Chapter I / Evading the boogeyman

The deserts of Kaze no Kuni stretched out endlessly to the horizon. It was a gloriously tan sea with waves of sand created by the wind, ever-changing. The sky, a brilliant blue, seemed to mock the agitation from below with its stillness.

A heavy sigh disrupted the silence of the wastelands as Miyuki dragged out her feet along the abandoned path. She had been trekking since dawn when she left the forests of Kawa, and the lifelessness of her surroundings was slowly but surely driving her insane. Taking the old road to Garasu no Machi seemed such a splendid idea at the time.

Sand had wedged itself in each available crevice and her hair – oh, her beautiful, long hair – was practically covered in dust. She dreaded to think about the number of baths required to repair the damage – granted she returned to civilization.

Miyuki scrunched her nose in disbelief at her inner vanity outburst. She hadn't had one in… years. Continuously hiding one's appearance did wonders for one's interest in their looks; namely shattered it. The heat was screwing up with her mind. She considered shedding off some layers of clothing for a moment.

The black Akatsuki cloak weighed her down worse than usual and a bead of sweat trickled down her mask as if her own body encouraged her to seal them in a scroll. But Zetsu's piercing gaze was heavy on her back. She knew better than to reveal her identity to the mutated human.

Wah, she was supposed to be undertaking a solo mission. Damned paranoid ninjas. The plantsman's tracking completely toppled her plans. She would not be able to meet up with her contact in that situation. The kunoichi scowled deeply.

Directly confronting Zetsu was not an option either. Rousing whoever gave him orders was not something she particularly wanted to happen. After all, his presence was not completely unexpected. She had confronted Pein about who exactly was pulling the strings not long ago and consequences were bound to exist.

Her convictions regarding the mutant were right, at least. The Akatsuki God was not the one whose whims Zetsu complied to. That was liberating to know for sure. She had been wary of him ever since their first meeting and she had not been able to shake the feeling that something was amiss. Up until that moment, that was.

A shuffle inside her robes interrupted her musings.

"Thissss weather'ss ssso nissse." A voice spoke as Miyuki skidded to a halt. She brought her hand to her neck as she doubled over as if pain suddenly struck her.

"Don't – " cough "come- " another cough "out." She hissed as her hand promptly pushed dry, cold skin back inside her clothes.

"Why?" Kuro inquired, as he curled around Miyuki's neck, safely hidden from unsuspecting eyes.

"You would have known if you hadn't slept for the past six hours." The woman huffed as she resumed walking, in order not to attract the plant man's attention. The snake blinked, unfazed by the bitterness in Miyuki's tone.

"I wasss taking my beauty nap," Kuro mumbled. "Did you know there'sss sssomeone behind usss?" He paused as understanding came to him. "Oh – that's why I can't come out."

The kunoichi's jaw clenched. "Sharp as always."

"Isn't the guy wearing the same robe as you are, though?"

Miyuki shook her head in frustration. "Aa. I don't want them, well – him especially-, to make any connections. Snake summons aren't that frequent if you recall." She muttered.

Kuro blinked once more as a yawn escaped his mouth, sharp teeth gleaming in the darkness of her cloak. "I'm going back to sleep, then." He concluded as he slithered away from her view and wrapped itself around her torso.

The masked ninja blew out her cheeks as a few strands of white hair fell into her eyes. Her hands immediately flew upwards as she redid her bun. She really hated having her hair up. Oh well, now that she was all by herself once again, she had all the time in the world to complain.

As flecks of violet began smudging the orange sky, the grand marble towers of the Wind capital bathed in the fuzzy light of the twilight. Surrounded by the endless desert, the ivory-white buildings stretched along pools of water. Two worlds seemed to collide as tan turned into green and barren lands came to life.

Miyuki's pace slowed gradually as Garasu no Machi came into view until she was left standing still. Mouth agape, she marveled at the sight. She had been to Suna many times before – she had helped the village with its reorganization after Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha, though that was a story for another time -, but the civilian capital had never been on her "to visit" list, unsurprisingly. The Daimyo was reluctant to allow foreign ninjas to get too close to his castle. Who could have guessed what paradise hid between golden waves of sand?

There was no time to linger, however. Zetsu's chakra signature was faint but present, and she had to come up with a strategy to get rid of him before her contact arrived as well. Furthermore, her actual mission would be infinitely easier to complete if she was not required to disguise her gender. It was going to be a long evening.

At least, Miyuki had managed to shed her Akatsuki grabs a little while back – she really did not want the attention of the Daimyo's guards to top it all – and was now dressed in light-colored robes, a Suna headband securely clasped around her neck – courtesy of the aforementioned adventure. Her head was wrapped in a white scarf which conveniently hid her features. If escaping Zetsu failed, her identity would remain protected, hopefully.

A few minutes later, the kunoichi was walking slowly through the busy streets of the capital, supposedly admiring the gargantuan structures. These people were quickly proving to never have heard that "less is more". It looked as if they were trying to make up for the lack of … life, really, surrounding it. Oh well, Miyuki's plans did not involve studying the architecture so she marched ahead, aiming for the central square. Guided by the increasing loudness of the crowd, Miyuki cheered happily as she noticed a tea shop in her path. Granted, she was meant to be hurrying, but could she really be blamed? Tea had always been her weak spot and a little detour shouldn't ruin her schedule irremediably.

It all turned into wishful thinking, however, as a sudden outburst of chakra soared from outside. Familiar chakra – at that. "Oh, for the love of Kami" she cursed under her breath as she burst out of the tea shop, shouting a quick "Sorry" to the very perturbed shopkeeper.

Pale skin, vivid green eyes, and two very distinctive dots on his forehead, Kimimaro's figure was unmistakable as he eyed Zetsu warily. Damn it. She had to stop the two before the guards were alerted. The tension sparked in the air and Miyuki knew she had to react, fast.

With a soft breath, the white-haired shinobi knew what she had to do. Capitalizing on his inattention, Miyuki propelled herself to the Kaguya, landing an incapacitating chakra-infused kick to his left leg. The man's eyes widened in recognition as he was forced down on one knee.

"Mi-"

/

A.N. That was my attempt at a cliffhanger. It's probably not great, but oh well. I had half of this one written for ages and I just felt like ending it. If you feel like it, please share your thoughts in a review. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Much love x