Neha and Councilman Saboten, the top priority offenders, were escorted to the Sand Village with Baki and a three squadron team before any of the rest returned to the village. After them, Temari accompanied Shikamaru to Suna once he was fit enough to travel along with two squadrons to protect him. Her sister and brothers stayed a few days more as Suzume was still too injured to travel and her brothers needed to supervise at the black market. Once everything calmed down, her brothers joined Temari in the village in time for the Councilman's trial, leaving an antsy Suzume and her team behind.

Among her uneasiness, Suzume went to walk around the camp. Some of the shinobi were starting to pack up their tents to head back to the village, others would be arriving to take their place. She wished she could go with them. Being separated from her siblings made her feel lightheaded.

She had arrived near a cavity in the ground with rubble filling it a quarter up and tunnels spreading further into the other passageways underground. There were a couple more of these holes around the black market, concaves in between the burnt ruins of the town all buried in sand from the recent sandstorm that had pounced on them faster than they were ready for. Luckily, the shinobi had finished confiscating all of the illegal products hidden in the nooks and crannies of the town, and they had prioritized putting up shelter for the townspeople before the storm engulfed them.

Suzume jumped down into the hole to stand on top of the rubble.

While they had huddled in the sandstorm shelters with the sound of the wind screaming at them from outside, whistles of its screams slipping through cracks and making the lanterns shake and the flames flicker, Suzume and her fellow shinobi were patrolling around to see if anybody needed anything. Most of the villagers had fallen asleep. Some asked for water now and then. Otherwise, it was quiet with sleep, and the shinobi patrolled quiet as ghosts.

"Kid," somebody whispered. Shun the silver haired woman was sitting up and smiling at her. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes."

"Won't you come and sit by me for a mo'?"

Suzume hesitated, then went to stand in front of her, not yet obliging to sit. Shun didn't push it.

"I suppose you're feeling as anxious as I am being separated from your superiors."

"I heard that you and your people tried to escape. Five times," Suzume brought up instead of following the conversation, wondering if this was yet another attempt.

"Ah, no need to worry about that anymore. We've given up."

Suzume kept staring at her suspiciously.

"Come now. Neha herself ordered us to stop, so you can be sure there won't be any more incidences. She's accepted the alliance your leader offered." Shun gave her an odd look. "Bizarre how things work out. I would never have guessed the people we met in that inn would have so much power, though my words of then still hold true."

Suzume tilted her head once she realized what she was referring to. "There is nothing to free me from."

"Shinobi are as shackled as slaves. Many are forced into their roles, forced to die under the orders of selfish people. You seem to strike me as the same kind, nevermind how skilled you are, or how naturally you take up a weapon, your spirit is not aligned to the actions you commit."

"You're wrong."

"Am I? Then I apologize." Shun smiled. "I am not too worried anymore however. I think we've both chosen good people to swear our loyalty to."

Now, grains of sand showered down the edges of the hole Suzume was in. The sun shone down into every crevice it could reach, though the shadows were thick beyond.

Suzume thought back to the conversation she had with Shun. She hadn't realized the dissonance she felt between her feelings and her actions until the woman had put it into words. It's true that she had been forced to be a shinobi, if she had been able to, she would never have touched a weapon, but she couldn't live the way she wanted to if she didn't.

Suzume lifted her hands to examine them. They were finally starting to look proper for a shinobi, as rugged, calloused, and worn as her siblings. Shun had offered her freedom, but her freedom was the freedom to stay by her family's side. Jabari was right. If you're strong, you can do anything you want, you could even be happy, and strength meant the ability to fight. So she chose to be strong, and being strong made her feel alive. She may not be free or ever be free from the judgment of others, but she knew by taking on the sword she was exercising her freedom to choose to be by their side.

She clenched her hands.

...though, she wasn't by their sides right now.

"Suzume-san!"

Suzume looked up to see someone's silhouette standing on the edge of the hole.

"Akira-senpai."

She watched him drop skillfully down to where she was, and she walked a few steps forward to close the gap as Akira ran toward her.

"I was looking everywhere for you," he smiled through his breaths. It sure looked it. Though he usually has no problem with being out in the desert, he was glistening with sweat and panting hard.

Suzume handed him her water skin which he chugged gratefully. He wiped his mouth and smiled at her excitedly. "I have something for you."

He handed her a folded blanket.

The moment her skin touched it, she realized what it was. She quickly unfolded it to see the ocean spread out in front of her in woven thread.

Jabari's tapestry...

Something unraveled in her chest, her hands shook.

She had thought that by defeating Sora that she had brought herself and Jabari closure, but even right after seeing the man be swallowed up in her seal, even when she knew that he would no longer be a threat, even after all this time, she hadn't felt what she thought she would feel. She didn't know what she expected to feel afterwards, be it satisfied, or happy, or at peace, but nothing like that happened. She had been frustrated with herself. What else was there? Why was she like this? But now...

Jabari was gone. He was gone.

Suzume hugged the tapestry to her chest.

"I thought you'd want it back," Akira was saying. "You showed it off all around camp when Jabari gave it to you after all."

"...Thank you, Akira-senpai."

He smiled, and didn't comment on the sound of tears in her voice.

Akira looked around while Suzume tried to get herself together and noticed where they were. "Ah, right, the tree. I was curious about it too. It sure was strange, right, Suzume-san? Too bad it burned away. We could have studied it."

Suzume blinked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? This was where that tree was. That giant tree that grew out of nowhere and caught the rogue shinobi in its roots. You know," Akira said suddenly, something occurring to him, "it kinda reminds me of the tree back at the Kazekage Mansion."

Suzume's mind raced. A tree? What tree? During the mission? She didn't remember a tree.

"Oiii!" Ritsu had appeared at the edge of the hole this time. "What're you guys doing down there? You'll miss supper!"

"Alright, we'll be right there!" Akira started forward.

Suzume lurched forward and clung onto his wrist, looking at him in a desperation that took her teammate aback.

"Suzume-san?"

"Akira-senpai. Could you write that story down for me? The one about the tree that was here."

The urgency in her voice made him answer immediately without question. "Okay. Yeah, sure, of course."

She kept her shaky but firm grip on his sleeve as he pulled out a brush, ink, and a scrap of paper from his pack and wrote. Only when he handed the note to her did she release him.

"Are you guys coming or not?!" Ritsu's voice came again.

"Yeah!" Akira glanced at Suzume and then left, thinking it best to leave her alone.

When he'd gone, Suzume finally moved.

She scrawled onto the paper below Akira's writing. You're forgetting things.

The trial was public. It was a gamble, since then the Councilman could milk all the sympathy he wanted from his family and coerced civilians under his jurisdiction. The Council room, with the residing Kazekage statues with their stony supervision wasn't spacious enough for the event so the shinobi had set up tarps over the front of the Kazekage Mansion to block out the sun, fans spun the hot air around in a hopeless effort to cool them down, and they swiftly built a witness stand, judges bench, and other necessary seating and positions for a courtroom.

The spectator area was full of the excited chattering and greetings of shinobi, majority jonin with a high-ranking chunin here and there, greeting each other and discussing the case that was about to start. The rest of the lower ranking shinobi and civilians were crowded just outside a perimeter marked by a fence, clogging up the streets leading to the front of the mansion.

Gaara and his siblings were at the prosecutor's stand, while the defense was still empty. Behind it sat, the tearful wife of the Councilman and his children and grandchildren. The eldest, adults late into their thirties were grim faced, some of the more neurotic ones were yelling loud enough for everyone to hear about how ridiculous this all is and how they were going to pay for trying to drag their father down.

A drum boomed. Everybody started getting in their seats. The chattering slowly died down until every eye was on the doors of the mansion.

They opened.

Councilman Saboten was pushed out in a wheelchair, looking sickeningly somber, and obviously not as sick as he thought he appeared. Two high ranking jonin accompanied him from behind, and the man pushing his wheelchair was his personal doctor. His entrance was punctuated by a shrieking sob from his wife and his sons catching her as she fainted. It wasn't missed by anyone that the man did not have any advisors to help defend him.

Kankuro couldn't help scoffing at the man's gall. If Saboten thought he could win this without any help, he was gonna be sorely disappointed.

Baki and a couple of other Councilmembers exit from the same door after. More and more Counselors dressed in red wine colored robes filed in and took their seats in the special seating set to the side of the area until it filled up with no seat left empty except for Saboten's.

Councilman Dorai and Councilwoman Ryusa entered last. Once the elder Councilman took his seat in the Judge's stand, Councilwoman Ryusa who stood by him spoke.

"All rise to pay respects to Councilman Dorai."

After everyone stood to bow to the elder, they settled themselves back in their places.

There were still three seats which were apart from the rest of the seating made from the best wood that smelled of olive and carved with elaborate designs complete with silky seats that have not yet been filled, yet the trial began.

Councilman Dorai spoke, "This trial will be focused on the alleged case of Councilman Saboten and his illegal activities including but not limited to, participating in human trafficking, running a black market, the drugging and murder and conducting fights to the death with our shinobi and foreign shinobi, endangering our relationship with Konoha by trafficking a Konoha shinobi, as well as neglecting the pledge he made once he was given the title of Councilman of protecting the people, the culture, and the honor of our village. We will begin with the prosecutor's opening statement."

As Gaara stood and recited the opening statement, he was sensitively aware of all of the desire and emotions and plots that were entrapped in that perimeter. It smogged the air just as much as the desert heat.

But all Gaara needed to do was act as they planned. After giving his statement, he managed to catch the eye of Baki and the man closed his eyes in replacement of a more noticeable nod of support.

Saboten attempted to stand but made a show of shaking violently and then collapsing back into his seat. Councilman Dorai told him he may stay seated.

"My apologies, Councilman," Saboten bowed his head. He recited the story he'd been telling ever since he was brought back to the village. "These children are confused. I was conducting my own investigations into the blackmarket when our paths crossed and Gaara-sama and his team mistook me for the villain they were searching for because of circumstantial evidence. I was merely playing an act in front of the people in order to avoid breaking my cover. As a result, the plans I had for taking down the deeper cogs of the blackmarket that have been in progress for years have been ruined, and now I am being blamed for human trafficking. I was working tirelessly for the good of our village, clearly these claims against me are delusions to any shinobi or citizen who knows of my true character. This is a disrespect I refuse to bear."

"Thank you, Councilman Saboten," Ryusa said curtly. "Does the prosecution still disagree with the stance of the defense?"

"Yes, we do," Gaara said.

"Then please proceed to make your case."

There were four witnesses who were pertinent to their plan of entrapping the Councilman and keeping him from slithering out of his dues.

First was the native witness.

In exchange for less prison time, Sora testified against the Councilman.

"When I was sold to a man, the Councilman appeared one day," Sora was sweating profusely, looking down at his shackled hands, "I thought he would help me... but he looked me straight in the eye and then did nothing."

"Who was the man you were sold to?" Ryusa said.

"He... he was--" Sora glanced at the Councilman and didn't appear to be able to say anything more.

"What do you say to this, Councilman?"

Saboten smiled amusedly. "Are we really going to trust the word of a criminal? One who has given our village so much heartache and fear?"

"Objection," Gaara said, "that is an ad hominem."

Despite the truth in this objection, simply mentioning Sora's status as a criminal was enough to affect the Council's subconscious opinion of his credibility.

Second came the testimony of the Konoha victim.

"I am Nara Shikamaru," the Konoha shinobi stated as cool as ever in well spoken Su-yan, but his uninterested resting face was fixed up by Temari's grooming and now he looked almost respectable sitting up on the witness stand enough to incur more sympathy from the people around them, "I was enroute to Suna to deliver a letter when I was captured."

"Who were you delivering the letter to?" One of the Councilmembers questioned.

"Objection," Baki said. "That inquiry does not pertain to the case."

When Dorai agreed with the objection of the immaterial question, Shikamaru proceeded with his testimony.

"The Councilman in question bought me at the auction."

"I was only trying my best to rescue the young Konoha shinobi," Saboten interjected in a tired way. "I have already informed the Council that I was in the middle of an infiltration mission myself to take the blackmarket down. Of course I would do my utmost to save the young Konoha shinobi."

"Did he do anything to you to contest this statement?"

"No, your honor. I was rescued by the prosecution before I could interact face to face with the Councilman in question."

"And as the prosecution can't act as witness, how should we proceed?" Ryusa said.

"We have someone else to testify in regards to that claim," Gaara replied.

Third was the rebellion leader's testimony.

Neha looked washed out but bursting against the enforced handcuffs and drab prison clothing with two shinobi guards by her side. The contrast actually helped amplify her spirit rather than dampen it. As she spoke, her words and pronunciation of Su-yan was perfect and controlled, when her usual speech had many flavorings from her native tongue.

"My people and I have heard of the inhumane situation of the underground shinobi fighting rings. We often run into disposed of shinobi who were left to die by the people who enslaved them and take them in. Most of the shinobi from the Blood Prison are usually sold to political leaders. Some MIA's are usually kidnapped and raised as entertainment slaves. And there are hardly any who escape because of the drug addiction used to control them."

"But is there any evidence that the shinobi you took in were drugged by an illegal fighting ring?"

"Councilman," Kankuro stood, "we have documents that say the oldest imprisoned shinobi have died in prison, or else shinobi who were deemed missing and then subsequently as years went by, deemed killed in action. We have acquired numerous of these exact shinobi who should have been dead based on this documentation and who are in our custody now, quite alive. The former is too consistent of a pattern to deny it as a purposeful, erroneous documentation, but rather deceit in order to hide where the shinobi actually are, suggesting an inside job.

"The trafficking of shinobi has been a problem for decades. There are only three reasons why these death certificates were made, either to use the shinobi as human experiments, or to use them as entertainment or as personal bodyguards which have been determined to be one and the same, or it was a mass breakout. As most of the ex-shinobi in our custody who were in prison all have these fake death certificates under their name, and have been drugged, we can only assume it was a result of the second category."

This is the first time the crowd became disturbed and excited enough to shuffle around and mutter.

"You have established that it is an inside job which we've already suspected from the beginning, but you have failed to provide proof that I was in charge of that inside job."

Councilman Dorai nodded his agreement from his chair.

"I represent the people of the blackmarket," Neha spoke suddenly. "We give our word that that man is the one guilty of all the claims that have been brought up by the prosecution. A whole village of people have been witnessing his acts against humanity for years now."

"We have not directed a question your way, Neha-san," Ryusa said sternly. "Please do not give such an outburst again."

Neha was agitated and she opened her mouth despite the warning, but stopped when she caught Gaara's eye. He, nor any of his people, seemed to be perturbed. He nodded at her. She closed her mouth and sat back into her chair again.

When Neha was escorted out of sight, Saboten raised his voice, evidently sure of his victory. "We've entertained this enough, haven't we? All of these witnesses are either biased or have been bargained with to tell falsehoods. Bring forward an impartial witness!"

"As you wish, Councilman," Gaara said. "I call our impartial and last witness to the stand."

Everybody's eyes went to the doors once again, but they did not open. After a second, people noticed that one of the Councilmembers had stood from the bench. This time, none of the spectators could keep their control and talk filled the area.

Councilman Koyo had stood and started to head to the witness seat.

"I say!" Councilman Nousa exclaimed. "Councilman Koyo! What are you doing?"

Saboten's face was frozen in shock as he watched his peer settle down in the witness chair.

Saboten, Koyo, and Nousa have closely worked together since they took up their positions. They have been privy to each other's most unsavory projects and pastimes that shinobi started to say that if you wanted to take one of them down, you only needed to convince one to turn their backs on the other two. But it had appeared that whatever kept the three together was too strong to penetrate. Until now.

As Koyo spoke, rage had caught up with Saboten and he steamed in his chair as he stared at his peer while he spoke against him, damning him with every word assisted by evidence and graphics presented by the prosecution. Koyo on the other hand was calm and indifferent to Saboten's hateful gaze.

The Sand Siblings and Baki with the help of Baki's assistant, worked tirelessly before the trial to find out where Saboten had gotten the 10 million ryo he had to give to the auctioneer to pay for Shikamaru, which was a substantial price the man would need to send for. Baki's assistant had been the one to find out that there had been a withdrawal from Koyo's account, an amount of which when added with the withdrawal from Saboten's account that same day made up the owed 10 million. When confronted with this information along with some blackmail from his grand-nephew Toru, Koyo agreed to be their witness if he would be cleared of all charges against him in this case.

When Koyo was finished and left the stand, there was nothing Saboten could say to defend himself. At least he had the decency to accept his defeat quietly.

Saboten was stripped of his rank and his land and Suzume's relation to the Sand Siblings would never be questioned again. On top of that, Saboten was banished from the village with no chance of regaining his position or his citizenship in the Sand, the severe punishment a result of his act of trafficking a Konoha shinobi.

Elated from their victory, Gaara and his family dived into the cleanup required of their mission and the trial. Baki went to fetch his team of youngsters from the former black market while Temari decided to personally escort Shikamaru to fulfill his mission and then back to Konoha to help him explain the situation.

"I don't need an escort," Shikamaru said indignantly.

"What? So you can get captured again? Just accept the help," Temari said teasingly. "Let me just walk with you. Is that way of looking at it better for your sensitive ego."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want."

Kankuro and Gaara watched as their sister and Shikamaru walked away. "That's definitely a date," Kankuro smirked, and then the two brothers went the opposite way from their sister to visit the prison.

"I see your Su-yan hasn't improved. Looks like my mission starts with being your tour guide and translator," Temari said.

"Good, you can do all the talking for me. After the treatment I had the past few days, I think I deserve it."

"Only if you do all the talking in Konoha while we're there."

"Might as well since your Kono-go sounds like you're an infant."

Temari shoved him and they both laughed.

Under their banter, they knew that Temari had a dangerous job ahead of her. With the success of convicting their own high ranking Councilmember who was standing between them and their goals in multiple ways, there came the outcome of admitting that one of Suna's high ranking officials had trafficked a prominent Konoha shinobi from an esteemed clan. Even with the punishment dealt and Shikamaru safe, the political weight of the matter was monumental. But she had been the one to offer herself as ambassador for this matter, not trusting anyone else with it or Shikamaru, and also knowing that it would further solidify Gaara as the future Kazekage if one of his people represented Suna.

As they were walking, Shikamaru kept looking down at the letter he was delivering, squinting, mouthing the words, and looking around at the buildings. Temari had to break out of the respect she had for his work ethic, managing to keep the letter on him even when he was captured and trafficked.

"What," she said, "are you lost?"

"Your village's streets are built like a maze and all the buildings look the same," Shikamaru griped.

Temari smirked. She pointed to the opposite way from where they were headed. "The mail depot is that way."

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, it's a requirement for the mission that I deliver it to the receiver in person."

"Let me see it then."

Once Shikamaru handed the letter to her, she did a double take and had to reread the address three more times to make sure she was seeing right.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh... nothing. It's just that the address you're delivering to hasn't been lived in for hundreds of years!" she said in a dramatic voice.

"Oh, fuck off."

Temari chuckled as she started to lead the way. "Come on, it's this way."

Once they arrived at the recipient's address, they knocked on the door, after a few moments the person opened the door and Shikamaru introduced himself then held out the envelope. "Here you go, ma'am."

Konata-san accepted it with an appreciative smile. Saya was wagging her tail and staring up at Temari, expecting pats. "It's been properly received. Thank you for your efforts."

Shikamaru smiled, bowed, and then started to head back down the stairs.

"I think he's a nice young man," Konata whispered. "You sure know how to pick them."

"Konata baa-san, don't tease me. Kankuro is enough." Temari kept eye contact. Konata knew what she was thinking

"Later, dear. Later."

Temari nodded, gave Saya a swift pat, then went to catch up to Shikamaru.

Once Konata was alone in the apartment again, she tore open the envelope and swiftly read the letter.

I think I can handle a stray. was written there and nothing more. Konata took a deep breath in relief. The letter burned itself out of existence.

Two days after arriving back in the village, Suzume came home from the hospital with Baki who had gone to pick her up. Temari would be gone for a week as she had left for Konoha with her boyfriend while Kankuro and Gaara were too busy with officework so they had left it to Baki to take care of their little sister. Suzume had been the only one still injured enough to warrant being hospitalized for a few days after coming back to the village, and the damage to her chakra system made every person in her life berate her on her risk taking.

On the walk home, Suzume told Baki that he hadn't needed to come pick her up, since she could walk on her own.

"It's still nice to do."

Suzume frowned thoughtfully. "I guess."

"Baki-sensei," she said now, "since we managed to exile the Councilman, does that mean Gaara-sama can be Kazekage now?"

"Not yet, it sure makes it easier now however."

Suzume nodded at his words. "Once Gaara-sama is in power everything will be good again."

"Well," Baki opened the door of the house for her, "not everything, but it's a start."

"If a good person is in power, then isn't that enough?" Suzume asked as she took off her shoes and slipped into her house slippers. "With enough power you can do anything. It just matters if the person is good enough."

"It would be wonderful if it were that simple." Before Baki could explain more, Suzume told him she was going to take a shower and sleep.

The next day, Suzume met up with her teammates at their usual training grounds. Baki had arrived to promptly hand a letter over to Ritsu without as much as a greeting.

"I think it's better for you three to be aware of this," he said, as Ritsu unfolded the paper. "It was in my mail this morning."

Suzume looked over Ritsu's shoulder to see an official form by the Kazekage's office. Her face fell as she read.

According to the petition by the majority of the genin class, genin teams are now allowed the opportunity to refuse to work with genin, 2 stripe Suzume of the 256th Special Operations team led by special dune jonin, Baki.

Many have expressed the high chance of being in danger when working with the subject because of her history of refusing to work as a unit with her classmates.

As of today, this motion has been passed.

"As of today, more than half of the genin teams can refuse to team up with our unit," Baki surmised.

Ritsu returned the paper to their sensei and looked curiously unconcerned, Akira had a slightly judgmental and aggravated expression, while their youngest was hanging her head. She turned to her teammates to bow low in apology.

"I'm sorry. It's because of --"

"If you say it's because of you I'm going to kick your ass," Ritsu said calmly, almost instinctively.

"But," Suzume's eyebrows knitted, "it says on the paper--"

"They're looking down on us," Akira said, an unnatural anger on his face, "and disrespecting Baki-sensei. It isn't just about you anymore, Suzume-san. With this, they're spitting on all of us. Also, how dumb can you be?" Akira asked Ritsu who shrugged.

Baki clapped Suzume on the shoulder reassuringly before starting the day's lesson.

That night was one of the meetings for genin level shinobi. It was a mandatory seminar about a change in protocol around the structure of reports. Suzume arrived at the Institute with Ritsu and Akira completely intending to sit with them, happy that she wouldn't have to be tense the whole time while with them.

The jonin team leaders were standing at the front of the lecture hall and Suzume saw Baki talking with one of the other team leaders. He gave them a nod then went back to talking with one of his peers. A majority of their fellow genins seemed to have already arrived, with only a few coming back from using the restroom down the hall, and there was a good level of talk and greetings.

As the team started to look for a place to sit, one of the jonin called out, "Will everyone please divide up into their class year!"

Suzume suddenly felt her nerves chill over. She sharply turned to Akira. "Are you in my class year?"

"Sorry, Suzume-san," he said. "I have to sit with the remedial class."

Suzume visibly deflated. Ritsu and Akira both exchanged looks.

"Well..." Ritsu hesitantly started towards his area, "see you guys later."

"See you, Suzume-san," Akira said, giving her a worried look.

They left her standing there, frozen. Suzume gripped the hem of her shirt as she looked over at her yearmates. They were still settling themselves in their seats. She glimpsed Katsuo and her spirits lifted for a second before seeing that he and his team were already seated in a filled row.

She was only on good terms with one team out of nine, and disappointment in herself swelled unbearably like hot steam inside her.

Gathering her courage, she approached them and at the last second tried to sneak into a seat near the back. Once she sat down, somebody noticed her and tapped his friend who also turned around. Suzume tried to sink deeper into her chair.

"Look who it is! The Freak!" yelled a voice and the entire year turned their heads around to zero in on her. The shout also alerted the rest of the hall, and the other genin were staring at them as well.

Hatefully, Suzume felt like crying.

She didn't dare look up.

"Hey, bastards," somebody said even louder, "you're disrupting the session."

"Ya wouldn't want to show the other years how immature we are, wouldja?"

Suzume's head whipped up and she saw Katsuo and Otaki glaring at the rest of their yearmates. Two heads hadn't bothered to turn to look at her, and she saw that they belonged to Toru and Shiro. With a bit of mumbling, the rest of the year turned to the front again. Katsuo waved genially at Suzume and she smiled in gratitude and waved back.

Not two seconds went by after the lecture was over when, before Suzume could escape, Ritsu and Akira were standing over her.

"Hey, freak, ready to go?" Ritsu asked.

"Let's eat before we go home," Akira added, looking pleased about something.

Before Suzume could say anything, there was a loud shuffling and she looked to see her yearmates bowing at her team.

"Hello, Ritsu-senpai," they said in unison.

"Enough of that," Ritsu said in discomfort. "No need to bow. Save it for the higher ranks. But while I have your attention. I don't know if you put this into account, but, if you refuse to work with this one right here," he grabbed Suzume by the upper arm and wrenched her off her seat into view, "you're also refusing to work with me. And I don't know if you forgot, but working with me is a requirement to get promoted!"

Some of the genin seized up at his words, one of them mouthed 'shit' under their breath. What Ritsu was referring to was his elevated rank in the genin system which was a Five Stripe Genin. In Suna, the lower ranking genin can only become of the same rank if they are deemed worthy enough to work alongside an established Five Stripe five times, and being a five stripe is the only way to be promoted into a chunin outside of the Chunin Exams. And as of that time, Ritsu was the only Five Stripe in the system since all the others had already been promoted to Chunin. Consequently, the members of a Five Stripe team would automatically get promoted to a Five Stripe after going on ten C-rank or higher missions with them.

Ritsu huffed and released his grip on Suzume. "Dismissed or whatever."

They all rose and started leaving, casting furtive glances at the team as they went.

"Come on," Ritsu said, and started taking the stairs two at a time.

Suzume and Akira hurried to catch up.

Once outside in the dusty night air, Akira decided that they should go to a pho shop a few streets down, and the team started toward it.

"Th-"

"Don't bother thanking me," Ritsu said over Suzume. "It's a problem for us too if a good fraction of the genin won't work with us. What did you do to make them hate you so much, anyway?"

"I beat them all up once."

"Like..." he gawked. "Like all of them? Like, beat them, beat them? Like total annihilation?"

"You should've seen it, Ri-chan, it was amazing. Suzume-san was so gutsy. She told the teachers," Akira changed his expression and tone, eyes wide, and a calm and intimidating drop of voice, 'Wouldn't you like me to put those Concepts and Principles to practice, sensei?'" He broke the act with an awed, bright smile. "It was totally badass!"

Suzume had her hands up aimlessly, jumping from one foot to another, looking at Akira desperately. "How do you know?"

"I was in the office that day."

Ritsu let out a single HA with a throw of his head and roughly placed an arm around her shoulders, "This is the first time I genuinely like you. Come on," he shoved Suzume into the pho stall they arrived at, "my treat."

Suzume took in a calming breath as she sat in her seat, hidden behind the menu, as Akira continued to describe Suzume's school life.

"No wonder they're that pissy," Ritsu said once Akira was done and their pho were in front of them. "They got their idiotic pride hurt. Now it makes sense why they would give you to me though. I would be the only one able to handle you."

Suzume now had a serious stare locked onto her pho. Once she finished a bite, she turned to Ritsu. "Why do people like you when you're so unapproachable?"

Akira snorted and quickly stifled his laughter after a glare from Ritsu. "Yeah, Ri-chan. Why is that?"

"You're not any better!" Ritsu threw back at Suzume.

"I know, that's why I want to know why people like you more."

Ritsu shrugged. "They want to work with me to promote and that's not gonna happen if they're assholes to me. Maybe I talk more than you do. You did ask me how to be better at talking a while back. Who knows?"

"Give yourself a bit more credit, Ri-chan." Akira turned to Suzume proudly, "He's also a very charismatic leader."

"Shut up," Ritsu growled beneath his breath, blushing.

Suzume leaned sideways closer to Akira on the other side of Ritsu. "Being a leader makes you likeable?"

"More like if you're likeable it makes you a leader?" Akira said after a bit of thinking. "But I guess it goes either way."

"Isn't it just being strong?" Ritsu said. "After all, that's how the Kages are usually decided outside of the Sand, and people praise and like them."

"No," Suzume shook her head, "it's not about being strong at all."

Ritsu thought hard for a good minute as he chewed his noodles. "I suppose respect goes a long way. If you respect them, they respect you enough to trust you. And I guess trust is the same thing as liking them?" He ruffled his hair in frustration. "Ahg! I don't know! Why don't you just ask your family full of leaders?"

Suzume started eating thoughtfully for a few minutes, digesting both the food and the conversation.

"Why do you want to know anyway?" Ritsu asked as his side of pork chops came out.

"I want to be a better teammate."

"Then being likeable doesn't matter."

Suzume's eyes went wide. "It doesn't?"

"Not from my experiences. You don't have to like someone to work well with them. It's called professionalism."

"So what do you need to be professional?"

"Respect, again."

Suzume stared off into nowhere again before latching her gaze onto him. "Do you like me?"

Ritsu swallowed, caught off guard by her intensity, and then shoved a pork chop into his mouth. "Not really, but I did learn to respect you, to an extent."

He knew Akira was making the most insufferable expression.

Suzume had a lot to think about as she walked home after parting ways with her team.

She got to the backyard as Kankuro was leaving.

"Suzu!" He hopped out of the back door. "You're coming back late."

Suzume's eyes lingered on the files by his side. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, need to stop by some places and get some signatures."

"When will you be back?"

"Not until late," he ruffled her hair, "don't stay up. See ya."

"See ya," Suzume said as they went in opposite directions.

"Oh, by the way," Kankuro stopped and yelled over at her, "Gaara said Toru would be by at 9."

She paused in opening the door. "Why?"

"Said he wanted to tell Gaara something," he shrugged, "probably something to do with the deal we made with his grand-uncle. So can you handle that while we're gone?"

"I will," Suzume agreed readily, though unhappily. She added, "Please come back soon."

Kankuro laughed. "Will do, kid."

Toru stood outside the Kazekage mansion, kicking up the sand to make dust. The sound of the porch door sliding open drew his attention and he saw Suzume standing there with a tray holding a drink and a plate of cookies.

"You should come inside," she said.

"You've displaced your weirdness into the Kazekage Garden as well, I see." The tree's branches had stretched far enough to reach the building and cast a shadow on the entire backyard.

Suzume chose to ignore this. She placed the tray down on the stairs and went to stand in front of him though he gave her a disgusted once over. "Thank you for helping my family."

Toru had been a big help in convincing his uncle, Councilman Koyo, to assist in Saboten's trial. Not only did he report to the Sand Siblings additional incriminating evidence against his uncle by giving them other times when he'd wired money to Saboten for his slaves, he talked to him and threatened him that he'd reveal all the illegal activity he's done while Toru had been alive.

"It's not like I did it for you. Gaara-sen has done a lot for me, even though he could've just hated me. Besides," he made an offhand hand gesture, "it's not as if we really accomplished anything anyhow."

"What do you mean?"

"Another person just as corrupted as Saboten and my uncle will pop up and it will return to the way it was before. Power is always seized by the selfish."

"That's not right," Suzume frowned.

"What can you do?" Toru said. Then he stopped. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Speak to me as if I'm your friend."

"I want to talk to you though."

Toru gave her a suspicious look. "Are you just forcing yourself to tolerate me because of the Sand Siblings?"

Suzume looked him in the eyes and with all seriousness said, "I want to try to be a better teammate."

Toru stared at her. Then leaned forward so they were almost nose to nose. "A teammate? I don't trust you. You must have thought that once you were a powerhouse we'd be all over you, huh? Does it make you upset that we aren't? Being a powerhouse doesn't mean we'll automatically accept you."

Suzume's eyebrows cinched, not backing down. "Then what will make you accept me? When I was weak you looked down on me, now I'm stronger and you hate me."

"Bitch, you flaunted your strength in front of the whole school like a pompous ass, then blamed us for arson, and then disrespected us during team exercises." He scoffed. "And you wonder why we don't like you."

Suzume's temper bared its fangs. "You slandered my name, you've beaten me half to death, you killed Hisoka!"

He shrugged it all off. "Then I suppose we've both done things to hate each other."

The unfairness of it all made Suzume steam.

"Are we done here?" Without waiting for an answer, Toru knocked against her shoulder for good measure as he left.

Suzume didn't understand. Had she done something wrong? Was it her fault? Were her peers in the right? All this time she believed she had the right to be cold towards them, but were her actions disrespectful?

She pulled a hand through her hair, realizing how horrible of a host she'd been and that she'd chased off her brother's guest.

Gaara was coming back home later than he expected. He had gotten a call from Toru that he would have to reschedule their meeting, so with that he had one less thing to worry about that day. It was seven in the morning and the morning shift shinobi greeted him as he went through the hallways and toward the living quarters.

When he arrived, he relaxed, his muscles at his shoulders and neck unraveling. He sighed as he poured himself a glass of water.

He was walking to his room when he came to a slow halt as he noticed someone outside on the steps of the backyard. Placing his glass down on the coffee table, he joined his sister outside.

Suzume had sensed him coming and didn't look away from the tree while he sat down between her and a tray of water and cookies that had been left untouched beside Suzume, the water cup pooling its condensation onto the tray.

"Gaara-sama. I'm sorry, but I chased away your guest."

"It's fine. We rescheduled." Gaara stared out at the still backyard, missing the animals that had occupied the space before Suzume had found new homes for them. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was thinking."

"What were you thinking about?"

Suzume didn't reply for a good minute or two and he waited patiently, enjoying the morning air, fading away from the below freezing of the night and not yet the brain melting heat of the day.

"Gaara-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to be the Kazekage because you want the people to like you?"

"I suppose that would be the simplified reason," he acknowledged. "I also want to prove to myself that I can be better and more than I was before, to atone for my previous actions. I want to pay back what I owe, tenfold."

"So, even though you're powerful, people don't like you. But if you use that power for them then they like you?"

"If you're in a position of power it's your responsibility to use it for the people. If you abuse it people will naturally defend against you. There are those born with power and they are automatically feared, because people can't help but fear those who can kill them. It's a natural power dynamic. It is the ones who manage to earn the respect of those under them that are true leaders. It's natural to fear, so there's nothing respectable or amazing about leading through fear."

Suzume's eyebrows creased. "People with power can do whatever they want. Why do they choose to be selfish?"

"Sometimes, people are born with power, so they believe it is their right, forgetting their responsibility to those who serve them. But in the end, a selfish oasis is just a waste."

Gaara watched Suzume think over what he said. "Why do you have that on your mind?"

Her hands fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Toru told me that once I was a powerhouse that I expected people to like me. And maybe I did, because people didn't like that I was weak and I was with the honorable siblings, so I was relieved when I got stronger. But they still didn't accept me. Everything is so complicated." Suzume slumped more into her spot as if in defeat.

"Looks like we're in a similar situation." Gaara met Suzume's eyes. "We still need to prove ourselves. I'm not about to give up. Are you?"

Suzume's eyes steeled themselves. She shook her head. "No, I'm going to follow you, Gaara-sama."

"Then, I look forward to your support." He stood to his feet. "Would you like to help me in the greenhouse?"

That same night, Saboten, now without his title as Councilman, was out alone beyond the walls of the village in the expanse of the desert. The night was dark and only flares would penetrate it and there was nobody on the wall guard that would dare question his actions enough to do so.

He didn't know how the man did it, but one second where there was nothing in front of him, the next a hulking dome like man appeared.

He was hunched, his head at the level of Saboten's waist, his body like a rolly polly's, dragged along through the sand. He wore a robe of black with accents of red clouds,

"You're late. I've told you not to test my patience."

"I had to make sure some tongues were tied," Saboten said.

"I didn't think you had the balls to call me here after your little world has been turned upside down. Exiled? At your age?" Sasori sneered.

How did he receive word about that so quickly?! It hadn't even been a day. Saboten was grateful of the dark as it hid his surprise and he was able to compose himself before continuing. "It's nothing but a slight hiccup, I'll be in my rightful place again soon enough. What I want to know is why you sold your poison to the rebels knowing they would be using them against me?"

"I don't care about how my poisons are used once I sell them. And if they were going to use them to take down the Sand, it's an added bonus"

Saboten grew red with rage. "Even if I was a casualty along the way? And I was! Look at the position you've put me in!"

"Don't blame me for your failings," Sasori growled.

"No, it is by your actions I have fallen. I demand you remedy the situation immediately."

"I owe you nothing. You can rot for all I care."

Saboten felt his breaths grow shallow, and his voice grew higher. "Then... what are you going to do without me? Where are you going to get your information?"

"You think I rely on a single man to inform me about the village? You're as replaceable as a limb." Sasori began to turn his back on the man. "You're of no use to me any longer. Enjoy your exile. I won't be in contact."

Saboten's last hope, his last chance to get revenge on Suna's monster, on Koyo, his last chance of restoring his life in power and comfort was walking away from him.

"W-Wait!"

The slash of a tail and its stinger had sunk into Saboten's stomach. The man's color faded, his breath halted, and his limbs stiffened. Sasori pulled his stinger out, and Saboten's body fell like a statue to the ground.

Without another glance, Sasori disappeared into the desert.

Councilman Sakyu was on the border wall with binoculars, watching the whole exchange, seeming to be unhindered by the darkness. Strangely, the Akatsuki member couldn't detect his eyes on him.

"Hm, what a sad way to die," he lowered the binoculars, "but, fitting."

Sakyu also turned his back on Saboten's corpse and walked back into the village.

The next morning, it was reported that Saboten had gone missing. Everybody believed he had left secretly so he wouldn't have to face the shame of his loss, leaving behind his family without a word.