THE SAND CRUMBLES
Chapter Two
Mission Part I: Foolish Little Brother
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In Otogakure (Sound)
A mere sliver of light was radiating down from the sky, with its rays decorated by the paranormal twinkle of a thousand stars. The luminescent blanketed the Sound village with ethereal glow that made the deserted land seem otherworldly. Gaara, snuggling next to his blond mission partner, adjusted himself between the screens of leaves. He stole a glance at his mission partner; clear sapphire eyes were holding sparkles of hopefulness that seemed to light the blonde's entire being up from the inside. Naruto had his arms slightly folded above a tree branch with his gaze fixed on the spring water below him, as though he had never moved or blinked.
Bringing his gaze back to the bubbling spring water, Gaara was still amused at his being in Oto with Naruto. Simply, he came because this mission was important to his Naruto…. because Sasuke was important to Naruto. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. As the leader of Suna, he was well aware of the consequences what his actions might produce. At the thought of his beloved, all seemed insignificant.
"Sasuke's scent… Sasuke's Chakra…" Naruto whispered.
Gaara twisted his transparent eyebrows. The blonde's ability to pick up the avenger's scent and chakra miles away simply amazed him. Gaara had not sensed the approach of anyone, and having hosted Shukaku for the years, he prided himself in chakra signature recognition. He wondered whether that was the fox demon's unique ability or its host's particular tuning of a certain raven-haired shinobi.
A warm pine scented draft gently swayed the landscape. Gaara faintly detected the scent that could only be from a ninja of the Leaf, the scent of the leaves, the forest, the scent of an Uchiha. He could also faintly feel the unmasked chakra that was raw, primal, and irresistibly overwhelming. Gaara inhaled deeply as another heavenly scented draft swaying his direction.
'It has been three years…and I almost miss it…' All of a sudden, Gaara realized that he was anticipating seeing Sasuke, he wanted to see Sasuke.
"This has been his favorite spot spending time alone outside of his headquarter," whispered Naruto.
Gaara nodded. Hiraishin no Jutsu (1) allowed Naruto to be teleported to Otogakure with ease, and to spy on his raven-haired buddy at his leisure, another secret that Naruto had been hiding from Konoha.
"He will stay in the spring for about 20-30 minutes. Sometimes, he trains a little bit. He has developed the liking of killing trees and blowing bubbles." A content smile vaguely embraced the blonde's supple lips. "So predictable."
"Um. You enjoy the scene?" That contentment did not escape Kazekage's sharp eyes.
Naruto grinned, "Yeap. You bet. He seems so vulnerable and surreal."
"A vulnerable Sasuke, interesting." A vague sentiment of jealousy seeped in, and immediately left without a trace as Gaara allowed his imagination to wander.
'That freaking genius cannot detect Naruto's presence. Very interesting.'
This confirmed Naruto in fact had completely mastered chakra nature manipulation and could seal his, and in this case Gaara's presence perfectly. In a mere few months, Naruto' had made astonishing progress, surpassed all known ninjas Gaara was aware of, all thank to the desperation of saving someone… precious. Gaara silently let out a 'hnrp.'
He stole a glance over his shoulder to check on the chakra master, who seemed focused, determined and… strong. Gaara wondered how Naruto could have been defeated three times by Sasuke while he almost killed the traitor himself at the chinnin exam. 'How strong is Sasuke?'
(He has become inhumanly strong.… )
'Who really is the vulnerable one here?' Gaara Wondered.
"Gotta run! I have to get ready for the big date!" Naruto put his hand on Gaara's shoulder and gave it an uncharacteristic warm squeeze, sapphire eyes radiating faith and resolution. The blonde withdrew his hand slowly and grinned.
"Be gentle with your sand jutsus."
Gaara waived and gave his companion an assuring nod. The blonde shinobi vanished without rattling a single leaf. Emerald eyes continued to trail and ponder with confusion.
'Gentle? Didn't he say he was to drag the traitor back even if he would have to break every bone of his?'
A powerful enthralling aura interrupted his thoughts. 'It's him.' Gaara took in a silent breath. The Uchiha heir was already in the bubbling spring with his cloths and Kusanagi (2) next to the water.
'That was… Fast.' Gaara was hoping to see Sasuke na... 'Pervert….' He mentally smacked himself, without diverting his intense gaze from the surreal image in front of him.
Surreal… Sasuke had his eyes closed, head slightly tilted towards the moon, as if inviting the ghost-like lunar to unwind his day. Taking upon the raven-haired beauty's invitation, lunar shadows fluttered about the spiky hair like licking flames, mimicking movements of leaves and glasses. Untamed hair was about the same length Gaara last remembered, falling over a graceful forehead and elegant eyebrows. His porcelain skin seemed to have absorbed the moonlight and reflected the silvery glow back at the world. Floral scented breeze quietly joined in to caress the flawless visage and gently lifted up long lush lashes, slowly revealing a pair of the darkest bottomless eyes that one could never have forgotten.
'His eyes…' Gaara gulped. Under the genjutsu of the moonlight, the Sharingan prodigy seemed deceitfully delicate, deceitfully serene, and delightfully vulnerable.
Surreal… Gaara took in Sasuke's appearance, feeling somewhat stunned. If Sasuke was beautiful back then, he is exquisite now. Gaara was holding his breath still.
With a few rings of ripples, the god-like prodigy submerged underneath the water. To Kazekage's amusement, the surreal genius was blowing bubbles, a lot of bubbles. The bubbles rose up above the water and were floating in the air, each one painted a unique color. Sasuke came up for air. His pale skin was tinted a shade of alluring pink from the embracing warmth. He went under the water again. More bubbles.
The thin lips of Kazekage graced up bit by bit, 'Otogakure must be a very boring place.'
Showered with unidentified excitement, Gaara unconsciously leaned forward. Sasuke resurfaced. Pale fingers gracefully swayed the black locks to the back, allowing curious eyes better access of a perfectly sculpted visage. Droplets of water were clinging on delicate jaw line, on his thin nose, and on his sensuous lips which Gaara… cough cough… which, any teenage boy or girl would want to swoon over. The cursed seal was the only mark that marred the flawless porcelain skin.
Gaara's breath was catching painfully in his throat. As if he was reliving his bloodthirsty days, he had the sudden urge to bite into and ripe off that unsightly cursed mark on silvery milky flesh. And-d… And-d… And-d...
And the pool continued to display colorful bubbles as usual…
"Sasuke kun, this works very well with the minerals of the spring water. It will stimulate your chakra and reflex system."
Gaara silently cursed himself for getting so distracted … he meant, so focused that he was not aware of Kabuto's presence. He noticed he was still holding his breath, heart pounding fast and loud. 'What's this!?'
"This is the new and improved formula for ultimate performance." After proudly announcing his accomplishment, the silver haired med nin poured some greenish liquid into the water. Seconds later, red bubbles surfaced along with ruthless steams.
"Orochimaru Sama does not want you to stay out for too long."
'Get lost or I'm going bury you alive!' Gaara was getting impatient for no apparent reasons.
Sasuke looked to the side, still void of emotion.
"We heard that Akatsuki is on the move again."
"You may leave."
Gaara shivered at the sheer magnetism in that voice that was cool and impassive, yet as smooth as dark bittersweet coffee. And he swore he saw black orbs bred red for a split second, reflecting off three different shades of sunset scarlet.
As Kabuto's statement failed to illicit any reaction from the Sharingan prodigy and being totally ignored, he turned on his heels, "Their target's the kyubii boy who happens to have visited us twice already in the past three months."
Just as Kabuto was a distance away, Sasuke turned to catch a glimpse of his Sound colleague's retreating back. The last floating bubble dispersed right at the center of Kabuto's back. Slander hands emerged from water surface with a series of hand seals: Monkey. Tiger. Boar. Rooster. Horse…
"Water Element: Water Dragon Jutsu!!"
At command, a pair of miniature red water dragons splashed out from the spring water surface roaring into the sky heading the med nin's direction. After a short distance of travel and as the white-haired shinobi paused a step, the mini dragons quickly turned and danced back to their master, playfully splashing each other on their way. Reflection of orange and red were tingling on the blue scales of the dragons.
Without warning, dragons shot up the sky; fire was shot out from their mouth shooting toward Kabuto's retreating back. Kabuto paused another half of a step, studying the reflections on his glasses. The dragons were then shooting fire at each other, fiercely attacking each other, while the avenger had turned his head looking at the twinkling stars in the sky. The med nin shaked his head however slightly and teleported himself way, while Gaara inquisitively examined the perfect profile of the avenger.
'Combining water jutsu with the fire element, that demands exceptional chakra manipulation. It should be interesting to see how it plays against Naruto's wind chakra jutsus.'
At this precise moment, a faint trace of familiar chakra flew through the forest. Before a blink of an eye, the Uchiha heir was already out of the water, blurred with the wind and gone with his kimono and Kusanagi. Dragons dispersed into red rain, spraying its surrounding with alluring mist.
The handsome features of Kagekage were graced with a smile, as this time around, emerald eyes did catch a glimpse of the lovely contour of the prodigy's naked glory.
- - -
Konoha (Leaf)
The silver-haired Jounin had said a few words since he stepped into Hokage's office. Sitting across from the 5th's redwood desk, Kakashi gazed through the window at the Hokage Mountain. His opinion was ignored by the Elders at the Council's meeting. Further, they wanted him to be the one to lead the execution mission. Admittedly, despite of all the training to be a renowned ninja, he succeeded only the technical part and failed miserably the emotional part. Team seven was the first and only team he had passed and trained, which over time had become his family.
"I know this mission will be difficult for you. Not technically, as you have accomplished more dangerous missions and faced more formidable opponents. Uchiha Sasuke, however, is your student, one of your favorites as well." The blonde haired Hokage paused for a moment. "You two are a lot alike, being one of the most talented and a Sharingan, Chidori user. That makes you the most equipped and appropriate person to lead this mission."
Kakashi chucked bitterly as he did not see why that would make him the most appropriate person for the mission.
"Itachi planted the seed of darkness in him, and I regret I have not been able to prevent it from germinating." Refusing to fake lightheartedness, Kakashi gave out a small sigh.
Tsunade glanced over to Jiraiya who was leaning against the wall next to the window.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. He has the heart of an avenger." Jiraiya walked back and sat on his chair.
Kakashi inhaled slowly, "It was Orochimaru's cursed seal that manipulated his dark emotions."
Jiraiya spun his chair towards the masked Jounin. "He and Orochimaru are the same, hungry for power and will do whatever it takes to get it. We made the mistake on Orochimaru. We are not going to make the same mistake on Sasuke!"
"Sasuke's different from Orochimaru," Kakashi spat, "The boy may lust power. Fundamentally he's not evil, while Orochimaru indisputably is." Kakashi knew he hit a sore spot.
Jiraiya's eyes darkened. A brief moment of silence elapsed.
"I was there before. I wanted so much to believe that Orochimaru was temporarily blinded by thirst for power, that he was fundamentally good, that he would come back. And I was wrong."
Tsunade nodded, "This is not about Sasuke or Team Seven anymore. It's about the future of our village..."
"You know, you don't need to convince me. I gladly accept the mission." Kakashi looked away to the side, "To say Sasuke was without fault would be a blatant lie."
Tsunade lent a sympathetic smile, and stopped Jiraiya when he was about to inject a comment.
"Sasuke is my student and therefore my responsibility." Kakashi stated evenly as a matter of fact. "Although I have not been able to protect him from his downfall, I'll not let anyone walk on his dead body."
"Great. The generals on battlefields are the one who know what the best course of actions to take under the particular circumstances." With faith and a genuine smile, Tsunade handed Kakashi the mission folder. "I trust you with all decisions to complete this mission."
Kakashi accepted the mission folder with a graceful smile behind his mask, "Have you taken an advanced course in leadership or motivational speech?"
Walking out of the Hokage Tower, Kakashi looked up at the sky where Otogakure resided. A mere sliver of light was radiating down from the sky, with its rays decorated by the paranormal twinkle of a thousand stars... He felt a tug in his chest. The pain of losing a precious team member was still fresh, something he had sworn not to allow repeating within his existence.
- - -
Sunagakure (Sand)
Temari had a pile of documents on her desk, or more precisely, Gaara's desk, that required reading and approval. Kankuro was flipping his pen around his fingers.
"What's going on? Kazekage on sabbatical leave." Temari put down her paper and pen, and stopped her brother from twirling his pen.
"He doesn't even tell us where he's going. Gaara owes us big time." Kankuro put his pen in his puppet's mouth.
"Kankuro, have you noticed Gaara has been acting strange in the past few days? I haven't seen him this tense for a while."
"If I didn't not know better, I would say Shukaku has returned. He has been moody and not sleeping again."
"He simply works too hard these days. I suppose a vacation's good for him." Tamari said as she signed another scroll in Gaara's absence.
"Look at this one from Konoha." The blonde haired shinobi bounced up with enthusiasm, handed a scroll to Kankuro. "Uchiha Sasuke has been declared a rouge nin, a new member to the official Bingo Book."
Kankuro studied the scroll with interest, "wow, finally. If he comes here, I'll make a puppet out of him."
"You are so gay. So you would have wet dreams every night?"
"That's not funny. First of all, I'm not gay. Second, speak for yourself. Remember you flushed like a tomato when you first saw him…Ouch!" Temari struck Kankuro with her fan.
"Seriously, if he comes here Gaara will tear him apart, he was the first one who draw blood out of our mighty brother."
"Maybe Gaara's on a secret mission to seek him out before he's swallowed by the snake, so that he can swallow him himself... Ouch!"
- - -
Otogakure (Sound)
Like silent thunders striking the ground, Sasuke flashed from darkness in front of two figures in Akatsuki red cloud uniform; shurikens were shot out with pinpoint precision. The red cloud figures jumped back good thirty feet. Shurikens turned into fire-wheels following the cloaked figures. One swift block, fire wheels reversed their course spinning towards the younger Uchiha, who bounced into air and retrieved the flaming shurikens with bare hands.
'Itachi!' Sasuke spat out frigidly.
"Your little brother, Itachi kun," commented the tall shark man.
"Otouto, how have you been?" The long hair cloaked figure greeted.
"Put the dobe down now!" Sasuke looked at the look-alike shinobi indifferently, getting into a fighting stance.
"Otouto, you care for him?"
"How can you fight when you have an appendage on your shoulder?"
"Do you care for him?"
"No." Sasuke said coldly, voice devoid of emotions.
'That hurts.' Gaara thought, unsure if he should feel sorry for his blonde mission partner.
"The only person I care about is YOU." In slow motion, Sasuke's hand moved towards his Kusanagi. "And the only way I care about you is how you should die!"
Before he finished his sentence, the sword was out zeroing up the distance with its targets, slicing through two cloaked figures and the appendage.
A few loud pops, all that left was a thin trace of smoke.
"Sasuke…" Naruto came up from behind, holding a kunai on Sasuke's neck.
"Konoha's number one surprising ninja!"
"When did you find out it was me?" Naruto's voice revealed unrestrained excitement.
"When you opened up your big month, dobe."
The dark hair ex-teammate turned and smirked at Naruto, totally ignoring the kunai on his neck.
"You can't fake Sharingan."
Seeing blood on Sasuke's neck and the trademark smirk, and being a mere inches away from his ex-teammate, Naruto was somewhat taken back. Kunai was retreating on its own.
"Sasuke teme…" Blue eyes were flooded with emotions.
Swift palm pressed on firm chest, Naruto was sent flying across the landscape, breaking everything on his way, and smashed against a large tree.
"Stay out of this!" seethed the dark haired avenger.
A black blur span in the air from nowhere and snatched up the descending blonde shinobi...
"Weakling."
Leaves were falling from the sky in still motion. Red clouds were swaying in stormy black. Silky long black hair was spinning in the air on a dragon ride. The slender form elegantly ascended, descended and brushed sandals on the surface of a high tree branch.
Shade by shade, frame-by-frame, and flash-by-flash, the finest cold-blooded features of an aristocrat came under the scrutiny of the Sharingan.
"Itachi?"
Sharingan met Sharingan. Black orbs bred blood red crimson. Thousand images flashed back. Sasuke's blood heated up instantly.
"Foolish little brother!" Cool husky voice chilled the atmosphere. A stoic figure stood with an innate arrogance, impassively looking down at his younger brother.
"Your time's up! Uchiha Itachi!"
A thunderous scowl came onto the younger Uchiha's features, his hand drawing the Kusanagi from his back and holding it in a reverse grip. He charged, vanished, and reappeared to finish a deathblow to the elder Uchiha. A five-mile radius was caught on fire where the Kusanagi was swung.
"Ototo, why killed trees?"
"What?" Itachi stood on a burned branch a mere few feet away above him.
"Why killed Naruto?"
"Save your breath, Aniki!" Sasuke seethed with seals under formation: Tiger. Monkey. Dragon, Boar. Rooster. Horse…
"Die!" The hatred was so deep that it pushed aside all the other emotions flashing through him. Purple chakra was flowing from the seal while earth was shifting and shaking.
"Hn, resorting to suicidal techniques already, you are weak." Itachi vanished along with Naruto. "Although you might not mind hurting your little friend, I do."
'Damnit!' Grimacing, forbidden jutsu was aborted and frustration deepened. 'How can that be? I can't see them with my Sharingan!'
He redirected his chakra and faintly located the familiar chakra signatures of his brother and ex-teammate that were moving at a speed much faster than he could remember. Sasuke sped towards the signatures and thundered through brushes, trees, forests, sand dunes, and mountains like lightning.
All of a sudden, a third chakra signature invaded his senses seeking a dominant presence. Vaguely, he heard water running in a distance. Instincts put him on high alerts. Filtered out blinded emotions, he quickly recomposed himself as situations like this demanded a clear and calm mind.
'Gaara of the Desert?'
Soon enough, the raven-haired avenger was hundreds of miles away from his Sound master Orochimaru. He came to a waterfall, the designated battlefield.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: (1) Hiraishin no Jutsu, 飛雷神の術, literally "Flying Thunder God Technique." The jutsu of the Fourth Hokage and the reason behind his nickname "The Yellow Flash of Konoha." This jutsu allows the user to move over large distances with ultra-high speed. To activate this jutsu, the user needs a special seal or "Jutsu-shiki" to mark the destination. After this is done, the user can almost instantaneously transport himself to the location of the Jutsu-shiki. It is one of the few only known non-Kekkei-Genkai techniques created that the Sharingan/Byakugan cannot follow.
(2) Kusanagi - In ancient Japanese, kusa means "sword" and nagi means "snake." Thus Kusanagi means "sword of the snake." In battle, the sword can cut through nearly anything. Orochimaru can move and control the sword even if he's not touching it.
Ch.2 Review comments: Thank you so much for giving this story a chance. You guys/gils really rock.
Fading Fantasies: I'm a big time Sasuke fan as well. He's not the easiest character to write though but it was definitely fun writing him in this chapter.
Red.C.Demon: I like your definition of trouble already, and you'll find out soon enough, I hope, who's in bigger trouble. Don't worry I plan to include Itachi. Did I tell you that I'm a big time Itachi fan too?
Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune: The real fight, oh… well… it's coming…. Please do let me know what you think as this will be my first 'real' one. Thanks. Smiles.
Kita.ky0ko: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thanks. What will Sasuke do next? Hn, he probably will not go back willingly… Maybe another fight?
Fantasyfangirl: Tsunade did send Kakashi to kill Sasuke. It was the Elders' decision, and a perfect excuse for Naruto's secret mission, wasn't it?
ching1: You always leave the most flattering reviews. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Apparently, Gaara found Sasuke beautiful. I like your word 'Infatuation.' See, I love reading the audience's interpretation. Thanks.
DeViLB0Y: Rush? I actually spent a lot of time writing the 'mini fighting scenes.' I'm just not that good at it. Now I'm working on this big fight that you've requested. Thanks for adding this story to your favorites. So, it didn't suck too badly? (Evil grins.)
Twizzlerzaregoodcuztheyrecandi: It took me a couple seconds to figure out you pen name and I think I won't forget that. Yes I do have the tendency to keep you guys in suspense but usually leave no terrible cliffy. Smiles.
BlueSharingan: Luring Sasuke away from Oro should certainly ensure a better chance of a successful mission. I figure the mature Naruto should be able to figure that out. Thanks for your comments.
CherryStar120: Yeah! I got a compliment on my fighting scene, and the pool scene as well! They were both very fun to write. I'm glad that you found Sasuke gorgeous and Gaara pervertedly lovely. I feel the same.
hernameisnobody: Sometimes it seems like I don't know where this story is heading. I kinda have an idea.
Lyi: Such compliment. Thank you so much. From your brief comment, I know I like your writing style too. I hope you'll write a Naruto fic one of these days and I'd love be the first one to read it.
silent.thunders: "the most beautiful murderer description." Wow, you've made my day. Thanks.
Midnight Fallacy: Your comment made me blush. Thanks.
Demonreflections: You're right Sasuke is so blind when it comes to Itachi. That was why Itachi was a part of Naruto's mission. So you want to see Gaara kick ass? Okay…
Ky0Kichi: Thank you for your kind words. It's usually the details that make a story interesting. And the fight… I hope you'll find it interesting. (smiles) By the way, I remember reading a very well written NejiSasu fic of yours.
Mizuki hikari: continue… yep.
Serenitysama: Thanks for your kind words. The battle that makes the sand crumbles, I wonder what you had in mind. (Grin.)
MirandaLau: See, I do update. I'm a slow writer. Smiles.
Xxkunoichi: Action actions and real actions, I assure you'll see both somewhere somehow in this story. Just hang on.
dreamed: I feel the same about Naruto. I like him strong and smart than just a loud mouth. He's one of the strongest characters in this fic. I think Kishi means to make him the strongest shinobi so I'm being faithful to the original.
M'intrigue: Wow, French, my first foreign language review! Merci beaucoup mon amie. Je t'amie! (Am I saying it correctly?)
Hello Mitty: Cool. Come back soon!
Sunset Serenity: I'm glad you found the story awesome and cute. Thank you for your patience. Hang on with me. I'm rewriting chapter 3.
ntbranyan: I'll take chapter 3 out and repost it when it's complete. Thank you so much for your elaborated comments and words of encouragement.