A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing this, I love you all! (Fangirl squee)
Chapter 4: Wind Country ANBU
Naruto was beat. They had been up until four in the morning that time seven days ago, considering they didn't have school to worry about. It was Saturday again, and he didn't feel like going home, so he just crashed at the base for the night, sleeping on the leather couch in the entry room. A loud pounding sound erupted in his ears, and he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or if it were real.
It abruptly stopped and he opened his eyes a crack, looking around the room warily. Suddenly the knocking started up again, causing the blond to go toppling off the couch onto the hardwood floor. "I'm coming," he hollered, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. He stumbled over to the wooden door, wondering who on earth that could be. Upon opening it, he saw one of the most stunning girls he's ever seen in his entire life.
She had short maroon hair and silvery eyes, and she wore a leather vest and low cut leather pants. Combat boots adorned her feet, and a cold look in her gray orbs sent a chill down his spine. "Is this the HQ of the Fire Country ANBU?" He nodded stupidly, still in awe of her looks. Sighing, she pulled out a small knife and held it to his forehead. "I don't like being gawked at. If you don't cut it out, I'll be forced to insert this into your brain."
"Yes ma'am!" he replied, backing up and averting his eyes from her. She glanced around the entrance area, examining every nook and cranny. Nodding she turned back outside and bowed.
She told someone, "The building is secure."
"Arigatou Masao," an icy voice answered. A young man came into view, and she pushed the blond aside to allow him entry. He had crimson colored hair, and his arctic sea green eyes were delineated in thick black lines. Above his left eye was a scar shaped into the Japanese character for love, and the boy had a mysterious air about him. When their eyes met, Naruto felt an even sharper shock fly down his spine, and he gulped in apprehension.
Gathering up his strength, he said, "I'm not allowed to let strangers with no ID into the building." Masao, the claret haired girl's name was, flicked open a booklet with a passport for herself and the redhead, and he nodded. Then he blinked in revelation. "Wait, you're the Seekers from Wind Country right? You guys are Sabaku no Gaara and Ai Masao, the two most famous ANBU I've ever heard of!"
He glanced back at the maroon haired girl, and commented, "It seems our reputation proceeds us, Masao."
"That is does, Gaara-sama." She looked the blond up and down and nodded. "And you're Uzumaki Naruto, a rather illustrious one yourself." She stuck her hand out and he shook it, looking pleased that he was a famous Seeker after all. "May we please speak with Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki-san?" He nodded and waved to them to follow behind and they did, Masao closing the front door before proceeding after the vermillion haired boy. Naruto could practically feel the cold vibes being emanated from the two, and he suppressed another shiver. Damn, these are some scary people.
"Kakashi-san! Our guests are here!" The silver haired man glanced up from the book he was reading to watch the blond, and then noted who exactly the guests were. His good eye widened slightly as he put his book away, and then he walked over to the two respectfully.
"Masao, Gaara, thank you for coming," he said smiling at the two. They returned no such warm gesture, but nodded and watched him, waiting the man to continue. Kakashi blinked and sighed slightly. "Welcome to the Fire Country ANBU Headquarters, please make yourselves at home." He turned his good eye to watch the uncertain blond, and smiled at him under his mask. "Naruto, please show Masao-kun and Gaara-kun to their rooms." He nodded and without another word the two followed him out, trailing after him silently to their rooms.
The blue eyed individual, feeling extremely awkward, tried to start a conversation by saying, "So, what kind of things… do you guys do?" Masao shot him a strange look and then glanced to Gaara who nodded. She returned the gesticulation, and Naruto frowned, confused by their silent conversation.
She started, "You see, Gaara-sama and I are concerned with teamwork, Naruto-san, so most of our techniques are comprised of both of our talents together. Occasionally Gaara-sama goes off on his own tangent with his special skills, and I become his backup." The blond nodded as she glanced out the window, her arms moving from a crossed position to dangle at her sides. The green eyed man glanced at his partner and shook his head in agreement. She blinked and looked at Naruto, asking, "Naruto-san, how old are you?"
"Sixteen, seventeen in October. Why?" She just shrugged and faced forward again without another word. He hesitated a moment before asking, "What about you two?"
"We both turned seventeen in January," Gaara replied when she saw Masao had her mind on other things. "Myself on the nineteenth and Masao on the twenty-first." He nodded and stopped before two empty rooms, reserved for guests. He opened the door on the right and showed Masao in.
He told her, "This is your room, and Gaara will sleep next door. Do you mind sharing a bathroom?" They both motioned the negative and entered their respective rooms, closing the doors behind them on Naruto. He breathed deeply, realizing just how scared he had been of the two famous Seekers, and ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. If they're this scary here, I wonder what they'll be like fighting!
…:oOo:…
"No way, are you serious?" Ino asked Tenten, her mouth agape. The brunette nodded gravely, turning back to the scoreboard for the Holo-Zone. She pointed to her name for target practice, which had been bumped to second place by someone named Ai Masao. "So, not only did she beat your score, but she said it was too easy?" She nodded again and shook her head, freaked out by the ruthless attacks that woman could dish out.
"And," Sasuke added, pointing to Neji's name on the other board. "Gaara seems to have taken out more enemies in the least amount of time, making me third and Neji second." The eight of them remained silent, watching the scoreboard in awe. These guys… they were merciless it seemed. In the face of their prey they showed no remorse, no emotion, only the desire to take them down and make sure they didn't come back up.
Shikamaru said, holding two manila folders and fingering through them, "In their files, it says that they have more experience in this field then anyone from Suna, and that Gaara has been a Seeker since he was… since he was six." Sakura watched the intelligent brunet like he was crazy, her jade eyes wide in shock. They have… children fighting out there? Killing coldheartedly with no regrets?
She whispered, "How cruel…" Neji nodded in agreement, looking at the electronic numbers as if they were lying to him. No one had beaten his score, ever. A knock sounded and they all jumped, Shikamaru hiding the files in with their own. Naruto opened the door and the subjects of their conversation stood there, looking perfect despite their long sessions in the Zone. "Konnichiwa, Masao, Gaara."
They nodded at her and entered, Kakashi not far behind them. When he entered the Konoha ANBU became silent, and the Suna ANBU saw that they had a deep respect for the pragmatic man. He glanced around at them all, watching them closely before saying, "As you can see, both Masao and Gaara have exceeded normal expectations, and will be joining us tonight on our trip."
"Kakashi-san," Hinata asked quietly, watching him with thoughtful eyes. "Where are we going tonight?" He smiled at her before turning back to the group and crossing his arms.
He told them, "Ino heard a rumor of a coven near the riverside. They're not that large, only about ten or twenty of them, so it should be an easy day." They all nodded, thankful for the easy job that they had to do. "We leave in three hours, so you can either stay here or go home."
"I'm staying, dattebayo," Naruto said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Hinata looked over at him and nodded, twiddling her pointer fingers together. Sakura glanced at Ino who said the same, and agreed.
Neji glanced at Tenten and asked, "Wanna stay? I think we should get some training done." She nodded in agreement and smiled brightly at him. She had gotten out of the hospital early, because she had shown such a speedy recovery. Although Sakura warned her to take it easy, she had gotten back to training later that same day.
"Why don't you stay too Sasuke, okay?" Sakura suggested to the Uchiha, who glanced at her for a moment before reluctantly agreeing. Naruto stretched and then perked up, an idea coming to mind. He raced out the door to every one of his friends' obvious surprise, who continued to watch the door in shock. "What was up with that?"
Ino laughed heartily. "That's Naruto for you! Quick to scamper away without a single explanation!" Though the purpose for his departure soon became evident when he ran back in, snacks loaded in his arms. The blonde watched him with an incredulous expression, as if he had gotten hit one too many times in the head by Hinata's small fan. "What are all those for Naruto?"
"Party!" he replied with a cheer, causing everyone to sweatdrop. Hinata, who had been the only one who didn't, smiled and walked over to him, shyly taking a few of the things from his arms and setting them out. "See? Hinata-chan agrees!"
She glanced around with a blush and said, "…p-party!" Neji blinked and smiled slightly, glancing at his cousin knowingly. Gaara and Masao glanced at each other as everyone began to congregate together, feeling out of place.
The maroon haired girl watched her partner for a moment before commenting as she turned back to watch them, "It seems they have a little less discipline than we're used to, ne, Gaara-sama?" He stayed silent for a moment before taking a sip from his water bottle, and then turning to her gave her an impassive look.
"Well, Masao, they're all friends here. That's the problem." She nodded and continued to examine their group as if watching a movie. She felt like on a totally different planet from the cheerful faction before them, and shot a sideways look at the redhead before letting out a silent sigh. Gaara-sama… A sad expression covered her normally stoic features, missed by her partner but not by the blue haired Hyuuga. Hinata watched Masao with confusion, trying to comprehend what could possibly make her as sad as she looked.
Gathering up her courage, she stepped over to the Wind Country Seeker and inquired, "W-would you like t-to… talk?" She blinked her silver orbs in obvious astonishment, and then nodded, walking over with her to a secluded part of the room. Hinata bit down on a Twinkie, feeling slightly awkward around the girl. "I-is there… something w-wrong?"
Masao grunted softly in surprise and watched her face closely, searching for a reason for her sudden interest. "Well, your acquaintances and you… are incredibly convivial, ne?" She blinked and nodded, watching Naruto do an impression of Sasuke and the onyx haired man punch him in the back of the head. Laughing faintly, she turned to the coldhearted woman and gave her a warm smile.
"We're all f-friends here, Masao-san," she told her truthfully, extending her hand to motion to the seven other Seekers and Kakashi, who had his orange covered book in his hand. "We all kn-know and tr-trust each other with our l-lives. Isn't that how you a-and Gaara-san a-are?" Glancing at the ground, she wracked her brain for something that would give a clue to a thing close to friendship between herself and the heartless man she worked with. Sighing, she shot the pearl eyed girl an impassive look.
She told her, "No, nothing like that. We trust each other as partners and Seekers, but that's the extent of our relationship, Hinata-kun…" She sighed inwardly, and bit the inside of her lip.
"But you wish it were more." Masao's orbs widened and she snapped her head to the side to catch Hinata's eyes. She was smiling brightly, and she blinked at the notion she mentioned. She gave Gaara a sideways glance and watched him for a moment as Naruto offered him a bag of Doritos© (A/N: I do not own them!).
Turning back to Hinata she asked, indifferently, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"It just… s-seems th-that way…" she mumbled, pressing her fingers together with embarrassment. She shrugged and turned back to watching her partner try the ranch chips for the first time. His expression of uncertainty before taking the first bite, the contemplating, and then the initial, split-second flash of approval as he continued to munch on the delectable treats. It all seemed surreal to her, continuously at her fingertips but absolutely outside her reach.
"Well," she said uncertainly, trying to appear nonchalant, "I'm sorry but it's not true. Gaara-sama's nothing more than my partner and leader. There's nothing… more." Ai Masao turned around and walked away from her, and soon exited the room altogether to get some fresh air. Not going unnoticed by her partner, the redhead followed her out to the parking lot, where she stood on the edge of a bridge watching the light posts reflect marvelously in the pond water. She stared off into the grayish water, watching with correspondingly tinted orbs. She felt his arm brush her elbow that rested on the stone railing of the archaic overpass.
He questioned hesitantly, "Is everything… all right?" She glanced at him, unsuspecting of his concern, of his presence altogether, and nodded.
"Stuffy in there," she replied, letting the cool November air wash over her body. She suppressed a shudder, realizing she had been stupid not to grab her windbreaker on the way out, and sighed. "What about you, Gaara-sama?"
"Same," he replied. And to see if you were okay… he added dryly, watching the artificial lighting reflect in her uncommonly colored eyes. Noting her slight shiver, he shrugged out of his blue coat and draped it over her shoulders, much to her obvious surprise. "You'll catch a cold this way, Masao. What use would you be then?"
"Thank you." They were silent as the house lights around them shut off, and the rare passerby became nonexistent. The entire setting seemed dreamlike, hearing the cheering and laughing coming from the Seekers inside, watching the lights sparkle, and just standing together in silence. "Gaara-sama…" she started, giving him an uncertain glance. He met her eyes quizzically and she smiled slightly. "I was wondering… would you like to go with me tomorrow… to go get coffee?"
Gaara furrowed his brow in great confusion, the crease in his skin the only visible sign of his being so, due to obvious lack of eyebrows. "What?"
She flushed red and turned away making him even more perplexed. Since when did she act like this? "Never mind, forget I ever said anything…"
After a moment of contemplation he let a minute smile grace his lips. "I'd like that." Her eyes opened comically in mystification, and she watched him for a moment before smiling.
She replied, patting his arm, "Great."