Welcome to Chapter Thirty-Five! This one will contain Aoi's and Gaara's conversation, the introduction of the rest of the Sand Sibs, and more!
Yesterday night, the worst blizzard since 1999 hit my area. My school let out early yesterday, was closed today, and is closed tomorrow. I'm so excited; my school never has snow days; this was my first one in two years!
…Anyways, Sakura is introduced in this chapter. I'm warning you now that she'll seem like a bitch at certain parts, but there is a reason for it.
This chapter will focus on Aoi, Sakura, and Gaara. (No Akatsuki members get a part in this chapter, lolz).
A big thank-you goes out to everyone who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites/alerts lists.
I don't own Naruto.
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Chapter Thirty-Five: Betrayal
Aoi followed Gaara into his office. He shut the door behind him and covered the windows with their curtains. "What do you have to tell me, Aoi-san?" he asked.
"Before I tell you, I first have to say that I know who you are, Sabaku no Gaara." Aoi knew it was a risk to not call him 'Kazekage-sama', but said it anyways. "I know your past, including what happened with Yashamaru. I know he tried to assassinate you." She saw the redhead visibly flinch at his uncle's name, and continued. "I understand that many people think you're a monster, and I know that you must be very lonely."
"How do you know all of that?" asked Gaara, narrowing his eyes at her.
"When I was in my world, I had dreams of you. I saw your childhood, what happened during the Chunin Exams, etc. Despite what people said, I knew you weren't a monster, Gaara-sama. It's not your fault you're a jinchuriki. This might sound weird to you, but I actually relate to you."
The leader of Suna tilted his head, looking confused. Aoi continued her explanation, telling Gaara all about her life, including what happened with Daisy Adams. When she was finished, he sat down in his chair, beckoning her to sit on the one next to it. She complied.
After she sat down, the redhead began to speak. "You do know a lot about me, and you seem to actually understand me. But you didn't come here to tell me that, Aoi-san. What is it that you want?"
Aoi was prepared for this one; she had been practicing what she was going to say during the entire journey to Suna. "Well, Kazekage-sama, I've been in this world for about two months. Since I was somehow summoned here, I have been having dreams of your…death." Gaara's eyes widened, and she continued. "You die by having the Shukaku extracted from you by the Akatsuki." She didn't mention that Chiyo revived him. "However, I also had a dream that showed me how to prevent that."
Now the young Kazekage looked interested. "How? I cannot die; my village needs me."
I've got him, thought Aoi. "That's why I came here. Some people that I met during my time here know how to extract the Shukaku from you. This will put you in a death-like state. An elder in your village—Chiyo-sama—knows a jutsu that will bring you back to life. After this, you will be free of the beast, and will be able to live a normal life."
The brunette felt a twinge of guilt when she saw Gaara's expression turn slightly hopeful. She truly respected the redhead, and didn't like lying to him. I'm sorry, Gaara. But she knew that if her plan worked, it would be a win-win situation for both the Akatsuki and Gaara. The former would get a tailed beast, while the latter would not bear the burden of being a jinchuriki. This is for the best.
"You do know that Chiyo-sama won't agree to this, right?" Gaara asked, tilting his head once more.
He almost looks like Sasori when he does that. Aoi shut her eyes. No, I mustn't get distracted. I must think of the mission, and only the mission. Aloud, she replied, "I know. And I know someone who might be able to convince her. Would it be possible for Haruno Sakura to come here?"
"Sakura-san? Why her?" the leader of Suna looked confused.
Aoi answered this with ease. "I had dreams where Sakura-san's youth and determination brought out a seldom-seen side of Chiyo-sama. One that cares about you, and the future of Suna."
Gaara nodded. "My sister is in Konoha. She was helping out with the Chunin exams, but she decided to stay longer, for some reason."
Hmm, is it because of Shikamaru? Aoi asked herself, smiling. She personally thought that they would make a cute couple.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when he continued. "I can arrange for both Temari and Sakura-san to come back here. It will take four days, though: one to get the message to Konoha, and three for their journey."
"That's fine, Kazekage-sama." Aoi was relieved. Everything was going according to plan.
Four days had passed since her conversation with Gaara. Said Kazekage gave her permission to sleep in one of the guest rooms in his building. As soon as he left her, she relayed all her information to Sasori and Deidara. They basically told her to 'keep up the good work' and 'stay safe'.
On the second day of her stay at the Kazekage's residence, she met Kankuro. She impressed the puppeteer with her knowledge of Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshōuo, and he was happy that someone outside of Temari and himself didn't treat Gaara like a monster. Despite his warm personality and outgoingness, the black-clad boy reminded Aoi of Sasori.
She was with Kankuro when one of the councilmen approached them, stating, "Kankuro-san, Aoi-san, Temari-san and Sakura-san have arrived. Kazekage-sama has requested that you meet them at the gates."
She and Kankuro nodded, running in the direction of the main gates. They got there just in time to see two kunoichi—one pink-haired and the other with a large fan strapped to her back—enter the village.
"Hey, Kankuro!" called Temari. "Is that the girl that Gaara was talking about in his letter?"
The puppeteer nodded. "Her name's Aoi-san. Ask her to tell you anything about yourself; she'll know the answer!"
"Okay." The pigtailed girl looked confused, but went along with the request. "Aoi-san, when the Sound Five attacked Konoha, which of the shinobi did Gaara, Kankuro, and I aid?"
That's an easy one! "Well, Kankuro-san helped out Inuzuka Kiba, who was being attacked by Sakon and Ukon. You assisted Nara Shikamaru in defeating Tayuya. Finally, Gaara-sama and Rock Lee defeated Kaguya Kimimaro."
"How do you know all this?" This time, Sakura spoke.
"I come from a different world," answered Aoi. She was uneasy looking at the Konoha-nin, but she tried to make her voice pleasant. "Every night, I had dreams about all of you. Two months ago, I was somehow summoned here."
"Okay," answered Sakura. "But why did Gaara-sama make us come here?"
As Aoi repeated what she had told Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and Sakura's eyes widened.
"Can that demon seriously be removed from him?" Kankuro looked overjoyed. "If so, I bet people would respect him more!"
Temari nodded in agreement. Only Sakura looked unsure.
As the day went on, Kankuro and Temari had business to attend to, leaving Aoi alone with Sakura. Despite Suna being in a desert, the pink-haired girl suggested that they go to a local hot spring in order to get to know one another better. Aoi agreed; she definitely needed to befriend Sakura for the whole plan to work correctly.
Since the weather was so warm, she and Sakura were the only people in the women's bath. The Konoha-nin quickly stripped off her clothes and slid into the pool.
Aoi was a bit self-conscious; in the United States, public bathing wasn't popular. She slowly removed her clothes and quickly got into the pool, not looking Sakura in the eyes.
She did meet the other girl's gaze when she let out a gasp and said, "What happened to you, Aoi-san?"
Aoi realized that her puppet arm was exposed, as well as the chakra device. "Oh," she said softly. "Those are from when Orochimaru kidnapped me almost two months ago. He tested all sorts of horrible experiments out on me, because I don't have any chakra…" she let the end of her sentence trail off. When she saw Sakura look at her with concern, she realized she could use this information to her advantage. Her stomach tightened as she realized how manipulative she was being; she didn't like it.
"That bastard always creeped me out!" the younger girl exclaimed. "I used to have nightmares of him and his disgusting tongue!"
"Yeah, his tongue is…eww. It's even worse when it's forced into your mouth." Aoi shuddered at the memory.
Now Sakura looked absolutely disgusted. "He kissed you? Did he…?"
"No." The brunette's voice went cold. "He ended up raping my best friend."
"Is she okay?" Sakura whispered.
"He's fine now, but he still doesn't like people getting too close to him."
"I can't even imagine what that must have been like for the poor guy." The green-eyed girl shivered, despite the warm water of the bath.
"He ended up killing the bastard the same night, while he was…distracted."
"Wait." Sakura stared intently at Aoi. "You're saying that Orochimaru is dead? That's amazing!" She paused, then continued talking. "You wouldn't happen to know where Uchiha Sasuke is, would you?"
Crap, crap crap! Remember what Deidara told you; just tell the truth. "Yes," Aoi answered hesitantly. "But he is dead; Yakushi Kabuto killed him."
The pink haired girl looked like she had just been slapped. "Dead?" she murmured. "Sasuke-kun is…dead?" Her eyes started to fill with tears.
The brunette narrowed her eyes. "Don't cry for him, Sakura-san. He was not the teammate you once knew. After Orochimaru's death, two of my friends and I decided to go back to the base to destroy it. Your Sasuke-kun was waiting for us. He was upset that my best friend killed what he called his 'source of power', so he tortured him physically and psychologically."
The younger girl continued to cry as she got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around herself. Aoi did the same. She was starting to get agitated at Sakura's grief for the youngest Uchiha, so she snapped, "Stop crying! I know you used to love him, but when I met him, he was different! He tortured me, Sakura-san! He was going to rape me to rebuild his clan and get revenge on Itachi-san! If Sasori didn't intervene when he did, I probably wouldn't be here!"
At this, Sakura stopped crying, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Sasori? As in Akasuna no Sasori?"
Shit! Aoi realized exactly what she just said. She had slipped up. Big time.
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Sakura became furious after Aoi ranted about Sasuke. "Akasuna no Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki," she stated coldly. "You're with them, aren't you? That's why you wanted Gaara's demon removed!"
The older girl became very flustered, which confirmed the pink-haired kunoichi's suspicions. "N-n-no!" she stammered. "How could I be a member? I have no chakra!"
"Okay, so you're not a member. You're probably their whore or something! I'll bet you slept with all of them!"
"No," Aoi whispered. "I've never slept with any of them."
"That makes sense, considering you're pale and ugly!" Sakura was enraged; the Akatsuki was the organization that tried to capture Naruto two-and-a-half years before.
"Just listen to me, please, you don't understand."
Hearing the smaller girl's pleas only angered her more. How dare she act so innocent! "Shut up, you traitor! I bet you were planning to attack this village all along!"
"No!" She shouted. "I was never going to attack Sunagakure!"
"Yeah, right!" scoffed the green-eyed girl. "And I bet all that stuff you told me about Orochimaru and your friend were lies too!"
"Everything I told you was true." The brunette's voice became cold. "Deidara did get raped by Orochimaru."
"Deidara? As in Iwa no Deidara, the bomber?" spat Sakura. "If it's true, than good! He deserves to feel pain and fear! He's a murderer for Kami's sake!"
"But he's still a human being," Aoi retorted.
"Not to me, he's not! I'm glad Orochimaru assaulted him! I hope the snake made him suffer; I hope that it was the most miserable and painful moment of his worthless life!" After she said this, Sakura had realized that she had gone too far. Yet she didn't care; she was just so angry. Aoi, who she was starting to trust, had betrayed her, and Sasuke, one of the people she loved the most, was dead.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a stinging pain on her face. She realized that Aoi had slapped her. "You, you, brat!" shouted the older girl. "How dare you call yourself a medic-nin! You should be tolerant and sympathetic to all people, no matter who they are! People like you make me sick!"
When she heard that statement, Sakura just snapped. "You bitch!" she yelled, gathering chakra into her fist and running at the girl, punching her in the stomach.
Aoi dropped to the ground, gagging. The younger girl kneeled to her level and harshly grabbed the brunette's right wrist, twisting it until she heard it snap. Rage rushing through her, she stood up, dragging Aoi by her broken limb into a standing position. Gathering more chakra into her free hand, Sakura slammed it as hard as she could onto the device on the shorter girl's chest. Tears poured from her eyes, and she let out a tortured scream.
The Konoha-nin dropped her, glancing at the blood that was now pooling around the device. "You don't even deserve to be killed by me; I'll let the desert do that," she spat. She put on her clothes and left the hot springs, never looking back.
When she got back to the Kazekage's residence, guilt began tearing at her stomach. Shit! she thought. What the hell did I just do? She realized that she had let her anger get the best of her before Aoi could tell her side of the story. She wanted to run back to the hot springs, but she knew that she wouldn't make it in time; she could sense that when she hit the device on Aoi's chest, she had damaged her heart. I've killed her! I've killed her! And she didn't fight back! Not once! Sakura let the tears fall freely down her face as she sank to the ground, her hands grabbing at her head. I'm sorry.
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Gaara had been patrolling the village when he heard loud screams coming from the hot springs. Thinking that someone was in danger, he ran to it as fast as he could, not even caring that he ran into the women's bath. He was the protector of Sunagakure; he didn't want anyone hurt in his village. He looked down at the figure that was sprawled on the ground. He was shocked when he realized it was Aoi.
Gently rolling her onto her back, he saw that her right wrist was broken, and that blood was gushing out of a wound on her chest, staining the towel that was wrapped around her a dark crimson color.
Her eyes snapped open, though they were unfocused because of the pain. She stared into Gaara's eyes, and she relaxed. "Sasori," she whispered, a smile appearing on her face.
Sasori? The Akatsuki member? How does she know him? Unless she's one of them. However, at the moment, Gaara didn't care. He felt the brunette's skin getting colder by the minute, and knew she was dying. Who did this to you?
He heard a rustling noise behind him, and quickly stood up, the sand from his gourd hovering around him. If Aoi's attacker had come back, he would kill them without a qualm. However, he relaxed when he saw that it was only Sakura.
"Gaara-sama?" she whispered, walking next to him. "I'm going to try to save her."
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And that's the end of Chapter Thirty-Five. I seriously rewrote this entire chapter like five times before I was even remotely happy with it. I still don't think it's that great, but maybe it's because I rewrote it so many times.
I hope Sakura wasn't too OOC. I know she doesn't normally act like that, but she does get angry rather quickly. Plus, she has a deep hatred of the Akatsuki, and wants to protect her friends from it.
I know she seemed hypocritical when she was talking about how she didn't care about what happened to Deidara. She was supposed to sound like that.
Sasuke's death also probably triggered her rage in this chapter. I know she was angrier than usual, so I hope I wrote her part okay. Plus, she was remorseful at the end, so I hope that made her seem less evil. In the next chapter, she will apologize to Aoi and will be nicer to her.
Oh, and if anyone's confused, Gaara heard Aoi screaming after Sakura was walking back to the hot springs to try to save her. It was not when Sakura punched her chest.
…I didn't know if Gaara and Sakura were aware that Deidara and Sasori were members of the Akatsuki, but for the sake of this story, they are.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.