The night was eerily still, a silence that the desert had mastered, swallowing every sound in its vast, unfeeling expanse. Isan sat apart from the others, his thoughts heavy, his mind circling back again and again to the battles they had already endured and the long journey still ahead.
The Red Dunes stretched endlessly before them, swallowing their footsteps in an unrelenting wilderness of shifting sand and merciless wind. Their camp lay at the edge of this arid wasteland, a fragile pocket of life clinging to a sea of death, where even the air seemed to hum with a quiet, oppressive tension.
In his hand, Isan's kunai felt cold and familiar, its weight a constant reminder of their mission. But tonight, the weapon meant little.
His thoughts, instead, kept drifting back to the battle with the sand bandits, at their camp, especially the massive and destructive move he'd executed: Ninja Art: Black Rain.
He replayed it in his mind, the storm of kunai, shuriken, and senbon tearing through the air with impossible speed, faster than his eyes could follow.
'Something about that was… off.', Isan thought, frowning as his thumb tapped lightly and slowly on the kunai's handle.
He didn't have a major in physics, but the speed at which his weapons flew and fell felt abnormal, it had gone far beyond the natural limits of speed or force. He set the thought aside, trying to focus on the night ahead.
Temari and Daiana, the first duo taking the watch, were stationed in the distance, their silhouettes faint against the starlit horizon. The desert air, cool and biting, carried only the restless hiss of shifting sand. Beyond that, there was nothing, no sound, no movement, only the suffocating stillness.
Isan turned his gaze upward, the weight of their mission pressing against him like a physical force. The stars above twinkled, indifferent to their struggle.
His thoughts spiraled. The silence felt suffocating. He hated it. But it was all he could hear. He clenched his hand around the cold kunai, its metal unforgiving against his skin.
"Focus.", he muttered under his breath, forcing a slow exhale. Finally, he lay down on the sand, letting the weight of exhaustion drag him into sleep; never noticing the silent gaze that lingered on him from nearby.
Temari, seated nearby, couldn't help but notice Isan's restless form. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she quickly shifted her attention back to the camp.
Just then, she felt a presence behind her. Turning, her eyes met Daiana's, who was watching her with a quiet smile, almost a mocking one.
"What?", Temari asked softly, her voice lacking its usual sharpness. A faint blush colored her cheeks at the unintended vulnerability in her tone.
"Nothing.", Daiana replied, her voice light but thoughtful.
"I was just wondering… do you hate Isan?"
Temari froze, her thoughts grinding to a halt as she considered the question. It took her a moment to answer, her gaze softening as she looked at Daiana.
"No.", Temari said slowly, her voice betraying a hint of hesitation.
"I don't hate him. It's just that… sometimes his actions are more dangerous to him than to anyone else."
Daiana's eyes turned skyward, her expression thoughtful. "I see…"
The two women sat in silence for a moment, the distant stars above them casting an ethereal glow over the barren landscape. Daiana's words seemed to hang in the air, and Temari found herself caught between thoughts she hadn't fully processed.
"I just think about what it would be like if he… if he died.", Daiana continued, her voice barely a whisper now.
"I don't know if you can understand it, but to us orphans, Isan is more than just someone we know. He's a symbol."
Temari blinked, surprised by the weight of Daiana's confession. The younger girl continued, her words flowing like a quiet stream.
"He probably doesn't know it, or maybe he does but doesn't care... he's become a symbol for all of us. He's someone without anything, but still keeps fighting. Even though he's an orphan, he's a rival to you, the daughter of Lord Kazekage."
Temari opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She just stared at Daiana, who continued speaking in that sweet, melodic voice.
"I don't know if you can imagine what it's like to be an orphan, to lose your parents to war, disease, or abandonment. We came to the Ninja Academy with nothing but the hope that it would be our chance to make something of ourselves. But the doubt lingered. How could we, with nothing to our names, ever hope to succeed?"
She paused, her gaze fixed on the stars above.
"But it wasn't as hard as I thought. Not when we saw Isan working. He had nothing, just like us, but he worked harder. He woke up earlier, trained longer, and pushed himself further than anyone else. He showed us that it was possible to overcome anything."
A soft sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back against the sand.
"How could we complain when he had it harder than any of us? Seeing him struggle and push past his limits… that's when I knew following him was the right choice."
Temari remained silent, her heart heavy with emotion she hadn't expected to feel. Daiana wasn't finished yet.
"I know some people might say that a Chunin or a Jonin guiding us, or even Lord Kazekage, himself, would be better...", Daiana continued, her voice more sure now. "... but seeing Isan push through, despite everything stacked against him, meant more than any lesson we could've learned from a higher-up. His determination, his will… that's what really matters."
Daiana turned her head, her eyes meeting Temari's.
"I think that's why I don't care about his decisions, or the way he sometimes puts himself in danger. He's a survivor. A tough one. And I'm certain he'll become something huge one day. Mark my words."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The desert night stretched out before them, the soft breeze carrying their unspoken thoughts.
The night and darkness slowly faded away, with Temari and Daiana getting replaced, after some time, by Shira and another boy, which continued getting replaced by others until the first sunlight pierced from the east.
Just as they were about to pack up and leave the dangerous red dunes, the ground beneath them started to shake greatly, alarming all of them. Everyone entered a battle stance and scanned their surroundings.
Shira's eyes widened as something massive stirred in the sand. A dark shadow loomed over the camp, casting an ominous pall. His heart skipped a beat, his instincts screaming at him to act.
A sickening screech shattered the remaining night air, a sound that seemed to come from deep within the ground itself.
The ground shook harder now, and from the sand emerged the beast - a giant sand scorpion, its massive exoskeleton glistening in the fading sunlight. Its pincers clicked menacingly, and its tail arched high, poised to strike.
"LOOK OUT!", Shira shouted, his voice sharp and urgent as he leapt back, eyes scanning the approaching monster.
The others reacted immediately, the camp erupting into chaos as the enormous scorpion loomed ever closer. The creature was terrifying, its body as large as a house, its dark exoskeleton gleaming with a terrifying sheen. It moved with unnatural speed, its pincers snapping with a force that could crush anything in their path.
"Everyone, move!", Temari shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Isan's heart pounded as the massive creature bore down on them. He could feel the tremors of its movements in his bones.
The creature's tail lashed out with deadly precision, and one of the trainees, still recovering, was caught off guard. A sickening scream was cut short as the scorpion's pincers closed around him with a sharp, final snap.
Adrenaline surged through Isan. This wasn't a fight that could be won through strategy alone. They needed speed, strength, and something more. He knew it was time for a gamble, one that could either save them or destroy him.
With a glance at his comrades, he made his decision.