Sabaku no Gaara wasn't happy, he understood, but he wasn't happy.
It had been a major shock for him when the team from Konoha had come to Suna, much less with a letter from the Godaime no Hokage, addressed to him.
It had given Gaara even more of a surprise when he had read the letter, and realized that instead of Konoha calling in the favor that Suna already owed them, the Godaime Hokage was actually doing Suna another favor by sending a team to protect their Kazekage.
He had to admit though, he had wanted to and was going to throw them out the front door once he found out they were a bodyguard team. However, Temari had put a stop to it, pulling him away from the team and somewhere private.
And that's exactly where he was, being ganged up on by both of his siblings, and he didn't like being ganged up on either.
"I don't like it."
"Who does?" said Temari.
"They are just trying to keep you safe." She continued, though Gaara, as Kazekage, was required to have suspicions and Temari liked the fact that he did.
"And the world." Added Kankuro, his war paint covered façade leaning against the door leading to the office where the team from Konoha stood.
More like trying to keep themselves safe, thought Gaara, but then again, by keeping him safe, and trying to keep Konoha safe, they were also in the end keeping the world safe.
"They've sent good Shinobi." Said Temari.
"We don't have to worry about them having anything against you."
"We invaded their village, Kankuro." Said Gaara.
"I meant that they wouldn't have issues with you being a Jinchuuriki."
Kankuro had a point. Many in Suna still held a grudge against Gaara, mainly for having Shukaku contained inside him. Though he had managed to get his blood thirst in control after his defeat, Gaara knew the amounts of blood his sand had soaked, the number of Suna nin he had killed, many whose families still lived and held the deaths close to their hearts. Gaara still held a grudge against his father, for sealing Shukaku in him, and he knew that for that reason alone, any number of Suna nin may still hold a grudge against him.
However, the team that had been sent by Konoha, was entirely made up of Uzumaki's friends, people who had actually accepted him as part of them and not some demon meant to be shunned.
That in itself, changed things a lot and for one, Gaara knew that he could trust them not to discriminate him at all if not indeed try and protect him even more.
It was rare that Gaara felt safe, but he felt safer with the Konoha nin, than he felt in the midst of his own Shinobi.
Sighing inwardly, Gaara nodded, his arms still crossed.
He did not like it, he understood and would agree to it, but he still didn't like it.
X—X—X—X—X
Yamanaka Ino had walked over to Shikamaru as soon as the Suna Siblings had disappeared.
"What if they reject our offer?" she had asked, considering the possibility that they might be going home as soon as they had arrived and Shikamaru couldn't blame her.
"They won't." said Shikamaru.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because they trust us."
True enough, the Suna Siblings had walked into the room moments later and Gaara had accepted their offer with adjustments of his own, ones Shikamaru had expected him to make and had planned for it anyways.
Ino switched her attention off, her mind lapsing into itself as she activated the jutsu that allowed her to telepathically speak to her father and so far, her father alone.
'We're in.' She sent, a short first time sentence to gauge the amount of chakra required to transmit it.
'Good.' Came the reply, a little slower than she had expected.
'Any conditions?'
'Kazekage would like us to share shifts with members of his ANBU.'
'Of course. Anything else?'
'No.'
'Keep the link active at all times.'
Ino mentally nodded, though she was sure that there was no way he knew she did, before bringing herself back to the discussion going on in front of her.
She was just in time it seemed, as Gaara asked the Konoha delegate to follow Temari to the rooms that had been hastily prepared for them.
The Konoha nin followed Temari out of the room, a warm soft bed the only thing in their mind at that very moment, for each of them knew that the entire ball game could change at any time in the future.
X—X—X—X—X
The next day began really early for a lot of people across the Elemental Nations, one in particular for a certain pink haired Jounin in Konoha.
She had been up, much earlier than she had expected to, and part of that reason had been a certain voice in her head.
"Congratulations."
The words broke her out of her engrossed reading, the words in the medical book being committed to memory as fast as she read them.
She wasn't rushing though, she never was, and she had no need to be.
"Thank you, Inoichi-san." She replied as she lifted her face out of her book, her hand putting down the pencil that she had been using to make notes.
"How does it feel?" he asked, as he pulled a chair towards the desk she was sitting at.
"It feels weird." She said, a smile upon her face.
"All my promotions so far, have been at the same time with Naruto-kun. It feels weird that I'm Jounin and he's not."
"Only because he isn't here." Said Inoichi.
Sakura smiled at Inoichi's attempt to cheer her up. He was right though, she knew. Naruto would get his promotion as soon as he returned, it only mattered when.
"Actually, Inoichi-san, I've been meaning to talk to you." She said.
Inoichi's eyebrow lifted, a question as to what Sakura wanted from him.
"I was hoping that you had a technique." She said, pausing as if she was unsure whether she should ask.
"A technique?" egged Inoichi, pushing the still hesitant younger nin into telling him what she was looking for.
"Something that could allow me to, speak, with my 'twin' over distances." She said, in one breath, hurriedly.
Inoichi smiled.
"You feel guilty for using the Shintenshin." He stated and Sakura had the decency to blush, lowering her face.
Sakura nodded, not wanting to say anything.
"It's rare," Inoichi said. "We've tried, over many years, to teach other nin our jutsu. To see if Konoha could use the clan jutsu in a wider range than just the Yamanaka could. But it never worked."
Sakura looked at Inoichi, amazed that the Yamanaka clan had even tried such a thing.
"You see, our techniques aren't from a bloodline, unlike the Akimichi enlargement and the Nara shadow techniques."
"Ours is just based on the ability to free your mind from its bodily shackles, something similar to lucid dreaming if you will, but on a much larger scale."
The revelations were shocking, and though Sakura didn't realize it, her eyes showed each and every bit of her amazement.
"Of course, you still need the clan secrets to be able to fully detach your mind from your body, I doubt even you could do that without a life time of training."
"But we have been trying to develop a long distance communication technique. One that only Ino and I have managed to establish so far. Maybe you could give it a try and in return help me figure out a way to allow other Yamanaka to use this as well."
Sakura's eyes lit up at the last statement, her fingers immediately crossed in a hand seal as she wordlessly created two Kage Bunshin.
"Why two?" asked Inoichi, confused as to why Sakura had created two of them.
His question was wordlessly answered when one of them sat down in the chair next to her, picked up her book and started reading, and it was only then that Inoichi realized that there were two other clones reading two other books further inside the library.
Inoichi smiled and stood up as Sakura performed the Shintenshin on the other clone, who immediately changed her appearance, and glanced at the creator.
With a wave of his hand, Yamanaka Inoichi beckoned the two girls to follow him as they headed towards the Yamanaka clan compound and their personal scrolls on psychology.
X—X—X—X—X
A couple of days full tilt from Konoha, or in Rock Lee or Gai's case, a day, the day had begun just as early for most of the nin in Suna.
Sabaku no Gaara sat in the council chambers, Nara Shikamaru at his side, ready to brief the Suna Council on the happenings of the day before.
The only problem was that some of the council members had already heard of the Konoha nin presence and were not too happy with it.
"So, you, our vaunted Kazekage, the only nin to ever come out of all of his missions unscathed, have agreed to let THEM be your bodyguards above our own?"
"For the third time, they will not be the only ones guarding Gaara." Said Temari, her voice stating her dissatisfaction at having to tell the council member the same thing over and over again.
"So you would trust foreigners over your own men?"
That was another councilor and Temari had to suppress her rage as she spoke once again.
"With due reason. Who knows how many times you have sent our own men against Gaara when he was younger?"
"Something we've done wrong and have said so many a time." Spoke the man. "But I believe that Kazekage-sama is at more risk with these Konoha nin than with our own, or have you forgotten, we did attack their village not too long ago."
"My decision has been made." Said Gaara.
Shikamaru now knew that Gaara only spoke rarely, but when he did, he was heard by the entire Suna Council.
"I will maintain my personal guard of Suna ANBU. Konoha will have one of their Shinobi with me at all times."
"What about the others?" asked the first Suna council member.
"They will be allowed full use of our facilities to train themselves while they are not on duty."
"Preposterous!" exclaimed one of the council members, a younger one this time, standing up against the decisions made.
"Kami knows what sort of mischief they could be up to!"
Sabaku no Temari sighed as she rubbed at her forehead, stealing a glance at the leader of the Konoha team who looked the more unfazed of the two.
It would be a long meeting, but in the end, the council members, though they didn't like what was happening, would agree with whatever Gaara had decided.
All she could do now was hope that the steps they were taking, both Konoha and Suna, would be enough.
X—X—X—X—X
While Shikamaru and Hisemi were gone, the three remaining Konoha nin put their own plans into action.
The three of them headed in the same direction, towards the Kazekage Tower, though each of them had different objectives in mind.
Ino wanted to meet Baki, the current head of the ANBU and Shinobi forces, someone who knew the ninja much better than Gaara. Her objective, was a Suna Kenjutsu master. If anything, Yamanaka Ino knew that her body needed to be stronger and faster. She knew that they weren't playing around anymore and that possibly, their next fight could be their last.
Chouji had gone to the tower in the hopes of finding Sabaku no Temari, the eldest of the three Suna siblings. His training in his clan techniques had gone faster than either Ino's or Shikamaru's, Chouji being fully dedicated to the cause after he had seen everyone's growth. But like everyone else in his graduate year, he wasn't happy with what skills he possessed. For him, the best way to improve himself was to go up against one of the more formidable nin in Suna, and that was why he was looking for Temari.
Heni, however, had little thought of training during the very first of their days in Suna. The young trap master was looking for Sabaku no Kankuro, the acting commander of Suna's spy network as well as the only one of the siblings that regularly left Suna on patrols into the country.
Luck seemed to be on Heni's side as the Konoha trio ran into the painted man just as he was exiting the tower.
Ino, as usual, being the one who was the friendliest of the Konoha nin, was the one who spoke to Kankuro, asking where they could find Baki and Temari.
The Suna Puppeteer had simply pointed them towards the council chambers, mentioning that the two would have to wait till the council meeting was over.
Once Ino and Chouji had left, Heni turned towards Kankuro.
"You're a puppeteer right?"
Kankuro looked at the younger Konoha nin, a curious expression adorning his face.
"Yes." He said, his face conveying the question he left unasked.
"I'm one of Konoha's few trap specialists." Heni said, extending his hand so that Kankuro could shake it. "Mind if I take a look at your puppets?"
X—X—X—X—X
Not 10 minutes after Kankuro met Heni, the two stood in Kankuro's secret puppet workshop, staring at Kankuro's three main puppets as they lay on separate work benches.
It was the first time that Kankuro had shown anyone his puppets, and to be honest, it was making him very nervous. It was the first time anyone other than the wizened old woman Chiyo had paid any attention or shown any curiosity towards his puppets and Kankuro couldn't help but wonder if this move would come to bite him in the ass sometime later.
"Did you make these puppets on your own?" asked Heni, touching Karasu's wood, careful not to trigger any of the hidden weapons mechanisms that Kankuro had embedded in it.
Sabaku no Kankuro shook his head.
"They were remnants of the army of puppets Akasuna no Sasori created. They were originally his, and I've just modified them."
"Why?" Kankuro added, finally asking the question which he had held back for the past few minutes.
"Konoha was attacked two years ago, by two S ranked members of the Akatsuki, one of whom was an missing nin from Konoha." spoke Heni, his face so serious it was as if it was set in stone.
"The other was a missing nin from the Mist, one of the Seven Swordsmen."
"With Akatsuki employing missing nin from two of the five great Shinobi villages, I think we can be safely assume that they have one from Suna as well."
Kankuro caught on to Heni's train of thought instantly.
"So, if this puppet has existed for a long time, someone who went missing after its creation could possibly know all of the puppets secrets." Continued Heni, bringing thoughts to Kankuro's mind.
"Sasori."
"What?"
"Akasuna no Sasori." Said Kankuro, looking Heni in the eyes. "He is one of the few Suna nin to have gone missing, we think him dead, it has been that long."
"But?"
There was always a but.
"He could still be alive."
"And he would know all the secrets of your puppets." Heni finished for Kankuro.
Kankuro furrowed his camo painted brows, deep in thought.
If Sasori was truly alive, and was with the Akatsuki, then with the three puppets he now possessed, Kankuro was most likely the least effective he'd ever been.
Sasori would know the puppets inside and out, know what kind of tricks it had possessed when he had left it, and which parts of it that could hold hidden secrets.
The only solution would be to create a full battle puppet on his own, something that even Sasori would have to pay attention to.
"We need to build a new one." He said finally, looking Heni in the eye.
Heni nodded before smiling at Kankuro.
"But before that, let me modify these." He said, "Sure, the puppet may be from Suna, but no one will expect it to hide some tricks from Konoha."
Not for the first time in his life, Kankuro stared at a Konoha nin before a grin broke upon his face. Somewhere in the world, someone was underestimating these Konoha nin, and for once, he was glad he wasn't the one doing it.
X—X—X—X—X
"We have an issue."
Those were the first words Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi heard the moment they joined the other Akatsuki nin on top of the statue.
"What kind of an issue?" asked Itachi, ever the curious.
"Konoha has sent a team to guard the Ichibi no Jinchuuriki." Spoke Sasori.
None of the other Akatsuki nin challenged Sasori's information, there was no need to, no one knew as much as Sasori did when it came to Suna.
"Konoha is growing bolder and bolder by the day, I see." Said Hoshigaki Kisame, his lips baring his shark fang teeth.
"It won't be long before they approach Kumo about the Hachibi and the Nibi, we must not let that happen."
"Jiraiya."
The one name the leader spoke hushed the Akatsuki into silence, yet they all understood what he was saying.
It had been that very Sannin, who had decided to take the Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki under his wing.
That very Sannin, who decided to train the Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki into a Shinobi that could stand up to them.
Itachi knew for a fact, that Jiraiya was the source of information on Akatsuki's activities. The source of information which had allowed Konoha to send a team to Suna and bolster the defences of an entire ninja village.
Now, the Akatsuki would be hard pressed to capture the Ichibi with just two members.
"Sasori, Deidara." Spoke the leader, the silence ending as the man known as Pain came up with a plan. "Leave the Ichibi for now, I want you to capture the Sanbi first."
"Hidan, Kakuzu, I want you to go after the Nibi as before, but get it done as soon as possible."
"Itachi, Kisame, I want you to find and get in touch with an old friend of ours. If Konoha is looking for allies, so shall we."
X—X—X—X—X
Nara Shikamaru stood on top of the Kazekage tower, gazing down and into the Hidden Village of Suna, his eyes taking in each and every little detail of the village.
Sabaku no Temari stood not too far away from him, her mind also going through thoughts but none similar to what the Nara was thinking as he crouched upon the railing, his hands together in a weird hand seal, one she had never seen before.
Suna was nothing like Konoha, she knew.
Konoha was the largest of all of the Shinobi villages and it seemed it as with due reason.
Konoha was a hub. A hub for a lot of the trade going in and out of the Fire Country, and as such the village resembled a hub in a lot of ways.
One of the reasons Konoha was a hub was because of its basis of clans. Clans had their own areas or districts depending upon the clans' size. This also meant that the clan had retainers, sometimes from their own clan but those who did not choose to become a Shinobi.
This meant that they needed to be fed and clothed and their needs needed to be fulfilled. That meant that Konoha needed to have an abnormally large amount of shops, restaurants and other buildings to tend to their needs.
This in the end meant that more civilians lived in Konoha, and with the civilians came more need for things.
Suna, however, was nothing like Konoha.
Suna was small, not tiny, but still smaller than Konoha, and Shikamaru found out that it was not divided into districts like Konoha was.
True, Suna did not have the clans to take care of, but even in the non clan districts, Konoha still had restrictions imposed in areas. Some areas, were only meant for residence, some others for business. But luckily for Shikamaru, Konoha also had lenient areas where land could be used for both residence and business, much like Suna and that allowed him a little insight as to where he needed the battles with Akatsuki to take place.
"Well, looks like we need to keep whatever fights out of the village."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Temari, not entirely sure of what was going in Shikamaru's head.
"It means that we'll have to fight in the open."
Temari's mind set to work, immediately realizing that the lack of other shadows caused a big blow to Shikamaru's battle capabilities.
It also meant that their trap masters abilities were severely reduced as well. The boy would now have to lay traps while in plain view, and it was obvious to Temari that nin of the Akatsukis level would not fall for traps set up right in front of them.
That left a total of three more Konoha nin who could possibly fight on par with their normal levels.
The terrain wouldn't make much of a difference to the Yamanaka, her clan abilities could work anywhere, the question was, would she be strong enough?
It also wouldn't make much of a difference to the Hyuuga either and that left only one more Konoha nin.
"Well, at least Chouji doesn't have to worry about crushing anything beneath him."
Temari smiled at the obvious attempt at humor from the lazy jounin in front of her.
The Akimichi's strength was needed for this particular mission, both Shikamaru and Temari had known that.
Chouji was their only bruiser, the one capable of taking the most hits while dealing the most damage as well, whereas Hisemi was the lithe and fast killer.
The other three were mainly there for support and aid, though Temari knew that Heni was capable of fighting battles on his own too.
Temari snapped to attention as Shikamaru turned around and hopped off the railing, his hands shoved deep in his pockets again.
"Send for Ino and Chouji, and send for your brother, we need to start training."
The Konoha nin had swept past by the time Temari could come up with something to say, his head tilted upwards, his eyes gazing up into the sky.
But this particular gaze was different. It wasn't his usual lazy staring at the clouds. This one had a lot of thought and Temari knew that Shikamaru was much more aware and active than she had ever seen him.
And that sight brought to her mind one word that she realized she hadn't heard ever since he had gotten here, one word that aptly fit the sentence she was trying to come up with.
With that word on her mind and a smile upon her face, Sabaku no Temari leapt off of the Kazekage tower and down in to the city to do what he had asked of her.
Only Konoha nin would be this 'troublesome'.
X—X—X—X—X
Guys, I really need you to do me a favor this time. And I mean all of you,
I need you to list down the name of your favorite Kunoichi, any village, and what you'd imagine her as if she was dark.
Dark as in how you have Dark Naruto and stuff.
Any village goes, but please, not Mei or Tsunade, or Chiyo. Too old.
And as usual, REVIEW!