Second installment of the revised story. How am I doing so far? Any comments? Improvements? Please enjoy this work in progress!

Chapter 2: A Special Mission! Gaara, the Mysterious Anbu Girl, and the Demon

When Gaara arrived at the home of the Kazekage, he immediately avoided the scattered throughout the building and teleported to right outside the door of his office. This caught the two guards by surprise but they did not question the ninja as he opened the door and entered. Kankurou was at his desk reading a scroll that seemed to be boring him greatly.

He looked up and smiled. "Welcome back, little brother," he said as he rolled the scroll up. "Mission went well?" Gaara answered him by putting a scroll on his desk and bowing.

"The mission was successful, Kazekage-sama. There were no casualties and the item in question was returned to the daimyo unharmed. I leave the details to be analyzed at your leisure." He stood up straight again. Kankurou was looking exasperated at the formal way in which Gaara was addressing him. The younger jounin shook his head. "I saw our sister on my way back. She's doing well. Fumi's a little ball of energy. I bought her a tessen."

Kankurou chuckled. "I hope she doesn't give her father any headaches with that thing."

"No more than usual, I'd suspect." Gaara sat on top of his desk. He stared at Kankurou quietly, his face placid and unreadable. It made the older brother and leader a little uncomfortable but that wasn't anything new. He opened his mouth to say something but Gaara cut him off. "No matter how many times I see it, you still look silly with that hat." He reached over and touched the brim with his finger, tilting it down over Kankurou's eyes.

His brother took it off, rubbing his spiky brown hair. "Did you have any problems getting in?" Gaara shook his head no. "None?"

They both stopped and looked towards the curtain. Two small feet were sticking out. Kankurou rubbed his temples and put his head down on the table. It was his son, Mokumaru. The young boy's purpose in life, at the moment, was to defeat his uncle in battle. Whenever Sabaku no Gaara returned to Sunagakure, he would hunt him down and attack him.

While Fumi showed no real interest in any particular style of ninjutsu, Mokumaru decided to follow his father in a way. His weapon of choice was the yo-yo controlled by a string of chakra. He was able to create a weak connection now but he was no where near as adept as his father. Kankurou lamented that he didn't have much time to train him properly, however, he was still inwardly proud that he had a successor in the art.

The sand ever present around Gaara flew and a wooden object imbedded itself in the sand wall. Mokumaru peeked out from behind the curtain. He groaned and crossed his arms. "Ultimate Defense, eh?"

Gaara grabbed the toy from the retreating sand and tossed it back to his nephew. "Something like that."

The boy caught it in one hand. He glared at his uncle intensely for a few minutes before smiling a little. "I'll be the one to break that defense." He ran over and jumped up, being caught by Gaara.

"It's already been broken. A few times, actually," he remarked. "I'd be honored to have you break it again though, Mokumaru." He put the boy down. He wasn't one for being too clingy. He preferred to be more subtle about his affections. Being loving was not something he was used to.

Mokumaru tossed the yo-yo to his father. "Show me again how to do it, Dad. I can't beat Gaara, if you don't teach me." There was a slight whine in his voice. He tried to act older than he was but sometimes his true age shone through. Kankurou sighed and began to play with the yo-yo, shooting it back and forth. Mokumaru's eyes were fixed on it.

"You need more chakra control, Mo-kun. That only comes with practice," the Kazekage replied catching the yo-yo finally in his hand. He tossed it back to Mokumaru. "You just need to keep at it. I can't make it happen for you."

The young boy of seven sighed miserably. "I practice everyday already…." He put the yo-yo in his pocket and climbed onto a pile of pillows by the window. He laid down and watched them with sleepy eyes. "Uncle Gaara, can't you teach me anything?"

Gaara shook his head. "You're not strong enough." Mokumaru responded by groaning and turning over. "If that's all, I'm going now, Kankurou."

Kankurou stood at his seat "But, you just got here? Gaara, if you want a house, I can-"

The man shook his head. A home was not for him. He was too restless. "No. I'm fine."

"Where do you end up going all the damn time anyway?" asked Kankurou. He didn't even attempt to hide the annoyance in his voice. He watched his little brother walk over to Mokumaru to say good-bye but the boy was fast asleep. He patted him on the head. The Sand swirled around Gaara as he disappeared.

He reappeared in the streets with a sigh. Just like before, he felt as though he didn't belong in the family. If he hung around he'd only be the way. Gaara shook his head and decided to get something to eat before he left. While he was walking the streets, a group of shinobi rushed past him. They must have just failed a mission and someone was going to have to clean up.

The door to Kankurou's office burst open as three ninja piled in out of breath. One seemed to very badly wounded and the others weren't much better. They bowed before him, half out of respect and half out of exhaustion. Kankurou stood up confused and walked over to them.

"What the heck? What happened to you guys?"

A ninja with rows of braids looked up with an expression of worry and fear. "We were on a mission north of here. It was pretty simple assassination job so we were coming back. We took a shortcut but that was a big mistake. We got lost in this forest and ran into a gang of soldiers. They said they were a demon army." He clenched his teeth as remembered the fight. "It was totally one sided but somehow we managed to escape."

Kankurou sighed. "This is no the first report I've gotten about this." He pressed a button on his desk. "Send in a medical team. " He almost let go but suddenly remembered something. "Have you seen Gaara? Is he still here?"

"He's still here," grunted one of the other ninjas. "We passed him on our way here."

"Good."

Once more Gaara was standing in front of his brother. He had been contacted by an aide that there was a special mission for him to do. When he entered an Anbu woman was standing there. Her hair was long, brown, and wild and she had a vicious look in her eye. Gaara ignored her for the moment.

Kankurou was sitting on top with his hat resting on the corner of his chair. When he looked up at the sandnin, his expression was more serious than Gaara could ever remember him being. He did not hesitate to begin debriefing them. "There have been reports from a few frightened villages in Kazekuni as well as some recent Sandninja. They say that they're having problems with a demon but so far I can't get confirmation of this so called 'demon'. The ninjas that I have sent to investigate have either not returned or have found nothing. After a recent report, however, I'm moving the rank of this mission from A to S. This is also Anbu territory."

The woman nodded, crossing her arms and giving Gaara a hateful look. "I agree entirely. I am familiar with that region and even when I was young there were tales of demons running around but it seems this is more serious. I suggest I head a team of Anbu to this-" She was cut off as Kankurou raised his hand to stop her.

"Gaara will head the attack. This mission is perfect for him," Kankurou stated firmly. Gaara did not flinch the entire time that they spoke.

"But he's a demon himself! How can we be sure that he won't join the enemy side for power?" she exclaimed, motioning to the red haired jounin.

Kankurou stood up, gritting his teeth. "Gaara is not a demon! It may be true that sealed inside of him is a creature of great power but Gaara himself is a man of extreme honor. I won't have you insult the best ninja we have in this village." He looked over to his brother that still looked straightforward, unblinkingly. "He should have become Kazekage but because of people like you that hold that incorrect opinion towards him…"

Gaara finally spoke. "Please continue with information about the mission. We don't have time to waste on unimportant things."

The Anbu woman growled and clenched her fists. She looked away from him in order to hide her anger towards him and her disgust. Kankurou also turned away from the woman in order to accomplish the same thing.

"Gaara, I know that you are the best ninja in our village and I wouldn't ask you to do this if I weren't in desperate need but would you become one of the Anbu for this mission?" The woman sucked in air. "I need you to do this…"

The jounin of Sand looked at his brother and nodded. "I don't plan to stay one permanently but I understand that it would look better to the villagers if I were part of the Anbu. Don't worry about me."

Kankurou smiled, a weight suddenly off of his shoulders, which were growing heavier and heavier these days. "Thank you, Sabakuno Gaara."

The younger brother did a rare thing and smiled. He looked towards the still angry woman. "And her?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm your subordinate, puppy," she spat angrily. "I'm older than you and I've probably seen more battles than you have hairs on your head. I will not be condescended by you."

The Kazekage rolled his eyes and thrust the mission papers at Gaara. "She will be back up for you. I trust that your talent will be all that's necessary in case that thing is a real demon," Kankurou responded ignoring the brief tirade. "Her name is Kirae, by the way. Please tolerate her."

Gaara nodded and began to leave. Kirae grabbed him on the wrist as he passed but the look he gave here could have frozen boiling water in an instant. She let go and drew back slightly. She looked back to the Kazekage with uncertainty. He had the same eyes as his brother but his seemed colder and emptier as they glared at her. She was all alone in this battle. Gaara was the captain and she would have to follow his command.

Mokumaru found his uncle packing items in his satchel outside of the main hall. He could tell that his uncle was in no mood to be attacked so he simply sat on the short wall where he was standing. He cupped his small chin in his palms and watched silently. He didn't know what the mission was going to be but Gaara had changed his clothes to look like one of the elite ninja that he had heard about in books with the addition of his gourd. All the more reason to admire Gaara, he thought to himself.

After he put in the final item into the bag, Gaara looked up at his nephew. The boy closed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something sage but found a sucker there instead. When he opened his eyes again, Gaara was gone and so was his bag. He was a little disappointed that he didn't get to say good-bye properly but apparently that was usual for family members of the legenday Shukaku Vessel. He came and went like the wind; always unexpectedly.

Gaara met with Kirae outside of the village. The elite ninja could not bring herself to meet his stony gaze and she simply started walking. Her new partner simply followed her silently, arms crossed. Back at the home of the Kazekage, Mokumaru walked into his father's office. His mother patted him on the head and walked out with a plate of food. He ran over to Kankurou, who was looking out the window, and stared out with him.

"Is that Uncle Gaara?" He pointed to the main gate. He couldn't see anything but he wondered if his father could. At any rate, he would be praised for having a good eye, whether or not that was true.

However, Kankurou did not answer. He just stared out as the golden sun began to set beneath the red and amber sky. In his heart, he hoped that there would be nothing dangerous for his brother and Kirae to face but something in the pit of his stomach would not let him relax.

Gaara and Kirae settled down in the forest after day of travel. Not one civil word had been spoken between them until finally they decided to stop talking all together. She would glare hatefully at him, hoping to crack his solemn exterior but he remained stoic and ignored her. Sometimes she would make a snide comment to herself loud enough for him to hear but he wouldn't even blink.

Gaara created a fire and immediately went to go for a walk. However, the Anbu woman grabbed his hand. When he looked down at her she swallowed hard but did not let go.

"Why don't you ever get angry when I say those things about you?" she asked bluntly.

Gaara gently took his hand back and crossed his arms. "Because, you aren't saying anything that I haven't heard before. I grew up with those hateful words being spat in my direction but I'm far older and they don't hold the same sting as they used to. Besides, they aren't true so why should I care about what you say?" He walked away before she had time to respond. She scrambled to stand up and follow him but a hand made of sand held her in place. "You have to watch the fire, in case it draws too much attention. "

She watched after him and punched the ground after he had left. The things that he did irritated her for some reason. He managed to act above her without doing much of anything. He ignored her actions and words as if they did not exist but showed no animosity towards her. She could not get him to acknowledge her. That's why she hated him. He would not acknowledge her and that is why she was filled with unquenchable curiosity for him. Perhaps he thought her weak and that is why he treated her so poorly. Soon she could show him her prowess and worth in battle. He would then be forced to treat her as an equal or superior.

It unsettled her that that he did not sleep when she clearly needed too. Later that night she had told him that since he didn't sleep that she would not either but he coolly reminded her that if they were going to battle a demon and its minions than even the slightest sleep depravation could cost her her life. She slept uneasily but when she awoke he was waiting calmly by a tree for her.

The two investigated every rumor and town they came across as they neared the town but they did not encounter much in the way of information about the demon other than reports that it was amassing an army of vagabonds and otherwise displaced members of society. It seemed that it offered a lot of money so the possibility that it was an actual demon decreased dramatically. It was likely a gang lord trying to make a name for himself and disrupt the peace of the Country of Wind. Secretly, Gaara hopped that that was all it was.

When they arrived at the village that had filed the complaint, the mayor of the village, very old and thin as a rail, clamored up to greet them. "Thank god you've come! Things are getting worse." He claimed that 5 other villages were having the same concerns. By the look of the crumbling buildings and the dirty clothes of the villagers that crowded around them, Gaare agreed that they wouldn't have had the money to pay for the mission on their own.

"Some of the young men from our village have left and it's hard on the older farmers that rely on the young bodies to help pull in the harvest," he explained. "We hear things in the forest; evil things. And sometimes we've seen things as well: unexplained eyes, wisps of white, nothing that we have ever seen before but they are continuing to get worst. It's so bad that the hunters won't even go into the forests anymore. We're all terrified."

Kirae smiled sweetly. "Don't worry. We are the best that Sunagakure has to offer. We will find the source of this problem and eliminate it." She turned to Gaara, wearing the same smile. "Won't we?" Gaara nodded.

"Whatever you hear, stay inside. I don't want preventable casualties. We will inform you of when it is safe to come out or when to evacuate. Just be ready." He turned and headed toward the forest. Kirae bowed to the mayor and followed her companion.

They weren't too far into the forest when it seemed to become unnaturally dark for that time of the day. It was also very cold and danger seemed to emanate from every shadow. "Genjutsu?" Kirae whispered to Gaara. He made a noise that neither confirmed her suspicion nor denied it. She immediately drew her kunai as they advanced. They traveled for what seemed like hours but never could tell how close they were to the heart of the forest.

No enemies were encountered but there was definitely something going on. Gaara stopped and tried to channel his chakra to find the source of the spell but the forest was so oppressive in its power he could not sense anything out of the ordinary. This must be why the ninja could do nothing to find the enemy lair. However, criminals did not suspect that they would be going up against Sabaku no Gaara.

He held out his hand and held two fingers to his eye. Sand swirled around his upheld hand. Kirae gasped as three brown eyes were created. They looked from here to there, their alien gaze darting all around. "The connection has been made." The eyes flew off in opposite directions.

"Now what?" She asked.

Gaara sat down on the ground, closing his other eye. "We wait." She sat beside him, closely. He didn't move. She didn't press her luck.

The eyes darted all over the forest searching. For the most part it was the same in all regions of the forest; unnatural darkness and silence dominated. Yet, Gaara was able to find an area that looked promising. It was not as dark and there was a large cave. Outside of it, there dozens of humans milling about what looked to be an encampment. He marked the location in his mind and dispelled the jutsu, returning sight to his right eye.

He stood up unexpectedly and Kirae, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, fell over to the ground. She stood up rapidly, rubbing her eyes. "Have you found something?"

Gaara nodded and pointed west. "The enemy seems to be in that direction." He looked at her half-asleep face and sighed deeply. Kirae found a canteen being shoved at her. "Wake up. We're heading into battle."

She scowled but drank some of the cool water. "I know. I know. But it's boring to just wait like that in a dark place." She smacked her cheeks lightly. "Ready."

As they headed towards their enemies, Gaara realized that perhaps the villagers were not too far off from their prediction that the strange occurrences were related to some kind of demon. The darkness was not natural nor was it any kind of normal genjustu created by man. To consume an entire forest in darkness would consume too much chakra for one person or even a legion of genjutsu specialists to maintain for more than a short period of time. Perhaps only a day or so at max but this continued for weeks, they heard, without abating.

The two Anbu soon heard the familiar sounds of people. They crept closer and closer to the source of the noise and saw at least one hundred men assembled around the cave entrance. Indeed as the reports stated, the men looked like strays and ne'er-do-wells.

Gaara put on his Anbu masked which resembled a tanuki. He scoffed at first at the choice but didn't complain. Kirae's was a wolf mask. The looked at each other for confirmation to proceed and then jumped down into the middle of the party. The men all looked up in shocked. Some of them whispered the word 'ninja' or 'assassin' but a large man stood up and laughed in challenge.

"You must think that you two are pretty bad ass to just jump in the middle of 139 men. Even if you are ninja, those odds ain't too good," he said, licking the edge of a wicked blade. His threat garnered some laughter.

Kirae chuckled. "You're right, the odds don't look very good. For you, that is. We are elite ninja from Sunagakure no Sato. By order of the Kazekage and the daimyo of this region we are demanding that his illegal army disband immediately or suffer the consequences." She sliced the air with her hand for emphasis. Gaara remained still with his arms closed over his chest.

Some of the men had fearful looks in their eyes but the majority remained confident in the power of their numbers. Kirae growled. "I don't think a warning will work, Gaara," she whispered to him, showing some concern. "Perhaps if we neutralized their leader we could acquire more leverage."

Gaara looked at the big man. He had many cuts all over his body from countless battles. To anyone off the street he was a force to be avoided, however Gaara was not a common thug. "I suggest those of you with brains do the smart thing and return to your villages. Life may be hard and you may not be wealthy but you at least have a greater opportunity of saving your worthless lives," he calmly stated.

The big man laughed but it was cut short as sand snaked up his leg. "Huh! What the hell is this!" He struggled against the sand but he was held fast by Gaara's ninjutsu. Kirae took a step back- it was the first time that she had encountered the legendary Sand Ninja's fury first hand. Gaara raised his hand as the sand lifted the man easily off the ground. "Sabaku Sousou!" As Gaara's fingers clenched shut, the sand imploded, killing the foolish rebel immediately. The blood rained down on the field. At least 30 men ran for cover into the forest but the rest remained fixed out of terror or determination. "Mmm…I was hoping to cut the numbers by half but that was better than nothing," he mused without humor.

Kirae pulled out a sword from behind her. "I can't let you have all the fun. Kya!" She took off before Gaara could stop her and dashed through the crowd. Her speed was impressive. It was not nearly up to Konoha's Rock Lee but it was still nothing to be sneezed at. Twenty men fell to Kirae's blade before she sheathed it. 20 more men ran. "That's about half, wouldn't you say, Gaara?"

Suddenly the ground started to shake. Kirae fell to all fours looking at the cave. Gaara was taken by surprised but maintained his balance. The ragtag army pulled away from the mouth of the cavern looking fearful.

"Kirae?" a deep, booming voice chuckled. Kirae flinched. "It has been a long time, hasn't it?"