Hello my dear readers, fanfiction writers, guests or just people who randomly stumbled and read this,
I would like to ask you guys about your preferred chapter length. This chapter is about 2k words, which is around 5 pages in Word. I was wondering if his was enough, or you liked the chapters a bit longer? Please do tell me your preferences.
Now then, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Chapter one:
In which Gaara leaves on a mission…
It was a very early morning. The sun wasn't up yet. Shura walked towards the gates of Suna. She had come back from a mission late last night, and received another one right away. Apparently the Kazekage was adamant about her being on the team. She had turned in her report, taken a quick shower and re-packed. She could still feel her side stinging a bit. The last mission was a pain. One of the bandits got her good with his silly sword. Now she was just going to have to bear with it. She wondered who else was going on the mission. There were no details in the paper she got, just the essential stuff, rank, mission title etc. She wondered who the mission leader was. Oh well, no use wrecking ones brain over it, she was going to find out soon enough.
Shura finally dragged herself to the gates. She greeted the night guard and sat on one of the giant steps. Taking out a sandwich and water, she watched the sun come up slowly. The breeze was nice, not too hot, and the cold of the night was slowly going away. Shura bit into her first meal during the last twelve hours with pleasure. She munched happily, waiting for the rest of the team. The guards on the wall switched, greeting her casually. She smiled and waved at them, not trusting her full of food mouth enough to speak. Slowly the temperature was climbing, but it was still quite nice outside. Shura never was good with heat. How ironic that she was born in the desert.
"Takeuchi-san." A deep baritone sounded from her left. Shura turned, just to see Kan. She waved at him happily, tired eyes opening in excitement. Shura knew Kan quite well. He was her sempai in the academy, but once she became a Chunin they ended up on some missions together and developed a good friendship from here on. Shura found the tall man to be able to accept her not so appropriate jokes with an open mind and she ended up discovering his amazing cooking talent. That man made the best food she had ever tasted. Speaking of food, Shura swallowed the rest of her sandwich and gulped down some water.
"Kan." She greeted back as soon as her mouth was empty. "You're too formal."
The man threw his head back, laughing heartily at her pouting face. He hoisted himself up onto the step that she was sitting on.
"Still as childish as the last time I saw you."
Shura glared at him playfully. She packed the rest of her water into the backpack she had brought with her. She glanced at the dark haired man beside her and noted his clothes and gear. He wore the usual clothes, fit for the harsh desert weather, a couple of weapon pouches and a backpack. She praised herself on the inside for getting ready well without a lot of information.
"Do you have any details about the mission?"
"Not really." Kan combed back his black bangs.
"I got called in, they gave me the papers and the time to meet my team here." The bangs fell down into his face again. He looked a bit annoyed with them.
"Same as me then." Shura sighed. "Though I'm just continuing from my last mission." She laughed humorlessly.
"That's rough." Kan sounded sympathetic. After all, pulling a chain of missions wasn't an unusual occurrence. Suna was in grave need of more skilled shinobi. Especially Chunin and Jonin level. They were also low on medics, but the Kazekage was working on that. Since he was appointed, the Jinchuriki had made use of their relationship with Konoha to the fullest.
"You know what, I heard some rumors that the Kazekage was leaving the village. And the Council isn't very happy about it either." At this Shura perked up. She had never liked those old farts. Most of them needed to try out being a shinobi again and then start deciding what they were going to do with the people they had available.
"I bet he's restless. I know I would be. I mean, imagine just quitting all the missions and just staying up there in your office, all cooped up all day, just doing paperwork and listening to those fossils order you around. I think I'd die. Or kill someone."
"Shhhhh!" Kan shushed her through laughter. "You don't want to get in trouble with the Council, you brat. They have ears everywhere, you know?"
"Pssssh. Watch me! I'm just going to go up there now and give them a piece of my mind about chain missions!"
"I'm afraid the chain mission was my fault." A monotone sounded somewhere from above. "I needed you on this mission, Shura Takeuchi. The Council was against it."
Kan and Shura looked up, just to see the Kazekage himself landing on the step they were sitting on. They both jumped up and gave a small bow, greeting the young man with respect.
"I meant nothing by it, Kazekage-sama. I was merely joking, forgive me." Shura was looking at her feet while speaking to the man. Younger than her or not, she was always intimidated by him. True, she had only heard stories of his murder spree days, but she could feel his aura. The chakra he unconsciously emitted was enough to make her feel slightly dizzy and nauseous. He was the impressive kind of terrifying.
"I see." The redhead finished the discussion. He looked out into the desert, as if searching for something. Shura chanced a glance at him. He wasn't wearing his Kage robes. He was just standing there, staring out into the half way above the horizon sun lazily. Kan shifted beside her. He was easily taller than the Kage, Shura noted. Kan had wider shoulders, too.
"Kazekage-sama?" The shinobi beside her questioned. "If I may be bold, but why are you out here? Is there a problem? Anything we can do to help?"
Kan was getting nervous, Shura noted. He was switching scenarios in his head already. She could tell that much. The Kazekage slowly looked at the shinobi. He stared at the taller man for a bit. Shura thought she had caught a bit of displeasure in his eyes, but she wasn't sure. The Kage was very much expressionless.
"We are waiting for one more member of the squad, Kan Shinya."
This sentence caused Kan to, well, change colors. Shura just felt her jaw drop. The Kazekage was going on a mission… with them?!
"Kazekage-sama, if I may-"
"Later." He cut her words off. She saw him looking somewhere behind her. She turned. A man was coming their way. He was clothed for the desert and had a backpack. Once he got closer, Shura saw his Suna hitai-ate.
"Forgive me for being late, Kazegake-sama." The man greeted. Shura noted his unusually high voice. Kan was sending mental daggers at the man from her side. She could sense it.
"It's fine. I, too, was tardy." The Kazekage answered." We leave now."
He jumped from the step and took off into the desert in a run. Shura and Kan were quick to follow him, matching his pace without any problems. The late shinobi ran a bit faster, until he was the one running the closest to the Kage. Kan sent mental daggers at his back yet again.
After a bit of running, West, Shura figured, the village vanished from their back view. All around them were just sand dunes and an occasional rock. Shura caught sight of a couple of lizards coming out to get some sun. She smiled while running. The air was getting hotter by the minute. Even though Shura wasn't fond of the heat, she had to admit that she loved this desert. It was her home.
Kan kept glaring at the shinobi in front of him. He had seen Shura's slight surprise when she had noticed the man's hitai-ate. She didn't know him either. That only left two options. He was appointed by the Kazekage, personally, or he was appointed by the Council. Whichever it turned out to be, Kan didn't like him. The shinobi walked and talked properly, he carried himself with pride. Kan had noticed the way the man didn't speak to him and Shura at all, just to the Kage, as if they were below him. He also saw the fitting of the man's clothing. It was a perfect fit. The shinobi wasn't of low birth. There also wasn't even one rip or stain on him. Even the Kage's cloak had some rips on the edge. You wouldn't see them with an untrained eye, but Kan was a shinobi, he was used to noticing the smallest of details. Kan's mind spun in circles around corruption and conspiracy theories.
In a few hours the Kazekage stopped out of the blue. They were still in the middle of nowhere. No oases, nothing, just desert. Sand was everywhere.
"Five minutes break." The redhead told his companions, walking towards one of the rare rocks in sight. Shura walked past him and plopped ungracefully onto one of the hot stones. Kan followed them slowly. The still unnamed shinobi was close behind, walking up to the Kazekage.
"My name's Shura Takeuchi, this is Kan Shinya. Please take care of us." Shura addressed the shinobi next to the Kage, extending her hand. The man glanced at her calmly, and then looked away. Shura's eyes noticeably widened and she looked quite disappointed. Slowly, her hand went down.
"Gaara." Shura looked up to see the Kazekage casually extending his hand towards her. She smiled at him then, quite bravely, too, and shook his hand.
"I know exactly who you are, Kazekage-sama."
"Just Gaara is fine." He insisted, extending his hand to Kan who accepted it also.
"But, Kazekage-sama-"The shinobi next to him began, but Gaara cut him off.
"I'm glad to have you all on this mission. This is Toru Minami. He is my escort." Shura caught the slight displeasure in the Kage's voice. The escort was obviously not his idea. Kan looked from the Kage to the shinobi. He didn't like this man too much. Toru looked at all of them like they were some kind of bugs that were infesting his vegetable garden. Vegetable gardens were very important in Suna after all. It was a big thing to have one infested. Maybe Toru had an infestation in his? Maybe that's why he was so grumpy? He couldn't get any vegetables before leaving, because of his infestation. And on top of that, he probably had to leave his poor, sick garden to someone else to take care of while he was on a mission. Maybe the Council appointed him because of that infestation? Maybe he was aiming to infest other gardens, too. Kan had his theory now; just to prove how exactly this Toru person was trying to infest others with his bugs. He liked his garden the way it was. He could cook properly with all the things he grew in it, after all. He would stop this act of bio-terrorism as swiftly as possible.
"Kaze-, um, Gaara-san, could you tell us more details about the mission?" Shura asked. Gaara nodded. He crouched, laying his palm flat onto the ground. Shura felt his immense chakra again. This man was a beast. He was amazing by himself, she could only imagine what he could do with his Biju. The Kage straightened after a moment.
"I will brief you on the way. They have changed directions."
Shura glanced at Kan, who shrugged in return. She threw a look at Toru, but he was already chasing after the Kazekage. Shura and Kan matched the redhead's pace again as he started the explanation.
"I believe some of you are familiar with the Wanderers?" After receiving only one nod of affirmation the Kage sighed.
"They are the clans that lived under no one's reign in the desert." Shura picked up the explanation. "There are rumors that they have been around since before the Nations were formed. I've heard that they were great warriors, on par with shinobi. These days, they have bowed to the Daimyou to keep their lives, but they still step on the line of law and jump through the holes it allows. A lot of them have turned to thievery since the Daimyou isn't too fond of them and doesn't supply them with any kind of provisions. They live in terrible conditions. I've seen it."
Gaara locked gazes with Shura for a second. "That is why I demanded you for this mission, Takeuchi-san. I have received information that you speak their language and have studied their beliefs."
"Yes, I do. Not very well, but it's understandable." Shura laughed. "Oh, and please do call me Shura, when someone says Takeuchi, I think that they are addressing my brother." The only response she got was a long look that utterly confused her.
"The Wanderers have been acting up. It isn't just a once or twice a year occurrence for them to steal anymore. They have raided many cities, some even cleaned out from certain items, mostly food. Sunagakure was their last reported target. I have received many requests for aid against the Wanderers. That is our mission."
The next few minutes of running were spent in complete silence. Shura was tossing the idea of visiting the Wanderers again. All in all, she was looking forward to being with those people again. They made you feel as if you were dreaming. Their lives were in another world. She chanced a look at the Kage. She had heard about his killing machine days. She had never had the chance to see any of the incidents, as she was mostly away on missions. She wondered about this man's intentions towards the Wanderers. She doubted that he could single handedly wipe them out, but if he released his Biju, it could be possible.
She was afraid for all the wonderful people she had met while living with them. Shura had dedicated her life to being a kunoichi, she was ready to die at any moment. They on the other hand, weren't. She wondered if this man leading their mission was Gaara the Kazekage of Suna who was going to wipe out a threat and a nuisance or Gaara a former assassin, looking to understand and accept a different culture. Gods help her, she couldn't read that man at all.
He didn't seem hostile yet, Shura decided. Maybe that meant that he was going to try and talk it out with them? Or maybe that was just a cover. She didn't know. She decided to trust her instincts. And they told her that no matter how terrifying this man running in front of her was, with his bloody sand on his back and his enormous chakra and the Biju in him, he was trustworthy. Shura gave a small smile. She was willing to put her trust in this young man, and if it came to it, she would try and stop him at the cost of her life.
Kan wasn't too thrilled. Outlaws in everything but name. He would have to be alert. He threw a glance at Shura. She was smiling to herself. Well, if she was this happy about the mission, he would trust her instincts and experience. On all of the missions they were on together up till now, her instincts were correct.
They ran for another few hours. The Kazekage allowed them two more brakes, not stopping for too long. Apparently, he could feel the Wanderers through the desert sand, pinpointing their location. There was one group in front of them. The Kazekage wanted to catch up to them as soon as possible. The shinobi group had kept their pace even when the redhead informed them that the Wanderers had stopped.
The sun was slowly setting when they finally saw a shape on the horizon. The group headed there at a quicker pace. The closer they got the better could Gaara make out the shape in the sand. There were three ship-like structures standing still on top of the sand. The sails were misplaced and intertwined between the wooden vessels, creating a huge tent. As they got closer, the shinobi saw a couple of people walking around, securing the tent, fastening ropes, some carrying cargo from the holds of the ships into the tent. When they caught sight of the shinobi they started yelling something to each other in a strange language. By the time the shinobi entered the shade of the tent and ships, mostly everyone was gone, and only a few men were lingering. Gaara noted the sharp, curved blades they each had on their hips.
The tent opening widened and a tall, muscular man came out. He had two blades, one on each hip, and his black hair was braided elegantly. This man was a warrior without doubt. Shura counted over twenty warrior braids in his hair, each decorated with silver and gold rings. This was either their strongest warrior, the Champion, or their leader. She hoped it was the latter. Warrior leaders weren't too hard to deal with. If their leader was a priestess, that could pose a problem.
The man sized them up with his unusually pale eyes. Then he spoke a long sentence in a deep voice. Gaara looked at Shura. He held back his urge to face palm when he saw her face. She didn't understand a word that man was saying.
I think I'm going to end I here, with a little bit of humor in the end.
Now then, this is a little experiment of mine, I am really just testing the waters with this story. I thought Gaara wouldn't be too bad to write, since I adore him as a character, but I have found him a bit of a challenge. I would appreciate you guys telling me if he gets a bit talkative, or unnaturally emotional.
I have just begun with my assault of OCs, so do get ready for more. I will try and keep them as different as possible. I think I might end up drawing some of the main ones, if yes, I will tell you in another AN, so keep an eye out for that.