Chapter 7: Friend or Foe?
Resistance Headquarters 11:47pm
The dark black of the night shrouded everything in nothingness. The dark was either a reason to fear or a tool to escape. It had no other purpose otherwise. It only hid what people didn't pay attention to in the daylight. Its secrets were only a mystery because no one bothered to find out what they were. Darkness doesn't take sides—it is simply what it is: a reason to fear or a tool to escape.
Temari learned from Sakura that Gaara was taken in at Konoha Memorial Hospital a few hours after her talk with Kakashi. This recent incident along with the death of her other brother, Kankuro, caused Temari to instigate the events that would put the Resistance at risk, although, she made sure that her tracks were covered: she knew that she had to escape and see Gaara.
Knowing that every move she made would be tracked by other operatives, she used her skills as an aircraft engineer to short circuit the chip embedded into her palm. Using mainly a paperclip, magnet, and a 250-volt battery, she was able to disable it by using the magnet to draw the tracking chip closer to the dermis of her palm and holding it in place before piercing a bent paperclip into the spot above the meaty part of her palm until it touched the chip. The pain wasn't too bad but Temari took a deep breath before she touched the protruding end of the paperclip with the live end of a soldering wire attached to a 250-volt battery. There was a brief jolt and as the battery was thrown across the room from her arm's involuntary movement.
Her left hand was numb from the shock and her entire arm tingled as her heart rate sped up. Temari quickly pulled out the paperclip and wrapped her slightly burnt and bleeding hand with medical gauze she got from Sakura. Normally, de-activating or short-circuiting a tracking device would have alerted the guards that she was trying to escape, but luckily there was a gridlock power outage, engineered by the craft technician herself. She exited the side doors without a care for her own safety. She knew that if anyone on the outside recognized her, the entire Resistance operation would be blown out of the water, but what did it matter when the people she was doing this for were either dead, or holding on to life by a thread.
Temari was just outside the HQ gates when a voice called out to her. She turned quickly, shielding her nose and mouth from view; an almost involuntary move from her years of hiding.
"I'm not going to stop you," a figure emerged from the darkness, her beige trench coat much too oversized for her slight frame. "I understand what you have to do."
The lights in the Resistance base turned back on after the generators kicked in. Temari wouldn't be able to pass through the gates again without the others finding out what she had done.
"Anko, what are you doing here?" Temari lowered her arm from her face.
"I walk out here all the time. It reminds me that no matter where I go I am still a prisoner." Anko shrugged.
"Does Kakashi know that you're out here?" Temari asked worriedly. The sandy-blonde woman knew that Kakashi Hatake was by the book. He followed rules and protocols with such rigidity that it was sometimes impossible to tell if he was human or had a heart at all.
"No," Anko smiled, "I escaped just like you. But, I can't go past these gates."
"Did they put a tracker in you too?" Temari asked lifting her bandaged hand indicating where hers was placed.
"They didn't put one in, but I know that I wouldn't last one minute outside this gate, that's why it's so infuriating." The purple haired woman replied. "It's hard to believe that these gates are all that protects me. I envy you, Temari, to the rest of the world you're dead. I wonder if death is the only escape for me too."
Temari stared at the other woman's faraway gaze.
"You don't know how much I'd give up to live again. I would have loved to spend one more day with my brothers. I want to be alive again so I can be a normal person. It might be hard to believe but I wanted the fairy tale life just like every person, Anko. I dreamed of having a good career, I always wondered what it would have been like to grow old with my brothers, and I wanted to tease Kankuro before he walks down the aisle to marry Ayame. Also, I wanted to meet a man who loved me, and I craved it all so badly." Temari wiped the lone tear from her cheek. The winds howled and the darkness became darker. "But, that's the thing about life; we don't always get what we want. Our wants become secondary when it comes to protecting the things that we already have.
"My life came in second when I found my purpose for living." Temari continued. "My purpose is to protect those who are being victimized by the Akatsuki and the White Snakes. My reason for living is to make sure that others don't have to go through the pain I've had to live through. But, right now, I have to be selfish and do something that I've wanted to do for so long. I'm going to see Gaara."
"I understand," Anko nodded solemnly. "When do you plan to return?"
"I can't return anymore, covert Resistance agents from ANBU, will come after me. Come morning, I'll be erased from history. In a few years, you won't even remember if I existed or a figment of your imagination. You see, Anko, the people at the top are not as merciful as Naruto and Kakashi. Yet, even if they catch me and put me on trial for treason, I'll suffer the consequences of my actions gladly." Temari smiled, full of hope. "Who knows, maybe they'll take my escape as training the newbie agents. I have to go now, I'm sure that Danzo's guys will be after me in a little while. This is goodbye, Anko, I hope that you'll live."
"Same goes for you." Anko uttered back as she watched Temari of the Sand—a moniker the craft tech was given because of her sandy, blonde hair and desert-nomad descent—faded into the surrounding darkness.
XXXX
At ANBU-ROOT Headquarters
"Operative, code-name: Sand, has escaped from Resistance HQ, sir." A ROOT agent announced, placing a folder with Temari's name embellished on the front tab. "There was a gridlock power outage in the area, giving her two minutes and 21 seconds to pass the front gate before the backup generators kicked in. And she has accessed our mainframe and deleted all information and files on her, including her service during the Great Nations War. This would be considered a security level ten matter. What are your orders, sir?"
Danzo only smirked, bemused, before standing from his seat. The sling strapped around his neck tightened as his paralyzed arm swung away from his body momentarily before returning at his side. He used his left hand to wave away the operative who notified him about Temari's escape before proceeding to press an extension number into the phone on his left side.
'Yes.' The voice on the other line answered.
"I have a mission for you." Danzo still smiled, relishing the thrill the brewing war brought him. "I want you in my office right away."
'Yes, sir,' The voice replied before cutting off.
Danzo flipped open the file folder the ROOT agent left on the corner of his desk. After Naruto Uzumaki took over as President of Konoha, it had been hard for the military man to find his footing in the peace that was attained by the charismatic blonde's leadership. The loss came at a bad time because he had just finished training special operatives within ANBU. Therefore, instead of shutting down the assassination training program that he had honed all throughout the Great Nations War, he instead re-named the department to be recognized under ANBU's many branch departments. Danzo had re-named his ANBU killing team, ROOT; ANBU—ROOT standing for: Allied Nations Battalion Unit—Retrieval Operative of Obviate Traitors department. He had told Naruto Uzumaki it was a department whose sole mission is to prevent all war and terrorist acts against Konohagakure by neutralizing all persons or groups threatening the stability of the country. And luckily for him, the naïve and optimistic man fell for it.
Now, Temari Suna had given the ANBU director the opportunity to try out his new weapon.
"What a great day to be alive and it's all thanks to Temari of the Sand." The man singlehandedly flipped open the previously classified file so he was staring at a headshot of the woman. Danzo reflected on the actions that he was taking. I wouldn't be long before the gang wars started, that means that ANBU—ROOT has to be ready to fight. And he wanted to use the confusion of war to get rid of Naruto Uzumaki and his Resistance group.
A moment later, a pasty, young man entered his office. He was clad in black and stood silent as Danzo continued to pace. The older man barely regarded the younger with a single glance of his eye.
"I asked for the best, and you're who they sent? What's the point in siphoning money into the ROOT program if all they can produce are skinny, pasty kids?" Danzo laughed. "You're only a boy, a child, barely a man."
The boy stayed silent, his expression perpetually neutral.
"At least you can hold your tongue and your temper." Danzo admitted before turning and staring at the young man with his only eye. "Agent, your alias for this mission will be, Sai Meisaku. And your mission will be to capture Agent Sand, also known as Temari Suna, who has escaped from the Resistance Headquarters. Whether you bring her back dead or alive is of no consequence to me. The real world doesn't even know she still exists. We must do this with the greatest care and out of the president's sight."
The agent called Sai, nodded in acquiesces to accept the terms of his mission.
"She is trained in long distance combat and is very tech-savvy. She can pilot airplanes and rockets as easily as one would a car. Here is her file," Danzo handed the filed to Sai. "Consider her as highly dangerous. Her capabilities are not to be taken lightly. She has covered her tracks after her escape by installing an encrypted computer virus in all of our back up, archived networks and documents. She managed to delete all files about her, so, the only proof that she existed at all is this folder on my desk."
Sai flipped a few pages of the folder to make it look like he was actually interested in the mission when, in all honesty, all he could think about was how pathetic the paralyzed, one eyed, director was. The older man acted self-important and expected him to do all the grunt work in finding the supposedly dead woman. It was an interesting mission at least; hopefully, this Temari woman would give him more of a challenge compared to his other assignments.
The ROOT officer waited a few more moments until he could take no more of Danzo's mad ramblings and simply walked out the office, folder in hand. Danzo didn't call after him, as he shut the office door behind him, freeing Sai to take care of the pending mission. Sai went to his room and got the necessary weapons and information for his assignment. He was planning to leave within the hour. He already knew where Temari would be. The dead body of her criminal brother was posted all around the news, and her cop brother was awaiting death at Konoha Memorial Hospital. That is where he will wait for her.
Sai pulled a small satchel over his shoulder and left the ANBU—ROOT base on a Kawasaki Ninja 1000. The motorcycle itself was top of the line with a shiny metallic-spark black finish. He sped through the surrounding streets as a blur. When he turned into the causeway, he was accelerating to 180mph and weaving between cars, truck, and other vehicles. These were the moments he felt alive and free. The sun warmed his pale flesh as he flew past a police car. The cop inside the car immediately switched on the siren and lights, deciding to give chase. Sai didn't pay attention to the tailing police car behind him. He only had eyes for the road ahead. That, and finding Temari Suna of Sunagakure.
XXXX
Konoha Memorial Hospital
Temari walked up to the front entrance of the hospital wearing scrubs she had stolen from Sakura along with an ID badge/key card she had re-programmed to open any door of the hospital. It was easy enough to find out the security system provider of the hospital and create a counterfeit card from stolen, generated code—at least, it was easy enough for the techy woman.
She entered through the side doors of the emergency room and was immediately thrown into the mix of panicked, sick, and frustrated people waiting there. Since she was wearing scrubs, a gaunt woman approached her.
"Please help me, I need to see a doctor about this mole on my arm. It wasn't here a few days ago," the woman explained, pointing to what looked like a liver spot. "It could be cancerous. Please, this is a life or death situation."
"Sorry, ma'am, I can't help you right now, I'm wanted in the surgery." Temari replied excusing herself.
She swiped the key card over the proper slot and waited until the red, blinking light above the key card slot turned green and the double doors to the surgery opened. Once through the doors, Temari made an immediate right to avoid being seen by anyone who can tell she didn't belong there. Another gurney was pushed through the doors accompanied by alarms and blinking lights, this time it was an unconscious man whose lips were already turning a deep purple.
Temari wove through the hallways and ended up in the intensive care unit. She silently walked past the nurse station, mindful not to disturb the nurse filling out reports at the other side of the glass. From that point on, it wasn't hard to find her brother's room. The only thing that hindered her was her own fear of not being able to cope. Temari pulled out a mask from a hospital mask-dispensing contraption and pulled it over her face. She didn't want anyone to recognize her, especially Gaara. The ex-Resistance agent took a deep breath through the filtering cloth before pushing through the door.
The hospital room was quiet, the only sound were the whirrs and beeps of the machine attached to the patient in the room. Temari entered and was immediately at the unconscious patient's side. She paused for a moment to eye the many pathways of tubes and wire leading to and from her brother's body. She sat at down in the chair provided at his side. Deciding to talk to brother despite his unconscious state, Temari pulled down the hospital mask, not concerned about her disguise anymore.
"Gaara, you should just forget all that's happened and move on." She told the sleeping redhead softly; almost wistfully. "Otherwise it will be a crueller and harsher reality for you."
She watched her brother's even breathing as it brought to her a sense of peace. After thirteen hours in the OR, the doctors had finally put him in an induced coma. According to Kakashi, Gaara's brakes were cut and the fuse compartment of his car had been tampered with shortly after they had talked on the emergency phone. This led to Gaara's accident. The homicide detective was forced to drive his car through a set of guardrails into the ocean to avoid hurting anyone else during the start of rush hour traffic. She didn't hear about the incident until an hour after it happened. By that time, the rescue team had already fished his terribly battered body out of the water and she only had less than a day to plan her escape from the Resistance Headquarters.
The blonde woman snapped out of her thoughts as she ruffled what little hair was left on her brother's head; something that she had done to comfort him when their parents died. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the memory and her brother's condition. But, there was one thing to be thankful for: her brother was alive. Her brother might look awful, especially his patchy hair, but he was still alive. The medics had no choice but to shave a part of his head to stitch together a deep gash; twenty-seven stitches, she remembered Sakura telling her from the medic report the Resistance medic had obtained by suspicious means.
"Gaara, you're so brave and I'm so proud of you. You don't know how much I've missed you and Kankuro. I had hoped that I'd finish my mission so that I can go back to the both of you. But, I guess I was too late for Kankuro, and almost too late for you, too." Temari spoke again.
"Kankuro," Gaara sighed in his sleep, or, more accurately, his hallucination for he was heavily medicated, "Temari."
Temari solemnly took her brother's hand in hers, careful not to pull out the IV needle lodged in it. It hurt to watch him in emotional, mental, and physical pain. But, she knew that she could never protect him if she stayed with him. In fact, if she stayed with him, he'd be in more danger. And besides, she couldn't suddenly come back from the dead. At least not until all the Snakes and Akatsuki were gone.
According to the Resistance's rules, an agent must cut ties to all family and loved ones. It was easier for the others; they had no family on the outside like she did. But for Temari, the rules became a constant reminder of how much she missed her family and how she wanted to keep them safe. Not willing to dwell on the memories she had lost any more than she had to, Temari stepped away from her brother's side. There wasn't a need for her at his side. From the beginning, she knew that Gaara would become strong. She only hoped that she and the others can stop the brewing war before it even started so Gaara wouldn't have to join the list of casualties.
"Goodbye brother," she whispered into his ear. "Stay safe, you're the only person left for me to fight for."
Gaara fought to open his eyes upon hearing his sister speak to him. Was he dead? If he were dead, why was there still pain? Did he end up in hell after all?
"Temari," he croaked. His body uncooperative as his eyes felt heavy and only opened about half way; what was left of his vision refused to focus. All he saw was a blurry face, that could have been his dead sister, leave him once again. If he were to die, it'd be fine; at least he'd be able to see his sister and brother again.
There was a hiss of air being released as another shot of morphine entered his bloodstream pulling him back into the darkness.
XXXX
One thing that Sasuke Uchiha hated was waiting. As he parked in front of Konoha Memorial Hospital hoping for a lead in finding Anko Mitarashi, his patience drained and he became upset. The only lead he had was the cop called the "blue-eyed devil". The said cop was Kakashi Hatake's last, and only living, partner. Although it was a slim chance, Kakashi might decide to visit his dying partner out of respect. And if he does, the assassin would be waiting.
Sasuke barely watched the varying influx of people entering and leaving the hospital, but he memorized every detail of each person that entered and left. From those who were male or female, which had long or short hair, and even which eye colour each individual had. Sasuke Uchiha had what some called eidetic memory, more commonly known as photographic memory. His perfect memory allowed him to take note of every detail of every person, object or background at a single glance.
But, it wasn't until a blonde woman exited the front entrance of the hospital that Sasuke finally gave his full attention to his stakeout. The woman was medium height and wearing scrubs. Usually, doctors, nurses, and the like didn't exit the hospital through the front, and that was what set off the alarm in the top assassin's mind.
He watched as the woman calmly pulled down the mask covering her nose and mouth. The face was familiar, but Sasuke couldn't place it. A look of worry appeared across her face as a convoy of police cars sped by behind an idiot on a motorcycle. The assassin continued to watch her, trying to remember where he met her. Was it at a convenience store, or on a plane? Or was it during the Great Nations War at Kirigakure? That was it, the war! The woman before him was at the war. She looked different with longer hair, but her eyes were the same: tired and compassionate.
Colonel Temari Suna. That is the woman's name. She was the leader of his battalion unit, and later on his squadron leader when their troops dwindled, when they fought in Kirigakure. She was the one who taught him how to fly a helicopter, and was injured and discharged after they passed the enemy's first line. The woman was a fool, completely capable, but too emotional for the battlefield.
If he remembered correctly, Temari had acquired her injury when she dragged an ally's unconscious body away from enemy lines to safety, leaving him and the rest of the squad without a leader. The man had died anyway a few nights after. She had wasted her efforts trying to save an injured fool during a war because of sentimental feelings. And the stupid act cost her more good men.
Sasuke hated people like her. He only abided by the mission and would kill every person in his way complete it. That was how the world really worked. People who fell in love let loose a vulnerability that he liked to use to lure them into his employers' deadly traps. Well, Temari might be of some use to him whether she worked for the Government, Resistance, or the Akatsuki. He would only need to bait her.
A smiled formed on Sasuke's lips when he remembered another detail. Temari Suna is supposed to be dead. News of her death at an explosion caused by a gas leak was all over the media a few years back. As far as he knew, police found charred remains in the kitchen and her brother who was asleep in another room suffered from first and second degree burns trying to escape the second floor apartment.
"Who hired you, I wonder?" Sasuke asked, piqued. "I guess I'll just have to find out, Miss Suna."
Sasuke schooled his malicious expression to a friendly, innocent one. He had spent much time trying to get his face to look trustworthy and hiding his emotions when necessary.
He exited his car and headed towards the woman.
XXXX
As Temari exited the hospital, a feeling of dread settled over her. Because of past incidents, it was a feeling she associated with foretelling bad things coming her way. It happened when her parents died, when Kankuro died, and when Gaara was hurt. Now, the feeling for foreboding consumed her.
She pulled off the hospital mask off her face uncovering her mouth and nose. Was ANBU—ROOT after her already? Or was she just sleep-deprived and running on adrenalin from her recent escape? Questions such as these whirled around her head. The blonde was scared, but she wasn't without a plan. And she wasn't stupid enough to leave a safe house without a weapon. Even though the only thing she had was a utility knife, with her skills it would prove deadly. She had killed many people before during the recent war, and would never want to repeat the offense, but if she had to, she would fight, she would fight like her brothers had to fight living without her and without their parents.
Temari felt as if she was being watched—as if she were being stalked. A moment later, there was a rev of an engine and a blur of black passing her followed by five police cars, putting her mind on alarm.
"Colonel Sauna," a voice called out to her from across the street.
Temari, startled, immediately looked towards the voice, preparing to run. Recognition of his grinning face made her pause.
Sasuke quickly crossed the street and continued to smile at the blonde.
"I knew it was you, Colonel." The assassin gushed, keeping up his act. "I didn't believe that you were dead. I thought that you'd probably be in witness protection or something."
"Who are you?" Temari asked, sinking her hand into her jacket pocket, readying her knife. "How do you know who I am?"
"Of course you wouldn't remember me," Sasuke pressed a hand to his forehead. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, remember, you taught me to fly a helicopter at Kirigakure during war?"
People passed the two in the middle of the sidewalk. The street was crowded since it was nearing lunch time. A couple of people trying to get to the subway station bumped into the assassin's arm. He had to get Temari away from here.
"Oh, yes, now I remember." Temari looked into the side streets on either side of her. "I'd like to catch up, but I'm afraid I have to go."
"Aw come on, Colonel, you can't leave now. I had such a crush on you back then; can't I take you out for coffee or something? My car is just across the street." Sasuke motioned towards his dark blue, rental car.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to go." Temari turned to leave but the dark-haired man only grabbed hold of her wrist.
"I can't let you go, Colonel." Sasuke spun her around so her back was to him with his arm across her neck. "If you scream, people might recognize you. And we're in the Snakes' territory, so, if someone does recognize you, then it might inspire someone to kill your other brother too. I can kill him you know? It wouldn't be hard at all seeing as he's just lying there prone to anyone's mercy."
Temari weighed in the options. She knew that if she went with Sasuke Uchiha, he'd kill her and then Gaara won't stand a chance, but if she tried to escape, he will follow her. As long as she lives, she could keep the assassin away from Gaara, and buy her brother time.
Temari sucked in as much air as she can before screaming.
"Help, someone help me!" She hollered at the top of her lungs. "He's trying to steal my purse! Ow, let go of me!"
She stomped on his foot, escaping from his arms after a quick jab to the correct pressure points. A crowd started to gawk and gather around the Uchiha.
"Hey, buddy, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" A large man emerged from the crowd of people to address the assassin.
"Yeah," other voices joined in to reprimand the eidetic killer, so he was able to memorize each of their faces. "Leave the woman alone!"
Temari escaped her would be murderer and didn't dare look back. Even when two gun shots resounded in the afternoon chaos, she kept running. Sasuke Uchiha must have shot at those poor people because of her. The police cars that were chasing the lone motorcyclist probably abandoned their pursuit and are approaching the street where she left Sasuke Uchiha— if the increased sound of sirens is any indication. Temari turned into another side street and started to head for her old neighbourhood. It was the only familiar place she knew. Even the streets around the hospital had changed, and there was no way she'd be able to get away if she was being hunted.
XXXX
Sai smiled as he watched the White Snakes top assassin try his luck at capturing Temari and failing. Of course, it would take more than the man's paltry attempt at acting to get someone trained by the Resistance like Temari Suna to believe him. But, just in case Sasuke would complete his mission for him, Sai waited and watched to see what either party would do.
The ROOT operative managed to escape the police be going through a park on his motorbike. The police cars were unable to get past the bollards in the park's walkway entrance. He successfully eluded them, by going through the hiking trail and out of the park through the bicycle path. The trail took a lot of expert manoeuvering to get through, but it wasn't something that Sai was new to.
Now, it was his turn to try to capture the blonde beauty, even though there was nothing special about her looks. Sai fired two shot into the air the moment that Temari escaped from Sasuke. The people surrounding the assassin started to flee, thinking that Sasuke had an accomplice nearby.
Sai decided to give Temari a head start, it wouldn't be gentlemanly of him to capture her otherwise. Besides, he was curious as to how she would react at her capture. Would she fight, would she kill herself, or would she calmly allow him to take her in? Being a person unable to relate to others, the ANBU agent found it interesting that every capture he had completed ended in such fashions, and no matter how he tried to guess which way out his mark would take, he always got it wrong.
Once Temari had turned the corner into an adjacent street, Sai changed the license plate on his motorcycle, put on a grey leather jacket, and pulled on a red and white helmet to hide his identity. He is now ready to join this little game of cat, cat, and mouse. Sai accelerated past the garbage bins onto the street, and gave chase to the scared little mouse; a Cheshire Cat-like smile lit his face behind the helmet visor.
"This is going to be fun," he noted.
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A/N:
Hello everyone! This chapter may not have a lot of Anko and Kakashi in it, but I assure that it is important to the plot. I've had a lot of difficulties in choosing the right path to take with this story, but I think that I've finally made the decision which way I will go about telling the story and I am sticking to it.
This chapter wasn't in my original outline, but I wanted to add this little bit about Temari, and to also reveal a little bit about Sasuke and Sai's pasts. This story will be doing a lot of jumping around from character to character compared to 'Windy Days', but it will all be done in a non-confusing (I hope), linear timeline.
This chapter is dedicated to Colonel Hatake, for always reading and reviewing all of my stories (Windy Days included) and, also, for being so understanding when I haven't reviewed in a long time.
Please stay tuned and tell me what you think, dear readers, your support is what keeps me writing. Thank you.
