Onchou smiled at the couple sitting near her a little chuckle escaping her lips. "Stupid Uchiha." She muttered. "I suppose that'll have to do for now." She said as she watched him lay his head against Sakura's shoulder. Her attention was diverted to the battlefield by the sound of yelling and she closed her eyes to better assess the situation using her hearing. After a few moments she sighed and opened her eyes. "Gaara, Naruto and Sai are doing a pretty good job but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to lend them a hand. The faster we get this over with the sooner I can get Ryuu into bed." She said to herself as she stood from where she'd been resting on a rock. She stood and stretched her arms above her head and laughed at herself. "Geeze, I sound like an old lady."
"I'm heading out to give the rest of the boys a hand." She called out to the couple huddled together nearby. Sasuke nodded and she returned the gesture before sprinting towards the knot of shinobi and Dolls fighting nearby. She smiled as she watched the glass dragon she'd created with the help of the Kazikage slither through the air with the red head standing on its head with his arms crossed over his chest as he directed the beast to take out the enemy. Her ears picked up on the sound of a man grunting in pain and she turned surprised to see a man dressed in black with purple face paint fighting two of the remaining dolls using a puppet that reminded her of a beetle with its multiple arms. She concentrated on his song and the songs of the dolls as she sprinted towards him. A male Doll armed with a massive ax lopped off several of the puppet's arms and then knocked the puppet master back several feet. His female partner followed intent on killing the man and Onchou leapt in front of him and his puppet and avoided the woman's kunai attack and let lightning chakra flow into her fist and slammed it into the woman's chest launching her backwards with a hole in her chest. Knowing the woman's wound was fatal, Onchou turned to the puppeteer and extended her hand to him helping him to his feet.
"Thanks for that." He murmured. "I was worried there for a second."
"You're very welcome." She replied simply her hand glowing green as she sent her healing chakra into his body taking care of the gashes and deep bruises she noticed on his body.
"Who are you?" he asked. "Aren't you that girl that Naruto brought in? Why are you fighting? I thought you were supposed to be in bed."
Onchou chuckled. "I'm not really the type that can sit in bed while a battle rages outside." Her ears picked up on another song of death and her brow furrowed. "You can take care of that guy right?" she said motioning to the ax wielding Doll.
"Of course. I owe him for wrecking my puppet." The man replied.
She nodded and then sprinted away towards the sound of the ominous song glancing around as she went. "Most of the Dolls are dead." She muttered. "This shouldn't take much longer." She found the source of the hunting melody of death and sighed heavily. "I should've known." She muttered. Just ahead of her, a pair of young sand shinobi stood side by side gushing as Gaara on the head of the glass dragon swept through the battle field towards them searching for the few remaining Dolls and calling out to his men where the injured were.
"Lord Gaara is so cool!" one of the girl's gushed blush rising to her cheeks. She tossed her brown hair and sighed. "He's the best Kazikage ever!"
"I know right?" the blonde haired shinobi next to her agreed a little squeak of excitement leaving her throat. "He's so mysterious, strong, and powerful. What I wouldn't give to be by his side." She cooed.
Onchou rolled her eyes at the girl's shallow affections and then moved faster as she pinpointed the two Dolls preparing to attack the girls a few feet ahead of them shifting slowly and using the bodies of their fallen comrades to cover their movements.
"AH! He's coming this way!" the brunette exclaimed as the Kazikae directed the dragon in their direction.
"Should we call out to him?" the blonde asked.
"Why not? All of the nasty creatures over here are dead." The brunette replied.
"Alright. On the count of three then." The blond said.
"Stupid girls." Onchou hissed as the blonde counted down pushing herself faster as the two Dolls raised kunai ready to throw at the girls.
"Lord Gaara!" they called out in unison.
"Idiots!" Onchou yelled leaping through the air as the girl's sudden yelling startled the Dolls who panicked, throwing their weapons faster than the violet haired girl anticipated. Knowing she was nearing her limit chakra wise and knowing full well her pain tolerance, she materialized in front of the two girls. She spread her arms wide and winced as the four kunai hit her, two sinking into the flesh of her abdomen, one burying itself in her chest just below her shoulder and the fourth one hitting her in the thigh.
"What? How did that happen? I didn't see them!" the blonde exclaimed her blue eyes widening as she saw the two Dolls rise from the ground arming themselves with steel bow staffs.
"Where on earth did they come from!?" the brunette gasped her hands trembling.
Ignoring the pain and the girl's words she reached behind her pulling her sword from her back and let her lightning chakra flow into the blade and rushed forward swinging the sword with precision drawing the two Dolls in half.
Gaara stared in shock at the amethyst eyed girl standing below him. She'd taken blows for people she'd never met and then immediately defeated her enemy without even a flicker of hesitation. He watched as she sheathed her sword and then pulled the kunai from her body her hands glowing green as she sealed the holes. This woman was different from others he'd met and he couldn't deny that he wanted to know more about her.
Onchou turned to the girls and looked them over quickly. "Are you two alright?" she asked.
"Yes. We're fine." The blonde replied.
"Where did those things come from?" the brunette asked.
Gaara moved closer to them and the girl's both looked down blushing furiously. Onchou took a deep breath irritated with the two and decided to give them just a little piece of her mind.
"I think you two need a little more training especially if you have your sights set on the Kazikage." She said. The girl's looked at her their eyes widening and their jaws dropping even as Gaara moved closer now clearly within earshot. "The duty of the Queen is to protect the King not admire him."
The Kazikage tilted his head a little making it clear he'd heard her words and Onchou looked up at him. She opened her mouth to speak and then leapt towards him instead her hand cracking with lightning even as he leapt towards her. In a flash, the violet haired girl electrocuted the Doll behind Gaara as he destroyed the Doll behind her with a blast of sand. They landed side by side and the amethyst eyed girl smirked.
"Thanks for having my back." She said softly. He nodded and she closed her eyes and focused checking the village and the battlefield for any remaining Dolls, the tattoos on her ears glowing silver as she did so. After a moment they turned black again and she opened her eyes. "Lord Kazikaged, all of the Dolls are dead." She said looking at the pale eyed shinobi.
He nodded in response. "Thank you for all your help." He said in his low, deliberate drawl.
"Of course." Onchou replied a little smile touching her lips. "It was an honor to help you protect your people." Her brow furrowed and she fell forward towards the desert floor as her exhaustion and injuries finally taking their toll. She was surprised when Gaara reached out and caught her helping her remain upright.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She grimaced. "I've been better." She admitted. Her eyes widened when the Kazikage tugged her up into his arms sweeping her off her feet.
"Come, let's get you back to the hospital." He said carrying her away from the battlefield.
"You really don't have to carry me. If I just rest of a few minutes I'll be able to walk back on my own." Onchou said furious at how her heart pounded in her chest and blush rose to her cheeks at the sensation of being cradled against his chest.
"I insist." He replied. "It's the least I can do. After all, you've done for me and my people tonight."
She sighed too weak at the moment to fight his reasoning and allowed herself to lean her head against his chest. It had been so long since someone had held her so gently and she decided that just this once, she'd allow herself to rely on someone to help her. He was the Kazikage after all, he could get her back to her hospital room without betraying her at least.
"I want to be carried by Lord Gaara!" the blonde girl whined as she watched the red haired shinobi walk away.
The brunette nodded. "Me too!" she sighed. "She does deserve it though. I mean, she saved our lives and his just now."
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
"Hey! Are you alright?" Naruto asked Kankuro as he came across the puppeteer on the battle field.
"Yeah, I'm good." He replied as he glanced up at the Uzamaki. "I can't say the same for my puppet though." He said motioning to the contraption.
"I see. Better the puppet than you right?" Sai said standing beside his whiskered teammate.
The sand shinobi nodded. "Yeah. If it weren't for that purple eyed girl, more than just my puppet would be in pieces." He looked up at Naruto. "What did you say her name was? Onchou?"
Naruto grinned and nodded. "Yeah, she's something else isn't she? I mean, that glass dragon she and Gaara made was pretty amazing wasn't it?"
The sand shinobi's brow raised at that. "She and Gaara made that? They worked together?"
The two leaf shinobi nodded. "Yeah. They worked really well together from what I could see." Sai said.
"That's a bit of a surprise." Kankuro said as he put the broken pieces of his puppet inside its case.
"What do you mean?" Naurto asked handing a piece of puppet to the hooded man.
"Gaara's never really worked well with anyone else in battle." He replied. "Don't get me wrong, he's really come a long way since you beat him senseless all those years ago, but when it comes to fighting, he usually goes at it alone. To make something that complex in the midst of battle like that must mean that this Onchou girl and my brother work well together." He shut and the case and lifted it onto his back. "I'm really curious about her now."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, she's definitely interesting. She was supposed to be in the hospital still." He glanced ahead and squinted a little smirk coming to his lips. "Well will you look at that? Your brother is carrying Onchou in his arms. They seem to be headed back to the village."
"No way!" Kankuro replied straining his eyes as he looked in the same direction Naruto was. His eyes widened and then he chuckled. "Well I'll be damned. Look at that kid go. Now I have to find out more about this girl."
"Sasuke, this is ridiculous! Onchou did a great job on my feet you don't have to carry me." She insisted squirming in the Uchiha's arms.
"Just shut up and let me carry you." He replied as the entered the narrow passage way that connected Suna to the rest of the desert. "We're already more than halfway there."
Sakura sighed and crossed her arms over her chest her bottom lip sticking out slightly as she pouted. Sasuke nearly smirked at her expression, it reminded him so much of their genin days when she was easily offended. After a few moments however, her arms relaxed and she leaned her head against his chest.
"You know, when you hold me like this, it almost feels like you love me." She whispered just loud enough that he knew that she knew he could hear it. He glanced down at her a little frustrated that he couldn't see her expression from the angle he was holding her but was able to see that the tips of her ears were pink meaning she was blushing. His grip on her tightened slightly as he gritted his teeth Onchou's words from before echoing in his mind. "Just tell the girl you love her already!" That sounded easy enough but it really wasn't that simple. In his life every person he'd ever loved had at some point died or tried to kill him her included. It was his fault and he knew that she was only trying to save him from himself at the time but still. The word love was a frightening one to him. Just the knowledge that he loved her as much as he did in the way that he did was terrifying. She said the words with such ease in spite of all the pain he'd put her through. Why couldn't he do the same?
"I'm only joking." Sakura said suddenly. "I know that I'm just a friend."
He glanced down at her his brow furrowing. What was she going on about now?
"I mean, I know I'm not special or anything. I'm just like all the other girls right?" she said her tone cheerful but cracking a little with what he knew were unshed tears. He was furious with her and himself. Why couldn't he spit out the words she needed to hear? Why did she lump herself together with all of the oblivious fan girls that chased him? There had to be something he could do, something to show her what he didn't yet have the courage to say. He abruptly came to a stop and put her down desperate to see her face. When he finally caught a glimpse of it, he was even angrier, she was hurt again because of him. He moved forward and trapped her against the wall with his arms his eyes dark as he glared down at her.
"You don't really believe that do you?" he demanded.
She blinked in surprise and then looked away. "Well, I know I'm not like all of the other girls I guess but I also know that I'm not really that special anyway. Don't worry about it though. I really am happy just being by your side again as your teammate and your friend. I don't need anything else." She said her voice cracking.
He frowned. She was lying and he knew it. "Sakura, look at me and say that again." He said softly.
She glanced at him her eyes refusing to meet his. "What do you mean Sasuke?" she asked.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't need anything else." He replied moving his body closer to hers as he sensed her desire to run.
"What's gotten into you Sasuke?" she said chuckling nervously tucking a strand of blush colored hair behind her ear.
"I'm pissed off!" he growled. "Do you really think that you're like all of the other girls around me? Do you honestly believe that I think of you in the same way I think of them?"
She swallowed hard and kept her eyes trained at the ground. "I don't know." She stammered. "I just…"
"Sakura! Look at me!" he demanded his irritation flaring even more as he dug his fingers into the stone wall.
"Sasuke, stop." She replied putting her hands on his chest trying to push him away. "Just let me go, I need to go help with the injured." She said moving to slip under his arms.
Sasuke took a deep breath and threw caution to the wind as she slipped away from him. He couldn't say the words, not yet. It was too hard and he hadn't had enough time to come to terms with everything, but there was something he could do to prove to her that she wasn't like all of the others. An action that he'd never done willingly with anyone else before. He would make her feel all the way to the tips of her toes that she wasn't just another girl. Using his ninja speed he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to him his grip nearly tight enough to leave bruises.
"Sasuke!" she exclaimed looking up at him with tears shimmering in her eyes. "I already told you that I-" He didn't let her finish as he released her arm and instead grabbed her face with his hands and leaned down closing his eyes as he crushed his lips to hers.
Sasuke was a man who was very familiar with fire and electricity. They were the strongest elements at his core after all. He knew the sharp white hot heat of lightning and the warm searing heat of flames better than just about anyone else. The heat he felt run through his body as his mouth pressed against Sakura's was something on an entirely different level than both of those. It was exhilarating like lightning making even the ends of his hair tingle with the sensation of it yet warm and comfortable like fire. His good hand slid back into her silken, rose colored locks as his other went to her waist pulling her against him as his heart pounded out of control in his chest. The heat inside of him continued to rise and he wanted more though he wasn't exactly what more was he just knew he wanted more of her. Her satin lips were warm and soft against his and her body fit perfectly against his making him never want to let go. Certain he'd made his point and overwhelmed by his own feelings he released her and then leaned his forehead against hers feeling a swelling of pride when he realized that her breathing was just as ragged as his own.
When he finally caught his breath he moved his hands back to frame her face. "Sakura." He said softly waiting until her emerald eyes met his. "I'll never let you go. You are not like the others. You mean more to me than any other girl in this world."
She nodded her cheeks bright red as a little smile came to her lips. He nodded in satisfaction and then lifted her up into his arms.
"Wait! This again?" she stammered.
He smirked. "Just deal with it. I know that you're weak at the knees."
She blushed even deeper at his comment and he chuckled. He was confident now that she knew at least more of his feelings now and vowed to continue showing her just how much she meant to him and someday, someday soon he would finally say those three words to her.
Onchou winced as a medic worked on her finishing the rough job she'd done healing herself on the battle field and reconnecting her to her IV's and the monitors.
"You're probably going to hear this from Lady Sakura but I'll tell you anyway. You've set yourself back at least three days with what you did today." The blonde young man said crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at her chart.
The violet haired girl cringed and shrugged. "I'm really sorry." She replied.
The young man sighed. "Well since you helped defend our village and saved our Kazikage I'll let it slide however," his blue eyes sharpened. "Sneak out again and I'll strap you down to your bed got it!?"
She gulped and nodded. "I got it. Sorry."
He nodded checked her IV one last time before heading towards the door. A familiar voice came through the door as he began to leave the room.
"Can I see her? Please!" came Ryuu's panicked voice.
"I suppose since Lady Temari is with you. Try to keep it down as much as possible ok?" the medic replied.
Before the door had even closed Ryuu was on top of her his arms wrapped tightly around her neck as tears flowed down his cheeks. "I'm so glad you're safe!" he exclaimed burying his face in her shoulder. "I was so worried when I smelled your blood." He whimpered.
She winced a little as her wounds throbbed and raised a hand to touch his head. "I'm sorry for making you worry." She replied softly. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
He loosened his grip on her and pressed his lips to her neck just as Temari walked past the curtain her eyes wide. "Umm…" the blonde sand shinobi muttered clearly uncomfortable.
Ryuu pulled away and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the amethyst eyed girl. "How in the world did you get hit with four kunai?" he demanded. "You're way better than that."
Onchou sighed and glanced at the blonde woman. "Ryuu can sense the body's condition including injuries through skin on skin contact." She explained. "His lips are the most sensitive and since the blood flows closest to the skin at the jugular vein this is his preferred method of checking my health." She explained.
"Oh. That makes a little more since." Temari said relaxing a little.
"Answer my question Onchou!" the child demanded folding his arms over his chest.
She bowed her head and touched her finger tips to her temple. "I saved a couple of airheads from two Dolls." She explained. "They were too busy gawking at their Kazikage to notice them."
The blonde woman growled. "Those idiot fan girls. Always causing trouble. Let me guess, it was a blonde with blue eyes that had her hair pulled into a half pony tail and a brunette with green eyes and shoulder length hair?"
Onchou blinked. "Yeah. Those are the ones."
Temari sighed. "I'm going to run them into the ground at their next training session." She muttered darkly.
The violet haired girl snickered at that and then her eyes widened and a grin came to her lips. "Well it's about damn time you stupid Uchiha." She said quietly earning a strange look from Temari and a knowing grin from Ryuu.
"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked.
"Nothing." Onchou replied quickly. The door slid open and Naruto, Sai and Kankuro walked into the hospital room quickly turning up the volume.
"Onchou!" Naruto exclaimed walking up to her bedside. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not too bad. Yourself?"
He grinned. "Just a couple of scratches. Nothing major."
"I'm glad to hear it." she replied with a smile.
The black hooded man approached her bedside and extended a hand to her. "Thank you for saving me today. I didn't get a chance to thank you properly before."
"There's no need to thank me." She replied. "I only did what any decent person would've done."
He shook his head. "Even so you still saved my life. Please." He said moving his hand closer.
She took it cautiously feeling a little uncomfortable yet warm at the same time.
"It appears that I need to thank you again." A low voice said making the amethyst eyed girl's heart race. Gaara appeared at her bedside and stood next to the man with purple stripes on his face. "You saved my brother's life as well. I am in your debt."
"Gaara." Temari said her eyes widening slightly. "Are you saying this girl saved you?"
He nodded. "More than once."
The blonde looked at her with gratitude in her eyes. "Then I must thank you too. You protected my precious brothers for me. Thank you very much." She said bowing.
Onchou blushed and held her hands out. "Please don't bow to me." She stammered. "You protected my family for me too." She said touching Ryuu's shoulder.
"Even so," Temari said. "I'm grateful to you."
The amethyst eyed girl chewed on her lip nervously as she glanced around the room.
"You're not used to being thanked for what you do for people are you?" Sai said from where he stood in the corner.
The dark skinned girl's eyes widened and then lowered. "I suppose not." She admitted.
The door slid open again and Sasuke walked inside with Sakura at his side. Onchou immediately met the eyes of the Uchiha and grinned as blush colored his cheeks before she looked away deciding that she'd save him from embarrassment for the moment. The harmony his soul was making with Sakura's was too beautiful for her to want to disturb by teasing him.
Sakura picked up the young woman's chart looked it over and then smacked the metal clip board over the girl's head.
"What did you do that for?" Ryuu demanded as the amethyst eyed girl winced and pressed her hands to the top of her head.
"No. It's ok. I deserved that." Onchou replied cringing. "I'm sorry I snuck out."
"You better be! You're recovery has been set back by at least three days now." The pink haired medic lectured before putting the chart back.
Onchou sighed and then glanced around feeling the atmosphere change as the eyes of the leaf shinobi and the Kazikage settled on her. "You want to know how much time I think you have before another attack, correct?" she said glancing around the room.
They nodded even as Temari and Kankuro's brows furrowed with confusion. "How would you know something like that?" the puppeteer asked.
The violet haired girl sighed. "Because used to be a part of the organization that was responsible for the attack." She replied running her fingers through her hair. "Ryuu, will you help me sit up?" she said extending her hand towards him.
"Allow me." Gaara said taking her hand instead and helping her adjust.
She winced as the wounds left by kunai throbbed and then took a deep breath as she studied the group. "To be completely honest, I don't know." She replied. "In all of the years I was there, I only failed two missions and that was because they were simply impossible. I can only give you my estimation based on the few times I went to complete unfinished missions and what I heard from others. Since we killed every member of the team including all of the Dolls it will take some time for news to get back to their headquarters that the mission failed. I'm guessing around a week give or take. Also because their target was someone so high profile, they'll do one of three things, launch a full scale attack soon, back away completely and try to reach their goal another way, or wait until things cool off and then try using a similar approach later." She touched her hand to her temple as her mind worked. "Since I don't know the purpose for their attack here, I couldn't really give you a decent guess on which of those paths they'll take. Regardless, I'd say we'll have a minimum of three weeks before they could assemble and deploy another team even if they picked the quickest option."
"Well at least that gives us a starting point." Sasuke said pulling up a chair and motioning for Sakura to sit down which she grudgingly did lifting her still healing feet and resting them on a second chair.
"What organization is this?" Kankuro asked. "This is the first I've heard of it."
"It's a criminal organization run by a man named Takuma." Sakura explained.
"It operates in much the same way that Orochimaru's organization used to." Sasuke added. "It only makes sense considering the two men are colleges and have similar goals."
"Fantastic." Temari muttered. "Because two mad scientists in this world wasn't enough."
"I think that you should tell us everything." Gaara said.
"Everything? What do you mean everything?" Onchou replied her brow knitting together in confusion.
"Your life story." He elaborated. "The more we know about you, the more we'll be able to learn about Takuma since you spend the most amount of time with him. In addition, you're here because you were told your father was a shinobi from this village correct?" she nodded and he continued. "Since you'll be here for a little while it would be helpful to learn what we can so that hopefully we can help you find the answers you seek."
Onchou chuckled and then sighed. "I see. Well then, take a seat. This could get long."
P.S. They kissed! Kyaa! That was fun to write. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter I know I did. You guys are awesome! Thank for all of your support!