Echoes in the Rain ~Completed Story~

Chapter 13: Preparation

Gaara ran his hands through his spiky red hair as he entered the kitchen the next morning. It was no surprise that Temari and Kankuro were already arguing. Sitting at the table, he placed his head on the cool surface and listened idly to their conversation.

"I know a secret!" Kankuro said, sing-songy. "I know a secret!"

"What is it already?!" Temari half-shouted exasperated. "You've been singing, if you can call that it, that annoying song for the past hour."

"I can't tell, because then it wouldn't be a secret," Kankuro reasoned, smiling evilly.

"You're so infuriating!"

"I work at it."

"Humph," Temari muttered as she turned from the sink. Spotting Gaara, she asked, "What's wrong? You don't look well, Gaara."

"Nothing," Gaara answered as Temari placed a hand on his forehead.

"You don't seem to have a fever. Kankuro, he doesn't look well, does he?" Her voice was getting slightly nervous.

"I'm fine," Gaara said.

"He doesn't look well," Kankuro replied, standing tensely besides Temari.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Gaara repeated, much louder than before. Both of his siblings flinched.

"All right," Kankuro said. "Relax, Gaara. We're your siblings; we're supposed to worry."

"Hn..."

"Will you two be all right without me here to watch you today? I'm going to hang out with the girls to get ready for the ball."

"We'll be fine," Kankuro answered.

Temari looked dubious, but said, "Ok. Both of your dressy clothes are laid out on my bed. It's obvious whose are whose. Kankuro, please run a comb through your hair. Remember, this is a big event and if you mess it up, you'll have to pay."

"What's the price?" Kankuro asked, trying to act serious.

"Imagine the worst possible thing in the world."

Kankuro paused and then said, "Ok. That's what you'd do?"

"No. I'd do something one thousand times worse."

On that note, Temari grabbed her bag and walked out the front door. Kankuro's face was one of pure horror as he imagined what Temari would do. Gaara tried not to laugh, but it was hard not to. Finally, Kankuro recovered.

"It's ten currently. The ball doesn't start until six. What do you want to do for the next eight hours?" Kankuro was answered by a jade eyed glare.

0o0oo0ooo0oo0o0

Tenten's room was a mess when Temari entered it. Sakura was the first to look up from the chaos and say, "Hi Temari!"

"Hey. What happened here?" Temari asked as she put down her bag and sat on the ground.

"Well, Ino threw some of Tenten's weapons on the ground and Tenten and she started fighting and it's still going on. You want to break it up? Hinata and I already tried."

Temari got up and nearly stepped on Hinata, who was sitting on the ground. She started to apologize, but realized Hinata was too absorbed in her reading to even notice or care. Temari walked straight into the fray and said loudly, "Stop fighting already!"

Tenten and Ino stopped fighting and turned to stare at Temari. Immediately, they both shouted, "Temari-chan!"

"Yes, that's my name," Temari said, mildly amused.

"Well, shall we get started?" Ino asked.

"On what?" Sakura asked suspiciously. "I'm not sure I trust you."

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino pig!"

"Please stop arguing!" Tenten ordered. The younger girls shut up immediately. "Now that there's peace, what are we going to get started on, Ino?"

"Getting ready for tonight!"

"We have nearly eight hours. It doesn't take that long-" Temari protested weakly.

Ino smiled mischievously. "Oh, it'll take all the time we have. We probably should eat now. We won't have time to stop later."

Temari, Sakura, and Tenten exchanged worried glances. Ino could be scary sometimes. Tenten finally said, "Ok. Just, nothing too extreme, all right?"

"Of course." Nobody in the room believed Ino for a moment.

0o0oo0ooo0oo0o0

Gaara was sprawled out on the ground, looking out the window at the lightly falling rain. ((AN: I have a hard time picturing Gaara lying on the ground!)) The rain fascinated him for some odd reason. Probably because he rarely ever saw it in Suna. For whatever reason, it was peaceful and undemanding. It was how he had spent nearly three quarters of his time before the ball.

Kankuro walked out of the shower, holding a towel around his waist. "Gaara, shower's open."

Gaara sat up slowly, not wanting to take his eyes away from rain. After a few moments, he tore his eyes away and wandered over to the bathroom. Kankuro called from Temari's room, "Do you know where Temari keeps a comb-ah, here's one."

Fifteen minutes later, Gaara walked into Temari's room. Her room was neatly organized, with numerous fans decorating the room. She also had a collection of pictures on her dresser. Gaara spared a glance at them before doing a double take.

There were several pictures on her dresser. There was one of a young Temari holding a baby Gaara while a young Kankuro held out a puppet. There was a family portrait. There were lots of pictures of her and Shikamaru or of just Shikamaru. There was one of all the girls. There was also a large group picture of all their friends from Konoha. The one that attracted his interest was the one not in a frame, indicating that it was new. He was sitting on the couch in this very apartment, running his hands through his hair. Hinata was sitting very close next to him, looking at him from beneath her lashes, blushing and smiling. Gaara recognized as a picture taken the evening she had stayed the night.

He stood staring at it for a long time. How had Temari taken the picture without either of them realizing? He didn't think that she was thatstealthy. Maybe she was.

"Gaara, can you please get some clothes on? Unless you plan to show up wearing only a towel," Kankuro said, as he was walking by the open door.

Gaara gave him a disdaining look as he picked up his clothes. They were very similar to his blood red outfit, but these were black instead of red. Kankuro was still attempting to run a comb through his hair as Gaara finished dressing. There wasn't much of a difference in Kankuro's hair.

Kankuro tossed the comb to Gaara while he said, "Maybe the comb's defective. Never mind. We have to go pick up the girls. We should start moving."

0o0oo0ooo0oo0o0

"Final touches!" Ino cried, looking happily down at Hinata as she applied eye shadow onto her.

"Good," Temari said, tightening a sash. "Kankuro and Gaara should be here anytime now-"

There was a knock at the door. "That's them!" called Tenten. "Should I answer it?"

"Hang on!" Ino did one last sweep with the brush and then stepped back. "Ok. You look awesome! Let's go!"

Hinata paused and bit her lip. Was she ready to face Gaara? Standing up, she followed the other girls. Whether she was ready or not, she didn't really have any other alternatives. Better to get it over with now before she chickened out.