The border between the nations of Wind and Fire was not as extreme as the harsh lines on their map made it seem. As easy as it was to imagine a wall of trees cutting off sharply before a vast sea of sand, that wasn't realistic. Instead, there was a patchy grassland speckled with cacti and the occasional tree. The border station was made from adobe like most Wind buildings, but it was built and furnished in the Fire style. Kankuro sat at the high table, his puppet propped up against its side, and drummed his fingers on the wood.

"What's taking them so long?" He griped, not for the first time. His sister, Temari, shot a half-hearted glare his way, but didn't say anything.

She was getting tired of waiting, too.

The Leaf ninja were scheduled to arrive at the border station the day before, and it was already nearing mid-morning. Lord Sankaku, a civilian noble, had begun pacing the floor beside the main door, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. The Leaf ninja were supposed to be escorting his young new wife, if Kankuro remembered correctly, so his anxiety was well founded, if a little annoying.

Still, it was only one day. Things could happen while traveling. The weather could change, wheels could break, things like that.

At least, that's what Baki was saying to Sankaku.

Kankuro was just about to start a round of insults with Temari when the door opened, revealing—

Oh, gods. What was he wearing?

Torn between the urges to laugh and vomit, Kankuro shared a glance with Temari. Good, she felt the same way.

"Greetings!" The green clad ninja said with a wide smile. "I apologize for our tardiness; we had some trouble with the carriage."

Sankaku seemed at once relieved and repulsed, but his voice was even when he asked after his wife.

"Ah! Young Watanabe-hime! Have no fear, she is perfectly well. Young Hanako has stayed vigilantly by her side for the whole of our journey!" Kankuro looked past the green monstrosity to the doorway and—

Oh, gods, there were two of them!

He watched, transfixed, as a shrunken version of the Leaf jounin stepped into the border station, thick eyebrows scrunched as he spoke to someone else. Kankuro eagerly looked to the strange genin's companion, grateful for the chance to rest his eyes. The other kid was a Hyuuga—or, what he assumed was a Hyuuga—with pale, pupiless eyes taking in the building interior with a deadpan expression. They were pretty, and Kankuro struggled to figure out their gender for a solid minute before they met his gaze and held it.

"What do you want?"

Ah, a dude, then. Lame.

Kankuro let a crooked smirk stretch across his face. "Nothing. Just never seen one of you in person, is all."

The Hyuuga bristled, upper lip curling, but didn't reply. His teammate had drawn him into an impassioned, if one sided, discussion about...something. It was hard to tell beyond the wild gesticulations and changes in tone. They vacated the doorway as even more people entered behind them.

Sankaku's anxious expression melted into relief as a young woman stepped into the room, long hair and a many layered kimono marking her as the lord's new bride. She was cute, with a pretty flush on her face as she looked up at her new husband, and Kankuro took the opportunity to look her over. It wasn't everyday he got to see a foreign noblewoman, after all. They dressed so differently from the women of Wind country, showing way more skin and—

Limpid black eyes bored back into his, irises so dark it was like they absorbed the light around them. The genin team's kunoichi wore the most unimpressed expression he had ever seen—Temari's included—over a dark mask which covered her face from the bridge of her nose down. He leered back instinctively, his smile growing as she made a show of looking him up and down. Her straight eyebrows quirked up as she scoffed, dismissing him in one fell swoop.

Temari's quiet chuckle echoed in his ears.

"Watanabe-san," the Leaf girl was saying, her voice low and on the hoarser side. "Thank you for allowing us to accompany you. It has been a pleasure." She bowed slightly, her brown curls bouncing slightly with the motion.

The princess' expression darkened. "Ah, Hatake-chan!" She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl with a dramatic wail. "I'm going to miss you!"

Kankuro felt his heart stop in his chest, eyes widening of their own accord.

Hatake?

Did she seriously say Hatake?

Kankuro looked the girl over with renewed interest. Weren't Hatake supposed to have silver hair? That was their whole thing, right? That's why they had titles like White Fang. Wait, was she Kakashi's kid? Kakashi of the Sharingan? Kakashi of the Thousand Jutsu? They hadn't been briefed on any of this. Did his father even know she was there?

She was looking at him again, brows furrowed and head cocked to one side. He shivered as a foreign chakra slid against his own, feather soft and laden with a sad curiosity. The Hatake had raiton chakra, right? This didn't tingle like lightning should, instead sliding against his chakra coils gently without pushing against his barriers, leaving a cooling sensation in its wake. As far as chakra forays went, it was actually rather polite.

Before he could analyze it too closely, the chakra withdrew and the Hatake girl looked away.

It was her, had to be.

He risked a glance at Temari just in time to see her stiffen.

"Gaara," her voice was high with ill-concealed panic. "Where have you been?"

The red headed boy was standing at the top of the stairs leading up into the living quarters of the station, pale eyes trained on the Hatake.

Oh no, had she touched him with her chakra? Kankuro felt a bead of sweat run down his back as he watched his brother descend the stairs without answering their sister. The Leaf kunoichi was meeting his stare head on, expression calm and open despite the mask. There was a weight to her gaze, a melancholy consideration that Kankuro had felt in her chakra. Had Gaara felt it, too? Was that why he was so curious? Or had he heard the name Hatake and come to see the boogey man their great aunt Chiyo had frightened them with as children?

If Gaara had ever even been a child.

The tense silence was broken by the Leaf jounin slapping Baki roughly on the shoulder in what was probably supposed to be camaraderie.

"Yosh! It looks like our genin are already getting along! Ah, how youthful!"

Getting along? Is that what he called it?

Kankuro scoffed and stood from his seat, pulling his puppet up and onto his back.

"It's about time you guys got here," he said with false cheer. "We were beginning to wonder if an escort mission was too much for you."

The Hatake—she was the center of his attention and he had a feeling she knew it—had the gall to look amused. Her teammate—the green one—began speaking, loudly.

"We were waylaid by a broken axle," he explained with too much enthusiasm, his face set in a determined frown. "And Hanako-san had to reverse summon a criminal back to the village."

Hanako, huh? Hanako Hatake. A field of flowers. How sickening.

And so utterly expected from Konoha.

Temari was standing, too, her fan on her back. "We should head out before the sun gets any higher. We've wasted enough time as it is."

The Leaf jounin and his mini-self smiled as if they weren't just insulted to their faces, leading the way out of the crowded border station with twin exuberance. The Hyuuga waited for his kunoichi teammate to say her goodbyes to the noblewoman before following her out, ghostly eyes lingering on Gaara and Kankuro as he inserted himself between her and them.

Ho. There might be some fun to be had.

Baki and Guy lead them away from the hustle and bustle of civilians prepping for travel, stopping with a shared glance.

"Alright!" Guy took a wide stance and leveled a raised thumb at the assembled genin. "Let us first get our introductions out of the way! I am Might Guy, and these two are part of my team."

He gestured at the boys, who introduced themselves—well, the loud one did—as Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee.

The Hatake bowed slightly. "I am Hanako Hatake. TenTen, this team's kunoichi, was injured and could not come, so I am acting as her substitute."

Kankuro sneered. "What a bold move, sending you to us. Isn't your Kage worried we might take our revenge?"

Temari shot him a hard glare, but Hatake's pleasant expression fell into dull exasperation.

"I didn't kill Chiyo's son."

Kankuro blanched at the blatant disrespect for his kinswoman. "What?"

She sighed and repeated herself, louder this time. "I did not kill Chiyo's son. Neither did my dad. My grandfather is dead. This blood feud is pointless."

Uh...

"Big words, from the offending party," Temari snarked, her green eyes flitting from one Leaf ninja to the other, anticipating violence.

Hatake scoffed. "What offending party? It was a war; people die. I imagine your uncle probably killed a lot of people from Konoha, too. You don't see us holding a grudge spanning three generations."

"That's enough, Kankuro," Baki interjected, placing a hand on his shoulder. "That's not why we're here."

Tch.

He looked away from Hatake's black, black eyes only to land on the Hyuuga's, the opposite extreme glaring openly at him.

Whatever. Hopefully, he'd get to fight the Hatake kid during the exams. If not, maybe after.

Yeah, definitely after.