Disclaimer: NO RIGTHS TO NARUTO
XXX
Gaara watched the fire burn with indifferent eyes as everyone else slept. It was his turn to be on watch; although, his mind was far away from concentrating on his surroundings.
He turned to face her direction. She had just fallen asleep, after having been trying to stay awake. The Kazekage stared at the girl with empty eyes. He appeared to have no emotions or thought for the girl; on the contrary, he was trying to figure out how to protect her from him.
There was not an idea in sight.
It was all too good for the bastard. He was in prison, but he could still get his hand on The Girl. It was apparent that he could appear at anywhere and anytime.
No wonder she was like the way she was. He must have been showing up in and out of her life for the past six months.
The Kazekage looked back to the gently burning fire before the guilt trip came. He was determined that he had no guilt, because she left on her own free will.
No one forced her; she just wanted to leave.
Gaara's thought was interrupted when he started to hear someone's heavy breathing. His ears followed it to Yue, who was having another difficult nightmare. He knew that she was seeing him in her dreams again by the way she was tossing and turning as well.
He decided that he was going to ignore it, for she would eventually wake up on her own. His eyes adverted away again.
"Oof! Hugh!" The Kazekage's eyes shot back to the girl when he heard the painful outlet. She was still unconscious but her body moved too violently.
"Ah! Ngh!" Yue let out from her sleep as her face winced in pain, but her eyes remained shut. It appeared like her face was being punched and slapped from side to side.
Her body looked as if it was fighting something or someone that was being on top of her, for it was thrashing about.
Gaara got up and went to her side. He just couldn't sit there and watch anymore. He knelt down beside her, but he didn't know what to do to help ease her suffering, for anything he could do would be viewed as having a heart for her.
Suddenly, there were horrific sounds of choking and even more difficult struggling coming from the girl. Her hands abruptly moved to her neck and it looked like she was desperately trying to claw something off.
It frightened The Sunagakure leader at the way she was acting. Immediately, he could already see handprints showing on her neck.
Instinctively, he pulled her up by her shoulders and shook her, "Hey, hey wake up!" It wasn't working; she was still trapped in her subconscious torture.
"Naruto! Sakura!" Gaara shouted for his friends, who all woke up in a heartbeat.
Naruto sat up as fast as a reflex, "What's going on Gaara?!"
Sakura was on her feet in seconds and rushed over to examine what was happening. "She's having a nightmare, we need to wake her up or calm her down." She grabbed onto Yue's hand to check her pulse at the wrist, "Her heart rate is too fast. She could go into a self induced seizure or heart attack at any moment."
"It has to be a genjutsu, she's trapped in." Naruto said as he stood behind them.
Kiba stood next to him, but his eyes were scanning the area. Even though he saw and smelled of nothing, his eyes sharpened into a glare, "He's here…"
"Lord Kazekage, you have to find some way to wake her up or calm her down!" Sakura urged frantically.
Gaara nodded. He squeezed the girl's shoulder tighter, "Hey, wake up!" He shook her even more, but there was no response. Finally, he let one hand go from her shoulder and slapped it across her face so hard that her eyes flew open from the shock.
He couldn't believe how hard he had to hit her. His hand even started to feel a sting, so he couldn't imagine how it must have hurt for her.
Yue stayed still for a moment; trying to contemplate what had just happened. She had dreamed of the monster and that he was strangling her after slapping her around thoroughly, but then she was suddenly there in the forest.
XXX
"What's your call Gaara?" Naruto questioned when the time was right. It was early morning and things were calm again.
Yue was at the fireplace with Akamaru watching over her. She had blank thoughts floating around the dimensions of her mind as she stared into the fire.
The Kazekage looked to Yue for a moment and then looked back to his friend, "I don't know. There does not appear to be a solution to this. Wherever she goes, whoever she is with, it doesn't matter to Ito, Kitai. He will continue to come after her until there is nothing left."
Kiba held in his thought for a moment; however, he decided to voice it out loud, "As long as he is still alive, Lady Yue will never be safe."
"Then what shall we do to protect her? She's made it this far by holding on what little she as left, we can't just give up on her now." Sakura almost pleaded.
"No one is talking about giving up on her Sakura." Naruto answered her.
Kiba winced as he scratched the back of his head, "But..Gaara is right… There doesn't seem to be a solution to this.. What can we do…?"
The Future Hokage thought of a suggestion, but he knew that The Kazekage wouldn't like it. He had to try it anyways, "I think it's best if Sakura, Kiba, and I advance on ahead. We were supposed to report back to Kumogakure a day ago. At this rate, we'll never be able to get back and the violence to Yue will only escalate. If we make it back there soon, we can help Kankuro gather information on that bastard."
"That…Actually sounds like a reasonably good plan…" Kiba commented almost unbelievingly. He put aside his astonishment toward Naruto's sudden intelligence and agreed, "Naruto is right. The sooner we make it back to Kumogakure, the sooner we'll know what we're dealing with. The Raikage will want to hear about Yue's condition too."
Sakura smiled brightly at Naruto, "That's excellent thinking Naruto. Finally you put that big head of yours to work!"
Naruto chuckled shyly to himself while holding the back of his head nonchalantly. He looked to Gaara, "Well? What do you thinking about that Gaara? It's ultimately your call."
"Sakura stays with her." The Kazekage answered. "I'll report back to Kumogakure with you and Kiba."
The Future Hokage was expecting to hear that argument. He sighed, "You know that if she stays with one of us, she won't cooperate as easily. She only listens to you and he can attack Sakura too remember? They'll be both sitting ducks. Besides no one can protect her like you."
Gaara scoffed, "Too much baggage."
"Gaara..C'mon man, she's your wife."
"Former wife."
Naruto growled irritatingly as he rushed toward Gaara to grab a hold of Gaara's collar, "SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP! Stop treating her like she's nothing to you! None of this is her fault, she never asked for all of this to happen! Damn it Gaara, she's a victim!"
"No! She's only a victim because you are treating her life one, but in reality she doesn't need or want our help!" The Kazekage argued back.
Naruto shook him violently by the collar, "You aren't fit to be The Kazekage if you are this heartless!"
"And you're not fit to even be a shinobi!"
Out of nowhere, Naruto felt himself shoved aside. His hands let go of Gaara's collar instantly as he was jarred harshly to the left. Sakura caught onto his arm almost right away, "Naruto, you all right?"
"I'm fine..Whatt the hell was that?" Naruto replied while balancing himself again. They all looked to Gaara and were surprised at what they saw.
Gaara was equally astonished to see Yue standing in front of him with her arms stretched out; looking like she was trying to protect Gaara from Naruto. Her eyes glared at Naruto like she was an angry little child.
A moment ago, Yue was just staring into the fire with an empty mind and heart; however, all of a sudden she heard Naruto and Gaara arguing. When she glanced over to them, she saw Naruto putting his hands on Gaara and the situation escalating.
It was a strange sight. Since the time they had found her, she was like a walking corpse that never really responded to anything.
Yue didn't understand why she did it, but she just felt like she had to protect Gaara even though she knew that he wouldn't need the protection.
The Kazekage didn't understand it at all either… He had been treating her like the dirt at the bottom of his shoes, but here she was…trying to protect him…
XXX
The dim corridor seemed to light up with Kurenai gracing her presence along it. She glanced to her side toward The Puppet Master, "Remember Kankuro, whatever he says, don't let him get the best of you. I will do the talking."
Kankuro nodded, "Yes Kurenai-sensei. Just be careful of what he can do.."
They stopped in front of the closed interrogation room. Two Cloud Village prison shinobis were guarding it on each side of the door. They bowed their heads to them in respect, "Lord Kankuro, Kurenai-sensei."
"You two are dismissed." Kankuro told them and gestured them to leave.
The two Shinobis looked at each other in confusion. One of them addressed Kankuro, "But Lord Kankuro, that's against regulations. At least one shinobi has to be on guard outside during an interrogation."
"I have permission from Lady Raikage herself. You two dare to question her?"
"Of course not Lord Kankuro, please excuse us." The two Shinobis bowed and left their post.
Kankuro and Kurenai looked at each other and nodded before opening the door. The Puppet Master entered the dark room first and Kurenai followed in a few seconds later.
Ito, Kitai looked at them for a moment and scoffed arrogantly, before rolling his eyes elsewhere. "What is this Lord Kankuro? You can't get anything out of me so you enlist the help from a woman?"
Kankuro crossed his arms while looking at him with stern eyes, "Not just some woman, she is Kurenai-sensei from The Leaf Village."
The Genjutsu teacher stepped up calmly, "Hello Ito, Kitai. I have heard a lot about you." She took a careful look at him. The male slumped his body against the chair lazily as his hands were restrained behind his back. His arrogance was written all over her face.
Ito, Kitai took a perverted glance at her and smirked, "Well I can't say it's a pleasure to meet you in this dark dull place; however, if we were to have met in another place I would surely show you a pleasurable time."
Kankuro was absolutely disgusted by what he heard. He could see Ito, Kitai's vile enjoyment in degrading women. He held it no more and soon found himself punching the pervert's face so hard that his hand immediately stung. "Shut up you twisted bastard."
"Kankuro No!" Kurenai immediately warned him. Once she saw that he backed down, she eyed him with caution and whispered, "Calm down now… Calm down."
She took a step closer to the felon and laughed softly, "You give yourself too much credit Ito, Kitai." The Beautiful Woman began to circle around him tauntingly, "What makes you think you can amount to anything towards a real man? Why, I bet that if the Lady Kazekage wasn't unconscious when you raped her, you wouldn't be able to get it up."
Kurenai stopped right behind him and leaned down next to his ear, "Or is it because you just want to avoid the shame and humiliation of not being able to be a real man when it comes down to it?"
"That's not true!" Ito, Kitai got so enraged that he jumped up from his seat and turned around to Kurenai, "Say that again you wench! Say it, I dare you!"
"Sit down!" Kankuro grabbed him to twist him around and pushed him back down on his seat.
"Oh relax Kitai.." Kurenai walked around him until she stood before him. "There is no reason in getting upset at the truth."
She held her hands behind her back and shrugged indifferently, "You have everyone believing that you're some great genjutsu shinobi but I don't even think you know how to pull one off properly. You're really blowing smoke to anyone that comes your way."
"Oh yeah? Is that what you think?!" Ito, Kitai tried to lunge forward; however, Kankuro kicked him back against the chair. "You two don't know anything! I studied in Genjutsu for years, I can do any kind of genjutsu!
That was it… Everyone was trying to get out of the stubborn ignoramus. All this time, he had been denying knowing how to do any type of jutsu. Kankuro tried to withhold his eagerness for the further truth.
Kurenai smirked, "I thought you told everybody here that you didn't know how to do genjutsu.."
The Bastard realized that he had confessed something. His anxiety started to bubble as he glanced toward another direction.
"Now…" Kurenai walked behind him and stopped again. "Do I have to get it out of you the hard way or are you going to behave and tell me everything you have been doing to Yue Kamiya and why you're targeting her?"
Kitai scoffed, "Shove it and go back to being some man's bitch.. There's nothing to tell, I didn't do anything."
"Suit yourself young man." Kurenai warnedhim before she abruptly grabbed onto his head.
He started to struggle against her grasp, "Let go of me woman! Let go!"
Kankura held him still by his shoulders, "Settle down you lowlife worm!"
Kurenai's hand began to glow green at Ito, Kitai's head. The felon stopped slowly stopped struggling. His head fell back as his eyes closed.
"Prepare your chakra; we're going to take a trip. There is no telling what you'll encounter through his thoughts. If it gets to intense, take yourself out of the illusions." Kurenai told him and Kankuro nodded right away.
All of a sudden, the dark room disappeared and it felt like their bodies were being pulled toward a direction. They could feel everything shifting and changing around them, but they stayed absolutely still. Kankuro and Kurenai closed their eyes until they felt that they were able to open them.
When their eyes finally opened, they discovered themselves in a different setting. Instead of the dark interrogation room, everything was bright and sunny. They stood in what looks to be child's bedroom.
Their eyes glanced around to see the cute childish designs painted on the wall and the light blue wallpaper. A small bed was at the corner of the room and toys were at various places. It was definitely a child's room.
Kankuro looked to Kurenai, "Where are we?"
Kurenai didn't answer him, but proceeded toward the door of the bedroom. She opened it and walked out into a hallway. Kankuro curiously followed her.
She walked down the hall way, until she stopped at a kitchen where there was a lady there dressed in only a silk robe. A little boy was also there; he sat at the dining table watching her make tea.
The boy and the woman didn't notice that there were two other people in the kitchen with them, because they actually couldn't see them. Kankuro and Kurenai were like ghosts.
"Okaa-san…Are we going to go visit Otou-san today?" The little boy asked innocently.
His mother turned around to him and sighed, "I have plans today Kitai. Why must you want to visit that dead man all the time anyway?"
Little Kitai looked down, "I miss Otou-san though…"
The lady irritatingly replied, "Well I have a date today and I don't intend on missing it. Your mother needs to move on and I don't intend to dwell on a dead man when there are other ones out there."
Kankuro gasped slightly when he realized what the little boy's mother called him, "That's Ito, Kitai?"
Kurenai nodded as she paid further attention to the scene in front of them, "Indeed it is. We're just shadows in his thoughts now. So long as my chakra is stronger than his, there is no way he can interfere."
XXX
