Salt of Her Tears
Story # 0100
By Kaline Reine

WARNINGS: This is somewhat of an adult fic. You may or may not like the pairings. If not, then oh well I can't please everyone. There might be lemon in later chapters. I can tell you that it is not what it seems at first. I can also tell you that I am INSANE because this fic was inspired by watching an hour-long documentary about salt! SALT! Yes... I know. Run while you still can.

Disclaimer: I no ownies Kishi's stuffs. :P (Translation from Fangirl to English: I do not own any of the wonderful characters or settings created by the talented artist Masashi Kishimoto.)

Chapter 2: Fallen Kunoichi

"We've already informed them of the... situation," Tsunade assured him.

"But that's not good enough, he-"

She glared at him icily. "I'm aware. But look at it this way... Now he is Suna's responsibility to worry about. And after what Akatsuki did to the Kazekage, I doubt the Sand Village would allow a former member to slip through their fingertips."

Shikamaru let out a heavy sigh. "But he was supposed to stay there, it was my-"

"Revenge?" She smirked. "Think carefully, Shikamaru-san. Don't you think you sound a little bit like Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Just because we both have an interest in revenge? This is different... He's a former Akatsuki member! He killed my sensei! And I didn't run off to join Orochimaru, either!"

"Sasuke-san's brother is a current member of Akatsuki," Sakura spoke up. He hadn't realized that she was in the room until after he was in the middle of his all-important conversation with the Hokage. "And for your information, Nara... He killed Sasuke's entire clan. So I think he had better reasons than you to want revenge."

Shikamaru smirked. This was going to be easy. "And yet you have stopped referring to him as 'your precious Sasuke-kun' I've noticed. 'Sasuke-san'? When did that happen?" It was a cheap shot, but she deserved it.

He was being a total ass, and Tsunade still took pity on him. The Nara boy was not usually this quick-tempered, she noted. It was simply because digging up the grave of his arch-enemy had awakened in him all those old emotions, long-since buried.

But enough was enough. He would just have to get over it. Still she sat, in her petty little office, with that smile painted on her face with pink lipstick. Her cheap plastic nails glistening in the morning sun. Her amber eyes sparkled as she told him the glorious news.

"I've already seen to it that he was taken care of. It seems this Hidan person is dead."

Shikamaru didn't know what to make of that. "But that's... It can't- you... No, I- he-"

Sakura giggled from the corner. It looked like she was covering for Shizune today. Great, that was just what Shikamaru needed. For the whole village to know what was going on with him.

"That man can't die! He's immortal!"

"If I read the reports correctly," Tsunade bowed her head as if she were about to reveal some all-important information. "And I am certain that I did... He had to kill, in order to remain alive, and to keep his immortality. Being buried he was unable to do that. And the ANBU I sent have confirmed his death."

Shikamaru just nodded, but his expression showed his unacceptance. he would never accept the fact that Hidan was dead. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but more like he was unable to do so. It just wasn't right; wasn't natural for an immortal man to die... All because of his petty need for revenge. Deep down, the Nara boy hadn't wanted him to die. He had only wanted him to suffer.

"Have a nice day," Tsunade waved him on his way.

Sakura looked pitiably at him. She knew it was hard. She wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to find the words, so she watched him leave, defeated.

The deed was already done. She had seen the Hokage send a messenger bird with a contract and details on their findings straight to Sunakagure. The Kazekage had responded with a check for slightly more than the amount requested, and all the paperwork was signed. Suna was eager for such an oppurtunity, it seemed.

The reason for selling the land containing the salt was simple. Konoha couldn't afford to mine it. They had no equipment, and no resources like Suna did. Therefore, re-selling the land was the only option that made sense.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" The teal-eyed girl asked her sensei.

"He wouldn't have been able to handle it," Tsunade remarked, casually, taking a sip of sake to steady her nerves.

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'Run!' The blonde girl was running, being chased by someone. She didn't know who they were; she couldn't see them at all. If she dared to look back for even a moment, she was be done for. 'A heartbeat...' She could feel her heart beat faster with every step her feet took. 'Frantic.' One in the front of the other, they worked at a frantic pace to get her out of danger.

'Fear.' Her breathing was labored, as the adrenaline, and something else, pumped through her veins. She had already seen her comrades fall in battle. If one of their weapons afflicted her, that would be the end. 'Death.' There was no antidote for this. The battle scene looked horrifying. So many corpses lay fallen. 'I am surrounded by it...' These were the people she cared about, ones that she had known and worked with ever since she became a Kunoichi.

And now they were dead. 'Hurry.' She would be too if she didn't hurry up. She prayed to whatever god that would listen that she didn't get trapped in their genjutsu. 'Please!' These were a fierce and powerful enemy, and she was but a frail mortal girl.

'Please just let me make it on time.'

Temari ran into Kankuro, just in time for him to subdue them with his puppets. Their poison was far greater than what her opponents were using. The girl fell to the ground within seconds of being rescued.

'Darkness...'

She was unconscious.

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The next thing she felt were the skillful hands of the Medical Ninjas, making sure she was in a stable condition. No one was allowed in to see her, yet they could not keep the Kazekage away. This was his sister, and he had vowed to "crush every last bone in their worthless bodies" if they did not allow him entry.

Gaara stood over her, watching like some kind of sinister angel from afar, as she recovered. It was with grace that the defeated girl had arisen, looking around, terrfied.

"What happened to me?"

"You were almost killed," Gaara was the one to tell her. Everyone else was too busy healing her. "Kankuro-kun saved you from them, but there will be... after effects. I wanted to see you in my office anyway. See me there when you're able to."

He left. Like a swirl of sand being strewn about by the desert winds, he was gone. Temari was confused. She knew that her older brother, Kankuro, would no doubt be waiting for her just outside. The redheaded Kazekage was the only one they could not deny entry to the operating room during an emergency procedure.

Her head began to pound, and someone told her to lie back down. She wasn't healed yet. Apparently they had already told her little brother everything, and would let him tell her later. It was also an incentive to make her go to his office in the first place.

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She spent three more days in the hospital. Her motor skills had been drastically reduced, and sometimes she would fall asleep very suddenly. It was like she was fainting, but a little different. The Medic Nins assigned to her treated her day and night. She had so many cuts and wounds that they still had to heal. The enemy had really done a number on her this time. But she had stood her ground, and fought them bravely, being the only one to survive that mission. And she just counted herself lucky that Kankuro had shown up when he had.

Finally the day came for her release. Temari filled out the necessary paperwork, and left without a word. She was not exactly known for her kindness or gratitude, but rather her attitude. But in the end, everyone always forgave her. Growing up with a Sand Demon living inside your little brother would toughen anyone up.

"I'm here," She said simply, standing in front of said little brother, who was now minus the Sand Demon, Shukaku. That had been handled by Akatsuki, and in a way Temari was grateful to them for that... Though she had never told anyone.

"You won't be going on any missions for a very long time, Temari-nee-chan," Gaara was a man who rarely used affection when speaking to people. But this was different. And it instantly alerted her to the fact that something was very wrong here.

"What do you mean?"

"You were lucky to survive... But there is no antidote for the poison they used on you. From now on, you will have blackout spells. They may even get worse than they are now. And they can strike at any time, without warning. You may also suffer from severe paranoia, and other things."

Kankuro stepped into the room. Only he was different; he wasn't wearing any of his war paint. He seemed to know what was going on, though as far as Temari knew, the medics hadn't let him in to see her. A hand on her shoulder fully alerted her to his presence.

"Hey," Her big brother smield at her sweetly. "It's gonna be okay, you know. Hang in there, Nee-chan."

"A-are you saying I... I can't... I'm not a Kunoichi anymore?"

And just like that... Temari's world came crashing down around her. She had long ago hardened her heart to the world. But this was different, this was... new. She had learned to love fighting. The thrill of the battle; the adrenaline that rushed through her body when she made a kill. And now that too was being taken from her.

She'd grown up afraid of her little brother... But who hadn't been, back then? And Gaara's powers were so frightening, she had always had to run and hide from Shukaku. But once he was gone, she still behaved the same way. Such a traumatic childhood had damaged her. But in a way, it had damaged the entire village.

"Perhaps," Gaara nodded, his ice blue eyes gazing at her intently. "But for now I am reassigning you."

"You can't do that, I-"

He didn't let her finish. He'd known her all his life, this was more than just another random Ninja he had to order around. This was Temari, his big sister. "I know you won't like it. But I do have a very important mission for you. It won't involve fighting, but overseeing a new mine."

"A mine?" The girl looked at the village leader like he was completely crazy. And in a way he was. "There's no mine in Suna."

"I didn't say it was in Suna."

"But we don't own any mines..."

Gaara smiled evilly. "We do now."

Kankuro was looking on, with interest. This news probably pertained to him as well. Typically, he and Temari would work as a team. And he knew that the youngest of the sand siblings would not ask her to go it alone. Especially not in her condition.

But Temari... was awestruck. She didn't know what to say. She never thought she'd be asked to do this type of work. She had no idea how to run a mine, but she would give it her best. She wouldn't let this new problem get the best of her.

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When he'd handed her the paperwork, she wasn't exactly happy about it. But Temari knew that it was, in some ways, necessary. She felt weak, both in body and in spirit. And as if that wasn't enough, they had already started on the mine that she was supposed to be overseeing.

On the plus side, she would get to see her long-time friend, Shikamaru, again. They had fought each other during the Chuunin Exams, and had maintained a business-level sort of friendship since then. Over all, he was a nice guy. Temari didn't have any overly friendly feelings for him, but it would be nice to catch up again. She saw him as more of a competitor than anything else. And she knew it was a weird relationship to have... Definetely not normal for a girl her age.

The ruthless Kunoichi had never really been interested in love. Her love life was literally non-existant. She had never known such feelings before. She did feel a certain kind of affection for her brothers, but that was different. Temari had never known true romantic love before... Not that she particularly wanted to.

It made her angry, in some ways, that they had started the construction of the new mine without her. But Temari had been in the hospital, so that was somewhat understandable. It just irked her for some reason. And she felt like maybe Gaara wasn't giving her all the details about it; like he was leaving something out.

"Nii-san?" She turned to find an already-very-tired Kankuro behind her. He was complete with his black cat hoodie, and face paint. "What are you doing here?"

"Kazekage-sama sent me to help you, remember? You left without me, Nee-chan. What if yuo had fainted on the way here?"

She smirked. "Then I guess you would have come across my corpse on your way here. Who cares? I don't need your help, or anyone else's."

She was in one of her stubborn 'I'm-so-much-better-than-you' moods. Kankuro left her alone. He would just be there in case something bad happened. That was all. it would definetely be best for him to just stand back, and let her work. There would be no stopping her, anyway.

A worker brought her a copy of the blueprints for the first mining shaft. It would start in Suna's territory, and from there it would tunnel underground to where the salt was discovered. It looked pretty simple.

"So basically all I have to do is oversee this?" She asked. The worker nodded. "That should be easy."

"If we have any problems," The young man spoke up. "We'll see you about it. That's what Kazekage-sama told us to do."

"That's fine," She waved him off and turned to Kankuro. His only mission was to watch her, and so far he had found a nice sandy spot to sit down, and work on his puppets. "Hey lazy, did you bring any food with you?"

"Hai."

"What about water?"

"Hai."

"Can I have some of it?"

"No."

"You're an asshole." She took out a bottle of her own water, and had a drink.

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It was the second day she had to come all the way out here. Temari hadn't had to do much, and the boredom was killing her. She'd recieved the other five sets of blueprints already. Once they had finished the main tunnel, the others which branched off from it were easy.

She would be able to find her way around... after walking through it a few times to memorize where things were.

And within two weeks... There was salt. The mining operation was a success. No one had been injured, and there hadn't been any serious mishaps. Temari had only fainted a few times, and Kankuro or one of the miners would help her when it happened.

It happened very rarely, and she hadn't fainted in a while. Kankuro was needed in a very important mission back in Suna. So Gaara had trusted that his big sister could take care of herself. Temari was always so independent anyway...

She walked through the mine, trying to make it down to the level where the miners were currently working. She needed to tell them to take a break. But then she started to question where she was. Unfolding the map, the Kunoichi tried to get her bearings. It didn't really help. her heart began to beat a little more frantically when she realized that she was lost. Temari knew it could just be her mind playing tricks on her again, but she could have sworn that she heard footsteps coming near her. She wanted to scream, but if she was too loud, it could cause a cave-in.

"Who's there?" She asked in a voice just barely above a whisper.

There was no answer, but it was pitch-black where she was, and the footsteps were getting closer. The torches that lined the walls of the main tunnel were too far away to provide any light. This passageway was not lit, which meant it hadn't been used in a while.

Her adrenaline pumped faster, while a tall figure approached her. To her shock, they came not from the way she had, but from the direction she was going.

"Who are you?" Fearful emerald eyes looked up at a man she had never seen before. He was definetely not from Suna...

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A/N: Well this was somewhat of a twist... maybe. What secret is Tsunade hiding? I might let it out in the next chapter. IDK, we'll see. Ever notice how I always have something to say at the end of each chapter? I finally worked Temari into the plotline, hahaha! This fic will keep you guessing for a while! I just hope it's not too confusing. Yet. I am sorry Hidan hasn't really been in this yet, but the first two chapters were not only setting the story up, but also helping me get a feel for the characters, since I don't exactly write them a lot. Hidan and Temari are two of my favorites, but up until now I have not been inspired to do a fic about them. So... The madness begins soon. And I mean that in every possible way!

-Kaline Reine