The Sand Meets the Light (A Naruto fanfiction)

Chapter 10: The Tunnels

        Yukari, Gaara and the others started their journey in the tunnels as they made their way from the entrance they went through before. They took their time going through the tunnels, as they dispersed in separate groups. Gaara and Yukari were walking up ahead, naturally leading their subordinates, while the rest were walking together in a loose distance. Temari stared at the two in front and had some questions running through her mind.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" she asked the Light Villagers. Makoto and Kei turned, curious about what Temari wanted to know.

"What's the Guardian that the council mentioned before?" Temari inquired as Kei and Makoto looked at each other, wondering whether they should explain or dance around the topic. Kei decided to just be honest and turned to Temari.

"The Guardian is the leader of the village. The former Guardian will select the next one by their own choice, transfer their powers and then subsequently pass away," he started explaining.

"So she was chosen then? How long has Yukari been a Guardian?" Kankuro asked.

"Since birth," Kei told them, which threw them off their guard.

"Is it normal to select your leaders from infanthood?" Kankuro asked again, with a hint of snide tone to his voice, but he did his best to hide it.

"No... Not really," Kei answered, hesitating to continue. He sighed, giving in to reveal information. "The truth is, many of the villagers thought it was a mistake made by the previous Guardian. When he passed on his powers to this baby in the orphanage, he was thought to be insane or just someone who didn't think straight about it. Too bad no one could ask what he actually intended, since he died soon afterwards."

"That must have made things complicated," Temari commented.

"It did," Kei said. "The council had to take over leadership while having to raise her from infancy. When she was old enough to learn, they allowed her to take on the responsibilities. With guidance from an adult of course."

"You?" Temari asked.

"Yes, I was tasked with being her mentor ten years ago. I was an officer working under the Council back then," Kei explained. "It wasn't an easy job to take on... but she was a good kid. Still is." He scoffed in amusement.

"So, does being the Guardian comes with any... special abilities?" Temari slyly tried to pry for more information.

Kei shifted his eyes to Temari momentarily with an unreadable expression. Strangely, he shifted his eyes away and kept quiet, not wanting to answer, which left Temari feeling puzzled, but she was reluctant to repeat the question. Kankuro turned his attention to Makoto, who didn't seem to be paying attention to their conversation.

"And what about you? What's your story?" He asked cynically, as if anything Makoto say wouldn't matter much. Makoto glanced at him, at first with an unimpressed look, but then her mouth carved into her usual toothy smile. Temari and Kankuro felt a creep up their spine every time she showed that expression of hers.

"You wouldn't want to know," that was all Makoto said. Temari and Kankuro again both turned to Kei, expecting answers from him instead. Kei shrugged, not wanting to answer anything involving Makoto either, though he did it more out of displeasure rather than privacy.

Gaara and Yukari in the meantime, were walking side by side in silence. As Yukari was looking at the map in her hands, Gaara looked around the tunnels, staring at the crevices and curvature of the rocky walls. His eyes then fell on Yukari, with a lot of questions on his mind. He thought about what he wanted to say, so he decided to try bring up what happened at the council meeting.