It was early morning by the time they reached Suna. The sun casting long shadows on the sand fortress turned village. The desert of the Wind Country glowed pale gold, and the sky above turned from magenta to turquoise to blue. The wispy clouds already disappearing in the growing heat.
Kiba led the way, his nose keeping them from any border guards. Shikamaru and himself followed, with Chouji bringing up the rear. It was a tough trek, and sand was seeping into his sandals.
The village itself was just ahead, a narrow gap in the wall the only entrance with two bored looking chuunin by the look of it. Shikamaru stepped forward when they noticed, motioning his team to follow his lead, "Hey!"
The left chuunin stared hard at him, "State your business here."
"New guy?" Shikamaru drawled.
The right chuunin stared blearily before snapping to attention, "Nara-san!" he exclaimed, "He's the emissary from Konoha," he explained to his partner.
The left chuunin didn't look very impressed, "This guy?" he asked incredulously.
"The Kazekage is expecting me, don't expect Gaara would like to be kept waiting."
The right chuunin glanced nervously at the left chuunin, "We should let him through."
The left chuunin shook his head at the right chuunin's suggestion, "Could be transformation."
"I have an important mission to discuss with him."
The right chuunin scoffed at the left chuunin's statement, "Maybe you couldn't tell the difference, but I can."
The left chuunin laughed at the upjumped right chuunin, "You couldn't tell the difference between a latrine and a spiked trench if you had to take a piss. Besides, I don't like the look of those guys with him," he scowled at Naruto and Kiba.
"I'll have to let Temari know we were detained here, she won't be pleased."
The right chuunin implored the left chuunin, "We should let them pass."
The left chuunin glanced wearily over his shoulder before replying to the right chuunin, "Yeah, I think so."
The two chuunin parted allowing them through. Shikamaru waved a disinterested thanks while Kiba started sniffing the air. Naruto crossed his arms and scowled at them, his loitering earning him a shove from behind from Chouji.
They crossed into the village, the citizens just starting their day. The streets were packed sand and the buildings constructed of sand bricks. Little vegetation grew, instead awnings hung to shield from the harsh desert sun.
"Akamaru's scent is faint, but I can follow it," Kiba announced as they walked down the main drag.
"Not yet," Shikamaru said from his leisurely stroll, "We need to see the Kazekage."
Gaara was in his office when they reached him. The smallish room spartan in furnishings, and impeccably tidy as if he was done for the day already. He looked up at their entrance, the dark circles around his eyes finally gone, "Naruto, Nara-san good morning," a quick glance, "I would greet you two as well, but I don't remember who you are."
"Akimichi Chouji and Inuzuka Kiba," Shikamaru supplied before they could interject, "We followed a trail here."
Gaara motioned for them to sit, "I assume that giant white dog is one of their's," he said, ignoring Kiba's smirk, "I had several reports last night of a 'pale demon' running through the village. Your pet kept me from a full night's sleep."
"He's not a pet!" Kiba shouted angrily, then a seriousness crossed his features, "A 'pale demon', huh? That sounds so cool."
"The trail came here," Shikamaru continued, "Akamaru- the dog- followed what looked like a paper airplane that came out of an Akatsuki controlled corpse."
Gaara frowned at the mention of the criminal organization, no doubt remembering his own run-in with them years ago, "Akatsuki," he repeated, the barest trace of mania escaping from his voice. He blinked and it was gone, "What do you need?"
Shikamaru put his hands on his hips, "First, we need to recover Akamaru. Kiba can find him, but he should have an escort from a sand ninja."
"Kankuro," Gaara said, and what looked like a miniature puppet clacked into life from behind a decorative fern. The tiny spying rat scurried through a gap in the wall, "He'll meet you downstairs."
Kiba left, "Secondly, we've been traveling all night. Some food and a place to rest would be good."
Gaara nodded, "You know where to find them."
Shikamaru left, followed by Chouji. Naruto stepped forward though, "What's up?'
"You're going after Akatsuki?" he asked in lieu of answering.
"Yeah," Naruto watched Gaara get up and gaze out of the window, "Got a score to settle," he said frowning. They wouldn't get away with what they had done...
"They want the Nine-Tailed Fox," he said simply, turning around.
"And I want to kick Pein's ass!" he countered, "That fucking bastard deserves it! And it doesn't matter if they're after me, because I'm after them."
"What if you're captured?"
"I won't be," he crossed his arms stubbornly, "Besides, I'm not just going to sit around while they do whatever they want," quieter now, "They could go through a lot of people trying to get at me."
Gaara looked at him, "You're right," he assented, "A jinchuuriki's duty is to contain the tailed beast. And a shinobi's duty is to protect."
Naruto gaped at him, he hardly expected Gaara to spout that out, no matter how much he had changed, "Yeah," he cleared his throat, "Yeah," he repeated more confidently.
"Come," Gaara opened the door, "I'll show you around."
There wasn't really much to see, but Naruto let Gaara show him around. He was more interested in taking a nap before Kiba showed up and they would have to leave. When he mentioned it, Gaara led him to another wing. Fewer people walked the corridors, mainly just weary looking sand ninja who nodded in passing the their Kazekage.
"You can rest here," he said motioning towards a door.
He opened it, and was greeted by a small room. He tossed off his sandals, happy to finally have the things off his feet, "Ah," he smiled, rubbing the sand off his toes, "How do you guys deal with all this sand? It gets everywhere."
Gaara merely looked at him before making a small movement of his hand. The grains of sand scattered on the floor swirled upwards and then condensed into a cube.
Oh, yeah, "What about everyone else?"
Pocketing the cube, Gaara seemed surprised, then somewhat confused as if he had never really thought about that particular question, "There are a lot of vacuums," he said finally.
Vacuums, he thought, "Right, then."
At that Gaara left, and Naruto closed the door. The room had a cot and so he sat down and sighed. He took off his forehead protector and vest and laid them carefully down along with his tool pouch, his jacket was tossed to the side rather carelessly though.
The cot wasn't that uncomfortable, he decided laying his head on a sad looking pillow. He yawned, scratching his stomach and closing his eyes.
Even though the room was quiet and dark, he tossed a bit trying to relax. There really wasn't anything to stress over, they'd find out where that paper airplane thing went. Then kick whoever's ass they found, he smirked. Then he'd find that bastard Pein and kick his ass too.
Then, his mind started to drift into one of his favorite daydreams, he'd beat up the rest of Akatsuki, gaining fame as he went. This of course to the point that he'd receive applause whenever he passed by, people tossing flowers as he walked on with fireworks announcing his presence. Women would swoon in the streets while offering him bowls of ramen.
Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei would give him a thumbs up while Guy-sensei and Lee would mirror each other in the 'good guy' pose. Kiba would smirk and Chouji would offer him chips. Neji wouldn't say anything, but Shikamaru would clap him on the back.
Sasuke and Sakura-chan would be pleased and Hinata-chan would smile as he got the Hokage hat and robes from a proud looking Tsunade-baa-chan. He drifted off as the monument overlooking the village was unveiled...
...to slowly come to, comfortable and relaxed while nuzzling the soft pillow underneath his face. He smiled, his fuzzy mind vaguely reminded of something familiar.
"You going to sleep all day?" Shikamaru asked lazily from the doorway, "Lucky bastard."
Naruto jerked up, then suddenly stopped, "I'm up," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, "Give me a few."
"Sure, whatever," he waved him off, "Whenever you feel like it."
Shikamaru left, and Naruto sighed in relief, glad he was laying on his stomach. He gingerly rolled over and shook his hair out of his eyes before taking his problem in hand.
The others were gathered in Gaara's office, the rather small room stuffed with people. Kiba, Akamaru, Kankuro, Chouji, Shikamaru, Temari, and even Baki and Matsuri were there. All nine of them turned towards him when he walked in the door, he paused, "Hey!"
Temari, leaning against Gaara's desk, put a hand on her hip, "Look who decided to show up."
"Let's start," Shikamaru said before either one could make any further comment, "Kiba?"
"Trailed Akamaru to the village's municipal water treatment plant," he said patting the white dog on the head, "The paper airplane thing wedged itself into the chain linked fence around the compound."
"We checked the buildings," Kankuro added, "There was no sign of anyone, but we did find another folded frog on top of the pipe that pumps water out of the village. It was well hidden in the service area, who knows how long it was there."
At that Baki rolled out several large sheets of thin paper, seemingly containing surveys of the area, "This is the sewer system," he clarified, pointing along a line that led out of the village, "It goes to the reservoir in the north."
"The area is not heavily guarded," Gaara said from his desk, "The foothills near the border with the Earth Country are notoriously inhospitable, and even when we were at war few forces traversed that way. Instead, preferring to pass through the smaller countries with easier roads."
"Civilians usually hire a ninja when performing maintenance on the pipes," Matsuri spoke, "But it's a low ranked mission happening only every six months or so."
"So," Shikamaru this time, "Not too many pass that way, and when they do it's no one of consequence. Seems a good place to hide out."
"Seems a good place for an ambush," Gaara replied, "And is clearly a trap."
"But if we want to find out what's going on anyway," Naruto countered, "Does it matter?"
"At the very least, we'll get some information," Shikamaru said pragmatically, "Something that lately has been drier than the Wind Country's desert."
"It'll take a whole day to get there," Gaara said, "Nara-san's visa will keep you out of any trouble from sand ninja."
"That's good enough for me," Shikamaru nodded, "Thanks for the help."
"Anytime," Temari waved as they walked out of the office.
Following the others, Naruto was about to walk through the doorway when Gaara spoke, "Nothing goes on in my country without my knowledge. I'll watch your back."
"Thanks Gaara."
The trip was long and hard, the terrain tough to traverse. The heat and sun bore down on them during the day, and when night came the temperature dropped and the wind picked up as it swooped down from the north.
They followed the pipelines for the most part, small neon colored flags planted in the ground were their trailmarkers. And Naruto wondered exactly how far the reservoir was, and just how the hell so much water was in the middle of a wasteland in... "The middle of nowhere!" he shouted, anxiety and frustration getting the better of him.
Chouji looked back, "What?" he asked around his mouthful of chips.
Naruto kicked a rock, watching with glee as it tumbled down the hillside, "Are we there yet?"
"Actually," Shikamaru interrupted, "We are."
The crest of the hill allowed them to view quite the expanse, the hills and rock disappearing into the deep blue of the reservoir. The earth cliffs dropped suddenly, water marks rising high on the sheer walls.
"Over there," Kiba pointed west, "I see some buildings."
Sure enough a few pathetic looking buildings were visible along the edge of the water, "Right, Kiba and Akamaru on point," Shikamaru started issuing orders, "Naruto and Chouji will follow me. We don't know what's waiting for us, but we're going to be ready."
Naruto smirked as they headed towards the buildings, the familiar rush of chakra flooding his body. The welcome tingle of natural energy he could now sense filling his surroundings. Leaping over a narrow but deep gorge, his feet lighter than air.
A sudden wrongness in the ground below, a split second of warning. The agitated bark of Akamaru and the twisting of Kiba as he tried to tell them...
The world exploded from underneath.
He felt himself flung away, and landing hard on the rocky earth. His lungs filled with dust as he inhaled deeply, trying to get his breath back. He paused for only a moment, his ears ringing, rubbing the dirt out of his eyes, before getting up, a kunai gripped tightly.
"Shikamaru!" he heard Chouji nearby and stumbled to him in vain. His feet seemed to get heavier and heavier, sinking further and further into the ground. Shit, the thought, calming himself to dispel the genjutsu, it always took forever.
A loud bark from Akamaru sounded, then the echoing battle cry of Kiba as they engaged someone beyond the haze of dust. Finally free, Naruto had to twist acrobatically to dodge a wave of earth, the spiked crest crashing down where he was but a moment before.
The rocks shifted, a tremble rumbling though them before they shot upwards, but he was already out of the way, running towards their source silently.
Naruto was upon him, a rasengan in one hand the other gripping his opponent's cloak. He got a glimpse of an ashen face covered in piercings before letting go, strange eyes peering up at him and then spiraling into the ground as his attack went through.
Pein? he thought, then shook his head, no, the description wasn't quite right. Similar, yes, the same piercings and the concentric rings for pupils, but this must be one of the extras.
It didn't matter, he decided, this was one step closer.
A resounding boom echoed, but Naruto had no time to investigate as his opponent rose. Seemingly shaking off his attack and launching himself into a strong drop kick that made a small crater. He dodged, using the motion to draw his attention.
His clone punched his opponent in the side of the head, sending the man reeling, but only for a moment as he stopped still, unnaturally balancing on the balls of his feet. Naruto turned, Shikamaru held the man in tandem with another.
The other extra was nearly identical in piercings and his cloak, but thin where the other was not, tall when the other was short, and long hair pulled into a ponytail while the other was bald.
Chouji's arm shrunk to normal proportions and Naruto's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke while Shikamaru slowly stood up, favoring his right leg slightly, "Success."
Kiba, or was it Akamaru? Both showed up, the transformation making each develop the traits of the other. The one closer spoke, "Fucking mine," he threw the tag to the ground and crushed it with his foot, "The whole area's covered with them."
"We're not going anywhere," Shikamaru mimed the two men to the side, "This suits me just fine."
He was talking big, but Naruto could see the sheen of sweat on his brow. He frowned, how long could he hold them?
"Who wants to start?"
Neither man said a word.
Fucking great! Naruto turned around, vaguely listening to the threats and bantering coming from behind him. What was up with the fucking mutes?
He angrily threw the kunai, the knife ricocheting off of several rocks before clattering to a stop on the dry and barren soil. The escalating voices behind him faded as he stared at the hard horizon, the early afternoon sun still high.
Rubbing his face of sweat and dirt with his equally sweaty and dirty hands, Naruto scanned the landscape. Nothing but rocks, the reservoir and themselves.
He turned back towards his teammates, the four of them intimidating their prisoners as best as possible, but they were no Morino Ibiki.
"These bastards aren't going to tell us anything," Kiba complained, Akamaru barking in agreement, "They aren't anything more than puppets."
"Even a puppet has ties to it's master," Shikamaru said, his brow furrowed in effort, "We should have brought Ino," he muttered.
"Never thought I'd hear you say that," Chouji commented with a smile.
Shikamaru didn't bother replying, but rather used his shadows to tie the two Akatsuki together and walked closer to them, strengthening the jutsu, "We'll have to make do," he paused, wiping his hands against his pants, "Kiba, take Akamaru and set off some of those mines. I want it to look like we tried to escape but were captured."
"Right," he bounded off, faithfully followed by his trusty dog.
"Chouji, we're going to have to get these two down to those buildings. I can't hold them that long."
Already starting to tie the two together, the powerhouse of the team gave their leader a thumbs up, "I'll take them."
Finally able to release the jutsu, Shikamaru sank to the ground, sighing, "Naruto?"
"What?" he asked.
"Wanna help me up?"
They locked the two men around a grounded pipe, behind the caution gate for the circuit breaker. Easy to see them through the fence.
The lone lightbulb in the room was the only light visible against the dark sky outside, the low thrum of the machinery vibrating through the concrete walls and floor. Yawning, Naruto stretched, leaning back with his hands behind his head and was about to take a nap but something caught his peripheral vision. He shouldn't have looked, "Akamaru!"
Kiba laughed, "Dogs will do that."
Bleh...
"That's enough," Shikamaru said without even opening his eyes, "You're supposed to be quiet for the signal from Chouji."
"I say we got at least twelve more hours before we can even think about anyone showing up," Kiba countered, picking his teeth.
"Then you can have that watch," Shikamaru yawned.
"Prick-"
But he was interrupted by the wall collapsing. Naruto sprang to his feet, frowning and glancing wearily about as the others did the same. The dust settled, only the darkness outside could be seen.
"You know what to do," Shikamaru said.
Right, Naruto tensed prepared to put the plan into action, when the sharp crack of the support beams signaled for the roof to come down. It creaked and groaned for just a moment before shifting ever so slightly.
But it didn't come down, just as Shikamaru predicted. However, they couldn't use the momentary distraction as planned when a sudden blur of motion swept into the room form outside, crashing into the beams and pulling. The rounded blade cut through the wood, splintering it apart with force and surety. He glanced to the two prisoners, they stared back at him with strange eyes.
They moved as quickly as possible as the ceiling caved in on top of them.
Coughing, Naruto stood up grimacing and putting a hand to his side. It came back red.
A whistle in the air and the arc of a silvered blade in the dark, and he sprang to the side landing hard. He cursed, his wound limiting his movement.
A streak of white passed, Kiba and Akamaru, he thought, the form of their merged bodies. He heard Chouji, the familiar battle cries could only belong to him, but Shikamaru was nowhere to be found. The pile of rubble from the sturdy building held no answers.
His musings were cut short as the earth collapsed beneath him, but he had moved out of the way, balancing on the edge of the pit. The earth type was free it seemed.
A loud bark and a yelled curse told him who was fighting the other prisoner, but this thought had barely passed his mind when he finally got a lock on the man's position and he grinned.
The Toad Sages' had taught him well, and although he had to block out the pain, it was easy to evade the man's simple earth type ninjutsu. The man showed no shock on his pierced face when Naruto killed him.
He paused, catching his breath and holding a hand to his side for a moment before gritting his teeth and bearing it as he headed back to the pile of rubble, "Shikamaru!" he called upon reaching it, his eyes looking and his body feeling the natural energy.
There... he created two clones, blinking against the effort as he tried to manhandle a chunk of roof away from his team leader. He exposed a limp arm when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end.
Naruto turned, his clones mirroring him as a third opponent appeared. A woman, small and frail looking, but there was nothing small and frail about the chained scythe she wielded. It had a wicked edge, one glinting in red.
Her wide eye were those strange concentric circles, unblinking and seeming to stare right through him, but her lips curled upwards in a smile, the first expression he had seen from an extra, "The jinchuuriki," she said, "A fox caught in a trap."
"Where's Pein!" he shouted, ignoring her remark, "Where's he hiding?"
"We are Pein."
Fucking bitch, Naruto had no patience for this bullshit. He pulled out a kunai, his clones doing the same. If he couldn't track down the bastard, he'd make him come to him, "Then I'll let you know right now," he shouted, "You want me? Right? Then you'd better bring everything you fucking got and then some because I'm gonna track your fucking ass down and make you pay."
She nodded ever so slightly and swung the scythe at him, viciously yanking it back when he blocked it. It swung in an arc before coming down from above. Too fast, his side protested his movement and he couldn't get out of the way on time. A glancing blow, shallow but long, running from his shoulder to his elbow, the kunai dropped from his hand.
His clones, flanking the woman, attacked. Her defenses down with her long range weapon so far away. One was kicked, disappearing in a puff of smoke, the other managed to stab her in the leg before she brought the blade around to his neck.
Alone now, Naruto used the position of her weapon to come around the side, but she was damned quick with that thing and he stopped suddenly, the curved blade slicing the air centimeters in front of his face. The momentum carried it away and he lurched forward, his rasengan blowing her away into a nearby boulder.
He heard the crack of her head against the rock, saw the smear of blood as she sagged to the ground. Her eyes stared upwards.
He clutched his arm, the straight wound bleeding profusely from pumping chakra through it. A piercing pain went through both legs and he couldn't stand up anymore. The gleam of the blade passed through his vision before spinning away and sinking into the dry earth.
Crap, he collapsed in a heap, the edge had cut through both legs. He tried to get up, his protesting body giving its all before giving out. He was only human after all.
He couldn't see the others, but felt them faintly with natural energy. His own ability compromised from his injuries. They must have been in as bad shape as he was, he figured not really allowing himself to think otherwise. He shook his head before using his good arm to rip the shredded sleeve of his jacket. He awkwardly tied it around his wound, wincing at the tight if impromptu bandage.
The gash in his side was deep. He frowned, a piece of the roof caught him from underneath his vest, his blood making the clothing wet and clingy. Deliberately controlling his breathing, Naruto didn't think about just exactly how much blood that was.
He shivered.
The night was cool, but not cold. But his hands were pale and lethargic, the rush of adrenaline fading. He needed to get up, find the others. He couldn't make his legs move.
He gritted his teeth, forcing chakra into his legs, even drawing on the Kyuubi's but to no avail. The power flowed, but the muscles were too damaged. He would heal, he knew, but how long would it take?
No one was out here.
Hours passed.
The sun had appeared over the horizon, the yellow glow lightening the cloudless sky. He blinked, and it was higher.
He still couldn't move, but he found he wasn't worrying about it nearly as much as before. Even the hard ground wasn't too bothersome.
Naruto could see why Shikamaru liked to just lay around and stare up at the sky, it was very relaxing and he decided to join him next time. Maybe Chouji would be there and he'd have chips. He licked his lips, salty.
Dry shrubs rattled in the wind, and the pebbles on the ground seemed to move. Or were they there already? Another breath and the world was different.
That's all he wanted, to change the world. He didn't like it as it was.
His eyes watered, maybe the world didn't like him. He knew it didn't, but that hadn't stopped him yet.
It couldn't... he felt his jacket plastered to his torso, seemingly tighter and tighter at every breath. His hand had long ago gone numb from pressing it into his side, and the earth spun.
The world didn't. It stayed where it was, it's slow inertia like running through water. A rushing current he fought and fought against, striving to gain a meter, two in a river. Wide and long and deep, like the chasm around him.
No one. He pushed and pushed, each step harder than the last.
The barren desert and him.
His harsh breath hurt. His throat dry and the sun too bright. It seemed to stare at him and he gazed back into it. Not knowing why it changed, blocked out.
A face. Familiar, he decided, no... more than that. He knew that face.
She frowned, and he wanted to ask her what was wrong but his mouth wasn't working it seemed. She looked worried and sad and desperate, calling for someone.
Who else? he wondered vaguely, just glad to see her. She looked back at him with those eyes and something in him clenched. He wanted to reassure her somehow, it was suddenly important that she never look like that again.
He had an absurd urge to apologize. For what, he didn't really know.
Hands pushed him down, firmly but gently. Two more faces. One bland but worried, the other livid but worried. The latter was shouting orders even though the other two were mere arms length away.
Pain shot through the dull haze his body was in, a glow of healing chakra around him. He winced, maybe screamed. He wasn't sure.
A soft hand touched his cheek. A caress, maybe? He didn't know, no one touched him like that before. It was cool against his flushed skin, the slightest movement as it lingered for a fraction of a moment.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something as the pain subsided. She smiled wanly, holding a syringe as his eyelids drooped and then closed.
Disclaimer: P'shaw...
A/N: Um, this one got away from me too. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. A few notes:
Yeah, I stuck in as many Suna ninja as I could. They probably won't be making too many appearances, so I didn't want to leave any out. Plus Gaara is quite fun to write.
I'm pulling a lot of their ninjutsu out of my ass. Since, I just don't know what they're capable of. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible based on the information I have.
Alright, we know Naruto heals very quickly. The problem is that every other time he's been seriously injured, help as literally been minutes away. It doesn't matter if he can heal most wounds in a day if he bleeds to death in a few hours.
Thanks for reading!