Chapter 15: Suna
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are copyright Masashi Kishimoto. Quidam is copyright me.
Warning! Run-on sentences!
The bleeding wouldn't stop. She held the gash as if to stop the flow, but it trickled between her fingers and down her arm, forming a small pool at her feet.
"Why won't it heal" Naruto asked, helping Quidam stay sitting up.
"The iron" she answered, shutting her eyes against a wave of dizziness.
"The iron"
"Everything has a weakness, whether emotional or physical. My father's weakness just had to be a metal common in weapons. It's sort of like and allergy. If I touch it, it burns, if it cuts me, the healing properties in my blood die"
"So if you get seriously hurt, it won't heal" Sakura asked worriedly as Kakashi brought out a roll of bandages.
"Just around the wound. It will heal over time, anyways."
"Either way" Kakashi said, wrapping linen around her arm"neither you nor Sasuke are fit for travel; for the rest of today, anyways."
Quidam nodded in submission"What do we do with these guys" She glanced at Mamba's ninja, now tied to a tree, still unconscious.
"We could just leave them" Sasuke glared at the men as he applied pressure to some of his shallower cuts.
"They'd probably get out somehow" Kakashi said, tightening the bandage despite his patient's protests.
"Ow! not so tight"
They all stayed near the fire that night; Quidam actually slept. When it was Naruto's watch he noticed her brow furrow occasionally, but there was no reoccurrence of the first night on the road.
The next morning, after much debate, the decided to leave the ninja there, but used and extra length of rope as a precaution. The men were awake by now, but all they could do was glare, as Sakura had broken and instant raman package into three pieces and stuck one in each mouth.
"Chew slowly" she told them pleasantly, as she and the others left"Who knows when your next meal will be"
"Biff" one managed to respond, before gagging on the uncooked noodles.
A day or two and a roll of bandages later, they reached the Suna border.
"This isn't what I thought it would look like" Naruto remarked as they walked through the thinning trees.
"What were you expecting" Quidam asked, laughing"A line with trees on one side, and desert on the other"
"Well, I had hoped for something a little more definite"
As the day progressed, the few trees gave way to long grasses and desert brush. Finally, they reached a brook which seemed to be the line between life and desert. Beyond the west bank was nothing but a sea of sand.
"What now" Sakura asked.
"We wait" Quidam answered, plopping down beside the stream.
"Wait for what"
"A caravan"
"Why do we need a caravan" Sasuke asked, dropping his pack.
"What, you think we'd get across that alone" she replied, gesturing to the golden dunes"If you're gonna cross a desert, better do it with people who have lived in it all their lives. I've crossed this country twice, and I know I would've died if I hadn't hitched a ride with locals."
"So we just sit here, then" Naruto assumed.
"Yup"
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, except for a water fight. It had begun with Naruto and Sakura bickering over something pointless, which led to them splashing each other. By then they had forgotten whatever it was they had been arguing about, and plotted to make Quidam and Sasuke unwilling participants; which in turn led to all four teens splashing each other and generally acting like four-year-olds. Kakashi watched all of this with his characteristic half-open eye, content to stay dry. The battle was brought to an abrupt halt, however, when someone, (later suspected to be Sasuke) made a particularly large splash and hit the older shinobi.
His eye narrowed to a slit as he glared at them through dripping hair"I hate you" he stated simply, before turning his back to the guilty (AN: Yeah, right) looks.
The water stopped flying after that, although Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had a quiet laugh over the tone Kakashi had use, identical to the one he had used the day they hit him with an eraser, all those years ago.
Quidam stared into the flames of the camp fire, as if hypnotized. The sun was setting, turning the sand tangerine and strawberry. There wasn't much noise as her companions did their own activities. Sakura was watching the sunset, Kakashi was reading you-know-what, Sasuke was fiddling with a kunai, and Naruto seemed to be building a sand castle.
Suddenly her ears twitched as she picked up a distant sound. She stood and walked over to Sakura, looking to the horizon.
"What do you see" Sakura asked quietly.
"Nothing, yet" Quidam answered, shielding her eyes against the last rays of sun"There" She pointed to dark shapes emerging from behind a dune, casting long shadows.
"What is that" Sasuke asked, going up to the girls.
"It's a caravan"
"But what are those strange shadows"
"It's the animals they ride. They're called camels" Then she shouted something and waved her arms as the line of camels turned towards their campsite. A faint call was heard over the dunes in response. Quidam sighed in relief.
"Good, I know them"
"Would there be a problem if you didn't?' Kakashi asked, shutting his book.
"Well, this way, we won't have to do any paper work"
"Ah"
Soon the group was in the center of a large circle made up of wagons, camels and a few horses. The travelers from Konoha were objects of great interest; while Quidam was welcomed warmly. She explained to the caravan master who they were and why they were with her, and soon they were receiving hug, handshakes and the occasional kiss on the cheek as well.
Later on, after more fires had sprung up and supper had been eaten, the quiet murmur of conversation was heard as people talked. Mothers were rocking infants while men played small board games, or told children stories. Quidam and the others had been joined by a group of teens and young adults who were happily answering Sakura and Kakashi's questions. Sasuke was sitting beside the pink-haired girl rather protectively, glaring as only he could at a black-eyed boy who seemed to be hypnotized by his cell-mate.
"These people" Naruto said to Quidam quietly"They aren't like the shinobi from this country."
"Of course not! They're nomads. Theirs is a different culture entirely."
"So they don't fight like us"
"No, they have their own fighting style, their own spells and incantations. Actually, their magic is along the same lines as my wind serpent spell."
"So no scrolls or hand seals"
"No, just words and the occasional ingredient" Naruto noticed she was sub-consciously trailing her fingers along her tattoos as she said this.
Their conversation was brought to an end when they were bombarded with questions about the status of their mission. It was Sakura's turn to glower when some of the nomad girls gushed over Sasuke and Naruto, some going so far as to make suggestive comments. By the end of the night the boys' cheeks were very red, indeed.
Sakura's day was not going well. Never mind waking up with the sun, (at the un-godly hour of five-thirty), never mind that stupid, pretty brunette who had practically chained herself to Sasuke! What had turned her day positively foul was the camel.
Yes, the camel.
It had started out okay, the nomads had offered to let her ride one of the desert creatures. She thought it'd be interesting and accepted the offer. Bumpiness aside, it was quite fun, for a while, anyway.
Ultimately, though, she decided she preferred walking. But when she got off, she must have done something wrong, because as soon as her feet touched the sand, the animal turned and spat on her.
It spat on her.
Which caused the brunette Sasuke-groupie a lot of mirth, and, for some reason, put a black-eyed boy she faintly remembered from the night before in distress. He kept apologizing, for what, Sakura didn't know, as it had not been his fault. She dully noted Sasuke glaring in her direction.
Angry with me for making a scene, no doubt, she thought bitterly as she sat beside Quidam in the back of an open wagon.
Naruto, on the other hand, had as far as anyone could tell, fallen in love with his camel. It was something about those big pools of brown framed with the two rows of long eyelashes that just captivated him. The camel seemed to feel the same way, and would not let any one else climb on it's back for the remainder of the journey.
The sun was beating down on the back of Sasuke's neck as he rode his mount. It was past noon, the hottest part of the day. His forehead was slick and his headband kept slipping into his eyes. The continuous droning of that annoying brown-hair, which he had blocked out for two hours now didn't help, either. He envied Sakura and Quidam, who were still in the wagon and using the half-demon's cloak as a shade.
Speaking of Sakura, that black-eyed punk was still hanging around her. He was making her laugh! Damn him!
Not that making her laugh has ever been in your department, he thought to himself. Oh well, at least she wasn't casting wistful glances his way, her attention taken up by the other boy. Now that he thought about it, though, he didn't like the idea of his team mate with anyone else. Sasuke shook his head, the sun must have addled his brain.
The day ended with a bang. Quite literally, as Sasuke had begun to doze, and slipped off his camel's back, landing in a cluster of small, spiny plants. This seemed to signal a halt, and everyone began to unpack their wagons, while the brunette fussed over Sasuke. She couldn't pull him out, and succeeded in just making things worse.
Sasuke was just about to give into self-pity when Quidam and Naruto hooked him beneath the arms and pulled him out.
"Ohh" Quidam winced"That doesn't look good"
"Wha — OW" Sasuke tried to straighten up, but had to bend back down because of a severe pain in his rear.
"Dude, your butt is a pin-cushion" Naruto informed him. He groaned.
"I suppose we'll have to pull those out" Kakashi observed.
"I'll do it" the brunette piped up.
"No you will not" Sakura fumed. Sasuke silently thanked the pink-haired girl, even as his cheeks flushed, realizing there was a substantial group staring at his behind.
"What she means, Seekah" Quidam cut in"Is we don't think Sasuke would appreciate this sort of help from anyone but people he knows really well"
"Oh, okay, Mata Escura" Seekah walked away, but not before casting one last wistful look ant Sasuke.
A painful 30 minutes later
"I think that's all of them" Kakashi said finally.
"I hope so" Naruto complained.
"Thank God" Sasuke sighed, moving stiffly to sit down.
"Uhn" he let out a colourful word, reached behind and pulled out the final spine.
"Is that it now" Quidam asked cheekily. Sasuke glared at her, and lowered himself more carefully onto the ground.
Author's Note: 'Kay, I'm assuming it doesn't take much more than a week to walk from Konohagakure to the Suna border. Sasuke was a bit out of character again, but oh well . . . Since I don't know a heck of a lot about Suna, I decided Quidam and the others would travel with nomads, that way I wouldn't butcher Masashi Kishimoto's work too much. Hopefully it works. (That was a long chapter, wasn't it?)
One more thing, I'm just gonna go with the N/Q pairing, 'cause it's sort of partially written anyways. Thanks for all who put in their opinion!
sangolover: Thanks for the review!
maxhrk: So, is that a "yes" vote? I'll take it as a yes!
cocoa-latte: Glad you like them and thanks for the comment!
BrokenAngel,ForgivenDevil: Yes, it was stupid, but really, I have to do some stupid
stuff, don't I? Besides, it probably was the only thing that would have worked!
Manatheron: Sasuke wasn't OOC with the jutsu, I just didn't think out favorite Uchiha would engage in a semi-shouting match, (unless it's Naruto, but that's a different story) especially since it was him making her spazz by being a smart-ass, which I don't think he usually does . . . Oh God no! No no no! I will most defiantly not be doing that pairing! Anyway, I don't think Lee would like Quidam very much, as I'll explain later. Thanks for that last remark, by the way!