What Will They Do To Us?
An xxKaaat Original
Chapter Ten
Sakura awoke to the sound of rain patting the roof of the house. She was groggy, restless. Her body ached as she opened her eyes to look across the dim room. At once a rumble of thunder made the girl jump. She was fully awake and her eyes were adjusted to the darkness. The pinkette smiled and laid a hand to the bed beside her. To her dismay, she felt no one there and her smile fell. Sakura sat in silence for a few minutes before noticing the various sounds from distant places.
Slowly the girl stood up and made her way to the balcony doors. Slowly she pulled back the curtain and looked outside. It was dark due to the countless clouds, and the waves in the distance roared. In various places throughout the property, there were people dressed in black. "Security for us." She remembered Gaara's warm words about having extra security around on the account of Ao.
Quietly Sakura walked to her closet, pulling out a pair of yoga pants and an old pink shirt. Instead of her normal morning routine, she tied her hair in a loose ponytail and left the room. From the doorway, she heard many voices from downstairs. There had to be at least twenty different voices, and they were concerned. Taking her normal way, Sakura led herself down the hallway, and finally revealed herself to a large group of vampires who grew silent as they spotted her at the top of the staircase.
The pinkette noticed the odd behavior and swiftly made her way down the stairs. She froze when she locked gazes with a hysterical Mei. The woman looked awful. Her usual neat hair was in one large bun and she wore an oversized jacket that seemed to gobble her frame. She wore no make-up and her eyes were red. Upon seeing the pinkette, she froze. "Sakura..." Was all she could manage before bursting into tears again. This time her cries were louder.
At once Sakura's focus was broken. "Sakura." A stern voice called from the gathering hall. Shikamaru.
It took a few seconds, but Sakura finally walked toward the doors. Inside the room sat her whole pack, most of them soaking wet. Their faces were grim, and none of them spoke. They simply stared at the girl.
"Sakura." The pinkette turned to meet Shikamaru's eyes. He looked worse than Mei. His usual ponytail was hanging around his face. He was soaking wet and he was pale. Anger filled his eyes, but his voice held a tone of pity to it.
"Shikamaru, what's going on? Where's Gaara? Why are there so many people here?" Shikamaru looked down, switching his weight nervously.
"There's been an incident Sakura. The whole house is covered by security, and we're basically on lock down." He finally looked up, his eyes growing red.
"What happened...? Why?" The pinkette was growing worried.
Shikamaru sighed, as if trying to find the words. After a few silent moments, he blurted, "Gaara's gone."
The pinkette gave a nervous smile. "Why? Where's he gone?"
"No one knows."
Sakura looked around at the faces of her friends. With each met gaze, they'd look away. "He'll be back right?" At once the pinkette met eyes with Shikamaru. He didn't respond, "Won't he Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru's voice seemed so small. "He's been gone for hours. We woke up and he was gone. No trace, no scent. Nowhere."
At once the pinkette grew hysterical, her voice shaking. She started to turn away. "We've got to go look for him, he could be out there."
Shikamaru grabbed her wrist. "Sakura, stop."
The girl turned, her voice forceful. "Let me go Shikamaru." She was full of panic. "I've got to get my coat. I'm going to look for Gaara." She tried to pull away.
Shikamaru only held tighter. "We've been searching for hours. We've been out for six hours looking, security has been looking. There's nothing, he's gone Sakura."
At last the pinkette began to shake. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke, "We've got to look more Shikamaru, we can't let him be alone. He could be in trouble." Her voice was growing weary. She'd began to choke on her words.
At once Tenten stood up and left the room, her face was tear streaked. Neji followed behind. Shikamaru pulled her arm back. "Sakura." His voice was stern.
It was then that the pinkette turned back to him. Her eyes were red and her tears had begun to fall. Her chin trembled as she threw herself into Shikamaru's chest. It was mere seconds before her sobs filled the room, and the house went silent. The girl sank to the ground, and Shikamaru held her every step down. He held her tightly, clinging to her shaking frame.
At last Karin left the room, Kiba on her heels. Various people glanced through the open doorway, but none of them stared long. None of them could take in the sight of Gaara's lover, falling to pieces over his disappearance. None of them could comprehend the fact that the most powerful vampire in their army had vanished into thin air. And it shocked them all. None of them knew what to say or do. Including Mei.
A young man sat in the window of a coffee shop looking out into the city. He was lost in thought clearly. He had semi-short black hair and he wore blue contacts. He looked beautiful against the glass.
"Can I get you something sir?" The woman's voice brought him from his thoughts. He turned to look at him woman who was practically drooling over him. He simply rolled his eyes.
"Coffee. Two creams, one sugar." He leaned an elbow on the table.
"No problem honey." The woman winked then made her way to the counter. Upon that, the man turned to look out the window once again. At once the picture of a pink haired woman flashed through his mind. He mentally hoped that the woman hadn't awoken yet. He wanted her to be fine, but he knew that as soon as she did wake up she'd be informed. If everyone gave up on him, it'd be Sakura who'd be last. The thought bothered him, so he shrugged it off.
"Here." The waitress was back. She slowly sat the coffee down on the table and then met eyes with the man. "You okay honey?"
"Yeah, just stressed. Home issues." He tried to stay short.
"I've never seen you around, you new?" The woman wouldn't leave.
"Just passing through, I'm on my way to Goldenrod." The man was growing irritated.
"What for?" The woman was growing interested.
"A new start." Gaara sighed. "Listen lady, I don't wanna sound mean but I'm not a very talkative person. Please leave." He smiled politely at the woman, and couldn't help but smirk when she gave him a dirty look before turning away. "Finally." He quietly laughed. At once the man took a large drink of his coffee. He stopped, gave a dirty look then spit the liquid back in the cup. "Human beverages are disgusting." He silently scolded himself. Without another thought he laid a five on the table and left.
Once outside Gaara scowled. Sighing, he began to walk through the town. He wore only a black shirt and a dark pair of jeans with black boots. It was only minutes before he found himself walking down the street that would lead him out of North Point. Without a look back, he took off into the distance.
"What!?" Ino froze in her seat as the meeting commenced.
"Gaara's vanished. He's been missing since this morning and no one can find him. There was no scent, no trace, nothing." Ay scowled. "My guess is he got himself lost and he'll be back soon. Young vampires can be such idiots." At once the vampire leaned back and gave a content look.
"Well, our biggest threat is out of the way. Can't we attack now?" The old woman smiled.
The blonde at the end of the table shook his head. "At this point, they will all be on high alert and ready for anything. We've got to wait until they're in a weak spot and ready to fall apart."
Ay smiled. "Exactly right Inoichi." Ay looked at the woman. "Chiyo, I don't expect to send my army in there and get murdered. That's exactly what will happen if we strike now. They're ready for us to come now, and they will be for some time. It'd only hurt us to attack now."
At that the woman stood up and slammed her palms onto the table. "I don't want to sit around and wait for something that might not happen Ay. Waiting will only take time that isn't needed." The woman was yelling. "Take a look at yourself and look at the mess you're making of this republic."
Upon those words Ay stood up. He towered over the woman. "This isn't your fucking republic. I make the decisions Chiyo, not you." His voice was quickly raising. "If we wait, we can train harder and take advantages of their weakness without Gaara. You're trying to be hasty in something that takes time and I'm sick of your damn attitude towards everything! This is my republic, I call the shots and we're waiting. We're training and we'll strike when the time is right." He finished with a slam on the table. His voice practically echoed around the room.
All vampires in the stands were on edge. None of them spoke and they were frozen in their seats.
"Any fucking objections now?" Ay's voice showed that he was clearly irritating. When no one spoke he looked down at the old woman. "Good. Meeting adjourned." With that various vampires stood to leave.
Ino sat frozen, head in her hands. "Ino, are you okay?" Sai had an arm around the girl. He felt her shaking.
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"Sick with the fact that you're deemed a traitor to your past team? Or sick with the fact that your precious 'friend' is missing." Ino at once stood up from her seat, posture perfect. She was staring straight into Ay's chest.
"Sir." The girl closed her eyes, swallowing hard.
At once Ay turned to Inoichi who was at his side. They were standing side by side in the isle. "Sai, catch up with your father, this will take some time."
The man bowed. "Sir." With that, he was gone.
At once Ay relaxed, watching until the doorway to the meeting room was closed. It was only him and the Yamanaka's. At once he motioned to the middle of the room. Together the three walked toward the large table.
"Sit." Ay pointed to his chair. The blonde woman did as she was told. She then watched at the man sat caddy-corner from her. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ino Yamanaka. Twenty-six. Skilled in medical and element battle. Known for get intelligence and quick-wits in hand to hand combat." Ay's eyes never left Ino's. "You knew what you were doing when you responded to your father." The girl nodded. "You chose to betray them." She hesitated, then nodded. "You know you can never go back."
At that Ino cracked. She leaned forward in her chair and held her head in her palms. "Those words, they make me feel so awful. I'm a traitor, I'm wrong, I'm an enemy of those who I lived alongside for so long." She choked on her words, then released herself onto the floor next to her. She coughed violently.
"The republic is the home of vampires who have turned on their friends. Root members, vampires who are high in my ranks. Your father." At that Ino turned and narrowed her eyes at the man who resembled her. Ay continued, "He turned on his pack back in Shoreline, why do you think he fled and faked death? Because he's a traitor. Sai. He was raised by his brother from the age of three after being taken from his father who was raised in the republic."
Ino protested, "Sai told me he was raised in the republic."
"Because he's ashamed." Ay gave her a stern look and she knew to not interrupt anymore. "Sai's brother kidnapped him and raised him until he was twenty. All those years with his brother, he kept in secret contact with his father. And on Sai's twenty first birthday, he slit his brother's throat and left him to burn in his home. He came to live with his father and he's been well trained since then." The blonde squinted back tears.
Inoichi softly spoke. "You chose this life Ino and you've got to live up to your expectations." The girl never looked up. "Starting tomorrow you'll be especially trained by Ay, myself and Kakashi Hatake."
Ay reached for the blonde's chin. At once he brought her gaze to his. "You'll be stripped of your former life. You'll be trained for ten hours straight everyday, and you'll learn special powers that can only be passed through blood. You'll be our weapon in this war, and you'll help up to destroy those former friends of yours." Ay smiled. "You'll do as your told, and you'll learn quickly. You were specially chosen Ino. Sai will help with your training, and together you and he will form a two man squad. Understand?"
It seemed that something in the back of Ino's mind clicked. At once she stopped shaking, an emotionless voice escaped her lips as she nodded . "Understood sir."