Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other anime, all rights belong to their respective owners. Also, I have always been confused by the format of Japanese names, so in this story it will be the first name followed by the last name and I am taking liberties with everyones' ages.
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The hospital of the Village Hidden in the Sands was filled with screams of pain and anguish as a lone woman laid on an operating table, surrounded by doctors rapidly trying to keep her from bleeding out. The woman was very plain looking, with pale blond hair and tan skin, her normally vibrant blue eyes now showing nothing but pain.
"Where is he, where is that bastard?!" the woman yelled, grabbing the nearest doctor and almost giving him a heart attack.
The doctor stammered and looked away sadly before being pushed aside by the woman's closest friend and one of Suna's best shinobi, Kaneko Okabe.
"Move aside doctor and keep my friend alive," Kaneko said firmly, a harsh look in her brown eyes before holding the woman's hand. "Don't worry Ichi, I'm sure Toshiyori will be back soon. He had that important mission remember?"
"Right… right…" Ichi said softly, before tightening Kaneko's hand with a chakra empowered grip.
"Don't worry, you can get through this, just keep pushing," she said soothingly, looking around worriedly as doctors became more and more frantic. With a final cry of pain, a new cry filled the air, and Ichi's eyes lit up in joy before fading fast.
"Thank god… I did it… Take care of him please… take care of my Takaei…" Ichi said weakly, her hand finally falling from Kaneko's grip.
"Ichi?! Ichi?!" Kaneko screamed, being pushed back by the doctors as they got to work. There, in the middle of a crowded birthing room and with nothing but the sound of her baby and the panicked doctors, Ichi Seki died.
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(4 years later)
"Come on Sasori! You're too slow!" a young voice laughed as two young boys ran through the streets of the Village Hidden in the Sands, Sunagakure. The voice belonged to a young boy with a light brown t-shirt and beige cargo plants. His slightly blonde hair ruffled in the wind as he surveyed his surroundings with laughing brown eyes, a bright smile covering his childish face as he avoided the passerby in the street.
"Nii-chan, waiiiiiiit!" a red haired toddler yelled as he ran towards the other child on small, chubby legs. Takaei continued to laugh but stopped in front of a bookstore while his younger brother finally caught up to him.
"Come on Sasori, how are you going to be a powerful ninja if you can't even run that fast?" Takaei teased, ruffling Sasori's hair when he finally caught up to him.
"Shut up, nii-chan! I'm going to be the best shinobi in the world! Then I'll make it to where mom and dad never have to leave again!" the young Sasori declared before widening his eyes. In the middle of his speech, Takaei had ran off towards the gates again, leaving him in the dust. With a glare he began to charge towards his evil big brother again, ignoring the chuckles of the villagers around him.
Takaei, meanwhile was having a blast tormenting his little brother, right up until he ran into the last person he wanted to. His eyes started at the white sandals in the sand, no worries there, everyone in Suna wears sandals. They then rose to look at the large brown cloak/dress thing that caused his heart to nearly stop. When they reached the white poncho the boy was pretty sure that his heart HAD stopped and then finally they rested on the glaring face belonging to his dear grandmother.
"O-oh hi Grandma Chiyo! Fancy meeting you here!" he chuckled softly before his chuckles died down to a whimper at the overpowering glare.
"Fancy indeed…. Especially considering the fact that I told you to watch over Sasori at the house," Chiyo growled before catching sight of a young Sasori, who abruptly stopped and attempted backing away slowly before running at a full blown sprint.
"No! Ototou! Her vision is based on movement!" he yelled, stopping as he felt a murderous presence behind him.
"What was that Takaei-kun?" Chiyo asked sweetly, her eyes gaining a treacherous glint as Takaei gulped.
"You know… I just remembered… the kazekag- yea! The kazekage wanted to know about my progress in the academy and wanted me to bring along Sasori too, what with him being the grandson of the founder of the puppet brigade!" Takaei said under the unimpressed gaze of Chiyo.
Chiyo hummed for a second before quickly grabbing Takaei by the colar of his shirt and walking towards where Sasori had stopped after his Nii-chan's declaration. "Well, I'll just go with you to meet him then, won't I?" she asked sweetly, making Takaei sweat profusely, and not from the sun.
While he was being carried to his impending doom, Takaei took a moment to survey his beloved village. It was the village his parents were fighting for, the one his original father had died for! He enjoyed looking at the vibrant art in the various galleries, the fruits and carpets in the marketplace, he especially liked watching the shinobi use their techniques in the various training fields. He just wished his parents could watch it all with him…
"Grandma why do mom and dad always have to go fight?" Takaei asked, suddenly solumn.
Chiyo sighed and looked up at the sky for a second before finally deciding on the right words to say. "Well, you know that we border the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, right?"
"Ye- I mean yes, Grandma, we were just taught that at the academy, though I wish they taught us more useful stuff…" Takaei said, wilting under Chiyo's glare.
"Just wait, you need to learn the basics first. Anyway, a long time ago, not long after the hidden villages were founded, the First Hokage, the peace loving fool that he was, decided to give away some fertile land to our village so that we could have some farmland. What he didn't think of was what his brother would do once he died. He didn't like the fact that Suna got some of Konoha's vast land for free, so he decided he was going to covertly "steal it back". We Suna nin didn't really like that so we sent shinobi over there as a deterrent to keep Konoha away. After a few years of being unable to take "their land" back, the Third Hokage, the Second's student, decided it was fine as long as it wasn't an enemy who kept the land. Now the Land of Rivers is helping Konoha try to steal the land, so we constantly need shinobi over there to fight back. Do you understand?"
Takaei did not say anything for a few seconds, instead adopting his legendary "thinking pose" with his chin between his fingers and his other arm on his hip, despite the fact he was still dangling from Chiyo's grip. "I think so… but why don't we just invade Rivers and Konoha if they won't leave us alone?"
"Bah," Chiyo spat before turning a new glare towards the path they were walking on, one that Takaei prayed wasn't meant for him. "We just aren't strong enough. Konoha has tons of clans and legendary fighters in their name and Rivers isn't weak either. The only clans we had besides the kazekage's either rebelled and were destroyed like the Shirogane Clan or just aren't very strong, like the Hoki Clan. That's why I founded the Puppet Brigade, to finally give the village an edge that the others don't."
"That's so cool Grandma!" Takaei said, stars slowly forming in his eyes. "You're going to make Sunagakure the strongest village in the world! And when I'm a shinobi, I'm going to help you make Suna so strong, that no-one will dare attack us again!"
"Well said young man, I look forward to your future progress," a deep voice said idly. Takaei hesitantly looked away from Chiyo and widened his eyes as he saw the Third Kazekage standing in front of them in all of his glory.
"Ah… Kenjiro, just the man I wanted to see," Chiyo smiled, ignoring Takaei's insistent struggling in her hand.
The kazekage sighed and sent a halfhearted glare towards Chiyo, "Sensei, you really should try to be more formal, I'm kazekage now, its disrespectful…"
"Ha! No matter what you turn up as, you'll always be my little Kenjiro who fell for the easiest trap in the world!"
Kenjiro simply sighed and turned to the Sand ANBU behind him, "We really should plan our routes better, running into Chiyo-sensei is always a headache…"
Chiyo simply laughed while Takaei looked at the both of them in confusion. The fact that they were sensei and student was not really common knowledge. The ages DID match up, what with Chiyo being in her forties and the kazekage in his twenties.
"Anyway, I was just coming to see you Kenjiro-kun. You see, this little troublemaker said that he was running around the village looking for you! Apparently, you wanted to see the grandchild of the 'great' Chiyo-sama and he was an escort. Do you know anything about that?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," the kazekage responded in a bland tone, as dry as the sand he was standing on.
"You do?" both Chiyo and Takaei asked, before Takaei wisely decided to keep his mouth shut after a glare from the kazekage.
"Yes, I do, thank you for bringing the two of them here Chiyo-sensei, you can leave them with me for now."
"I-I see, if you say so Kenjiro-kun," she said shakily, before dropping the two boys like potato sacks. "Anyway, I guess I'll be off now, I'm not as young as I used to be." With that comment, Chiyo walked back to do… whatever it was she had been doing, Takaei never really paid attention unless he wanted to bother her.
When Chiyo was safely out of hearing distance, the kazekage glared down at Takaei, "So, what was it that you really wanted to do that made you use ME as an excuse?"
Takaei gulped and stared down at the sand below him, Sasori already moving behind Takaei in fear. "W-well, we saw Grandma Chiyo get a letter from where my parents were, so we stole it and it said that their bodies would be returned to the village today. We know that it's a strange way to say they're coming home, we just wanted to see them again after so long, and we knew that Grandma wouldn't let us stay there all day, so I just used the first excuse that came to mind."
Kenjiro looked down at the boy in pity before recognition flashed in his eyes, Takaei was holding back tears as he stared at his leader's cold visage. Takaei wasn't stupid, he was going to be a shinobi after all, he just knew that the kazekage would do a better job of explaining it to Sasori than he could, and he also knew that Chiyo would probably just put it off to save their feelings. The kazekage sighed before dropping to a knee and leaning towards Takaei.
"You're a brave kid, I'll be proud to have you as a shinobi," he whispered before moving away and looking at both of the boys.
"Kazekage-sama yo-" Kenjiro's escort began before being silenced with a wave of his hand.
"Silence, we can clean the robe later," he said ignoring the dust staining the pristine robe. "Until then, I haven't finished my walk, would you two boys like to join me?"
Sasori cheered and nodded with gusto, while Takaei simply smiled shakily and took one of the kazekage's outstretched hands. There was no need to put on an act around the man, he could see that he knew.
The four continued walking down the streets of Sunagakure, the kazekage nodding and waving softly to his subjects with his free hand, tightening his grip on Takaei's whenever he did so for some reason. Meanwhile, Sasori and the ANBU were having a rather animated conversation about what shinobi life was like. Well… animated on Sasori's side at least.
Eventually, the four men walked into a dango stand near the gates of the village, the kazekage ordering three orders of dango after a questioning look from the girl behind the counter.
"That was a brave thing you did Takaei, but why did you act like you didn't know around Chiyo-sensei?" Kenjiro asked bluntly, not the kind of man to beat around the bush.
"I-I just didn't want her to worry…" Takaei muttered sadly. "I mean, she just lost her daughter, and I know her, she would rather just pretend it didn't happen than crush Sasori's heart like that. Besides, I don't want her to look at me any differently because I know, I want things to stay the same…"
"I see…" Kenjiro muttered to himself before looking at Takaei with a serious expression. "Earlier, you said that you wanted to be a shinobi. Shinobi have to make hard decisions every day, and your career will be no different. Also, I will forgive your actions due to your grief, but using your leader as an excuse to get out of trouble is usually frowned upon," Kenjiro said with a severe frown, watching Takaei squirm. "Sasori needs to know, I would hate to see how he would turn out if he figured it out on his own. Consider this your first mission, explain the situation to Sasori, good luck young man. Now, I must go befo-" Kenjiro rolled his eyes as he was cut off by a voice behind the group.
"Tou-san, you're late," a severe voice said, and Takaei was surprised to see that it belonged to a child a little older than him, with auburn hair and dark eyes glaring at him. He wore a green cloak with a white poncho covering his neck and shoulders and Takaei could see that he was trying to copy his father's attire without being too obvious.
"The kazekage is never late, the people he meets with are just early," Kenjiro said softly, pulling some ryo out of his pocket and laying it on the table before looking at Takaei. "Don't misunderstand my previous statement Takaei-kun, the mission is not optional. If you do not explain it to him, then I will, and I have been told that I can be much less… sympathetic when doing so."
With that final command, the kazekage left with his escort and the auburn haired boy, who continued to glare at Takaei until he was well out of sight.
"Sorry about that kid, kazekage-sama can be a little… tense around others," the girl behind the counter said softly. "He means well though, and he's right, the kid has to know," she continued, ignoring Sasori's confused look.
"I have to know what?" he asked innocently, staring up at Takaei with clear grey eyes. Takaei glared at the girl behind the counter before it softened, and he sighed before smiling at Sasori and ignoring the water building up behind his eyes.
"I'll tell you when we get home, come on, I'm sure Grandpa Ebizo is worried sick right now…" Takaei lied, taking Sasori's hand and softly leading him away from the dango shop towards their home.
"But what about mom and dad?" Sasori asked in disappointment.
"They've been delayed, they needed to defend some villagers from bandits, like the heroes they are," Takaei explained and, while he did look disappointed, Sasori understood and continued on with Takaei in silence. As Takaei looked down at the young boy, he made a decision, he would protect his brother with everything he had, even his life if need be. He wouldn't let Konoha take anyone else from him.
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Chiyo was walking down the halls of her large house in silence. Her daughter and her son-in-law had both returned to the village today, though it was a much more somber afair than she had wished it to be. She knew the details of how they had died, Konoha had grown tired of the constant border skirmishes and had sent the White Fang of Konoha in along with several jounin to wipe out their outposts. Konoha had succeeded in destroying nine of the ten outposts, but the final one succeeded in driving the invaders off with poison and blood.
This had been an unprecidented act of agression from Konoha killing 240 Suna nin, 20 Konoha nin, and 150 Tanigakure nin. The Third Kazekage himself would be going to the border with over 2,000 Suna nin to let Konoha know that this act will not go unanswered. It was a bluff, but Sunagakure could only hope that Konoha backed down before this led to an all out war.
Chiyo grumbled that she wouldn't mind the chance to kill the White Fang, but she knew that Suna could not actually do anything against Konoha and their clans. Her thoughts were interupted when she heard sobs and sniffles from Sasori's room. She hesitantly headed towards the room and cracked it open slightly, careful to make no noise. On the only bed in the room was her adopted grandson Takaei, who she was sure would make an excellent ninja, with his arm around Sasori's sobbing form.
"Why?! Why did they have to die?!" Sasori sobbed, clutching Takaei's shirt like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
"I don't know Sasori, I don't know. But they died the noblest death they could, they died protecting us from the Konoha ninja, they died so that the village can live and survive another day," Takaei said softly, tears trailing down his face as well. Poor boy… he had already lost his original parents, and now he lost the ones who raised him. Three of them had even died from the demons of Konoha.
"R-really? They died protecting us?" Sasori asked softly. At Takaei's nod, Sasori sniffled and tried to wipe away his tears with a hand. "They… they were heroes, weren't they nii-chan?"
"Yes, they were…" Takaei said, the two keeping silent for a few minutes before Sasori finally fell asleep, Takaei softly laying him down on the bed without another word. He got up from his sitting position on the bed and walked towards the door as softly as possible, trying not to wake Sasori as he left the room. Chiyo moved out of the way as Takaei softly shut the door behind him and jumped when he laid his eyes on Chiyo.
"G-grandma Chiyo! I thought you were still developing that new poison!" Takaei yelled, almost falling in shock. Chiyo simply smiled softly and put her hand on his shoulder.
"That was a brave thing you did boy, you should have told me you knew and let me help… but you were still brave. How did you know?" Chiyo asked questionably, looking at Takaei in confusion.
Takaei looked at his feet and responded quietly, "We read the note the kazekage sent you. It said that mom and dad's bodies were being returned. I know what that means, but I was too scared to explain it to Sasori, and I knew that you were already hurting so I didn't want to bother you… but…" Takaei said, tears falling from his eyes faster and faster. Chiyo finally broke down and bent down to engulf Takaei in a hug, his small form shaking and clinging onto her poncho as his wails filled the hallway.
"It's not fair! It's not fair! I know they're shinobi, but why?! Why did THEY have to die?! Why does Konoha have to take everyone I love?!" he yelled, his grip tightening onto Chiyo as the poor boy got angrier and angrier. Eventually he calmed down and he and Chiyo were the only ones in the hallway, grieving for family taken too soon.
"Who did it?" Takaei asked in an oddly serious voice.
"Takaei, don't-" Chiyo began before being interupted.
"Who did it?!" Takaei yelled, tears falling again, but this time in anger.
Chiyo sighed and looked at the boy in a considering way before eventually opening her mouth, "It was Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha."
"I'll make him pay… I won't rest until he is dead… and then no-one will dare attack Sunagakure again."
Chiyo was shocked for only a second before a frown appeared on her face, "You'll have to train every day for most of your life if you want to be even close to his level. Are you sure that you want to take this path in life?"
"Yes, please help me Grandma, I don't want to just sit by while more and more people are killed by Konoha."
Chiyo sighed before nudging the boy over towards his own room down the hall. "Fine, tomorrow we'll start your training, but don't think this will get you out of the academy, you'll still have to go to that first."
Takaei nodded and hugged Chiyo a little tighter, "Thanks Grandma, I'll make Suna proud, I promise." He then turned around and walked towards his room, sniffling every few seconds in grief.
"Foolish boy, you've already made this village proud…" she muttered before turning around to face the presense behind her. "What is it Ebizo?"
"Do you think it's wise to push a child towards the path of vengeance sister?" her brother, Ebizo asked, raising one of those steadily growing eyebrows. He wore the custom Suna outfit, a dark loose fitting cloak complete with a white poncho and was standing in front of Chiyo with his arms crossed. "I know that you're grieving but this? This seems a bit much."
Chiyo simply scoffed and glared at her brother, "What do you know of grief fool? The boy needs something to focus his own grief on, I'll drown myself in work and now he'll train to be a strong ninja. Also, did you see his eyes? If I didn't focus his grief on something specific, he would have attempted to take on the entire Hidden Leaf Village singlehandedly! Don't you dare say that this was a bad decision when you don't even know what you're talking about!" Chiyo huffed, before being grabbed by her brother and feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I apologize, I know that I can't understand what it's like to lose a child. I hope I never do. But I do know what it's like to lose a wife. Just know, that if you ever need me, I'll be there. I mean, what else are brothers for?" he said kindly, smiling at Chiyo's shocked face.
"Fool, like I need your comfort," Chiyo scoffed, marching down the hall towards her room, yet the insult was said with fondness and she was sure that Ebizo got the message. 'Thank you, brother, but I'll be fine'. Ebizo simply smiled at her retreating form and turned around himself, Chiyo wasn't the only one who had work to do after all.
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AN: Anddddd cut! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Suna's Wind Demon! Next up, we'll see Takaei begin his training with Lady Chiyo as well as the beginnings of the Second Shinobi World War. Please rate and review this story and I'll see you all next time!