Nightmare Flame
Night One: The Invasion of Sunagakure
Over the traffic of cities-over the rumble of wheels in the streets;
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses?
no sleepers must sleep in those beds…
The room is shrouded in shadows and the only light emitting in it is the brief flickers of a lighter from Suigetsu's hand.
Juugo is sitting quietly in a corner, giving the small flame his utmost focus until it shuts off and then picks the sand and blood from underneath his fingernails until the light comes on again. Then repeats the process.
Karin is leaning against the opposite wall, absently cleaning off her glasses with an old rag, but ever so often glancing at the door Sasuke left through. She sighs and Suigetsu knocks his head against the wall behind him, sliding to the floor after fingering his Nodachi with a graceless thud.
He leans and pushes his legs out languidly; holding his hand over the small lighter and watching it melt like cheap wax. He closes his eyes and his head is upturned toward the ceiling, "So fucking bored…" He mutters under his breath and the lighter shuts off, giving his hand time to solidify.
Juugo's breathing intensifies and he begins to focus on his fingers in an attempt to calm himself, as if his entire world is destroyed every time the room abruptly fades to black. Karin gives a noncommittal hum to Suigetsu's statement and he continues, "Sasuke and his damn fetishes. And why do we have to wait here?"
Silently, Juugo turns to Suigetsu's general direction and then returns to his nails. Karin sighs for the umpteenth time and prepares to give him the cookie cutter answer to his rhetorical question. "Because he needs to see how infiltrative the village is. The best way to do this is from the inside, not the out and since the Kazekage is still in Konoha along with the other Kages at the summit, he has to alert the next person at the top of our presence so that we can be captured."
"Yeah," Suigetsu drawls in the dark with a barking laugh. "That sexy older sister."
Karin ignores his interlude and continues, putting on her glasses at the bridge of her nose, "The Kazekage's sister is only a device to the greater scheme, nothing else."
"Whatever you say," He says in a lilting tone and she glares into the dark spot he's occupying, not caring if he could see it or not.
"Once we're captured, you're going to have to go through the plumbing to activate all of the bombs throughout the village and then send the signal to Juugo to enter his cursed form," Karin tersely says to Suigetsu. "Within the hour, the village will be torched and Suna destroyed." She finishes with a yawn and crosses her arms.
With a click, the room illuminates again and Juugo opts for concentrating on the flame again. Silence descends on the room and Suigetsu hangs his hand over the lighter, his fingertips sliding off of his fingers. He mutters, "Whatever…" And then, just to aggravate Karin, asks, "So does it help you sleep at night?"
She holds her follicle frame in-between her index finger and her thumb to pointedly ask, "What?" It was unlike Suigetsu to question the motives of anyone on the team. That was up Juugo's alley.
He cocks his head and gives her a snarky smirk when he reiterates, "Does it help you sleep, thinking that it's just 'part of the plan' when he's really mindfucking some babe?"
The light shuts off and Juugo stares unseeingly into the dark where he can hear the conflict. He breathes deep into his mouth and closes his eyes, twisting his fingers anxiously while counting to ten. When he finishes, he is wheezing through his tightly shut teeth, "Stop, please."
The fighting ceases as Karin and Suigetsu quiet and then he hears rustling before the flame is restored. They're back to their original positions as if nothing happened, but Suigetsu's right eye is sunken into his head, the brow above it melting over his cheek.
"Sorry, Juugo," Karin murmurs and focuses her attention toward the door. Suigetsu curses under his breath and Juugo nods at Karin's apology.
Temari awakens with a jolt, chest heaving and heart pounding against her ribcage. She wipes her forehead clear of the sweat that accumulated on it during her nightmare and rushes out of her room. In a matter of a few minutes, she is in front of Kankuro's door, banging on it like a drum.
He opens it mid-knock with narrowed bleary eyes and vulnerable without his kabuki paint. He sweeps the dusty brown hair away from his face and mumbles, "Damn it, Temari. What do you want?"
"We need to evacuate the village," She says firmly without wasting any time and Kankuro responds with a lethargic yawn.
"What else is new? Akatsuki trying to kill Gaara again?" He inquires, blinking his eyes clear.
"Close. Akatsuki trying to destroy Suna," She reinforces and he nods.
"See? That was my second guess," He halfheartedly retorts and heads back into his room.
Temari grabs his collar before he can close the door, "What the Hell are you doing? This is serious." She shakes him to prompt some sense out of him, not willing to divulge how exactly she knew the their village was in immediate danger, "We need to-"
"I know what we need to do." He amends and takes her hands off of his collar, "Set a level four alert, secure the perimeter, and send a carrier hawk to contact Gaara and Konoha…Anything else I'm forgetting?"
"Evacuate the provinces underground," She reiterates.
"Oh yeah. That." He states dryly and turns to go into his room.
"Then why are you going back to your room if you know that we have to do all of that?" She questions with a narrowed gaze and hands on her hips.
He gives her an incredulous glare, "Because I can't do any of it and be taken seriously wearing pajamas."
Temari takes in his appearance with a huff and rolls her eyes, closing the door for him.
It takes minutes to reach the Administrative building –the same time it would take to incinerate an entire village to it's roots- and she infuses her charka into a peculiar wooden column, which activates the alert system. By the time ANBU reaches her, she is aware that she has much to answer for, but considering her rank and position, no one utters a word.
They stand at attention underneath their wooden masks, awaiting her instruction. A layout of the entire village is laid out upon the Kazekage's table and each squad leader is spread out in a semicircle to better heed her plan, despite the fact they've never taken instruction from a woman before. "I need two squads, one at North Gate and one at South Gate on the frontline," She points at both entrances on the canvas. "You'll be led by Kankuro and I."
"Squads Two, Three, and Five are to lead everyone underground, but make sure to sweep the underground sectors before that. The rest of you will secure the perimeter," Her index finger makes a circle around the village on the map. She pauses, "Bombs are believed to have been placed in the village, so be on alert," She finishes warningly and with a curt nod, the shinobi vanish in a flash leaving her alone in the room.
Three figures lurk outside the outskirts the village. Temperatures in the desert during the day reached blistering heights, but the night blows coarse sand in the blistering cold sheath of wind and one of the men standing outside of the village fidgets from the non-movement.
"Stay still," The female of the group hisses. "I can't concentrate if you move."
The man behind her smirks, "I'm sure if you were looking for Sasuke, you'd concentrate harder."
The redhead adjusts her glasses, narrows her gaze and bites back her retort, focusing on her task. A few moments later, her eyes widen. "Three man cell approaching; guards, most likely."
"Tch. That's it? And I thought this would be fun." Suigetsu sighs and soundlessly leaps down. His Nodachi cuts through the air before it slices through the abdomens of the nameless guards, spilling their blood on their native sand. Karin barely winces as she jumped from her base and crushes the shifting ground under her fist, covering their still warm corpses.
Suigetsu and Karin exchange glances and made a run for the next checkpoint, closing in on the closed village gates. Suigetsu takes the lead, katana at the ready as the onslaught of village guards grew near. Shrikens begin to pierce the watery base of his skin and Karin comes from the rear as the hasty massacre takes place. Minutes later, Suigetsu removes the weapons embedded in his skin, gritting his teeth, and Karin stands in front of the large gate, placing her hands on it to sense any presences nearby.
"Good, they're definitely onto us," She murmurs as her hand pauses on the wood. "They're already moving people underground and ANBU's coming. Fast."
Juugo approaches behind her and she turns, "You know what to do, lead the idiot in on your back." Then Karin gives Suigetsu a stern look, "It is imperative that you are not, are not, suppressed in sand. Enough will make your epidermis coagulate and you'll be nothing more than an amorphous-"
"Yeah, yeah, don't go in the sandbox, got it," Suigetsu waves off nonchalantly with his free hand. He snippily adds, "Quit with the big words already."
"Idiot," She mutters brusquely before she leaves their sides to scale the village wall. She can see the Sand Nin moving progressively over the edge and pushes herself up, balancing herself on the ledge while infusing charka in the soles of her feet.
She adjusts her glasses and purposefully makes them glint in the moonlight, catching the eye of a few ANBU. Running along the top of the wall, she distracts a full squad at the least, making entrance for Juugo and Suigetsu less difficult.
Phase One: Infiltrate Suna, is now in effect.
Temari takes a breath and closes her eyes, her mind racing miles a second, attempting to foresee the next scenario with her addled mind when she feels a hand clasp onto her shoulder. She tenses and her keen eyes open, then dilate anxiously when she becomes aware that she is not imagining this.
She turns her face slowly, only to sigh in relief.
"Baki."
He stares and gets straight to the point, "Care to explain why a level four alert's been activated at three o'clock in the morning?" The room is still covered by nightshade since she didn't bother to turn it on when she entered, but she knows his eyebrow is raised underneath his gauze.
"Akatsuki."
His lone visible eye hardens in the light of the moon.
"Actually, Uchiha," She amends. "To be specific."
Now her former sensei is confused, but she is grateful he doesn't bother her with questions. Instead, he nods gravelly and tersely says, "So, the rumors are true. The last Uchiha has joined, just like his traitorous brother."
She knows he is musing over this and is not speaking directly to her, but she snaps him out of his reverie. "We need our top bomb specialist," She says urgently. Her face grows unsure and then angered, "I don't know how Uchiha did it, but somehow he was able to bypass our security and I think he plans to destroy Suna."
His eyebrow is raised skeptically. No, she cannot see this, but she knows it. "You think he will?"
"I know this, for a fact," She reinforces firmly so that there cannot be any doubt. Of course, under her most uncertain moment, Baki would've trusted her word, but it's not as if she knows this.
He nods in agreement to her prior statement, making a mental note to ask about this later at a less critical time and then leaves the room to complete his task; making her it's solitary presence.
Temari takes a deep breath and then straps her fan to her back for battle. Just as she makes to exit the room, a councilman, one of the first to arrive since Suna was placed on alert, stops her.
He is Gensu, and he is old. His ways are ancient and his methods are outdated, but since he was one of her father's keepers as a child, she gives him the proper respect he deserves. Which is none.
He stops, gives her a look of utmost disdain, which she ignores and only raises an eyebrow when he so crossly asked: "Has Kazekage-sama ordered this?"
"No."
A grimace is etched on his wrinkled features. "Is he aware?"
She smirks humorlessly, "No."
He looks her up and down and peers into her eyes curiously, "Who ordered the ANBU captains?"
With much satisfaction she answers, "Me. Now, are we going to stand here all night and play twenty questions, or are you going to move before I make you?"
He doesn't take long to ponder over this and steps to the side grudgingly with a slight bow. As she runs down the corridor, she hears the words insolent wench escape his weathered lips…
Is it me that makes you sweat?
Am I who you think about in bed?
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking
As you're sliding off your dress?
Temari runs down to the first level and turns a corner, already feeling an impending heat radiating near the exit. She ignores this, wanting, hoping, that it's just the heater, but she can feel the change in her body as it tries to accommodate and beads of perspiration pour from her pores.
Her breathing is shallow and heavy and she slows down, treading along the wall for support in the suddenly suffocating space. She can see the door that would lead her into the crisp night air and her mind engages in a wave of nauseating panic with every step because the more she moves forward, the farther away the door seems.
The wall becomes increasingly hot until she can't take it anymore and she moves to the center of the hall, looking down at her stinging, enflamed fingertips.
Her snaps her head behind her at a sudden movement and the walls are lined with flames, towering over her body. Waves of humidity distort her vision slightly and she squints, releasing her fan in a swift movement.
The hallway is just wide enough for it to extend fully, but the fluorescent lights in the ceiling above flicker and then shut off completely, leaving the hallway illuminated by two walls of fire.
"Temari."
The fine blonde hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at the admission of her name by that haunting voice and she turns slowly, darkened teal eyes widening and contracting accordingly to the sight.
"Sasuke."
His name slips off of her tongue like an unspoken dream, but it holds such loathing and contempt that he can't help, but smirk, face gauntly lit by the fire. He steps closer and she keeps her distance, not willing to allow him to frighten her, despite the fact that a person would be a fool not to be frightened by this.
She is no fool because this is A ranked genjutsu at it's best and if all else fails, she is holding her weapon. She averts her gaze to the floor, not subserviently, but realizing that looking into his bloodline eyes would ensnare her in his trap. Temari holds her fan out in front of her somewhat as a shield and speaks: "What's your game, Uchiha?"
"Same as yours," He murmurs sagely. "I want peace."
Her eyes narrow dangerously. "Don't compare yourself to me. I'm not some criminal who calls themselves a vigilante just to feel better about myself when I hurt the people I care for."
He takes another step closer, but she holds her ground. "All of the people I care about are dead; everyone else is just delusional."
"Everyone else is being loyal!" She spat back spitefully, "But I don't have that problem. I could kill you, right now, and it wouldn't affect me in the slightest." Her stance was readied for a full frontal attack, "Just say the word."
He smirks intriguingly and lets out a low grunting hum in response. And then, he steps closer, close enough to reach out to her with his arm, "I think we both know who would win in a fight."
"I think we do," She retorts lowly. "You don't stand a chance."
As she speaks, Temari is gripping a small shriken in her palm, not wincing as it bites her skin.
Sasuke stares her down unblinkingly, "That's not the way I remember it." With a challenging smirk, he continues, " You were only stalling for time."
Check.
"Or making you think that," She lies easily. Her breath hitches when she draws blood and it begins to drip to her wrist.
Sasuke notices this with a narrow of his eyes and Temari smiles, knowing she beat him at his own game.
Checkmate.
And then the illusion is…
…Over.
Temari looks around the hallway, untouched by fire and illuminated by bright florescent lights, just like it always was. She almost want to believe that it didn't really happen until she looks down and there is a clean series of minute cuts from the weapon in her left palm, blood trailing down to her wrist.
"Temari!"
Her eyes go to the doorway, and Kankuro is standing there, twirling marionette twine idly through his fingers. "What's the holdup? We gotta go…and who were you talking to?" He inquires as his eyebrow rises.
"Myself," She answers casually as she joins his side. "I hear it's a sign of genius."
He scoffs skeptically, "Yeah, right…"
Notes: Quote(s) from "Beat! Beat! Drums!" by Walt Whitman and "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" by Panic! at the Disco. Scenes inspired by Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" by Rod Serling.
Gah, I'm expecting that some characters were OOC, but this is my first time writing some of them, so, what could I do, but try?
Many thank yous and chibi Sasukes to Miss T Hyuga, Coco-Minu, Gaara's Hug Buddy, and KibaCanLickMe as well to all those who faved/alerted/read. May you hug, cuddle, or hang him by that rope always tied slovenly around his waist. ;)
Next time is Night Two: The Downfall of Team Taka…
DAC