Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Runaways ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Runaways

 

A Temari Story

 

Chapter One

 

Nine year old Temari was “playing” outside her father's office, despite the thousand times she had been told not to. She was standing on the ledge that ran around the two storey building just under the upper window. She gently lifted up the framed glass and placed a pebble in the crack to keep it open. Shuffling over a little to stay out of sight, Temari had to press herself flat against the wall and turn her feet outwards to keep them on the shelf. If she got much bigger, she would have to find a new way to spy on the Kazekage.

 

The door of the office swung open and two men shuffled in.

 

“But Kazekage-sama,” one of the men was saying, “Surely you will reconsider. The boy is invaluable, he could single-handedly fight a war for this country. He is only six years old and already—”

 

“He is only six years old, and already he could fight a war against this country,” Temari heard her father's crisp reply, “He will only get stronger. My word is final, my orders will be obeyed. Send out the jounin as soon as they are ready. I want him dead by sunset.”

 

Temari drew a sharp breath. “Gaara,” she whispered.

 

“Did you hear something?” the first man asked. The window was flung open and a head craned out. Nothing was there.

 

 

Temari raced home as fast as she could. She flew through the door and up the stairs, into her youngest brother's room.

 

“Gaara?” she called, “Gaara, where are you?” She began to frantically search his room. There wasn't anyway the jounin could have already been dispatched, was there? “Gaara!” she screamed.

 

“What?” came the voice of an irritated six year old who had just stepped out of his other room, his arms crossed over his chest. Kankuro was behind him.

 

Temari suppressed a sigh of relief. “Get your travelling bags,” Temari said quickly, “Put some clothes in them and any weapons you have. Don't bring any toys.”

 

“Why?” Gaara asked calmly.

 

“Just, please, do it,” Temari's voice was shaking, “I'll be back in five minutes; be ready.” Temari hurried to her room and began shoving things in her own canvas bag. Her entire body was trembling with fear; the jounin would be showing up any minute now. The girl reached under her bed and pulled out a small box. It was stuffed with small bills and coins that she had been saving for years. They would need every penny of it to buy food; they couldn't risk being seen taking a great deal of food from the kitchen. Temari buckled her bag shut and slung it over her shoulder. She hurried back to Gaara's room and found him and Kankuro standing in the hall waiting for her. Gaara didn't have a bag.

 

“Where are we going Temari?” Kankuro asked grumpily.

 

“Just for a little trip,” Temari lied, trying to sound like it was a normal occurrence for three children to go on vacations on their own. She took her brothers' hands and pulled them down the hall to the large window. She pulled it open and began to scale down the cracked surface of the rough wall. Gaara and Kankuro didn't follow. Temari had to go back up and poke her head over the ledge. “Come on,” she hissed.

 

The three siblings landed in the wide alley between their house and the next one. Despite their father being the most prominent ninja in the country, they still lived in a normal house with a few servants in the kitchen. Temari led her brothers down the shadowy backstreets of Suna cautiously peering around corners and shooting glances over their shoulders.

 

After sneaking around for fifteen minutes, the three children reached the market. Temari made her brothers hide behind some garbage cans and told them not to leave that spot until she returned.

 

“But Temari,” Kankuro whined, “It smells back here.”

 

“I'll be back in a minute,” Temari said, checking to make sure nobody was looking their way. “Look after Gaara,” she told Kankuro.

 

Temari stepped out from the narrow alley into the wide street. She went to a stall and bought four loaves of bread and some dried fruit. At another stall she paid for some blankets and three large canteens, which she filled at the well in the middle of the market. She was shooting glances every which way; the jounin would be out looking for Gaara by now, and she had to protect him. As much as she wanted to run away as fast as she could, she knew she had to look calm; those who rushed were noticed. The blonde made her way back to the garbage cans and handed each boy their canteens.

 

They crept silently to the village walls and slipped through the gate.

 

 

“Run!” Temari yelled. The city had just disappeared over the horizon when four jounin spotted them. Temari and Kankuro were tearing across the sand, but Gaara was lagging behind. Temari looked over her shoulder and saw one of the ninja's catapult over the boy and land in front of him, a kunai in his hand. Temari stopped and pulled out two shuriken and threw them at the man, who easily dodged them. They were headed towards Gaara but his sand shield flew up.

 

“Gaara, get down!” Temari shrieked, snapping her fan open. The boy looked from his sister's panic stricken face to the four jounin who were all in battle stances.

 

“Give us the kid and we'll let you go,” one of them called. Temari clenched her teeth and dug her feet into the ground in front of her brother. Seeing that she wasn't about to budge willingly, the team unsheathed their weapons. Before any move could be made, a slithering sound hissed out from behind the girl. Temari turned her head a fraction to look back and saw sand seeping out of the gourd on her brother's back. Gaara had a look of madness in his cold green eyes. The sand suddenly sprang off of the ground and smothered the ninjas. They had no time to scream. Temari looked at the place where the jounin had stood, horror evident in her eyes as the blood poured down like rain. She looked back at her brother, splattered with blood. He had an empty look in his eyes.

 

“We have to keep moving,” Temari said quietly. She took Gaara's small hand in her own and walked up to Kankuro. He looked up to Temari for an explanation of what happened, but she just shook her head.

 

 

Temari woke up in the middle of the night. Kankuro was fast asleep beside her, but Gaara was sitting upright staring at his sister, the moonlight reflecting eerily off of his eyes.

 

“We aren't going home again,” he said flatly, not questioning. Temari shook her head no. She crept over to her brother, picked up his blanket that was lying beside him, and draped the coarse material over his shoulders.

 

“You're going to catch a chill,” Temari said, trying to sound like somebody's mother. Gaara looked up at the starry sky. “Don't worry,” she said softly, “We'll find a new home.”