Author's Notes: Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my story. It was just something that was floating around in my head, so I figured I'd put it into story form. I've been itching to write some Naruto fanfiction, anyway. You can expect an update later this week, maybe next week if I'm busy.
Chapter One:
The Desert Spirit
Rain fell in sheets outside the window Gaara was gazing out of, turning the deserted desert streets into little more than glorified mud holes. It was extremely rare for it to rain this hard, and Gaara suspected it would be the only rain Suna would get for the entire year. The sound of a door being slammed echoed throughout the house, and for a moment there was silence. Then--
"Kankuro! I told you to go shopping!" Temari growled from the front door. Gaara turned, watching blankly as his short tempered sister poked a finger into his dripping wet brother's chest. "We have no food!"
Kankuro shoved his sister's hand away and pushed past her, throwing himself down on the couch next to Gaara. "All of the shops are closed. It's like these people think they're gonna melt from a little rain," he squinted one eye shut and glared at Temari, which didn't have the quite the effect he wanted as she started to chuckle. "What?"
"Your face paint is running all over your face." Gaara explained shortly, turning back to the window. As Kankuro hurried over to the sink to rinse off his face and Temari screamed something about tracking mud all over the house, Gaara saw a quick flash pass the window. With a sigh, he stood and walked over to the door, ignoring Temari as she attempted to shove a mop into Kankuro's hands ("But not before you get out of those muddy clothes!"), and opened the door just as Baki was reaching up to knock.
Surprise and fear flickered across the ninja's face for a split second, before he regained his composure, though his unease was still easy for Gaara to sense. Before Baki had a chance to say anything, Temari finally noticed their visitor, since her fight with her brother had moved from the kitchen to the sitting room.
"Baki sensei!" she exclaimed, immediately abandoning her quest to badger Kankuro into cleaning up his mud. "Please, come in." She shot one last glare toward her brother before sitting down next to him.
"I'm not staying long," Baki explained as he stepped inside and Gaara closed the door behind him. "I have a mission for the three of you."
Gaara leaned against the wall near the couch, crossing his arms and looking out the window. The rain was starting to stop.
"A mission?" Kankuro questioned, raising an eyebrow. "It's only been a week since the mission in Konoha."
"I know," Baki replied, crossing his arms and glaring down at his student. "It can't be helped. There have been rumors of people disappearing in the desert. More people than usual. A group of people that claimed they were attacked give us a story about some kind of spirit draining the life out of their friends. It doesn't seem like it's much, and you three need more training."
"Keh, sounds too easy," Temari stated, standing up and stretching. "Where is this "spirit", anyway?"
"Fifty miles north. The desert is harsh there, but it shouldn't be anything you can't handle," Baki replied, heading for the door. "Start getting ready. You leave in the morning."
Temari smirked, Kankuro rolled his eyes, and Gaara said nothing.
X
They had left before dawn, and by afternoon Temari and Kankuro decided it was time to take a break.
"You got the map?" Kankuro asked after he'd taken a drink from his canteen. Temari nodded and handed it to the puppeteer.
Gaara remained standing as his brother and sister sat down in the sand, looking at the map and chatting about the mission. Suna was no longer visible on the horizon. His eyes constantly swept the desert, looking for any sign of trouble.
"You can relax, Gaara," Kankuro sighed, setting the map aside and digging around in his bag for food. "We won't be anywhere near our destination for a while."
Gaara hesitated for a moment before sitting down in the sand across from them. Things had changed between the three ever since the day he had fought with Naruto. The fact that Gaara was trying to change astonished both Temari and Kankuro, but they said nothing about it.
"So, what do you think this spirit is, anyway?" Kankuro asked around a mouthful of apple, breaking the silence. "I'm betting it's just some rouge ninja."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Temari growled, shaking the sand out of her sandals, which was an act as futile as trying to empty the ocean with a teacup. "But you're probably right. If there even is anything out there. The desert can make people see strange things."
"Never underestimate your enemy." Gaara stated quietly. It was something his father had told him on multiple occasions when they had trained together, when he was still too small to pose any threat to the village, and his father still hoped he would be Suna's salvation. He had never followed this advice very closely, but he figured his siblings could use it.
Kankuro grunted his agreement, and Temari stood.
"Let's get going." She said, picking up her fan and pack.
X
Using chakra to boost their speed, they managed to get halfway there by nightfall.
"I haven't run that fast through the desert since I was in the academy." Kankuro puffed, plopping down in the sand and removing his hood. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he thew his pack down on the ground and used it as a make-shift pillow.
"You're such a wuss." Temari shot at him as she tried, once again, to remove the sand from her sandals. Kankuro flipped her the bird without turning to face her.
"Quiet, you two." Gaara snapped. He'd developed a throbbing headache, and their bickering wasn't helping. Even though the moon hadn't yet risen, he could tell it was going to be full.
The two promptly shut up, noticing their brother's worsening mood. After a couple of hushed good nights, they attempted to go to sleep. Gaara had found a rock large enough to sit on, and sat almost completely still, long after his brother and sister had fallen asleep. He occupied himself by keeping a sharp lookout, which helped him ignore the demon's restless churning.
After hours of inactivity, Gaara was growing increasingly bored. At least when he was in Suna he could read a book, or prowl the streets at night, but there was nothing in the middle of the desert to hold his interest. Suddenly, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned, there was nothing there, but all of his senses screamed that he wasn't alone. His eyes never leaving the spot where he thought someone may be concealing themselves, he slipped off of the rock and gave both Kankuro and Temari a small kick to wake them up.
"Wha...? Gaara, what the--" Kankuro began, before Temari clapped a hand over his mouth, and followed Gaara's gaze. Kankuro flicked his eyes over to where they were looking, and saw nothing. After a moment, he was about to ask what they were looking at when, for a split second, the desert flickered. His eyes narrowed and he sat up, reaching for his puppet as Temari grabbed her fan.
"So someone's using an illusionary technique to hide over there?" Kankuro asked, his voice barely a whisper. Temari nodded.
"They must know that we know where they are. I don't know why they won't just drop the act." She replied.
"Show yourself." Gaara stated coolly, raising his voice just enough for whomever was hiding to hear him. By this time his siblings were up and ready to fight. There was no response from their hidden enemy. Gaara jumped slightly as Temari let out a strangled gasp, and whipped around to see her struggling to free herself from the chakra threads that had wound around her.
"Temari!" Kankuro yelped, taking a step toward her, then stopped, realizing the great opportunity that had just been offered to them. "Gaara, follow the chakra threads, they'll lead you straight to the guy!"
Gaara hesitated for a moment, not quite sure he wanted to leave his sister trapped, but decided it would be best to follow his brother's advice, since chakra threads were notoriously hard to break. He sent a small trail of sand along one thread, moving quickly so that the thread's owner wouldn't notice until it was too late.
"Hurry up." Temari hissed, beginning to feel weak. This was probably the person posing as a spirit that had been killing people. Draining the life out of them...
Suddenly Gaara sensed that his sand had hit skin. In a flash he had the assailant encased in sand, and a grim smile twitched across his lips, a split second before confusion swept across his face. The threads around Temari broke, and she fell to her knees. Kankuro was already stepping toward the person, a kunai in his hand.
"Stop." Gaara barked, and Kankuro froze in his tracks. He turned toward his brother, raising an eyebrow.
"What is it?" Kankuro asked as Gaara walked up to the would-be assassin, with only their face visible. A small, frightened face with wide blue eyes.
"It's a kid." Gaara replied, his eyes narrowing. Kankuro rushed to his brother's side, and his eyes widened as he saw that Gaara was right.
"Wait, what--" Kankuro stopped when Gaara held up a hand to silence him.
"You should go and see if Temari is alright. I'll speak to the child." Gaara said, his tone implying that it wasn't a suggestion. Kankuro frowned and did as he was told. Once the puppeteer was out of earshot, Gaara crossed his arms and started intently at the little girl before him.
"I'm going to ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully I'll let you live. Understood?"
The girl nodded as best she could, fear written all over her face.
"Are you the one who has been attacking people?" Gaara began, ignoring the girl's discomfort.
"Yes." The little girl squeaked out. This didn't come as much of a surprise to Gaara.
"Why?" He shot back. For a moment it looked as though she wasn't going to respond, then--
"Because I need to to live." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Gaara narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"If I go too long without taking another person's energy, I'll die," the little girl replied. "Orochimaru told me so. He said I was sick."
At the mention of Orochimaru, Gaara's eyes widened with shock, something that didn't occur often. He needed to get her back to the village, as soon as possible.
"I'm going to release you. Don't run. Don't try to attack me, or anyone else. If you do I'll kill you." Gaara stated bluntly. The girl nodded to show that she understood, and suddenly the sand holding her fell to the ground. She nearly fell, too, but managed to steady herself. Her clothes, a simple pair of khaki shorts and a black shirt, looked a bit too small for her, and were worn from use. Her hair, a silvery-blue which fell to the middle of her back, was matted and dirty. Gaara frowned at the girl's condition, wondering how long she had been in the desert.
"How old are you?" Gaara asked, walking back over to his siblings and motioning for her to follow. She shuffled after him, staring at her feet.
"Eight, sir." She replied quietly. Gaara's fingers twitched. Nobody had ever called him "sir" before.
"Is she really the one who's been attacking people?" Temari asked, getting to her feet shakily as Gaara and the girl approached. Gaara nodded, and Kankuro frowned and opened his mouth, but Gaara spoke before he had the chance to.
"Any questions can be directed to her." He growled, sitting down in the sand and wincing as his headache decided to make it's presence known. Temari and Kankuro immediately pounced on the hapless child, firing question after question at her as Gaara fought to keep the increasingly persistent demon at bay. After a few moments, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Temari, who looked slightly concerned.
"Are you okay?" She asked cautiously. Gaara nodded and got to his feet, noticing that Kankuro was busy trying to entertain the kid.
"What did you learn?" Gaara asked, looking back at Temari. She shrugged.
"Probably not much that you didn't already know. Her name is Shizuka. She was one of Orochimaru's pet projects. When he decided that she was a failure, he dumped her on the edges of wind country. She's been wandering ever since," Temari looked over her shoulder at the child, who was staring at her feet shyly as Kankuro attempted to start up a conversation with her. "I don't know what they'll do with her once we get back to Suna. This is big news. The Hokage will probably poke her nose into it. I almost feel sorry for the kid."
Gaara sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The sooner we get back to Suna with the kid, the better. Then she won't be my problem."
The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, and Gaara decided it was time to start heading back, whether his brother and sister were tired or not. To his annoyance, the girl had decided to stick to him, since she didn't feel like talking, and Gaara was the only quiet one in the bunch. For hours they walked in mutual silence, until finally Kankuro and Temari's whining became too much to bear, and they stopped to rest.
His brother and sister talked at length about Orochimaru, and what may happen to Shizuka when they got back to Suna. Gaara sat far enough away for their constant chattering to not irritate him, and instead was bothered by the girl who constantly hovered around him. As he took a drink from his canteen, he noticed her staring at the water container intently. Wordlessly, the sand ninja held the canteen out to her. She was surprised by this, and took the canteen cautiously. For a moment she just stared at it, then took a long drink from it before handing it back to Gaara with a hurried "Thank you."
Another few moments passed in silence before Shizuka suddenly spoke up.
"They won't take me back to Orochimaru, will they?" She asked quietly, biting her lip. Gaara sighed, wishing that she had decided to attach herself to someone else.
"No. Orochimaru is an enemy to most countries, and they'll be interested in what you know about him." Gaara replied curtly, hoping she would take the hint and shut up. Luckily, the girl seemed to catch on, and decided to just sit quietly. A couple of minutes later they were on their way once more.
X
By the time they made it to the outskirts of Suna, Gaara's temper was short, and he couldn't wait to dump the child he was currently carrying on some other ninja. A few miles back the girl had become too weak to walk, and Temari and Kankuro had crowed about how heavy their equipment was until an exasperated Gaara decided to carry the girl himself-- something that, a little over a week ago, he would never have done.
The feared demon container drew many shocked looks as he walked through the streets of Suna with the little girl in his arms, sporting a scowl on his face that could, in theory, make meek old women faint. Gaara paused, and turned to his brother and sister.
"I'll take the girl to the hospital and have the medical ninja take a look at her. You two go report the results of our mission." He instructed, his voice much more calm than the two had been expecting. They nodded, and dashed off.
"I'm sorry." A small voice said meekly. Gaara looked down at the girl in his arms, who was avoiding his eyes. Gaara sighed and kept walking.
"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm not one of your victims."
The girl flinched as though the words had physically hurt her, and fell silent.
X
Gaara glanced over at the pretty young nurse that had been sent to talk to him. The unfortunate woman looked as though she might faint, and Gaara was secretly grateful that he was used to this kind of reaction from people.
"Yes?" Gaara asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. The woman jumped slightly and put on a shaky smile. She reminded Gaara of a rabbit. Shy, frightened, and--
Easy prey.
He shoved the last thought out of his mind, focusing on the nurse as she attempted to address him.
"G-Gaara, sir," she began with an awkward bow. "T-the girl isn't in very good condition. We don't really know what is wrong with her. We think y-you should take her to Konoha, where Hokage Tsunade could take a look at her, s-sir."
"Thank you. You're dismissed." Gaara said with a nod at the nurse. She scampered away as fast as she could without being rude. Just as Gaara was trying to make himself comfortable in the stiff hospital waiting room chair once more, the door burst open and Baki stormed in, with Temari and Kankuro on his heels.
"Who gave you permission to bring the criminal here?" Baki exclaimed, looking livid. Gaara just stared at him blankly. Word must have gotten out that he wasn't as homicidal as he used to be, because Baki had never dared to speak to him like that before.
"She needed medical attention. I assume that Kankuro and Temari told you everything?" Gaara replied calmly, not ruffled in the least by his teacher's uncharacteristic outburst. Gaara looked over Baki's shoulder at his siblings, who looked exasperated.
"I don't care if it's a child or an old man, if you are sent on a mission to kill or capture a murderer, you bring them directly to me before you do anything else!" Baki growled, glaring at Gaara, who looked as stoic as usual.
"I assumed that the subject's health was more important, since she may have information about Orochimaru." Gaara shot back, crossing his arms and looking victorious as Baki sputtered and whipped around to turn his glare on Temari and Kankuro.
"Why wasn't I told about this?" He inquired, his voice laced with venom.
"We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!" Kankuro snapped, rolling his eyes. Baki fell silent after this, before storming off, muttering something about finding a nurse.
"Moron," Temari hissed, slipping into a seat across from Gaara. "I swear he thinks he's going to be the next Kazekage or something."
"Temari, I need you to get Baki's approval for a trip to Konoha with the girl. We need to have Tsunade examine her." Gaara said suddenly. Temari blinked.
"Uh...sure, Gaara. I'll try my best, but I don't think he's in the mood to hand over his catch to Konoha." Temari replied slowly, a small frown pulling at her lips.
"I'm going, with or without his permission. Konoha is much stronger than Suna at the moment, and they are very interested in anything that has to do with Orochimaru," Gaara stated, the barest of smiles crossing his face. "Besides, I owe them."
"Then you're probably going by yourself," Kankuro sighed, squinting one eye shut. "We aren't like you. They aren't afraid to punish us."
"If it doesn't work out with Baki don't worry, we'll find some way to follow you to Konoha, little brother." Temari said cheerfully. Gaara's neck nearly snapped as he whipped his head around to look at his sister, confusion written all over his face. She had never called him that before. He quickly composed himself and stood up.
"I'm going to find the kid's room." He said quickly before hurrying off. Temari suppressed a chuckle.
X
When he entered Shizuka's room, he guessed that he had just missed Baki, by the concerned expression on the girl's face. She looked over when the door opened and was surprised to see Gaara, though he could hardly blame her. He hadn't exactly acted warmly toward her. Truth be told, he was just using the child as an excuse to get out of the awkward situation with Temari.
Shizuka still looked like death warmed over, but she put on a small smile as the sand ninja took a seat near her bed.
"Hi, Gaara." She said quietly. Gaara briefly wondered how she knew his name, but decided she must have learned it from his siblings, or maybe the nurses.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, not really caring. He thought it would be better than sitting in awkward silence, at any rate. The girl shrugged.
"Okay, I guess." She replied softly. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was a lie. The two sat in silence for a while after that. Gaara glanced at the girl, who was looking out the window into the busy desert streets.
"Well...don't get too worried. I'm going to get you to Konoha. Tsunade is praised as on of the greatest medical ninjas, she'll take care of you." Gaara said, hoping the words were more reassuring than he had thought they sounded. Shizuka's face lit up, and a bright smile cracked across her face.
"She'll be able to help me? Really? Thank you!" The girl chirped, more lively than Gaara had ever seen her. Gaara mentally kicked himself. There was no guarantee that Tsunade would be able to cure her. He forced a small smile and gave her a quick pat on the head before exiting the room. As the door closed behind him, the smile fell away and he felt an emotion that was completely foreign to him.
Guilt.