Disclaimer: All characters except the characters created by Galaxya and I, are owned by the creator of the Naruto series.
This story is written by both Galaxya and me. We hope you enjoy it. We're having fun writing it. We're planning on making this story quite long. So, there are definitely more chapters on the way.
--------------------
Chapter 1
A light haired ninja shivered slightly. The room was cold, and its occupants, even colder. He stood partially hidden in the shadows. His black eyes examined the dark room carefully.
"You know your mission. Bring me the scroll, and this time, don't fail," said a dark voice.
"Don't worry, Orochimaru," said the light haired ninja. "I've got the perfect person for the job." The ninja turned to face the door behind him.
Orochimaru smirked. "When have you ever seen me worried, Kabuto?"
With that Kabuto exited the dark room, closing the door behind him.
--------------------
"Stop! Thief!"
A dark clothed ninja growled angrily, landing on a roof. He stood up, scanning the surrounding buildings for any sign of activity. "Where the hell is she?" he muttered.
He growled again, and jumped into the alley below. "Damn. Gaara is going to kill me if she gets away with those." He sighed and continued his search for the elusive thief. Standing on top of another building, Kankurou shielded his eyes from the harsh desert sun. He scanned the surrounding village intently, hoping to spot some kind of unusual commotion. Nothing. "Damn it," he cursed again, under his breath.
"My, my. Aren't we a little tense today?" said a voice, obviously amused.
Kankurou lowered his head and glowered. "Unless you're here to help me Temari, I'm really not in the mood." He didn't have to look up to know it was his sister.
Temari grinned and scanned the surrounding village quickly. "She's headed towards the gates. Let's go."
Kankurou nodded and followed quickly behind Temari. "Once I get my hands on her, I'm going to kill her," thought Kankurou darkly.
--------------------
"Just a couple more minutes!" The young thief leaned up against a cool wall, panting heavily. The desert heat and constant running wasn't helping at all. She glanced around nervously, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead. "God, I hope they signal soon. Then I can ditch those things and get out of here."
She pushed herself off the wall and quietly walked over to the edge of the building. Carefully poking her head around the corner, she looked for any sign of the purple faced ninja. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Good. He still hasn't found me."
Turning back to the alley where she was currently hiding, the young thief walked over to where she dropped her backpack. She sighed and picked it up, slinging it onto her back in one fluid motion. "I sure hope this is worth it," she said quietly to herself.
With backpack on back, the thief darted out of the alley, and back into the busy market streets of the village. Falling into step with the other villagers, she slowly made her way to the village gates, each step more agonizing than the last.
"At this rate, he'll find me in no time," she thought nervously. Her sapphire eyes darted back and forth over the crowd. She was about to relax when she caught a glimpse of purple out of the corner of her eye. Her heart nearly stopped beating.
"Oh crap," she muttered, stumbling into the nearest darkened alley.
--------------------
Temari and Kankurou crouched on the balcony of a nearby building, watching the market place. Sighing impatiently, Kankurou glanced over to Temari who was watching the crowd calmly.
"Are you sure we'll find her over there, or are we just wasting our time?" Kankurou asked, his voice laced with irritation.
"Cool it Kankurou," Temari said, her eyes never leaving the busy street. "She'll be there. Just trust me."
Kankurou huffed and turned his attention back to the crowded market.
Temari's eyes narrowed. "Gotcha," she whispered. Kankurou's gaze followed Temari's, and quickly locked onto his intended prey.
"She's all mine," Kankurou growled, diving off the balcony, into the street.
"Wait!" Temari yelled after him, startled by his sudden departure. "Ugh, you idiot," she muttered, following soon after.
Kankurou landed on the ground lightly. Standing up, he watched as the thief stumbled into the dark alley. A small smirk tugged at his lips. "She must've seen me," he thought to himself. He brushed some dust off his pants, and began to walk briskly towards the alley.
"Kankurou, stop!" Temari yelled. Kankurou's eyes narrowed. He stopped, with fists clenched. "What now, Temari?" he asked with forced calm.
Temari glared at her brother. "First off. Had you been paying attention to your surroundings, this would have never happened. So, don't use that tone of voice with me.
Kankurou simply glared. "And…?" he said.
Temari sighed. "Secondly, we don't know what kind of tricks she has up her sleeves. Let's proceed with caution. You're not invincible you know."
Kankurou nodded in agreement. "Fine. We'll do it your way.
--------------------
"I'm so dead. I'm so dead!" thought the thief as she ran down the alley. She stopped for only a second, trying to catch her breath.
"Where to go? Where to go?" She looked around the alley trying to find a good place to hide.
Hearing footsteps, she turned and headed deeper into the dark alley, unsure of where it was leading her.
--------------------
Kankurou smirked and followed the receding footsteps. "There's no point in running, thief," he thought to himself. "You're not getting away this time."
Slowly Kankurou closed the gap between himself and the thief. "Almost there," he said quietly. "I hope your plan works, Temari."
--------------------
The thief skidded to a stop as she came to the end of the alley. "Oh man…not good." She turned her back to the wall, and examined her surroundings, hoping to spot an escape route. No luck. She sighed heavily. The only way out was through him, and he was the last person that she wanted to run into right now.
Her eyes continued their desperate, but fruitless search for an escape.
--------------------
"Well, well. A dead end. How fitting." Kankurou smirked as he turned the corner and faced the thief. "Did you think you were actually going to get away by coming down here?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Kankurou slowly approached the frightened thief.
The thief glanced at Kankurou nervously. She backed up, trying to keep some distance between the purple faced ninja and herself. Unfortunately she soon found her back, quite literally, up against a wall.
Kankurou continued to advance on the thief. "You have something I want," he said, glaring at her. "Perhaps it would be wise if you handed it over to me, now."
Frightened, the young thief reached into a pouch on her leg and pulled out a kunai knife. Quickly, she threw the knife at Kankurou and made a dash for it, hoping to skirt around him, and escape.
Kankurou smirked and caught the kunai mid-flight. "That wasn't what I was talking about, and you know it," he said, blocking her escape. "And, you'll have to do better than that if you're planning on getting past me."
The thief glowered at Kankurou, and removed the backpack from her back. "You want them? Take them!" she yelled at Kankurou, throwing her backpack at him. Kankurou jumped into the air, catching the backpack. Landing on the ground, he quickly opened the pack, making sure all three puppet summoning scrolls where there. He breathed a sigh of relief. They were. He placed the backpack on his back.
In the mean time, the thief took advantage of the situation and dashed past Kankurou towards freedom. Kankurou chuckled and stood up putting his hands in his pockets, watching her run down the alley. "Nice try, thief," he said quietly.
Turning a corner in the alley, the thief came to a sudden stop. Blocking her way was a blonde haired female with a knowing look on her face. "Not so fast girly," the blonde said with a grin. The thief quickly did an about-face and was about to make a dash for it when Kankurou rounded the corner. "Can't go that way. Remember?" he said with a smirk.
The thief growled in frustration. She glanced at Kankurou, then at Temari. She sized up the blonde, looking for any noticeable weakness. Temari regarded her lazily. "This is the thief who stole your scrolls Kankurou?" she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "You really were out of it weren't ya bro?"
Kankurou shot a glare at his sister. Temari laughed. The thief suddenly attacked Temari, in an attempt to get past her. Temari defended, easily tossing the young thief over her shoulder in a smooth motion. Seeing this, Kankurou dashed past the two females, unnoticed by the thief, and waited for the thief to make her next move.
While still in mid-air, the thief managed to accidentally grab Temari's fan, which was still in her belt. Temari gasped in shock, and turned to face the thief whose back was to Kankurou. Temari glared at her. "Give that back thief," she said.
The girl shook her head nervously and began to back up slowly; her body holding the fan defensively. "I said, give it back," repeated Temari, who began to walk towards the frightened girl. The girl continued to back up.
The girl stopped suddenly as a large hand grasped her shoulder firmly, and the cool tip of a kunai was placed against her throat. "I'd do as she said, thief," said the familiar voice.
A few beads of sweat rolled down the girl's face. She closed her eyes tightly and swallowed. A drip of cool, syrupy liquid fell onto her lightly tanned skin, and slowly rolled down her chest. Her grip on the fan loosened, and Temari took it, placing it back in her belt.
Opening her eyes, the girl turned her head slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the person holding her hostage. "I wouldn't move if I were you," said the voice. Temari looked to the man holding the girl. "Thank you Kankurou," she said. Kankurou nodded. "No prob, sis."
Kankurou looked at the girl he held in his grip. "What should we do with her?" he asked, glancing at Temari. Temari shrugged and looked at Kankurou. "We should take her to Gaara and let him decide," she said casually.
The girl swallowed again as another bead of liquid landed on her skin and rolled down her chest. She breathed deeply. A hint of lavender reached her nose, and a barely noticeable sting tickled the skin where the liquid fell. "A poison covered kunai," she thought to herself. She relaxed slightly under Kankurou's grip. "Potent, but not deadly," she sighed. "…just enough to knock one out for a day or two."
Kankurou turned his attention to the girl, feeling her relax slightly. He looked back to Temari. "I really don't think Gaara would appreciate us bugging him with something so trivial," he said. Temari shrugged. "Well, you asked, and I answered."
Several shadows passed overhead. Temari, Kankurou, and the girl all looked up, surprised. A few men jumped the space between the two buildings, with several ninja from the sand in quick pursuit. Temari furrowed her brows in concern. Who were they chasing, and why? She glanced at Kankurou, who was still focusing on the rooftops. She looked back up, watching for any more signs of pursuit. Just then Baki passed overhead. He stopped, catching a glimpse of Kankurou and Temari. Dropping down into the alley, he quickly took in the scene.
"No time for fooling around guys," he said, getting straight to business. "Somebody stole the scroll." Kankurou growled, looking down at the thief he was currently holding in his grip. "Damn thieves," he muttered. Temari grimaced hearing the news. She glanced at the girl then at Baki. Her eyes narrowed. "She was simply the decoy," said Temari, nodding towards the girl. Baki glanced at the girl, then back at Kankurou and Temari. "Perhaps she can lead us to their hideout," he said quickly.
Kankurou looked down at the girl. "Perhaps… if she talks," he said. Baki nodded. "We're wasting time standing here," he said. "Follow me."
With that, Baki jumped back up to the rooftops, and continued to pursue the thieves. Temari and Kankurou followed closely behind, with Kankurou carrying the young thief.
--------------------
"Where's Gaara?" Temari asked, catching up with Baki. Baki continued running. "He's back at the mansion taking care of a few stragglers," he said. Temari nodded and glanced back at her brother, making sure he was keeping up. He was. She looked over to Baki again. "I'm going to get ahead of the group and head off the thieves." Kankurou and Baki watched as Temari pulled ahead, quickly closing the gap between herself and the thieves.
--------------------
Pulling out her fan and opening it, Temari knocked over a few of the thieves with a powerful gust of wind. Several sand nin quickly rounded up the stunned thieves, and headed back to the mansion. Temari continued on ahead. The thieves were not getting away. Not on her watch.
Temari landed on the village wall softly. She slowed her breathing and stood up. Pulling out her fan again, Temari waited for the thieves to arrive. They didn't disappoint her.
The thieves slowed as Temari dropped into a defensive stance. "You're not getting past me with that scroll," she said. The thieves chuckled, amused. "And what are you going to do to stop us?" the leader asked.
Temari smirked. "You'd better not underestimate me, for your own sake," she said, pulling her fan in front of her. The thieves chuckled again. One of them pulled out a kunai and released it at Temari, who simply batted it out of the way.
"Not bad … for a female," laughed the thief. Temari glared. "Now you better move, before we decide to hurt you." Temari stood her ground. "Go ahead and try," she said, tauntingly.
The thief holding the scroll fell back as his two partners in crime suddenly attacked Temari. As Temari fought them off, the thief decided to make a break for it while she was still distracted.
The thief stopped short when Baki dropped down in front of him. "Drop the scroll," he said. It was more of a threat than an order. The thief just stood there.
"If you don't drop the scroll now, we'll kill her." The thief whipped around as Kankurou landed behind him, holding the girl, his kunai against her throat. "Drop it," Kankurou said dangerously, pulling the kunai closer to him. The girl gasped softly as the kunai pressed against her skin.
The thief chuckled quietly. "Kill her then," he said. "She's expendable." The thief laughed again and looked at Baki, then at Kankurou. Having beat the two thieves that attacked her, Temari approached the scene, along with two other sand nin.
The thief sighed, clearly outnumbered. "You guys are pathetic," he said with a smirk. He grinned and looked Kankurou directly in the eyes. "Aren't you going to kill her?" he taunted. With that, he threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared, before Temari had a chance to blow the smoke away.
The two sand nin took off after the thief, in an effort to find him and bring back the scroll. Baki followed closely behind them. Temari looked at Kankurou, sighing heavily. Kankurou's brows were furrowed. Did that thief call his bluff, or did this girl really mean nothing to him? Kankurou lowered the kunai, sighing. The girl relaxed considerably under his grip. Her posture was one of defeat and betrayal.
Kankurou glanced over at Temari. "I think we should let Gaara decide what to do with her," he said. Temari nodded. Kankurou started to pick up the girl but stopped when she spoke. "You don't have to carry me," she said quietly, looking at the ground. She raised her head, wiping a small tear away from her cheek. "I'll follow you." Kankurou nodded. The three turned and headed towards the mansion.