire as he began to dig into his meal. Despite it being different from what his mother normally prepared since most of Tsume's meals tended to be meat based, Kiba found he was quickly coming around to the more vegetable based meals Aeris cooked.

The two watched the fire in silence until Aeris asked, "So what were you thinking about earlier?"

"Nothing really," Kiba answered.

Aeris smiled knowingly before saying, "For it being nothing you seemed rather occupied by your thoughts. Please tell me."

Kiba had a hard time turning the woman down so after a moment said, "I guess I was just caught up in feeling like I'm becoming a nobody."

"You're the son of a Clan leader, Kiba. I doubt it's a sentiment others share."

Kiba gave her a small smile in thanks for her trying to cheer him up, but responded, "The Inuzuka aren't like other clans. It doesn't matter that I was born to probably one of the longest serving Clan Leaders it's ever known. Unless I can earn the position myself the title will pass to whoever defeats her. Truthfully though considering there hasn't been a male clan leader since the very first Inuzuka it's not something I've ever been bothered by." Kiba sighed as he recalled his defeat earlier at Naruto's hands, before also remembering another during the Chunin Exams. Setting his plate down, he stared into the fire as he said, "No, I guess you could say I feel like this because of a classmate of mine."

"Naruto..."

Kiba nodded as he explained, "I mean he's become someone the entire village looks up too. But if you could have seen him during the academy you'd think he'd be lucky if he didn't end up accidently killing himself." Recalling the many failures of Naruto during the academy he added, "Being paired against him during practice was almost like a gift since you knew you'd be the one coming out on top. But then the Chunin Exams happened, and everything changed. First he beat me in the prelims. Then during the final round I ended up getting put to sleep by a genjutsu like an amateur and awoke to find out he had saved the whole damn village by standing up against Gaara. I mean I couldn't believe it, when I ran into Gaara during the Chunin Exams it had been all I could do not too wet myself with fear, but Naruto ended up beating him. Now look at everything he's accomplished. He's saved the village dozens of times, has a bridge named after him, not to mention a harem of women willing to help him accomplish all his goals. Yet in comparison all I can really claim is to have fought off one of Orochimaru's elite bodyguards long enough to be saved by a Sand-nin. Pretty pathetic when you think about it."

Aeris remained silent before asking, "Have you ever considered why he's grown so much while you feel you've remained relatively the same?" She could see that Kiba hadn't so explained, "You're getting caught up in everything he has accomplished but forget why he is doing it."

"To unite the shinobi villages," Kiba said. "That's a relatively new goal. Growing up he was always going on about how he wanted to be Hokage."

"Those goals aren't as dissimilar as you are making them sound," Aeris said as she stared away from the fire towards the young man. "A Kage's greatest wish should be the safety and wellbeing of the people he has been tasked with protecting. You could say that by taking lovers from other villages Naruto has expanded the number of people he would feel the desire to protect. After all, a threat to Kumo must worry him to the same extent as a threat to Konoha. He has people he needs to protect in both places and along with that desire to protect other comes the knowledge that he needs to be strong enough to do so. Therefore, every bit of training he does is to gather the strength needed to face those threats. His eyes are always on the horizon which is why he pushes himself so hard."

"I train hard," Kiba said a little defensively.

Aeris smiled as she said, "I'm sure you do. I also imagine that you have begun to push yourself even harder since these feelings of inferiority have begun to afflict you." She giggled slightly as Kiba blushed as her guess proved accurate. Shaking her head she warned, "Kiba, you're never going to catch up and overtake him if your eyes are only affixed to his back in the hopes of catching up. If that is your motivation you'll only find yourself retracing places he's already been."

Kiba took her words to heart and feeling a sense of gratitude towards her asked, "How is it you can possibly feel like you deserve how you were treated?"

Aeris looked away as she quickly stood and said, "I-I think we should call it a night.

She tried to walk passed him, but Kiba grabbed her wrist as he asked, "Please tell me."

"Kiba, I've done horrible things in my life. I've..."

Kiba pulled her down into his lap, and stared into her eyes as he said, "I don't know what it is you've done and truthfully don't care. But I can tell you are regretful of it. You're also one of the most gentle and caring people I know. Try to forget the past and find happiness in the present."

Kiba then pressed his lips to hers and for a moment it felt like she would melt into his arms. But then she pressed her hands against his chest pushing him back and quickly said, "I...I need to go." She darted off into the dark leaving Kiba to wonder if the spark he had felt as their lips touched had been one sided.

*****************************

"Give it up Yuffie," Tifa said as she collapsed onto her back from what felt like an insurmountable pull of gravity. The pressure let up as soon as she stopped struggling to move forward but she knew it would return with a vengeance the second she tried again.

"Never," Yuffie shouted defiantly, "It has to be some sort of mental trick. I'm going to beat that red-head yet." However despite her words a moment later she collapsed and then sighed as the effects seemed to disappear.

Tifa tried to look at her teammate and felt a small smile as her chest made the feat impossible. In truth, Tifa didn't understand why Yuffie was so determined to return to Taki since it was obvious their village had disowned them. Not to mention except for being trapped as an observer in her own body for a time, she found the changes that had been made to it rather satisfactory. Back before there run in with the Kyuubi, Tifa knew she and her teammates had been gathered in part due to their rather plain looks. She found being given a face and figure that most women would kill for had been a rather fair trade for the inconvenience of losing control of her body, especially since she had realized that the blond man that the Bijuu had once been a part of was the same one they had tried to kill over a decade ago.

A part of her was afraid that even if they did manage to escape the village whatever magic the Bijuu had performed on her would disappear. She had tried to make Yuffie understand where she was coming from, but for whatever reason the deaged leader of their team was hell bent on returning home.

Tired of groveling in the dirt, Tifa decided to head back to the village. Finding that she could stand, she paused as Yuffie asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going back," Tifa answered, "Let's try to make the best of it for the time being like Aeris is doing."

"Aeris is probably just infatuated with that bastard," Yuffie said angrily. "He likely reminds her of that Mist Shinobi she fell for."

Tifa shrugged, before saying, "They do have similar personalities. She never forgave herself for what..."

"Who cares," Yuffie snapped, "Is that a reason to turn her back on trying to return home? Or the team? We tried to extract him as we promised, but the op went bad. It happens."

"You don't need to tell me that," Tifa said angrily. "We spent the better part of a decade in prison because things went bad. I'm tired of living for a village that let us waste away for a decade. Maybe it's time we try to find our own paths."

"Do what you will," Yuffie snapped angrily and with some effort as she began trying to crawl away from her teammate. "Some of us apparently value loyalty more than others."

Tifa watched the woman struggle and felt it was rather like a metaphor since it seemed her decision had left her shoulders feeling lighter than they had been before.

*****************************

Temari knelt off to the side, along with her fellow councilors, in the large audience chamber that was serving as the courtroom for Joseki's trial. Although not a lawyer, she was fairly confident in the case against the former elder. However, from her vantage point she would admit to feeling a little worried by the lack of concern being reflected in Joseki's face as he knelt in the center of the room.

A feeling she apparently had in common with one of her fellow councilors. "He's too calm," Pakura said watching the man carefully. "It isn't an act. He confident that he'll escape justice today."

"Hey, let's try to remain a little upbeat. The magistrate hasn't even taken his position yet." Temari frowned though, despite her words, as she had a hard time disagreeing with Pakura. She directed her gaze to her younger brother who was kneeling next to the prosecutor, who knelt to the left of the small dais where the magistrate would sit. Despite her concerns she took some comfort in Gaara's stoic expression. She knew her brother had his shinobi working diligently in uncovering Joseki's many crimes. She also knew they would be able to prove he had worked with Danzou to undermine the current Hokage in part thanks to the testimony of Komachi. Furthermore, they had uncovered a plot he had engaged in to secure a hidden gold mine by eliminating not only the town leader and her son, but the man that had hired him to do it.

The one weakness in the case though was the lack of human testimony outside of Komachi. In the several months that had passed since the elder's arrest Gaara had released and followed the birds that Joseki had used to contact his agents. Unfortunately in most cases the birds had headed into Iwa and the Tschuikage had refused to allow any Suna shinobi to pursue them, and if they had activated any agents in his lands he had refused to reveal it. Also, there turned out to be relatively few in both Kumogakure and Konohagakure. The reason for Kumo was due to his activating all his assets to deal with Rin when she had been activated by Danzou to assassinate Killer Bee. All of whom were Shinobi of Kumo, but due to its distance from Suna the elder had almost no plots active in the region. They had also mostly been genin and chunin making Temari believe he had been planning long term and hoping they'd achieve high ranking positions in Kumo's power structure before activating them.

Unfortunately the Raikage was loathe to admit that some of his shinobi had been compromised so had refused to let Suna follow the birds to their targets. Furthermore, the only reason she and Gaara had any idea that they had activated agents was because of Mabui.

That had left Konoha and Kiri as the only two villages that could have supplied a witness to Joseki's brainwashing. However, Mist had remained silent on the matter and outside of Rin, whose memories of her time as the Suna Elder's agent had been removed; Joseki had been unable to turn any of Konoha's shinobi in a similar manner in part due to Danzou constantly being on the lookout for his rival's agents.

There had been some discussion about having Rin come forward, but in the end it was decided against doing so. Primarily since it was felt that without direct access to her memories she could likely be a liability upon cross-examination. Also, explaining where she had been since Joseki's arrest would be problematic for the Harem, considering she had snuck into Earth Country recently.

The light murmur grew quiet as the magistrate from the capital stepped into the room. Taking a seat upon a pillow at the head of the room the man who appeared to be around the same age as the elder on trial said, "Greetings, this court is now in session." He leveled a stern gaze on everyone in the room and let it remain on the defendant a few moments longer than the others. He cleared his throat and then said, "I've poured over the evidence that was sent to the capital. There is only one word I can think of to describe what I saw, travesty."

Temari felt a smile threaten to appear on her face at the magistrate's words as her previous concerns began to fade. However, like a trap door opening beneath her feet she felt her hopes fall into a pit of despair as the man continued, "As in it's a travesty to see a man of Joseki's stature brought low by what I can only call unfounded accusations."

"Milord," the prosecutor said confused at how the magistrate could draw such a conclusion, "we are talking about a man that used Forbidden techniques on the shinobi of his own village as well as those of..."

"Be silent councilor," the Magistrate shouted causing the prosecutor to cease his objection.

"According to your own notes councilor, you point out that all the Suna shinobi that were found to have had these false personas volunteered for the procedure. They did so because they lacked the skill and concentration on their own and would have likely washed out of the shinobi program without his aid. No one can prove that any of those shinobi did anything other than preform admirably in the service of Suna. I find it is also worth mentioning that is a fate that may befall quite a few of these shinobi now that the jutsu has been canceled."

The prosecutor frowned at having his own notes on the case used against him, but undeterred argued, "Milord, but what about the evidence that he has made agents out of foreign shinobi. Actions he undertook without the Kazekage's permission."

"What does it matter what he does to shinobi from other countries? Do we have any of them here to testify against him?" The councilor frowned but shook his head no in response to the Magistrate's question causing the man to continue with disdain, "Then why should I pass judgment on him if the other villages couldn't be bothered to even send their poor supposedly victimized shinobi to testify on their own behalf?"

"You should care because it is your obvious lack of concern to seeing that justice is done that the other Kage didn't bother to send anyone."

Despite Gaara delivering his rebuke in his typical calm manner the Magistrate's face grew beat red. He began to shake as he said angrily, "Know your place whelp. You may be Kazekage, but in my station as Magistrate I represent the Lord of the Land of Wind. Remember that boy."

"Then one would think there would be more concern over the crimes Lord Joseki committed which could have resulted in the chaos of war erupting in the Daimyo's lands," Gaara said diplomatically hoping to calm the man while at the same time making his point. "One can only imagine how the other Kage would have reacted if it had been them that uncovered these crimes instead of us. By alerting the other villages of his actions we have at the very least assured them they were those of a lone agent rather than the entire village."

Temari noted that it was a tactic that appeared to work since the man had likely come to the conclusion that despite Gaara's youth he would be able to bully the former jinchuriki into dropping the case. Furthermore, she believed he realized that continuing to let his emotions get the better of him would make him appear less stately especially when compared to the unflappable Gaara's demeanor.

The crowd bristled a little as the Magistrate said, "I wish your words didn't sound so naïve to my ears, Lord Gaara. You see the world in a light that reality has proven time and time does not exist. All your actions have done is strengthened those who would threaten the peace and stability of our homeland. You may wish that your opposite numbers in the other villages have the same desires for peace as you, but history has proven time and time again that they do not. Even the current stability with the Leaf pales in comparison to the many years of open hostility that has existed between Suna and Konoha."

"Perhaps," Gaara replied, "but the friendship and companionship that exists between us now would never have happened if we let what had happened in the past dictate our current actions. All it took for our new close ties with the Leaf to flourish was for..."

"Yes, yes," the Magistrate said in a bored tone as he waved his hand dismissively, "I'm sure we can have quite the spirited debate on inter-village relations, but forgive me for finding no fault in Joseki possibly taking actions to ensure that Suna is not caught unaware by hostile actions from other villages."

"What are you talking about?" the prosecutor asked speaking up. "If you are suggesting that you believe the defendants claims that those he turned into agents were deep cover ones that he converted then I'd say that is wishful thinking at best."

"Yet you cannot disprove those claims can you?" the Magistrate asked barely hiding a smirk when the prosecutor faltered in countering his statement.

The prosecutor was forced to acknowledge the point as he said, "No, I cannot especially in light of the fact that those in Suna did appear to be volunteers. However, be that as it may, it can hardly be said that he held noble purposes in his actions of accepting a contract to kill a Wind Country Village leader and her young son."

The Magistrate focused a steely gaze on Joseki before replying, "No it does not. Yet, what I couldn't help but notice is that while the evidence does appear to be quite damning. It is never mentioned how one learned of this plot." He held up his hand as the councilor prepared to object, guessing what the man was about to say the Magistrate said, "Yes, I'm aware that an informant supposedly stepped forward with key information that pointed investigators in the right direction. Yet does this not lend itself to the possibility that the reason the evidence against Joseki is so damning is because it was made to appear so."

"Sir, with all due respect after Joseki betrayed his client, by having him murdered, he arranged for the land to be purchased by an alias of his that he has been using for years. We know this for a fact and..."

"And when people were asked to describe the man that went by this alias that they've dealt with over the years your own investigators received fifty different descriptions," the Magistrate said quickly as he spoke over the prosecutor.

"That's because he used the people that he turned into his agents to meet with these witnesses," the man said nearing exasperation.

"That is merely conjecture," the official countered, "Need I remind you that none of these so-called agents that he had in Suna matched the descriptions of the people that used this alias. Considering that all of the activities for this persona that you traced back to Elder Joseki took place in Suna it seems rather suspect he wouldn't use the closest agents available."

"Unless he was counting on the lack of trust between villages to offer some cover for his activities so knew it would be best to use those not easily traced back to him," Temari shouted from where the current Suna Councilors were kneeling. "Are you trying to be obtuse?"

"I am trying to ensure that justice is carried out," the Magistrate roared angrily as he shot to his feet. "Not allow some sort of witch hunt for a man that has dedicated his entire life to protecting his home. And you young lady should remember who it is you are addressing. I am a personally appointed Magistrate for our Lord Daimyo. My judgments are the law, and I find your case against Elder Joseki to at the very least be a potential plot to discredit him by those who would hope to take advantage of the gullibility of a Kazekage that believes that if we all just think happy thoughts the hostility between countries will just disappear. At worse an internal plot to remove a voice obstructing some of the Kazekage's recent initiatives."

"Now who's throwing around baseless accusations," Temari said unintimidated by the man or his position. "Do not forget we also have a witness who is here to testify that she witnessed Joseki plotting with Danzou of the Leaf on several occasions to drive a wedge between our two villages."

"I have not forgotten that, Lady Temari." The Magistrate said leveling a dismissive gaze towards Komachi. "In fact, I find it truly worrisome that you would offer up her testimony as evidence. If even a fraction of the rumors surrounding Danzou are true, then I have very little trouble believing he would still try to strike at his enemies even from the grave. For all I know she is still working for him and hopes to discredit one of his former rivals,"

"That's preposterous," Temrai responded heatedly, "She was instrumental in the Leaf's dismantling of Danzou's Root organization. She also helped bring down not only Danzou, but another respected elder Homura as well. You can't honestly sit there and expect us to swallow the garbage that she did all this so she could badmouth Joseki."

The Magistrate glowered as he said threateningly, "You are dangerously close to insubordination, Lady Temari." He shrugged as he calmly said, "Believe what you will but my word is law. This case is dismissed."

"What!" Temari shouted angrily as she quickly got to her feet, but was prevented from moving towards the smirking man by Pakura who clamped her hand over her fellow Harem member's wrist.

The blonde seethed as the Magistrate stepped down from the dais he had passed his judgment from and bypassing Gaara shook a greatly amused Joseki's hand. She watched tempted to cut the Elder down as he stood before her youngest brother to smugly to say, "It appears that you should have finished me off in that old musty basement, Lord Gaara."

Gaara didn't let his emotions show but a slight tone of anger entered his voice as he said, "Do not tempt me Joseki into rectifying that mistake."

Joseki laughed amused as he turned away to call back, "Well you know where to find me should you decide to."

Temari seethed as she glared at the exonerated elder's back as he spoke with several supporters while he made his way out the room. Hoping to support her brother she said, "Don't worry Gaara despite this setback his days as an influence peddler in the village are done. Most of the shinobi support you; he won't be able to stand in the way."

Gaara didn't respond at first making Temari think that he hadn't heard her. But just as she was about to repeat herself he said, "The threat he poses to our hopes of better relations with our fellow shinobi villages might be lessened, but so long as he remains free he won't just retire quietly. Sooner or later he'll need to be dealt with."

************************

Sari entered Gaara's office a little demurely as she was aware that he was likely still upset about Joseki's going free, although only a handful of people knew him well enough to tell. Sari was extremely grateful that she was one of them. She found him staring out the window with his back turned towards her. She spent several moments watching him quite aware that despite appearances he knew she was there.

"Did Temari send you to check up on me?"

Sari frowned at the question and would admit to being a little jealous of the blonde he was referring to. Therefore although her tone sounded playful, there was a hint of the issue that had grown between them in her reply of, "Can't the Kazekage's girlfriend check on her boyfriend without it being a directive from someone else?"

Gaara turned from the window giving her no indication he had noticed. His face remained impassive as he said, "Of course, forgive me for making it sound otherwise."

Sari fought back a frown since his tone almost made it sound like she was a diplomat that he may have offended instead of a woman he was involved with. She instead gave him a smile not wishing to start another fight with him over the state of their relationship or about how distant he acted with her. "It's fine. How are you doing? That bastard was rather snide with you. Is that the type of reception you get when you go to the capital?"

Gaara shrugged as he replied, "I've grown accustomed to people seeing my youth as an excuse to discount what I say or believe. I like to believe that in time people will come to understand the folly of clinging to old grudges."

Sari gave her boyfriend a teasing smile as she said, "Well it'll be helped along hopefully as old geezers like Joseki and that magistrate kick the bucket." She noticed a small frown threaten to appear on Gaara's face causing her to ask, "What is it?"

"You may be closer to the truth then you think," Gaara replied moving to sit behind his desk. He sighed sounding a little defeated in a rare display of emotion before saying, "In turns out that the Magistrate that the Daimyo sent is old friends with Joseki. I've had people watching Joseki ever since he was let go and even as we speak he is entertaining several of his closest supporters." Gaara paused before adding, "Including the man that let him go free."

"What!" Sari said sounding betrayed for her Kazekage, "How could the Daimyo send a magistrate with such close ties to the man on trial who he was supposed to judge?"

"That is the question," the former jinchhuriki replied. Sitting back in his chair he said, "There are two possibilities that I can see. The first is that the Daimyo was truly unaware of the ties between Joseki and his representative. A possibility since we only managed to uncover a fraction of the dealings he has had over the years. It might just be possible that he lucked out and drew a magistrate that owed him some favors. We certainly had no idea of what we were in store for today." Gaara tried to give a small smile but the effort didn't last. "The second possibility is that he knew full well, and sent the man here to send me a message."

"What kind of message would that be?" Sari asked in disbelief. "Let murdering psychopaths go who dress their crimes up as patriotism."

"That very well may be it," Gaara said causing Sari to give him a confused look as she had meant her statement half in jest. Explaining what he believed he said, "It is possible that our current close ties with Konoha is not something that the Capital is particularly glad to see. Therefore, where we see people like Joseki as a hindrance to the peace we hope to build. The Daimyo and the Capital see him as a necessity to maintaining the status quo. With people like him in place it makes it harder for us to drop our guards with the other shinobi villages."

"Why would they want that though?" Sari asked after giving her boyfriend's words some thought.

"I don't know," Gaara admitted. "But, take the chain of events that led to my father making the decision to invade Konoha with Orochimaru. For years after our signing the alliance with them the previous Daimyo continued to cut the funding to the village. He even began to farm out jobs to the Leaf. Yet, now we are being told to be wary of becoming to close with Konoha and the other villages, which is almost a complete reversal in policy."

Sari nodded but said, "True, but the current Daimyo was a cousin of the previous one. He might just be more wary of outsiders, plus my parents were of the opinion the old Daimyo's diverting funds from the village was so he could live a hedonistic lifestyle."

"An opinion that Baki shared," Gaara replied as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

Sari moved towards him and stepping behind his chair began to knead his shoulders. She frowned as he tensed at first, but was pleased as he began to relax from her caress. Leaning forward she whispered into his ear, "Gaara you need to stop thinking about it. This is still a win for you. It seems Maki and Pakura are strong supporters, and regardless of his escaping justice. Joseki's reputation is still tainted with the people that matter. Your shinobi."

The remaining tension seemed to leave Gaara's body as a result of her words. Sari decided to use the moment to her advantage in order to advance her relationship with the Kazekage further by pressing her lips to his neck. She felt some of the tension return causing her to frown, but she pressed on by nibbling and then sucking on his earlobe. She felt him shiver in response, but he attempted to turn to face her and from past experiences she knew it was likely to put an end to things before they even started. However, Sari sealed her lips to his and felt a glimmer of hope as he didn't pull back.

Coming around the chair, she straddled his lap as she deepened the kiss by sliding her tongue passed his lips. Hoping to finally get him to succumb to her advances she reached to the front of his pants and began to rub his hardening cock through them. Gaara groaned pleasantly so she gripped his shaft through his pants and began to tug it. "Sari...w-we should..." Gaara moaned as his girlfriend jerked him.

Sari interrupted him as she said, "Shh, Gaara just let me make you feel good."

But despite her words Gaara's hand gripped her wrist. He gained control over himself as he said, "Sari, now isn't the..."

"Time," Sari snapped in frustration as she interrupted him. "Then when exactly will it be the time Gaara. We've been dating for over a year, but we've yet to move beyond making out or light petting. I'm ready to move forward with our relationship. Why aren't you?"

Gaara had difficulty putting his feelings into words so hoping to calm Sari down said, "I just need more time...please try to understand."

Sari sighed as she said, "I'm trying. But it's getting hard to be patient. If it was just a matter of you wanting to wait until marriage I could understand...but something tells me even then we'd be having this conversation." Sari turned as she began to leave the Kazekage's office, she paused as she reached the door and without looking back said, "What's worse is you refuse to talk to me about it. If you can't even talk with me about what is bothering you, then maybe we should think about seeing other people."

"Sari, I..." Gaara trailed off though as the woman he had come to love left his office without looking back. He considered chasing after her, but aware that even if he caught up to her his words would do little to improve the situation let her go. A decision he would come to regret later.

***************************

"Ah did you see that brat's face when I announced that you were to be set free," Joseki's old friend the Magistrate said cheerfully as he downed a glass of fine wine.

Several of Joseki's closest allies chuckled in response even as the former elder said, "I again thank you for your help old friend. I hope your helping me hasn't put you in an awkward situation back in the capital."

The Magistrate waved his friend's concern off as he responded, "I do not forget my friends and I'll forever be in your debt for making that little problem of mine disappear."

Joseki smirked as he recalled the problem in question was a mistress of the man, who had gotten too big for her britches and when she realized that he never intended to leave his wife had threatened to go public. A threat she never got to carry out as she know occupied a shallow grave deep in the desert in thanks to one of Joseki's agents. "Still I was rather well paid for that," Joseki replied, "How may I repay this debt I find myself with?"

The Magistrate waved off the concern again as he said, "Honestly Joseki don't worry about it. Although he didn't exactly come out and say it, the Daimyo made it quite clear he didn't want to see things go Gaara's way. Who am I to go against the will of the Daimyo?" He laughed boisterously as he added; "Besides someone needs to remind that damn Kazekage that he serves at the discretion of the Daimyo and his court not the other way around. And I was just pleased as punch to be the one chosen to do so." The man tipped back his glass and finding it empty held it up as he said, "Although if you have another bottle of this and would be willing to part with it I suppose I wouldn't stop you."

"Of course," Joseki said pleasantly, "I believe I have another bottle in the cellar."

Joseki headed down to his basement finding he missed all the stuffed birds that had been collected as evidence. Making a mental note to get them back he headed towards a door in the back where his wine was stored. Quickly finding the rack which held the stuff he was serving his guests he headed back upstairs and found that the others had lapsed into silence. A little inebriated himself he called out, "Don't tell me you louts couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation without me present."

Joseki stepped into the dining room and paused in shock as he came upon the sight of all of his guests murdered. From the marks around their necks it looked like they had been strangled. He sensed the killer behind him and reacting quickly smashed the bottle against the wall and spun to face the uninvited guest. He stabbed out with the make-shift weapon and to his shock a wall of sand sprung between him and the cloaked individual. The sand quickly wrapped around his arm before crushing it causing the disgraced elder to scream in pain. He was silenced as more sand wrapped around his mouth before doing the same to the rest of his body.

Joseki stared at the cloaked individual as the sand finished surrounding his body. His last though was, "Have you finally learned what must be done to insure the safety of the village, Gaara?" As a moment later the sand crushed him covering the entire room in red except for a human shape outline on one of the walls.