A/N: I'm sorry! My computer broke (again, stupid piece of junk!) so I couldn't get to my files, but it's fixed now. Hopefully. As an apology for the wait, you do get an extra long chapter, though. So thank you to those who reviewed:leobelkin, Taryn Streambattle, Sarla, deviltiger, Chaney2250, Silver Shadowbreeze, Tombadgerlock, snowecat, Tidmag, Tara La'Quinn, Wing Moon, jolteonforever, lost highway, VescaWithoutWings, Rangerfan58, The Laughing Phoenix, iNsAnE nO bAkA, DarkRavie, mountainelements, PeanutTree and NarutoVixin. Hopefully the extended break hasn't lost me all you readers. 0.o
Still don't own Naruto. Or any other shinobi, for that matter.
The empty halls of the Kazekage compound alternated between impenetrable darkness and soft, pale light depending upon whether or not there were windows in the room. The stillness would have been eerie, had anyone paid attention to it, but all of the compound's inhabitants were either asleep, or had long since memorized the art of fading into those deep, silent shadows.
The shadows slowly crept across the stone floors as the moon rose higher in the sky... and then something changed. The pale light began to flicker, dimming and returning to a relative brightness. This was the first sign that something very different was about to occur - but no one noticed.
---
Naruto twitched uneasily in his slumber, some faint sound or sense attempting to tug at his consciousness. And then blue eyes shot open, the breath hitching in his chest as he registered an abrupt change in the atmosphere around him. Naruto sat up, unaware of displaying a fluid grace that the Genin was still struggling to master consciously. His hand automatically pulled his kunai brace out from underneath the edge of the mattress even as his eyes scanned the room.
In the bed across from him, Sasuke met his gaze, red eyes bloody in the dark. The solemn boy reached up, gently tapping his ear with his left hand as his right strapped his own weapons in place. Naruto tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he focussed his hearing. And then his eyes went wide, shooting back to his teammate when he understood what the darker boy had already realized.
There was a depth to the stillness, a hush that stole the breath and roiled the gut in unpleasant anticipation. And in the distance, a whistling, wailing shreik that the blond found all too familiar. Allowing himself to relax slightly in the absence of an immediate threat, the blond tipped his chin up, silently questioning his roomate.
Sasuke shook his head, shrugging lightly as he cast a glance towards their Sensei's empty bed. Both boys swung their feet out of their respective beds, settling lightly on the ground and moving in opposite directions. Sasuke went to stand at the window, his sharper eyes searching the darkness outside as Naruto reached for the door. Right before his fingers curled around the handle, the door pulled open, leaving the blond face to face with a tense Copy Ninja.
-
Sakura moved lightly, breathing steady despite the tension constricting her chest. The medical part of her mind noted objectively that sandstorms would probably freak her out for some time after the one she had been caught in only a few days ago, but she pushed the thought aside to be considered later, when the air didn't carry the feel of a disaster about to hit.
Picking up her weapons, she noted that Tsunade-sama had not yet returned from her late meeting with the Kazekage and then turned her attention to the room she slipped into. She nodded at Sasuke's questioning glance, her focus shifting as the door near Naruto pulled itself open and Kakashi stepped quietly into the room.
"Yo." the man uttered, raising one hand in a lazy salute. His grin widened beneath his mask as all three of his Genin relaxed, though Sasuke never took his eyes away from the window. Naruto settled back off of the balls of his feet, assuming a less battle-ready stance as the blond grinned back.
"What's going on, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked, mentally reviewing the weapons and medical supplies she had brought with her.
The Jounin shrugged, but his words belied the lazy tone. "Looks like there's a massive storm about to hit, so me'n Tsunade are helping out the Suna shinobi. She's gone down to the medical bay, and I'm helping get the civilians into deeper cover where the storm can't get to them." And again, all three Genin reacted nearly as one. Sasuke turned away from the window, stepping towards the doorway as Sakura turned back to her room. Naruto reached for the boys' shoes. Kakashi laughed, waving both hands in a 'hold it' gesture.
"No, no" he chuckled, making the three stop and stare in confusion. "Sakura, Tsunade said not to try staying up tonight. We'll call for you if you're needed. Boys, you are not coming with me. Ack!" he cut in when Naruto would have protested - and if the light scowl was any indication, Sasuke wouldn't have been far behind him.
"Look, I know you're both good shinobi, but you don't know Suna - and neither of you can teleport yet. I am not risking the two of you getting stranded somewhere in that city without me. So you all need to settle down and try to get some sleep, okay?" It really wasn't a question, but Kakashi respected them just enough to wait for their - reluctant - assent before smiling brightly under the mask and vanishing.
There was a short period of silence, and then Sasuke summed up their feelings with a low mutter. "Damn."
---
As the first edge of the storm struck, the sands littering the streets began to swirl, flying with enough force to burn skin, and even Kakashi could see that it would quickly build enough power to scour that skin away. The dark blurs of Suna shinobi flickered through the streets, testing buildings. If the preparations passed inspection, the shinobi slapped a chakra tag on the door, letting their comrades know even from a distance to pass by. If it failed, they immediately evacuated the place, shuttling civilians to a safer location.
Kakashi caught a Chunin's questioning gaze, nodding grimly even as he gestured. He pulled the girl inside when she reached his side, and a frightened woman nearly shoved her young son into the Chunin's arms. The girl nodded, offered a poor excuse for a smile, and vanished. Kakashi set hands on the woman herself, and teleported them both to the nearest chakra-marked building.
The evacuation drove home to Kakashi exactly how much damage Suna had taken. While the city didn't look too bad, the fact that over two-thirds of the buildings in a desert city were not suitable for riding out a fairly common natural event screamed of hardship. Not to mention the fact that both Suna shinobi and civilians alike were all tellingly familiar with the routine.
As Kakashi turned his attention back to his task, something almost... familiar... tickled at the edge of his senses, but a two-flash flare of chakra marked another evacuation to be carried out. The Copy Ninja shook off the vague feeling, moving quickly to aid the unfortunate souls caught in the path of the killer storm.
-
In the dark halls of the Suna gues compound, the faint sounds of shouting in the Village below were nearly drowned out by the winds. The power had long since gone out, leaving the darkness broken only by the flickering light of the lanterns hung at intervals along the walls. Each of these things, added to the surreal atmosphere created by the breaking storm, were more than enough to raise a near-paranoid wariness in the young ANBU stationed to guard the Genin.
Beneath the plain white mask, the boy known only as Sai carefully, continuously swept flat dark eyes over the halls. His mind briefly flickered to his teammates - two guarding the Hokage while the third played shadow aid to Hatake-san - but swifly returned to his charges. Deciding to make one last sweep of the balconies outside before the storm grew too intense, the teen slipped through the shadows on silent feet.
Once his checks were complete, the boy paused, leaning slightly towards the railing as he gazed down at the Village just in time to see the last of the dark blurs dissappear into one building or another. The evacuation was apparently complete - the Suna shinobi were taking shelter themselves.
Buffetted by the wind, vaguely grateful for the porceilin and body armor sheilding him - for the moment - from damage, the young agent turned back to the quiet halls. But he stopped, something catching on the edge of his awareness. Sai froze in the doorway, quickly analyzing his environment, eyes carefully searching the darkness in front of him. And then he saw it.
The wind was at his back, trying vainly to push him into the halls, but... the sand that had blown into the corridor was moving... towards... him... Sai whirled, weapons already drawn as a shadow reared up behind him. A muffled thump, a heartbeat later, and the sands began spilling into the corridor through the open door.
-
Sakura shifted uneasily in her bed, fighting the urge to grumble the way she could still hear Naruto doing next door. She understood Kakashi-Sensei's reasoning, but honestly, there must be something they could be doing! Heaving a sigh, the Genin closed her eyes, silently running through some of the relaxation excersizes she had learned during her training. She focussed on tensing and relaxing each muscle individually, allowing her mind to empty of everything except her body. By the time she was done, she was comfortably drowsy.
Almost absently she noted that Naruto's muttering had died down, either ending or growing quiet enough that she couldn't hear it. Opening her eyes, a sleepy yawn escaped the girl as she cast one last look around the empty room. Her gaze swept over the potted plants on the shelves, her mentor's empty bed, the window, and...
Eyes snapping back to the window, wide awake now, the medic snatched up her weapons brace even as she flung herself up and out of bed. She landed in a fighting crouch, heart pounding as she wondered if she had actually seen what she thought she had.
Then the world exploded, and Sakura screamed.
-
The explosion from the room next door jolted Naruto and Sasuke to their feet, the fear and anger in their teammate's voice spurred them to even greater speed. Sasuke checked his speed for a step, allowing Naruto to bull past him as the blond's fingers flew in a very familiar jutsu. The clones burst through the door, the original not one step behind them - and Sasuke barely a step behind him.
Sasuke ducked his head, forced to squint as the wind raged outside - and inside now, through the gaping hole where the outer wall used to be. Automatically searching for his teammate, something inside the boy relaxed slightly at the sight of Sakura - teeth bared in a snarl and weapons crossed defensively in front of her, but alive and seemingly uninjured.
Eyes hardening, Sasuke shifted his gaze back to the former wall, taking in the male standing in the gap with a critical eye. The boy - for he couldn't be much older than them - stood quietly, chin bowed, hunched over and nearly curled in on himself as if injured. Shoulder-lenght red hair whipped violently in the wind, and would likely have been longer had it not been so matted and tangled.
Sasuke briefly wondered where the hell the boy was from - he wore the brown travelling cloak and tan under-armor of the Suna shinobi, but the flat, wide-brimmed hat was definitely Rain Country gear. The Uchiha wasn't entirely sure, but he thought that the solid, high-necked grey vest was Mist in origin. The redhead's sandles were obviously too big for him, as was most of his clothing. Only two things tied the eclectic outfit together; all of it was tattered - and all of it was blood-stained.
But his observations were cut short as the redhead raised his chin, allowing a clear look at his face for the first time. Sasuke's breath hitched, unease curling in his gut as he met the other boy's gaze head-on. The intruder's face was blank, still, and his eyes were dilated, almost glazed over. But something stirred behind those dull eyes, something Sasuke instinctively felt was dangerous.
The other boy took a sharp breath, stepping forward abruptly - and the Genin moved. He dashed, very aware of Naruto at his side as they placed themselves between the boy and their pink-haired comrade.
Sakura might smack them for it later, Sasuke acknowledged to himself, but right now there was only one thing either Genin was concerned with. It was an unspoken understanding between the two of them - for all that the girl was working so hard to improve, she had still only had about two years of training, as opposed to their eight or nine. Sakura was strong - but they were much stronger.
-
The redhead stopped, hands curling into fists and opening again, fingers flexing as if he could not decide what he wanted to do with them. That blank face shifted, twisting as if in pain, and thin lips parted and closed a few times. Finally, the boy forced out sound, his voice rough and low as if unaccustomed to use. "How?!" he rasped, and a part of Naruto's mind stumbled in confusion. The stranger growled harshly, hands clenching again as that red head shook violently. "You... hurting me... HOW?!"
Naruto rocked back, confusion written clearly across his face. He cast a quick glance at the boy beside him, but while Sasuke's face was hard, his eyes showed the same confusion. "I... don't know..." Naruto ventured, wondering uneasily if the redhead was more than a little mad. The redhead's expression twisted even more, and the blond had a short instant to think that maybe that hadn't been such a good answer.
The stranger threw back his head, something almost seeming to shift underneath his skin, before he shrieked. Shrieked, and unleashed a surge of malevolent chakra that brought Naruto to his knees. He vaguely heard Sasuke gasp, fumbling slightly as Sakura whimpered behind them. But he couldn't react to it, his body refusing to respond. Naruto had to fight just to breathe as waves of blood-red chakra poured off of the intruder, and the Jinchuuriki realized instantly what they faced.
'Oh, God' he thought, his mind trying to go into shock. 'Is this what everyone felt when the Kyuubi tried to rise in me?! I never... to me, it was pressure, something to fight for sure, but... but nothing like this. This is... this is crushing, suffocating. It isn't natural, and it shouldn't be. God, no wonder they called me monster back then.'
-
Sasuke gasped, his knees immediately trying to buckle beneath him as that soul-killing chakra flooded the room. He gave himself a hard mental shake, silently berating himself for that weakness, but... But this wasn't Naruto, wasn't the cheerful blond who would never hurt a comrade. This wasn't the friend, the brother he trusted, regardless of how out-of-control he was acting. This was a stranger, a killer. Possibly a madman.
Limbs trembling, breath coming in short, sharp draws, Sasuke fought to hold himself still even as he registered a shaking Sakura push to the front beside him, shouldering past to help defend Naruto. The blond's eyes were wide and dazed, his body rigid with tension - leaving him the most vulnerable of the group.
The redhead's scream finally ended, that pale face remaining tipped towards the ceiling for an eternal moment. But then he looked down, and the savage light in his eyes, the rictus grin of a corpse spread across his features told Sasuke in no uncertain terms that this boy was insane. That disturbing grin stretching wider, the redhead took another step forward... and something in Sasuke broke. He had to act, had to move, everything in him screaming hysterically to run away.
So he charged, flinging himself forward with a war cry tearing unnoticed from his throat. Sasuke never reached his enemy. The redhead never even glanced at him, those glazed green eyes fixed on Sakura and Naruto as a wave of sand formed around him and casually batted the dark haired fighter away.
Sakura screamed as Sasuke hit the wall with a sickening crack, only to crumple limply to the floor as the world went dark.
-
Naruto jerked, Sakura's voice yanking him back to himself as she cried out. He forced his gaze off of the floor, only to see a trembling medic standing between him and the enemy. Blue eyes widened in shock and fear as he took in the still form of his quieter teammate, and Naruto surged to his feet, fury and protectiveness flooding his heart and soul. He stepped forward beside Sakura, drawing a breath for words he never spoke.
The redhead tipped his chin forward, and the sand condensed, rushing towards the two remaining Leaf Genin. Both teammates shouted as the split apart, diving into evasive rolls. Naruto sprung up, summoning clones as he charged at the enemy while Sakura tried to circle to the right. Their opponent made an almost dissmissive gesture, and the sand split, pouring into the room to circle both Genin. Naruto found himself caught in a tight grip within the sand, and a wild glance showed him that Sakura had fared no better.
"HOW?!" the redhead roared again, that demented smile still plastered across his face as the sand began to squeeze.
Naruto had just enough room to wiggle his hands together, fingers flying before he vanished in a puff of smoke, trading places with a darted forward again, so intent on rescuing his trapped comrade that he ignored the crashing sound behind him - until he was abruptly jerked backwards. The blond felt the brush of cloth on his arm, and had the brief impression of light and... birds?... before the room exploded - again - in a cloud of sand and dust.
When the wind cleared enough of the sand to see, Naruto's first sight was of Sakura, sprawled on the floor but scrambling to her feet. The next was of Kakashi, headband shoved up to reveal the Sharingan eye they had all heard about, but had never seen for themselves. Their teacher's face was set in a grim, cold fury that was somehow worse than the redhead's raging hate, and every suddenly fluid line of his body screamed 'predator' to anyone with eyes in their head. The part of Naruto that would always be that excitable child stuttered in slack-jawed awe. The shinobi in him let out a sigh of relief.
Then there were other people, other brushes against him as three ANBU, a half dozen of Suna's elite and the Hokage all burst into the room. "Sakura!" Tsunade barked, and the medic apprentice promptly turned her back on the enemy, trusting her comrades to guard her as she moved to her fallen teammate's side.
"Naruto, guard her" Kakashi ordered, never taking hard grey eyes off of the redhead. The blond nodded silently, quickly moving to stand behind the girl whose hands were already glowing green. After a moment, he heard her sigh.
"He'll be alright" she murmured. "His arm and some ribs are broken, and he'll probably have a nasty concussion, but he'll be alright." Naruto felt even better at her words, almost able to smile as he looked back at the face-off going on just a few feet away.
Kakashi stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous as he asked the redhead exactly who he was and what he was doing there. Naruto's eyes flicked away as running footsteps heralded the arriveal of the Kazekage, followed closely by his ward. The Kazekage's visible eye widened for an instant as he caught sight of the redhead, but it was Kankuro's reaction that shocked the Leaf shinobi. The teen's face paled, shock clear in his face as he stepped forward. "Gaara...?" he questioned, his voice sounding almost numb.
The redhead's reaction was even more drastic. The smaller boy froze, trembling, eyes glazing completely over. And then he dropped to his knees, curling in on himself as he screamed. The sand raged, swirling so violently that everyone in the room had to step back, moving out of the room and throwing arms up in front of their eyes. When it finally settled, the redhead was gone.
There was a long moment of silence, everyone standing utterly still, the only sounds that of the dying storm outside. Finally, someone moved. Kakashi turned on his heel, striding across the room until he stood directly in front of Kankuro.
"Alright" he said, that quiet threat still shading his voice. "Who the hell is Gaara?"