Author's note: At long last, another chapter, another step closer to the end of this arc! Thanks to the reviewer who recently reminded me to finish writing - I'd forgotten about it during the school year, and now I have a little spare time. I hope you enjoy it!
Kakiiro and Kankuro made their way to one of Kan-kun's favorite hiding spots, a small bunker with a hidden passageway into Suna. Thankfully, Kankuro was still in a state of mind to keep that secret passageway a secret. Kankuro didn't have his puppets with him, and it bothered him that he couldn't remember why he'd had to leave them behind.
"Kankuro-kun, I need to tell you something," the orange-haired kunoichi said as she nestled up next to him. "I need your help with a problem. My village has someone who's been showing signs of chakra influence from the one-tailed beast. We've tried to keep it as top-secret as possible, but I know that the leadership of Suna can help."
Kankuro didn't disguise his surprise or anger. His guard instantly came back up. "That's impossible. The One-Tail has been sealed. And there is no special way to control such monstrous power." His mind raced, trying to think of how he'd get himself out of this mess.
"Please, Kankuro. Lend us your help. My village could be destroyed without it!"
Reaching for his weapon, Kankuro warned, "You shouldn't know about that." He struggled to get to his feet, but managed to throw a shuriken with his other hand.
The bright-haired woman jumped out of the way. "I guess I have to do this the hard way," she sneered, then pulled a pair of senbon from her hair.
Kankuro was standing with a kunai and more shuriken at the ready. He didn't have anything special planned, but he hoped this kunoichi - who, he was beginning to remember, hadn't recognized him at first - wouldn't be ready for his puppetry techniques.
"Just give me that pendant, or I'll die along with your cousin," Kakiiro threatened.
"You'll die today one way or another. A shinobi need not show mercy." His words were icy. He was sick of all the attempted manipulation he'd witnessed over the past couple of days. He threw a pair of kunai at his enemy.
Kakiiro deflected one to her left, while the other sailed just wide to her right. "Is that all you have without your puppets, sweetie?" she heckled. "Well, let a lady show you how it's done." Again she flicked her hair, undoubtedly to put more poison into the air as well as to demonstrate her feminine appeal.
She threw the senbon at Kankuro, one aimed for his heart and the other for his shoulder. As he started to jump back out of the way, she finished the shuriken water clone jutsu. Two senbon materialized into a hundred. Kankuro felt a burning sensation tear through his left deltoid and another grazed him just above the hip. Instantly he felt woosy... again.
Kankuro slumped to the ground. As his eyes began to close, seemingly against his will, he uttered, "I don't like you . . . . do . . . I . . ?"
Kakiiro couldn't help but chuckle. "Sweetie, you could have been crazy about me."
The Kazekage had, in effect, stopped a coup and reinstalled the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers. Daimyo Senrai appeared ready to handle his dominion and take care of the rebels in his ranks. But Gaara didn't feel right handing over the traitors that his team helped to recruit over the last three days. He was the traitor, really. He switched sides at the last minute, and he was prepared to sacrifice these soldiers' lives if it improved the situation for the Wind and Fire nations. But that would never be Naruto's solution, and for some indescribable reason, it bothered the Kazekage.
Naruto-kun, how would you bring this broken land back together? Lord Gaara wondered.
He thought of his first encounters with proud, talkative genin. "I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
Hokage. . . . Hokage... Gaara played with the word as if it wouldn't let go of his tongue. . . . . Hokage . . . . hoka... Gaara burped, startling himself. Hoka - the other! Hoka . . . age . . . buta! Hoka agebuta! The other trap door. Gaara had spent so much time thinking of how to bring down the daimyo that he had forgotten the other use of a trap door – to allow something hidden to come to the surface at the right time.
Gaara signaled Baki over the radio. "It's time to bring them all to the training station."
"Agreed, Kazekage-sama."
Rejoining the Daimyo, Gaara announced, "I have a further matter to discuss regarding your security forces. There is a man with considerable talent who could be of use to you, but there is also the possibility that he could strike at you like a cornered snake."
"How intriguing," the Daimyo replied with a chuckle. "And when might I meet such a man?"
Gaara turned to look him in the eyes. "Feudal Lord, it may be sooner than you would expect. Please pardon my brevity, but the time has come for us to make our journey. The preparations should be finishing as we arrive."
"Then let us not waste any more time, Kazekage-sama."
Temari lashed out violently at the whirlpools with her fan. If only Kankuro hadn't come back so soon. . . . If only I were stronger. . . . If only. . . . She slumped to her knees in despair and anger.
A gentle breeze caressed her shoulders as it passed.
"Damn it, Kankuro! Damn it! That little psycho floozie probably won't let you live even if she gets that pendant. Ahhhh!"
Meanwhile the whirlpools seemed to be slowing down. If Temari had noticed, she might have thought to double the rescue efforts for Ino and Sari. Or she might have deduced that the little orange-haired psycho was getting further away with her little brother - not that she needed the weakening of a jutsu to tell her that.
Shikamaru, Chouji and Matsuri arrived after a few minutes, long enough for Temari to begin to regain her composure. Immediately Chouji attacked the base of the whirlpools with his partial expansion jutsu. The swirling waters splashed with a shock and fell to the formerly dry ground. Ino let out a watery gasp followed by long and painful-sounding coughing. Sitting up, she looked around for Sari. Where is that kunoichi? Ino wondered.
Matsuri was already at her best friend's side, performing triage. She rolled the young ninja onto her side in hopes that Sari would begin to cough up any water. After a tense moment Matsuri waved to the others. She nearly choked on the words as they came out, "Sh-she's not breathing! Medic! Sari's not breathing! Somebody help her! She's not breathing!"
The group rushed to her side, with Chouji assisting Ino. Temari had already refused help from Shikamaru.
"Ino," Chouji said hastily, "treat her heart. She needs resuscitation." He gently rolled the girl on her back and began performing mouth to mouth. On the third breath, Sari began to heave, and Chouji backed away and turned her to the side before she vomited on him.
Temari watched the scene in surprise, then pulled Shikamaru close. In a whisper she acknowledged, "They make a good pair, you know."
As they pieced together the latest incident with Kakiiro, Yamato broke radio silence. "Requesting immediate assistance. Two shinobi. Their target is assumed to be an ally. I'm almost out of chakra. Head toward the eastern rock outcropping from Suna."
"Well that was unusually direct," Ino noted.
Shikamaru shook his head. "When Yamato is beyond his safe reserve of chakra, he starts acting a lot like a regular person with low blood sugar. And considering his chakra reserves, that must have been a heck of a mission."
"Matsuri, Chouji, I need you to go help Yamato. Use that plan if it's feasible."
The duo confirmed, "Yes, Shikamaru-kun."
Shikamaru-kun. Temari-senpai but Shikamaru-kun. He mulled over the thought for moment, unintentionally letting out, "Troublesome woman," under his breath.
"Yes, Shikamaru-kun?" Temari answered, intentionally drawing out the last syllable, then smacked him in back of the head.
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and thought, Some day I want to know how she does that.
Temari smiled, then her expression turned completely serious. "Time to kill that psycho and get my brother back."
Shikamaru nodded. "Ino, stay here with Sari and relay any messages from the other team."
"Of course!"
Chibizu threw a smoke bomb to the ground. It wasn't much, but it provided minimal cover for him and Tiratsu to gain a better vantage point.
"Idiot," Tiratsu chided, "Don't use a smoke bomb in the sand. Make a dust cloud, unless you're trying to attract attention."
At their new vantage point, Chibizu responded in a whisper, "It worked, didn't it?"
After a few minutes of careful searching, Chouji said in exasperation, "Darn it, I can't find him anywhere."
"Just keep looking," replied Lady Temari's doppelganger, "they can't be too far. There's still a faint smell of smoke bomb in the air. If I had to guess, I'd say it came from that direction," she said, pointing past the rock outcropping.
Chouji nodded to his comrade, then he pretended to go searching in a different direction.
"I know you're still around here, dear cousin. Come out and it won't have to be that painful for you. But defy Suna, and don't expect any mercy."
The kunoichi opened a small vial of blood she'd prepared and smeared it across her fan; after all, it would be senseless to waste a transformation by cutting yourself for a summoning jutsu. "Summoning jutsu!"
Once again, the sneak of weasels appeared, though obviously they were a little confused upon seeing and smelling their summoner. The matriarchal one pushed her way forward, then whispered, "Last time, you promised us a nice meal and a good chase. I expect you to be keeping that promise this time."
With a slightly disappointed sigh, Temari agreed. "I think it will be a decent chase, but I have a special condition: do your best not to hurt them. I want them incapacitated, not decapitated. And one other thing . . . I don't even know what you like to eat."
A dark-furred weasel in back snickered, "The Lady's memory isn't great, but I'm sure she'll remember by the time we're ready."
The comment earned a quick glare from another one in the group. Then, in an instant, the hunt was on.
Tiratsu had to admit that his comrade's move had been useful. The wind had blown the smoke westward. The obvious high ground was northeast of the rocks, and so most ninja would prepare a western flanking maneuver, putting themselves between their enemies and Sunagakure. But the duo found a spot west-northwest of the rocks, where, with a little overdue luck, they could catch Temari by surprise.
Although Tiratsu and Chibizu wanted to beat the ninja who'd been spying on them, their primary target was still Kankuro's sister, who might be traded for the amulet they had been hired to obtain. Chibizu nudged his companion. "How are we going to deal with our apparent rat problem?" he whispered.
Tiratsu shifted uncomfortably. "As much as I'd like to deal with it – and trust me, I'm in the mood – I'm not going to risk getting our hostage." He sat there thinking for a moment. A wry smile grew slowly across his face. "But everybody likes a good lightning show, don't they?"
Within hours, the Land of Rivers Daimyo arrived at the training facility and temporary headquarters provided by the Land of Wind. A lesser man would have marveled at the sheer cliffs carved out by the turbulent river hundreds of meters below. The Daimyo stood solemnly, overlooking his land from the Wind border, wondering how he could have kept himself from becoming indebted to his power-mongering neighbors.
The best that he could hope for at this point was a negligible change in international politics. He knew that he would be under fierce pressure for contracts favoring the Wind nation. His face hardened as resolve and disdain swelled within his heart. "What do I have to do . . . ." slipped through his lips.
Baki cleared his throat before approaching the Feudal Lord on the balcony. "My Lord, I ask that you come inside. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind has been contacted, and his response is expected shortly. As for you, we would like to begin with addressing the problem of your conspirators."
The Daimyo closed his eyes for a moment as if to remember his vision for the land. Then, slowly, he turned and followed the shinobi to the conference room.