OKAY, NEXT CHAPTER!! THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS - YOU ARE AWESOME XDXDXD
Beta-note: Sorry it took so long, guys! It was my fault, not narugirl's!!
"Okay, I was able to make a map of the castle - "
"When did you do that, Hinata?" Temari interrupted, impressed by Hinata's detailed description of the target.
"Well, umm, I just used my Byakugan. There's nothing to be impressed about," the Hyuuga humbly explained.
"That rocks, Hinata! You rock!!" shouted Kankuro enthusiastically. Hinata blushed.
"I-i-it's n-no-thing," she said, poking her fingers together in a nervous manner and looking at the frozen ground. It was 3:00 in the afternoon, and the cold was again starting to penetrate their thick coats and scarves.
While Hinata was stuttering her humble reply, Kiba and Shino, being used to it, said nothing. Instead, they looked at the map that Hinata had drawn and realized that . . .
"The scroll and the ninjas are in two different towers," Kiba signaled, "one in the north wing and other in the south wing."
"This should make the rescue easier," Shino's low voice was heard.
"Exactly. We can divide ourselves in two teams," Gaara joined, nodding decisively once. He knew that if he divided the Konoha team and his own, it would be problematic since each group already knew their own group's strengths and weaknesses.
"So Hinata, Shino, and Kiba will go to the north wing where the hostages are," concluded Gaara.
"And Gaara-san, Temari-san, and Kankuro-san will go to the south wing to bring back the secret scroll," finished Hinata. She snuck a glance at the kazekage, who gave her a look of approval. Her momentarily faded blush rushed up again as she looked away.
With the plans made, they took their weapons, their clothes, and then each group - one to the south and the other to the north - started their half an hour trip to the frozen castle through the snow.
. . . 15 minutes later . . . . .
"Hinata!!! . . . Try to see with your Byakugan, I think there's someone heading our way!!" shouted Kiba at the top of his lungs. The snow storm numbed their hearing and made it impossible to speak at normal levels.
"I-I can't!!! The snow is too dense, but t-to your right I also feel the same presence- AHHHHHHHH!!!" A sudden remoline had trapped Hinata, an attack made by the person no more than ten meters from them. Hinata was sent flying far to the south, semi-unconscious, and when the remoline stopped, both the man and Hinata were gone.
The sequence of events happened so rapidly that Hinata's teammates stood there in shock. The world around them whipped stinging white and icy; it suddenly seemed emptier than before. Ninja-instinct quickly forced them to recover.
Kiba tried to smell her out and Shino used his bugs, but they could not find her anywhere.
Little did they know that far away, Hinata had managed to stagger to her feet. Miraculously, she found a cave and hid herself inside before loosing consciousness. While Hinata slipped deeply in a cold, dangerous slumber, her team-mates were miles away, praying that she was alive and safe.
"HINATAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Kiba roared with a deep feeling of sorrow, helplessness, and frustration.
With the Suna siblings . . .
"Did you hear something?"
"No, Kankuro, nothing," said Temari. "But I do wish there was a storm so I can't hear your moronic thoughts. It's bad enough that we have to walk in this damned snow -"
"Moronic? Me? Argggg . . . I dare you to say that again!!!!"
"Moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic, moronic -"
"Stoooooop!!" Kankuro howled, covering his ears with his thick gloves.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" shouted an irritated Gaara. Yeah, that's right . . . a cold and angry Gaara.
"We're lucky that we're in the southern part where there is no storm," he hissed at his siblings, who flinched, "though there could be one soon. WE ARE ON A FREAKING MISSION." Gaara hid a grimace at his use of such slang, but in impatience he quickly ignored the fact. "You're both jounins and should know how to behave!"
Then he continued to walk in the snow, this stupid snow that had him frozen to the bone. They were close to the back entrance of the castle, and he knew that he had to be prepared for anything. He already had this feeling in his stomach that made him even more alert.
"Gaara, it looks like we have a welcoming parade," Kankuro said seriously.
"Yes, there are three of them."
At Gaara's reply, the "welcoming parade" stepped into sight; it was the three ninjas that had kidnapped the previous Konoha team and the secret force scroll.
The first one, whose name is irrelevant, was wearing all black, had a large scar across the eye, and was carrying no visible weapons.
The second ninja was clothed mainly in red and had a fan with him, so needless to say he was a wind controller like Temari.
The third one was dressed in silver, but his chakra levels were extremely high, and even though he was not moving, Gaara could already feel him attacking . . . Gaara had no way of knowing that this man in silvery attire had thrown a remoline at Hinata, and that Hinata's location was still unknown to her team-mates.
"Who are you visitors?"
"That is not relevant," Gaara replied harshly to the silver one. He was still tense from his siblings' argument.
"Well, let me introduce myself. I am the great Yuukimaru, and these are my brothers."
"I don't care - let's get this over with."
Gaara quickly took all of his sand and sent an attack at Yuukimaru while Temari and Kankuro engaged the others in battle.
As they fought, Gaara realized that he and this man had similar techniques, but Yuukimaru was at an advantage in this terrain. Hands that control sand would never rival the ones of a snow user, and Gaara was cognizant of it . . . So as he was getting further and further away from his siblings, his enemy's attacks were getting faster and stronger and bigger. Thank goodness Gaara was wearing his sand armour, for otherwise the battle would have already been over . . .
"Really, that's all a kazekage can do? Come on!!!"
Yuukimaru was teasing Gaara because he, too, recognized his upper hand in this fight. Gaara was practically helpless.
Gaara had to formulate a plan and he needed to do it quickly, but what options were there? His sand was limited, his limbs were numb from the extreme cold . . . But he couldn't lose - he COULD NOT LOSE. There must be something . . . something!!!
'Wait . . .' Gaara suddenly thought. 'What is that gem . . .?' Indeed, there was a gem on the man's chest that suddenly filled with light every time an attack was performed. Could it be that his enemy's powers came from that rock?
'Well, here goes nothing . . .' Gaara took advantage of his contrariant's ego and started to form a huge lance of sand.
Yuukimaru was throwing rapid and seemingly random attacks, a grin on his face as many of them came close to their mark. He moved swiftly, but in his amusement he made a fatal mistake: his cocky attitude, and his pleasure in trying to read Gaara's almost indecipherable motives - they distracted him. He became predictable. Gaara's gaze rested right where he knew the silver man would plant his foot, and chest-height above that spot, he launched the sand lance. The man in silver did not have time to comprehend as the sand weapon pierced right through the gem and plunged into his heart.
Yuukimaru's face was instantly pale like the snow beneath him as if he had seen the diable himself . . . Well, actually, the look in Gaara's face at that moment was kind of demon-like . . . And as the snow turned red, Yuukimaru's dead and cold body fell into the white, powdery substance until all his limbs were consumed by it. He was taken into the embrace of an element that, although submissive and beautiful in his life, was harsh and unforgiving in his death.
"You could have won," Gaara muttered seriously after a moment. He calmly gazed where the corpse had disappeared. "But you made confidence your enemy."
Gaara stood there by himself for a moment, the frigid wind churning at a slower pace around him. Then he heard the footsteps of his sister and brother coming towards him. They had also won their battles.
"Now what?" Kankuro asked bluntly, leaning over slightly to catch his breath.
"We keep going. Let's get that scroll and get the hell out of here," said Temari, who had already started to walk.
"Hn."
The castle was cold and dark as they stepped through the back entrance. They lit a candle and the flame illuminated the hallways. There were no pictures, no ornaments. . . not even furniture. It stood totally empty as if it had never truly been a castle at all, as if nobody had ever lived in it . . .
The scroll, according to the Hyuuga, was in the main chamber. It surprised Gaara that there were no traps or ninjas protecting it. What probably troubled Gaara the most, however, was how simply they were able to acquire the scroll into their possession. It was practically sitting in the open, and they plucked it up as easily as a cat laps water . . .
But right know, he just wanted to leave this God-forsaken place and go back to the delicious warmth of his natal town.
"So what do we do now?" asked Kankuro again.
"Well, dear little brother, we go to the south wind to see how our team-mates are, take the hostages, and go home." Temari patted the scroll and looked forward. "So LET'S GO!!!"
With Hinata-chan . . .
"Ugh . . . W-Where . . .? Where am I?"
Hinata had woken up in a cave . . . Outside, the snow storm had ceased and her friends where nowhere to be found . . .
"Oh . . . The remoline!!!!!" she exclaimed quietly in sudden remembrance. She swiftly winced, however, at a brief pain in her head.
The person that had attacked her had physically thrown her out . . . but she survived, thanks to one of her water techniques. Now the sun was setting and her limbs were stiff from cold, so she made a fire and decided to wait until tomorrow. She just hoped her team-mates were all right, and she wished that the Suna siblings did not run into trouble on their way to the scroll . . . Well, they had Gaara-san, so they should be just fine.
Gaara . . . He was so cold the last time she saw him. She couldn't help but feel a little concerned for him.
Gaara-san take care of yourself . . . Please, God, watch over him. He is a great person.
After her prayer, she laid down close to the fire and fell asleep.
SO HOW WAS IT? HOPE YOU LIKED IT¡¡¡¡
