Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi (Team Kakashi), Neji, TenTen, Lee, and Gai (Team Gai) entered Tsunade's office. She was sitting at her desk; she looked tired.
Kakashi walked forward when everyone else stopped. "You summoned us, Tsunade-Sama?"
Tsunade nodded. "I did. It seems that there's a situation in Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand."
"How can you be sure?" Naruto asked stupidly.
A girl Naruto's age stepped out from behind Tsunade's chair, where she had been listening. "Because I witnessed it." Her long red hair was pulled back into a braid; she had beautiful blue eyes (so Naruto thought). Her black shirt clung to her body, perfectly showing off her curves, but it was torn in some places. As did her dark blue capris. A sand headband was around her forehead.
Kakashi looked at the girl. "You're from the Sand Village. Can you tell us what the situation is?"
"I believe that is Tsunade-San's job." The girl said, putting one hand on her hip in defiance.
Tsunade nodded. "It is my job, but I am so tired."
"Sorry, Tsunade-San, but if you thought I was wise enough to decide on recruits for this job, you're gonna have to tell them what they'll be doing." She said.
Tsunade sighed. "Well then…"
"Excuse me, Tsunade-Sama, why does she keep calling you 'Tsunade-San'?" TenTen asked.
"I'm getting to that." Tsunade said in annoyance. "Now, this is Mireille-Chan, she is Gaara-Sama's fiancé and has brought me the news of what's happened in Sunagakure."
Everyone in that room knew Gaara and wasn't expecting him to have a fiancé at all, any time in his life. Everyone's eyes were wide with shock.
"What's it like to be his fiancé?" Sakura asked.
Mireille laughed. "I get this a lot. It's okay, he's changed ya' know…?"
Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances, unable to imagine how Gaara would be able to change from the monster he once was.
Tsunade cleared her throat. "Anyway! It seems that the Akatsuki, the organization that Itachi-San's part of, attacked Sunagakure and kidnapped Gaara-Sama." Tsunade said. "Mireille-Chan was the only person from Sunagakure who managed to slip passed the other Akatsuki who were attacking the outer perimeter of the village. She came immediately here to tell me of what happened." Tsunade paused. "Team Gai and Team Kakashi were chosen by Mireille-Chan to accompany her to rescue Gaara-Sama."
Kakashi nodded. "We'll go."
"As will we!" Gai said.
"I wasn't going to give you a choice in the first place." Tsunade laughed.
Everyone except Mireille sweat-dropped.
"We leave tomorrow at first light." Mireille said.
"Shouldn't we leave now as to get there quicker and possibly prevent his death?" Neji asked.
Mireille shook her head. "No, unless they try to take Shukaku from him, he'll be fine."
Tsunade nodded. "Well then, meet at the eastern gate at first light tomorrow. Dismissed!"
Team Kakashi and Team Gai left to go get ready for the trip.
Mireille walked over to a chair that was on the other side of the desk, facing Tsunade, and sat down. "Tsunade-San, have you been able to find out who that Akatsuki member I described to you is?"
Tsunade shook her head. "Sorry Mireille-Chan, still nothing. And I've yet to hear back from the Mizukage, Tsuchikage, or Raikage."
Mireille looked down. "I see…"
"Don't worry, like you said, he'll be fine." Tsunade smiled.
Mireille smiled back and stood up. "See you later Tsunade-San."
"See ya."
As soon as Mireille shut the door, Tsunade put her head on her desk and fell asleep.
Mireille walked just a couple of blocks before reaching her hotel. She walked into her room and lay down on the bed. Damn! I want to know who that Akatsuki guy was who kidnapped Gaara-Kun! She closed her eyes, letting sleep come to her.
Meanwhile…
Someone knocked on the door of Kakashi's apartment.
Kakashi answered the door to Naruto and Sakura. "Naruto…? Sakura…?"
"Hey Kakashi-Sensei." Sakura said. "Listen, we were thinking, because you're apartment is closer to the eastern gate then our houses, that we would just stay here tonight."
Kakashi sighed and let them in.
…
Just around the corner, Neji, TenTen, and Lee had arrived at Gai's apartment using the same story as Naruto and Sakura.
The next morning…
Team Gai and Mireille were waiting at the eastern gate for Team Kakashi to arrive.
"They're coming, I see them." Neji said, deactivating Byakugan.
"About time!" Mireille sighed.
Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi ran up.
"You're late!!" Mireille shouted.
"Sorry, but we woke up late and those two are hard to wake up in the morning." Kakashi laughed.
Sakura and Naruto glared at Kakashi. "Don't blame it completely on us Kakashi-Sensei!"
"Alright. You're here, lets just go." Gai said.
Lee nodded. "Yes, let us go."
Team Kakashi stopped fighting and followed everyone out of the gate.
While they were walking, Sakura walked up to the front, where Mireille was leading the way to Suna. "So what's it like in Sunagakure?"
"Well, if you compare Suna to Konoha…Konoha is a paradise." Mireille said. "And there are many sandstorms in this season, so don't be surprised if we come across one or two when we enter the desert."
Sakura sighed.
Neji walked up to the two girls. "Is there anyone in Sunagakure who knows that you managed to cross the Akatsuki lines?"
Mireille nodded. "Yes. Two people in fact." She said, holding up two fingers. "Temari-Ane and Kankuro-Ani both know about it."
"Who?"
Mireille sighed. "Temari-Ane controls winds, Kankuro-Ani controls his puppet, Karasu."
"Oh! I remember them now." Neji said. "Aren't they Gaara-Sama's siblings?"
Mireille nodded. "Yes, Temari-Ane is his older sister. Kankuro-Ani is his older brother."
Neji nodded. "How will they know if we're there or not?"
"Well I'm sure the Akatsuki are gone by now." Mireille pulled out a wireless radio earpiece from her pocket. "But even they're not, I can use this to alert them that we're there and they can find us a safe place to enter Suna."
Gai walked up to them. "So, do you think that there'll be a chance that they didn't even take Gaara outside of Sunagakure?"
Mireille put the radio back in her pocket and shook her head. "No. They took him north of Suna, I saw it myself, and I'm sure they're in the northern forest."
"What makes you so sure?" Gai asked.
"A forest is a rarity in and around the desert. Whenever you come across one, it's normally very thick and dense, it's the perfect place to hide out and lay low for a while." Mireille said as matter of factly.
Gai nodded and walked back to Lee. "You owe me nine-hundred yen."
Mireille heard that and turned around, glaring at them both. "This is no time for betting! Concentrate! We could be attacked at any time!"
Naruto laughed a little. "Come on Mireille-Chan, loosen up a little. It's not like we'll be attacked randomly by a member of the Akatsuki."
As that moment a heat wave fell over the group. The group stopped, the heat wave had hit them like a wall.
Mireille looked ahead and saw the desert not too far ahead. "What's wrong?" Mireille asked, looking back at the group.
"It got really hot all of a sudden." Sakura said, sweat already pouring from her forehead.
"That's the desert for you." Mireille said, blocking the sun with her hand to estimate how much farther until they were in the desert. "In about...say five minutes, we'll be in the desert and then it should take about five or six hours to get to Suna."
"Which means?" Asked TenTen.
Mireille sighed. "Which means that unless you want to camp out in the desert tonight we better get moving so we can reach Suna by sundown."
"Yeah, I don't want to camp out in this heat!" Sakura said.
"I thought you, of all people, knew Sakura-Chan." Mireille said, putting one arm around Sakura's shoulders in a sisterly way. "It gets incredibly cold at night in the desert. So cold, one can hardly stand it."
Everyone groaned after she was done speaking.
Mireille removed her arm from Sakura's shoulders. "Well, lets get moving if we want to make it by sundown."
They started walking again. By the time they reached the actual desert, Team Kakashi and Team Gai were already tired. Mireille was used to the unbearable heat, so she was fine, though she was sweating a lot.
"Why don't we stop for a little bit, Mireille-Chan?" Naruto asked, tired.
"Yeah, I'm kinda tired myself." TenTen said.
Mireille stopped. "Fine. We'll stop for a little while."
Everyone smiled and put their backpacks on the ground, sitting on them after getting out some bottled water.
Naruto took a swig of his water. "Ah! That's nice!!"
Sakura took a drink of her water. "Finally, a break."
Mireille took a drink out of a bottle of water.
"Mireille-Chan, where did you get that backpack? I thought you left Sunagakure in a hurry." Lee said, noticing the blue bag Mireille was sitting on.
Mireille nodded. "I did. I didn't grab anything but my wireless radio to stay in contact with Kankuro-Ani and Temari-Ane."
"Then how come you have a backpack?" Neji asked.
"Tsunade-San gave me a fully stocked backpack this morning before we left." Mireille said, taking another drink of her water.
TenTen nodded. "I guess that makes sense. You didn't have anyway of surviving the trip back so Tsunade-Sama gave you a fully stocked backpack." She said as if she understood.
"I could've survived the trip back without this." Mireille said, taking another drink of water. "After all, I made it to Konoha without any provisions."
"That is true Mireille-Chan, but do you honestly think that you could've made it back without provisions?" Kakashi asked.
"To be honest, you never know until you try." Mireille said, standing up and putting her backpack back on her back.
"Are we leaving already?" Gai asked.
Mireille situated her backpack and nodded. "It's nearly two in the afternoon. By the time we get to Suna it'll be about nine thirty. The sun will be gone and it will be very cold."
Sakura, Naruto, Neji, TenTen, and Lee sighed and stood up, putting their backpacks on. Kakashi and Gai just stood up and put their backpacks back on. The group started walking again as soon as everyone was ready.
Four hours later…
The sun was going down and so was the temperature. At the moment, it felt like a fall day in Konoha.
Neji breathed in the cool air. "Finally, it feels good out here."
"That's just for now. It'll get much more colder in an hour or so." Mireille said.
Sakura was still walking beside Mireille; TenTen had joined them not too long ago.
Naruto looked at the sky. "So Mireille-Chan, what time is it?"
Mireille pulled out a watch from her other pocket. "Just before six. We should arrive there in three in a half hours, if we're lucky."
"Huh? I thought you said that we were making good time just a little while ago." Sakura and TenTen said.
Mireille sighed. "We are. The thing is, if we run into an Akatsuki member we'll arrive in Suna at midnight and that's at best. We're lucky we haven't run into one yet."
"So if run into an Akatsuki member, then we won't arrive in Suna for quite a while…?" Gai said.
In the time that Teams Kakashi and Gai have spent with Mireille they have learned to call Sunagakure, Suna.
Mireille nodded. "Yes, Gai-Sensei, that's right."
"So tell me, how screwed we are if we run into an Akatsuki?" Naruto asked.
Mireille laughed to herself. "You really don't know that their power varies from we might be able to defeat them to we'll die if we fight them."
"Do you know this because you faced a few of them before?" Kakashi asked.
"No." Mireille said, shaking her head. "I was an Akatsuki member two years ago. A year ago, I resigned my position in the Akatsuki and ran from them. They're probably still hunting me to this day."
"Why were you only in the Akatsuki for a year?" TenTen asked.
"I was a spy for Suna's defense force. Part of my job was spying on the Akatsuki for a year to see how strong their ranks are." Mireille sighed. "It was a tough job, spying on the Akatsuki, I had to make up a story about a crime that would be bad enough that I was kicked out of Suna. That was probably the easiest part."
Mireille told them of her spying on the Akatsuki for a year. Who to watch out for and their descriptions. Who not worry about when fighting them because their weaknesses become obvious during battle.
"A few days before I left, a new member came." Mireille said, distain in her voice. "He had blonde hair, pulled up into sort of a top knot/ponytail thing. His hands had mouths in them that helped him mold clay into any form that he so desired. He could also bring these clay dolls to life, he wasn't the kind of person I would want to team up with. He was there, banished from the Rain Village." Mireille paused. "I believe his name was…Deidara."
"So, which one of these Akatsuki members kidnapped Gaara-Sama?" Sakura asked.
Mireille gasped loudly.
"Hmm?"
"Deidara! That's that bastard's name!!" Mireille yelled to herself.
Sakura and Naruto exchanged confused glances.
"Deidara kidnapped Gaara-Kun! I remember now!" Mireille shouted. She turned to the others. "If we run, we can get to Suna quicker, I need to tell Kankuro-Ani and Temari-Ane about who kidnapped him."
Kakashi stepped forward. "I've got an idea, and we should've done this when we left Konoha." Everyone looked at him. "We should use a transportation jutsu, we'll get there in no time."
"Kakashi-Sensei…that is the first good idea I've heard all day." Mireille said.
"Right then, it's decided. We transport." Kakashi said.
Everyone put their hands into the form of the transportation jutsu and poofed away, to Suna.
In front of Suna's western gate…
The group appeared in front of Suna's western gate. There were no more Akatsuki around, only the guard's that had survived the Akatsuki's attack.
Mireille stepped toward the gate and looked up as one of the guards' looked down. "I'm Mireille, from the Sunagakure defense force, future wife of Kazekage Gaara-Sama. I have brought help from Konohagakure to save our lost Kazekage. Open the gate!"
The others were surprised at how tight the security at the gate was that Mireille had to be semi-formal about it.
The gate opened and the group walked inside Suna. The houses were made of clay and mud, it seemed. The shops were marked with a blue kanji letter to show what they were. In the middle of Suna was a mansion. Kazekage Mansion.
Mireille looked back at the gaping facing of the leaf ninja and laughed.
Sakura walked up to Mireille, still in awe by the village. "So this is Suna?"
Mireille nodded. "Yep! This is my home."
Sakura chuckled to herself a little. "It's amazing how people can live out in the desert and in such a semi-normal looking village."
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment." Mireille laughed. "Well, no need to stay at a hotel tonight."
They all looked at Mireille strangely.
"You're all guests of the Kazekage's fiancé, you get to stay at Kazekage mansion." Mireille smiled. She was just glad to be home.
A village girl ran at Mireille from behind and tackled her. "Yaay! Ane's home!" Shouted the girl. Her red hair, unlike Mireille's, was cropped short. She was wearing a light brown knee-length dress. She had the same eyes as Mireille, though she was just a child.
"Rena, is that you?" Mireille asked, annoyed that she was face down in the dirt.
"Yep!" Rena said, smiling while sitting on top of Mireille's back.
Mireille rolled over, throwing Rena off of her back. "Rena, what have I told you about that?!" Mireille said, standing up and brushing the dirt and sand off of herself.
Rena just laughed.
"If you're out, that means that Ani is here too." Mireille said.
A boy, Neji, TenTen, and Lee's age, came up behind Mireille and covered her eyes up with his hands. "Guess who!" His short hair was slightly darker than Mireille and Rena's, his eyes were also darker. He was wearing a dark blue muscle shirt and black capris.
"Takashi!" Mireille said, turning around and hugging him.
Rena stood up and walked over to her older siblings. "How come you didn't hug me, Mireille?"
Mireille picked up her younger sister and gave her a hug. "There, better?"
Rena smiled and nodded. "Yep!"
Mireille put Rena down and walked over to Team Kakashi and Team Gai with her siblings behind her. "Rena, Takashi, these are people who will help me find Gaara-Kun." Mireille said. "Their names are Sakura-Chan, Naruto-Kun, Kakashi-Sensei, Neji-San, TenTen-San, Lee-San, and Gai-Sensei."
Rena waved one of her small hands at them. "Hi, I'm Rena, Mireille's little sister."
Takashi walked over to Sakura and TenTen, who were standing next to each other, and grabbed their hands. "You're both very beautiful. Would you do me the honor of --"
Mireille hit Takashi over the head before he could finish. "You haven't changed a bit, you mega pervert!!"
Takashi let go of Sakura and TenTen's hands and backed up a few steps. "Please forgive me ladies, it's just so hard to control myself around such beautiful women."
Sakura and TenTen exchanged confused looks.
Mireille turned to Sakura and TenTen. "He's a pervert. Trust me, you don't want to know what he was going to ask you." (A/N: I based Takashi off of Miroku from Inuyasha.)
Neji and Naruto stepped in front of TenTen and Sakura, as if defending them from Takashi.
Mireille sighed. "No need to worry about him, he knows when to stop."
"When is that?" Neji asked, ready to activate Byakugan if "the pervert" approached TenTen again.
"After I hit him over the head, he normally gets the message." Mireille said, pushing Takashi toward the Kazekage mansion.
Rena and the others followed them to the Kazekage mansion.
Mireille grabbed the back of Takashi's shirt and was now dragging him in the mansion. "Temari-Ane, Kankuro-Ani, I'm back!" She yelled.
Almost immediately after she finished saying that, two people ran downstairs. Temari and Kankuro.
Temari was the first downstairs; she ran up to Mireille and hugged her. "Mireille-Chan, you're safe, the Akatsuki didn't get you!"
Kankuro was right behind Temari, he also hugged Mireille. "Mireille-Chan, I'm so glad you're safe!"
Mireille would've hugged them back but she was unable to move her arms, which caused her to let go of Takashi. "Yes, yes, I'm okay!"
Kankuro and Temari let her go. Temari smiled. "We're just glad you're safe. There were rumors that the Akatsuki had captured another person, we were so afraid that it was you."
Mireille shook her head. "It would make sense that they would try to capture me though, wouldn't it…? After all, I did deceive them."
Kankuro nodded. "That's why we thought they had captured you. That and you never contacted us."
"Sorry, kinda hard when you're in Konoha." Mireille said.
"Konoha?" Both Temari and Kankuro asked simultaneously.
"Yeah, picked up some helpers." Mireille said, jerking her thumb back at Teams Kakashi and Gai. "Should be able to help us find and rescue Gaara-Kun."
"They're from the Chunnin exams two years ago, Gaara won't like being rescued by them." Kankuro pointed out.
Mireille looked at the ground. "I know, but they were the two strongest cells in Konoha. They can help."
Temari looked at all the faces in the group. "Shouldn't there be one more with you?"
Mireille looked back, but saw no one missing. "No, that's everyone."
Kankuro noticed this too. "Yeah, where's…um…" Kankuro paused and thought for a minute. "Uchiha! Yeah, where's Uchiha?"
Sakura and Naruto sunk to the ground in depression.
Kakashi looked at Kankuro. "Sasuke left Konoha two years ago, shortly after the Chunnin exams, in search of the power to defeat his older brother."
Kankuro nodded. "I see."
"Well, it might be a good thing that he's not here. Gaara still holds a grudge against Uchiha for that fight in the Chunnin exams." Temari said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Mireille was confused. "So, who is Sasuke-Kun?"
Naruto was the first to recover from the "Sasuke's gone" depression. "Uchiha Sasuke-Kun. Used to be part of our cell, then one day, after a fight with me, he left and nobody has heard from him since." (That emo S.O.B! I'm joking…! [Maybe…])
"Oh! So, you miss him." Mireille said, speaking the obvious.
"Sakura-Chan misses him more." Naruto said. (Sakura was still in the "Sasuke's gone" depression.)
Takashi had been able to talk to TenTen while everybody else was distracted, and thus…this noise protruded from where TenTen had been standing:
SMACK
Everyone looked back to see TenTen blushing and Takashi holding his left cheek in pain.
"YOU PERVERT! HOW COULD YOU EVER THINK THAT I WOULD DO THAT WITH YOU?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!!" TenTen shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the Kazekage mansion.
Takashi took a step back as he feared that TenTen would draw a kunai knife. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know your answer. Heh-heh!"
Neji didn't need to hear any more than that. He reached to grab the collar of Takashi's shirt to throw him out of the door, but Rena got in the way.
Rena smirked while she drew a kunai knife and pointed it at Neji's throat. "What are going to do to Takashi?" Her eyes were completely focused on Neji, she was nothing like the playful little girl they had met earlier.
Neji, TenTen, Naruto, Lee, and Sakura became confused. This was different Kakashi and Gai as well, but they had been told to never underestimate anyone, no matter the age.
Mireille laughed innocently. "I forgot to mention that my family is trained from a very young age to fight anyone and anything."
Neji backed off. "Very good, Rena-Chan. 'Rena' is your name right…?"
Rena nodded and put up the kunai knife, becoming the little girl they had met earlier in only an instant.
"The only thing we were never taught was deception." Mireille sighed. "I had to learn that on my own."
Lee was still confused. "But doesn't Rena-Chan, acting like an innocent child but is truly a fierce fighter, also know deception?"
Mireille shook her head. "She's always been like that. A sweet, innocent child when she's not fighting, and a fierce warrior during battle. She's never lost a battle, with the exception of me during training."
"Well, shouldn't we get them some rooms?" Temari said to Kankuro.
Kankuro nodded. "Yes. Haruno, Uzumaki, and whichever one of these buffoons is your sensei, come with me and Takashi-Kun."
"The rest of you, come with me, Mireille-Chan, and Rena-Chan." Temari said.
Team Kakashi followed Kankuro and Takashi to their rooms while Team Gai followed Temari, Rena, and Mireille to their rooms.
When TenTen, Gai, and Lee were in their rooms, Temari realized that they were one measly room short. "This is embarrassing to say, but even though this is a mansion, it doesn't have many rooms." She said to Neji.
"It's okay, Temari-Chan, Neji-Kun will share a room with me." Mireille said. "I completely trust him." Mireille is an incredibly trusting person; the sand siblings learned that when they met her.
Temari thought for a minute then nodded. "Fine, Neji-Kun, you'll share Mireille-Chan's room with her."
Neji blushed a little. "A-Are you sure?"
Temari nodded. "If Mireille-Chan trusts you, I see no reason as to why you can't share a room with her."
Neji was still blushing. "But—"
"It's fine, really, don't worry about it." Mireille said.
Neji, still blushing, reluctantly agreed and followed Mireille to her room after saying goodnight to Temari.
Mireille opened the door to her room to reveille a large bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a bathroom on the other side of the room, and a bunch of things that a girl would find appropriate for her room. There were a few things that seemed out of place in the room though; a black book with the words "Bingo Book" written in white letters on the cover was on the dresser, a picture of Gaara and Mireille hugging was next to the book, and an assortment of Gaara's things were thrown around the room.
Neji walked in slowly after Mireille.
Mireille shut the door. "Do you need to take a shower Neji-Kun?"
Neji shook his head. "No, I'm–I'm fine."
"Okay." Mireille laughed and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a white nightgown. "Make yourself at home, I'll be out of the shower in a little while." She said, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Neji walked over to the bed and sat down, it was softer than his bed back at the Hyuuga estate. He lifted up the covers to see why and saw that it was one of those temper pedic mattresses. This place is kinda nice. Except for it being in the middle of the desert, it's a great place.
He sat on the bed for about thirty minutes, staring off into space when Mireille walked out of the bathroom. She had on a white short-sleeved nightgown that had a light red ribbon around the neck. Her hair, wet, was down; it was really wavy from it being in a braid all the time.
Mireille ran to the bed and flopped on it. "My bed again!"
Neji stood up, looking for something to use as a sleeping bag. Now I see why Gaara-Sama got one of those mattresses.
Mireille looked up at Neji confusingly. "What's wrong, Neji-Kun?"
Neji looked at Mireille. "Do you have like a sleeping bag or something like one?"
"A sleeping bag?" Mireille laughed.
"Huh?" Neji was really confused now.
Mireille smiled at Neji. "The bed's big enough for two people."
Neji backed off a step, his face was burning. "You–You want to share the bed?!"
"Is it such a big deal?" Mireille asked.
"Kinda." Neji said. Her, Rena-Chan, and Takashi-San must be related.
"It's no big deal, me and Gaara-Kun share the bed all the time." Mireille said, smiling.
"Yeah! You and Gaara-Sama! He's your fiancé, I just met you yesterday!" Neji nearly yelled.
"And?" Mireille said, as if looking for a different reason.
"It's immoral!" Neji said, his face still burning.
"Aw, come on! It's not like we're going to screw each other or anything." Mireille grabbed Neji's arm and physically pulled him onto the bed. She then sat down beside Neji and smiled. "See, it isn't so bad. I mean, I couldn't have my guest laying on the floor."
Neji sighed. A normal person would.
Mireille lay down, under the covers. "Besides, it's not like I don't trust you. Even though we met yesterday, I can tell you're not bad."
Neji sat up from the laying position Mireille had forced him to be into and looked at her. "Mireille-Chan, how can you be so trusting?"
Mireille frowned and sat up. "It's just the way I was raised."
Neji and Mireille looked at each other for a few minutes, but Mireille turned away, blushing.
Neji gave in and got under the covers. "Listen Mireille-Chan, that is your half of the bed, this is my half!"
Mireille sighed. "Okay. God, you sound just how Gaara-Kun did the first night we shared the bed." She laid down. "But he got more comfortable with it as the days went on."
Neji was semi-glaring at Mireille.
Mireille looked over at Neji and almost started laughing. "Don't worry, I won't let anybody here rape you."
Neji turned over on his side, facing away from Mireille and shut his eyes.
Mireille also shut her eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning…
Neji opened his eyes and sat up, when he did, he slightly regretted it.
Mireille was putting on a strapless black shirt, she was facing her dresser, so when Neji woke up and sat up she was only in a strapless white bra and black capris and she didn't see him.
Mireille put on the shirt then put a short-sleeved net shirt on over it. She then put her hair into the usual braid and turned around to grab her shuriken holster when she saw Neji, who had turned slightly red, staring at her.
Her face became red with embarrassment at that moment. "H-How long have you been up?"
"Uh…" Neji looked over at the door and scratched the side of his head. "L-Long enough."
"EEKK!!!" Mireille then threw Neji out of the room. "PERVERT!!"
TenTen had just walked out of her room when she saw Neji being thrown out of the room, hitting the wall across the hall, and heard Mireille shouting "pervert".
TenTen walked over to Neji, who was playing unconscious, and picked him up, one of his arms slung over her shoulders. "Mireille-Chan, what did he do?"
Mireille's face was still red. "H-He…He…was a pervert!!"
TenTen laughed a little. "I'll take 'sleeping beauty' here downstairs so he can stop playing unconscious."
Mireille nodded and turned around to grab her Shuriken holster to put it on her leg. After she did, she walked downstairs. By this point her face is no longer red, she made sure of that before entering the room that everyone was in.
Mireille walked in. "Morning!"
Neji started eating his breakfast, which was rice, completely concentrating on it.
"Morning Mireille." Takashi said, sitting down.
Mireille sat down next to Takashi as to prevent having to sit by Neji. Lee sat down next to Neji because Mireille was sitting in, what had been, the only other empty seat. Sakura was already eating, as was Naruto and Kakashi. Gai had started eating as Lee sat down. Mireille became as absorbed in her food as Neji had become.
Temari took a few bites of her food. "When are you guys leaving to find Gaara?"
Mireille put down the empty bowl that had once been filled with rice. "Whenever they're done. Which I hope is soon." Mireille said, standing up and walking outside.
Mireille stood in front of the door and talked with some of the other people from the village that were passing by who were happy that she had come back and that she hadn't been taken as well. Neji walked outside, walked over to a bench, and sat down.
Mireille walked over to him. "Neji, forget about this morning. We have to cooperate if we want to successfully rescue Gaara-Kun."
"Don't worry, I already have." Neji said, looking at Mireille. "As you said, don't worry I won't let any of them rape you."
Mireille, insulted, smacked Neji across the face and walked back over to where she was standing beside the door.
Neji sighed and focused his eyes straight ahead. She has a short fuse.
Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi walked out a little later. Followed by Gai, TenTen, and Lee. Neji joined the group by the door when everyone was outside.
"We're leaving for the northern forest now. We're not taking anything except for what we have with us now." Mireille said, walking away from the mansion, the others behind her.
They approached the north gate, which opened when they approached it. Once they were outside the gate, they transported.
In the northern forest…
The group was near the middle of the northern forest, one hundred miles north of Suna.
Mireille looked around the area and disguised her chakra levels. "Disguise your chakra, we're near the Akatsuki."
The others did as they were told. It took Naruto a little longer because Jiraiya never taught him how to disguise his chakra completely when they were training. Once everyone's chakra was disguised, they continued forward. They kept walking for about ten minutes, maybe longer, when an old woman with pale red hair, a hat on his head, and white clothing with Sunagakure markings on the edges came out from behind a tree.
Mireille drew a kunai knife, ready for battle if it was necessary to move forward. "Move old woman!" She said, assuming a battle stance.
"I do not wish to fight you, young lady." The old woman said.
"Why are you here?" Mireille asked, not moving from her battle position.
The woman did not seem intimidated by the kunai knife. "I just wish to make amends with Gaara-Sama, I came here hoping to free him, but I could not."
"The Akatsuki are far too strong for a grandma like yourself, you shouldn't have even tried." Mireille said, spitting the words out with distain for the woman holding them up.
"The place where he's being held is protected by a five-seal barrier, and I cannot located and remove all five seals at the same time." The old woman said, looking straight at the group. "I was the one who sealed Shukaku inside of Gaara-Sama."
Mireille immediately held extreme hatred for the woman. She grabbed the neck of her shirt and pushed her against a tree, her kunai knife to her neck. "So it was you who sealed that beast inside of Gaara-Kun!"
The old woman nodded. "My name is Chiyo—"
"I don't care about your name!" Mireille raised the kunai knife above her head, ready to kill Chiyo when Kakashi caught her hand, preventing her from killing her.
Kakashi shook his head. "We need her to show us where Gaara is being kept."
Mireille relaxed her arm, signaling to Kakashi that she wasn't going to kill the woman. Kakashi released her arm and she put the kunai knife away.
Mireille dropped Chiyo on the ground. "I'll spare your life, lead us to Gaara-Kun and won't kill you at all…But if I find out that you're working for the Akatsuki to lead us away from Gaara-Kun, I will have no mercy!"
Chiyo stood up and nodded. "Yes, I understand. This way." she said, leading them down the path where he just came.
They were walking down the path for an hour when Mireille spotted a light blue figure moving in the trees. Could it be that they have trackers in the forest to prevent anyone from coming to Gaara-Kun's rescue? They are the ultimate organization, I should know not underestimate them. Mireille just remembered, from the year she had spied on the Akatsuki, the blue man from the "squad" that Pein-Sama had assigned her to because of her strength.
Mireille signaled for Kakashi to come talk to her.
Kakashi walked up to her. "What is it?"
"There's a tracker in the trees, I believe it's Hoshigaki Kisame-San." Mireille whispered to Kakashi.
"Are you sure?"
Mireille nodded. "Positive. I was on his 'squad' for the year I was with the Akatsuki, I'd know him a mile away."
Kakashi fell back and told Gai about what Mireille had seen in the trees. From that point on, Gai, Kakashi, and Mireille all kept a close eye on the trees.
Not too much longer, a menacing laugh came from somewhere up ahead. "Well, well, have you gotta a lot of nerve…? I knew I recognized you," Kisame then poofed in front of the group, "Mireille-San."
Mireille ran and stood in front of Chiyo. "Granny, get back with the others!"
She did as she was told.
Mireille's attention focused back on Kisame. "Hoshigaki Kisame-San, number five in the S-ranked class of the bingo book, I once had the honor of fighting beside you…Why are you attacking an old 'teammate'?" She sarcastically asked, drawing a kunai knife.
Kisame chuckled. "Well then, it seems that you've had a change of heart since your Akatsuki days. I guess women are weaker at heart."
"Nah! I'm just a normal ex-Akatsuki member who's trying to get back the man I love." Mireille said, laughing to herself.
Kisame pulled his sword, covered in white cloth, off of his back and assumed his battle position. "Yes, that is true, I suppose. I guess that means that we're to fight here."
Mireille's eyes were focused on Kisame's sword as she assumed a battle position. "You forget Kisame-San, I was on your 'squad' for a year, I know how you fight!"
"That is true, but I think I'll still be a challenge for you. Remember, we're not training this time." Kisame said, smirking.
"I know." Mireille said, also smirking.
Silence.
Kisame and Mireille launched themselves at each other, Kisame's sword ready to rip his former "teammate" to shreds. Mireille quickly threw the kunai knife at Kisame and formed the seals for the ninjutsu "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu". The fireballs went at Kisame with amazing speed. Kisame used his sword to block the on coming fireballs as Mireille drew two kunai knives and four shuriken. When Kisame moved his sword, Mireille threw the shuriken at Kisame and put one of kunai knives in her other hand. She was planning on facing Kisame using taijutsu, to conserve chakra, with very little odds of living. Three of the four shuriken hit Kisame, he fell to the ground as Mireille's feet gracefully met the ground.
Kisame stood up, using his sword to support himself. He ripped the shuriken from his body and laughed. "You haven't changed a bit. Merciless as always!" He was bleeding severely.
Mireille's concentration didn't break for one second. "What would you expect from one such as me?"
Kisame continued laughing. "Pein-Sama was smart to place you on a team with me and Itachi-San, the three of us were the ultimate S-ranked criminals!"
"I am no criminal, Kisame-San." Mireille said, getting ready for another assault.
"Then why did you come to the Akatsuki?" Kisame asked, spitting out some blood from his mouth.
Mireille laughed to herself. "I am a spy for the Sunagakure defense force and therefore was gaining myself some experience on how to defeat you, Itachi-San, and the others."
Kisame became angry. "You mean you were spying on us to learn our fighting styles…?"
"Precisely." Mireille said, laughing to herself even more.
Kisame became so pissed off that he launched himself at Mireille while she was still laughing, but that still didn't take her off guard. Mireille jumped in the air and did a nose-dive at Kisame; both kunai knives ready to slice Kisame in half.
Kisame looked up and lifted his sword just in time to prevent her from killing him. The sword caught Mireille's right arm and tore it apart. She fell off to the side, her arm bleeding severely.
Mireille sat up and dropped the kunai knife that was in her left hand, clutching her right arm with it. "Damn you!" There was already a pool of blood where she was sitting.
Kisame laughed and walked up to Mireille, getting ready to tear the rest of her body to shreds. "It's fair, blood for blood."
Mireille glared up at Kisame. "I'll never forgive you for this, I will haunt you until you die!"
Kisame lifted his sword to just above Mireille's head, preparing to strike. "I don't believe in ghosts."
All of sudden, Kisame dropped to the ground, dead. Neji was behind him and caught his sword and allowed Mireille to move before dropping it. Mireille looked over at Neji, he had Byakugan activated; he had saved her.
Neji deactivated the Byakugan and knelt down in front of Mireille to look at her wound. "Does anybody have bandages?"
Chiyo walked up and pulled out a first aid kit from her robes. "Use this."
Neji took the first aid kit from the woman and used most of the bandages and disinfectant ointment to clean and bandage Mireille's wound. "That should hold until we get back to Suna."
Mireille stood up and felt dizzy from the blood loss.
Neji caught her arm to make sure she didn't fall. "You lost a lot of blood. Sakura-Chan should take you back to Suna so you can get proper treatment."
Sakura nodded.
Mireille shook her head. "I will not go back to Suna without Gaara-Kun!" Her eyes still burned with the will to fight even thought her body wanted to throw in the towel.
"Fine, Neji-Kun will have to carry you then." Kakashi said.
"Why me?" Neji asked, his voice signaled annoyance.
"Well, I don't see why not. If we run into anymore trouble, one of us will take her while you fight them, you seem to kill the opponent quickly using that Keke-Genki of yours." Kakashi said, basically telling Neji to do as he's told.
"Fine." Neji sighed. "Mireille-Chan, get on." Neji said, kneeling down to allow Mireille to get on his back.
Mireille climbed onto Neji's back, grateful for the ride after losing so much blood.
Chiyo gathered up what was left of her first aid kit and put it back in her robes. "Shall we move on?"
Neji glared at the old woman. "Are leading us to death or something?! She almost got killed!"
Mireille laughed. "It was because I was careless, I'm lucky I wasn't facing Itachi-San or Sasori-San or even Pein-San though, I'd have already been dead the first five seconds…not even that…if I had been facing any of them."
Neji sighed. "I just don't want to face anything worse."
"We might, it's unpredictable which Akatsuki member we'll face next." Mireille said. "But if I face someone so soon, I will be killed."
"Shall we move on?" The old man repeated.
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, lets go."
The group started walking again, leaving behind the dead body of Kisame.
They walked for only ten more minutes when they arrived at a small lake. It didn't go very far before a cliff cut it off. They all walked on the water, over to where the cliff began. There was a seal on a boulder with the kanji for "forbidden" written on it in black.
Mireille adjusted the chakra at her feet. "Neji-San let me down." Neji let her down. "Thanks." She said, she stood perfectly fine on the water now that she had rested for a little bit.
Kakashi turned to Gai. "Would you do the honors?"
"Of course." Gai said, flipping back toward the edge of the lake and running at the boulder. When he was close enough, he punched the boulder with all of his might, but there was a barrier around it. "A barrier…?"
"I told you." Chiyo sighed.
"What kind of barrier did you say it was?" Naruto asked.
"A five seal." She said.
"Which is…?" Naruto knew nothing about the different kinds of barriers.
"I'll explain." TenTen said. "A five seal barrier consists of five different seals placed in different areas. The only way to break the barrier is to remove all five seals at the same time."
Gai gave TenTen a thumbs-up. "Very good TenTen."
"Well, here's one of them." Kakashi said, looking up at the seal that was placed on the boulder before them. "Neji-Kun."
Neji nodded. "Byakugan!" Neji started looking around the area for the seals. "I found them! There's one five hundred meters south of here, another six hundred meters west, another five hundred and fifty meters north, and the last is at least eight hundred meters north-east."
Kakashi nodded. "Okay."
"But Kakashi-Sensei, if we have to remove them at the same time how will we know when to remove it?" Sakura asked.
Gai laughed, pulling wireless radio earpieces from one of the pockets from his vest. "This is how. These handy little things always are good for something."
Everyone, save for Mireille because she had one of her own, took one; as they did someone laughed from on top of the cliff.
Everyone's eyes shot the area where the laugh came from.
"I never expected to see you again, hmm." The person said, standing up and jumping down to stand in front of them. An Akatsuki hat hid his face; that was the only reason Mireille was automatically on guard, because he was from the Akatsuki.
Mireille pulled out a kunai knife and tossed her wireless radio to Sakura, who was going to go with her to remove a seal. "Which of the 'murderer's of the Akatsuki' are you?"
"You know that I am one of the Akatsuki elite, yet you challenge me, hmm?" He said, throwing his hat off. His blonde hair was in sort of a topknot thing, he had, what looked like, heavy eyeliner around his eyes. His hands had mouths in them.
Mireille became filled with rage. "You're…DEIDARA!"
Deidara nodded. "Yes, I am Deidara, but who are you, hmm?"
"I am Mireille, I resigned from the Akatsuki a few days after you joined." Mireille said, she knew that this guy kidnapped Gaara; there was no doubt in her mind.
"Oh yes, you were in Kisame-San and Itachi-San's cell. Tell me, how did all of you get past Kisame-San in the first place, hmm?" Deidara asked almost innocently.
"Killed him." Mireille said, smirking. "He was killed, he nearly killed me, but I survived…and I have just enough energy left in me to kill you!"
"You know, Gaara-Sama's been saying something about a girl named Mireille-Chan. Is that you, hmm?" Deidara asked, with the same "innocence" he had just a second ago.
Mireille smiled evilly. "You know it!"
Deidara reached inside the pouches that were at his sides, his clay. "Good, you're coming with me, hmm." All signs of innocence were gone by this point.
"You're gonna have to force me to go along with you." Mireille said, assuming a battle position.
Deidara pulled his hands out of the pouches and thrust his hands in front of him, sending the clay flying at Mireille. She jumped up, just barely avoiding it. But it followed her and wrapped itself around her ankles and wrists. Mireille dropped into the water, unable to control her chakra while the clay trapped her. Deidara used the rest of the clay that was still in his hands to pull the unconscious Mireille out of the water and put her over his shoulder.
Lee stepped forward. "Release her!"
Deidara jumped back onto the cliff. "I have no quarrel with you, hmm."
Lee tried following Deidara, but the barrier all of a sudden extended up to the top of the cliff. Lee managed to see Deidara jump into a hole with Mireille.
Lee dropped back down to the water. "He took her inside the cave."
Kakashi nodded. "That just means we'll have to work faster than we originally intended."
Meanwhile…
Deidara put Mireille down on the ground, in front of where Itachi was sitting.
Itachi stood up. "Mireille-San?"
Mireille woke up and looked up, the cave was lit up so she could clearly see Itachi's face. "Itachi-San…?"
Itachi nodded. "It's odd seeing your face again…but it has come to the point where we need you to successfully do this."
Mireille shook her head. "I'll never help you hurt Gaara-Kun!"
Itachi sighed. "Deidara-San, mind showing her to Gaara-San then…?"
Deidara grabbed the back of Mireille's shirt and dragged her to where Gaara was chained to the wall. On the way over to Gaara, Mireille saw Sasori leaning against a wall.
There were cuts all over him; Gaara had actually been tortured! "Gaara-Kun!!" Mireille shouted, wriggling from Deidara's grasp and running over to Gaara.
Gaara opened his eyes. "Mireille-Chan? What are you doing here?!" He asked weakly.
Mireille hugged Gaara as much as she could. "I'm gonna get you out of here, you'll be okay, Gaara-Kun."
Deidara laughed. "Neither of you are leaving this place alive, hmm."
Mireille glared back at Itachi and Deidara and somewhat at Sasori.
Gaara noticed the bandages on Mireille's arm and saw that some blood was showing through them. "What happened to your arm?"
Mireille looked at her arm. "You can blame Hoshigaki Kisame-San, we ran into him on the way here. I fought him, he nearly killed me. Neji-San killed him just before he could kill me though."
Itachi walked over to Mireille and grabbed her braid, pulling her up, off the ground. "Kisame-San is dead?"
Even Sasori seemed a little shocked by this; Kisame actually being killed by the likes of Mireille.
"Yeah, that's right, we killed your boy Kisame-San!" Mireille yelled, Itachi was hurting her head.
"Release her!" Gaara yelled. "She hasn't done a damn thing to you!"
Itachi let Mireille drop to the ground. "I don't care. Why do you think I'm so high up in the Bingo Book…?"
"Itachi-San, do want it, hmm?" Deidara asked, referring to the spiked riding crop he now held in his hand.
Itachi took the riding crop from Deidara's hands and held onto it by the handle, allowing it to completely unravel down to his feet.
Mireille was standing in front of Gaara, protecting him. "I won't let you hurt him anymore!"
Itachi grabbed the neck of her shirt and tossed her behind him. "I wasn't planning on doing anything more to Gaara-San." Itachi said, whipping Mireille's back twice before she dropped to the ground.
Gaara was now struggling to break free from the chains that bound him to the wall. "Don't!"
Mireille stood up again, her back bleeding, it hurt her to stand up, but she did anyway. "Hurt me all you want, just don't hurt Gaara-Kun anymore!"
"I was hoping you'd say that." Itachi said, whipping Mireille's hurt arm, the bandages fell off.
Mireille grabbed her arm with her left hand again, it hurt the wound to be exposed to the open air of the cave. She fell to her knees as it started bleeding again.
"Stop it!" Gaara yelled.
Itachi whipped Mireille's other arm three times. "Sorry, I'm actually enjoying torturing this one."
Gaara hung his head, his entire body filling with rage. Itachi then whipped Mireille's hurt arm once and tried to get her throat three times, hitting her face each time.
"Fine, take it! Take Shukaku, just stop it!" Gaara yelled.
Itachi stopped and dropped the whip on the ground. "I was hoping you'd give in if we used Mireille-San as bait. Are you serious, because, I'm sure, she wouldn't mind taking more torture to protect you."
Mireille was on her knees trying not to pass out, her eyes blank with the pain, she was coughing up a little bit of blood each time she gasped for breath.
"Just take Shukaku!" Gaara shouted, not wanting anymore of Mireille's blood spilt.
"Alright." Itachi dug his nails into Gaara's chest. He said some incantation and the whole cave was lit up bright as Shukaku was released from Gaara's body.
Gaara smiled at Mireille as she looked up at him, tears running down her blood stained face. Goodbye, Mireille-Chan.
Itachi pulled a bright blue orb from Gaara's body and placed it in a teapot as Gaara's body went limp.
Mireille could feel anger, rage, and sadness welling up inside her. "GAARA-KUN!!!"
Itachi walked past Mireille and sat back down on the rock he had been sitting on. "He's dead Mireille-San, it's too late for him. He was a fool. I'll put in a good word to Pien-Sama if you want to rejoin the Akatsuki."
A storm of blue chakra surrounded Mireille; she rose up and faced Itachi. Her eyes had turned blood red, her eyelashes had become more bold and defined. She had a bloodthirsty aura about her. Her wounds stopped bleeding, they healed faster than normal and left scars. "YOU BASTARDS! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Itachi stood up, he was actually kind of scared of this new woman before him. "What are you?"
Mireille ran at Itachi quicker than he could track, even with the Sharingan, and ripped out his neck. Itachi dropped to the ground, dead, his blood staining her hand and the cave floor.
Deidara tried to escape, but Mireille pinned him to the ground, her hand was on his face, holding him down. "You shall pay for killing him!" Her voice was ominous and sounded almost robotic.
Deidara started struggling to get away. "Let me go! Please, spare me! Have mercy, hmm!"
"Sorry, all out of mercy." Mireille said, crushing Deidara's skull. Blood splattered on her face and clothes.
Mireille stood up and looked around for Sasori, but didn't see him; he had escaped. She stood up and walked over to the dead body of Gaara and ripped the chains off of the wall. Her eyes became their normal shade of blue, and her eyelashes became normal as well. And oddly enough, her scars reopened, making her even more of a bloody mess. Mireille slowly got Gaara's hands unshackled and she carried him to the boulder that blocked their exit.
Mireille punched the boulder as hard as she could, it broke. When Mireille punched the rock, the seals that had made up the barrier simultaneously burned away.
Neji had been outside the boulder with Kakashi when she broke it. "What was that?"
When the dust cleared, Neji and Kakashi were able to see Mireille carrying Gaara on her back; her tears ran down her badly bloodied face. "Neji-San, Kakashi-Sensei."
Neji and Kakashi ran over to Mireille as Neji shouted into the earpiece, "Everyone get back here, Mireille-Chan released the barrier and is badly injured!"
Everyone was back in no time.
While everyone was coming Mireille had decided to sit down at the edge of the cave. She placed Gaara's body beside her and fell on top of his dead body, bawling.
Sakura tried to get her to leave Gaara's body, but Mireille refused.
Chiyo, who had been waiting for their return on the edge of the lake, walked up. "I guess the only way to make amends with Gaara-Sama now is to make amends with Mireille-Sama."
Mireille glared at the old woman. "You! Leave! If you hadn't sealed Shukaku inside of Gaara-Kun, this would never have happened!!" Tears were still running down her bloodstained face.
Chiyo knelt beside Gaara's dead body and placed her hand where Itachi had placed his to take Shukaku out. "Tell Gaara-Sama that I'm sorry." She said, concentrating all of her chakra and being into transferring her soul into Gaara.
It worked, the old woman dropped dead beside Gaara as he coughed, taking a deep breath.
Mireille couldn't have ever felt happier. She hugged Gaara as soon as he sat up. "Gaara-Kun, you're okay!!"
Gaara looked around, confused. He was mainly confused about the seven leaf ninja standing around him. "Mireille-Chan?"
Mireille let go of Gaara and looked him in the eyes, tears still going down her face, but this time, tears of joy. "Gaara-Kun!"
"What happened? I thought I was dead." Gaara said, still confused.
"Lets just say that you really don't know what you mean to me." Mireille said, referring to the two dead Akatsuki members in the cave that had made her lose control.
The smell of the blood from the two dead Akatsuki was too much for Sakura and TenTen to take, they had to walk to the other side of the lake to sit down and try not to puke.
Gaara looked at the other five leaf ninja standing around him. "Why are you here?"
Naruto smiled. "Mireille-Chan managed to get past the Akatsuki lines when Suna was attacked and make it to Konoha. There, she recruited us to help rescue you."
Gaara looked around as the people surrounding him were smiling down at him. He couldn't help but smile himself. "Thanks…everyone."
Mireille became even happier that Gaara was acting like a civil human now. She hugged Gaara again. "Gaara-Kun is safe!" She started singing over and over.
Neji grabbed the remainder of the bandages the old man had and bandaged the worst of Gaara and Mireille's wounds while Kakashi cleaned both of them up.
Because Gaara and Mireille had to be carried due to their injuries, they both fell asleep on the way back to Suna, their hands locked together because the people who were carrying them were walking close together.
…
In the months that followed the incident, Gaara and Mireille were married, the leaf ninja, who had helped rescue Gaara, and Tsunade, were there as well as all of Suna.
They also announced, not too much longer later, that Mireille was pregnant.
It was always hard for Naruto and the others to imagine Mireille those months ago when she had fought so fiercely against Kisame, when she had killed Itachi and Deidara, and had come out a bloodied mess from the cave with a dead Gaara in her arms. It was just so hard to imagine that now that Mireille was married, pregnant, and doesn't act like the fierce fighter from all those months ago. The only thing that remind any of them of that day is the giant scar on Mireille's right arm, it was the only scar that didn't disappear.