Desert Flower

Miso Chashu Pork

  "Come on, Gaara, you should be doing this, too."

  "Why?"

  "Because it'll keep you from getting sore." I explained while stretching out my legs. "Trust me, even if this training is mainly sitting, it'll make you cramp up. So, come on." Waving my hand at the boy, he only stared at me for a few seconds before stepping forward. His eyes glanced over me before he copied the position I was in.

  Softly smiling, I switched to the other leg, and Gaara followed suit. Reaching out with my arms, I bent my spine back and could feel the muscles stretch. The redhead did the same, but a small grunt came from the boy.

  "You don't do this often, do you?"

  "No."

  "Gaara, stretching is an important part of training."

  "I don't like it."

  "It'll get easier the more you do it, you know?" I said, and Gaara remained quiet. Sitting down, I crossed my legs and laced my fingers together in my lap. "Ready?" The redhead nodded, and the scent of his chakra began to fill the room.

  Closing my eyes, I slowed my breathing, focusing inward as the rise of chakra steadied out. Kakashi had been right; Those with a tailed beast were different even at the levels he had reached in our training. The scent was so much stronger, and the desire to feed was already itching.

  Breathing in through my nose and out from my mouth, I kept the repetitive cycle while listening to the silence.

  "You can raise it. Go slow and only a little at a time." My voice was barely over a whisper as I was concentrating.

  "Mm." Gaara did as I had said, and my stomach growled. Swallowing, I tightened the grip of my hands and tried to push back the hunger. Minutes passed in silence, turning to hours as Gaara slowly increased his chakra until I was drooling but still in control.

  My stomach was rumbling audibly, and I sighed with relief when the chakra stopped.

  "Please tell me it's dinner time." I groaned, wiping my chin with my sleeve.

  "It's dinner time." Gaara stood up while looking at the front door. "Be aware that we don't have the same variety of foods that Konoha has."

  "That's fine. I'm not a picky eater."

~

  Lizard. There was an entire lizard on my plate. Eyeballs and all.

  "Is there....a specific way to eat this?" I questioned while poking the reptile.

  "Nah, just go at it." Kankuro waved his hand, and I slowly looked from him back to my plate. Flipping it over to expose the softer scales on the underbelly, I cut into it and steam billowed out. Along with the steam came a wonderful smell, almost like grilled chicken, and I peeled the skin back to expose the meat inside.

  "Here's your rice." Temari set a bowl down next to my plate.

  "Thanks." I said after already swallowing a mouthful of lizard. Just like it smelled, it actually tasted similar to grilled chicken but was tougher. Mixing bits of the lizard meat with the rice, I wolfed down the food.

  Either I was just really hungry or this was actually really good.

~

  Walking down the hallway from the bathroom back to the room I was staying in, I rubbed my towel against my head. Seeing how long my hair had gotten as it hung over my shoulders, I was beginning to debate a haircut. But if I did get it cut, how short would I go?