[OP: "Second Child, Restless Child"--The Oh Hellos]

The Sand Ninja didn't have an easy night. They didn't really discuss anything. Each had their own thoughts about it. But once they'd slipped back into their village and their home, they weren't left in peace for very long.

About 6 hours later, they got summoned to the Kazekage's office, of course, now being stood in for by a council member. 

"We have a help request from Leaf Village's new Hokage,Tsunade," said one member. "It seems Orochimaru's been on the move again, and now one of their own has run away to join his forces. It could be disastrous if he succeeds. A certain Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara blinked slightly. Temari was stunned. That guy? Why would he do that?... She remembered him unsuccessfully fighting Gaara. It hadn't been pleasant.... But to join Orochimaru? How crazy was that? 

"A band of Genin with one Chunin has been dispatched to find him," continued the councilman, their former sensei as it so happened. "But the Hokage is concerned it won't be enough, as  some powerful people retrieved him."

"You're sending us," Temari surmised.

He nodded.

"It's not ideal, but we're also short on ninja right about now, and you know the area. You'll accept?"

It wasn't really a question, unless he thought Gaara might really refuse. But Gaara didn't. Instead he said, "Leaving now?"

"Immediately. You'd be lucky to arrive in time to help as it is," Sensei said.

That was that. They were given a list of the Chunin and Genin to look for, and dispatched.

Temari read it out loud. "The Chunin is--Shikamaru? They passed him, huh? Figures." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, he did impress a lot of people when he beat you," Kankuro said, annoyingly. 

"Shut up," Temari said. Then she read the Genin. "Kiba--that kid with the dog, I think. Neji--the kid with the weird eyes. Choji--I guess familiarity is the appeal.... And Naruto Uzemaki." She glanced at Gaara, who gave a visible start.

"I can't believe we have to go clean up Leaf's mess," Kankuro complained. "But at least we get to see some action. It's been kind of boring. Those weirdos showing up is the most excitement we've had in weeks."

Temari now wondered--those people didn't seem willing to wait that much longer. Would they just go home?

Or they might just assume they weren't coming back, since they didn't have time to stop and let them know. Or so she thought, but when they were leaving the village, Gaara turned towards the mountains.... They'd have to go past them anyway, but he headed straight for their camp.

It was late afternoon, and the strangers were napping or sitting out of the sun.

Gaara disturbed one pebble by landing on the loose, sandy dirt, and the red and white haired kid, Todoroki, sat up at once.

"Hey." Shine stood up. "You're back so soon?"

"There's been a change in plans," Gaara stated. "We have a mission."

Pause.

"What kind of mission?" Shoto asked.

"We have to go bail out some Genin in Leaf who're in over their heads," Kankuro started.

"Orochimaru has made a move again," Temari said.

They all looked at each other.

But why didn't they seem that surprised?

"Uh oh," Dabi said.

Shine picked up her pack. "Is it Sasuke? Did he get taken?"

The ninja all stared at her.

"How did you guess that?" Kankuro asked.

"I have ways," Shine said vaguely. "That's right, huh...? Well, I think we know where we are now."

"I don't think that's good," Shoto said. "We don't know what was around it."

"Are there enemies?" Dabi said.

"Look, we'd love to stay and discuss all the fine details of this with you," Temari said sarcastically, "but we have to get a move on, or they'll be dead before we ever get there, and we're wasting time now. Gaara..."

Gaara knew she was right. "I'm sorry we can't talk more," he said. "But they are our allies."

"I thought they were your enemies," Dabi said.

"Yeah, so now they're our allies to make up for it," Kankuro said.

"We'll come with you," Shine said abruptly.

"What? You can't," Temari said.

"You want to?" Gaara said.

"Sure," Shine said. "We can't stay here, and what's the point? We're here for you. We'll help you with what you need to do. And it sounds as if you could use back-up."

"You're not qualified to," Kankuro said. "And it's not allowed--you aren't part of our village."

"Maybe we need a license," Momo said.

"Do stop thinking like a hero student, Momo," Shine said, a bit dismissively. "We're DJs. We go wherever we need to do. We're free agents. We can follow you if we want to. Why not just let us come? You can't stop us."

"Yeah, but we'd deny we knew you. They'll kill you for trespassing," Kankuro said.

"They might as well just come with us then," Gaara said. "It would be a good test for them. We could see more of their skills."

"But, Gaara, we're not allowed to make those kinds of decisions," Temari said.

Gaara made no response to this.

Temari knew he didn't care...and they were losing time.

"Fine," she said tersely. "Your fate is on your own heads then. Don't expect us to take responsibility for you."

"Understood," Shine said.

"Geez, I guess that's not a 'thank you very much,'" Dabi said.

"If you all can even keep up," Kankuro said, "let's go."

He leapt with more speed than someone should have had and began charging around the mountain.

The heroes grabbed their packs quickly, and Shoto picked Momo up and began skating on ice after Kankuro, while carrying her on his back.

He was at least as fast as them, maybe faster; he didn't have to jump over obstacles as much.

"Not bad..." Temari admitted.

Dabi and Shine just began hurrying after her.

There was no way they should have been able to keep up with the chakra-enhanced running and jumping ability of the ninja...but somehow, they didn't fall that far behind, even as the three picked up speed.

They were over the mountains pretty quickly.

Gaara, watching Shine and Dabi picking their way around the rocks, just picked them up with his sand and brought them with him.

Then they hit the level ground and began running again.

"I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be keeping up this well," Dabi said to Shine. "They're moving faster than a tiger."

"I've noticed this before." Shine looked down. "On Ever After...sometimes distances seem to shrink under me. Magic or mystical, I don't know why. Perhaps it's just part of bending space time. It just bends it a little slower."

Temari heard that and cast her a strange look.

But the journey that should have taken them at least 12 hours, even with minimal breaks, was surprisingly short. They must have crossed into the Land of Fire within 2 hours.

"Hold on," Kankuro said, when they passed a landmark. "Shouldn't we still be a ways off from that? How fast are we going?"

"No faster than usual, I thought," Temari said, stopping to wipe her brow.

Shoto stopped and started panting.

"Todoroki-san, you can't keep going at this pace," Momo said. "I can walk. It's all right. Feel how much cooler it is, now we're in the shade."

They were entering the edge of the forest.

"Is this your doing?" Temari asked Shine suspiciously. "Do you have some kind of jutsu that allows you to move faster?"

"No, that's my fiance," Shine joked, leaning on a tree. "These trees remind me of the redwood forests at home.... Look, it's just a perk of the job. I can't explain why...but think of it this way--we must be saving you time also."

"Isn't it good if we're faster?" Gaara said. "The Leaf could be in grave danger even as we speak. We need to hurry to them."

"I guess, but..." Kankuro was puzzled.

Dabi knew that look. He'd seen it in the hero students and the LOV whenever Shine and Wally were involved. That moment where just too many weird things were happening ,and too differently than you expected or were used to, and you couldn't keep up.

It was pretty dang funny to see it on someone else's face for a change, who he didn't need to feel concerned about.

"Now that we're stopped, is it all right if I ask a question?" Momo said.

"Like?" Temari narrowed her eyes.

"These people we're looking for, how do you know where you'll find them?" Momo asked. "This forest must go on for dozens of kilometers."

The Sand Three looked at her oddly.

"We'll probably sense the chakra if we get close enough," Temari said. "I mean, none of us are very sensory, but Kankuro can scout ahead also."

"He can scout ahead, sure, but can he make it back in time?" Dabi said, real snarky.

"She means I'll use my puppets, idiot," Kankuro said. "Besides, they can't have got that far. They'll be heading for the border of the Land of Fire, and this is it, so we keep going east, and they're coming west--the odds are we'll run into one of them."

"And do you know anything about the ninja they might be fighting?" Shine asked.

"Other than they're no doubt from Hidden Sound, not a thing," Temari said. "But they're dangerous."

"Shine," Shoto said, "can we talk for a moment?"

"You guys go on," Shine told the ninja. "We'll catch up to you. You can move faster without us, right?"

"I don't know, the way you're changing things," Temari said. "But fine, we've wasted enough time talking."

She took off again, and the other two followed. Gaara cast them a strange look.

"Yes, Shoto," Shine said patiently--but it sounded a little strained.

"I didn't think this was a good idea on the mountain, but you didn't put it up for discussion," Shoto spoke. "But Bakugo and Camie specifically said that these people were dangerous. And we still know very little about their powers. I'd like to think I could handle most villains even so, at least with the three of you as back -up, if we were home...but we're not home, and I know your powers don't work the same as ours, so it's reasonable that they may not work the same either. What if we can't compete with it?"

"Is competing with it the point?" Shine asked.

"I think what he means is we may be outmatched," Momo said. "And we're not wanted, either. Aren't we breaking their laws by following them at all?"

"Some laws are higher than other laws," Shine said. "We're not ninja. They don't need to worry about us."

"Well, tell them that," Dabi said. "Based on the reception we got from the Sand Stooges, and the letter, I'd say they gave us the red carpet treatment compared to how anyone else is going to react to us. I hate to agree with Snowflake, but I do think we're probably outmatched."

"And all of you think so?" Shine said.

They all shrugged.

"I just think we should have waited at the mountain and learned more about this world before we tried to join a mission," Shoto said. "This is like the LOV attacking UA two days in."

"As I recall, you did fine there," Shine said.

"Shine, don't you always say that the school puts us in danger too much?" Momo pointed out, more gently, but still firmly. "How is this any different? You're a veteran DJ--probably you can handle this world, but we just have no...information about it."

"But I haven't had information either," Shine said. "Heck, my first mission I got thrown in a dungeon by some power hungry prince. I was younger than you are now."

"But you're special," Shoto said. "This is your life.... It's...well, for us, I don't know why we're here, but I think...maybe it's just because we speak the language and have some hero skills. And like Temari said, we're like one of their teams. But beyond that, I'm not sure what we're qualified to do."

"I've never heard you ever worry about being qualified, Shoto." Shine was shocked. "You sound like Iida."

Despite being his friend, Shoto did not take that comparison as a compliment.

"I admit, even I do think you sound a little more textbook than usual." Dabi glanced at Shoto. "I'm with you about us not being ready, but since when did you care about the danger? Sure, you're both teenagers, but I ain't. And you agreed to this. You knew it was dangerous. Likstar isn't endangering you by throwing you into something she rigged to be bad, like your stupid teachers. She's right here with you, just as uncertain as you are. And I'm an adult, so I can throw my life away if I want, but you have to make those decisions all the time on the job, I don't care how the police lie to the public about it. It's not like you really can ask them when someone is threatening your life. That's nuts. Is that really what they teach you?"

"Younger kids than you have been in wars," Shine said. "I'm not saying that's right...but there's no set age to World Walking. Both of you are smart, good fighters, and trained to survive. While I do think expecting you to make decisions to preserve society is a bit much, it's not that I think you can't fight and handle those situations. I've worked with you many times in your world. Did I ever say you couldn't do that? I was the only one who said that you going after Bakugo was a good thing, remember?"

"Yes, you said it was because it worked," Shoto said.

Momo looked down.

"Sometimes you know what is right, even if it doesn't follow the rules," Shine said. "Other times, yes, you should follow the rules. But I'm afraid the time to look back and question that is not once you've stepped through a portal. If you didn't want to do the risky part, you shouldn't have come. I never forced you to. I expect all of you to know better than to rush into things. But I don't understand why you are saying this, Shoto. You have to be one of the most reckless and self assured students in the whole class. Where is this doubt coming from?"

Shoto stared at her with an unreadable expression, then he looked around dubiously. "Maybe because Camie and Bakugo of all people are saying it's bad," he said. "If Bakugo says it, I believe him. He's the most reckless, overconfident jerk, I know. And Camie is never one to consider the danger of a situation. "

"Granted," Shine said. "But they were warning us about things from afar. If they were here, do you think for one second they'd be hesitating?"

Momo looked up. "I don't think Bakugo would be," she said. "But he's so proud.... Camie, I'm not sure."

"Camie might a little, but I know she'd still come," Shine said. "I know those kids. they're brave.... Like I said, I was younger than you are when I started, and I was alone. The danger is really wholly a matter of opinion. We might not even be in that much. So far nothing horrible has happened to us, just some close calls.... You can try to anticipate everything...but maybe there's a reason we didn't know all this going in. It sounds like you'd never have come if you did. I can't send you back, though--you know that. Not on such short notice...And I have to complete the mission. So, I need to catch up with those three ninja. I leave it to you."

She tilted her head.

"This is stupid," Dabi said. "We can't back out, even if we wanted to. What was the point of bringing it up, Snowflake?"

"If we have to follow them, can we at least agree to not to engage in a battle on purpose?" Shoto said. "And, Shine, if you could not do that thing where you walk right up to some villain and start arguing with them."

"But that's my thing," Shine said.

"It's risky," Shoto said.

"No risk, no reward," Shine said.

"But just...till we know more, could we not do things like that?" Momo said.

"Who took these kids and replaced them with chickens?" Dabi said. "This is just sad. If you acted like this when we attacked you, I'd never have worried about getting close enough for you to land a hit, period."

"That is not helping." Shoto glared at him.

"All I can promise you is I won't go looking for trouble," Shine said. "At least, not if I can help it. But I must do what I need to do. And whatever you need to do, you'd be better off thinking of that than entertaining all these fears and doubts that you've allowed to come into your head. I'm hesitant to even read that other letter when it arrives, after hearing this."

"No, don't," Momo said. "We need to know what they can tell us."

"Well, let's get one thing straight, Momo," Shine said, tossing her hair. "I won't force you to do anything that's not my call, but if you follow me after them, I'm in charge. You will do what I tell you. Clearly I can't trust all of you to want to do anything on your own for now, so that's how it has to be. I'm still your teacher, and I'm the one with experience. I don't like pulling rank like this under the circumstances, but we have to keep moving, so I see little choice. Can you all live with that?"

"I--" Shoto began.

"Great," Shine said. "Because it's not open for debate. I'm going. If you follow me, I'll trust that we have come to an understanding on this."

She opened a portal.

Dabi shrugged. "I'm not standing around here--get found by the border patrol, no doubt. Come on, wuss." He made a face at Shoto and jumped.

"We have to," Momo said. "You know we can't survive here on our own.... Shine-sensei is right, Todoroki, we agreed to this. Perhaps we should have thought it out more then, but we won't be safer if we try to hide in a strange land.... We're safer together."

"I know that," Shoto said. "It's just a little...annoying that one conversation with Camie could have told us what we need to know."

And that was a sentence he never thought he'd say.

"I think it's called cruel irony," Momo said. "I don't like it. Why do adults say they like irony?" She sighed and went through the door. Shoto followed, and Shine shut it.

* * *

They all came out on a large branch of tree that Temari was perched in, and they were lucky she wasn't moving.

"I forgot that might have been a stupid idea." Shine almost fell off.

Temari grabbed them by their shirts and pulled them back up.

"Quiet," she hissed. "You're late.... We thought we heard something."

Kankuro was farther ahead, up a tree.

"I'm telling you," he said, "I heard a dog whining. It's the Kiba guy, no doubt about it."

Gaara had his hand over one eye. "I'm searching, and I've found Rock Lee. He's also in danger," he said. "But no Naruto."

"Well, if they're close, the other can't be far behind," Temari said.

"Excuse me," Shine said, trying to balance, "do you happen to have pictures of any of these people?"

"Uh...yes, we were given their files so we'd recognize them." Temari pulled some out of her belt. "I remember them already, but their strengths and weakness also, that we know of."

"All of them are kids," Shine observed.

"Yes, they are all Genin, except this one." Temari tapped one picture of an ordinary looking kid with a ponytail. "Shikamaru Nara."

"That's the one she lost to in the exam," Kankuro said snidely.

"I thought she won," Gaara said, with no sense of humor at all. "He surrendered."

"Yeah, because he didn't want to keep fighting. She was totally helpless," Kankuro said.

Temari threw a twig at him and hit him in the neck.

"Temari, talk to me," Shine said. "Do you think they stand a chance against Sound Village ninja?"

"No." Temari didn't hesitate. "But if I had to bet who'd last the longest, I'd say it would be Hyuga and Shikamaru. Hyuga is good enough to be a Chunin, probably, he just didn't finish the exam. None of them did. It was cancelled when the attack happened. But still, alone? I doubt any of them could win. Orochimaru will have enhanced fighters, no ordinary ninja."

"But you think you can beat them?" Shine said.

"They'll be tired already, so we have a good chance," Temari said. "Why do you ask? We should be going."

"So you'd say if you had back-up, you'd be pretty sure to beat them, then," Shine said. "And you just need to find the other two?" 

"Yes," Temari said.

"All right then," Shine said. "I will tell you where to look."

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Good, she's got that," Dabi said.

"Shine, you're going to portal to them?" Momo said.

"No...looks like my Sight is present here," Shine said. "Must be the right kind of world for it.... Well, good, saves me having to look for them by jumping everywhere. Who wants to help who?"

"I'll get the dog boy," Kankuro said. "I figure he's a wimp, so I'll get a good fight out of whoever is kicking him around."

"If he's a wimp, it might not be that much of a fight," Dabi said.

"I'll help Rock Lee," Gaara said.

Temari looked at him in surprise, but then she nodded. "Well, I'll find Nara then, I guess," she said. "I want to humiliate him by having him be rescued by the same person he beat."

"You remind me of a kid I know," Shine said. "You'll find Shikamaru that way." She pointed. "Not too far. Kiba you'll find there." She pointed again, a different direction.

"You have Byakugan?" Temari said. "But your eyes are gold, not silver."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Shine said. "Momo, Shoto, go with Temari. You don't have to fight, just watch her back. You can see more of the world that way. "

"I'll go with Kabuki man." Dabi didn't want to go anywhere near Gaara. "Anyway, I'd like to see what he meant by puppets." [Did you know Kankuro is actually named after a famous Kabuki actor? The name is commonly used to refer to crows, which is one of his puppet's names. I just learned that trivia while researching for this chapter.]

Kankuro was actually rather pleased at the idea of showing off his puppets, and Temari could tell, so he didn't even argue.

"Then I'll accompany Gaara," Shine said. "If we find the other ones you mentioned, I guess that's a plus.... Let's hope it's not too late for any of them."

Temari was going to say they couldn't help--but then realized it was a waste of time to argue.

"If you can keep up with me, fine," she said. "And you'd better be right, Likstar-san. If we miss them, I'm going to come back here and beat you up."

"Someone's worried about their arch foe," Kankuro said smugly.

"Why don't you get a move on before the dog ends up hung up by his own tali?" Temari shot back.

"I'm going, sis." Kankuro took off, and Dabi hurried after him, muttering curses.

Gaara picked Shine up with his sand and raced away.

"Move it! Slow pokes." Temari took off also.

Shoto grabbed Momo and started skating after her.

"I thought we asked Shine to not do something dangerous," he said.

"She said to watch." Momo held on tight. "That's not so bad...I suppose.... I mean, we were going to end up close to the action either way. Let's just hope Temari can handle whoever it is...but maybe they won't be any worse than the villains at home. Perhaps we're worried for nothing."

"If so, I'd be fine with fighting them," Shoto said. "I just wish I knew."

[So...who thinks the odds are in the hero kids favor? Yeah, I know that's asking a geek war to start in the comments.... Should be hilarious to read if it does.]

* * *

"You didn't have to do this," Gaara told Shine, as they wove around trees. The forest was thinning a little, and Shine realized they were coming to a clear meadow in the midst of it, like in Bambi.

"This is what we do," Shine said. "And, Gaara, I don't know if we have time for a lot of conversation right now, but I'd really like to know more about you. Are you comfortable talking  about your life?"

Not that she wouldn't trick him into it if he said no...but she had learned to ease kids into it a little more since working at UA.

"I don't mind talking about it." Gaara would have no problem monologuing, if she let him. "It's not a nice story.... At least, other people seem to think it's not."

"But it's your story," Shine said. "And that is all that matters.... Like...have you always been on a team with your brother and sister?"

She thought that would be a short question.

It wasn't.

"Sort of," Gaara said. "The truth is, we used to be mostly on our own when I was very small, but something changed later. I don't remember what it was. My father decided they shouldn't play around me anymore. Looking back, it must have been the One Tail--then it wasn't so strong...or I wasn't, but it was getting stronger. I got put under the care of my uncle."

"You never mentioned you had an uncle," Shine said.

"We don't now," Gaara said. "I killed him."

Shine almost choked on shock. But then...hadn't she heard this before?

"On purpose?" She somehow kept her tone neutral.

"Yes..." Gaara said. "Also no." He looked at his hand and clenched it a little. "Perhaps you understand this, though no one else does. But you spoke to the One Tail like it was itself.... Its will and my will are...interlinked. Sometimes I don't know what I intend to do.... At first, I didn't like what it did, though I didn't understand it...and why everyone ran away from me when I walked down the street. My uncle tried to tell me about love, and my mother...but then I was told she actually hated me, and my uncle tried to kill me. My father ordered him too."

"After taking care of you?" Shine was disgusted.

"I don't think he wanted to," Gaara said. "Or perhaps he hated me all along..." He looked dark. "I don't understand much of it still. In the end, the One Tail killed him, and I thought he didn't really try to stop it. That was when I decided my only purpose in life was to kill. Until the Exam, I never thought anything else."

Shine swallowed her disgust at the Sand's ways.

"What changed after that?" she asked.

"Naruto told me that his friends saved him from feeling alone," Gaara said. "And from himself. I swore to only love myself before.... That was when I got this." He touched the mark on his forehead. "But he said differently. In the end, he was stronger than I was. I wondered if perhaps I was mistaken before...but, as you saw...I can't control the Beast, even now, very well."

".'..I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it'," Shine quoted. [Romans 7:18-20]

Gaara looked up a little, like she'd just summed it up. "Yes."

"That's from our holy book," Shine said. "Want to here the rest of what he says about it?"

"Yes," Gaara said.

"'I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord'," [vs. 21-25] Shine went on.

"That is right," Gaara said, in some amazement. "What is sin?"

"Evil," Shine said. "Hurting other people and ourselves--and God. Whatever leads to death, basically, other than, of course, the noble self sacrifice."

"This book is describing the Tailed Beast," Gaara said. "Who is Jesus Christ?"

Even at him saying it, he felt strange...like it wasn't something that quite fit in with his world.

Shine looked at him closely, wondering.

"My Savior," she said. "The one who sets us free from sin and death."

"For you?" Gaara said.

"Oh, sure," Shine said. "Once I was like you.... Well, not with a Beast inside me...but I had the sin inside me also. We all do. It just takes different forms for each of us."

"I never heard that." Gaara was not even questioning her words. 

"All people are selfish." Shine shrugged. "Most of them will admit it, even, if you press hard enough."

"Not everyone is a monster," Gaara said.

https://youtu.be/u9NStVkSCuk

[Monster--Skillet]

Shine knew they didn't have much time before they reached their target, so she spoke quickly and to the point.

"Gaara," she said seriously, "I do not think you are a monster. You're just a kid stuck with this living death and hatred inside him from somewhere else. It seems to me that, deep down, anyone who would be interested in freedom, if you are, must agree with Good after all. Perhaps it's not really you that acts on these destructive impulses.... You seem to be a nice person, when you're removed from it the most.... To me, it's not your fault."

Gaara looked at her like she'd sprouted wings. "You think that?"

"I'm serious." Shine looked serious.

Gaara was quiet, shocked. "No one has said that before."

"I'll just bet they haven't," Shine muttered to herself. But aloud she said, "Gaara, it only takes one time hearing the truth to change your life."

Gaara accepted that very seriously.

"What did you mean when you said your way of life is love?" he asked.

"Well--" Shine suddenly saw the field before them...and it was covered with...were those bones? It looked like an elephant graveyard.

"We can talk about that after we save your allies," she said.

Gaara looked.

"Wait here." He put her down. "This looks dangerous."

Shine smirked to herself at the idea that she'd avoid danger, but she was interested to see what he'd do...and if he'd lose control again. So she stood back.

[Anyone who remembers this part of the show knows how gross most of these fights were. So don't expect me to reproduce them.... Go watch the arc yourself if you want that.

If you're wondering why I bothered to include canon events at all, when I usually just build off them and do my own thing, I thought it worked better for this world to start early in the timeline. I'll explain more as we go. I still thought it was interesting, even knowing a few of the twists going in.]