Ritsu couldn't believe he was visiting the Sand Siblings' house, for a one-on-one lesson with Temari-senpai.

He followed the directions to the back of the Kazekage mansion, going passed the front and around the building, staring at the only tree for acres whose branches almost reached over the top of the roof. Once he went around the corner, he violently double-taked. The sheep were dotted around the Kazekage's garden and he saw a chicken flying across the area. The goats turned to stare beadily at him while chewing on some hay. He side-stepped against the wall of the building toward the back door and knocked, swatting away one goat that tried to nibble at his pants.

When the door flew open, he jumped into a salute, expecting to see one of the siblings, only to be met with the sight of Baki's largeness occupying the doorway.

"Baki-sensei," he said in slight surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ritsu," the Jonin answered uninterestedly. "Was it today you were coming over?"

"Uh..." he took in the man's loungewear of sweatpants and a tanktop. "Yes."

"Come in and close the door behind you. The animals will get in."

Ritsu did as he was told and took off his shoes as he watched Baki disappear further into the house.

"Temari!" Baki yelled. "Your student's here."

A distant voice from up the stairs yelled back. "I'll be a bit!"

Ritsu shuffles after Baki and has the first good look at the Kazekage quarter's living space. Sliding glass doors on the far wall made a clear view out into the backyard where once again the tree was framed, he tried not to stare at it too much. There was a sectional sofa against the left wall and an armchair perpendicular to it on the right wall, with a TV in the far right corner with a vhs player. Between the sectional and the sliding doors, was a bookshelf with scrolls, books, and pictures.

Baki took up the entire sectional, sitting smack in the middle where the divide in the cushions were. He had his feet up on the coffee table in the middle of the room with a newspaper blocking his face.

So this was their sensei in his natural habitat.

"Where's the restroom?" Ritsu asked.

"Down the hall."

"Thank you."

Once he was done washing his hands, he shook off the droplets and pulled out his handkerchief to dry them off. He opened the door and heard the door across the hall opening as well.

He jerked backwards. "You?!"

Suzume was standing there bleary eyed from sleep and her hair shaped in an oddly neat cube. She was in pajamas and fuzzy slippers on her feet.

"Ritsu-senpai..." she sloppily saluted him. "I heard you were here."

"Right," he sighed. "You're their adoptive sister so of course you're going to live here too."

She dropped her head down once in a deep, limp nod before pointing at the restroom behind him. "I'm going to shower."

He quickly moved out of the way. "Yeah."

When he returned to the living room, he heard the start of the shower. He gave a side eye to his teacher who wasn't giving any care that he was there. Ritsu lowered himself in the armchair and sat stiffly, looking around. He spotted the picture of Suzume on the bookshelf, looking so young and so happy it could've been fake. She was presenting something proudly with a blue cat standing on her shoulders. He soon found out what it was as he spotted the adoption form, also framed, right beside the picture.

Ritsu knew who the cat was. It was a big deal back then, some students were caught doing the old traditional hunt on strays before their graduation and soon after it was made illegal to engage in the tradition. That was the cat they killed, the Sand Siblings' stray's stray.

The sounds of the shower ceased and he heard the bathroom door open. A few more minutes pass and Suzume enters the area, clear eyed now with damp hair and in her own casual clothes of a baggy t-shirt and shorts.

She took in the situation and went in a beeline to the kitchen.

"Baki-sensei," she said in a disapproving tone Ritsu has never heard her use before. "You should at least give Ritsu-senpai something to eat."

"I have no obligations to look after a guest in someone else's house," Baki said as he flipped a page in the newspaper.

Suzume came back with a platter cookies and a glass of milk. She bent onto her knees as she placed it down on the coffee table. Baki seemed to take this as a cue because he removed his feet without a word. After Suzume placed the cookies and milk on the table, she returned to the kitchen with the platter.

"Is Gaara-sama still working overtime?" she asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Baki answered. "He should be back soon."

"Kankuro nii-san is sleeping," Suzume observed. "When did he get back?"

"Not too long ago, maybe around six this morning."

The sound of chopping vegetables and running water and the stove sparking aflame was followed by the smell of cooked rice and savory soup. Ritsu felt his stomach rumble. He'd forgotten breakfast out of excitement.

"Ritsu-senpai."

"Yes!" he yelped and quickly pulled back his hand which had been reaching out for a cookie. There was heat in his face and Baki coughed in a way that was suspiciously hiding a chuckle.

Suzume's head was peeking around the corner. "Since you're here so early do you want to join us for breakfast?"

"Uuuuuh..." he cursed himself for his slow brain, unable to formulate a smart answer. She's got him in her own territory, he wasn't prepared for this. How could he let her get him in such a vulnerable position?

The door opened just then and Gaara's tired voice said, "I'm home."

Suzume turned and went to greet him. "Welcome back, Gaara-sama. I've got food ready."

"Smells good."

"Ritsu-senpai is here as well."

"Oh, he is?" When Gaara came into view, Ritsu jumps to his feet and bows.

"Hello, Ritsu. You're earlier than we expected. You're joining us for breakfast right?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" he said to the floor.

"That's good. You won't be disappointed by Suzume's cooking."

"Gaara-sama, please go wash up and bring Temari and Kankuro with you."

"Alright." Footsteps went up the stairs and grew muffled.

"Baki-sensei, could you help me set the table?"

The rustle of the newspaper being folded and the sofa groaning indicated that Baki had stood and went to the kitchen.

After a while, Ritsu realized he was alone in the living room. He raised himself up straight again, feeling ridiculous.

"Ritsu," Baki had returned, "why don't you take a seat and wait for the others with us."

As soon as Ritsu sat down at the table, the siblings burst into the room and took their own seats. After getting settled, they all clapped their hands together.

"Itadakimasu!"

Kankuro was chewing his spoonful of food, hunched over and bedraggled from being woken from bed. He slowly raised his head and stared blankly at Ritsu who was across from him. He suddenly stopped chewing and his eyes squinted.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, completely befuddled.

"I told him to stop by the house in the morning, but I guess he likes being the early bird." Temari winked at him with an all-knowing smirk.

Heat rose through Ritsu's cheeks until they were visibly pink. He bowed his head and almost hit his forehead against his bowl of rice. "My apologies."

"Might as well have invited Akira and made it a party, jan." Kankuro held out a piece of cucumber with his chopsticks for him and Ritsu hurried to grab a spoonful of rice for him to place it on. "And we all know who he's really here for." Kankuro also gave him an attractive wink.

Ritsu choked on his rice.

Gaara handed him a glass of water and after he managed to calm down, he couldn't bear to look directly at any of them. The topic of conversation picked up easily to what everyone's plans for the day was. Gaara was instructing Suzume in the backyard, Kankuro was meeting Akira at the training grounds, Temari was taking Ritsu to the gym, and Baki...

"I'm going to lay on the sofa and sleep," Baki told them nonchalantly, finishing up his second bowl of rice. "With a nice cup of sake."

"Yeah, you enjoy that while you can, old man," Kankuro said a bit bitterly. "Enjoy that for all us too."

"That sounds like too much work, so no."

Soon enough, everyone finished up their food and gathered up their dishes to wash in the sink. The family all went to change into their training attire and Ritsu found himself waiting again with Baki.

His teacher walked into the living room with two bottles of sake between his fingers and a cup, and Ritsu watched as he popped a bottle open and poured himself some.

"Are you really going to drink at 7 in the morning, Baki-sensei?" he said, trying his hardest to hide the criticism in his voice but failing.

Baki downed a cup then went for another. "I'm doing it, aren't I?" He caught a look at his student's face before saying, "I don't do this often."

Ritsu looked like he wanted to say something but that was when the family of four finally arrived, dressed in workout gear which tightened around their strong figures in silhouettes that made Ritsu gulp. He caught himself staring longer than he should at Suzume before mentally slapping himself and looking down at the floor, questioning everything.

"I'll be taking this," Kankuro scooped up the unopened bottle.

"You're taking an old man's only happiness."

"You have another one right there," Kankuro said, clinking his bottle against the other one and then sauntered away with the bottle of sake over his shoulder. "And you're not that old, Baki. I'll be dipping now."

"Don't drink too much, Baki-sensei," Suzume said as she and Gaara followed Kankuro out.

"We should head out too. Ready, Ritsu?"

"Yes." Ritsu's gaze lingered on Baki for a second longer before rising from his seat to follow after Temari.

While they walked down the hallway to the Shinobi HQ, he asked Temari what the siblings have planned for each of them.

"Gaara will be teaching Suzume, per her request, chakra extension," she said. "I think it was a good choice. Suzume always excelled in chakra control."

They turned into the archives room with towering shelves with files and folders. Other shinobi were using the room as well and greeted him and Temari as they passed.

"Kankuro will be furthering Akira's training in puppeteering due to his own high capability of chakra control."

Temari stopped beside one of the empty, private rooms that stood along the walls of the archive room and took out a key to fit into the lock. She unlocked and opened the door, letting herself in and leaving it to Ritsu to close the door behind him.

"Take a seat." She pushed open the blinds covering the window, letting sunlight in and turned on the rickety fan in the corner. "As for you, I'll be informing you about our plans for the mission."

"But that's only for the superiors to know."

Temari dropped files onto the desk in front of him. "Yep."

Once Ritsu realized what that implied, he glowed with pride, his mouth crinkling as he tried to hide his smile.

Temari smirked at his excitement. "You ready for this, kid?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Kankuro strolled by the village's center and headed to the more middle class districts. Once there he went further past and into one of the last remaining old districts.

Some people on the street were friendly enough to greet him. Others put in extra effort to evade him.

He frowned and looked around at the houses once he got to where he needed to be. He found the house and took a moment to take it in. The front yard was patched with adobe tiles that sand had long overtaken. There were chalk drawings along the outside walls of the house and the plots where plants were supposed to be were barren.

Kankuro opened the gate and let himself in. He went up to the front door where a steel security door guarded the actual door beyond. He pressed the yellowed doorbell and heard the muffled ring go throughout the house followed by muffled shuffling. Multiple locks were unlocked from within the house and soon enough Kankuro saw Akira's face peering through the black iron.

The boy's eyes widened. "Kankuro-senpai..." He quickly opened the security door but just as quickly closed both doors behind him after he stepped out. He bowed in greeting. "I thought I was supposed to meet you at the training grounds."

"I wanted to formally introduce myself to your family. Is that okay?"

"Uh..." Akira fidgeted. "I don't think--"

"Who's that?!"

Akira's head snapped around to look at the little heads now peering at Kankuro through the iron.

"Hey," Kankuro greeted gruffly as Akira bristled with indignation at them.

He ended up in their living room, sitting on the rug with the kids prodding and hanging over him.

"You're a shinobi? You don't look like a shinobi. You look like a bunraku."

"Ah ha ha ha..." Kankuro's mouth twitched as his hood tilted over as one of the kids pulled hard at it.

"Hey," Akira said sternly, arriving with a tray of tea and snacks. "Get off the guest."

The kids scuttled away and ran into the kitchen. Akira lowered the tray down and kneeled across from Kankuro. He had a teasing smile on his face as he poured his superior tea.

"Kankuro-senpai, you're really bad with kids even though you're good at dealing with Suzume-san," he goaded.

"I'm not good with six-year-olds," Kankuro grumbled, accepting the tea and sass. "I'm also starting to see what type of personality you have, Akira."

There was hardly any furniture inside the house and once Kankuro had walked in Akira had hurried to hide the laundry that had been hanging in the living room to dry, and had closed the doors leading to any of the other rooms. Instead of a chair or a sofa, Kankuro sat knelt on a cushion between the tatami mats that covered the floors. The tea set was also old but at the same time, Kankuro knew it was the best the family had.

"Isn't this neighborhood where Katsuo lives too? Do you guys talk often?"

"Actually, yes. I've been looking after him since he was a kid. Our families still exchange fruits now and then. I heard you've been looking after him recently too, Kankuro-senpai. Along with the troublemaker."

"Otaki? Yeah, they're something." Kankuro chuckled. "They get along though, weirdly enough. I've been having an ear and eye out for them for a while now."

"You sure do a lot, Kankuro-senpai."

"Yeah," he sighed. "It's been tough, I--" He realized and he snapped his eyes onto the kid. "You tricky little snot."

Akira giggled under his breath. "You shouldn't call your students names."

Kankuro did hear from Baki that the kid had a way with words but never specified how. He had a knack for making people let their guards down. If it weren't for his personality he'd be a scary guy, scarier than the other two. Kankuro should be careful around him.

"I brought you something for your older brother." He placed the sake bottle with a bow he'd bought along the way there wrapped around the neck. When Akira saw it, his face lit up.

"Thank you for the thought." He took it like it was a priceless relic. "He hasn't had alcohol in forever."

"Yeah," Kankuro said, smiling. "You can share it with him."

"I'm intending to," Akira said, surprising Kankuro who only meant it as a joke. Akira stood up and walked into the kitchen to put away the bottle. "Should we head out now?"

Kankuro checked his watch. "Our time slot on the training grounds will be opening soon., so sure."

"Let me get ready, and then we'll head out," he said while passing by. Barely a minute passes when Akira returned in his training gear and pouch.

"Ready?" Kankuro asked as he gets to his feet.

"Yes," he answers and heads for the door. "Nitori, Naoko, Hiraku! I'll be back soon so behave yourselves."

"Haaaiii~!"

Kankuro watches Akira shut both doors and wait until they hear the locks being turned all at once. Satisfied, Akira turns to Kankuro. "We can go now."

"Do you always leave those three alone?"

"Most of the time, yes."

Kankuro knew decently of the genin's past. He was the main income of the family from a young age, though Kankuro was aware of how small of an allowance the students were given at the institute, but the health insurance that extended to the rest of the family once you become a certified shinobi is a huge benefit for a struggling family in this economic depression. It was a common story for the area.

"Akira," Kankuro started slowly, "if you could change one thing about this village what would it be?"

It took Akira the rest of the way to the training grounds to answer.

"An increase in Active Duty Death benefits and entitlements."

When Kankuro returned home, Baki was still where he was when he had left. Baki had an expected high alcohol tolerance, he could drink enough to kill an average drinker, so Kankuro wasn't surprised to see extra beer bottles strewn around a couple of sake bottles and the stench of alcohol spicing the air.

The man was sprawled across the sofa, red in the face with spaced out eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"You didn't save any for me?" Kankuro sinks into the armchair. Baki graced him with a onceover before returning his gaze to the ceiling.

"No, too young. Just a baby," he slurred out.

"I'm of age," Kankuro reminded him. "We've dranked together before, remember?"

"Hmph." It didn't seem like Baki had the energy to give a proper response.

Kankuro sighed and got to his feet, surveying the disaster around them while pulling a hand through his hair. "I'll clean this up for you. You're gonna be in enough trouble with Suzume for your drunk ass even without the mess."

Through the crackling sound of aluminum and tapping glass as Kankuro placed them in the trash bag, he heard Baki say, "Why can't you kids get a break?"

"I ask myself that everyday," he said, tossing in another can into his garbage bag. He glances over to Baki's direction and freezes. He had caught sight of something in Baki's eyes before the man turned his back on him.