Author's Note: Okay, so to be perfectly honest, this is my first ever Naruto fanfiction and I'm really, really nervous right now and very scared. I'm not sure how many mistakes I made with the characters, nor how many mistakes I made with grammar or punctuation. But I don't have a beta reader so it's kind of hard for me to edit my own story. Anyways, I really hope you like the story and the idea I came up with! It just...there's going to be a lot more plot to it but this is just to kick it off, give the story some drive first. Anyways, don't forget to review. Ja ne!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters or places or anything about it. Just my sad little story idea.
Intoxicating Desert Rose
By Ryika
Chapter One
Four years.
Four years since the "incident"had come to pass.
Four years since the curse had been removed from him and left him to die.
Four years since the empty hollow emptiness within him had seized control of his heart.
Four years since the woman who had cursed him at his mother's death bed and his birthing had, in an attempt to redeem herself, sacrificed herself for his life.
Now, he was stronger. It was all that he had left to do beyond the paperwork of being Kazekage in the Village Hidden in the Sand, also known as Suna. There was nothing else that mattered any more beyond the state of his village and its safety before his. There was nothing left for the young man of nineteen years old who had been nothing but feared and hated his entire life, even by his own siblings.
His teammates.
Kankuro and Temari.
They were the only two who still stuck by him even if his demeanor had changed, his entire attitude becoming the exact opposite of what he used as his weapon. The two had noticed, he knew, but they had never once approached him about the way in which he treated them, never spoken against it as if silently understand it was his way of coping with the loneliness that had replaced the cursed blood lust that had once raged within.
He missed the nights of meditation and star gazing, of pacing and thoughts that ran like clockwork within the confines of his mind that had seemed to unhinge itself with the lack of sleep. Now, he felt exhaustion like any other, felt the need to recuperate his energy. Another thing had come to haunt him, to curse him with its existence, to be hated by him for everything that it was.
Sleep.
He did not wish to sleep nor did he like it. The loss of hours, the not knowing of what could have occurred, the seemingly peaceful bliss of it, the fabric of closing your eyes and it being one hour and then the next, another hour. He hated every last bit of it but one piece he loathed above all others.
The dreams.
They weren't dreams. They were nightmares. All those that he had come across were present in them, once again playing out his childhood. Memories come back to make him relive the agony all over again, to make him realize that no longer did he hold a monster within him but that he was still a monster in the way he had come to be perceived, in the very way in which he lived his life. Sometimes they were different, worse then the memories and the people that forced him to relive the past. All in the same, he hated the nightmares, the memories, the past itself.
Emotionless green eyes, holding a hollow sense of life, moved to the side very slightly. Rimmed in black, they had a sinister appearance to them. The expression upon his face did not detract from the sinisterness of them anymore, but merely added. Such as the small frown that tugged down the corners of thin lips perpetually. The frown deepened slightly and a furrow appeared on his brow before disappearing. The source of the change in expression was soon to known.
"Kazekage."
Sabaku no Gaara slowly tilted his head to the side as he turned to peer at the one that dared to intrude on the strange bout of insomnia that had struck him that night. A light wind ruffled short locks of a fiery ruby and seemed to cause the tattoo of ai upon his forehead to flare slightly. The person blinked slightly, playing it as imagination as they stepped forward and bowed to the Kazekage.
"What?" A curt reply was the answer to the name being spoken, clipped and icy without any emotion present in the deep tone of the voice. Only those sent by the council would dare to disturb him at this time of night when he was amidst his office, his former sanctuary during the long nights. He did not know what to expect as news from council was delivered during the day mostly, but if it were serious, then it would be something delivered to him now.
Grimacing at the curt tone, the deliverer of the message knew he should have been accustomed to the iciness beneath the hollow quality to it. Having been around since after the attack by Akatsuki, he had grown accustom to the fact that the former Jinchuuriki host was aloof and haughty most of the time around others. But yet, the voice was something he could not grow use to. It was as if he were talking to pure ice, coldness that no longer was a human vessel but instead something that was merely present there in their lands. "The council wished me to seek you out and inform you that they are holding an emergency meeting in the morning hours due to something that has come to light."
A hum was heard from Gaara as he turned his back on the message bearer. He knew what it would be about. It had been something they had been chasing him about for a year now. Ever since his eighteenth birthday and now that the nineteenth had come to pass, they would be after him about it more persistent then before. It was pertinent that he do what they asked but yet...
The deliverer bowed once again before disappearing into the shadows, stealthily jumping to the higher platform of the roof to return to his post as look out over the deserts that extended beyond the city walls. He wondered at what could be so important but sooner or later, it would leak. It always did. Nothing could be hidden for long from the villagers and the council knew such. But at the moment, that was not of his concern and as he returned to his post, delivering a nod to his comrade, the two took their positions and continued the never ending look for danger that may approach the city of Suna.
Emerald eyes narrowed upward at the stars as they looked upon them. Thoughts once again ran like a cycle through his mind except on a different path. One not so unhinged as the one before. Why they pushed so hard for this, Gaara did not know. The alliances were strong as far as he knew beyond the festival affair that had happened in the outskirts of Konoha. But yet, something was amiss.
Tomorrow, he would find out why. He would find out why it was so important, why he must search harder and harder for the one that would make this issue go away. The only problem that he found was that...
None were worthy.
"Hn."
The hum was the only answer that was spawned from Gaara in greeting to the council members that properly bowed before him as he entered the room. Although he never spoke of it, it was one thing he preferred that they would not do. It irked him.
"Greetings, Kazekage-sama. We will now begin the meeting, if you so please it." Walking bout the table to the seat he normally sat in, his eyes never left it as he slowly lowered himself into it before his jade gaze moved swiftly to the man who had spoken. A brief nod was given as another hum came from the man before the council members were exchanging glances. Although having been about him for five years, none were used to the manner in which he gave an answer. The "hn" could mean something different every time he used it. So it was with caution that they all took their appropriate seats.
A silence soon closed in about the room as Gaara waited for the men to speak, watching them with a blank stare as he waited but yet all seemed to be focused upon him, almost as if waiting for a sign. Tch. Fools. I have better things to do then wait for them to begin. "What is it that was so important you called for an emergency meeting, council members?" During the entire time he had been present as Kazekage, he had never referred to any of them by their appropriate name, instead choosing to talk to them as a group instead of singularly.
"Oh, right, Kazekage-sama. Let us begin then." The man who had spoken before pulled from his lap a manilla folder, laying it on the round table top that sat in the middle of the conference room and flipped it open, exposing to the council papers that must have been the source of the emergency meeting. Although never one to be patient, Gaara had learned that they never moved fast and as Kazekage, patience was something desperately needed in order to perform it properly. "Something has come to all of our attention concerning the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha, as you may know it, has been an ally for many years now since they asked for our help in retrieving Uchiha Sasuke. I do believe that you were part of the genin team that was sent to help rescue him, aiding Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura on the mission."
"Hn." Gaara remembered the mission too well. They had failed. It was the only mission that he had failed during his time as a genin. Curious. Why would they mention the Fire and Wind Land alliance? At last meeting they claimed it was strong...
"It seems that during the past two weeks, matters have arisen. If you remember, the last time we were present in Konoha was for the festival that they were throwing in honor of our alliance that has lasted four years. Our villagers were invited to join in and it was during this time that problems began to arise between the villagers of the Leaf and villagers of the Sand. Riots and protests have broken out here and there, apparently, in an attempt to dissuade the alliance between our two villages." As the old mad had spoke, his words coming slowly as he caught his breath and rambled on, his voice a monotone buzz to Gaara's ear, his attention had peaked.
Gaara was now fully focused upon what the council member was saying. The riots and protests had reached his ears. It was hard not to hear when they held their protests right outside the Kazekage tower. But he did not know that things had fallen to this. The council is hiding things from me. After four years, they still think me incapable. The thought caused a glower to etch into his features but soon vanished as a small frown took its place.
"The Fifth Hokage has contacted us in some attempt at reconciliation, apologizing for the behavior of her villagers. She has tried to speak with them but apparently, they are refusing to listen and so she has no choice but to seek out solutions from her own council and ours." A pause and a breath were taken as the old man shut his eyes, removing the glasses that donned his face and rubbing at his eyes as if he were weary. "The matters grow worse with each day that pass. More actions are being taken against Wind nation villagers that have travelled to Konoha hoping to start over with their lives. The same has been occurring here. They are being alienated and purposefully targeted as if they brought the alliance down upon them."
It was strange how calm the man could sound about it when talking of one of their strongest allies and about how their alliance had reached a breaking point with them. But yet, Gaara himself was calm. He did not see how this concerned him other then the fact that something would have to be said to the villagers. It was no cause for an emergency meeting.
"The Fifth Hokage has sent a message to us as of early this morning speaking of a matter that has occurred that we felt you should know about it." Finally, he gets to the entire point of this emergency meeting. "A family was found murdered last night in their home and store. The murderers have already been caught and taken care of. Normally this would not concern us...but the murdered family was that of Wind Nation. It was a hate crime done toward our people. It seems matters have taken a turn for the worse and something must be done immediately or else more will lose their lives to the silly peoples' beliefs."
Murdered.
He had done that before but never out of hate, out of a need, justifying that the killing was his way of making his existence known by doing so. Becoming powerful. But yet...
His people had been harmed in a hate crime done towards his nation. Why did they not inform me of this situation sooner!? Anger now bubbled within him although outwardly he kept a cool persona, continuously listening to what the council member was doing. The people of the villages had no say in what their leaders chose to do. It was the leaders decision and not their own on what happened for the best of the village and they knew it very well. But it seemed, lately, that all were having trouble with villagers that did not believe they were making the right choices. Gaara was well aware of it having talked with several Kages himelf and knowing of their situations. But this was the worst.
Murder.
What levels would they stoop to?
"A meeting is going to be called between our two councils and while we are meeting to discuss some way in order to resolve this situation, the Hokage has felt it best if during that time both of you talk to your respectful villages. A notice has already been sent out for when you will speak to the people about what has happened. I trust that you will make this happen, Kazekage-sama. We do not any more blood upon our hands. The war has caused too much already." A silence ensued as Gaara stared down the man that was now giving him advice. Gaara knew what he had to do; he did not need someone to tell him that.
"Hn." It was the only answer he could give as he brought his hands up to rest before him, fingers loosely linked with his index fingers touching tips. "I will do what I must. But, council members, this cannot go unnoticed. The villagers must know what has happened. Any measure that must be taken, take it to preserve this alliance."
Looks of shock went about the table as they gazed at the Kazekage. During the time that they had served him, although he had given orders in the past, it was a rare occurrence. Now, though, it seemed he felt the need, to ensure that there would be success on their part in preserving what was left of their allegiance to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"We cannot afford with Sound building their army to lose one of our strongest allies. We cannot risk being exposed."
Silence.
It blanketed the forest thickly.
No songs idly floated about the trees. No movement came from their branches or the underbrush as the silence stretched thicker about. A knife could not have cut through the strength and stillness that grappled it.
And then suddenly, it was broken as the clash of kunai against kunai filled the air and at a rate faster then what could be seen by the human eye, two figures dashed through the trees, attacking one another with a strength that caused the trees and earth to shake. Screeching of metal against metal as they faced off in a battle of strength was heard as figure versus female ensued.
"Tch, hide behind your mask, baka. I will still kill you like I have the others and nothing will stop me." The female's voice was soft, lyrical almost as she strained, pushing back and down but the other's kunai followed with a lightning quick jab of another descending toward the female's throat, but that too was blocked. "Can you not do any better than that? If you can't, then this battle was over before it began." Then they were once again gone, kunais having been forgotten to be lodged in a tree of the forest as they now exchanged rapid blows with another, each blocking with precision and striking with force.
The other that seemed to have no voice in the matter was clothed in unrevealing clothing. Black mesh armor clung to a flat chest beneath a loose black and white yukata, tied about the waist with a gold rope. Black gloves donned the person's hands and head wraps hid their hair from sight so as to not reveal an identity. Traditional ninja sandals adorned their feet and a cherry blossom embedded katana sheath hung from their back with katana still placed within. No telling signs of who it was beyond the white and black mask that clung to their face like a second skin.
It was the traditional mask of an ANBU tracker. A headband wrapped about the top of the mask revealed they were from the Hidden Village in the Leaves and as the female they fought vanished, darting away into the trees, the female performed a fast paced series of hand symbols hard to follow. Instantly shadow clones appeared about her, the words having barely been muttered and then they were gone. A blink of an eye and no longer there.
The female tensed. The tracker's chakra was hidden and she could not feel where they were. This was not good. They had been hunting her for a month now and she was tired, sick of being hunted. Constantly having to watch herself, sleep had evaded her and she was about to collapse, her chakra reserves running so low due to no replenishing time. It scared her that they were this persistent. But then again, she knew secrets. She knew secrets that could help many if she chose to reveal them and at this rate, she would never get the chance.
Suddenly, her gasp cut through the air as she felt the presence behind her by the kunai pressed against the back of her neck, the tip digging in as she sunk a needle of paralysis into it, hitting a major point and then she was gone as the tracker glared down at her now limp form.
"You said I would not walk away from this, but yet, it seems that you are the one who is not walking away. Cruel how life does that, aye? Tch. Weak." The words were monotone and spoken in a gentle voice, a lulling voice with no emotion to it as if it were the waves that crashed onto the beach. That was their only purpose. The sound of a katana being drawn crashed through the air before the tracker stabbed it down and straight through the slowly stilling heart of the female. A gasp and cough of blood was the reaction to the sudden killing blow.
Another one down.
Cleansing the katana on a wipe pulled from a side pouch, the tracker sheathed it once again before picking up the body of their target. It was time to dispose of it all, taking back the headband as proof that they had been disposed of properly and the secrets they had stolen would never be heard by anyone other then those that were meant to know. It was their job to do and they fulfilled their job every time.
Dropping to the ground, the corpse was tossed none too gently onto the grass and a rapid set of hand symbols followed as the tracker said, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Head tilting back, the mask pushed upward slightly, revealing a lower half of a face. Lips parted and suddenly, a large ball of flame spurted from her lips, scorching the area of the body directly hitting it. The smell of burning flesh quickly sprung to the air as the tracker continued until they were sure there would be nothing left by the time the flames dissipated.
Glancing at the underbrush of the forest, the tracker stood for a moment before raising a gloved fist and with chakra building within the punch, they slammed their fist upon the ground and released the chakra, causing the ground to quake and break in the immediate area for about twenty feet in front of them. The body and flaming ground fell. That should ensure the flames do not spread. A forest fire would raise suspicion. Glancing back at the body, the tracker leaped into the branches of a tree, staying there until they could no longer see the flames before heading away.
It was time to report to the Hokage.
Standing before the renowned Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, the tracker knelled, head bowed as they waited for their leader to speak. Finally, Tsunade cleared her throat, the beautiful blonde woman now of fifty-seven years smirking as she watched the serious tracker before her. It was amazing how she had watched them grow up from being one of the weakest to one of the strongest to ever grace the walls of Konoha. "Welcome back. You can remove your uniform if you wish. I already know who you are, tracker."
It was with something of a sigh that the mask was revealed and with it, came the head wraps. It had been far too many times that Tsunade had seen the tracker unravel the head wraps and mask for her to not know who it was by now. Especially since she had trained them.
Short pink locks fell from the covering, falling to shoulder length and slightly past with bangs sporting across her forehead and drooping into her eyes slightly. Sea foam green eyes stared at Tsunade, the glimmer that had been present in the early years of the female's life now gone as she stood tall. "Sakura, it is good to see you again. It has been far too long." The sight of her former student giving a soft smile back at her although it held only a small form of warmness to it was enough for the Hokage. Too many faces had disappeared lately due to the increase in missions.
"Tsunade-chan, it is good to see you as well. I hope that Konoha has faired well during the past month." Rumors had reached her ears before she had even reached the Hokage Tower and Haruno Sakura, ANBU tracker and elite medic-nin, did not like the rumors that had reached her ears. She had not liked them at all. "I have heard things that I hope you dis spell as nothing more then rumors." A pink brow arched delicately as Sakura watched her sensei with sharp, precise eyes.
The sigh that almost inaudibly expelled from Tsunade's mouth almost went unnoticed but not entirely by Sakura. "I am afraid I cannot. What you have heard is true." Instantly Sakura was alert. So the alliance between Suna and Konoha was falling apart and all because of the villagers' idiocy in the matters of politics. Although Sakura once believed them to be nothing of importance, she now knew more and knew that the alliance with the Wind nation was vital. They needed the allies.
Tch. It disgusted her.
A murder. A hate crime.
Against people who had saved them on more then one occasion from Orichimaru's attacks against them. People who had stood by them for four years but yet now...now they deemed it fit to have an issue with them when Orichimaru was once again building his army, hoping to strike swiftly and forcefully unlike what he had done before. Sakura knew he was doing so as the missing-nin she had been assigned to track down was associated with the man.
"The council has already met and we have agreed on what the solution shall be though. We feel it is for the best and although the Kazekage might not be happy with their decision, we have all voted. There is no other choice for us." Tsunade looked drained, as if she had not slept in a week. The thought of someone else who might share her fright of nightmares and so chose to be insomniac caused a smile to curve her lips but it was gone in an instant. She was the only one who was frightened of them, the dreams that haunted her since she had killed him.
"What solution, if you do not mind my inquiring, is it that you have devised?" As the Hokage's protege, Sakura had grown used to asking her old sensei questions such as the one she had just asked. More then often now, she obtained an answer. At nineteen years of age, she was one of the most accomplished of her age group and had acquired the Hokage's trust and respect on many matters.
"For the last year, since his eighteenth birthday, they have been pushing the Kazekage to find a wife, one from a village within a land that they had weak relations with so that they might form a stronger relation with that land. Now his nineteenth birthday has just passed and they are pushing him harder. The Kazekage has told them time and time again that he has not yet found any worthy of his choosing, none that could handle the life of being the Kazekage's wife." A snort escaped Sakura at the thought although she knew it to be correct.
If Sabaku no Gaara is still the Kazekage, then he's right. Probably no woman he has come across would survive being his wife let alone the wife of the Kazekage. Sakura chose to remain quiet, merely nodding as she watched her master.
"With the failing alliance between our two villages, we have decided that his marriage will be between a Konoha kuonichi that he hand picks himself within the next year. If he does not choose by the age of twenty, then she will be chosen for him but there are conditions. She must be of high standing within the eyes of the people and of considerable skill in her ninja ability. Respected, talented, and with a will of her own as to not fade away. The Kazekage has already agreed to this and the last three were his demands in them. So I have forbade those that I see fit the criteria from going on any other missions."
As she listened to the last sentence, a sense of foreboding dropped over Sakura and she shifted in her sandals, her eyes never leaving Tsunade though as the older woman smiled almost apologetically. Why would she smile that way though? Unless...
Sakura had barely walked through the gates when being asked her tracker no. Upon telling it to the gate guards, they had told her she was required immediately at the Hokage Tower and had feared the worst. Now she feared what Tsunade had to say next.
Please, do not...
"You see, Sakura...I've noticed your work around the hospital and perused through your last missions... You've been doing exceedingly well in the field and in the hospital..."
Do not tell me...
"Which is why this makes it so hard for me to say this...I really regret my decision but there is no other choice..."
Hokage, please...sensei, do not do this to me.
"I really didn't have a choice, and I apologize, Sakura."
Sensei, no...Tsunade-chan, do not...
"Until further notice, you are to work only at the Hospital until I say otherwise. Fieldwork is strictly prohibited and you are not allowed to travel outside of the village unless with express permission from myself."
The smile again.
Sensei...how could you?
"I'm sorry, Sakura. You are one of the potential brides."
So there you go! The end of chapter one and chapter two is in the works right now. Oh, I wonder what's going to happen next...I just started it so I really have no idea myself. I'm just letting it carry me along as my fingers type. So what did you think? What can I work on? Did you like it at all? Let me know by reviewing please.
They give me inspiration.
Anyways, I really do hope you review and if you have any questions, just ask.
Ja ne for now!
Ryika
