DISCLAIMER: Naruto does not belong to me.
CHAPTER FOUR: Strange Things
It was definitely a sight to die for. The Leaf's Rookie Nine and their jounin-senseis could only stare in shock at the older two Sand siblings standing outside of their inn cheering and playing with a small blond baby who was tottering her way over to their red-haired brother.
Kankurou, well, they think it was Kankurou because of the large bandaged bundle strapped on his back, no longer wore purple paint on his face and the shapeless black jumpsuit, and instead, was wearing a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, a black shirt with a loose collar and a red lining, and black cargo pants. A red fox cub sat on his head, flattening the Sand shinobi's auburn hair beneath his body, as he yapped at the every step that the child made. He was laughing while making a miniature Karasu walking beside the tot with one hand.
Temari in the meanwhile hardly changed except that she was taller and had donned dark blue kimono with a white sash around her waist that came up to her calves. She was kneeling on the ground covering her mouth with her hands, giggling very softly, a warm and happy glint in her eyes, as she crooned out, "That's a good girl, Natsumi-chan. You can do it. Just one step at a time."
It was Gaara who actually shocked them the most. No longer were there dark lines around his eyes, nor was his "Ai" tattoo, but there was light and laughter in his green eyes. Donned in a long-sleeved shirt and black pants with a long overvest, he was sitting on a cloud of sand hovering an inch or so off the ground, watching the little child making her way toward him with unsteady feet, a small smile on his lips.
"NATSUMI-HIME!"
The toddler stopped in her tracks wobbling slightly, and turned to the rapidly-approaching figure in green. Her sky-blue eyes widened, and a bright smile showed off her growing teeth, stretching her arms out to the figure, squealing, "Ree-nii!"
Rock Lee laughed loudly as he rushed over scooping her into his arms and evaded a wave of sand. Landing lightly on his feet with a giggling Natsumi still in his arms, he grinned at the three Sand siblings and greeted them with a loud, "A YOUTHFUL MORNING TO YOU ALL!"
"Lee," Gaara narrowed his eyes at the Leaf nin folding his arms around his chest, a scowl on his face, and growled, "She was about to complete ten feet."
"OOHH! O PRECIOUS FLOWER OF SAND! WHAT OTHER AMAZING FEAT OF YOUTH HAVE YOU LEARNED SINCE WE LAST MET SO THAT WE MAY CELEBRATE YOUR YOUTH!" Lee held up Natsumi to his face.
The toddler had a confused look on her face, her head cocked to the side, before giving him a beaming smile.
"She learned a couple of new words since last week." A devilish gleam entered Kankurou's eyes when he spoke up. Temari frowned at this and glanced at Gaara. She frowned even more when she saw panic in his eyes as Kankurou continued on. "Na-chan? What is that?"
"'ight!" Natsumi clapped her hands together, staring at the lamp post that her brother was pointing at.
"And this?" Kankurou held up a kunai.
"'unai!"
"And this?"
"'uriken!"
"And this?"
"Fan!"
"And that?"
"Icha!"
Silence filled the air as all eyes were turned to the visibly-shocked taijutsu expert holding the tot who shook her fists at the orange book that a certain silver-haired Leaf jounin was reading. They all held their breath when a wild-eyed Lee turned to Kankurou, fire burning his eyes. The marionette user quickly let out a nervous chuckle, holding his hands out.
"It's not my fault, Lee. Blame Jiraiya-sama." Kankurou took a step back when he saw Lee hand his sister to Gaara. A large sweatdrop appeared at the back of his head at the sudden manifestation of a fiery background behind the taijutsu expert.
"You... How dare you..." Everyone fell back from Lee's stiff form, feeling the intense anger coming from him, only to sweatdrop when he dropped to his knees and wailed, "I HAVE FAILED! I WASN'T ABLE TO PROTECT THE LITTLE FLOWER FROM THE VILE DESERT!"
"Oi!" A nerve appeared at Temari's temple as the Sand kunoichi turned to her brother. Kankurou whimpered softly, Kyuu immediately vacating his head, when she took a step forwark and shook a fist. "Kankurou! I'm going to bash your head in for letting Jiraiya-sama teach her such nonsense!"
"I told you it's not my fault! We were out on a mission when Jiraiya-sama taught her that!" Kankurou flinched when Temari decked him with a small fan, and rubbed his head.
"Uwou-niichan no hurt!" Natsumi pouted at her older sister, folding her arms in almost-Gaara-like manner. "Uwou-niichan nice."
Kankurou snickered loudly and ducked away from Temari's second swing, then, he ran away shouting, "Thanks, Na-chan. I'll treat you to ramen real soon!"
"Kankurou!"
"WAI! WAMEN!"
Everyone turned away from the blond Sand kunoichi chasing after her brother and stared at the toddler cheering loudly.
Gaara felt Natsumi stiffen at their stares and wrap her tiny arms around his neck burying her face against his chest. He scowled at the Leaf shinobis and said in a cold voice, "Stop looking at my sister like that."
"She..." Kiba blinked, then pointed at the baby with a shaking finger. "SHE'S YOUR SISTER? SHE'S YOUR SISTER!"
"YES, SHE IS!"
The dog-using genin gaped openly at Gaara who reddened at his shouted remark. What the hell happened to him? What happened to the old psychotic Sabakuno Gaara?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for your enthusiastic reviews especially the following:
reighost - Thank you for loving the third chapter. Here is the fourth.
gargoylesama - I'm kinda confused. Grandchildren or godchildren?
DeAtHaNgEL-LaVeNdA - Thank you! I know! Natsumi-chan is really cute! ;)
Amaterasu - Yes, there will be pairings later on.
koolanimefreek - She is cute and sweet.
wildflower-fireandwater - I agree. The OLD Sakura sucks.
Dragon Man 180 - Gaara did smile in this chapter, didn't he?
Yaoi Sex Goddess - Okay... sweatdrops Thanks for your enthusiastic review.
shina-lim - if I make this chapter any longer, it might get too boring.
Donna Kitsune - Cool. Read also my GS fanfic
Firehedgehog - Sorry for the delay.
CVS2000 - Thanks.
The next chapter might come in a little late, because I'm currently deciding whether to find a job or take a course in Culinary Arts. Thanks for your support.