Author's Notes: It's been a while since I've updated, mostly due to writing other fics as well as real-life obligations. I still enjoy this story, though, make no mistake. I hope you are too!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and am making no profit from this fan fiction.

Turn of Blade, Twist of Fate

Chapter Eight: Sand and Blood

By Nessie

The Land of Wind, Yuugao determined, undoubtedly lived up to its name. Her long violet hair was tossed about at random, over her shoulders, straight out from her back, tangling behind her neck. Worse than that, the sand of the endless deserts was swirled through the air by the unceasing gales. Kakashi had them break camp on the night of their arrival at the border of the country. He wanted both she and Hayate to grow accustomed to turning their back to the wind so that grit did not fly through the eye-holes in their masks; every time it did, the masks had to be removed so they could clear their respective gazes, and such actions could not be undertaken once in view of the Hidden Village of Sand.

The night was bitterly cold in direct contrast to the burning daytime, but Yuugao had packed accordingly and wore thick, padded outerwear that stayed insulated and offered all the more places for her to hide weapons. The cold bothered Hayate, however, and he was forced to stay in the tent through the night to control his coughing as much as possible.

Energized by the prospect of being on her first mission in Wind, Yuugao volunteered to take final watch during the camp. Kakashi shot her down at once, insisting that until she became accustomed to the unstable terrain (she had so far shown difficulty in walking well on the sand), he would take the daybreak hours when an ambush was most likely to be implemented. She responded with her usual outward detachment, but the masked ANBU captain knew her better than he had before and detected her disappointment immediately.

"Don't be discouraged, Yuugao," he said plainly. "It is not a lack of confidence I have in you. I'm still a new leader."

Kakashi's weaknesses were not the same as other ninjas' and, knowing this, Yuugao felt no fear working under him. She went inside the tent to rest beside Hayate, whose coughing kept her awake – not from aggravation but from the concern she had not managed to squash in its entirety.

After a light breakfast of tea and spiced rice at dawn, they approached the Sand village. Infiltration was not a strong point of either Yuugao or Hayate, but both of them were ninjas and could achieve stealth when the moment called for it. Kakashi passed on a trick of his own; in this heat, the air waved and shivered like a silk curtain in a breeze. A little genjutsu, he explained, would be all that was needed to trick the Sand shinobi on guard detail into thinking they were nothing more than the shimmering images of fellow village members in the distance.

Adjusting his dog-faced mask into perfect alignment with his eyes, Kakashi led them close to the front gate, instructing them in undertones to leap to the rooftops once they were inside the village walls. The fortress-like construction that sheltered the city inside was tenable indeed, but not impenetrable. During wartime, it would be just below impossible to break in, but as they were conducting a simple observation mission, entering on a consistent level of subtlety was key.

Standing in the shadow of an awning, Kakashi waited until both guards were facing in their direction before swiftly executing a series of hand seals, his Sharingan eye wide. Both were set under the genjutsu successfully, and in a matter of seconds, Yuugao was hastening through the gate and up a sun-hardened clay wall between Kakashi and Hayate.

"Good," Kakashi said once they were settled. His mask was readjusted once again, and Yuugao estimated it was to keep sunlight from directly hitting his left eye.

Hayate turned to her, but of course, she could not see his face. His ANBU tattoo looked somehow redder in the harsh light of Wind, the mark glistening as he perspired. "What now?"

"Remember," Kakashi stated, "we are not to engage anyone or to make contact. To ensure this, I want you both to find a civilian on the street. It is Sunagakure's market day. Once you see a shopper return indoors, mimic their form and follow me." He hurried to the center of the village, Hayate and Yuugao on his tail. All three crouched on a slanting roof to look for potential targets among the dozens milling about the many stands and booths erected in the central street.

Kakashi transformed into a smiling young man, Yuugao appeared as a woman wearing a dark, unremarkable cloak, and Hayate took the form of a man who, with all his scars, looked perhaps to be a retired shinobi. With the copy-nin at the fore, they proceeded through the busy street.

"We'll go to the sand pits where their Genin train," he told them lowly. "We won't be watching the students so much as their teachers. In the past, duplicity was often instigated by the teachers of students visiting Konoha for the Chuunin Exams, under orders from their Kage to trick their hosts."

Yuugao was pleased to be learning so much but simultaneously felt let down at such a detached mission. She was good at reconnaissance and knew her skill would serve. As a weapons specialist, she was quite literally a hands-on type kunoichi, but this mission dictated strict observation – simply a "look, but don't touch" command that she would not be able to break even if she was attacked. If a battle did occur, she would have to lure her opponent outside of the village or risk harmful relations between Suna and Konoha. Though she knew little of politics, she was certain she did not want to be the cause of any such thing.

The training grounds at the south side of the village made Yuugao thankful for the facilities offered at home. The targets provided were not enduring posts of wood or trees but nets made from desert bramble secured to high sand dunes, leaving beside them steep hills on which the young Genin currently training there found poor balance.

After a time, a tall Jounin watching a three-man cell of twelve-year-olds trying and failing to execute jutsus on the unpacked ground took pity on the frustrated children and offered to demonstrate a proper jutsu. He had a disfigured upper lip, the flesh curling toward his nose and revealing the teeth on the right side of his mouth beneath glistening gums.

He affected a wide stance but kept his arms at his side. Then, in one fluid movement Yuugao would not have anticipated had she been facing him, he pulled what seemed to be a long, black razor-edged pole from his baggy pants leg. With one hand he spun the pole until a furious but controlled wind gained and surrounded the Jounin, bringing sand up with it until a nearly impenetrable shield was created from the rotating force of his chakra.

Yuugao was impressed.

The Jounin's chakra died down, and the young shinobi watching gaped at him in wonder. She realized, then, that the training equipment offered in Suna was not inferior at all but was, in fact, more practical. It relied on the natural terrain, demanding its inhabitants learn to use it to their advantage. Anyone could do combat on even, immobile ground. It took a different level to fight anywhere else.

"You will understand our allies as well as our enemies," Kakashi told them, raising a friendly wave to the Jounin when he looked in their direction. Disguised though they were, he knew enough about line in Suna to assert himself as a belonging civilian. "That is a strength as well."

"They live very differently from us," Hayate noted, stifling a cough by holding his breath for a moment. Yuugao lifted a hand to his back to massage away the irritation, and by the onlookers it was perceived as a respectful daughter seeing to the comfort of her grandfather.

The young man Kakashi had physically imitated smiled. "That, you know, is the reason our two countries were once at war. I, personally...well, let's say if it was publicly known that I was present in this village, our chances of a good report would strikingly low."

Yuugao did not inquire, though curiosity niggled at her nonetheless. The White Fang, she thought, would have offended more nations than just the Land of Wind during that tumultuous time. Was it that Hakate Kakashi was bothered by the notion, even now that those days were done?

They continued on, checking off the Jounin teachers of Genin as a passing unit not to be concerned about. Kakashi led them back to the residential area of Sunagakure, and it was not two minutes later that they heard mention of their village there.

"Did you hear about Konoha?" A boisterous middle-aged man came right up to Hayate, one hand landing on his falsely feeble shoulder.

In his inexperience, Hayate looked stunned for a second, but this worked out well. Stepping forward, it was Kakashi who asked him about the news.

"Apparently," the man went on, his rugged cheeks pink with excitement, "one of the higher clans there was brutally massacred just last night! A whole district wiped out."

There was a silence that passed between the three spying ninja and the Suna gossiper who had approached them.

Yuugao stilled her emotions, as she was adept at doing, and queried softly, "Who was the clan?"

"Let's see…I don't remember the name well. They don't have names like that around here since there's no familial connections between us and those old Fire clans. I dunno... Uki-something. Ukiwa, Ukina—"

"Uchiha?" murmured Kakashi, the face he had stolen now clean of any trace of mirth.

"That's the one! Yeah, I guess one of the sons in the family went berserk, killed them quick. They could hardly put up a fight, I heard."

"And survivors?" Kakashi folded his arms, manner suggesting a rather morbid sort of curiosity, indifference sub level.

"I don't think…." The man's doubtful expression inspired hopelessness for a moment before he perked up. "Oh yeah, there was someone! One kid. The murdering psycho's brother, I think. How's that for messed up?"

"His brother?"

"Yeah, Sokure, I think he was called. It's nuts too, because the guy was even a captain of the Konoha ANBU. Pretty talented, so I hear. He must be, to take down that entire clan of his!"

The gossiper meandered off, supposedly to spread the story. Yuugao started; Hayate took a step but Kakashi caught them both lightly by their arm guards. "We aren't free to return yet."

Hayate's eyes narrowed. "The Uchiha clan—"

"I know." Through the hole in his mask, Yuugao saw his Sharingan grow bright. "But there is still the mission to complete. At the moment, I wouldn't be able to submit half a report to Ibiki. We'll stay one more hour and then leave at dusk. By then we can go undetected."

Yuugao felt the most horrible tension lining her stomach, through each bone in her ribcage. Massacre, brother, psycho – these words worked her up. Mostly because (and she was sure Kakashi had realized this already) the only reason they had been assigned to this mission in the first place was because Captain Uchiha Itachi, whom she had met only two days before, had declined from the assignment in favor of spending the weekend with his family – as he had told them in person!

"Come on, Yuugao," she heard Hayate whisper. She followed, her eyes narrowing.

The rest of the inspection was automatic, almost robotic. They kept under the public notice. They did not give any reason for suspicion. Once Kakashi was convinced there was nothing brewing in Sunagakure that would result in problems for Konoha, especially important now that the village already had problems, they left the village and raced across the desert. The three did not rest until they met the tree line that was the border of the Land of Fire, and again, briefly, when they were in messaging distance of Konoha. After that, they continued until they were through the village gate, and the hydraulic lift was taking them below the Hokage's building into the ANBU headquarters.

Pandemonium dominated the labyrinth of corridors. There were ANBU shinobi and kunoichi everywhere, many of them not even dressed in uniform. Scrolls were flying through the air as documents were searched, and even members of the village medical squad were going about easing the more agitated ninja with their calming jutsus.

Kakashi had to catch at the collar of a man's Jounin vest to receive any attention. His black, bowl-haired head flew around to stare at him. "Kakashi!" he exclaimed, too loudly even in the din of the headquarters. The bright green clothes he wore made him distinguishable from everyone there. "You are already—"

"Back," Kakashi nodded in his mask. "What's going on, Gai? What's happening with the Uchihas?"

The man called Gai went stone still, his face devoid of expression except possibly regret. "Nothing is happening with them, Kakashi. All of them are dead. All of them except for Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi-san's..." He waited a moment, then straightened his shoulders. "Itachi's younger brother."

"Where is Sasuke now?"

"He is being questioned by one of the psychologists. It's completely out of control down here, everyone's trying to figure out how this slipped through our notice. Oh, and you can't report to Ibiki!"

"Why not?"

"He was promoted! Just this morning, to the head of the interrogation division! He's grilling anyone who was ever connected to Itachi, so prepare to be questioned if you've ever exchanged so much as a 'good morning' with him." Gai's large eyes moved to Yuugao and Hayate. "Your team?"

"Yes. Now listen, I'll need you to find…."

As Kakashi joined the fray of ANBU attempting to make sense of the unforeseen ordeal, Yuugao felt utterly misplaced. Turning to Hayate, they exchanged a silent agreement, to leave and get out of the way. It was a little demeaning, but they both understood the necessity of their absence.

Outside, Yuugao drank in the cool night air now that she was able to get her breath back from nearly two days of straight running.

"How could it have happened?" Hayate asked her, the quiet of the streets at night eerie after being down in the chaotic ANBU headquarters. "The Uchiha clan..."

Yuugao understood his feeling and shared it. The Uchiha clan, Konoha's special police unit, had been dispatched so systematically that the event seemed almost logical. But it wasn't at all logical; they had been considered the top combating family in Konoha, the village's police! And one man – one crazy, absolutely madness-possessed man (not even a man, she corrected herself hastily) had destroyed them entirely.

Hayate took her hand, and she barely realized it when she squeezed his in return.

It made her wonder if anything was avoidable. Or if everything, her failure or success included, was predetermined and inevitable.

It was not the first time she had felt this way.

To Be Continued