Quake
Chapter Eleven
-Pain-
Pale jade eyes cracked open. She didn't know how long she'd been out this time. Natsumi glanced around the dim cave, still shivering. Great, they had thrown more water on her. She really hated water. Slowly she sat up and looked around the place. It was damp, and she could even feel the water hovering in the air. When she placed her hand to her forehead she groaned. She had a temperature.
Deciding she needed to find a way out of this horrible place, she got up and gradually made her way around the room. Her whole body ached and felt bruised. She didn't know where Satomi was, and that frightened her the most. She had never really been without her sister by choice before.
Suddenly the door to the closed area flew open and a large man walked in. A dark laugh came from him as he towered over her. "Looks like you're awake, but you don't look so good little girl." He snickered, making her stomach drop.
"Where's my sister?!" she demanded, trying to keep a bold tone.
"That other one? We killed her off the other day and left her in the forest. She was too much trouble." He said simply. Natsumi was wide eyed now. It wasn't possible. She would have felt that right? RIGHT?! He moved to throw the water, but she had already jumped onto him and was hitting him as hard as she could. At that moment, she really wished she were her sister and could bash in his skull. He tried pulling her off, but her nails dug into his skin as she screamed.
Finally, he got a good grip and ripped her off, causing her nails to rake across his face and draw blood. "Damn!" he yelled, throwing her against the wall. She gasped, the wind knocked right out of her as she hit the floor with a loud smack. She cried then, this couldn't be happening. She didn't understand, her life was perfect, bad things weren't supposed to happen to her. She felt the bitter cold sweep through her body as he threw the water on her. He left finally, and the only thing she could do was wish. "Mommy…daddy…why won't you save me?" she sobbed out, before letting her tired eyes close.
"Neji." Sasuke said without looking back.
"I know, I feel it too." The Hyuuga replied.
"Feel what?" Sakura asked, catching up to the two.
"There is a sinister presence up ahead." Neji responded, activating his byakugan. "Found them." He said.
"Numbers?" Gaara asked, not really caring, since he would kill them all anyways.
"Fifteen. They are in a cave with a lower level. Natsumi is on the lower one in a damp alcove." He informed them, brow creasing with worry.
"Is she okay? Is my baby okay?" Sakura asked, needing some kind of reassurance.
"She's bleeding slightly from her head, but it's fresh, so she should be fine until we get there. She's soaking wet, and her chakra is out of control. It looks like she's sick, just as Satomi said."
Sakura's fist clenched at this. She was going to murder whoever hurt her children, slowly, so that they would know the true meaning of pain.
When they reached the cave Sasuke halted them. Performing a few hand signs, he walked forward into the cave, dispelling all the genjutsu and traps that were in place. A whistle was the only indication that everything was clear for them to enter.
The trio rushed forward and saw no sign of the Uchiha. Assuming that he had gone ahead, they continued through the dark cave. They travelled through the tunnel until coming upon a large cavern, full of the enemy. All but four of them. Perfect.
Wordlessly they split up and began to fight. Gaara was the first to make contact with one of their opponents. Sand surrounded the man quickly, hardening around his wrists and his ankles. "Die." He told him hatefully, moving his hands apart the sand mimicked their master and ripped the shinobi to pieces. He quickly disposed of the man and was met with three more.
Neji had already blocked two men, who were now stumbling around clumsily from the lack of chakra. Their energy was gone then, and the brunette took a kunai to their throats, ending their lives.
Sakura punched the ground, breaking it to pieces, effectively scattering the remaining shinobi. A large man with small cuts on his face was before her then, giving her a sinister smile. "So you're the mother of those twerps huh? Too bad that other one isn't as strong as you are, she fell easily. And that sand user is even more useless. She even tried to stop me from dousing her with water. But all I had to do was slam her into the wall and she stopped struggling. Maybe you'll be more of a challenge."
Her anger grew as he continued to talk. So this was the man who had been harming her daughters. She knew exactly what she wanted to do to him. She chuckled darkly. "Oh I'll be more of a challenge alright."
Then she ran at him, raising a fist. He was smart enough to try and dodge, but that was all part of her plan. Once he was behind her she used the momentum of her punch and turned, socking him in the jaw. He flew backwards and hit the wall with a crash.
She was before him in an instant. Gripping him by the collar, she brought him to her face so that they were eye to eye. "So you like to hurt children eh?" she asked, grabbing his left arm. She twisted it sharply, until there was a loud crack. The man screamed out in pain.
"What? You can dish out pain but you can't take it? What a wimp." She said flatly. Then she threw him across the room again in disgust.
She gave him enough time to try and get up, but before he could she was standing over him, her foot on his right leg. She stepped down, snapping his leg in half. Once his wail of pain died down she squatted next to him. Cocking her head to the side in contemplation, she asked, "Is that too much for you? You want me to stop?"
She yanked him off the ground and stood. "Too bad." Then she slammed him back down. She grabbed his right hand and began to roll it inwards towards his side, bending it in ways that an arm wasn't supposed to be bent, causing it to crack the whole time, bone beginning to stick out of the flesh. The man was crying now, tears of pain rolling down his face.
A sadistic smile came over her then, as she pulled out a kunai from her pouch and stabbed it into his left knee. The man buried his face in the ground, sobbing from the pain he was in. Sakura grabbed his head by the hair and lifted it up so the he was looking into her eyes. "Would you like me to stop?" she asked, feigning concern.
"Yes! Please stop! I'll do anything!" he cried, all previous confidence gone.
"Too bad. I might've, if you hadn't begged so pitifully." She told him. Then she lifted him up more, so that his torso was revealed to her. She shot her right hand forward and gripped his beating heart.
"Nobody touches my children and gets away with it you bastard." She said darkly, squeezing the organ slowly, watching the life go out of his eyes the whole time. Once she was sure that he was dead, she ripped her hand from his chest and dropped him. Standing, she looked at her hand that was still clutching the crushed heart. Sneering in disgust, she threw it off to the side and wiped her hand off on her leg.
She turned to see that all the enemy ninja had been killed while she was teaching that man a lesson. She met Gaara's gaze and raised a brow. "What?"
"Nothing," he smirked, looking away then. "I've already told you before that it really turns me on when you get like that."
"Then you must be dying right now, because I wasn't that brutal with Sasuke." She said, returning his smirk.
"Oh trust me…if our daughter wasn't in danger right now…there would be nothing stopping me..." his taunting smile soon died and he looked around. He wanted his daughter back. Now.
A grunt was heard as the last man died from the genjutsu he had been put in. Sasuke let go of him and watched him fall to the ground. It had been easy work, and to be honest, he was disappointed.
He searched the room then, eyes stopping when they came upon a pile of pink and red. He knelt down and turned the girl's head to the side, examining her wound. She appeared to be unconscious, which was okay with him, since he wasn't comfortable around little girls.
Noticing that she was still wet, he ripped the shirt off of one of the men he had killed and made it into a makeshift blanket. Once he wrapped her in it he picked her up and gently laid her head on his shoulder. Hearing a loud crash coming from above, Sasuke knew that all the other ninja had been disposed of.
He made his way to the upper level quickly, knowing that they would want to see their daughter as soon as possible. He reached the large cavern then, and walked straight over to Gaara. Holding the small girl out to the redhead, Sasuke said, "I took care of the ones that were downstairs. She has a fever."
Gaara took her slowly, giving the Uchiha a confused look. His expression softened as he looked down to his daughter. Finally returning his gaze to Sasuke he said, "Thank you…" he pulled Natsumi closer and pressed his face into her wet hair. She was safe and alive. He had never felt more relieved.
"You would do the same for me if my son were in trouble." Sasuke said with a shrug. Before Gaara could reply Sakura ran over and gripped Sasuke in a fierce hug. "Thank you…Sasuke-kun." She said. Then she turned and began to heal her daughter's head.
Sasuke merely stood there, stunned. It had been over ten years since she had called him that, and he knew that it was only a onetime thing. He smiled softly. Then he turned and began a conversation with Neji, wanting to give the couple some time to themselves.
Sakura finished healing Natsumi's head injury. Then she looked up at her husband. "We need to get her back to Konoha, I can't properly bring down her fever here."
He nodded and looked over to their other company. "Come on," he told them. Neji and Sasuke walked over and stood next to Gaara. The sand around them picked up quickly and before they realized what was happening, they were back at the gates of Konoha.
Naruto rushed towards them then. "Tenten has already taken Satomi to the hospital, where Tsunade-baa-chan and Shizune are taking care of her. They've already got a bed prepared for Natsumi."
"Thank you Naruto." Sakura said, following Gaara to the hospital. Neji began to follow, but turned when he realized that the Uchiha wasn't following. "Are you coming?" he asked.
"No." Sasuke replied, glancing at the Hyuuga from the corner of his eye. "I'm going to go get the children. They will want to be there when the twins wake up."
"Good idea." Neji said, turning to go to the hospital.
Akito stood at attention when he felt his father enter the garden. Minako lifted her head up from its spot on Toshiro's shoulder. "Sasuke-san?" she asked softly.
"Come with me. Your sisters are in the hospital." Sasuke said, looking straight at Toshiro.
He was up in an instant, making Minako fall over a bit from lack of balance. He ran past the older Uchiha and then stopped, reversing and bowing in gratitude. "Thank you very much Sasuke." And then he was gone, nothing but sand left on the ground.
Sasuke picked up Minako and Akito. Using his speed, they were at the hospital in an instant.
The minute Gaara and Sakura entered the hospital they went straight back to the operating room. Handing her daughter over to Tsunade, she turned and kissed Gaara on the cheek. "I'll come get you when we're done." She said.
He nodded slowly, reluctant to leave his daughters. Sakura disappeared behind closed doors and Gaara went out to the waiting room, where Tenten was sitting patiently. The door flew open and Toshiro ran in. "Dad!" he yelled, wrapping his arms around his father's waist.
"Toshiro," he smiled, picking up his son with a bit of difficulty since he was getting big. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, your mother and I had to leave quickly."
"It's alright dad, at least you got Satomi and Natsumi back. That's all that matters."
Sasuke appeared then, and sat Minako and Akito down. Minako ran straight for Neji. "Uncle Neji!" she cried, gripping his leg. "Are they okay?" she asked, looking up to him with worry.
Neji set his hand on top of his niece's head and gave her a tender smile. "I'm sure they will be fine Minako, Sakura is an excellent medic."
Gaara set Toshiro down then and turned to the Hyuuga. "Thank you Neji…for coming with me to save my daughters." He gave him a small bow and then kneeled down in front of Minako. "Forgive me Minako, I didn't mean to scare you or hurt your feelings the other day."
Cerulean eyes widened in surprise. "It's okay Gaara-sama, you had been through a traumatic experience already, and my mistake didn't make it any better. I promise not to do something so foolish ever again." She said softly. Neji looked down at his niece, startled. She really did surprise him with her moments of wisdom.
Gaara nodded and smiled, patting her head, and then standing. "Well hopefully it will be soon and we can all see them."
"Yeah." Toshiro nodded and then smiled. "I'm sure Akito wants to see Natsumi really bad."
"So." The young Uchiha said, crossing his arms and looking away, hiding his blush from his father.
"Akito." Sasuke said, causing his son to turn and face him. "Come home when you are done here." he said, turning to leave. Hospitals made him uncomfortable, and he felt out of place among all of Sakura's friends and family.
"Yes father." Akito said, grateful to his dad for understanding his need to stay. He went over and sat in a chair, swinging his legs back and forth nervously.
It was a while later when Sakura finally came out into the waiting room. "Well they are both fine, Satomi is awake. Natsumi is still fast asleep but she'll be alright. Her fever is down and all her injuries are healed." The group immediately got up and headed into the hall. They stopped at two doors, each labeled with one of the girls' names. Toshiro tugged on his mother's shirt and cleared his throat. She leaned down and he whispered something into her ear. She blinked and glanced over at Akito. "Well then," she straightened up. "Why don't we all check on Satomi first?"
Gaara gave her an odd glance and noticed Sakura give Akito a little shove towards Natsumi's room. "Come on now!" she laughed, pushing Gaara forward and through the other door with the others.
Akito opened the door to Natsumi's room slowly. Shutting the door quietly, he walked over to the bed and looked at the sleeping girl. She looked so tired, but peaceful at the same time. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Natsumi…please wake up." He whispered, laying his head on the bed next to her.
A small giggle escaped her lips, "If I'm not asleep I can't dream about you." She opened one of her eyes and peeked at him. She sounded exhausted, but at least she was smiling.
He sat up quickly and gave her a light glare. Then his gaze turned to one of wonder. "You…dream about me?" he asked, cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
She blinked then, a bit wide eyed. Her cheeks went a dark red. "Um…" she was flustered now. "It's nothing, just forget about it."
He gave her a devilish smile and leaned closer to her. "I highly doubt it's nothing if you're blushing about it."
"It's really nothing," she promised, unable to get rid of the heat emitting from her cheeks.
He sat back and crossed his arms, smirking the infamous Uchiha smirk. "Whatever. Your family is next door checking on Satomi. I'm sure they'll be here soon."
"And yet you chose to come in here." She pointed out, a smirk of her own playing across her face.
"Well…the room was too small for everybody…and I don't like crowds." He said, turning his head away to hide his blush.
She simply laughed, "Well I guess then when they come in here you can go see Satomi." She watched him carefully, wondering what his reaction would be.
He turned back to her, the glare back on his face. "I don't need to go see Satomi. I already know she's okay. You were the one who was unconscious." He said defensively.
"So…why did you come in here alone?" she wondered, ignoring his glare.
"Because everyone else went to see Satomi." He said, wondering why he had to repeat himself.
Her smile fell from her face instantly, "And that's the only reason?"
A pained look flashed through his eyes at her words. She was going to make him say it wasn't she? He sighed, figuring that after everything she went through, he might as well tell her. Just this once. "Of course not." He said, softening his tone.
Her smile returned instantly, "Then why?" she giggled. She had managed to get this far so why not try for a home run?
"I was worried okay?! Are you happy now?" he asked, dropping his arms.
"Yes." She said simply, reaching over and grabbing his hand with hers.
He stuck his tongue out at her childishly, smiling when he had caused her to giggle. He was glad that she was okay.
"I'm sorry." She suddenly said, looking down now.
"For what?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"For making you worry."
"You shouldn't be, it wasn't your fault." He said softly, laying his other hand over their joined ones.
She shrugged, "I could have been stronger…or faster so I wouldn't get taken." She couldn't meet his gaze now. If she were her brother, she would have been able to stop them.
His brow scrunched in anger. "Stop blaming yourself. It is perfectly understandable that a little girl your age wouldn't be able to fight off all those men. Next time I will be there to protect you." He said with determination.
Her blush darkened into a blood red. "Do you promise?" she whispered, her grip on his hand tightening.
"Yes, even if it costs me my life, I promise to protect you Natsumi. Always." He said, squeezing her hand back in return.
Suddenly the door opened and Akito slipped his hand from her grip. Gaara came in first, sending an unwelcome glare at the boy who was trying desperately to hide his blush. "What's going on in here?" he asked, crossing his arms and then looking at his daughter.
Minako and Toshiro pushed past him then and ran towards the bed. "Natsumi-chan you're awake!" Minako exclaimed, hopping up onto the bed with her friend.
Natsumi wrapped her arms around Minako and smiled brightly, "I'm so glad to see you Minako and I'm glad you're not hurt. I didn't know what had happened to you."
Toshiro smiled at his livelier sister, glad she was awake and feeling better. He stopped by Akito and gave him a bit of a nudge. "So…huh? What happened?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. She woke up, I told her you were in the other room, and that's it. End of story." The ebony haired boy said, crossing his arms in defense and glaring at his friend.
"Alright, alight." The redhead snickered, nudging him once more. "So you didn't hold her hand?" he arched a brow, trying his best not to laugh too loudly.
"Shut up." He said, hitting Toshiro on the arm. They both laughed then, punching each other back and forth. Gaara's glare was still set on the young Uchiha.
Sakura placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Children Gaara, they're just children." She reminded him with a smile.
"They are not just children Sakura…they're boys…" he seethed.
"Yeah, little boys that only care about fighting and stuff. They're too young to even be interested in girls. At this age they still believe in cooties."
Gaara rolled his eyes and left his wife at the door. He went over to the bed and smiled down at his daughter. "Are you ok Natsumi? When would you like to go home?"
"As soon as possible!" she exclaimed happily.
Naruto and Hinata walked in. "How is the little princess doing?" the blonde Hokage asked, smiling at Natsumi.
"Good!" Natsumi smiled brightly at the Hokage, and then turned to Akito, sticking her tongue out at him. She gave him a small wink before smiling again, "See. Told you I'm a princess." She said smugly.
"Whatever. You'll always be a squirt in my book." He said with a smirk.
Naruto pulled out a white stuffed bunny and handed it to Natsumi. "Here, I thought you might want a souvenir and stuff…and Minako mentioned that you liked stuffed animals." He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oh wow!" she squealed, hugging it tightly. "Thank you so much Uncle Naruto!"
"What did you get Satomi?" Sakura asked, raising a brow. She knew that her other daughter wasn't big on stuffed animals, and that she wouldn't accept such a gift gracefully.
"Well I tried to get her something, but she didn't want it. So I patted her on the head." He said with a goofy grin.
"I'm surprised she didn't punch you through the wall." Gaara said, looking at his friend.
"Hehe, well after all my years of dealing with Sakura-chan, I've kinda learned to be a bit quicker. And since she can't get out of her bed or anything, I'm safe." He said, shrinking away from the threatening look Sakura was giving him.
Gaara placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and pulled her against him, "No need to get so fussy baby…you know your violence turns me on." He smirked deviously, kissing her neck and then just below her ear.
"You sick bastard." Naruto said, looking as if he was about to throw up.
The redhead flashed his friend a glare before continuing his antics and moving up to Sakura's face and then her lips. "It's not my fault I'm so twisted."
She kissed him then, missing his touch over the few days they had been apart. "Ew." Minako said, turning away, a light blush on her cheeks. Her parents usually didn't do stuff like that in front of her.
Natsumi laughed and looked at Minako, "What's so ew? Don't your parents ever kiss?"
"Yeah," Toshiro said as well. "This is their toned down behavior."
"Well they do, but not in front of me. My mommy is shy." Minako explained.
"That's because your mommy isn't a sex addict." Naruto said.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed softly, hitting him on the arm.
He turned to her. "What?! It's true!" he said, throwing his arms in the air, as if to prove his point.
"It's really okay Hinata," Gaara said simply. "It is true, isn't that right Sakura?" he asked his lovely wife, bringing her closer once more. Their noses pressed together and she nuzzled her husband back.
"You got that right sweetie, but who wouldn't be addicted to this?" she asked, more to him than Naruto, because she could care less what the blonde thought. She wrapped her arms around Gaara's neck and kissed him once more. "Mmm, I love you."
"I love you too," he whispered sensually into her ear, before beginning to nibble on her lobe.
"Oh my God! There are children here for Pete's sake! Can you not wait until later?!" Naruto yelled.
The Kazekage shook his head, "Nope. I can't wait." He said simply. "Toshiro watch your sisters and go play for the next couple hours. Your mom and I are going to go have some waffles." And without another word the two were gone in a swirl of sand. Toshiro sighed, not really caring. He knew what waffles really meant.
"Well I guess I could-"
"I want to go to Akito's!" Natsumi yelled before her brother could even finish. "We could play house. And be the mommy and daddy!"
Akito looked at her, horror written all over his face. "Or Toshiro and I could play horse." He said, giving his friend a meaningful look.
The sweet look turned into a glare. "Fine! If you want to play with stupid Toshiro I don't care!" she huffed and looked at Minako. "Come on Minako, let's go." She pulled on the girl's hand and got out of bed, before changing quickly in the bathroom.
"I don't even care." Natsumi said, refusing to look at either of the boys. Then she left the room, dragging Minako behind her.
"Girls are so weird." Akito said getting out of his chair and walking towards the door.
"I know," Toshiro sighed and followed his friend out, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.
The blonde looked around and blinked, "We didn't even get to tell Gaara and Sakura about the funeral."
"We can tell them later. Let's just let them enjoy themselves for now." Hinata said, watching the children leave.
Naruto gave her a devilish grin. "Well you know…the house will be empty for a few hours while the kids are playing…" he trailed off, knowing that she would understand his hidden meaning.
The fact that she turned red at his comment was proof enough. "W-well I did have a few things that needed to be done…l-like the laundry, and stuff…" Hinata said looking off in embarrassment.
"Well…I know something else you could do…" he whispered huskily in her ear, before pulling her too him and disappearing in a yellow flash. He would wait until he and Hinata finished their business before looking for his friends to tell them the news.