Hello!
I have another chapter ready to go now.
I'm going to take a break after this, with classes starting I need to focus on other stuff. But I promise I'll update whenever I have time. I refuse to leave this story unfinished!
So for now read and enjoy.
Now onwards my dears, onwards!
Kankuro wasn't the type cut out to be a leader, but he was really trying.
Sunagakure had been total hell since Gaara departed with his wife. The council were behaving like savages, and most of the citizens were in danger of causing an outbreak of a political war. For some time now, Gaara had been trying to eliminate all traces of the old-fashioned, unreasonable ideas that the village elders once had. Times were changing drastically and the country couldn't afford to keep hanging on to the selfish and unrealistic government problems that caused the village to fall into war with other nations. People were not just going to give up the changes that had helped them to prosper without a fight. Sunakagure's daimyo was trying to save money by any way possible, and while Gaara had done a wonderful job of making sure the village was in good hands; some things couldn't disappear so easily. The council had been threatening Kankuro for the past few days to agree to some stupid request they were making. While the puppet master was familiar with them he didn't have nearly enough experience or political knowledge like Gaara did to give an appropriate response. It was however a lucky break that Baki was on his side.
The man had been serving directly under the Kazekage for years giving nothing but unbreakable loyalty. He had been doing this long before Kankuro had even been born, so he knew exactly how to talk back to those stubborn geezers and make them think twice about what they wanted. This tactic would work, but it couldn't last forever sooner or later the pressure would reach its limit. Funny to think that it had only been three days since his little brother left and this occurrence should happen.
That's why Kankuro was wishing that Hanabi would be brought back soon. Or else the village was sure to fall into a civil war. Temari had a little more knowledge then he did, on how to deal with this kind of issue. But she was heavily pregnant with a baby and she had her duty to take care of Hena. In her condition there was no way she'd be able to handle it. Kankuro couldn't ask that of his older sister, he didn't have the nerve to attempt it. This was the kind of thing that he'd have to handle on his own until Gaara came back. You could say that it was a little unfair, or even a coincidence that this sort of thing would happen the moment Gaara turned his back. But it is, what it is and nothing could change that for the moment. Times hadn't been this rough, since his dead father the Fourth Kazekage was around.
"How does Gaara manage all this shit?!"
He was sitting at his younger brother's desk going over the mountain of paperwork that was giving him a headache. Baki was standing behind him reviewing some of the work with a stern expression on his face. "Kankuro it won't do you any good to complain. You promised Gaara you'd handle things till he returned". Kankuro clicked his tongue in irritation, Baki did have a point but this was not an easy task for him. In the past whenever he did this for Gaara it would only be for a few hours; this kind of circumstance was way over his head. "This is stupid, how did things even get this bad?!" He was speaking his thoughts out loud uncaring that his former mentor could hear him. Baki could only give Kankuro a bit of a sad look in his eyes. Though he may not look like it, Baki cared very much for Temari, Gaara and Kankuro. He had been looking over them since they were all very young. They were almost like the sons and daughter he never had. And as such his concern for them showed in different ways. He knew that Kankuro was feeling the pressures of being a leader for this kind of matter, and he figured that what the puppet master needed was a bit of a talk.
"Do not distract yourself with thoughts. Gaara is counting on you".
"The hell did you say?!"
Kankuro turned around suddenly with a look ready to kill someone. Baki was a bit surprised but his face remained the same. "How the fuck would you know what I'm thinking?! You think it's easy for me to be doing this!" The sounds of Kankuro's yells seemed to bounce off the walls as he picked up a book and threw it at the door causing a loud band to occur. The noise alerted a few guards who were down the nearest hallway and Kankuro had screamed at them to get lost before he tore out their throats. Once they were gone he had smashed his fist into the wall almost breaking it completely.
Baki bit his lower lip "Stop that!" he only received a death glare from the enraged puppet master "Shut the hell up!" That's when he noticed the tears that poured down his face. This was surprising, Baki had never seen Kankuro cry before and it was a good thing he wasn't wearing his usual face paint. Something wasn't right but Baki had no idea what it was. Kankuro almost never let his emotions get the better of him, shinobi were taught to always remain blank so not to let themselves become weak. That was a skill that Kankuro had mastered over the years, but for whatever reason he was crying. It just seemed so unlikely that a strong man like Kankuro would end up in tears.
"Just shut up". More tears came down, and he was trembling slightly.
Baki knew this was going against his rough nature but he wanted to know why Kankuro was so upset.
"Kankuro...what is wrong?"
He didn't respond right away, instead he wiped away most of his tears only to have more spill down. Having known Baki for many years, this was very unlike him to be expressing concern in this manner. To be truthful, Kankuro wanted someone to talk too, preferably Temari as she was his sister. But he feared that his image as a tough guy would possibly be ruined should he let his feelings get the better of him.
"I'm worthless! Totally worthless!"
The sudden confession made Kankuro angry with himself, it happened so suddenly that he didn't have time to think about it, the words just came out. But at this point nothing seemed to make sense as the words just came tumbling out as a river of tears continued down his cheeks.
"Let's face it, I'm useless. Gaara is the true genius he's always been better at me in everything. I tried to catch up to him I really did, but nothing seems to ever go as you plan it. Gaara's my little brother and it's my job to always have his back. But I couldn't do it, I couldn't even save him when the Akatsuki captured him. What kind of scum does that make me?! I should be able to handle stuff like this but I can't do it. I'll never be the brother Gaara deserves, I will never be good at anything no matter how much I try!".
Baki's face remained the same but his dark eyes showed that he felt sympathy for his former student. Kankuro was essentially blaming himself for everything that had happened. It wasn't easy to deal with this kind of emotional breakdown, but Baki cared for Kankuro and he did want to try to help him. But he wasn't that kind of sentimental person who always knew what to say. But that didn't mean he would stay quite. Baki may not be good with kind words but he knew that Kankuro needed some sort of relief.
"Kankuro?"
The puppet master looked up at him. "You are not Gaara, don't even try to be".
He walked over and in a rare display on concern Baki placed his hand on Kankuro's shoulder "You are strong and you can uphold your expectations to Gaara. I have seen you accomplish things many times. As a brother you have already fulfilled your duties to Temari and Gaara and I know that you are capable of things that even I may not be aware of. So don't let yourself wallow in self pity; you are the older brother to the Kazekage after all and what do you think he'll say when he sees you like this".
It took a minute for the words to sink in, and when they did Kankuro did feel a little better about himself. Baki was right, he wasn't Gaara and didn't mean anything. He was him, and he didn't have to be someone he wasn't. He wasn't a kid anymore he was a highly capable ninja and Gaara's right-hand man. "Thanks Baki" he had said it quietly but it was loud enough for Baki to hear it. "Kankuro you are strong and you can do this". He laughed a little to himself "Yeah I got it".
Hinata felt herself growing tired as she ran alongside her husband. They were almost to the halfway point when it came to reaching Kumogakure. But it would be another few days until they crossed they borders that Suna shared with Kumo. The bluenette was praying that Hanabi hadn't been spotted; in recent years the Hyuga had been able to rest easy since the treaty that was given after the last great war. Their kekki genkai was no longer being hunted. But that didn't mean there weren't still some that desired to know the secrets of the byakugan. Kumo had been the Hyuga's enemy in the past and should Hanabi be seen Hinata couldn't say for sure what would happen to her. Their bloodline could potentially be exposed; it was all a hunch to begin with but Hinata was still worried about little sister should she run into trouble. She started to pant a bit as she followed Gaara, they hadn't stopped for a while and as a result she was starting to become exhausted.
The red head was also starting to tire himself. It was possible that they could keep going for a little longer but should they run into some foes they'd be too drained to fight back. It was better to regain their strength and keep moving later. They would find Hanabi sooner or later but right now they needed to do what was best for them. "We will rest here for now". He leapt into the high branches of the nearest tree and his wife followed suit. She leaned against a sturdy branch and took a moment to catch her breath.
"Gaara-dana how much farther do we have to go?"
"We are nearly at the midway point, it will be another day before we get there. Plus two more until we reach the village". He settled himself next to her and he let out a breath of relief; they really needed to rest for a while. For a few minutes it was quite between them as they allowed their bodies to relax; the calming sounds of the forest also seemed to the trick. Gaara closed his eyes for a moment intending to clear his thoughts but Hinata could help but ask a question that she had been wanting to ask for some time now.
"Gaara-dana?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go on".
"What was your relationship with Matsuri before you married me?"
Hinata had been wanting to know that for a while now, but she didn't know when to ask that question. She still had a little seed of doubt that the mystery person was her, but she wouldn't know for sure unless Gaara told her so.
The red head was a little confused as to why his wife would ask that kind of question, but he didn't exactly want to bring up that mad woman at the moment. Still Hinata was looking at him waiting for some kind of answer so he had no choice but to give a response. "She was my apprentice, and nothing more. But it was fairly obvious that she wanted my affections which I never returned. She tried to approach me many times to make it happen but I always turned her down. Matsuri was always stubborn and she couldn't seem to understand that I had no interest in her whatsoever still she persisted and I was growing tired of her. Believe it or not she wasn't always like this, Matsuri used to show good potential as my student I guess I even considered her a friend at some point. But she proved me wrong in everything". Gaara wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, resting his head against her shoulder.
"She means nothing to me now, and to be honest I wouldn't mind the fact if she was dead. I hate her".
Hinata felt a bit happier when she heard that, she knew that Gaara didn't want anything to do with Matsuri from the beginning but hearing those words from him put her at ease a little more.
"May I ask you another question?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"Are you happy that we were married?"
Instead of responding to her through words he cupped her cheek and tilted her head so that he could kiss her tenderly. Hinata responded right away and it wasn't long till the kiss became a lot more passionate. Eventually he pulled away leaving her breathless and he grinned a little "Does that answer your question?" Hinata blushed a bit "Yes it does". He kissed her again "Good".
When word reached Neji that Hanabi was heading towards Kumogakure, he really wanted to leave Konoha and follow to try and find his cousin. He would've done it also had he not remembered Hinata that he'd stay out of it. He made a promise to only come when she called him and it was proving to be very difficult for him. That overprotective big brother side of him was screaming to do something, but the more reasonable and calm part of him was reminding him to keep to his word no matter what. Hiashi was still trying to get permission to leave Konoha but Naruto was having none of it. Neji had thankfully been able to move into Tenten apartment and it had been a great relief to him not having to deal with his insane uncle all the time; but that still was not going to stop him for worrying over his cousins. Despite his changed feelings, Neji still didn't feel easy about Kumo. His father had given his life to protect the Hyuga after all but it was hard to let go of the past sometimes. He wondered briefly how far Hanabi had gotten, or if she had made it to the village by now. If so what was she doing? And did she give herself away?
Too many questions were going through his mind at the moment. It was proving to be very distracting especially during training.
"Neji you do not seem to be yourself".
Even Lee had noticed that his friend was acting strangely and had been for some time. Though he still considered the Hyuga male his rival, over the years the two of them had gotten close enough to be considered best friends. Lee was the second person to know everything about Neji other then Tenten and he knew that something was bothering Neji. "What is bothering you? Your usually so focused". This was really something Lee didn't have to know about, should he tell him the whole story Lee would probably take matters into his own hands and try to do something to help. He didn't need to concern himself in this matter, and it was better that he remained in the dark.
"It's nothing Lee".
He raised one of his thick eyebrows "Are you positive? You've looked like you've been dealing with something for a while now. Don't think I haven't noticed".
"Please just drop it".
"Neji whatever it is that's bothering you, you can always tell me. Tenten had told me that she's worried about you I think she mentioned it had something to do about the Hyuga clan".
The white-eyed male mentally scowled, his girlfriend knew that this didn't concern her. But it wasn't really her fault Tenten cared for him as well as Lee and it always worried her when one or the other was in despair. Lee was her closest friend as well so it would make sense that Tenten would seek Lee out for some sort of support. "This doesn't concern you Lee. Please don't bring it up again". He only received a strange look "But Neji-" "I said I don't want to talk about it!" Neji hadn't realized that he was shouting till he saw Lee move back a bit. Feeling a bit guilty for his sudden outburst the Hyuga male approached his friend.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to shout. But for your own sake I don't want to get you involved. Trust me, it's not a simple matter that can be solved right away".
Lee knew that Neji was looking out for him. And he would be respectful of his friend's request, if Neji decided to tell him and Tenten in time what this was all about then he would. But for now he would keep his nose out of other people's business.
The mountain ranges that Kumokagure was located was no easy climb. Hanabi was having a hard time trying to keep moving. Oxygen levels were higher because of how high the landscape was; and because of how much moisture was gathered in the atmosphere, the temperature was often cold. Hanabi had figured a while ago that traveling to Kumogakure was not without risk but she didn't have much of a choice. She didn't even intend to stay for long. She just wanted to put enough distance between herself and Hinata before she made her trek to Konoha. She was a bit on edge and for good reason, she was deep in foreign territory and she most definitely didn't want to give herself away. Hanabi wasn't even sure if she was heading in the right direction towards the village, she wasn't familiar with the geography of the landscape. So there was even a chance that she might just pass it without realizing it.
Despite how tired she was, Hanabi forced herself to keep moving. She at least needed to find a spot to settle before nightfall and the cold came in. So that was why she continued to walk. This continued for some time till she stopped and listened for something. She had this feeling that she was being watched, and had been for a while now. She couldn't sense anything though. But just to confirm she quietly activated her byakugan, as soon as the veins around her eyes appeared she threw several shirken into a nearby bush and two figures jumped out. There were two males both of them wore the standard shinobi outfit that most ninja of Kumo wear. Hanabi was quick to go on the defense and she charged at them with the intent to take them out. She had been hoping to avoid getting involved in a battle but she didn't have a choice, it was either fight or face uncertainty.
"Just give it up squirt, we don't intend to kill you".
"Don't mess with me!"
"Easy there girlie, we're not as bad as you think".
"Don't make me laugh".
Hanabi was weak, physically her body couldn't keep up with her movements. Weeks of traveling through tough terrain had taking its toll on her. But still she continued to fight.
"What is a Hyuga such as yourself doing out here anyway?"
"That's none of your business!".
Hanabi suddenly felt pain coming from the back of her neck, at first she didn't understand what had happened. With her byakugan activated she should've been able to see her enemy from behind. Then again she didn't have enough chakra to keep her kekki genkai activated for very long.
"Damn it". She fell to the muddy ground shaking from the effects of the blow that she received. Mentally Hanabi scolded herself for being to physically weak to fight back. Had she been a little more resourceful perhaps things wouldn't have turned out they way they did. The last thing that Hanabi could remember before everything went black was the sounds of footprints approaching her. And the muffled voices of the two men.
You'll have to wait as see what happens next.
I tried making this chapter a bit longer, but I'll see what I can do with the next one.
Please leave me some reviews.
No flames are allowed!
Until next time!
