Standard disclaimers apply
Subho Bijoya
A/N: I am alive O_o
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Chapter 3
The wind was especially loud tonight. He wailed and howled, battering against the barred windows, raising a swirl of dust and sand as he ripped through the winding alleys and butted against the sandstone ramparts of Suna. The city appeared to be asleep, huddled under the blanket of the night but the shadows hidden in the liquid darkness told another story. They stood silently, the sleepless soldiers of the sand, too used to this weather and too well trained to abandon their posts due to a little sandstorm. Besides even though their eyesight was obscured by the storm, their other senses screamed at them to be wary. The Kazekage was out tonight and the last thing any ninja of Suna desired was to be found lacking by their beloved Kazekage.
It was still dark when he finally returned home and the storm showed no sign of abating. He entered through the window closing it softly behind him, soundlessly moving across the carpeted floor towards the refrigerator. These midnight rounds nearly always made him hungry. He did not bother to heat the milk as he usually did but gulped it down cold, savoring the flavor.
"So, did you find everything to your liking?"
He turned, leaning on the freeze, grim mouth twisting slightly into the shadow of a smile.
"Security in Suna is never to my liking. It is to me, a constant work in progress." He stalked forward, depositing the now empty bottle on the worn table. "But why are you still awake?"
She moved from her place at the door, her nightdress clinging deliciously to her curves with every step she took.
"Don't you know," She lifted her hand, her slim digits wiping away the droplets of milk that had dribbled down the corner of his mouth and the look in her pearly eyes called forth the familiar fire in his blood, "why?"
He groaned and pulled her close, his hands reaching for the knot that held her robe together.
"Not here stupid," She gurgled, swatting at his shoulder, "Karou might walk in."
"Right," He cursed softly, "We definitely don't want Karou walking in on us," He gathered her in his arms and sushined in a swirl of sand into the darkened recesses of their bedroom, "Now", His lips took a rakish slant, "where were we?"
She slipped out of his arms, moving with practiced ease in the darkness, her voice beckoning him like a siren's call.
"We are where we want to be."
He followed her, the mattress dipping under his weight as he settled beside her, his lips touching hers in an intimate caress. She responded as always, opening to him like a flower at the first kiss of rain and he devoured her, drunk in the heady ambrosia of her taste.
"Hanabi," His voice was rough, "Hanabi," His mouth traced her collarbone and the scar that ran down from her shoulders and across her breast, "Let me love you."
She laughed; that deliciously throaty sound which was still capable of rendering him insane with want.
"If you don't stop talking Gaara," She tugged at his hair, pulling him closer still, "I am going to be very, very angry."
He stopped talking.
Later, when they were both sated, they lay silently basking in their shared contentment. One of Gaara's arms remained curled around Hanabi and she rested her head in the crook of his shoulders while her fingers drew soothing circles over his chest. It was precious, this elusive peace they had and he was loath to shatter it.
"Gaara," Hanabi's voice was soft when she finally spoke, "It has finally arrived."
His arms tightened around her for an infinitesimal second and he was glad for the darkness which covered his face.
"I know," His tone was inflectionless.
"We have waited so long and yet," Hanabi paused, searching for the right words, "and yet, this thing in my heart, this thing refuses to leave," Her voice was bitter, "What if …"
"Hanabi," Though his voice wasn't harsh and his touch on the silken strands of her hair was reassuring, yet she had no problem in reading the unsaid command in his voice. She swallowed the words that had almost spilled from her lips. In their world, words were more precious than gold and as vulnerable as a new born calf. "How is Karou's training progressing?"
"She understands the way of the Hyuuga well enough," She allowed him to turn the conversation, "Lee niisan is getting most vocal about fanning her flames of youth."
"Oh," Gaara was hard pressed to repress a shudder, "That's …good."
"Don't worry," There was the barest tinge of a laugh in Hanabi's voice, "I don't think Karou likes the leotard." Her fingers touched his jaw, "Are you going to visit the Academy?"
"Perhaps."
"Hmm," She sighed, "Karou will like that and so will the others." She snuggled deeper into his embrace, "And what is this I hear, of demons prowling in the Mist?"
Gaara chuckled; the deep velvety sound rose from deep within his chest and washed over her like warm mead.
"Must you blame me for Taiki's imagination?"
"Pity Taiki, dear husband," She purred, "That deceitful child can't even blame you, even though she knows that you are the monster under their bed. After all, monsters under the bed don't exist do they?" Her voice was chilly, all ice and venom, "But there will be questions … I wonder what he will do?"
The temperature of the room suddenly plummeted and for a moment Gaara felt as if Suhaku was back inside him, whispering dreams of blood and carnage in his ears.
"What will he do?" His lips curved into a smile, an emotion that barely touched his eyes, "What will he do indeed?"
OoOoOoOoO
He ran through the forest, his feet barely touching the crooked limbs. Around him rain fell like a thick white sheet, cold and numbing, plastering his clothes to his body. The wound across his forehead had finally congealed and but the ache in his ribs gnawed like a crab in his belly. The momentary adrenalin rush of the solider pill was slipping from his self like a worn cloak and with every step he took his limbs seemed heavier and each breath he took an effort. It was getting more and more necessary to take a breather and to dress his wounds.
Still, he dared not stop.
It was too important, this missive he carried. Failure was not an option, not for him at least. It was only the years of training that kept him from collapsing as he jumped from branch to branch but he understood that he was cutting it rather close. He stretched his senses, trying to locate any pursuers. No one registered on his radar but that meant little. These dark forests of Mist with its labyrinthine mesh of crooked trees and treacherous swamps played tricks on a man's mind and turned hunters into prey.
'I am not prey,' He gritted teeth, forcing his limbs to obey, 'I am a Hunter.'
He kept repeating the words, humming them like a mantra in his mind. He glanced briefly at the sun. There was still some hours of daylight left.
'I should be able to make it. No… I am going to make it.'
He was close now. He could sense it. The forest was thinning and the branches tore at his uniform in a desperate effort to hold him back. The rain still pelted down on him remorselessly, the fat, icy drops cutting into his skin like poisoned senbons.
'Finally,' He panted, his breath coming in great shuddering gasps, 'Finally…'
The forest suddenly opened into a clearing, sloping down towards a narrow stream that cut across it like a silver thread. Skeletal houses stood on the riverbanks, their broken forms a reminder of the times before the great wars when this village was still thriving and full of life. Now Nature was reclaiming what she had once lost to man as creepers grew over the structures and trees sprung up from the cracks in the walls. Very soon, nothing would remain, not even these mute witnesses of the past eager to tell their stories to a weary traveler.
It was not an uncommon scene. Villages such as these were scattered throughout Mist, scars of the past, avoided by the fanciful for their fear of the unknown and by prudent by the fear of outlaws. But he had traced this path many times before and he saw what others did not. He crouched on a slippery appendage of one of the trees that circled the forest and let his gray eyes survey the area.
Strategically placed between the settlements of Sweet Water and Broken Sword, these ruins had once served as an outpost for Mist. Now, it was in the words of his Captain 'reclaimed, redesigned and restructured' by the Hunters of Taiki. A brief smile touched his lips and he could not stop the bubble of relief that welled up within him. But he took his time to scan the surroundings because the last thing he wanted to do was lead the enemy to his base.
Everything appeared in place, the perimeter seals and traps were in place. The mild genjestu that covered the area looked uncompromised. He let off a great shuddering gasp of breath before he carefully landed on the grass weaving his way through the traps to the hidden door. Raising a finger he quietly tapped on the wooden panel, the rhythm of the beats following a pattern known only to the Hunters. The door opened a sliver and he slipped inside the dark recess. His legs were shaking but he managed to gasp out his ID to the waiting Hunter.
"Hunter 201, Group 8A," Black spots danced in front of his eyes and feared that he would shame himself, "I …I must talk to the Captain."
"Keisuke," The Hunter on guard duty peered at him, "You look like shit man."
"Ginta?" He blinked, trying to bring Ginta's face into focus, "Is that you?"
"Some asshole did a number on you eh?" He felt a palm in the back of his hand gently moving him forward. "Let's get you to the medics first. Then, I'll go and alert the captain."
He found that he had no will to argue and allowed himself to be lead into the medical section. His body seemed to fold on itself as the medics pushed him onto one of the white beds that lined the room. It felt good to be clean and to be able to finally lie down and all the exhaustion he had pushed to back of his mind returned to the forefront with a vengeance. It was getting more and more difficult to remain awake.
"Fifteen minutes," The medic's voice was sharp as the medic pulled the curtains around his enclosure close, "He seriously needs to sleep."
"Right," He heard his Captain grunt. There was a scrape of metal across the floor the Captain pulled a chair and sat down beside him, "You got something to say Keisuke?"
He smiled wearily, wondering how best to deliver the news and decided on the blunt approach.
"We lost Sweet water Captain."
Kimamura stared at Keisuke, glad for the training that helped all Hunters gain an effective poker face and for the fact that he had activated the privacy seals surrounding the cubicle before he stepped inside.
While Sweet Water was not the biggest of all the Taikian settlements in Mist, it was one of their more important strategic nodes and was thus heavily fortified. One just didn't lose Sweet water. There was feeling of knotting discomfort in his belly but he managed to keep his voice indifferent.
"Elucidate."
Keisuke was looking pale under the bandages and there was a hunted look in his eyes that were starting to look more and more unfocussed. It was unbecoming of a Hunter to be so open about his feelings. Kimamura repressed a sigh. Perhaps it was the medicines taking effect. Nevertheless, once Keisuke recovered, he would have to have a talk …
"They got us," Keisuke's voice was barely above a whisper and he had to strain himself to hear the halting words, "the demons."
This time he was startled into betraying a reaction. "What?" He placed a palm on Keisuke's shoulder, "Keisuke?" That'd better be the medicine talking.
Keisuke turned towards him, that weary half smile dangling on his lips, his eyes glazed and glassy before they fixed on his face, speaking in a strange sing song tone.
"He wove the forests of ink around them and filled it with creatures from beyond the void and birds that whispered the song of sirens."
'He is delirious,' Kimamura sucked in a harsh breath, his fingers curled into a ball. 'But, he was okay two minutes ago.'
His fingers dug into the soft flesh of his palm. With a swift movement he got up, flinging aside the curtains that surrounded the cubicle.
"Medic," He had tried to keep his voice even but some of his frustration must have made its way into the tenor of his voice because a medic came hurrying forward. Wordlessly he jerked his head towards Keisuke.
She barely inclined her head in assent before bending over Keisuke, her hands glowed a soft green as she scanned his body. While she did not say anything Kimamura found the increasing ashen shade around her mouth alarming.
"Mira," He tried not to flinch at the sound of the smooth voice. He had been so distracted that he had failed to sense her arrival. "Report, please."
He wasn't really surprised to see her. While Mei Lin usually left most of the work of the medical bay to her juniors, not choosing to interfere unless in the case of the direst emergencies, she monitored their effort closely and ensured that everything ran smoothly like a well oiled machine.
Mira straightened and for a while she remained silent and Kimamura had the feeling that she was struggling to form the words. But before she could say anything Keisuke began to convulse violently, his eye rolling up in his head, cracked lips into a soundless scream.
"Shit," Mei Lin moved forward, "Move." Her voice was curt as she motioned Mira to move aside, activating the seals embedded on the bed to contain Keisuke lest he do himself some injury by reopening his wounds. "Get me the 507. We have to stabilize him first."
"Okay." Mira nodded, deftly moving to prepare the said article.
Kimamura never understood why he felt so queasy at the sight of a needle. He could face down hordes of enemies with a stick but to see a needle, or even worse, to see it being pushed into someone else's skin…
"Captain, if you will," Mei Lin's voice was crisp as she bustled around Keisuke, "Please wait in my office. I shall join you presently."
"Very well," He accepted the dismissal graciously. He was, after all, of little help in a situation like this. "In that case I will return to my office. If you could …"
"Fine, I know where to find you," She did not look up, wordlessly directing the other medics who had arrived to fall into position. "Now go. Shoo!"
He nodded again and turned to leave. He was the Captain of the Hunters and as the leader of the cream of Taiki's Elite he knew when to retreat.
OoOoOoOoO
He always loved the song of the forest, the melody of creatures of the night mixing with the orchestra of the crickets and the whispers of the leaves. It calmed him, this illusion of peace that disguised the true violence of the wild. He sat still amongst the crooked branches, a shadow painted in shades of light and darkness, allowing the wind to ruffle his hair and play in the voluminous fold of his coat. He lifted a finger, watching a moonbeam shyly touch tiny black spot on the pale digit. He leaned back and closed his eyes. It was not time yet. But that was okay. This was a waiting game and in this … He always won.
OoOoOoOoO
A long, long, time ago, when this world was still young,
In the land of a thousand leaves there lived three brothers,
Of them we sing this song,
Three brothers,
The Sun
The Moon
And the Evening Star
OoOoOoOoO
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