The transition from forest to desert was not as sudden as it appears on a map. Where Konoha ended and Suna began was not as simple a matter of rocks and sand replacing forests and underbrush. Borders were a territory all their own, a dangerous and hostile environment. Not to mention the Land of Rivers lay between the two, but few ever thought much of Kawa no Kuni.
Rounding a dune, Haku looked out to see the thinning forest and searched the horizon for signs of any other Nin in the area. Heat distortion was a greater problem at midday than in late afternoon, but letting down one's guard is deadly no matter what the time. In the week he had been out here he had learned much about the environment, thanks in part to a journal Jiraiya had lent him about the sage's own experience in desert survival. It was strange though, how far the old man had chosen to trust a stranger from another village.
A strange sound chimed in the distance, one he had heard before. It was not the sound of an enemy shinobi, there would be signs of their presence if that were the case and he had found none. Pulling a tool from his pocket, Haku measured his relation to the sun and was able to mark his location on a map in his pocket. Every time he had heard the sound he marked his position and the direction he heard it from. He had noticed the pattern after the fifth location, but he had waited for more markers to determine whether it was from a single source or not. After twenty-six markers, no clear model was forming.
Tightening his desert robes, he returned to one of his camps and prepared his report for the toad to pick up. He didn't bother recording the movements of Suna Nin that he knew Konoha scouts would already pick up, though keeping track of both parties while staying hidden was proving to be more of a challenge than he liked.
'The phrase "fish out of water" comes to mind.' He thought to himself.
In two more days he was planning on returning to Konoha regardless of any developments. If nothing else this environment had been good training for his ice. How to create it in blistering heat and low moisture, and the nights had inspired him to experiment with altering the shades of his ice: black ice that became invisible against the night sky, ice that matched the level of ground and would only melt and go slick on command, even ice that mimicked the texture and grain of sand which he was particularly proud of.
In all the time he had spent in the desert, despite the natural beauty and the opportunities for training, the question still bothered him.
"I don't owe anything to Konoha, why did I agree to come here?"
Leaving his rations in the pack, Haku decided to favor a soldier pill instead for his evening nourishment. After placing the water stone by the scroll, he hid his supplies and went back into the desert night. Shedding his robes, mask, and hair tie near the base of a large sand dune, Haku walked to the top wearing only his undergarments and sandals. Sitting cross-legged at the peak, he closed his eyes and meditated.
The sand was still warm beneath him; the last warmth of the sun would take a few hours to disperse before the cold of the night set in. It was the same here, the sand; it was the same as the sand by the ocean.
Again he heard the chimes, but it sounded so distant. It was like trying to hear something while underwater. Putting his hands to his ears, Haku drowned out all of the sounds of the night. If he was right, it was not really a sound he was hearing but an echo of sorts, a signal. He closed his eyes and let himself do more than hear the sound – he wanted to feel it as well.
There was something familiar about the resonance, it hinted of his jutsu that used ice vibrations to pick up sounds. These echoes were odd, something was different about them. Moreover, it was hard to think of natural ice in the desert. Nothing about this added up.
When it had finally cooled down enough, he walked down to his robes and drank from his bottle of water. The sand was cold beneath his feet. A slight breeze swept through the desert, slowly moving the sands in directions only known to the gods.
"I guess I can't help my father's old superstitions." Haku sighed to himself as he redressed. In recent years he had learned what he could about his home village. Farmers were afraid of everything; being tied to the land was a hard and fragile existence. Superstitions helped people get by from day to day, even if all they did was delay people from their own inevitable and necessary search for truth.
"What is my truth?" Haku realized that he would not find his answers here, his time was not his own. The Mizukage was using him for the good of Kirigakure, Jiraiya was using him for Konoha's sake, and even Zabuza used him as a fighter but also as a friend. Leaving off his mask he created an ice mirror and looked at his reflection in the moonlight, not caring that he might be seen by a patrol. Touching the surface, he saw his soft facial features hid his feelings of worry and unease.
"When this is over, I'll find out. Until then…" donning his mask, his attention turned back to the desert night.
"Then we are agreed?" Dosu nodded at Kakuzu's words and the man left on a handshake.
Kin waited for him to come inside the recovery room and pulled out a map of Konoha she had taken from Orochimaru's base. It was not a map of the city, but of the hidden tunnels and vaults below the city and running into the mountain.
"He demands a steep price, but we can't argue with results." Zaku was asleep in a bed; he was back in one piece but was still under heavy medication. Reattaching Zaku's arm was the easy part, rebuilding his chakra network and repairing the pipes was the hard part. Earlier that day Zaku was awake enough for a test and Kakuzu confirmed that initial pressure and stress limits were looking strong.
"He'll be safe here while we go back to Konoha. This broker is affiliated with Akatsuki and doesn't do business with Orochimaru. Plus I bought him off"
"With the last of our funds." Kin, moved Dosu out of the room to not disturb Zaku. "We're broke, in debt to Akatsuki, on the run from Orochimaru, and your best plan to pay everyone off is to run back into Konoha right when it's a warzone."
"Kin, I know you don't like the plan. But we're out of time and it is our best option." Unwrapping the bandages around his head, Dozu walked to the room upstairs and began to tinker with his Sound Gauntlet some again. Ever since the night he had fought Gaara the metal seemed to change in hue to this metallic green. There was still so much about that night neither he nor Anko had told. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.
"It'll be better if I go too." Kin finally admitted.
"No, I can manage on my own."
"Even with Orochimaru attacking the town, the archives will most likely be guarded. You will need me if there are jounin guards."
"It's not the Konoha guards I'm worried about." Dosu stood up and walked to the window. The sun was going to rise soon and light would come in through the Venetian blinds. "I don't know what it was, but Orochimaru had some plan for the two of you. With you two gone he's likely come up with some alternate plan, but he's not a forgiving man."
"I know." Kin slid down against the wall and rested her head on her knees. "But still, I have to go. I need to know what he was planning on doing to us."
Finishing working on his weapon, Dosu methodically wrapped his face again and grabbed his cloak before opening the door. "Do whatever you want. I learned my lesson about not provoking monsters."
The sun was rising, letting light into the room. Sadly though, it was unable to dispel the darkness which had crept into their lives. Darkness they had willingly let in. A shadow loomed over them all. A snake had invited them into his lair with smiling eyes and promises of power. How empty his promises seemed now.
A familiar sound caught her attention as it drifted from downstairs. It was the faint beep from Zaku's pulse monitor. It was slow, but it kept going. He was still fighting to stay alive.
"We're still alive." Lifting her head, she dried her tears, grabbed her equipment and ran outside into the sun.