Desert Flower

Sunagakure

  "You sure you don't want to come with us?" Naruto questioned.

  "Sorry, Naruto. I'm going to have to pass this time." I waved my hand. "I need to get more training in if you're going to be getting stronger." The blond hummed as he crossed his arms.

  "Yeah, I guess that could become a big problem." He then scratched his cheek.

  "Good luck on finding that beetle, though."

  "Good luck with your training."

~

  "How are you doing?" Kakashi-sensei questioned as I sat criss-cross with my hands together in my lap.

  "Fine."

  "I'll be increasing my chakra then." I nodded, feeling the power rise, and my stomach softly growled. Keeping my breathing even, I focused on the flow of air and the steady beat of my heart. Breathe in....and out. In....and out. I heard a page turn in the book Kakashi was reading. "You know, it might be better to have someone else helping with this."

  "What do you mean?"

  "If you're training to handle chakra of the tailed beasts, I don't have that kind of power."

  "Naruto's been going off on missions, though. I also don't think he'd sit still long enough for this kind of training."

  "You know more than one tailed beast, Sayuri." Kakashi said, and my eyes snapped open. "The second of which already has experience with your berserk state and hunger. And also doesn't bounce all over the place." He mumbled the last part, but I still heard it.

  "I couldn't ask him to do that. He's busy with Sunagakure things."

  "Then go to Sunagakure." Kakashi-sensei lazily looked at me while raising his visible brow. "Konoha is on good terms with them, I'm sure they wouldn't mind you there. I think it'd be good for you both."

  "Huh?"

  "I'm saying you could be a good influence on Gaara like Naruto was for you. Don't tell him I said that, though, it'd inflate his ego."

  "So train with Gaara and socialize with him?"

  "Mm."

  "I mean, I already do one of those things when he's here...."

  "Then it's settled." Kakashi closed his book while standing. "I'll talk to Tsunade to work something out."

  "Wait, you don't think it'd bother him, do you?"

  "Well, if he agrees, there's your answer." Kakashi waved me off as if my question was just silly. "You kids are all about wanting to train, anyhow."

  "But isn't it really hot in Sunagakure?" I pouted as my shoulders slumped.

  "Sayuri, your last name means cactus. I think you'll be fine."

  "You know that's not how it works, Kakashi-sensei." I said, and the man simply chuckled.

  "Though, don't you think it's odd for someone of Konoha to have that sort of name?" He tapped his chin with his book.

  "Don't ask me, I didn't name myself." I then paused as my brows furrowed. "Kakashi-sensei....if I inherited my name....there'd be record of my parents, right?" He hummed while thinking.

  "If they officially moved here, there would be. Your birth record, too, if you were born in Konoha." Kakashi placed his free hand on his hip while looking down at me. "If you're looking for clues about your past, you might find something, but don't hope too much for answers about...."

  "I know. I don't think there'd be any record of what's sealed inside of me when no one even knew about it. Even the Third Hokage just thought I was a regular kid."

  "It truly is a mystery."

~

  A hawk called from above as its shadow swept across the sand. Giving a low whistle as I looked at the village before me, I readjusted the bag on my shoulders. A warm wind gently rolled past, barely even moving the sand at my feet.

  Walking toward the entrance gate, I spotted a familiar head of red hair.

  "Gaara!" I called out while waving my hand. His head raised to look at me, and I slid down the hill of sand. "I didn't expect you to actually wait for me at the gate." I chuckled as he slid his hands into his pockets.

  "I wasn't waiting. I was just walking by."

  "It's okay to be happy to see me, Gaara." He simply looked at me for a couple of seconds before swiftly turning and walking into the village. Following him, he didn't even look back at me as he spoke.

  "You'll have a room to yourself for the duration of your stay. We'll also be using a training gym to ensure you are contained if you lose control."

  "Hopefully, it won't come to that."

  "If it does, we know how to take care of it."

  "Oh, Gaara?" He stopped walking to look at me from over his shoulder.

  "What?"

  "Are there any ramen shops here?"

  "....Ramen?"

  "I've kinda grown fond of ramen." Rubbing the back of my neck, I awkwardly chuckled. He went quiet for a moment while looking away, then turned to face me while pointing.

  "I think there's a few that way."

  "Awesome! There's nothing quite like stuffing your face after training."

  "Speaking of which, I was thinking it'd be best for us to discuss abilities before we start on that." Gaara turned back to return to walking down the sandy street. "I don't know what all you can do with....Kami-sama's power."

  "I'd like to say my skills have gotten rather impressive." Shrugging, I followed the redhead past rounded buildings. The architecture in Sunagakure was very different from Konoha to say the least. Even the structures here looked to be made of sand somehow.

~

  "Wow, you really are here." Looking up, I saw Temari leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed. "How long do you plan on staying?"

  "Just a short while." Turning back to putting my clothes away in the dresser, there wasn't much to unpack since I'd only brought a single bag.

  "Why aren't you just training with Naruto?"

  "He's been going on a lot of missions lately. He's also, well, him." Temari laughed.

  "Yeah, I barely know him and know what you mean. I have to ask, though. What exactly is your training?" She questioned as I slid my bag between the dresser and nightstand.

  "Sitting in the quiet, doing breathing and focus exercises while someone slowly exposes me to more and more chakra."

  "So....you just sit there?"

  "Harder than it sounds, but, yeah. If I'm going to be fighting with Naruto, or anyone that's strong for the matter, I can't let the hunger control me or make me too scared to fight." She paused while looking at me, her expression firm before she spoke with a low tone.

  "Do you know what it is?"

  "I don't, actually. The only thing we've been able to determine is that it's not a tailed beast. My guess is it's something similar, though."

  "I haven't heard of anything similar."

  "Neither have I, and it's obviously not a Kekkai Genkai, so that's all we have to go off of."

  "....You don't think you'd hurt Gaara, do you?" Sitting on the edge of the bed, I dropped my hands into my lap.

  "Not intentionally, but I honestly think it'll be okay. I mean, I haven't lost control in a long time, and the person I was working on this with before didn't even have a tailed beast, and he was fine."