For the first time in a long while, I felt at peace. The cool summer breeze was on course this year, and as it swept through the cracks in the outer walls - cracks that have run through the village since it's founding's almost 500 years ago - the constant weight that had been hung over my shoulders since my coronation became non-existent, and I felt at peace. Such a common feeling amongst the human species, yet the mix of feelings now running through my body just made me feel strange, almost like I had completed something of great sentimental value that I was not aware of, like I had fulfilled part of my destiny's contract; though I am not one to fall victim to my own destiny. My house was visible from my current position on the outer wall, just left of the Kage tower. The house itself was nothing special; the standard sandstone walls merging with the rest of the village, like a shrew in desert grass. A rush of cool air flowed over the top of the great wall, lapping at the bottom of my coat and trousers; and I closed my blackened eyes in blissful tranquillity or at least a feeling as close to that as was possible for me.
The crumble of rocks from outside the wall brought me out of my momentary unawareness, and I snapped my head sharply to the left, pinpointing the spot where the crumbling had just come from; something I now found easy after extensive training and practise with my siblings and sensei. A few scattered rocks littered the normally bare, sandy ground, and no movement was present around the area any longer. Inwardly sighing, I shifted on my feet and turned back around to continue watching over the village I now call mine. The tranquillity of the still night soon returned, and I welcomed myself to the onslaught of thoughts racing through my head at the sight of my darkened empire. All the people on the Sand's floor were now asleep, and would be for a while to come; humans tend to sleep for a long time. I do not need sleep, nor do I need or want the feelings that have been thrust upon me since my turn around after the Chuunin exams; after my worldly significance was handed to me on a silver platter, as well as my first defeat in battle. My first defeat, and my first human bond; but someone like me does not deserve bonds such as these, monsters don't deserve feelings.
With this new serge of underused emotions swirling through my temples, came a pounding headache; which resulted in me doubling over in pain, clawing at my skull with my fingernails and tugging on my crimson red hair like some sort of pain relief. I decided at this point that I had had enough time in the open air for one night, jumping off the wall to the top of a nearby roof, though with minimal sound, and began to walk along the flattened roofs towards my own home; with my hands now clenched into fists after being hastily thrust into the pockets of my robes. Nearing the roof of the Kage complex, I stopped and steadied my breathing, relaxing my now aching fists and drawing them slowly out of my pockets, only to be met with several indentations where my skin had given way to my nails: soiled fingertips and the metallic scent of human blood. Strange, since when did monsters have human blood to bleed?
Approaching the front of the house, I leaned forward slightly and turned the handle as quietly as I could before slipping through the slim gap of the doorway, turning around to close it behind me. I walked up the stairs, as per routine, freezing abruptly, inches outside my brother's room as a loud snore tore from inside it. I gulped, unclenching my muscles from the surge of panic used to lock them before quickly walking to my room, where I promptly locked and bolted the door. My ability to control my actions has been waning for a long time now, and my siblings seemed to have noticed the heightened awareness I have forced upon myself, much to my dismay. Temari had been the first, as abrupt and forceful towards me as she was cautious, finally feeling human concern towards her Ototo. Kankurou had been as oblivious as he normally was toward social interaction, though he slowly caught on, especially after quite a few harsh talks from onee-chan. My siblings seem to think that this lack of control makes me unaware of when they are talking about me, or discussing things that concern me. They're wrong.
Looking out through the large window situated on the back wall of my bedroom, I watched the stars that roamed the clear skies over my kingdom. My mum's up there, somewhere; watching over Temari, Kankurou and I. The elders said that when Shinobi die, their souls become new stars, all visible over the village walls. Or at least they like to think that those types of legend are true. I guess they would believe in them, since most of these legends are taught to us as children. Something about drilling these myths into children's minds when they can remember them the best, I don't really know. It's not like these legends apply to monsters anyway, so naturally I wouldn't understand. I glance at a particularly bright star near the farthest turn of the village wall, and a small smile lays waste to my normally stoic face. The star flickers as I look at it, and only seems to get brighter as I smile.
I love you too, mum.
_GxN_
We had arrived at the outskirts of the Leaf's forest and we were now staring at the expanse of sand joining the Sand village and the Leaf village together. The barren desert floor seemed to range for miles without going anywhere, the sky and the land seemed to merge together in the distant horizon; the only outcropping structure that hindered this almost perfect merge was the Sand village itself. It was a strange place, the sand village; beautiful but very strange. But, no matter how strange I thought it was that's where we were going. On the very first mission since the war had ended; to say I was excited would be the understatement of the year so far. I was going on a mission to Suna, along with Kakashi as team leader, Sakura-chan and Lee. Although this time, we were not in as much of a hurry to get there as last time we had been here.
Sakura-chan and I had come bearing minimal injuries, thanks to her and Tsunade Baa-chan's amazing healing skills –and my own healing skills 'ttebayo- but Kakashi and Lee had not been as fortunate as us. Lee has been carrying round a broken arm for the past month, and that's taking forever to heal; though it won't stop him and Guy sensei from training vigorously every morning and evening. Sakura-chan has been calling him crazy for weeks, saying that it'll 'never heal properly if he keeps trying to use it', and to be honest I think she's right. Kakashi has been the worst hit, severing several tendons in his right leg after having the shin snapped in several places by the Juubi.
But, the missions have to carry on, that's what Tsunade Baa-chan said. I haven't been to Suna in ages, and it's nice to go there for a good reason for a change. We're going to be staying there for a few months, since Suna was the village with the greatest amount of damage after the war and the Leaf village has been the quickest village to recover; Suna also lost the most Shinobi on the battle field. They have been in need of some extra hands, and that's where we come in.
"Naruto!" I turn around to see Sakura calling me from quite a few paces behind "Wait up; we can't go that fast, idiot!"
"It is fine, Sakura-chan, we can keep up!" Bushy brows chimes in after she finishes yelling at me, striking the best 'nice guy' pose he can. Kakashi just shakes his head as him and Lee start to catch up with me. I cross my arms over my chest and send a pout in Sakura's direction, and she glares at me in return. I smile and turn around, continuing to walk towards Suna. I can't wait to get there; I finally get to see Gaara. I haven't heard from him since the battle with the 4th Mizukage. I hope he's ok, heck I know he's going to be ok, he's Gaara. Yeah, he'll be ok.
He has to be ok.
_GxN_
Knock knock.
"Gaara…"
I look up from the desk in my bedroom and turn to face the door as my sister opens it. She walks in with her usual attire on, which consist of the shortest sleeveless shirt and skirt in the village. Do girls always like to keep themselves cold? That would explain why they never seem to have any clothes on.
"There's a sandstorm approaching from the east, Gale 6" She said as she walked over to me and stood by my right side, we both looked out of my bedroom window at the swirl of black cloud to the east of the village. It was small now, but we knew it would get bigger before battering us like it does every few weeks.
Without turning her head, she lifted her hand and put it on my right shoulder, gently rubbing it with her fingertips. I turned to look at her, and she did the same, smiling that warm yet sympathetic smile she seems to reserve for me and me alone. My face softened the slightest bit, and the corners of my mouth upturned a fraction; yet that simple gesture made her beam down at me, with more pride in it than she has let herself show in any other smile she has given for the last few months.
"You know who the village Elders have sent for don't you?"
It wasn't so much a question, but instead a statement, because she knew full well that I knew what, or more rather who, was coming to our aid. I nodded in consent and she turned away to look out the window again, the smile still planted on her face. I soon followed, and frowned. The sky had turned a dark, gloomy shade of grey and the swirl of cloud had increased in size, so that it now covered half of the sky visible beyond the top of the village wall. A sudden flash of gold lightning hit the floor a few miles outside the village radius, flooding a strong white light through the entrance gap at the back of the village, the east in my view. I shivered in delightful excitement at the power that radiated through the ground and up the houses inside the shell my village hides behind. My chakra surged at the new source of power and my excitement just grew. I gulped, trying to swallow the growing urge to spring off the walls; I clawed at the sleeves of my shirt and my nails tore through the thin fabric, biting into my skin. The faint smell of copper stained the air, to close to intoxicating for my sisters liking. I clenched my teeth shut, stopping myself from screaming. Such monstrous tendency's I seem to harbour, demonic even. The grip on my shoulder tightened and I relaxed somewhat, turning slightly so I could see my sister out of the corner of my eye.
"Don't do anything too rash, will you Ototo?"
Rational thinking is the one human quality I seem to have, I wouldn't abuse it. I nod in consent and the grip on my arm loosened, before disappearing. She was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear it; I had already teleported before she finished. This sandstorm was strong; I could feel it buzzing through my chakra system. It was slowly ripping away at my control. I needed to get out, out of this house, out of this village, even if only for a short while. If I go out of control inside the village, it always comes at a great cost; it always comes with consequences.
It always comes with an aftermath I can't live down.
_GxN_
We were a day away from Suna when Kakashi said we should stop. I didn't want to, I just wanted to get there, and Bushy-brows was backing me up when we halted. But after one malicious glare from Sakura-chan -and a rather mean knuckle crunch 'ttebayo- we stopped talking. I reluctantly sat down on the now cooling sand; watching as the sun set behind the Sand village, making an orange-red glow paint the normally blue sky. It was then, that a rather large patch of grey caught my vision, and I turned to the left slightly to see a menacing swirl of cloud seep through the red underglow of the sky.
"Kakashi sensei, what's that over there?" I said as I pointed out the peculiar patch of dark grey sky.
Kakashi slowly raised his head, his usual, dismal look plastered to it. He turned to look at the sky and his eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of the cloud.
"Sakura, we're changing plans. We need to get moving, now." The urgency in Kakashi's voice startled me, and Bushy brows and Sakura seemed equally alarmed by it. A questioning look spread across Sakura's face, and she was about to voice her thought when Kakashi spoke again.
"That patch of grey cloud, it's a sandstorm, and if Suna's sandstorms are as bad as they're made out to be, then we need to relocate, and quickly." As soon as Kakashi had finished his sentence he stood up, though with quite a bit of difficulty, and began to pick up the backpack Sakura had taken off him. Obviously the urgency of the situation pressed us greatly for time, and from the way Kakashi sensei was acting, we didn't have much of that.
"Should we look around out here for somewhere to shelter, instead of trying to make it to Suna before the storm hits?" Sakura tossed her head back and forth, scanning the nearby area for any outcropping that we could use as a hideout.
"Sakura-chan, we haven't passed anything of use since we left the forest yesterday, we should try to gain as much ground as we can and get somewhere safe nearer the village." Lee sounded like he knew a lot more about the situation than he did, but I could tell that he was just throwing ideas together. He had no idea what to do; this isn't exactly something Leaf ninja have to do every day.
"Either way, we need to get moving. If we do-"
A thunderous crash sounded out and a bolt of yellow lightning struck the ground near the Sand village, sending tremors through the sand beneath our feet. The pure power coming from the lightning had my Chakra surging. Kakashi stumbled backwards as the last tremors subsided, and Sakura sped behind him, putting both her hands on his shoulders to keep him steady. But her efforts were in vain, for as soon as she got her grip on him, another flash of yellow struck the ground, a lot closer to the four of us than last time. Sakura-chan's face paled and Kakashi stood himself up, quicker than he should from the pained look that momentarily glazed his eyes.
Before any of us managed to do or say anything, the sand a few hundred meters away from us started swirling, and a hollow pylon of raging wind connected the sky and the land together with astounding speed. The funnel of air doubled in size, and the surging became more wild and unstable and destructive. We were soon caught in the midst of the swirling air; I turned to check on everyone else –Since I had been keeping an extra close eye on the lighting beforehand 'ttebayo- and they were all frozen in place, their arms thrown across their faces to shield them from the wind, and whatever the wind brought with it.
The desert floor quickly disappeared, and in its place came a sea of tiny granules of sand. Those granules were lifted up by the hectic winds and tossed around every which way, coming at the four of us with such force that they cut through our skin, leaving us with hundreds of little, bleeding lacerations wherever skin was uncovered. I covered my face with my arms, clenching my teeth as more sand plunged into my skin.
An ear splitting scream sounded out behind me, and I made a minuscule gap between both of my forearms to see what had caused Sakura-chan to panic. I wish I hadn't. Amidst the sand in the raging cyclone were huge boulders that had been dragged into the wind from nearer Suna. They spun around on the outside of the twister and launched themselves in every direction. A particularly large boulder was thrown in our direction and I closed the gap between my forearms. I felt something hit me and I was launched backwards, into Sakura, Lee and Kakashi from the feel of it. Everything was muffled out by the deafening roar of the cyclone and my body became numb. I thought it was strange because I never felt the boulder hit me, nor did I hear or feel it hit the ground.
I didn't even feel myself hit the floor.