A/N- I personally really like this chapter because Sorano finally takes her life back. Enjoy!

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Wind in a Bottle

Chapter 37

Nogitarou Imari scowled at the report in his hand. A messenger bird had just arrived with an update on the situation of the Ryuusen heir and it was not pleasant.

Raidon and every single one of his operatives had been slaughtered and this was only recently discovered by one of the scouts. Crumpling the scroll in his fist, the Daimyo growled in irritation. This was getting out of hand. He didn't know what ties Ryuusen Sorano had forged with the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but sooner or later they were going to find out about her ability to summon one of the most powerful creatures known to man. Her bloodline limit alone was nothing to sneer about if she was anything like her father.

He personally remembered Ryuusen Sorano as a gangly white-haired child with big eyes, an easy laugh, and utterly incapable of utilizing the family technique. Her father had brought her to the palace a few times and it was expected she would one day take an oath to serve in his place. She was the only successor to the Wind, but she was pathetically incompetent, weak, fun loving, and tender-hearted. Sorano was entirely unfit to take her father's place as head of the Ryuusen Clan, but such flaws had their advantages too.

Though he wasn't pleased with the loss of his favored assassin, it was a small price to pay for infinite power. With the Ryuusen Wind branch decimated, the Ryuusen Fire unanimously swore an oath to him in exchange for wealth and privilege he didn't particularly mind parting with. It was the assurance of having the power of the Clan Guardian at his fingertips that clinched the deal. No longer would he play the political field one assassination at a time. Now entire nations would fall at his feet under the destructive elemental forces of the legendary beast, a beast that would answer the call of one child alone. Sorano was the pawn to be molded to his will, the key to his dominance over all other shinobi nations…and she escaped.

Seven years later she came back and slaughtered the Ryuusen Fire to avenge the murder of her parents and destroyed his right hand of power.

He remembered a legend that his grandfather told him when he was quite young about a man trying to catch the wind in a bottle only to find when he succeeded, the bottle could not contain the power of the wind and shattered against the pressure, cutting the man to pieces.

"The wind cannot be controlled," his grandfather warned. "It is the breath of dragons."

Nogitarou never placed belief in such silly stories, but when a sixteen-year-old girl who once had no skill to speak of single-handedly wiped out one of the most powerful shinobi clans he had ever known, he couldn't help wonder if there was some truth to the legend.

Angrily tossing the crumpled scroll onto his desk, he stalked over to a side table and poured himself some wine. He would put a bounty on her head no man could resist and soon the persistent thorn in his side would be dead. If he couldn't have her power, no one would.

Smirking with satisfaction, he lifted the goblet to his lips and paused, listening attentively for a moment. He thought he had heard a soft whisper, like a silk curtain moving in the evening breeze, but the night was still and he was alone in his study. Guards were stationed in the hall, outside the balcony, and in the gardens below so no one could enter without being seen or heard.

Shrugging indifferently, he drank deeply of his wine, savoring the sweet flavor.

There! Again, that whisper of movement! Slowly lowering his hand, he glanced inconspicuously over the rim of his cup to see nothing but shadows. Some of his candles had gone out, but the length of the wax and wick remained, a small curl of smoke from the smothered flame curling lazily above them.

Cautiously setting his goblet down, he skirted the table with a casual step and started towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?" a soft voice whispered behind him.

Nogitarou swung around, but could see nothing and no one.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"You can scream if you want." This time to the right, but when he looked, all he could see was a fine blue mist dissipating before his eyes.

"But no one will come." To the left, only blue mist.

"The Guards in the garden… the guards in the hall…even the ones on the roof…" each phrase came from a different direction but every time he turned towards it, he was greeted only with blue mist.

"Who are you?" he thundered.

"Eyes cannot see me."

"What do you want?"

"No blade can touch me."

"Guards!" He screamed frantically, but there was nary a sound above the silken whisper of movement.

"No man can keep me."

Nogitarou made to step back and froze as cold steel slid smooth as silk beneath his chin and against his throat. Warm breath brushed across the back of his neck with the whispered words, "I am the Wind."

The Daimyo swallowed thickly. "Ryuusen Sorano."

The blade tilted, forcing his head up and on the fringes of his vision danced snowy white tendrils, confirming his worst fears.

"Your life means nothing to me, Nogitarou," she said icily. "How much is it worth to you?"

"If it's gold you want, take it," he said with an embarrassing squeak in his voice. Even if she had spared the lives of his guards, they would never reach him in time.

A weary sigh told him he had answered wrongly.

"I tire of these games," she said and he whimpered as the blade pressed against his throat, breaking the skin. "If you bring harm to one more person close to me by word or deed, I will bathe this country in the blood of your house."

The Daimyo held his breath in fear of pressing the blade further into his throat when he felt and heard the soft stirring of wind and was once more left alone. Sinking weakly to his knees, he reached up with a trembling hand and touched the thin wound so effortlessly sliced into his skin.

"I am such a fool."

Kanaida Tohru alighted silently on the thick branch and glanced over at his comrades. The Anbu masks hid all expression but their disappointment was palpable. It had been four weeks to the day since Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto returned from their mission…without Sorano.

Only those involved were aware of the details of the mission, but it became known that Sorano had abandoned the team the night after completion. Not one person dared to call her a traitor for she had never sworn allegiance to the Leaf Village and was not a ranking ninja. She was free to come and go as she pleased, but it didn't make her absence any easier to accept.

If Tohru had never thought Neji to be a difficult man to work with, he did now. The man was cold as ice, impassive, and demanding. No one valuing his life even dared to speak of the snowy-haired beauty in his presence. With a single-minded focus, the Captain buried himself in his work and drove himself and his men to exhaustion. They all knew it for the distraction it was.

Tohru had the pleasure of watching over Sorano when she was in the hospital and Neji and Sasuke needed a break. She was a sweet girl, kind and easy-going but strong of will. It was easy to see why the Captain had fallen head over heels for her.

But as the weeks past, it was becoming more and more clear that she wasn't coming back.

"This is the edge of our zone," a voice spoke through the radio in his ear. "We should circle back."

"Alright," Tohru agreed. Straightening up, he turned to follow his teammates when a flash of movement caught his attention.

"Wait," he whispered softly. "There's something out here."

Ignoring his teammates questions, he stealthily moved forward until he saw it again. His heart jolted inside of him and forgetting in his excitement to wait for his team to catch up, he dropped down to the ground. In a puff of blue chakra, she was behind him before he could fully straighten, a blade at his throat.

The experienced Anbu operative froze stiff in shock and that was how his teammates found him.

She was tired and hungry and dirty, and the last thing she expected was for someone to leap down from the treetops, but she acted on instinct and found herself holding a blade to his throat before she even realized she had moved.

Two more dropped down in front of them and she gripped her hostage's arm out of reflex, silently warning him to keep still or risk a sliced artery. The two new arrivals straightened up slowly and cautiously so as not to startle her and she took in the unfamiliar markings on their masks.

"Konoha Anbu?" she asked hesitantly, suspiciously. She was in no mood for tricks.

One of them nodded slowly and she could tell they were regarding her much as one would a rabid animal, unpredictable and dangerous. Shifting her glance down to the arm of the man she held, she rubbed her thumb against his tattoo and was relieved to find it real.

Releasing his arm, she carefully pulled the blade away and stepped back. When he turned to face her, she blinked in surprise and then smiled, recognizing the grinning cat face of the man who had watched over her in the hospital.

"You really shouldn't startle me like that, Neko-kun," she said as she sheathed her wakizashi with its companion on her back. All three Anbu seemed to deflate with relief.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here," Tohru admitted and she smiled weakly as slumped to the ground against a tree.

"Got any food? I'm starving," she said and all three men immediately started searching for some rations. The one with the bird mask found his first and Sorano got the impression he was feeling rather smug about it when he tossed it to her.

Tohru crouched a safe distance away, still uncertain of her intentions. Never had he seen anyone move so fast. She could easily kill all three of them before they were even aware she was attacking if she felt so inclined. Their orders from the Hokage had been to return her immediately if any of them should come across her in their patrols, but Tohru knew this woman wouldn't be going anywhere she didn't want to.

"You've been gone a long time, Snowflake-san," he said softly, trying to gauge her reaction. She looked beyond weary as if she hadn't slept in days.

"How long has it been?" she asked as she slowly chewed the protein bar.

"A month since the others returned from the mission."

Sorano winced. After her little visit with Nogitarou she had taken a detour to retrieve her family's sacred scrolls from deep within the mountains of the Land of Earth. When she had hidden them as a child on the run from her own kin, she had never thought to return, never believed she would ever have need of the written secrets she had long since memorized but could never destroy. The trek had taken longer than she planned, but the scrolls were now tucked safely within her pack, a token of the past for the future that might be.

"Are they well?" she asked. They are. They have to be.

"Yes."

Tension eased out of her shoulders with the confirmation. Neji assured her that Sasuke would be fine that night and she knew he wouldn't lie to her, but that didn't stop her from worrying with each step she took. Sasuke had been unconscious the last time she saw him and that vivid memory stayed with her all the way to the Land of Earth and back.

Polishing off the protein bar, she tucked the wrapper into her pack and pushed herself up. After half-heartedly brushing of her pants, she looked up at the expectant Anbu. "I'm ready."

Tohru grinned behind his mask. "This way."

Sorano had been following Huntress's lead for most of her journey back to the Land of Fire, but she was more than thrilled to have someone guiding her from her own plane of perspective. The height difference from Huntress's gaze could be seriously disorienting sometimes, especially when she was tired and she was beyond tired at the moment.

They moved at a relatively easy pace, but her steps consistently faltered. Each time a steadying hand either from her right or her left would catch her. When asked if she wanted to stop and rest, she shook her head no and said, "I want to go home."

She had no idea how much those words meant to them.

The gates of Konoha shaded in moonlight were the sweetest sight her eyes had seen in weeks. She walked right through without hesitation and stopped to enjoy the comfort of familiarity for a moment. A gentle grip on each arm broke her trance and she looked up at the bird-masked Anbu and then turned to the cat-faced one in question. He only tilted his head and held up a hand. She recognized the hand sign too late and her stomach lurched as they transported her directly to the Hokage's office.

Sorano stumbled in step but was held up by her companions.

"You people have to warn me before you do that," she groaned as she tried to suppress the urge to throw up, her vision swimming in and out of focus.

"Sorry," one said with what sounded like genuine remorse.

After regaining her senses and quieting her stomach somewhat, she waved away the apology.

"No worries," she sighed and then looked up to see Tsunade watching them with barely contained amusement.

"Where did you find her?" she asked, shifting smoothly into Hokage mode.

"Seven miles north of the gate," Tohru said.

"Did she come with you willingly?"

Sorano rolled her eyes at that but kept silent. Tsunade knew as much as anyone that she wouldn't be standing there complaining about vertigo if it was against her will.

"Yes," the Anbu said and Sorano could have sworn he was laughing.

"Very well, you are dismissed."

They both bowed and poofed away, leaving Sorano to cough in the resulting smoke.

"Glad to see you alive," Tsunade said as she went back to the drink she had been enjoying before the Anbu showed up. She was used to ninja popping in and out of her office at all hours, some with more finesse than others, but she certainly hadn't been expecting Sorano, especially at this time of night.

Sorano recovered from her coughing fit and ran a weary hand through her hair, frowning at the twigs and leaves she pulled out. "I didn't kill him, if that's what you are wondering."

A smile flickered across the Hokage's face before she tilted her cup back to savor the sharp taste of sake. "Good to know. War isn't very good for morale."

"Oh, I imagine dealings with the Land of Earth will run smoothly for quite some time now," Sorano said with a sweet smile and wicked gleam in her eye.

Tsunade looked at her curiously. "What did you do to him?"

Sorano shrugged as she picked at the dirt under her fingernails. "I merely reminded him that he lives because I allow him to. His life and his death are mine." She looked up then, eyes hard as granite. "If he threatens me or mine again, I will kill him."

It was both a warning and a promise and Tsunade was not going to contest it. She could only imagine what method of persuasion Sorano had used and decided to ask for the details later. It was bound to be a story worth hearing.

Glancing over the young woman's tired form, her amber eyes stopped on the Konoha hitai-ate tied around her thigh just above her kunai pouch. Her eyes softened at the faint scratches of wear on the metal plate and knew Sorano had been wearing it for some time.

"Go home and get some sleep," Tsunade said as she poured herself another cup of sake. "Your placement exam is in one week."

To my plushie readers:

Darkangelsdevil- Killing the Daimyo would have solved most of her problems, and create a big problem for Konoha since anytime the leader of a country is assassinated, utter chaos occurs and Konoha would likely have been targeted with the blame because of the Fire Country's shaky relations with the Earth Country. In the Naruto world, these two nations have never been on good terms.

Also thanks to Sesshy'sChic23, lovefatedestiny, Satta Kurosama, VixentheHellraizer, TeenAnimeLover, SilverMononoke, FoxLuvr, Thunder Ring, Space Jam Sandwitch, SaphirePhoenix, Maki Hayashi, and Strawberrylover for your reviews.

I'm tired. Stop poking me.