Naruto Shippuden: Meikei

by nstar93

The Akatsuki are hunting down the Tailed Beasts and Miyuki's mission is clear: Stop them. She knows what and who are at stake and she'll do anything in her power to stop the Akatsuki once and for all. The only problem is, she has a lot more to worry about. Like Orochimaru trying to draw her in. And a still rogue Sasuke. But can Miyuki stop them all?

1. Chapter 1 The Children

Naruto Shippuden: Meikei

Chapter 1. The Children

"CHIDORI!"

I watched as the chirping blue ball of chakra formed in the palm of my hand, felt the energy and power coursing through my veins, making my blood pump faster.

I ran for him, each step bringing me closer and closer until he was just within reach, the Chidori coming down to touch his skin when upon contact, his skin chipped away, hissing pythons bursting from underneath instead of blood, their bodies hissing as they tried to wrap around my arm.

Hideki shot kunai at the right moment and before the python bodies could close in on my arm, I jumped up, flipping through the air and not stopping until I had a decent distance between me and his python consumed body. The pythons hissed louder, blood seeping out from the scratches the whizzing kunai had caused.

"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!" Kyoske's fireball rammed into the hissing and dancing snakes, turning them to ash instantly. I braced myself, sensing when he darted out of the trees once more, his mouth opening, his long tongue spiraling out, revealing a glint of silver at the tip. I glared at him and jumped to the side as the blade sliced through the spot where I had been standing, sending a sharp gust of wind in my direction.

His dark eyes followed me and saw when I pulled out a kunai, he met it with his sword. We clashed, our weapons clanging sharply in the air before he released the sword from his mouth and grabbed it with one of his hands. He brought it down sharply and I jumped back, my eyes wide as it hit me.

"H-how?" I breathed, wiping my mouth with my arm, feeling the mesh armor on my arm scratching at my lips lightly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He purred before launching toward me again, this time slicing me on my arm.

"Miyuki!" Kyoske shouted, jumping down from his tree branch his sword drawn and over his shoulder. I gripped my bleeding arm and didn't waste time jumping back as they turned and collided, their blades rubbing against each other.

"Water Style! Raging Waves!" Hideki shouted.

They pushed away, jumping out of the way but Hideki followed him and I formed hand signs, the Chidori appearing once more as I combined its power with the powerful stream of water, making it more unstable, but coated in electricity. It caught him near the end and he seethed, his body slamming against a tree trunk.

"You're getting weaker." Kyoske shouted, landing beside me, sweat dotting his brow.

He chuckled darkly and it was just as I last remembered it. Filled with spite and a cynical humor. As if he were in on a joke only he knew. It irritated me, I discovered, made my stomach turn into tight knots. I looked at him, really looked at him and found that after all this time…he really was just how I remembered him.

"My children…" He breathed, running a hand through his long hair and I remembered, with clenched fists, how my own fingers used to do the same. I even remembered how much it used to warm my heart to look into his eyes and see his snake-like smile.

...

"Miyuki?"

Temari's face appeared in my line of view and I blinked at her, feeling confused and embarrassed. I stepped back, putting some distance between us and laughed lightly, feeling my cheeks warm.

"Oh…sorry." I smiled. "I must have dazed out."

Temari chuckled, shaking her head. "I figured as much. You're pretty hopeless, you know that?"

My blush deepened. "So I'm told."

"It's a pretty good turn-out, right?" Temari asked, sounding like she was bragging as she looked out at the collection of Suna elders and top ranking officials in the room. Everyone was talking and smiling, sipping sake and tea. It felt nice, the atmosphere laid back and relaxed.

I tried to shake the memory of Orochimaru from my mind and the fact that somehow after his fight with Naruto and Jiraiya two years ago, he had regained the ability to move his arms again. Tonight wasn't about Orochimaru or Kabuto or anyone else. It was about Gaara and his inauguration as Suna's Kage.

"Yeah." I said, my voice weak before I cleared my throat. "Everyone seems really happy."

Temari nodded and took a sip of her tea which I noticed she had been holding ever since the party began. It didn't look like she had drunken much of it either. Her fingers tapped nervously against the side of the cup and her eyes scanned the room. In one corner Kyoske and Hideki stood close, their heads low.

I had no doubt that they were talking about Orochimaru and our latest discovery. It had been bad timing that was all. We had been on our way to Suna when our marks had reacted and just on the village's outskirts we had run into him and we hadn't hesitated. We had held nothing back but it had come with a price.

"Where is he?" Temari asked, her voice dripping with curiosity.

I jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her. Her brow was pressing together at the middle and her glances around the room grew more frantic. I opened my mouth to ask what she was talking about when I realized.

Gaara was gone. He had been standing right in the center of the room, drifting closer and closer to the table filled with trays of food and then suddenly, he was gone. When had he drifted off? Where had he gone?

I looked out at the balcony on the other side of the room and caught sight of something white flapping in the wind. I placed a hand on Temari's arm and nodded toward the balcony doors and instantly felt her calm down. Her lips pressed into a hard-lined smile and she nodded.

"Good to know he didn't just leave to go to bed." She said. "But he really should be in here."

"I'll get him." I said, moving past her and heading for the doors. I was focused on the double doors when I caught sight of something at the corner of my eyes. I stopped walking and turned, my body tense when I saw him, Orochimaru standing against the wall, a cruel smile on his lips as he watched me.

My chest felt tight and my hand hovered over my kunai holster as the memory from our meeting burst into my mind once more. He had called us his children and even now the word sent shivers down my spine.

"We're not anything to you." Hideki snapped. "We're here to burn that bridge."

"Kill you if we can." I said.

He looked at me, marveling at my words, at my confidence. He knew as well as I did that cursing him was not my place, not something I, out of the three of us, would do. I had worshipped him, loved him even. But now, my hatred for him was true and fierce. I wouldn't let him own me. I wouldn't let him control me.

He chuckled again, closing his eyes, his shoulders trembling. I glared at him while Kyoske braced himself, and Hideki bit his bottom lip. When he looked back up at us again, the look in his eye was different but before we could place it, before we could look away, he used his Genjutsu and I felt it all in my veins.

Our deaths before us, snakes crawling out from our nostrils and open mouths. It sent shivers down my spine but then there was the how, sharp kunai slicing against our flesh, pain shooting all over our bodies. The snakes burrowing their way inside of us, some of them already there from the beginning.

I couldn't help but smirk while the boys shivered beside me. I met his gaze confidently, sweat dotting my forehead as I managed to stay half focused and half lost in the pain. It was a close call, but I knew enough about him to know that he had had a trick like that up his sleeve. I had let it get to me in the Chunin exams. I had been frozen with fear at the mere sight of him. I had spent so long unsure of how I really felt about him, unsure if the emotions in my chest meant hatred or admiration.

"You're gonna have to do…better than that." I grunted, lifting my hand and digging my fingers into the wound on my shoulder, crying out as the fiery pain shot up and down my arm in response. Instantly, the terrible visions ended and he chuckled across the clearing, amused.

"Nothing short of what I expected." He purred, sounding proud and it made me sick to my stomach.

I grabbed Kyoske and Hideki's trembling shoulders, releasing the Genjutsu cast on them and watched as their bodies shrunk even lower.

"I forgot…about that…" Hideki panted, sweat dotting his forehead.

"Bastard." Kyoske breathed, wiping his mouth as he shot him a murderous glare. "I'm gonna kill you."

I blinked and he was gone. In his place stood another shinobi with long black hair whose resemblance ended there. My palms were sweaty and my hand was trembling and just as the shinobi turned to face me, I looked away, biting my bottom lip as I started toward the balcony doors again. I needed fresh air, needed to shake the memory of Orochimaru from my mind.

I was outside a moment later, the cool and dry night air brushing against my skin as I exhaled into it, welcoming the feeling on my body. I stepped right up to the balcony, my hands firmly gripping the railing as I turned my gaze down toward Suna.

Gaara's new home/office overlooked the beautiful village of clay and tonight every building was lit from the inside, casting a ghostly glow on the streets. I could hear cheering from the village's center where the civilians were no doubt still celebrating even though it was late at night. I thought back to the ceremony, remembering how loud everyone's cheers had sounded. It had made Goosebumps rise on my skin and I had been surprised, looking around, wondering if these were the same people. If these were the same people who had at one point, wanted him dead.

"I just needed a moment." Gaara's voice interrupted my thoughts and I turned only to find him sitting on the side, on one of the benches.

I smiled at him and walked over, easing down beside him on the bench. He was sitting hunched over, his arms resting on his legs, his gaze cast out toward the village gates. He seemed impassive, just how I remembered him last but even I knew there was something different in his eyes. Maturity? I had never seen Gaara work a crowd before and tonight he had done it with ease. He had even gotten a few people to laugh and even though his lips never curved into anything deeper than the smallest of smirks, even that was improvement.

"I don't blame you." I said, throwing a thumb behind us. "There's a lot of people in there. I needed some air myself."

Gaara glanced at me. "No…for you…there's something else."

I flinched at the infliction in his voice but he didn't press me further. Instead, he turned his gaze back toward the village gates. I swallowed, finding it a little difficult and looked away, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. I blinked and again found myself lost in the memory, feeling the same sickening, hatred bubble in my stomach. Suddenly, I wasn't staring out at Suna's glittering, hazy lights, I was staring at Orochimaru.

Kyoske's declaration made him laugh out loud and it filled the area around us, making a shiver run up my spine.

"Lord Orochimaru." A new voice called from above and we all looked only to see Kabuto Yakushi standing in the branches of one of the tallest trees, his arms folded and an amused smile on his lips.

"I fear that we're running out of time." Orochimaru called out to us. "My children…it was good seeing you."

"You're not going anywhere!" Hideki growled, pulling kunai with explosive tags attached at the handles from his pockets. He fired them at him, with razor sharp precision and on contact they went off, bringing the trees he had been standing near down in a cloud of thick, black smoke.

Kyoske ran toward the smoke just as dozens of slithering snakes shot out and he sliced them all, cutting them in half. Orochimaru himself shot out from the smoke and as they clashed, Kabuto appeared above Hideki and I, chakra surrounding his hands and feet. Hideki shot forward to protect me and Kabuto swiped his arm to the side, hitting Hideki in the stomach.

He cried out, falling back and landing in my open arms and I held him just as Orochimaru kicked Kyoske back as well. Kyoske landed, hard beside me and groaned while Orochimaru and Kabuto stood beside each other.

"My Miyuki…how I've missed you." Orochimaru said.

I gripped Hideki.

"Looks like your little reunion will have to be cut short today." Kabuto said, reaching up to adjust his glasses.

"Shut up!" I growled, earning a chuckle from Orochimaru.

"My how you've grown." Orochimaru said.

I glared at him as he continued.

"I wonder what Sasuke boy would think if he could see you now." Orochimaru said.

My lips trembled as Hideki stirred in my arms.

"Wouldn't you like to see him again?" Orochimaru asked me. "You're sweet, sweet Sasuke?"

Kabuto snickered. "I'm sure she'd like that very much."

"You rejected me the first time." Orochimaru said. "I extended an offer to you and you rejected it."

"But here Lord Orochimaru is now, in the flesh, asking you once more." Kabuto said.

"How is he?" Gaara asked, folding his arms and shooting me a glance.

I sniffed and looked at him, biting my bottom lip as I thought. I knew instantly who he was talking about, who I had found myself wondering about the moment his name had been uttered. Sasuke. It had been about six or seven months since I had last seen him on a mission I had followed Naruto on. Our reunion then had been everything but friendly and romantic even though weeks prior they had been. What I mostly remembered of the mission was that we fought…constantly but at the end of it I had learned that he had his own problems and I had my own. I had held onto him, like some sort of safety blanket, but there had been no need to.

Sasuke, I learned, would do what he wanted when he wanted. I had always wanted to play some part in his decisions but he was blinded by his own needs, his own desires. Whatever we were didn't complicate things, but it definitely made it hard to focus and whatever emotion it brewed up within him, it was clear he didn't know what to do with it, with us even.

"I haven't seen him." I said, sitting up straighter and turning away. "Lately." I added as Gaara continued to stare at me, expectantly.

He let out a breath that sounded more like a chuckle and my head whipped back in his direction where his mouth was hidden behind his scarf and his eyes were closed.

"Of course."

"What?"

"I was waiting for you to be specific. I was hoping that my suspicions weren't correct."

I flushed. "Things were going well, until he started being a jerk."

"He is always a 'jerk'." Gaara said, his voice slightly amused and his eyes opened to take me on.

"He was bearable." I said. "But he's training under Orochimaru and he wants revenge on Itachi…and it's complicated."

"I'm sure."

"But I'm focusing on me." I said. "I realized…I'm not his top priority."

"What gave that away?" Gaara asked, shooting me a hard look. "I could've told you that."

I smirked. "If I remember correctly, you did."

"He did what?" A new voice asked as the door slid open.

We looked up and saw Temari saunter out. She had left her tea inside and she looked between us, a small smile on her lips.

"I was just telling Miyuki about how right I was about Uchiha." Gaara said, easing back. Temari took the moment to ease down onto his lap and he moved to make her comfortable, his hand coming down almost protectively on her hip.

Temari scoffed, easing back against his chest, lifting an arm and placing it behind his neck, pulling him closer.

"Uchiha? You're still about him? I thought you had moved on."

I rolled my eyes, hating the way she brushed Sasuke off but also hating myself a little bit for caring. I had sworn off of him. The last thing I should have been doing was caring.

"I have." I lied, earning a look from Gaara.

"You need someone better." Temari said, biting her lip. I could practically hear her thinking of suitors and shivered at the thought of the men Temari knew. If they were anything like the two girls I had met prior, the blonde girl with the braids and the other with the big eyes, I wouldn't like to know them.

"I'm good." I insisted.

"He doesn't know what it's like to love." Gaara said. "Because he's never had it before, because he's never had anyone."

I remembered telling him how I loved him but I also remembered how the word had felt incomplete. It hadn't been enough but the look on his face…I hadn't even focused on it.

"He said I was important to him." I said.

"Which isn't love." Temari pointed out before shooting a look at Gaara. "But then again who am I to judge?"

Gaara looked at her. "I just never saw what was in front of me."

"No, you saw me, you just chose to keep me at arm's length." Temari said. "I could never take a hint."

"You were persistent." Gaara said.

Temari shrugged before shooting Gaara a warm smile. She rustled his hair, smoothing her fingers out across his scalp before pulling his head to her chest, hugging him.

I watched them, feeling a twinge of jealousy bubble in my stomach. I had always known about Temari's crush but somewhere after the Sand betrayed Konoha, they had made their relationship official of sorts. I knew it had a great deal to do with Naruto and whatever words the two had exchanged when they had lied a few feet away from each other. Naruto had changed him, somehow, made the hard shell of a boy who had been feared into the man standing before me, a Kage now.

"Aren't you thrilled?" She giggled and I looked away, feeling like a third wheel.

"You need someone who will take you into account." Gaara said to me. "Someone who will notice you and treat you right."

"Thanks for the boy advice, dad." I joked and looked at him only to find that he was regarding me with seriousness. I sighed and looked away right after, my shoulders slumping. I was over talking about Sasuke, someone I hadn't thought much of ever since our last encounter and Orochimaru.

"So…how is this living situation going to work out?" I asked and glanced at them.

"Kankuro and I live here." Gaara said. "But it's always been our home."

"Yeah…I know that but…what about you Temari?"

"What about me?"

"Are you moving in?" I asked, looking at her.

She blinked at me before turning a sharp scarlet color and pulled away from Gaara.

"You're practically married anyway." I said, feeling and probably sounding sour about it but happy to see the color on her face rise even higher.

She huffed, gawking as she looked between Gaara and I. Gaara seemed to be over the conversation and was focused on the village lights beyond Temari.

"You know how to get under my skin." Temari snapped, still blushing as she pushed off of Gaara and headed back to the door.

"I just know how to pay you back." I said with a wink, which made her huff as she turned away from me and went back inside, shutting the door behind her.

"You didn't have to be so mean." Gaara said, pushing himself up to his feet after a moment. I sighed, smoothing a hand through my hair, combing it over my shoulder.

"She's a big girl." I said. "Besides, it's what she gets."

"You two…" Gaara breathed and turned toward the door. "Think about what I said."

"I don't need anyone." I said to him.

"He's a rogue ninja." Gaara said, his hand on the handle of the door. He looked back at me. "That has consequences no matter which way you look at it. You would be forced to act, not hold back. If you had to, if you were given the order to take him out, would you be able to?"

"I'm not answering that."

"I don't expect an answer. I just want you to think about it." Gaara said.

I looked at him, my throat tight, my hands in fists in my lap. I could feel the hot sting of tears forming in my eyes and I hated myself for letting Gaara's words bring them out of me.

"What if your people hated you tomorrow?" I challenged, feeling terrible as soon as the words left my mouth. I had felt like a trapped animal, forced into a corner. He had clapped at me and I had been desperate to clap back and instead of thinking my words through, I had said the first ones that had come to my mind.

But, if he was hurt, he didn't show it. He stared at me, a thoughtful expression coming over his face.

"I would work just as I did to get them to trust me again." Gaara said as if it had been that simple. As if trust could be gained overnight, as if in order to change the minds of every civilian and official in the village, was as easy as breathing. But, looking into his eyes, I could see it was just the opposite. It had been a short amount of time, but it had been a lot of work. It had been hard, tedious even but he had done it and he would do it all again if he had to.

He left shortly after, leaving me on the balcony alone with my thoughts and bitter emotions. I turned back to face Suna, hugging myself as a breeze came, making me shiver.

"Wouldn't you like to see him again?" Orochimaru asked me. "You're sweet, sweet Sasuke?"

His voice made my head throb and I squeezed my eyes shut and found myself right back in the forest where Orochimaru and Kabuto had stood with confident smirks on their faces. They had been sure that they had me right where they wanted me. As if they had said the magic words that would make me sway from Kyoske and Hideki.

"And my answer is the same as it was back then." I growled. "I'd rather die than come back with you."

Kabuto glared at me before he snapped. "Watch your mouth when you talk to Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed down at me. "Be careful my dear Miyuki. Be very careful what you wish for."

They were gone in the next passing wind and as the boys came too, I sat glaring at the spot they had been standing in, cursing myself for coming so close and then letting them slip between my fingers.

"Wha-what happened?!" Kyoske growled, jumping to his feet and looking around.

"They got away." Hideki said, placing a hand on his stomach as a pained expression came over his face.

I moved his hand away and placed my hand over the spot where Kabuto had struck him and used medical Ninjutsu to see his wound. It was a cut from the inside and it was near a vital spot. I started to heal it while Hideki wriggled in pain beneath my hand.

"What happened?" Kyoske asked, looking down at us.

"The chakra on his hands and feet." I said.

"It cuts, felt like a blade had sliced my skin." Hideki said, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "But he cut me inside, didn't he?"

"I heard he's adept in that." Kyoske growled. "That was what his file said after Jiraiya and Naruto came back with Tsunade."

I healed Hideki as best I could and pulled my hand away while Kyoske helped us both to our feet.

"They got away." I confirmed.

"Damn!" Kyoske growled, kicking at the dirt. "We were so close!"

"I can't sense them anywhere." Hideki said. "So we can't even catch up to them."

"They're probably airborne by now." Kyoske growled.

I hit my fists against the railing, the pain bringing me out of the memory and back into reality. He was gone. He was gone…again.

It angered me. After everything, we still weren't strong enough. We still weren't strong enough to take him on. But we had information. His arms were back and in perfect condition. He could move them, use Jutsu and something told me that we were the only ones who had survived to tell the tale.

I looked up at the starry night sky and sucked in a breath, hearing the party behind the glass doors begin to die down. It was getting late and tomorrow would be a new day, a better day. I glanced back at the party and spotted Gaara and Temari in the center of the room, Gaara's arm around Temari's waist as he spoke to a group of Elders, his expression impassive and only slightly hard.

He'll be great, Hideki had said after his speech earlier in the afternoon.

I was happy then, that after all this time, at least one of my friends had had something good happen to them. In the past two years, at least someone's dream had been accomplished.