Chapter 10: Mind-Scan

They spent hours going up and down the dunes, slaving themselves tirelessly. The sun was at its hottest, bashing down on them without mercy. They stopped at the top of a particularly big dune. About ten miles left from here were the Chunin exam grounds: a huge pit in the desert with an underground river and a maze of tunnels that continued for miles The perfect home to all kinds of ferocious beasts. The five nations rotated with the designation of the Chunin exam location. At the moment the exams were held every three months. It would be Suna's turn in nine.

"Look," Gaara said. Kankuro panted when he reached Gaara's side. Squinting his eyes, he stared in the direction of Gaara's gaze. Small specks speeded their way, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

"Temari," Kankuro breathed with a lopsided grin. "Well, what are we waiting for."

He jumped over the edge and let himself slide down the slope sandsurfing. Some of the dunes were up to forty yards high. It gave Ayumi a thrill when she and Gaara slid down every time. The wind in her hair, rushing past her ears, her stomach tumbling. Gaara held on to her well and with her arms around his neck she felt quite safe. She only wondered how come he never showed any sign of fatigue. They were running for eight hours and the guy didn't so much as break a sweat! It was amazing. Little did she know Gaara used part of his sand to lift Ayumi and divide the weight. Not like she was heavy, but it was more comfortable like this across this unsteady terrain.

'Every step brings us closer to Sunagakure,' Ayumi mused, 'will I be put behind bars like a criminal and examined like a thing more than a human?' The thought terrified her.

"Gaara-san… Are you going to hurt me?" she mumbled from behind his back, only audible to his ears. Involuntarily she tightened her hold.

No, I won't.

He wanted to say it. Yet he couldn't find the conviction that his words wouldn't be turned into lies once they reached the city. Thus he chose to refrain from responding. She bit her lip and frowned at his silence.

Removed from the dewy forest the sources of humidity were scarce and Ayumi's sense of seeing didn't reach far. The sunshine, reflected by the sand, evaporated water in the air rapidly this hour of day. To her it felt like they were moving within a bubble, consisting only of their group. Misty flares of humidity exuding from their skin tailing their forms. Gaara's muscles flexed with every movement he made. He seemed so... in control. This was the stamina of a trained shinobi, she realized. Any normal person would have collapsed by now. Hell, she knew she would.

About fifteen minutes passed before they reached Temari.

"Yo! Gaara, Kankuro," she waved with a grin. They stopped a few yards in front of each other.

"Kankuro, what's that? Is Suna's famous bachelor nearly breaking from a morning jog?" she pointed at his hot forehead. Kankuro chuckled shortly.

"Rin, you ought to lose some weight," he joked to divert the blame.

"You jerk," his older sister laughed and smacked him playfully, "don't listen to him, Rin. It's because he's been stuffing himself with junkfood whenever he's off duty. How are you?"

"I'm hanging on, don't worry," Rin said with one eye opened. A sharp pain cut through her side when she talked. Temari nodded understandingly.

"Ryokan, Sekka, take care of the Kazekage's guard," Temari commanded two of the three shinobi that followed her. Ryokan and Sekka had aided Sakura curing Kankuro of Sasori's poison. Along with Rin they were part of a small unit which had received special medical training from Sakura and Shizune shortly after the Fourth Ninja War came to an end. Of course Konaha was still leading in the arts of medical jutsu, but Suna's expertise had greatly advanced by exchanging information with their ally. The blonde who still sported her trademark pigtails averted her eyes from Rin to Gaara.

"And who is this?" she inquired curiously as she walked around to have a better look.

"I'm Ayumi, nice to meet you," the girl replied flashing as good a smile as she could muster. Temari took notice of her blindness.

"So this is the girl you mentioned, Gaara," Temari said, stating the obvious, and snorted a laugh, "the Kazekage carried her himself. You didn't include much information, but I suppose this means she's quite a catch."

"I'll explain on the way," Gaara replied curtly. He needed to get his sister up to date in private so Ayumi was handed to Otokaze, a brownheaded jounin with spiky hair in all directions and the eyes of a hawk. Ayumi didn't like being treated as a piece of luggage, but what could she do?

"Wow, this is a lot to comprehend," Temari exclaimed after Gaara finished talking. "You're telling me you found their secret base – already destroyed, this girl, you were attacked and captured some whack-o named Sumairi, and then a reptillian who strongly resembled Miyuga busted open Black Ant?"

"Yes," Gaara replied dryly, as though implying there was nothing wondrous about it.

"Shall we take Ayumi straight to the Intelligence Department?" his sister asked worry-faced. Gaara didn't twitch a muscle, but she could tell from his eyes he had his doubts. Temari sighed and looked across her shoulder at Otokaze who was carrying Ayumi. They were still way back, good, because what she was about to say next was not for their ears.

"I see, you think she's innocent... You know Gaara, you will have a hard time defending yourself to the Council if we don't question her. They've been nothing but a pain in the ass since you're gone," she continued and suddenly stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Look, council member Yuudai is onto something. He didn't appreciate you overruled their veto. He and his buds are like sharks waiting to smell blood. If you do something now which others could interpret as being not-so-faithful to Suna's best interests, they'll get you for it."

Gaara nodded. He would be a fool not to heed Temari's advice. Some of the elder members held on to the old order. The ninja-way before the peace. They argued that peace was a threat to Suna. They reasoned peace would dull the mind of a warrior, if not sharpened by a fight regularly, tainting the skills of Suna's shinobi force eventually, leaving them bare to sudden assaults. Plus as the amount of commissions decreased, so did Sunagakure's wealth as military centre of the country, eventually decreasing their resources to fund militia and technology research. Yes, peace stimulated trade and the exchange of information between allied countries, but clients had to pay more for missions, and there was a whole legion of ninja expecting a monthly pay. Perhaps somewhere inside those councilmembers were even pleased with the recent international disturbances, so that Sunagakure's services would be hired more often again.

"We'll go to my office," Gaara said, "inform council member Fuji first." At least he was their ally. Kankuro also held a seat within the Council. The three of them would be able to make a fist to anyone who disagreed.

"I'll be going then, Gaara," Temari said with and ran ahead towards the village entrance.

Soon thereafter they were inside the Kage's office. Their group had managed to return swiftly without too many obstacles on their way from the village perimeter to the Kage Tower. A good thing, since Gaara wanted as little attention possible for now. A chair scraped across the floor and Ayumi was told to sit there, her back towards the doorway. Gaara was seated opposite from her, leaning on the mahogany wooden surface of his desk with his elbows, his chin resting against his intertwined fingers while they waited. His bodyguards were on either side of the door, unmoving like stone, but clearly on edge. Gaara observed Ayumi quietly and she was aware of his piercing stares.

'Her breathing is slightly more erratic than normal, so she must comprehend what is going to happen.'
He thought about the poisonous truth serum at the inquisitors disposal, the acupuncture techniques intended at damaging organs and the mind-wrecking extraction jutsu used by Suna's Intel Department.

After a few more minutes passed Temari returned with the aristocrat. Fuji was a man in his fifties. He had a strong jaw-line with a deep cleft in his chin, a scar running across his nose from earlier battles and darkbrown hair specked with silver framed his face. He was dressed in a dark blue toga.

"Kazekage-sama," he acknowledged Gaara with a short bow, and continued with his eyes falling on Ayumi's back, "this is the captive?"

Gaara nodded in response and rose from his desk.

"Yes, I assume Temari debriefed you on the situation. This is Ayumi. She has told me that she was held prisoner herself. Her behavior and our account with an individual named Sumairi lead me to believe she has told the truth. Although yet to be confirmed, I believe she was tortured in captivity. I want to offer her refuge in Suna. When she recovers her full memory she'll be of aid to us."

"Forgive me Kazekage-sama, I understand you think this woman innocent but realize your word is not enough... If we would take her to the Intel-squad..-"

"That will not be needed," Gaara replied firmly stepping around his desk. Surprised at his resolve Temari exchanged a quick look with Kankuro. He eyed her back with the same worry, the lines around his mouth tensed. If her youngest sibling was convinced of something she knew how stubborn he could get. This could turn into an ugly dispute. She didn't like to admit it, but she knew Fuji had a point. Surely Gaara wasn't intending on letting her off the hook this easily?

"We need some form of proof besides simple words that she's not a liability to the village," Fuji countered.

"I will take responsibility," Gaara continued. "She needs memory therapy. Intel's techniques could permanently harm her."

"I agree their methods are somewhat unrefined."

"People have died after extraction," Kankuro added in Gaara's defence with his arms crossed.

"True... True... But you must see this too, if we don't deliver proof than how are the people and the rest of the Council going to be convinced?" Fuji exclaimed throwing his arms into the air. Gaara's eyes grew darker but he had to acknowledge the truth in Fuji's claim. Unexpectedly a clear voice startled them out of their discussion. Each turned their head towards the source of this interruption.

"I'll do it," Ayumi stated defiantly, "interrogate me."

"It's dangerous!" Kankuro blurted, convinced she was unaware of what she was asking for.

"I've done nothing wrong. This is the only way to proof myself, isn't it?" she insisted. "I'll face this test of yours, but I expect my freedom once its over."

"What a rude woman!" Fuji stammered aghast. He didn't expect the blind girl to suddenly show bravery, let aside start making demands.

"Deal," Gaara replied without any expression. So she was going to face her problems head on? The right choice, he thought, as simply accepting Suna's interrogation already lifted part of the allegations.

"Bring the interrogator," he commanded.

Kankuro exited the room to follow his order. Admittedly this interrogation routine sounded bad. Really bad. However, Ayumi was prepared to go to extremes for her freedom.

'I want to pick up my life again... that, and revenge,' she mused while she fiddled with her fingers. It didn't take long for Kankuro to return. He entered the Kage's office with a cocky grin, hands casually tucked away in his pockets as he walked to Gaara's side with big strides.

"And? Where's the interrogator?" Fuji asked looking around him.

"Come in!" Kankuro called out.

They were each surprised to see the long-haired blonde in purple miniskirt and ditto colored top enter the room.

"Geez, I just arrived and I'm put to work already," she huffed with a confident smile and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Ino!" Temari thought aloud.

"Good to see you guys," she coed and stepped forward.

"A Yamanaka!" Fuji muttered, "you'll be able to look inside her mind."

"I sure am," she snorted and looked from Ayumi to Gaara. He nodded at her.

"Proceed."

Ayumi didn't know what to expect. She drew in her breath and clenched her teeth, expecting something painful to happen. She gasped when all the girl did was place her hand on her forehead. Ino's chakra leaked into her body. It worked like a sedative, pushing Ayumi into a trance. Ayumi felt Ino's presence descent into her.

Ino landed in a black space, water coming up to her knees. Around her were high metal closets. There were no doors to cover the front. Files were dangling from a long railing inside the closet that were interlinked and stretched on beyond what Ino could see. The files at shoulder height. A faint light fell around her, emitted from her own soul.

'Odd… so much water in the subconsciousness…' she thought as she took a good look of her surroundings.
The files all looked the same. Taupe with sheets of paper inside. The pages of Ayumi's life. She waded through the water, row after row, in the darkness of Ayumi's brain.

'There isn't a lot of color in her cognitive state. She must have gone blind at a young age,' Ino realized. She looked right and left as she proceeded. Her eyes fell on a peculiar set of files. They were red, apart from one black file at the end, and each was sealed with yellow tape that spelled CONFIDENTIAL in black letters.

'This is it!'

Her hand plucked a red file from the rail. With the kunai from her pocket she slid open the seal to reveal a stack of papers. Together they formed a huge journal on Ayumi's latest years. Ino, a trained Yamanaka, had no issues scanning through this amount of information at computer-like speeds. Real-time didn't matter in the cognitive state as little as it did in dreams. Hours could take place within the course of mere minutes. She quickly went through all five red files. Her hand reached for the last file, the black one. The seal broke easily. Ayumi definitely wasn't a ninja, because then she would've been taught how to erect stronger barriers. She expected more of the same, so when Ino noticed the opposite she drew in her breath audibly. The content was encrypted. The symbols danced before her eyes. It was an advanced coding.

'I can't decypher this right now. This must be because her synapses are deranged. She suffered a great trauma,' Ino realized startled, 'I have a lot of information on her life already, confirming she been kidnapped. But memories of her family and town are pushed away deeper, along with details of the time during her imprisonment. It sucks as well that she's blind... Only text, no images... Yet I could scar her soul if I dig any further.'

She hesitated. Would she push on? Basically she had found the evidence in support of Ayumi's case. But the information within the black file could be just what they needed…

'No! I'll not risk that she gets impaired,' she spoke to herself and released the jutsu.

Both girls panted when they returned to full consciousness. Ayumi gripped the edges of the chair not to lose her balance. Ino's presence inside her mind was gone, but the experience was draining.

"So?" Gaara asked Ino after she caught her breath.

"She really was kidnapped and locked away, they did nasty stuff to her," Ino explained and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of hand. Geez, this took a lot of energy after that exerting trek through the desert. She came as Konoha's ambassador in Shikamaru's absence. The super genius was needed in the preparation of the Chunin exam. Boy, all she wanted now was drop down on a bed and sleep.

"Then she is innocent," Gaara declared and looked at Fuji who responded with a curt nod. Ino was going to use a mind-release jutsu to pour the information she extracted onto a scroll. Then they had the evidence on paper. All the spectators would sign for having watched the extraction take place. The Council could make no more objections.

'Your turn, council member Yuudai,' Gaara thought.

"Uhm…" Ayumi started unsurely, her head tilted into Gaara's direction. "Will you keep your promise, Gaara- no... Kazekage-sama?"

He raised his eyebrows lightly. Yes, she didn't refer to him before with his proper title, but he only took real notice of this now.
"Yes, I release you from custody, but for your own benefit you will stay under my supervision," he replied.

"Where will I stay?" Ayumi continued slowly.

"We got a spare room!" Kankuro jumped in. Temari gave her brother a weird look.
"What? She's okay now, right?" he continued, at our house we'll be able to look out for her."

Temari scratched her neck and nodded her head in thought. "Yes, that's actually not such a bad idea!"

"Fine, let it be decided then," Gaara agreed.

Ayumi stood up from the chair and blinked her eyes. She was going to share the house with Kankuro, Temari and Gaara? What a crazy twist of her situation. The atmosphere in the room did a 180 degrees flip.

"You have spunk agreeing to an interrogation in a hostile environment," Temari said while stepping forward, "you know what, I think I like you." And with that she grabbed hold of Ayumi's hand.

"Come on, we'll leave the guys to their business, I'll get you installed in our home," Temari told her and pulled her arm. Ayumi stumbled after her out of the office. The men watched the girls leave with mouth's ajar at this sudden change. Albeit unexpected, this wasn't a bad turn of the situation, Temari thought. Another female to counterweight the male influence on the household? No objections, no objections to that at all. She loved her brothers to death, but they weren't good sport when it came to discussing girls issues. Ayumi seemed a little shy still, but that would pass surely. After all the girl had been through, a lively warm home would do her good.

"Girl, you're covered in dust!" Temari remarked, seeing the state of Ayumi's clothes.

"I can't remember how long I've gone without a shower," Ayumi admitted.

"Well, best we do something about that," Temari told her with a reaffirming smile. The boys could hear their chatter from the hallway drifting into the distance.

"That Temari," Kankuro shook his head in astonishment.

Fuji and the others started to leave the office, saying their farewells. Gaara eyes wandered towards the window. He stepped closer. Below he saw his sister leading Ayumi towards the market street, jabbering on about their town. Those two will get along within no time. But how about him? He looked at Ayumi, how she gently stroked the hair from her face which danced in the wind. She looked relieved, even a smile on her lips. He caught himself feeling glad. Why was he so curious to see the girls exit the Kage Tower anyway? He just saw them two seconds ago. Why would he care? He didn't care. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Paperwork, that's right. Regular Kage business. Simple and straightforward, besides all the politics, that is. Now that they returned it was back to normality. At least... that's what Gaara thought at the time being…

A/N:
Thank you for reading! :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I've been working on this chappie for the past three days. It was a pretty hard one to write for me, but I'm glad I've reached this point. Its time for some lighthearted diversions in the story I think... some shopping or karaoke (lol, Gaara and karaoke?) ... that kinda stuff.
Last time I received a review from Yukira after a good month without any :) Thanks girl! I really appreciate it.
Next week I have two university exams, but hopefully I will find time to give you all an update regardlessly.
~ Take care ya'll! Demiyah