A/N: I have changed a little how the War goes so it fits the story.

A lot of thanks to Eryn Michaels. I took the lucky strike with this amazing beta-reader

Disclaimer: I only own the characters Mitsue, Kushio and Kyoichi. The other characters and the whole Naruto world are owned by Kishimoto

UnExcepitional – chapter 1

"It's impossible. I can't see any way out. We need reinforcements."

Gaara sighed and rubbed his temples. He tried to ignore the wave of irritation growing in his chest. It wasn't his officials' fault if the situation was difficult. But he would not tolerate dropouts.

"Don't say that."

"Sorry?"

"Do not say that it's impossible. We must think of something… anything, by ourselves. We cannot wait for reinforcements."

"But Kazekage-sama…"

"No buts. The other divisions are dealing with their own problems. We need to think of something… there must be a way…"

Gaara bent over the battle maps again; the situation was not promising. Even with all their gathered efforts, there were many casualties. It was the end of the second day of battle. They had almost exterminated the white creatures, but the Edo-Tensei was giving them a hard time. Now, at night, silence had spread through the fields. The injured were sent to the medical units, and the others retreated to rest. Except for the Kazekage and his closest officers. They were meeting under a big tent to find a new strategy, since the last one was organized with the consideration of a much lower number of opponents – they did not think about the enemy forces increasing. It didn't help at all that their main strategist was killed during the first battle. Gaara's eyes wandered as he looked for his officers. Some of them bore superficial wounds, others were just exhausted. He himself was tired, although no scratch marked his perfect skin. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. He hated to admit it, but he had absolute no idea what to do.

"Gaara-sama?"

"Yes, Kushio?"

"I know someone who might be able to help."

"Who would that be?"

"Her name is Mitsue, and she is a kunoichi of the Sand."

"Never heard of her." Another officer commented.

The chorus of "me neither" rumbled in the background.

"Kazekage-sama, I don't think we should involve someone whose skills we don't know in a war plan."

Gaara looked up to the Sand nin that suggested to consult the kunoichi. They had worked together for a while, and he trusted the young man's opinion.

"Bring her here."

"Yes sir!"

The nin left the tent to search for help. Meanwhile, the other officials shifted uneasily, murmurs of disapproval reaching Gaara's ears. He closed his eyes briefly. It's very hard to please everyone… It was so much easier when he didn't even care… When he did as he pleased. But now he was the Kazekage, moreover, he was human. And to care had become something inescapable. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his calm in his resolution. If they manage to win the battle, the fact that some of his officers got offended because they had resort to an unknown nin wouldn't matter at all. But this was indeed curious. How did he never heard of this kunoichi if she was so skillful? Gaara was taken from his reverie by a throat clearing.

"Kazekage-sama?"

He opened his eyes and scanned the tent. All of his officers stared at him slightly worried. He shot a blank look at them. Then his attention was drawn to the girl standing by Kushio.

"Gaara-sama, this is Mitsue, she was my teammate when I was a genin"

Gaara looked the girl up and down. She had a few scratches and a deeper gash down her arm. Her short curly brown hair was soiled with blood and sand. But despite the apparent fatigue, her tall body featured an imposing stance. And her eyes, a different green, almost golden, showed an unwavering determination.

"Nice to meet you, Mitsue. I'm Gaara, the Kazekage."

The young woman's face lit up with a smile.

"My pleasure, Kazekage-sama. Kushio said that you would like to ask me a few questions?"

"Just a moment, miss." One of the officers approached. "I wouldlike further information about who you are."

Mitsue hesitated for a moment, the officer's tone of voice was not very inviting. But soon she was recomposed and answered, in a tone that was not defiant, but also not submissive. There was… pride in her voice.

"My name is Mitsue, my parents are Tadashi and Naoko. I'm seventeen years old and I'm a chunnin of the Sand."

"She is just a chunnin!" The same officer said with despite.

"Please, let her show what she can do!" Kushio asked, a little desperate.

"We have no time to waste with your girlfriend! We are at war! A nin of such a low level cannot bring the solution that the best among us could not find!" The shinobi answered angry.

"You must believe me, she is a great strategist, she…"

"You don't need to stand up for me, Kushio." Mitsue interrupted him and shoved his hand away from her shoulder. "I don't really know who you are, sir, but I suppose that you're from another village, since I've never seen you in Suna. I don't know how things are in the other villages. But I don't doubt your abilities, and I would give you every possible vote of trust if you told me you could help in this war. See, without even knowing if you're a jounin, chunnin, or S rank. I don't care about your rank." Her voice was slightly louder. "Now, you also don't know me, you don't know anything about my skills. You asked me to tell you who I am. I told you. I could have lied, I could protest and refuse to answer, saying that none of these things should matter. But I opted for sincerity, and yet you don't want to trust in my abilities. Know that I'm proud to be who I am, and that where I come from, people are polite enough to let the other person try before judging. And it's possible that I won't be able to solve the problem, but you are also not getting anywhere so…"

"Tush, you cheeky girl…"

"Enough." Gaara said and, even though it was almost a whisper, everyone heard. The silence was immediate. He continued, with a dangerously calm voice,

"There is no need to waste any time in useless arguments. The girl is right." The officer opened his mouth but Gaara silenced him with a gesture. "We couldn't solve the problem. Maybe she is unable to as well, but she can't make it any worse. So let her try." He turned to the kunoichi, his jade eyes peering at her face.

"Approach."

Mitsue smile slightly and come closer. Two steps away from Gaara she remembered her education and bowed her body graciously. Then she bent over the map. Kushio approached and looked over her shoulder. Temari, who until that moment was silent, offered to explain the organization they had, but Mitsue gently declined. She looked at the map without blinking for almost three whole minutes. A few officers were mumbling, impatient. Gaara watched her carefully. Then she started to nibble her lips, her eyes wandering fast from side to side."I can almost see her brain working" Gaara thought. Two more minutes were gone before she straightened her body and looked Gaara deep in his eyes, a stealthy twinkle in hers.

"I have a plan." She announced.

The blazing sun reflected in the headbands and kunai, temporarily blinding those who looked directly at them. The sweltering heat struck them in increasing waves, and the smell of blood and sweat could be smelt from a distance. The battle was boiling at high fire, bubbling up and spilling. The blood was drying fast under the intensity of the sun, crumbling between the fingers. The third day of war had just begun. The field stunk due to the previous days. And in the heart of all the ninja, there was the hope that the battle was end before noon, before the air was so hot that one could see it.

Gaara felt blood dripping down his face. A familiar feeling growled inside of him.Come on, taste just a little bit, I know that you miss it. "No!" Gaara yelled at that insistent voice."You do not miss it. And you would not feel the same pleasure. That monster is not you." He took a deep breath and cleaned his face with his sleeve, before he opened his hand, releasing from the sand hold the few dozens of creatures he had caught.

"Already finished, Gaara?" His father's voice reached from behind the golden barrier he had built around him. "You used to enjoy more."

"I already said that I'm no longer the monster you created."

"And you don't know how happy that makes me."

Gaara closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't know how he should be feeling. He needed to rest so he could assimilate the new information, so he could understand his new father. A whole life of hate told him not to care, to close his ears to everything he was saying. But he was not driven by hatred anymore. And the other feelings were much more complicated to deal with. Gaara opened his eyes when he sensed a presence approaching.

"Do not get distracted son, I'm fast." The Fourth Kazekage warned while he prepared his new attack.

The ex-demon easily defended himself.

"Don't worry father, I'm faster."

Temari's eyes wandered around the battlefield. Where was Gaara? He should be close to her squad… That kunoichi's battle plan was perfect, and Gaara had agreed with every detail. Then why was he not following it right now? A stain of blood-red hair caught her gaze. And just beside it…

"Shit." She cursed through her teeth before she turned her attention to her fan's next move."This was not planned. What Gaara must be feeling?" Temari tried to decide if her position in the formation was really necessary. It was. "Hold on little brother, I'll help you." She just hoped he would not lose his control, so that all their work wasn't in vain.

"Mitsue!" Kushio shouted.

The woman turned in time to protect herself from the attack. He sighed in relief. He had promised his brother that she wouldn't be visiting him at the medical unit, and he never broke his promises. Kushio smiled slightly when he saw her defeat an enemy, but soon his view was taken by his own opponent. He diverted, struck, killed, wounded, got wounded. Everything is so fast in a battlefield. A voice cried his name.

"Kushio, are you all right?" Mitsue's silhouette was formed in front of him.

"I'm great, girl. And you are doing a really great job."

Mitsue smiled before helping him to get up and resume her position in the formation.

The battle was going for a few hours now. The noonday sun burned the top of their heads. The nins were tired, but winning. Kushio had recovered and was fighting again. The strategy was being followed and the enemy eradicated. Everything was going well. Mitsue smiled for the second time during the battle. Something rare, even considering how easily the young woman smiled. But despite her smile, she was not distracted. She noticed the approached of the enemy, saw an opening in the triple attack, positioned herself in the best way to get them and destroyed the three in just a few seconds. She was doing a good job on the field, she was proud of herself. She was being useful. A movement on the left caught her attention. She turned quickly. "Damn, it's too fast, I won't be able to avoid it in time." She thought desperate while the Edo-Tensei was coming in her direction, a thunder jutsu on his hand. She closed her eyes and waited for the blow. But it never came. When Mitsue opened her eyes, she saw nothing but sand, a giant wall of sand. Looking around she saw the Kazekage staring at her. She smiled for the third time that day. But her smile soon fainted. A figure was fast approaching him.

"Kazekage-sama!" She cried, trying to warn him. But it was not needed. A sand wall emerge by his side, protecting him from his father's attack. Gaara turned his attention to his opponent, dodging from his fast moves and preparing jutsus, the sand around him shaping to attack or to protect.

Mitsue, however, could not control the sand, and it would not come to her assistance if Gaara didn't command it. And this time, the Kazekage was too busy to notice it. So no one saw the moment the Edo-Tensei rounded the sand wall, faster than breathing, and when Gaara looked at her direction, a stroke got her from behind, lacerating her entrails. Mitsue tasted blood filling her mouth. She looked down and saw her clothes drenching with the thick fluid. Red. Red as the Kazekage's hair. Then everything was dark.

Temari took a deep breath and contemplated the battlefield. Night had fallen and the enemy had retreated. As much as she thought about it, she could not understand why the nocturnal pause. She should be thankful for the break, but the feeling that something worse would pop up in the next day didn't allow her rest. And considering that the last time they were presented with the even stronger undead, her concern was valid. She approached the place Gaara was resting with a distant look.

"Gaara?" She called quietly, he did not answer. "Can I sit beside you?" Again, no answer. Temari sighed and sat by her brother's side.

There were so many things she would like to say. But she didn't say anything. If he were someone else, if she were someone else, they could have held and comforted each other. He would say what their father had told him and her, like a good big sister, would caress his hair, give him a kiss on the forehead, and promise that everything would be fine. But they were not other people. And that was why she knew that just sitting by his side was enough.

After a few minutes, Gaara turned and looked at her.

"How was the counting today?" He asked in his usual voice, unbending.

Temari passed him the data, the number of dead, the number of wounded, how many could still fight and an estimate of how many enemies had withdrawn and how many would appear at dawn.

"Oh, and you may wanna know: That girl that arranged the strategy, Mitsue?"

Gaara nodded affirmative.

"Kushio took her to the doctors, but it is very likely that she will not survive. I saw the girl. Seemed more dead than alive."

Gaara looked at her distantly for a moment. A different sheen passed his gaze. Temari felt a shiver down her spine. "It can not be." That, in Gaara's eyes, was sadness? But as suddenly as it came, the emotion disappeared.

"Well, that's a shame." Gaara said quietly.

N/A: What you guys think?