Book One- The Enemy

Chapter 30

Hours after the battle, after the Earth's final call for the retreat, the troops dispersed and returned to their respected camps, the creeping light of dawn washing away the darkness of night, the bodies that lied still in the abandoned battlefield casted in an orange glow, the blood glinting under the morning of a new day.

A new promise for peace, they all hoped. The camp in the Land of Wind, busied with those able to move, began to warm, the cold night making way for the blazing heat of the burning desert sun, the victorious feeling among the shinobi that would have been now masked under the grim knowledge of what had truly occurred during the battle, and who had helped them. Their own turning against them, and the only ones who had known were the three hidden away in the war room.

The private embrace was suffocating, she was sure the two wanted out the moment she hugged each of her brothers tightly in her arms, relief that her promise still stood on keeping them safe, them alive. Gaara glanced though the sandy hair over to Kankuro who pulled a short grin to his brother when he looked over to him, the feeling all too familiar. Temari in the middle breathed with a soft sigh, subduing her strength even with how tired she was, her brothers safe, in her arms, protected even when she couldn't be there. Grateful for what he had done, anger shoved down for the time being, his plan had worked.

"Temari" Kankuro grumbled beside her attempting to pull back from her hold, Gaara remained still either finding it useless to fight her or just happy for the silent bliss of the action. They knew she had been worried, the rare sight only witnessed by those closest to her, the hug her only form of love to offer, the only comfort she knew, her words soft-spoken after her initial ranting. The mere action had them cornered and before they knew it, they had been crushed against her in her relief, and both simply let her have her moment, that was minutes ago "Come on sis you're killing us here"

"Just another second" she muttered and as she gave one last tighten of her arms, pulled back and looked to each brother her small smile falling and face slowly turning serious, the start of a lecture, her worry turning to a short-tempered anger, causing Kankuro to groan and throw his head back like a dramatic child, now he preferred the hug again "Do you two understand what could have happened today? How lucky we are things worked out? I could have lost you both, then what?" She dropped her hands from their shoulders and crossed hers over her chest, her expression as stern as their father's had always been.

If Kankuro had to guess, Temari had always been the most like their father, in attitude at least, though more prone to letting her anger show rather than masking it into a silent scowl like he had. She was the spitting image of Rasa, as Baki would mutter to him during her training. He might have looked like him, same hair, same eyes, same sneer, but he worked more than anyone to keep that term out of people's mouths, he simply never acknowledged his father's name after his death and spoke less about him than his siblings.

Yet the rare moments, like her embrace, brought faint images of kind blue eyes to him, the thought of their mother coming to mind when he looked at Temari, she cared and only showed the soft side of herself to them. Her life-long promise always on the front of her mind when she was around her brothers, though still an angry woman no matter what way you looked at it. He noted to himself that war had changed her, he was sure Gaara agreed by the small shift in his glance over to his brother when she spoke. With a sly grin he looked past his sister's glare and replied to her question the best way he knew how, as any annoying younger brother would.

"One of us would be spared from your nagging" Kankuro joked and chuckled when she batted his uninjured arm, the action lighter than he thought it would be, her expression turning to one of worry, betraying her usual candor. The rare moment she was actually a gentle sister, like when they were younger, rather than the cruelest as her title would describe her as.