Frozen Past (A Naruto FanFic/Gaara Love Story)

The Forest of Death

I barely slept last night.

After we'd finished the exam, we'd met up with Kurenai Sensei, who told us where we were meant to meet Anko. It hadn't been very pleasant to hear, to say the least. I had nightmares about it.

I glare up at the huge fence, blocking us from the site of our next Exam.

"The Forest of Death," I murmur, leaning back against a tree. "Sounds just like the kind of place I'd love to go."

Anko is talking to the other Genin, including the rest of my team. Hinata had noticed my fatigue, and suggested I rest over here until the start of the Exam. I only too happily agreed.

It's not just the lack of sleep that's bothering me, anyway.

Yesterday, Kiba was complaining about having to fight some mysterious Ninja a few days before the last Exam. Hinata and Shino had agreed with him, saying they'd encountered similar oppenents. I hadn't been able to contribute to the conversation, as I hadn't met with any strange Ninja.

I asked Kurenai Sensei about it, and she let it slip that Iruka had been around, disguised as an enemy, to test his ten rookies. He wanted to make sure they were ready for the Chunin Exams.

Somehow, I got skipped over, and it's been pissing me off ever since.

But I guess it's not important right now.

I grip the water jug on my hip to reassure myself it's still there. If the Forest of Death is as horrific as its name suggest, I'll need this water.

"Tired?" a voice asks, making me jump. I look up, only to see Temari sitting on a branch a little above my head, grinning down at me. "How you'd guess?" I ask, stifling a yawn. "I know the signs. Gaara doesn't sleep... much, either," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

"Him and Kankuro, they're your brother's, right?" I ask. It's something I meant to ask yesterday, but never got the chance to. She nods. "Yup, my younger brothers."

"Isn't it, I don't know, odd that the three of you ended up on the same team together? Siblings aren't usually even in the same year."

She shrugs again, eyes on the Genin still gathered around Anko. "Our father, the Fourth Kazekage, wanted us to be together. He calls us the Sand Siblings. And Gaara won't work with others. They're... too afraid of him."

I choose to ignore the part about Gaara. "You're father is the Kazekage?" I ask. She blinks at me. I can see it in her eyes that she knows I'm deliberately forgetting Gaara's involvement in this conversation. "Yes," she says, swinging her legs. "That's right."

"You guys must not get to see him a lot, then," I say, a little wistfully. They might now get to see him often, but as least they get to see him.

Temari catches it immediately.

"Why that tone?" she asks. "What's wrong?"

I lean my head back against the bark, sighing, my eyes closed. "I've never met my father," I say quietly. I don't usually tell people this. My team knows, and Kurenai Sensei. But no one else. I don't like admitting I've lived my entire life without knowing my dad. It feels awful enough without people's pity.

But Temari offers none. "That sucks," she says, jumping down to the ground beside me. "But at least you don't let it bother you much, right?"

I nod, grinning. I'm starting to like Temari.

"Hey! Akari! We've got to get going!"

It's Kiba who's shouting. No surprise there.

"I guess we'll meet up at the end of this thing," I say to Temari. She smiles. "We better," she says. "Don't go off and die on me, ok?" And with that cheery thought, she walks off to locate her teammates.