Hey-o, I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far! I've decided to take a break on my secret story that I've been working on because I'm starting to lose motivation for it so that means I'm going to try and focus on this story only, for awhile anyways! Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13

What's the best way to keep him safe?

"Gaara?"

If I send him with at least three medicals, we should be able to withstand any issues that pop up.

"Gaara."

However, the scouts have only found an abandoned hideout, so that doesn't mean Naruto is there.

"Gaara!"

I looked up to Tsunade as she stood, leaning with her hands on her desk. Before her was a map with a giant, red 'X' across a marshy area. During the month after Sakura was turned, Tsunade had enacted a plan to try and save every last ROTH there could be. It was impossible, of course, so we decided to start with one goal and that was to get Naruto. With his powers, he was crucial for the Konoha branch and I would do anything to save him. Tsunade has sent out scouts to keep an eye on Orochimaru and eventually they chased him away from one of his facilities. They went in and deactivated any traps that were set and made sure to log everything in a report to send to their leader. The mission wasn't without casualties but luckily we just sent those who were hurt to Hinata, who had abnormal healing abilities.

Suddenly, her face flashed through my brain and it made my stomach do a flip. I didn't understand what was going on but for some reason, this feeling felt familiar. I hadn't seen her in awhile...well, that wasn't true. I had seen her while she was healing or her just simply walking around the Hive; I just never talked with her since we locked up the transformed Sakura. I couldn't tell what was going on but there were times where I felt this pull and my body would lead me to places where she would be. I would watch her from afar and then leave before anyone noticed me. I didn't like that people would most likely call that stalking.

"What is it Tsunade?"

"Geez, child, I've been calling you for awhile now! I need your help on the next step of this plan."

I sat in a chair across from her with my arms crossed. "I already told you what I thought."

Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And I already told you that wouldn't work!"

"It will work just fine. We get the best Inuzuka trackers to find any traces of Naruto. We still have his room and his stuff that they can use and have them check the hidden lab our scouts found to see if he was ever there."

"You still don't see why that won't work?" I didn't reply to her as indication that I didn't see the problem. She spoke gently as if talking to a child, "Our best Inuzuka tracker is Kiba."

"And?"

Tsunade couldn't hide her shock at my nonchalance. "You...you're okay with him going to Orochimaru's hideout where so many of our scouts had injuries? Especially after what happened last time?"

"He's still a part of SCORCH and was trained for these situations so of course I'm okay with it."

Tsunade blinked a couple of times then let out a sort of proud laugh. "Ha! Well, alright then. That's really mature of you Gaara."

"Nothing mature about it since I'm also joining the team."

She frowned deeply. "And now you've lost me."

"You didn't really think I was going to sit back and let everyone else go find Naruto, did you?"

"Gaara, you can't go."

"I don't see how you can stop me," I told her forcefully.

"You don't understand! I can't have you on a dangerous mission right now. If something were to happen to you, imagine what the Suna branch would think!"

I stood up with my hands clenched at my sides. "Don't tell me that I don't understand. I've understood the conditions of my being at Konoha since I was young."

Tsunade opened and closed her mouth a few times but decided to nod. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can with your specific training but it's tough when the members of your organization are being scooped up and being transformed into mindless creatures."

Tsunade looked so tired with her dark bags under her eyes and the hair that came out of her ponytail was flying everywhere. I knew how hard it was for her considering the special situation I was under but there were times where I tested those boundaries. I couldn't help myself. Eventually, I've come to realize how much I could trust Tsunade. "Alright, instead of me, we'll send three medicals and four high ranked fighters with Kiba. One of the fighters should be his mother since she is the second best tracker. They'll read through the logs of the scouting team and get their bearings beforehand and we'll have the scouting team meet up with them so they can discuss the types of traps they've seen. Am I missing anything?"

"The part where you tell me how we pick up the slack around here with sending away so many people at once."

"Double shifts for a couple of days while we do a fast training of the extra food workers we have. They just need to learn basic stitching and needle work so we should be fine until we hear the next report. We'll work out the rest after getting more details later."

Tsunade opened one of her desk drawers and took out a bottle full of amber liquid. "And how do I convince those workers to do all this?"

"You delegate like always. They'll listen to you."

"Dammit, I hate it when you're right. I'll talk with the food workers and in the meantime, I want you to make the list of who you're sending out."

I raised an eyebrow ridge of mine. "You want me to make it?"

"Consider it homework. That's all I needed, you can go."

I turned to walk away but Tsunade stopped me, "Wait! How's Hinata doing?"

My heart stopped beating for a second. Luckily, I practiced in the art of keeping my face neutral. "How should I know? You've seen her more than me."

Tsunade took a quick swig and smirked at me. "Huh, I wonder if that's true."

I shook my head at her and walked away quickly, heading straight for the elevator without breaking my stride. I didn't have time to dwell on the fact she knew of my Hinata watching and decided to focus on my main priority. After Sakura's transformation, I realized what Orochimaru had meant when he told me that I knew how Naruto was doing. Orochimaru used Naruto as bait for many of the SCORCH members because of his unique and extremely rare ability. He knew we couldn't afford to lose someone so valuable, whether Naruto was valuable because of his powers or because of his relationships, Orochimaru still dangled him in front of us. We all assumed he would never turn Naruto into a ROTH because he never did...or so we thought. With the recent encounter of the newest monster, I eventually put two and two together. The giant fox we fought when we were letting Hinata say goodbye to her family, that was Naruto. Orochimaru had to have changed Naruto fairly recently but we couldn't even begin to guess why now of all times. Even when we asked Shikamaru, who held the same intelligence ability as Orochimaru, there was nothing new to report.

No, stop thinking about the negatives. At least we have a lead now.

I stepped off the elevator and decided to head towards the earth training room to help clear my mind. I needed to create a team that would keep Kiba safe but also reasonable enough that it wouldn't make the members of this branch thin out too much. As I thought about the best people to send out, I turned a corner and felt something collide into my chest. Luckily, I balanced myself and kept upright but I heard the sound of someone hitting the floor. I looked down and saw Hinata sprawled on the ground, her hair covering her face. "What are you doing?"

I heard what sounded like a sniffle and Hinata looked up at me to prove what I heard was her. Her face was wet with smeared tears and her eyes were already starting to turn red. "G-Gaara?" I held my hand out to her after she said my name and right when she got back up she went straight into my chest again but this time held on as she cried harder. I froze. I could train for hours on end with my body wanting to do nothing more but stop. I could fight giant, mutated monsters of my colleagues with no hesitation. But a teenage girl clinging onto me was what made me frozen fo the spot and not able to do anything. After a couple minutes I heard voices starting to come closer to where we were and it finally made me grab onto her arm and drag her into the training room. I locked the door to let others know the training room was being used and I shouldn't be disturbed. Hinata was wiping at her eyes and nose which made me uncomfortable knowing that she was crying for whatever reason and now I was stuck here to deal with it.

I turned towards her and cleared my throat to get her attention. "What happened?" She looked about ready to release a new wave of tears which made me quickly try to say anything to make sure she didn't. "Just...calm down. Tell me after you've done that. I won't be able to understand you if you're too busy crying."

"I-It's just...I can't..." Hinata took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on what she was going to say. "It's just everyone is keeping things from me!"

I was not expecting her to yell and to form a complete sentence, so I just stood there and waited for her to continue.

"Ino...my best friend is a m-member of SCORCH. This whole time she was, oh what did she say? She said she w-was an undercover watcher! She was p-planted in my life to watch me, along with my ex-teacher Asuma! Her whole family and Asuma were all planted to watch over me! My whole life is a lie!"

Ino...

The name sounded familiar and I think it had something to do with Shikamaru and Choji but for the life of me I couldn't remember why. "And?"

Hinata looked like I had just slapped her. "A-And? And?! My best friend wasn't really my b-best friend. She lied to me! Not only that, Kiba...Kiba..."

"What about him?"

"He knew." She covered her mouth and tried to choke back the sobs that were about to surface. "He knew about I-Ino from the very beginning. Wait..." She looked at me with a glare that didn't match her face. "D-Did you know too?"

"About you having an undercover watcher? No, I didn't. I honestly don't pay attention to the other members of this branch much. What does it matter if I did?"

"It would m-mean you kept it from me too."

I sighed and rubbed at my temples. I was starting to get a headache. "You say she pretended to be your best friend, but how do you know that?"

"S-She said-!"

"No, I mean how do you know she wasn't really being herself with you? As far as I know, watchers are only there to make sure Orochimaru doesn't take anyone with powers that have either declined to be apart of us or because they don't know they have powers yet, like in your case."

Hinata started to pace back and forth, her arms hugging herself. "How did you all k-know I had powers? You didn't even know when we met!"

"I don't look at all the reports of every single person. How would I know? I'm surprised Kiba knew about it but then again he is friends with Shikamaru and since Ino's family was also involved, it means she is apart of the family compounds so that's probably how she knows Kiba."

"What does S-Shikamaru have to do with this?"

"I think he's friends with her and Choji or they were apart of the same team for awhile. Something along those lines."

Hinata bit her lip before speaking, "Then what about K-Kiba? How could he keep this from m-me? He knew how hurt I was about my family and Ino."

"You would have to ask him."

Hinata scoffed, "That's what he said a-about you."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What about me?"

Hinata squeaked and covered her mouth. "I-I'm s-s-sorry!"

"What exactly have you been asking about, concerning me?"

"I...I-I...I asked about your p-past and why people g-gossip so much about you."

I started to relax and realized what she was talking about. I've made peace with myself a long time ago and I wasn't about to open up old wounds to a stranger. "It doesn't matter. We don't interact much anymore so whatever they say about you will stop soon."

"B-But Gaara.."

"What do you plan to do?"

"What?"

I started to walk into the middle of the training arena, finding the section covered with sand. I found the personal sound mound that I created and stepped up on it. "You know about it now, so what do you want to do? Ignore them or talk it out with them?"

Hinata looked up at me as if in thought. "I...I'm not sure."

I thought back to the times Tsunade gave me counsel and all the times Naruto would talk me through the hard times I couldn't control myself. "That's fine. When you're ready, talk with them but let them know you need time."

She stared at me in astonishment, even her voice betrayed the amount of shock she possessed at my words. "I-I didn't know you cared this much about it."

"It's not like that. I just had advice to give since you seemed troubled."

"I'm surprised you w-were bothered enough to try and h-help. Thank you, Gaara."

My chest felt warmth at her praise. I didn't get it often and from someone who had a clean slate with me, the thanks meant little but it was still nice. "Hn." I closed my eyes thinking the conversation was over and started to shift the sand around me but I felt her presence was still there. "Did you need something else?" I asked her with my eyes still closed so I was still focused.

"I didn't m-mean to interrupt. Are you training?"

"Yes, it helps clear my mind."

"Well, if you w-want, we could train t-together again," she said with her voice growing quieter towards the end.

"You wouldn't be able to keep up."

"I can t-try."

I opened one eye to look at her and saw how determined she was and for some reason, her face reminded me of Naruto then. I sighed. "Fine, but don't blame me if you get hurt."

Her only power was healing and I wasn't going to go all out. It was irritating but I thought since I only needed to clear my head, it would be good to do some light attacks. It might even help me to control myself and my high powered assaults. I stayed atop my sand mound and told Hinata to move to the other side and run at me as if she was an enemy. I knew she had been training with Kurenai but it was mostly hand-to-hand since her powers don't branch out to attack like mine can. I sent out three tendrils of sand at her, all at different intervals and whenever she swatted it away I would let it fall away as if she defeated it and sent another tendril from a different direction. I increased my speed when it seemed too easy for her and that's when she started to sweat and panic. At times, she would just guess where it would go and I would use my tendril to grab her ankle and make her fall down. We would reset every time I grabbed her and this went on for awhile. Hinata got to the point that she was panting with her hands on her knees. I walked over to her, with not one sweat drop on me, and checked her over. "Let's take a break."

"But...y-you...barely m-moved."

"And you moved a lot. You need to rest, so sit." I lead her over to the side of the arena and created a bench for us to sit on. She sat next to me and had grabbed a water from the side. I made her get some water bottles earlier from the cafeteria because in the middle of our training she was sweating and about ready to collapse. She was right when she said I barely moved. I warned her I was faster and stronger than her but she did surprise me today. She was smart and was quick to calculate where my sand would go to. The longer we fought, the more she seemed to learn about my fighting ability which is a scary power all on its own. It was like Shikamaru.

"S-So...can we t-train again tomorrow?"

I had my eyes closed and was concentrating hard about my task that Tsunade gave me. "No."

"O-Oh, right," Hinata looked down dejectedly.

I glanced over her way before closing my eyes again. "I have to create a mission roster and send my team off for an important mission tomorrow."

"Oh! Then, another t-time?"

"Hn," I grunted my approval and it grew silent between us. It was different...it was nice. "You should come tomorrow too."

Hinata looked at me in confusion. "What for?"

"I'm sending Kiba and Kurenai on a mission to find Naruto. The mission is labeled A-rank." I was telling her this so she could know the mission wasn't an easy one. She seemed to understand because she looked worried before her face changed as if remembering what Kiba had done.

"I don't k-know. I'm still mad at him."

"Do what you want. I'm only telling you because I know Kiba cares about you." I stood and made Hinata stand as well so I could release my sand from being a seat and I walked out, leaving her to think things over. I had a vague idea of who I would send now that I had the time to go over my options in my head. I took out my phone and opened the SCORCH app to look over the available helpers and found the people I wanted were able to go. All I needed to do now was make an official list for Tsunade to look over and get her approval.

...

The next day I was standing by the garage opening of the main lobby. In front of me stood the helpers who I handpicked for this mission. Kiba was watching his mother and sister hug each other before going over and wrapping them both up in hugs himself. Kurenai was nodding along to whatever Asuma was saying but had a confident look about her, like she wasn't being sent out to deal with an unpredictable madman. It wasn't well-known but Asuma and Kurenai were a couple and although they weren't overly affectionate, they had little moments like these together. I looked away at the scene when I heard someone shouting and saw Tsunade with Anko, who had a finger in her ear that Tsunade just yelled in. My mentor was most likely telling her to watch herself since Anko was impulsive when it came to Orochimaru. The madman had taught Anko quite a few tricks and techniques that he learned while he had the SCORCH resources. After he betrayed the organization, Anko was the first to try and stop him but he manipulated her feelings and knocked her out. Now, all she could do was try and find him to stop him with her own abilities. I knew she was impulsive but she was one of the very few who knew Orochimaru enough to follow his tracks. Nearby were twin girls as they giggled at Anko being scolded and warned. They were put on my team together as they are one of our top medical healers. Miko and Mika were identical to the point that the only difference between them was the color of their hair; which they dyed themselves. Miko had short orange hair while Mika had short green hair. They only stopped giggling when an older man came over and grabbed a shoulder of theirs. It was my third and final medical helper for my team. He was older and more experienced which meant he could control the young twins and watch over them. His name is Koharu and people knew him as the silent type. Almost everyone was here, except a certain someone who I feared would be late. He is extremely lazy, after all.

"What a drag. I can't believe you're making me go."

I turned towards the lazy drawl and frowned. "You're late."

"By my watch, I'm right on time actually," Shikamaru looked at his phone just to make sure he was right; just like usual, he was. Behind him stood Ino as she shook her head and Choji was grinning as he was used to the lazy helper by now. I knew they had to have been on a team before and now I was starting to remember that they were together with Asuma as their leader. I'm sure the two of them came to see him off on such a dangerous mission.

"To answer your earlier question, you should know the reason why without me saying it. You are a genius after all." I couldn't help but give him a hint.

Shikamaru just glanced at me, bemused. It was my main reason to pick Shikamaru that both him and Orochimaru had the same ability. Their genius abilities were unrivaled and it was such a rare and hard to find power. Not all those who have the power last long in life because there was one major downfall. With all the knowledge of the world, it destroys your mind and drives you insane; like the villain we were going after. Everyone used to watch Shikamaru like a hawk when he was younger, in fear that he would go insane as well, however, there was one thing about his personality that saved him. He believes it was too much of a drag to become insane so he never did. Yes, that was it. That was what kept him going, even now.

Ino propped an arm on Shikamaru's shoulder and sighed. "Honestly, I can't believe you're leaving me here right after I come back from my long undercover mission. Why did you have to be so smart?"

I left the former team to themselves to talk and looked around at the group of people once more. I knew I was searching for a particular healer girl but I didn't want to let myself actually believe that. I only told her about coming here for Kiba because I knew he wanted to at least repair a tiny part of their friendship. Tsunade eventually stopped her tirade and came over to me.

"Is everything ready? Should we send them off?" She looked to me, giving me complete control.

I was about to call everyone over to give the battle plan but I heard someone running across the metal floor as if they didn't have a lot of time. I looked to see the one girl that could lift Kiba's spirits before he left. I was right since I wasn't the only one to hear her. Kiba had a relieved smile on his face but quickly went neutral as if afraid that the girl wasn't there for him. Hinata stopped in front of him and was completely red faced and out of breath. "I...I made...it."

Kiba laughed loudly before patting her shoulder. "Just barely. You scared me there for a bit." His tone held hints of sadness and I just knew he was hoping that Hinata caught his hidden meanings.

Hinata swallowed nervously but stood straight and held her ground. Something I taught her on the first day was that confidence can come in many forms and sometimes all you needed to do was adjust your stance to help your voice. I told her that so her stuttering would hopefully go away. "I just needed to say...good luck and s-stay safe. I don't completely forgive you," Hinata said that clearly to make sure he heard and he looked down sadly. "But...that's all the m-more reason for you to come back. We can talk things out then." She smiled shyly and grabbed his hand.

Kiba squeezes her hand back and gave a toothy grin. He ruffled her hair and swooped her up into a spinning hug. She was red faced now for a different reason but she didn't stop him. I cleared my throat because of the weird lump that suddenly formed and yelled out to everyone. "SCORCH members, are you ready to finally get back to being ahead of Orochimaru?" I heard cheers and hollers from everyone around us, including the people who were just walking around the Hive. "Then, stay safe and protect one another. He is not to be taken lightly; even if he isn't there, we all know how he likes to play around like we are his toys. We won't fall for anything, which is why I've chosen you all specifically to handle this mission of retrieving precious people of our helpers. Good luck and stay sharp."

The group that I had chosen all bowed to me and stood to say goodbye one last time to those they hold dear. Hinata hugged Kiba far longer than she did Tsume. I walked over to give my partner a handshake. "Don't act rash. I need you to come back here."

"I promise I will but only if you promise me something."

"What?"

Kiba glanced at Hinata who was being squeezed by Tsume. "Keep an eye out for her, just like before. I know you will even if I don't ask though." He smirked at his last statement and I almost sand blasted him right there.

"Hn."

He smiled his thanks before calling his mother over and making them leave so they didn't get left behind by the others. They walked off towards the garage and everyone stayed looking at it even though we couldn't see them anymore. It wasn't until the engines were fading into the distance did people start to disperse and get back to work. Hinata and I stood together and I couldn't help but notice the conflict on her face. "He'll be fine."

She nodded without once looking away. "I know. I just have a w-weird feeling is all."

I lifted an eye ridge in question but from the corner of my eye I saw bright blonde hair slowly coming over to us, making my unspoken question go unanswered. Ino stood wringing her hands as she was glancing at Hinata then the floor and back again, all while opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Hinata finally looked right back at her and gave a small nod before turning around and heading back to the bedrooms. Ino's eyes grew wide but her lips turned upwards in a smal grin and it was enough for her that Hinata acknowledged her. It was going to be awkward but I believe that whatever issues the two girls were having would blow over before too long.

"So, how does it feel?"

I looked to see Tsunade with her hands on her hips. "How does what feel?"

Tsunade gestured towards the Hive. "Being in charge of people and sending them out on missions. You having to choose who goes and who stays and if it is enough. How does it feel?"

It was terrifying. People that I actually started to get to know and even if I didn't know them or even if they hated me, they were still lives that counted on my judgement and I could be sending people to their deaths. "It's something else. Something I didn't know I could do."

"Well, now you know you can." She stood next to me as we looked out to the Hive and watching the people moving along quickly now that we were short-handed. "But does that mean you want to? Do you still want to take over the Suna branch?"

We hadn't talked about it much but the reason Tsunade took over as my mentor was because my people were trying to groom me to be the next head of Suna. No one else knew but her, my siblings, and the council. "I can't leave my people to be without a leader. They need me."

Tsunade smirked and patted me on the back. "Well, look at you all grown up. When you first came here, you wanted nothing to do with people but now...it's quite the change. I'm proud of you."

I stayed silent. What was there to be proud of? I was doing what anyone in my place would do.

Tsunade noticed how quiet I had gotten and sighed. "You haven't told them yet, have you?"

I crossed my arms, not looking at her. "They don't need to know just yet. Besides, I'm not leaving until Naruto is back safe."

"Well, you're an adult now and there's not much I can say but I still think it's better to tell people things earlier rather than later."

She patted my back again before walking off towards the elevator. How was I supposed to tell Kiba and Naruto that I would be leaving as soon as Naruto was back? My siblings ask every chance they get when I was coming home but I couldn't just tell them and run. Now I would need to tell Hinata...

She wanted to train with me and stay by my side. She was starting to get closer and it's scary to think that I could possibly want that. My problem was that Hinata knew nothing of my past and if anyone told her, it would be over. She would grow frightened like everyone else who didn't understand. My good friends Kiba and Naruto know and have accepted me. My siblings have just started to trust me and are trying to build our relationship. Even my old caretaker Baki would send messages to me, asking if everything was going okay. It was easy since they knew the old me first and have been through my transitions to get to know the me now, but with her it was the opposite. She knows me now as someone who was distant but still cared. The old me...the old me was murderous and cold, wouldn't even think twice about hurting those around me if given the chance. What would she do if she finds out I murdered my own uncle?

I didn't have answers so the only solution was to keep my distance and hopefully Naruto would return before long and I could leave without getting too close. I walked away from the garage and headed towards any place that could keep my mind away from the image of a horrified Hinata running away from me.

Oh. My. God! This took me so long but I finally did it! I have successfully (more or less) completed another chapter. Hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am! ShibaOokami out!