Hiya.

I forgot to post this yesterday, sorry.

Enjoy. ^_^

…
Chapter Seven.
...

There is an old but tested Fire idiom that says, "kindness can accomplish what force cannot".

Sakura lived by her own code, as all warriors do, but it was the softer side of her (the tender heart) that embodied this quote. The saying didn't belong to just nobles or only peasants—it was one of those rare expressions used by them all. Her mentor, her father, her mother, her friends; at any given point in her life, they'd given her the strength to be kind to others as well as pummel them into the ground. This was reflected in both her temper and her compassion.

This was why she felt guilty using the idiom to excuse her plans for Karin. Force was not going to solve this problem. She couldn't just walk up to the king and tell him the wedding was off. Gaara would also be out of the question—even if she didn't agree with his brand of honour, he had it. This was clearly a matter of both honour and duty for him. This was up to her.

So, for the next week following her encounter with the lady of Oto, Sakura made a point of running into her, using acts of kindness to get her to open up and confide in her. As it turned out, the man she was in love with was called Suigetsu and he was a warlord's son, which was why she couldn't be with him; her father was adamant on her marrying someone of noble birth. And of getting her out of his hair, apparently. Suigetsu was a peasant, not a noble. It had all the markings of star-crossed lovers and Sakura was a sucker for it; and not just because of her own situation.

"But he's not ignoble," Karin said, flushing as she spoke of him. "Yes, he grew up in a warlord's home, but he's better than that. He's wise and smart and handsome." She gushed, fanning herself. "I would not have given myself to anyone less than that."

The topic of sex only seemed to fluster her more, but once she started talking, Karin didn't seem to know how to stop. She described Suigetsu's body, from his cheeky grin, to his well-defined abs, and his penis size. Sakura laughed and shared a story about her first time with a boy in the woods behind the hut she grew up in.

"He was so loud he scared the wildlife."

And not once did Karin ask Sakura who she really was, or what she was doing in Suna, and the pinkette was too scared to tell her without provocation, in case it made her change her mind about trusting her.

Her apparent ignorance made Sakura wary of her, but she needed Karin to trust her.

Her conscience nagged at her so many times she had to have wine delivered to her room every night to keep herself from calling the whole thing off and just tucking tail and running away. If Gaara was going to be stubborn and not fight for them, then it was up to Sakura.

But in order for this plan of Ino's to go smoothly, Sakura couldn't be seen in public with Karin, lest anyone realise afterward who was to blame. She told Karin that she needed to train during the day (citing her unique position due to her gender and explaining about her friends and fellow soldiers in the barracks), so she was cordially invited to come to her room at night.

But train she did, doing as she'd told Naruto she would, and practising her skills. Specifically, the ones she'd need to perfect in order to defeat Gaara. If Ino's plan succeeded, Sakura would still need to kick his arse. No matter how long it took or how hard she had to fight, she was getting a rematch of that first, shameful duel. There were a number of Wind soldiers who used chakra in battle and had begun to train Sakura's kin (those who could also wield it, to their delightful surprise), so Sakura wasn't alone in that department. She spent hours going through drills with them and bonding with her newest compatriots.

The soldiers were far more accommodating than she'd expected; though a certain redhead might have had something to do with it, she liked to think they were genial on their own.

"We'll be at war soon," a Wind soldier had said one night, after the last of their drills were over and everyone had a mug of ale in hand, trading war stories.

"I thought we already were," another replied.

"It's called a Soft War."

"It is not!"

The land of Wind was on that precipice, not quite ready to dive into all-out war, but still performing manoeuvres and espionage that constituted as acts of war. Even someone not connected to war meetings knew that the land was yielding far less crops than ever before, so why the Fire King had yet to use that as an excuse to attack openly was lost on Sakura. But at least it afforded them time to shore up their power in the region. Apparently, Rasa was a military genius.

"We might as well assume we're already in deep. They'll be sending us out soon and we need to be ready."

Sakura stared at her kin, surprised. They'd come so far, and even though they held the same disdain for Fire that Sakura did, she was still surprised by their vigour to join the Wind army so willingly.

"To our general!"

Sakura found herself surrounded by her kin, all holding up mugs of ale as the Wind soldiers smiled, watching silently on, and she raised her own.

"To victory."

They hadn't forgotten her in their bonding with Wind soldiers and she felt closer to them than she had in years. There was a kinship between her friends and the Wind soldiers already though, and Sakura embraced it. They all hated the Fire monarch and, short of a civil war within Fire itself, Wind was determined to fight back against the tyranny; the intention to expand the kingdom to take over them all, as Fire had already done with several, smaller nations. So many had already suffered, both in their borders and out.

The anticipation of war was like a living, breathing being.

But as much as she wanted to fight, Sakura silently wished the Fire monarch could just be deposed and replaced with someone that knew how to listen at the treaty table. She kept it to herself because the other warriors here didn't seem concerned about the death toll that was looming in front of them.

Maybe they're just hiding it better than I am.

So, Sakura sucked it up and laughed along with the rest of them. After each day of training and learning and getting her arse kicked or kicking arse, she would stumble back into her own room, wondering if they thought that she thought her having her own room made her better than them.

Then after sunset, Karin would appear at her door and they'd bond over something or other—sex, family, feminine hygiene, or maybe their thoughts on the coming war. It changed every night. And when it got late enough that nobody would see her leave Sakura's room, Ino would come and escort a slightly inebriated Karin to her room where she could sleep her pain away.

Karin was getting her freedom in return for being used. She was getting temporary piece of mind in exchange for being that user. If she believed in the gods, she'd be worried about her eternal soul. Sakura told herself it was worth it, and that getting Karin out of Suna would help Karin, not just herself. She had no idea what this would mean for Gaara's future but dwelling on that question mark did nothing for her sanity, so she decided to worry about it when the alarm bells had stopped ringing after Karin's escape.

First, we have to make it happen.

Then, two weeks after Sakura had met Karin, she let the redhead in on her plan. Ino's plan; the blonde's words rang in her head as she nodded and listened, dutifully.

"If anyone can be convinced to end this engagement, it's Lady Karin"

As though Karin hadn't tried. But force wasn't going to work, for any of them. They needed a more cunning plan than that. Sakura had talked about her and Ino fleeing and the blonde speculated many times on how they could do it and not get caught. Having once been a part of a noble court, Ino was a little more knowledgeable about how to evade pursuing guards. And she must've been a spy in a former life, because she'd long since squeezed some of the older servants into revealing hidden passages and the best exits to avoid patrolling guards.

Sakura had no idea servants were such a rule breaking lot.

Karin was mistrustful of Ino initially, not believing that a mere servant would be willing or capable of helping her. Then Ino explained her former station, along with a few successful escapades of her own during her time in Fire, and the redhead was immediately in. Her hope and excitement were palpable as she lowered her head to speak in hushed whispers with her co-conspirators and the plan was tweaked to accommodate Karin (from Sakura and Ino's previous plan of them instead) and put in motion.

A month on from the afternoon that Sakura had found Karin sobbing in the gardens and a week after Gaara and his brigade had left Suna to go wherever they were going, and armed with all the guard rotation information they needed to pull this off, they finally decided on the right night to put this plan into motion.

It was a multi-step plan: including the time-honoured classic of dressing Karin up as a servant.

Karin and Sakura were drunk on adrenaline by the time Ino waggled her eyes at the redhead suggestively, saying, "let's get you out of your clothes, shall we?"

...

Steel sung as it clashed in the dead of night, a light fog playing havoc with the battle raging around them.

Gaara sent out his sand to capture one enemy, crushing him beyond recognition as he met a much more skilled fighter with his sword. In war, there was no honour. It was impossible to keep to any kind of consistent code in this kind of atmosphere.

So, he slaughtered the enemy without caring if they were even equipped to deal with his power, making short work of the immediate vicinity. His troops were always much more aggressive with him around—whether to attempt to keep up with him or because they were invigorated by his perfect success record, he didn't know. But it didn't matter.

He looked around, squinting through the fog, having realised quickly it was being caused by a jutsu designed to suppress his senses. It wasn't a genjutsu, thankfully; Gaara didn't need to be able to see three feet in front of him to find his opponents. His sand ran beneath him as well as above ground. Worried about his siblings, he pressed on. Gaara charged through the enemy lines and sliced and diced, keeping his sand at bay, worried he might accidentally crush someone he wasn't supposed to; it's best use in a fog jutsu like this was to keep himself from surprise attacks. The enemy soldiers recognised him and some attempted to engage him while others stepped dubiously away from him. His face twisted into a wicked smile, eliciting terror and screams as he cut a path through them, pulling his sand along the ground to keep its destructive power focused in his immediate area.

It wasn't long before he saw his own banner being raised and Gaara knew they were victorious. He released his sand and walked through the bodies as the fog dissipated. Whomever had cast it must've been among the last to die—there were no enemy survivors here, just as he'd planned. He wondered if perhaps either Kankuro or Temari had defeated them—his money would be on the latter, since her affinity with wind meant she could cut right through the fog.

He smiled at that.

"Gaara!" The sound of Kankuro's voice calmed his concerns and he spotted his brother standing next to a very smug Temari a moment later.

It must've been Temari after all.

"Report," Gaara said, when he spotted Baki.

The older man nodded to his commander. "The enemy is defeated. The casualty on our side is yet to be determined but it seems minimal."

"Find out for sure."

"Yes, sir."

"We've taken this region," Temari said, that smug look still on her face. "I think that calls for a celebration."

"We still need to get rid of the bodies to hide our presence here," Kankuro said pointedly, though his answering grin showed he was thinking the same thing as she was.

Gaara nodded. "As soon as we've gathered our own dead and wounded, I'll bury the enemy corpses."

"Never gets old, hearing you casually say things like that," Kankuro said, grinning as Gaara got to work on controlling the sands of the entire battleground at once. They'd chosen this area to fight this battle for the specific purpose of Gaara using his sand affinity to hide their involvement.

Kankuro continued. "I wish I could see that old Fire bastard's face as he finds out his west contingent has disappeared without a trace."

Gaara smirked as Temari laughed.

"Me too," she said.

His siblings got to work aiding in the recovery of their dead and helping the wounded as Gaara closed his eyes to focus completely on the ground beneath him. Soil was more than earth and sand, but he found it easy to compensate by shifting it slower than he was used to, working it faster once Baki gave the all clear about their own men and raising his arms to better to control the flow. He ignored the awe of his troops as the ground shifted and trembled lightly in response, the bodies sinking as though they were caught in a sink hole and Gaara lowered his arms in a mock gesture of pushing the earth down. He felt the soil mixture pushing the bodies one feet, two feet, three feet: all the way to six feet under the surface.

Then he shifted the surface soil to cover the signs that it had been disturbed. There was now no trace of anything.

Kankuro threw his hand in the air and yelled, "woo! Let's go celebrate! I'm getting laid tonight!" earning him whistles and slaps on his back from the troops.

Sorrow followed them as well, at the loss of their comrades, but the jubilation at having done what everyone else had said was impossible walked at the front of their contingent and led the way into the forest trails, out of the dark woods, toward the Wind border. They couldn't risk celebrating in another country, lest it get back and alert the Fire monarch that they were in the area.

But the small, loyal town of Ouchi-juku was waiting for them only half an hour away, with booze and all manner of entertainment to celebrate and pleasure themselves with.

...

Gaara sighed, bobbing his head in mild exhaustion as Kankuro yelled out, "take it off" next to him.

He'd long given up on reminding his brother that having a wife waiting at home for him obligated a modicum of fidelity. It was both his duty and honour, but the man was stuck in a loveless marriage to a woman who barely spoke to him, let alone the rare times she let him between her legs; Gaara felt pity for her as well as his brother as Kankuro's marriage was as much as an arranged one as the façade Gaara was supposed to put up with Karin.

Ugh.

That woman was a nightmare.

Gaara threw back another half pint of ale, determined to drown his sorrows and try to forget that the scantily clad women in front of him were making him imagine Sakura as the one dancing and slowly undressing in front of him. It made him wish Naruto was here to distract him from the idiots around him.

But the last he remembered speaking to the blond, Naruto made it clear he was finally leaving Suna. If he was right about that, then he and Kakashi were probably well within the Fire borders right now, on their way through that country and toward the free cities. Naruto's wedding was fast approaching and there was still so much to do, apparently.

Gaara looked around as one of the dancers squealed in delight when Kankuro shove more ryō down her G-string. He hadn't noticed Temari leave. Hm. This wasn't her scene, he supposed.

Is it even mine?

He cocked his head to the side, staring at the brunette dancer who was jiggling right in Kankuro's grinning face. She was cute. Her body was unblemished and well proportioned. But her breasts were too big for his liking. Nice nipples, but that was about it. He sighed in second-hand embarrassment as Kankuro buried his face in those large breasts, shaking his head and blowing raspberries noisily.

Most establishments didn't let you touch the dancers, no matter how much you paid them, but Kankuro had chosen this one because they were more lenient with the Wind soldiers who often passed through here (and shelling out hundreds of ryō every night certainly allowed them certain liberties).

Within limits of course.

And this was Kankuro's idea of flirting with what was little more than a cat-walk prostitute.

Again, Gaara's thoughts drifted to Sakura. He imagined the dancer's breast smaller; big enough that he could fondle each in one hand. He imagined her hair short and the colour of cherry blossoms. He imagined a demure smile morphing into a fierce glare that sent a thrill through his body, southward to his dick.

He groaned.

He was tormenting himself.

After a few minutes, this dancer's time on stage was over and Kankuro flopped back on the lounge next to Gaara as he let their soldiers have some fun with the three new dancers who were now sauntering onto the stage.

"This is great!" He said, waving at a waitress for another pint of ale. "Gods their tits are always the best part, aren't they? I could lose myself in those honkers for days."

He carried on about all the lovely body parts, drinking more and more heavily, racking up the bill faster than Gaara could lift sand. But he didn't complain. This was coming out of Kankuro's pocket, of that he would make certain.

The redhead was just contemplating grabbing a bite to eat and retreating this own room, alone, when Kankuro took his silence and inebriation as cue to ruin his mood.

"You need to get laid, Gaara. Don't let Karin take your cherry."

Gaara clenched his fists, ready to break one of his bones in retaliation when the brunette stood suddenly. "I'm gonna sample the local delicacies. See you in the morn, little bro."

Startled that his drunkenness hadn't impaired his speech, Gaara watched him sidle up to a couple of the dancers who were done for the night and hovering around to see if they could sell their more salacious services to a few of the soldiers, throwing his arms over their shoulders.

"Ladies!" He called loudly as they giggled, pressing their impressive breasts into his sides. "I'm a bona fide hero in these parts. Wanna see another bone?"

...

Morning was a painful and blaring headache after a night of bliss spent in the arms to two beautiful, bountiful, and expensive women. Kankuro yawned loudly and they shifted sleepily, obviously not impressed with his drama queen theatrics this early in the morning. He hated it when chicks grew serious. It wasn't good for his libido.

But before he could try for another happy, the door to his room slammed open and a very annoyed and unrepentant redhead that he had the misfortune to call his brother growled at him, ignoring the nakedness of the people on the bed.

"Get the fuck out of bed," Gaara said. "We're heading home."

Suddenly awake and more alert, the girls started moving to get dressed, looking thoroughly scolded. Kankuro frowned at Gaara as his brother groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, like he'd just realised what he walked into.

"Now, Kankuro."

He slammed the door behind him as he stormed off, but not before Kankuro got in a parting shot.

"But I have morning wood!"

…

XXX

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R&R

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