Chapter 13
"I think the youngster should head the project." One man from the Kirigakure council said. Yura snarled slightly.
"I don't think we can trust her! She disobeyed orders!"
"Actually…she didn't receive any direct orders." Darui broke in, defending his comrade. "She did what she needed to do." Raikage smirked, nodding.
"Although it pissed me the hell off I give the squirt some credit…she's more useful than we sometimes perceive." He added.
"But how do we know she will succeed?"
"Enough Yura." Raikage ordered, standing up. "As one of the council and head of the Anbu you should understand that we are pretty much at war with the undead."
"We don't have proof that that's the enemy." Another council man from Iwa chimed in. Yura smirked, seeing someone on his side finally. "She is a wonderful person…that much I can see…but Yura has a point."
Gaara gripped the bottom of the table with a deathly grip, trying to keep his stoic composure. How could they not trust her? They're all alive because of her and Naruto basically. Anger surged beneath his skin as Yura continued to berate her. Finally he couldn't take it anymore.
"Do you see the ground you're standing on?" He snapped angrily, sand slithering dangerously. "If it wasn't for her it would probably not be there!" Yura did not stand down, even as the sand began to spiral around both of them. Yura stood then, matching the Kage's gaze.
"Listen to me boy. I do believe that she had a part in causing all of this!" Yura yelled. "She had the Rikudo Sage, she had been targeted many times."
"She sacrificed everything to save your sorry ass! To save all of you!" Sand slithered around Yura, grasping him. The man did not fight.
"She let some of our best shinobi and my son die in battle!" He yelled back. Gaara stopped, staring at the man. Toshiro was his…son? Toshiro's face flashed in his mind.
Gaara closed his eyes. Yura stared intently at him. The sand that slithered around him, contracting dangerously, loosened in density.
"That…wasn't her fault." He said lowly. Yura stared intently. "He volunteered to fight with Mirai while I went after Akina…Akina did even know he died until later on."
Yura stared at the man, utter surprise on his face. So the brat had nothing to do with his son's death…guilt filled the man as he realized he tortured the girl for four years without really knowing the truth.
Humans could be so cruel.
"He died a true shinobi…" Gaara said the last part louder, releasing the sand around Yura. "You assume things too quickly…next time you look at Akina; look at who she really is…you'll see you're son again." Gaara said. "Let Akina head the project…she is the best person you could have for it…right Raikage?" Gaara questioned, his gaze shifting over to said Kage. The Raikage huffed, nodding reluctantly.
The other council men and Kage looked to one another, deciding then who their leader on this project will be.
"Alright Raikage-sama, Kazekage-sama, Tschuikage-sama…we from Kiri agree on behalf of our Kage." The council man form Kirigakure began. The Raikage nodded, having no objections to Akina leading this, for once having shown his trust for her. Gaara nodded his agreement. All eyes landed on the Tschuikage.
The old man sat with his eyes closed.
"Never have I let a bean sprout lead something like this before…but...she's a capable bean sprout…I agree as well."
Gaara smirked at the nickname.
"Now…who's going to relay the news?"
"I will." Gaara replied. Raikage raised an eyebrow.
"Kazekage…do not forget she is my subordinate…we will debrief her together." Gaara rose what would be a brow, but nodded anyway. "Now then…we have more to discuss, do we not Lord Kazekage?" Raikage prompted. Gaara glared, hating that the Raikage was making him seem like an idiot.
"I was just getting to that…" Gaara seethed, his good mood immediately destroyed. "In the event that this turns into something worse…something that endangers us all we should form an alliance." He said bluntly. "Keep no secrets to each other, help each other when needed…just like what was being planned before Akina took out the head of Akatsuki." He explained. The room was eerily silent.
"Who would head the alliance?"
"We would have equal decisions; there would be no single leader." Gaara began to explain.
"Why would we need an alliance if we do not know of the magnitude of the threat? It's a blasted waste of time." The Tschuikage grumbled. Gaara's eyes narrowed at the man, but he remained calm.
"Magnitude of the threat? What happened when we tied to handle Akatsuki without an alliance?" Gaara reminded. "All of our jinchuuricki were taken, that's what."
Akina hurriedly walked down the streets towards the hospital, formulas and antidotes running through her mind once more. A soft wind blew past her as she watched the people walking around. Deciding to give herself a break for a few minutes, and think for a while as well, she sat on one of the benches on the nearby corners. Across from her was the playground. She watched as academy students played joyfully, jumping around. A smile crept to her face as she watched them. For a brief moment she touched her necklace, feeling the details of the gourd that hung on the chain.
Akina absolutely loved children, wanting two of her own one day. Watching them made her envious of the childhood she missed, the childhood that was taken away from her.
"Miss?" A small voice brought her out of her thoughts. Akina blinked, looking at the small girl.
"Yes?"
The girl fidgeted, looking slightly nervous. Akina smiled at her, trying to help calm whatever nerves the girl had. The girl smiled hesitantly back at her.
"Have you seen a small fox?" She asked in a whisper like tone. Akina blinked, remembering the small fox that followed her all the way to Suna. But, after she went with Gaara she didn't know where the little scamp went.
"No, I haven't seen him actually."
The girl got a dejected look, sad now.
"Oh…okay….he's my friend so I was looking for him but he walked away with a man dressed like a cat." She said. Akina chuckled, knowing it was Kankuro. So the little rascal took a liking to him eh?
"Don't worry, I think I know where he is, I'll bring him tomorrow." Akina grinned to her.
"Is he yours?" She asked.
"You could say that…" Akina responded, scratching the back of her head. "Is there someone you could play with?" The girl saddened immediately.
"Not really…I mean…well…my parents have been away for a really long time, the Kazekage said he doesn't know when they'll come back…so I've been alone for a while." The small girl explained. Akina raised an eyebrow, intending to ask Gaara about this after her routine visit to the hospital. "I have a caretaker though!" She said, smiling.
"That so? Good." Akina said nodding.
"Yeah he should be here any moment! I should go actually; he doesn't like me talking to strangers!" She said, taking off down the streets. Akina smiled at the girl, happy to meet such a vibrant person. Sighing in contentment Akina got up from her spot. She continued her trek to the hospital, entering the large doors in a matter of minutes. She made it to the lab, finding Wakana almost immediately.
She grabbed a lab coat, a grin on her face.
"Let's do this." She mumbled to herself, walking inside the lab. "Update me." She said upon opening the doors. Wakana didn't even look up t know it was her.
"She's stable for now, no improvement though." She said, holding up a vile of blood. It was dark red, with a tint of blue. The cells weren't getting enough oxygen. "How'd the meeting go?"
"Alright I guess." Akina replied, grabbing a pair of gloves. She picked up a second vile, observing it. "Anything new happen, we haven't exactly had time to catch up."
"I got a boyfriend."
Akina nearly dropped the vile, staring with bug eyes at Wakana. Wakana smirked, looking at her expression. Akina grinned a moment later.
"What's his name, ID, address, record, and ranking?" She listed off as if it were something she'd do everyday. Wakana laughed, grabbing another mixture of antidotes.
"He's in Anbu." She said, adding the antidote to the vile. "He's the same age as me, kicks some serious ass."
"Well what's his name?" Akina asked excitedly, nudging her friend. Wakana growled, almost spilling the vile.
"Don't make me hit you baka." She warned, then sighing a moment later. "His name is-"
Her pager went off suddenly, catching both of their attentions. Wakana hastily handed her the vile. "Hold it up to the light for a moment, it's a different patient." She explained, looking at the pager.
Akina nodded as Wakana hastily went out the door. She watched her figure retreat, lab coating flowing from the pace she was walking. Akina smiled, seeing her friend still working like always. It brought back memories of the short few months she and Wakana trained under Lady Tsunade. Wakana of course trained longer since she went back to Suna. Oh the perils they went through. Akina laughed as she thought of Tsunade's addiction to sake and the monster strength she'd use to punch Naruto, herself, Wakana and almost Gaara one time through a wall. He had his sand so of course he was fine. The wall…not so much. She paused, putting the vile back down, her eyes widening.
"Sand…" She whispered. Ideas flowing through her head at rate she could barely keep up with. "That just might work!" She exclaimed, running out of the lab. She ran down the hallway, bounding in and out of traffic.
Speeding past all the nurses she rounded the corner, passing Wakana and almost knocking her over. Wakana stared at her retreating figure, confused out of hell. She looked back at one of the head nurses.
"I'll be back…" She said quickly and took off after Akina. Kami only knows what she could have come up with. She hoped it was damn good though.
Akina ran back towards the tower, passing in between villagers and shinobi. She received odd looks, but ignored them. Her breathing quickened as she began to tire out from the heat, forgetting how long it takes one to get used to the Suna heat.
Darui, who had finished with errands for the Raikage, came walking out of the dango shop. He was almost knocked over too as Akina buzzed past him.
"The hell?" He said, jumping out of her way. "Kin!" He yelled, going after her. Wakana appeared next to him, running after Akina as well. Darui looked at her. "What the hell is she doing?" He asked.
"Just when I thought this was going to be a dull day…" He mumbled.
Akina barged through the doors of the tower, scaring the secretary. She looked left, immediately heading towards the meeting room.
"Kin!" Darui yelled, running after her. "They're still having a meeting! You can't go in." He explained as she neared the doors, but it was too late. "At least knock…" He mumbled, slowing down. Wakana raised an brow at him, amused with how he handled her.
"You don't get it…if you want to get through the damn thick skull of hers you have to knock the sense in." She explained, leaning against the wall. "I don't feel like getting on their bad sides so I'm staying out here." She said, Darui stared at her, amused as well.
Akina barged into the meeting room, surprising everyone with her appearance.
"Haruka! What in the hell are you doing here?" He demanded. "this is a private meeting for a reason!"
Akina rolled her eyes, walking over to Gaara. Gaara stared at her, curiosity in her eyes.
"What exactly are you planning to do bean sprout?" Onoki, the Tschuikage, interrupted. Akina stopped, not expecting the name.
"I'm not short ji-sama." She said curtly. "I'm borrowing him for an idea." With that said she grabbed Gaara by the collar, and began to drag him out of the room. The Raikage's jaw literally dropped as he watched her do this. Gaara sighed, disappearing in a whirl of sand. Akina rolled her eyes when he reappeared in front of her.
"What exactly do you need?" He asked, raising what would be a brow. "This is a very important meeting…"
"I need your sand." She said bluntly. At this point Wakana and Darui entered the room. Wakana's interest perked up as she heard the sand part.
"Sand?" she asked Akina from the other side of the room. Akina nodded.
"Gaara…remember that time Kankuro, Temari and I got the flu?" She asked. Gaara nodded after a moment. "Do you know why you didn't get sick?"
"My sand got rid of anything in my system…" He said, his brow furrowing. Wakana's eyes widened, a broad grin coming to her face.
"Brilliant!" She exclaimed, moving in front of the room. "I'm sorry to disturb you all but we must borrow Lord Kazekage for an important matter." She said. The Raikage scoffed.
"What do you need him for that's medical?"
"Well I just created a basic cure." Akina said simply. "And I need carrot top's help."
She said, jabbing her thumb back at Gaara, whose eye twitched in annoyance.
"C-Carrot top?" He mumbled under his breath. "Since when was I a carrot top?"
Wakana snickered slightly. "Better than the time she dyed your hair pink." She mumbled to him. Darui heard this and couldn't hold in the laugh that escaped his lips.
Raikage watched this with new interest as he saw who the real Akina was. Yura watched this as well, sitting back in his chair and letting this transpire. The Raikage sat up once more, intrigued by this.
"You're using his sand to take the virus out." Onoki said, surprised at how smart this girl was. "And a little flu story got you to this?"
"Actually while on the way I remembered the fact that Gaara has never been sick."
"How do you remember these things?"
"I remember a lot of things…now can I bring him to the hospital and save the life of my friend?"
"Akina…" Gaara seethed. "My council room, my tower, my sand…" He began. "What ever happened to asking permission?"
"…I think I angered him." Akina said, smirking. Wakana nodded in agreement. "Perfect! The sand will work better now!" She grinned.
Gaara now came to the conclusion that she really was insane.
"We were ready to break anyway, is that not correct Kazekage-sama?" Yura interrupted. Gaara nodded. "Then let's break now, I would like to see how well she handles this."
"We." Akina corrected. "Wakana, Gaara and I."
Onoki nodded.
"It's not every day we can witness bean sprouts such as yourselves accomplish this…let's see how well you do." The old man said, getting up. For once his hip did not crack as he stood.
Akina felt a rush of anxiety come over her.
What if this didn't work?
Matsuri would die… It had to work…there was no other way to solve the issue.
With no hesitation Akina turned back towards the door. Gaara made a move, ready to transport them, but Akina shook her head.
"I need your full power to do this…I don't know how long it will take."
"Alright." He said, walking through the doors after her. The rest of the room followed as well.
"Wakana." Akina spoke, not bothering to look. She had her hands shoved in her pocket, a sign of nervousness. Wakana eyed her, watching her reactions. "Where do we do this? An OR?"
"If something should happen to either one of them then yes."
"What if-"
"Akina," She said stopping. The group was in front of them now, continuing to walk. Gaara looked back, stopping when he saw them in the middle of the road. The others stopped, looking back at them as well. Wakana gave Gaara a look, telling him to keep going and they'll be there in a minute.
"Having second thoughts?" Onoki asked, Akina stiffened. She looked at the ground for a moment. A familiar voice floated through her mind.
"Listen to me child, you are the Ruranain…you can do anything you choose to do without hesitation…so are you going to let your friend's die because you were afraid?"
The words of her old friend, the Sage, flew through her mind. It echoed in the intensity of what she was saying.
"Well?" Onoki pushed, curious. Yura studied her, truly taking into heart Gaara's earlier words. Akina tightened her fists.
"A long time ago someone special told me I wasn't strong if I hesitated…to protect my precious people." She said, looking at the ground. "It made me realize that no matter what I had to go forward…so I'm not going to let a little bit of pressure scare the hell out of me old man." She replied, a determined smirk plastered on her face. "I can't loose to this, especially with these two helping me."
Onoki chuckled. Raikage watched her with interest; Gaara smirked, seeing how much she changed. And honestly…he liked it…a lot.
"Cheeky brat! I think I'm starting to take a liking to you!" The old man laughed.
Akina smirked, continuing to walk with the group of Kage's and council men.
Wakana watched from behind, really starting to see how much she's grown. Maybe all this was good for everyone.
Just maybe.
I know its been a very long time since I've updated. Apologies! Exams of which I'm still in the midst of and minus the badn stuff 'cause our show got cancelled...again. Sigh...well I guess now I have alot more time...that's good...I guess...
And I know it's short but I'm working on something big for the fluff that you guys want, it'll come...eventually...