What Does It Mean? [Haku x Rai x Ask x Invite]

[Gaara of the Sand]

Gaara opened his eyes, looking out across the desert. It was barren...there was no kind of life out there. it was a hopeless wasteland that could only burn him with wind. Last night, he had been on one of his late night walks to be alone. He would never sleep, so instead he would walk the village to at least attempt to digest his thoughts. Last night however, he encountered the word that always confused him. "Love". Gaara twitched and placed a hand on his head. The word always seemed to come riddled with pain, as though his brain worked overtime to try to process what it could possibly mean.

What was it that made people love each other? How could someone stand to love someone else, and not themselves? Why did people love each other? Why did thoughts and visions of compassion or love bring him such pain? If love was supposed to be so wonderful an emotion, why did it always hurt? Deep inside his mind Gaara already knew the answer; because he was unloved. He loved only himself, and nobody else. He'd readily kill anyone that stood in his way, and he brought himself meaning to live. That was it...to love was to find meaning to live. Loving to kill, killing to live. It was a cycle.

Crossing his arms, Gaara walked forward, farther out into the desert. Before he'd left, Temari had tried to stop him, for concern that he would die. Why was she concerned about him? She didnt know anything about him. She'd looked...worried. Why? What did she not get about "I hate you." She'd only stopped trying to stop him from leaving after he'd threatened to kill her. He could, and would do so. However, there was something that prevented him from doing so to her needlessly. However, her futile attempts were left in the dust from where he'd brought himself in the night. He was in the middle of the desert waste, a barren place with nothing living. Gaara still had a bit of water, but a sandstorm was picking up, so he currently had sought refuge in a rock split that shielded him from the wind. Not that it normalll bothered him, but he preferred to not have sand in his eyes. Now to just wait it out...

[Haku]

Haku suppressed a shiver of disgust with difficultly. He hated wind country the most out of all the countries. He had traveled in many of them over the years and found Wind the hardest to work in. As such it made one of the best areas to train in if he wanted to practice making ice less conspicuously. It always so dry here except for in the towns where water flowed and it was dirty too. He could feel the water that was deep beneath the sands which fueled life even here. He couldn't use his Ice here without drawing a plain sign of 'I am here, please kill me.' Ice would be noticed in a hot dry desert especially if it didn't melt like his did not. It was worse then his old village after the incident even. At least then he could hide it and claim normalcy.

The wind tugged at his bangs whipping them around. They were getting in his way at the moment. He focused on the wind for a moment realizing it was picking up steadily which as far as he knew heralded only one thing in this country, a sand storm. Haku looked for some sort of shelter from the on coming storm. Sighting a likely place he moved toward it at top speed. There was a person also waiting out the storm inside already. “May I come in” Haku asked breathlessly attempting to make it look like that feat of speed wasn’t normal for him. He didn’t wait for answer as he sat down on the sand just inside the makeshift shelter. The other person had water on him he could feel it. It would make sense it was desert after all.

Haku glanced at his companion the boy looked sleep deprived and none to friendly. His trained eye told him that. He would have to be careful with this one. Crossing his arms over his chest he was satisfied that he wasn’t completely defenseless. Haku had a few tricks up his sleeves literally. Haku was dress as a hunter nin. He lack for this trip his tale tell mask and his fore head protector but the rest was there. That included his senbon which made him happy. Haku wondered just who his new ‘friend’ might be. “Shira Yuki.” He said indicating himself hoping to get a name out of the younger boy.

[raiwatanabe]

It seemed the thing to do at the time, Rai reminded herself.

She had just managed to fix the rebreather, fill the backpack mounted scrubber with sodium peroxide, and for the day's exercise, attempted a hike into the outskirts of the village on sea level pressurized air. Her mother thought she was out of her mind, heading out in the desert so recklessly. Rai promised her, however, that she would take every precaution.

Of course, she had not anticipated the sandstorm. It was supposed to be a minor stormfront, nothing as significant as it had become.

Pulling the balaclava down over her face, the headband shielding part of her eyes, Watanabe marched back towards the village. Using the rock formation in the distance as a reference, she was able to hold a relatively straight line. She wished, however, she had a compass or even a wristwatch for a more accurate heading. Pausing just before the first formation, she knelt down, and took a series of slow, easy breaths.

The rebreather was failing.

It had been, what, an hour? Maybe more? Rai plunged the ninjato into the sand, and comparing it's prior shadow to the reference point to her memory of it when she first began, she approximated it had been nearly two hours.

'Ugh,' she thought. She had exceeded the useful life of the scrubber cartridge.

Suddenly, her eyes tracked the sand beside the weapon. There were two sets of footprints, which converged, and pointed towards a fissure in the rock formation ahead. The first set was a heavy tread, plunging deep into the fine sand. The second set overlapped the first, and had a smaller stride, possibly a female's gait?

Switching off the air tank, Rai bit down on the rebreather mouthpiece, and used it to filter out the incoming wind gusts of sand. The storm picked up again, and whipped against her as she followed the tracks. She could feel the skin of her hands burn from the hammering sand and the reflected sun. She could feel the heat of the forehead insignia penetrate the balaclava, and warm her face. Watanabe knew she needed to seek shelter immediately. Afterwards, she would reconsider her clothing options when venturing out again into the outskirts.

Stopping at the edge of the fissure, she looked down at the two pairs of tracks. There was no way to know for certain who was in there. Pulling the forehead insignia down, it dangled loosely over her turtleneck. Quickly rolling up the balaclava into a cap, she manipulated her hair into a rough ponytail. Reaching behind her for the handle of the ninjato, she took a steady breath, reminding herself she was a genin now, and could handle herself.

She stepped in slowly, trying to avoid any unnecessary noise to give away her movements. Peering inside, her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness. There were two figures sitting opposite of each other. One was a hunter nin, obviously not from Suna. She frowned at that, but studied the details, keeping them locked in her memory for confirmation with one of the chuunin instructors or the first village sentry she encountered.

Looking over to the other, she noticed he was-

It was Gaara.... THE Gaara of the Sand.

She had heard stories of him, but had no direct contact with him outside of the academy. His handler seemed particularly cautious about extensive social contact, keeping most academy students at a distance. Thinking the situation over, she felt a shiver of fear pass through, the hairs on her neck bristling.

She thought for a moment the two looked her over. Thinking carefully, she weighed her options while making a mental note of her weapons inventory. One way or another, she had to take a seat near one of them, due to the cramped conditions of the cavern. The hunter nin was an unknown, possibly hostile element. But Gaara of the Sand was Gaara of the Sand. According to rumor, he ate the classmates he liked, and simply crushed the ones he didn't.

Still, Rai had to remind herself, these were rumors, and no one she had spoken to had any direct contact with the boy. For a moment, she considered he was rather cute, if he was going for a deranged, feminine sort of look. Glancing back at the hunter nin, she noticed the feminine dress, but could have sworn the hip structure was too narrow for a female.

Reminding herself the ninjato and excessive supply of explosive tags she carried would handle any threat, even it it were a troupe of crossdressing shinobi, she took a breath, and sat beside Gaara.

Nodding to him slightly, Gaara did not seem to take notice. Perhaps it was better that way.

[Gaara of the Sand]

Gaara had finally sat down. The storm wasn’t even close to over, and his gourd was seemingly heavy, which was odd. Normally, it never seemed at all heavy. The best guess he had to why he was tired…as usual. However, he recently seemed to alternate between feeling tired and not. Usually he wasn’t tired, because he had grown so accustomed to not sleeping for years…but it occasionally grew on him. He had brought his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his knees, and placed his chin on his knees, facing the opening.

His pale eyes stared out at the desert, the changes in the wind making his head pound even harder. Just thinking about that painful word…love…had given him a headache. The wind wasn’t making it any better. He twitched his cheek and blinked. The desert waste was so…empty. Like his heart. Except, his heart was filled with darkness and anger, the only thing he’d been brought up to know living in Suna with people that hated him. He clenched a fist, loosing himself in his thoughts for a good few minutes…until there was a new arrival.

Gaara’s eyes widened as the person stepped in the crevice, just seconds after asking if they could come in. They hadn’t waited for an answer, and he wasn’t inclined to give one. They plopped down on the sand just inside the crevice, and looked him over. He stared unblinkingly back at them. The person looked to be a boy…or no, a girl? Probably not that much older than himself, and they were wearing an odd dress for the desert. It looked comparatively heavy to what most Suna residents wore, to shoo away some of the extreme heat. The light weight also made it a bit easier to walk on sand. Who…is this…? Gaara wondered. Honestly, he was feeling less sadistic than normal today…and he’d recently killed a wanderer he’d found on the far outskirts of Suna’s main village. They had threatened to kill him first, so he had perfect reason to do so, didn’t he? That being the case, this person would probably be able to get away alive today…he’d satisfied his meaning to live for the time being.

He blinked as the other person offered a name. Shira Yuki? Gaara wondered. That was a sort of contradicting name for these parts. Before he would give his simple one word answer, somebody else appeared. Why…are so many people walking around…in a desert storm? he asked himself. Foolish people…but this next person he recognized. She was from Suna, and he’d seen her around occasionally, but he never had any extensive contact with her. Looking her over before returning his eyes to the stranger, he tensed slightly and bit his lip when she sat near him. Normally, any other Suna resident besides Temari, Kankuro, or Baki would sit a good few feet away from him. Was this some kind of joke…? he asked himself.

However, this was getting nowhere…and neither of them were in his way, so they were fine…for now. ”…Gaara.” he said simply, looking at the one across from him and the other Suna-nin.

[Haku]

Haku stared back in a non threatening way at this Gaara person. He watched out of the corner of his eye as another shadow approached in the night. He heard the obvious attempt at being quiet but chose to stay where he was and didn’t move even a muscle. It was a girl and she appeared to be of suna if her forehead protector was any sign at all. He watched her quietly as she eyed him up and down. It was obvious to him what the girl was trying to do what many had done before her. That was figure out his real gender by looking at him. Haku chose to ignore her frown at him as though he did not see it. This might be interesting. He thought as he smiled and nodded politely to her when she had finally taken her seat. He wondered what her name was and would check Gaara's in their bingo book at home. Haku thought that the over sized gourd would be mentioned some where. It was quite unique and he didn’t think that two such objects existed. That and the boy Gaara had the eyes of a killer.

He made no out ward sign of surprise when Gaara gave his name just like that. He was very surprised however and a little impressed. It made him wonder all the more. It showed a deal of courage or recklessness to be so frank with a stranger especially one who was dressed shinobi. That puzzled Haku and he knew he would not be so reckless as to ever give out any such information. That gourd on the boys back interested him too. It appeared to be made of stone or like substance and contained something that was not water if the large stopper at the top was any indication. Water in a jug of that size would make it to hard to lift and move about. Haku almost wanted to take a closer look at it but dared not ask to do so.

He watched as the boy curled up and did the same as the girl which Haku had yet to speak to ie stared at him. He decided to remedy that right now. He shifted his eyes to examine her as she had him. Haku thought she was dressed strange but that was his personal preference. Then he spoke to her as he wanted some information from her. “Miss, why did you come out into this storm?” His voice was soft and had a feminine quality to it despite his fifteen years. It wasn’t a sham it was just his voice. He knew he had to be careful with what he asked as he could risk being hauled off for questioning if he seemed too interested in either of his companions.

[raiwatanabe]

Rai looked up at the hunter nin. She, or he, or one of those, was asking her a question? Trying not to look suspicious or concerned, she tried recalling all the training in the academy to avoid interrogation by genjutsu or other means. Thinking for a moment, she discreetly serviced the rebreather, checking over the scrubber canister, avoiding all eye contact. She tried her best to conceal the equipment, hoping the hunter nin would not recognize it as belonging to Ame reconnaissance forces, or asking who she was.

"It seemed the thing to do at the time," she said. As an afterthought, perhaps, if she made herself seem less skilled, or more vulnerable, this hunter nin might let his- er... her guard down, and be more predictable in any hostile intentions. "Got lost from the group, and got turned around in the storm. They should at least follow my markers I left behind."

Looking back to both Gaara and the hunter nin, it seemed they would not be satisfied with such an answer. Staring back out at the storm for several minutes, Rai considered her options. The hunter nin did not appear to be giving off any killing intent, though she avoided eye-contact to ensure no genjutsu was used anyway. She was only reasonably comfortable with using kai.

Obviously her headband would give away her association with her fellow Sand nin, but she wondered if she should make any attempt to communicate with Gaara. If it weren't for this Shira Yuki, it might be worth it.

'What harm could it do?' she considered, making sure to look Gaara directly in the eye. "How long do you figure the storm will last?" she asked. The boy seemed puzzled. Trying to engineer an excuse for the question, she signaled at her backpack. "If we have to, we can share this, and it will keep us from breathing sand."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn Yuki had moved slightly at that comment.

[Gaara of the Sand]

Gaara blinked. The moon was only crescent shaped, not nearly full, when he felt most alive. These two were nothing to him. He sensed almost no intent to kill from either of them, but coward-like caution waving off of the other Suna shinobi. Sure, it was one thing to be cautious around somebody…unknown like this Yuki person, and him…Gaara, the Demon of the Desert. However, the amount of caution he was feeling coming off this person in waves was almost strangling him. It was…distasteful. Gaara cast a glance out of the left corners of his eyes to look at her. She looked calm enough, but she was obviously tense whenever she glanced at Yuki.

That was another thing. Gaara’s eyes darted back to Yuki. He, or she, was too calm…or at least, was playing off as too calm. It was…strange. If that was the case, then they obviously didn’t have a clue as to who he was. Oh well… he thought. These two ought to consider themselves lucky…I strangely don’t have killing in me tonight. He cracked his thumbs by placing them under each of his fingers and applying pressure, but then looked up a little as they spoke again. Now, he would speak again. It was suiting, and it would have been easier to remain silent. However, he felt the need to comment on this other Suna-nin’s explanation.

They got…lost. ”How do you get separated from your group? You only follow…one behind the other. And the storm probably blew away any of your markers. You’re hopelessly lost.” Yes, even Gaara could talk at times, and to keep others at bay to his true nature. It was like wearing a mask to cover someone’s true identity. It could be fun, but other times it was simply a ploy that was easy to pull off.

He exhaled as a sharp wind blew against the rocks, creating a fierce howling in the little cavern they were in. It was high-pitched and…long, in a way. It echoed horribly in his ears, creating a spike in his headache. He curled his lip a small bit and placed his left hand on his head, pulling back the hair on the left side of his face, revealing the self-scarred tattoo that was upon his forehead. He clenched a fist, grabbing some locks of the red hair in his hand.

Why did some word create so much annoyance? ”How long have you lived here? These storms….can last all night.” he said, bringing his eyes to the ground as he answered the second question. He paused and inhaled, drawing his eyes back up to the Yuki person, narrowing his eyes. ”And you…you are obviously not from here…Those clothes…they are much too heavy for a regular desert dweller. Why are you here?”

[raiwatanabe]

Rai listened to each of Gaara's responses, and realized she should have just kept her mouth shut. She wasn't good at formulating lies. However, she took personal offense to her clothing choice. Granted, it wasn't the smartest thing to wear in the desert, but these clothes made her feel comfortable, and didn't show off any skin.

"I guess I should change my attire," she sighed. "I don't go out much. Lived here since I was about, what, maybe four? Guess I should pay more attention." She stated it calmly, still fiddling with the settings of the rebreather. This time, however, she kept her mouth shut, and wouldn't say anything more until Gaara or this Yuki would ask something.

Her mother warned her about her tendency to talk too much.

Then she noticed Gaara gripping at his head. That did not look good. "Gaara?" she asked, approaching cautiously. "What is it? What's wrong?" She wanted to help. This was a fellow Sand nin after all, but something about the way he was cringing and clamping down on his scalp made the hairs on her neck bristle.

[Haku]

A frown graced Haku’s face as he weight his options. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place literally. He could just jump of into the storm at full swing and little or no moisture in the air. It would be at best a very stupid idea and worst pure suicide. Who knows what is blowing around out in that wind. His best option was just sit tight with the very naive girl and semi hostile boy and make sure they don’t get too wise. As Gaara cracked his thumbs, the sound echoed tenfold in the small space. Haku made a face of mild disgust at the sound. He hated that sound of bone sliding on bone almost as much as the sound of metal on bone. It was the reason he didn’t use knives generally. Haku thought that it was a nasty sort of sound.

The boy seemed in pain which caused Haku to look at him with a concerned eye. He knew some basic healing and other things. He slipped his hands into his sleeves and left them there. He felt his senbon quickly drew one out of its holder. The girl seemed tense and he wanted her to relax a little bit. Haku wasn’t going to kill her and he nearly told her so. He felt that that might be a little contradictory so he kept silent. He smiled reassuringly at the girl and considered try to immediate her some more but thought better of it. The boy, gaara, might take offence to it on principal of being of the same village. It was stated that the storm could last all night. What kind of ninja leaves their group at night without a central meeting place or the skill to track them? Haku viewed this as bad form and likely to get said ninja killed.

Eying the mask doubt fully he thanked the girl for her thought fullness but thought he would take his chances. Haku didn’t think they could share that one mask but wanted to see if she knew how it worked. “That isn’t native to this country right? I’ve seen it other places, I’m sure I have.” He motioned to the mask with a nod of his head. Haku leaned over slight to get a better look at it and the rest of her clothing. “Her clothing is strange too isn’t it? It built for sea life in the desert. Heh.” His eyes narrowed at her as he spoke and shift around. He’d been sitting still too long and stretched with his hand still in his sleeves.

Haku sighed and rested his head back against the wall. “I can’t tell you that, Gaara. So why ask me?” He stared at Gaara waiting for him to make the next move. One wrong move and this could get very bloody. The crack in the wall was no place for a fight to the death as there was hardly room to move.

[Gaara of the Sand]

[ooc note: I dont know what you all are like, but when it comes to order of RP replies, Im normally a bit of a stickler DX. Could we try to stay in the Gaara-Haku-Rai order, please? Thanks, it'd be much appreciated ]

Gaara closed his eyes and waited for the throbbing to subside...or at least dull. Any sound or word could make it worse. A few seconds passed before the other Suna-nin spoke, speaking to him...and asking him..what was wrong? She actually cared? Or was it just a reflex? However... Gaara thought, cracking his eyes open as a dull throb at the back of his head replaced the overall headache. He could almost hear it, but he could sure feel it...whenever his head throbbed it felt like a wave generating from the back of his head all the way to the front of it.

I guess she thought I was talking to her rather than Yuki about the choice of dress... he thought, his question being answered as Yuki responded before he could. He raised his head from his knees, sitting back as straight as possible. He shifted somewhat to lean his gourd against the wall, and he sunk down slightly so that the curve of his back matched that of the gourd. He crossed his legs to change his position, and crossed his arms to match. "Just...a headache..." he muttered, the words barely audible.

Shifting a final time, he said quietly "I was actually referring to Yuki's dress..." he paused before continuing slowly, looking at the other Suna-nin. "Your dress is...different for the desert, but better suited for it than Yuki's. Yours is closer to your skin and not so bulky. You would fare better out here..." He cast a glance at Yuki before turning his eyes back to the floor. He may not say much, but he was smart...no questions asked. The wind was stopping its irritating howling, but it was still fairly strong, blowing the sand outside the crevice every which way.

However, at Yuki's next words, Gaara leaned his head forward a little to think, but raised his eyes to peer below his browbones at Yuki's face. From what he could make out in the dark, it was solemn enough. He slowly raised his head to look at Yuki from a better view...not such an awkward position. It was mildly interesting why someone foreign like this Yuki character couldnt state their purpose to a native. It was suspicious...and interesting. Gaara his slight tensing well-hidden, but the controlled interest laced his tongue. "And...why not?" Gaara asked, a small lip curl forming after his words...a lip curl that could turn into a sadistic smile.

This Yuki person was an enigmatic character. Gaara was prepared for a fight that could break at any moment, but he would not[/b] start it. However, he cast a fair warning, just to warn Yuki of what he knew. "You have every obligation to tell, but every option not to. However..." he paused, his small, cold (but not sadistic), smile breaking through his lips. "Whatever you do, don't get in my way...or I'll kill you."

If there was one person in Suna that would say that and mean it completely, willing to carry out the action then and there, it was him...Gaara.

[Haku]

Haku stared levelly at Gaara with not a hint of a smile on his face. It was not the time for jests. The very air was buzzing with tension though that could be the wind stifling every thing. “Are thunder storms usual in these storms? Or is it just the wind and sand that are threats?” He said by way of alluding to the tension and maybe easing it. It would snap one way or the other. Haku was fiddling with the hidden senbon in his sleeves. Who would hit first if they did fight in here? He knew a promised threat when he heard one; he had even used them on a rare occasion or two. This boy was very good at them it seemed. Haku was not intimidated in the least but if he was any lesser shinobi he would be babbling on the ground by now pleading for both his life and a swift death. Betrayal was punished harshly and treason more so. This was very dangerous ground and he would have to tread very lightly.

He hoped the girl would not over react and come at him. Then he’d have to show his hand, literally. He wasn’t ready to play that game just yet. Haku took a deep breath then let it out slowly. He was getting uncomfortable. Oh how he hated this dry sandy place. The first thing he would do when he got out of this storm was wash his hair and take a swim in the first water that he saw cold or warm it didn’t matter to him. He was feeling rather antsy right now but fight not to show it. Any sign of weakness could be your down fall. “I am hunting and you could tip them off and…” He paused and ended his sentence right there saying rather quickly.”…you don’t need to know anything more then that.” He hoped that would be enough information. Haku was making this up as he went along but it was almost second nature to him. Over the years he had become a master at thinking on his feet and his feet were faster then most. He made eye contact with the girl and whispered with straight face. “Sorry.” Haku leaned over with what would be slow movements to him, normal speed to most everyone else made a swipe at her wrists. He could not miss in these close quarters but right now he was just trying to psyche her out. Then he righted himself to meet Gaara eyes in a staring match. Haku did not really attack the girl, it was two against one but he had met with worse odds. He liked room to move and the element of surprise though.

[raiwatanabe]

Why was this boy getting so close? Watanabe was uncomfortable with such proximity. She did her best not to flinch, and held eye contact. That was what her grandfather had taught her. Her father was notorious for holding a stare, unmoving, like a serpent. It ran in her blood.

"Sorry?" Rai asked. However, she had no time for clarification, as the boy leaned over, and made a swiping motion at her wrists. She only had a split-second, but that was not enough time. Rai knew she was too slow. She still heard that criticism from her instructors.

She dared not react, however. She couldn't, not with Gaara there. She would be putting him at risk, as well as instigating a hostile act against a sovereign nation. If she did that, there would be political repercussions.

She still heard the criticisms from her instructors, that she was just too slow, too unwilling to engage. Rai knew she could and would engage, but it was always a problem for her to determine when it was appropriate, and a matter of reflexes.

She looked to Gaara out of the corner of her eye. The boy seemed indifferent. At least someone was indifferent to this act. She debated as to what she would say. She was unused to this kind of situation. What would be appropriate? Was it appropriate to even do anything?

"Gaara?" she asked. There was a slight nervous twitch in her eyes. Waiting for the boy to respond, she closed the flaps on her backpack, and very gently let the pack hang in front of her by the shoulder straps. "Can't be too reckless around here." Tapping the backpack slightly, she looked back at Yuki, a nervous, yet amused twitch in her grin.

[Gaara of the Sand]

Gaara blinked as the other two didn’t move much after he spoke. However, the silence was soon broken after Yuki spoke. Thunder…thunder storms? The term was familiar. Gaara fiddled with the word for a good few seconds in his head. He tossed it about before it came to him. They were so infrequent, generally in the springtime that sometimes it was easy to forget a word. He recalled thunder storms…they happened normally only in the spring, but they were quite powerful. They were better than the full moon…more violent than a wind storm, more invigorating than the screams of people. The incredible sound that thunder produced was quite something, it echoed through the land, as though claiming its dominance over the skies, but it was always preceded by great flashes of lightning.

Gaara knew that thunder was nothing to fear, but on the other hand the lightning was. It was pure electricity, the natural form of Raiton jutsu. It was powerful, devastating, and it could kill as soon it touched. Gaara’s eyes widened slightly as he imagined having that kind of power in his hands, alongside of his sand. Killing people would be something that was easy…and it would almost be more natural. However, he would have to wait for the right time to use something like that. If he used sand, he could access it at any time.

The next thing he did, after he came out of his little marvel at the power of the skies, was respond to Yuki’s question. ”Y-yes…they do. Springtime, normally…around this time of year. Rain…rain always follows. Sand and wind are more common, though…” he had not stopped speaking for long before the Yuki character spoke again, explaining a purpose. Hunting…? Gaara wondered. However, the reason was enough for him, and he let it drop a little bit.

Next, though, Yuki leaned forward and looked at Gaara’s village companion, muttering a quick “Sorry.” Sorry? Gaara thought, wondering what on earth he would do something so meek as apologize for. Then he saw. It was a fast motion, but a feigning one. Yuki brought his hand down and just above the Suna-nin’s wrists. It was a swiping motion, one that a kunai or shuriken could be used to make. However, Yuki didn’t appear to be holding anything. Kunai could have cut wrists off, shuriken could have sliced the skin like daggers. If there was anything, it was a petite senbon, but Gaara couldn’t see something so miniscule in the darkness.

No damage appeared to be done, because the Suna-nin made no reaction except for returning to speak to him…casting him a fair warning…not to be reckless. He wasn’t reckless, but he was sure of himself…confident. Yuki’s eyes turned to meet his, and Gaara willingly met this match. He hadn’t even blinked after Yuki had made the fake assault on his village mate, and he wasn’t about to now. However, were he not holding such a serious face, he would have pulled his cold smile again. Two could play at this feigning contest.

Without so much the slightest twitch of his muscle, Gaara started to pull some of the sand which Yuki was sitting on forward, like a snake almost to wrap around Yuki’s ankles. Not tightly…oh no. Just enough to give him a start. It wasn’t often that Gaara got to “play” like this, the best “play” he got was tormenting his victims before he killed them. This might be an…interesting…experiment of sorts.

[Haku]

The sand moved beneath Haku and nearly gave him a heart attack while doing it. His eyes widened considerably in shock. What the..?! he thought with the brief interval. It took a lot to surprise Haku anymore but that did it very well. He wasn’t expecting the sand beneath his feet to move. Haku tensed briefly ready for some kind of attack. It was all the warning he got before the sand wrapped itself around his ankles. Of all the things he was expecting it was certainly not that. He got to analyzing the experience. What happened… the sand moved on own seemingly…How it happened…Unknown maybe a unique Kekkai Genkai… Who caused it… Probably the boy. Gaara was just staring at him not moving a muscle. he was sure the girl wouldn’t have the nerve to do something like that. He intimidated her fairly badly it seemed and after what he had just done.

So it had to be Gaara’s doing by process of elimination and he understood with crystal clarity the exact position that put him in. If Gaara was the cause of the moving sand then every grain of sand was his weapon. He could possibly control even the sand storm out side to a lesser extent perhaps. if there were a whole family of such sand wielders they could be the greatest weapon or worst curse of the wind country. They could rule in the desert promising sand storms to those who did not obey them. Haku could conceive of such an idea only because of his own abilities with water. This gave him a unique perspective and disadvantage too. He did not know of the existence of the tailed beasts, so he assumed that Gaara was like himself completely suited to the area in which he lived but disadvantaged if they live somewhere else. Haku now took a guess at what was in that gourd on Gaara’s back…sand. It was a good idea and if he lived through this Haku would contemplate adopting it in a lesser form for himself. Water was heavier the sand so it kind of limited how much he could carry at one time.

This entire thought process took about a minute or two. He looked from one sand nin to the other trying to decide what to do and what was wise to do give the circumstances. Gaara would kill him if he had cause the gaara from earlier told him that much. The girl had yet to show her hand so it was hard to say with her. It was his move in the game and it could decide all. He wasn’t sure if he could freeze sand and was almost willing to try. The sand anklets for lack of a better description weren’t too tight just enough to make him aware of them. Would they let him move if he tried or just tighten more? That was the question. He decided he didn’t want the answer right now. He pulled some water from the ground and froze it into a dagger and sent it straight into the rock between Gaara’s and the girl’s heads. Haku was winded after that show and he was breathing fast. It was hard work pulling water from a desert. His head dropped to his chest for a moment as he tried regain his energy. Haku knew he was taking a risk by showing weakness but he could not help it. It was there move now, all they had to do was make it.

[raiwatanabe]

The dagger-shaped icicle impacted between her and Gaara. Looking back at Gaara, Rai froze. The situation was not entirely clear to her, except that this Yuki was dangerous. Furthermore, the rumors, or at least some of them, did appear true.

Gaara was just as dangerous, and he did have control over sand.

She looked a the hunter nin carefully, her right hand trembling. This was not the time to sit still. He could have killed her, killed them both, had Gaara not intervened.

Yet, watching him struggle like this, it was not right. Shinobi deserved a quick, clean death. Painless: that was the way Rai saw as the only suitable way to go out, and to do so after feeling life's full measure had been played.

That was at least how she wanted to go, and she would hold that standard for anyone she encountered.

Without thinking, Rai pulled the ninjato from her back, holding the blade defensively. Glaring directly into the hunter nin's eyes, she spoke to Gaara. "Gaara, where do you want me to take the prisoner?"

Gaara seemed confused at this.

"We can get intel out of him," she explained. "If all else fails, I have a backpack full of notes. Anyone so much as twitches, and no one is walking away."

Yuki did not seem to like that idea, not one bit.

"Orders?"