Kankuro looked at that hand; it was very clean, large, and rested there steadily, waiting.
He hesitated for a long time. Then, he slowly handed the puppet over.
Shinji took it and looked it over.
Joints, structure, balance points.
Possessing the talent of a Puppet Master, he was qualified to critique it.
"Did you make this yourself?"
Kankuro nodded.
"How long did it take?"
"...Three months."
Shinji didn't speak. He placed the puppet on the ground and pulled a small cloth bag from his robes.
Opening it, inside was a set of tools.
Rasps, carving knives, small hammers, and fine thread, all arranged neatly.
Kankuro's eyes lit up. He recognized those tools. They were much better than the ones he had used.
Shinji picked up the puppet and began to work. First, he disassembled the joints.
Kankuro saw him regrind the joints that he could never seem to adjust properly; his movements were extremely fast, so fast that he couldn't see them clearly.
Then he changed the thread. The original thread was too thick, so Shinji pulled a roll of much finer thread from the cloth bag, threaded it through, tied the knots, and adjusted the tension.
Kankuro watched, mesmerized. He hadn't known that joints could be adjusted like that, or that such thread could make a puppet's movements more flexible. He simply hadn't known.
"Look."
Shinji placed the puppet on the ground and twitched his fingers.
The crude little puppet stood up. It took a step.
Two steps. Turn. Raise hand.
Every movement was as fluid as if it had come to life.
Kankuro's mouth fell open.
"Th-this is..."
"The puppet you made."
Shinji said, "The structure is fine. Adjust the joints, swap for finer thread, and it can move like this."
Kankuro crouched down, staring at the puppet.
It was still moving. Two steps, a pause, then two more steps. Like a tiny, living thing.
He looked up at Shinji. In those eyes, something was surfacing, just like with Gaara that day.
"Teacher..."
"Mm."
"Y-you know Puppet Technique?"
Shinji didn't speak. He reached out and twitched his finger again. The puppet spun in place.
Kankuro smiled, a very small smile. It was as if he hadn't smiled in a long time, so it was a bit awkward, but he was indeed smiling.
Temari stood not far away, watching the scene.
She saw Kankuro crouching there, his eyes bright as he stared at the moving puppet. She saw that slight, awkward smile at the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, her eyes felt a bit stinging; she turned her head to look at Gaara.
Gaara was also watching, the sand at his feet flowing quietly, but the corner of his mouth seemed to curve up just a tiny bit.
Shinji handed the puppet back to Kankuro.
"Come every day from now on."
Kankuro hugged the puppet and nodded vigorously.
"Th-those tools..."
"If you come back tomorrow, I'll lend them to you."
Kankuro nodded again, even more vigorously than before.
Shinji stood up and turned to leave.
"Teacher."
Shinji stopped.
Kankuro stood there, holding the puppet. The sunlight hit his face, making the purple face paint reflect a little light.
"...Thank you."
Shinji didn't speak; he glanced at Temari and Gaara, then turned and walked away. His pace was neither fast nor slow, just as it always was.
Temari turned her head and looked at Kankuro. Kankuro was still crouching on the ground, holding the puppet and smiling foolishly.
Temari walked over and gave him a smack on the head.
"What are you grinning at?"
Kankuro looked up at her.
"Big sister."
"Hmm?"
"Does Teacher... also know Puppet Technique?"
Temari thought for a moment. "I don't know."
"Then how does he know how to do it?"
"I don't know."
Kankuro was stunned for a moment. Then he smiled again, smaller than before, but more genuine.
"Big sister."
"What is it now?"
"Have you practiced with your fan today?"
Temari: "..."
She glanced at her fan, still lying on the ground. She hadn't picked it up since she dragged Kankuro over earlier.
Kankuro grinned. Then he picked up the puppet and took a few steps toward the middle of the training field.
The sunlight fell on him; he no longer shrank back into the shadows.
In the distance, Gaara stood there, the sand at his feet flowing quietly. He was also watching Kankuro.
Temari walked over and picked up her fan.
"I'm practicing."
She said, though it was unclear if she was speaking to herself or to them.
But the wind scattered her words.
No one answered, nor was an answer needed.
Three years later.
The sky over the Hidden Sand Village was still that faded yellow.
Sunlight slanted in through the high windows, illuminating the fine dust in the air into beams of pale gold.
It was exactly the same as when Shinji first stood in this classroom.
Right now, he was standing at the edge of the training field.
The wind blew in from the entrance, carrying the scent of grit. In the distance, three figures were practicing in the sunlight.
Temari was now seven and a half. The Giant Folding Fan was no longer as difficult for her to handle as it had been years ago; her moves were quite polished.
Her speed in swinging the fan was much faster than three years ago, and her movements in closing it were much crisper. The fan's ribs sliced through the air, creating soft whistling sounds.
Kankuro stood on the other side. At six and a half, he held his puppet, his movements still somewhat unrefined. His fingers moved on the control threads; the puppet would take two steps and then get stuck.
He frowned and readjusted the joints—this was already the third time today, but he continued. He didn't hide in the shadows.
Gaara stood at the very edge.
At five and a half, he carried that iconic gourd on his back. The sand at his feet flowed quietly, circle after circle, very slowly and steadily.
Unlike when he was younger, it didn't lose control at every turn.
He just stood there, occasionally looking up at Shinji, then lowering his head again to let the sand flow from his left hand to his right.
Three people, three directions.
But they were all on this one training field.
Shinji watched them without moving.
It had been three years.
The wind blew up the sand, which settled on his shoulders. He didn't brush it off.
In the distance, Temari closed her fan and walked toward Kankuro.
"Stuck again?"
Kankuro glanced up at her but didn't speak. However, he made some room for her.
Temari crouched down, looked at the stuck joint, and fiddled with it a couple of times.
"The thread is too tight."
"I know."
"If you know, why aren't you fixing it?"
"...I'm thinking about how to fix it."
Temari didn't say anything. She stood up and shouted toward Gaara, "Gaara, water!"
Gaara looked up. The sand at his feet paused for a moment, then continued to flow.
He walked over, picked up the waterskin from the ground, and handed it to Temari.
Temari took it, had a sip, and then handed it to Kankuro. Kankuro took it and also had a sip.
Then Gaara took it.
He tilted his head back to drink.
Then.
"Pfft—"
Gaara suddenly lowered his head, water spraying from his mouth all over the ground. He was choking, coughing as he bent over, his face turning bright red.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Temari was stunned for a moment.
Kankuro was also stunned.
And then Shinji smiled.
He stood at the edge of the training field, watching the red-haired child bending over and coughing, watching that face turned bright red.
That moment came completely unbidden; before he could even think about why he was smiling, the corners of his mouth had already curved up.