"Anybody can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy" - Aristotle
Chapter Two: An Attack on Sunakagure
Two-years have come to pass after the event in the inn.
"Kazekage-sama!" it was Baki bursting into his office. A loud thundering crash sounded from outside of the village's perimeters shaking the buildings on their foundation. A cloud of smoke rose up from behind the high cliffs surrounding Sunagakure. Gaara's green eyes peered out of the window, his hands folded behind his back.
"They're putting up more of a fight than we imagined. Shinatsu and Han have fallen."
"Gaara..." Temari muttered in shock. She was standing on the right side of his desk. The ninja were watching the Kazekage's back intently, waiting for his orders.
"I'm going," Gaara said. He turned around to face them. His eyes were cold and determined to deal with the intruder that was threatening their village. His sandgourd was sitting in the corner of his office, but he wouldn't need it here. All the sand in Sunagakure and its surrounding was infused with his chakra, turning every grain into a potential weapon for him. They rushed to the top balcony and jumped down the sand colored buildings. Kankuro soon joined them.
"Co-ordinate the citizens' shelter from here on, Baki-sensei," Gaara told his former teacher without looking over his shoulder. His coat fluttered in the wind as they proceeded to the ravine that formed the entrance to the village. Something was shooting up in the sky, burning like a falling star. A missile. It crashed into the rock wall near the passage. The rocks groaned and shifted, boulders setting loose. There were shinobi in the passage, frozen in their tracks momentarily as they anticipated the rock to fall. When they realised the danger they were in they had little time to make for cover. The small platoon that consisted of Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and two of the Kazekage's guards heard their shouting. Gaara lifted his hand and sand rose up from the ground in the passage. Whizzing up in small streams around the surprised shinobi. The sand formed a shield above them and caught the blow of the falling rocks with a muffled thunder. Gaara moved his hand up and to the left, willing the sand to come in motion, throwing the rocks out of the ravine and into the desert.
"The Kazekage is coming!" someone called out. The shinobi's hearts lifted and courage returned to their faces. This battle would soon be over.
Their fast footsteps echoed through the halls of the passage. The ninja they passed lowered their heads in respect for the revered Sand Siblings and their young Kage. Gaara had plenty of experience as shinobi leader of Suna. Five years had passed since he led the Shinobi Alliance as their General, making him twenty-one of age. They were victorious in their battle against Madara, Obito and the revived Yuubi, though he reckoned a large part of the credit should go to his good friend Naruto. Naruto, who had been granted the title of Hokage two years ago, fulfilling his life-long dream. Peace had returned to the shinobi world. A peace truer than they had known in their history, because the Great Nations had learnt to set aside their quarrels and befriend each other. Surely threats remained, but the battles fought seemed uncoördinated and petty compared to the dangers of Akatsuki and Madara's Tsuki no Me Keikaku plan. The smaller nations however seemed target of assaults. Since three years back more and more people were reported missing. Normal people, average people, not shinobi. And although he and Naruto had tried to convince the others at the Five Kage Council, the other Kage had been lulled by the peace between them and made no priority of investigating the source of terror in the smaller countries. Not until they became victims themselves of mysterious kidnapping and the seemingly pointless killing of ninja. Who were threatening them in this moment? Gaara's complexion showed no obvious emotion, but inside he hoped that capturing the enemy outside of this ravine would cast some light upon the source of this matter. The end of the passage was nearing. Suddenly they ran into the open of the desert. A few shinobi cells were scattered on the plateau's of the high cliff wall. The sealing team was standing ready for their chance to stop the enemy. His eyes first landed on the two figures up ahead, shrouded in a cloud of falling dust. He scanned the area around him and counted five injured ninja. The bodies of Han and Shinatsu had been dragged to the safety of the wall. A pang of sadness hit his heart. Yet he didn't feel the cold thirst for revenge that had been so familiar to him in his life before he met Naruto. He had grown solid and stable by faith in himself and the love he received from those around him. He stood 5'11" tall, almost as tall as his brother Kankuro, and folded his arms in front of his chest. This seemingly aloof or defensive position was actually the fighting pose he preferred in the early stages of battle. Kankuro and Temari took notice of it, readying their weapons. A large fan and the former puppet Sasori, renamed Scorpion. By Gaara's doing the sand cloud lay down and revealed his opponents.
One was a man, a twisted half cyborg with canonry attached to his hips. The metal glimmered in the sun. He would've looked him in the eyes if they were not made of strange goggle-like machinery. The other was a woman. Her skin was a greyish green, scaly like that of a lizard. Her mouth was wide and a mad smile showed rows of glistening teeth. Her nose was but two slits and her eye-white yellow. Gaara noticed the long tail swooping behind her a fraction later.
"Who are these freaks?" Kankuro said.
"Would they be responsible for the disappearance of Miyuga?" Temari wondered out loud.
"They've killed Han and Shinatsu. We'll wring it out of them," Kankuro bitterly spat. Gaara remained silent until he finally asked the question.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
A long stretched hiss escaped from the woman's lips and the cyborg chuckled.
"How impolite of us," he sneered, "we haven't introduced ourselves. Pardon our lack of manners."
"I'm Veeran," the woman said and bowed theatrically. A pink thin tongue danced out of her mouth.
"And my name is Gunzen," the cyborg added.
"You asked what we want?" Veeran continued, "it's quite simple, though I'll admit it's not a modest goal." She paused a moment and everything was still in the desert. The shinobi waited for their answer.
"The eradication of shinobi-kind." Her eyes widened with excitement as she let the words roll from her lips. Temari huffed and Kankuro's face showed he questioned his opponent's sanity.
"Aren't you shinobi yourselves?" Gaara asked unfazed.
"We certainly are not!" Veeran snapped insulted, "we've come to bring you judgement. You have all sinned. And the wretches who give birth to your kind have sinned in the simple act of spitting you on the face of this earth. We demand justice!"
This sounded like a familiar argument. It had not happened just once that ninja sought the destruction of others to teach them a lesson. But, imperfect though it was, there had not been known a greater peace in their era than the peace of the past five years. The Great Nations had shared in their wealth rebuilding countries that suffered damage during the war. They had sent platoons of medical-nin, tending to their wounded, and the lords of the different countries understood that the evil and misguided wishes of a handful shinobi did not reflect the shinobi world as a whole. Why break the peace now?
"Are there more of you?"
"Perhaps there are, perhaps there aren't," the cyborg replied.
"Enough talking. Die!" Veeran screeched. The cyborg released gas from outlets on his shoulder blades and they were soon concealed from Gaara's sight. The cloud of smoke rolled out towards them. Kankuro lifted Scorpion and Temari held her fan in position. A bang indicated the launch of another missile from their left. Veeran emerged from the cloud on their right, crawling high-speed on all fours like she was indeed a lizard. She jumped out towards Gaara, her tongue shooting out of her widened mouth fast as a bullet. Scorpion's coil in its stomach cavity raced out and wrapped around the tongue. He jerked Veeran into the air and proceeded to slam her down to the ground. She spluttered and groaned. Meanwhile Gaara's sand made impact with the missile that was nearing them, causing it to explode in mid-air and spray the gathered ninja with sand. With a flick of her fan Temari cut through the air and the smokescreen dissipated.
"Heh," Kankuro smirked. These two were nothing they couldn't handle. He unfolded the scroll on his back to call out Black Ant to seal Veeran in its belly.
Gaara's sand raced after Gunzen who moved surprisingly quick. He deflected the attacks by launching bombs and used the beams of sand as leverage to jump away. He propelled in the sky and opened a secret vent. As he spun he released a fluid aimed at hitting as many shinobi as possible.
"Poison acid!" Gaara's guard Rin, a medic and poison specialist, exclaimed. They watched the glistening beads of green liquid flying in their direction. They were too small and too many to evade! Temari took this as her cue to launch another wind attack. The drops of acid halted by the sheer force of wind and dropped down. The sand sizzled and blackened.
Veeran used the momentary distraction to lash out at Kankuro. She enlarged her claws until they were a yard long. They cut the rope that held a painful grip of her tongue. She proceeded to claw at Scorpion and managed to injure the puppet's left arm. Quickly Kankuro regained himself and used the flamethrowers he had installed. Veeran screeched and jumped backwards. Gaara watched from the corner of his eye and noticed something strange. Interesting... There was something attached to Veeran's neck, round and metallic, with a small hole in the centre. As though it was a plug to her body. She slithered back to her partner and hissed angrily.
"Fuck these ninja's, they've brought their élite out."
"Heh! They simply spare us the trouble of having to deal with them later!" Gunzen spat cocky. He lift his clenched fist up at them, challenging the Sand Siblings to make a move. Unaware to them Gaara was emptying the ground under their feet, preparing a grave for them to fall into. Temari and Kankuro, familiar with Gaara's fighting style, eased their positions and waited for what happened next. He removed the sand from under their feet and lay bare the gaping hole. Veeran managed to jump up but the Scorpion puppet used its flamethrower above her, forcing her to retreat into the hole. As they entered the gap the sand closed around them, holding them in a death lock. Gaara, unfolding his arms, lifted his hand in front of him and turned it a quarter. The imprisoned intruders rose up from the cascade of sand.
"Sealing team," Gaara said.
"Hai!" Maki called in response. The three sealers ran forward, herself clutching her roll of sealing cloth under her arm.
Inside the sand prison it was dark.
"They got us," Veeran mumbled defeated.
"If the sand opens, try to make a run for it. I'll self-detonate."
"Gunzen!" Veeran said surprised.
"It would be better if at least one of us survived."
She remained silent. They had only been a team for three months and this act of kindness was unexpected.
"For the cause…" Gunzen continued.
The sand shifted and in its place a band of cloth wrapped around them, tightening.
"There's no time to run," Veeran commented. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain from her neck. Judging from Gunzen's grunt he felt it too. They clenched their teeth and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Y-yes master," she muttered laboriously. The sand passed from before her eyes. She could see the Suna ninja. There was their leader, standing with arms crossed, his maroon ankle long coat swaying softly. Her eyes crossed his. Then the darkness returned by the cloth wrapped around them. She closed her eyes waiting for what was next to come. The throbbing in her neck worsened. She felt her skin burst and only seconds later...
Gaara's mouth dropped a little when they heard the loud explosion. A deep crimson spread out through Maki's white cloth. The enemy had self-destructed. Some of the shinobi around him cheered, thankful the fight was over. Gaara was just left with more questions than he had gotten answers to.
Three days passed. The blood soaked cloth was sent to a laboratory. The dead had been given a proper burial ceremony. A long day of ploughing through paper-work was behind him. Gaara got up from his office chair and looked at the mess of files on his desk. Although his demeanour might insinuate an orderly character, he was not so with his work. He would leave it to Temari to sort the mess for him in the morning. He stared out of the window over the star-lit town. The welcoming lights behind the windows remembering him Temari and Kankuro were probably waiting to have dinner together. Temari said she would cook tonight. Although he wished he could say otherwise she wasn't that good at housework. None of the Sand Siblings were.
'I really should hire a housekeeper,' he sighed in thought, remembering Kankuro's suggestion.
Gaara walked out of his office and locked the door. Save for the guards that defended the intelligence department and the exits to the building he was alone. The Suna nights were cold as the days were warm, but Gaara was used to the big temperature differences. The walk to the house they had inherited from their parents was not long. His feet led him through the market street. All the stalls were brought indoors with the shutters closed, but at day this would be the buzzing heart of Sunagakure. Gaara enjoyed the strolls after work back home when everything was calm and the moon was out. He would sink in thought, processing the events of the day that lingered on his mind. Soon enough he was home. He walked up the short stairs that led to the front door, through the hallway and into the living room. Wafts of burned liver and vegetables greeted him.
Kankuro was slouched on the couch watching tv, the remote loosely in his hand, changing the channel every five seconds looking for a good program to watch.
"What smells so good?" Gaara joked, Kankuro starting snickering.
"Ha ha, I heard you!" Temari called out not amused from the kitchen. Gaara smiled lightly.
"I've just ordered take-away," Kankuro informed him. Gaara nodded expecting as much.
"What did you order?"
"Same as always. The special and number seven with extra chilli." He readjusted himself on the couch since he finally found something worthwhile to watch. Gaara walked passed him to their large kitchen. He heard Temari opening the water, probably to erase her failed attempt at cooking. The kitchen was large and full-equipped. It contained a kitchen island with bar stools, two in-build ovens, an in-build dishwasher, 6-pit cooking plates and a two-door refrigerator with an ice-machine. Sky-blue walls, the cupboards cream-white with a walnut worktop and walnut cabins hanging from the wall. It could have been straight from a catalogue. Gaara figured his mother picked it out and had loved cooking. Although Temari easily neglected the rest of the house, he had to admit, the kitchen was always spic and span. Even if they would eat take-away Temari insisted they'd have dinner in the kitchen to have at least one moment a day together as a family. Gaara fetched himself a drink, cactus and lemon juice with crushed ice, and sat on a stool talking to Temari.
A good ten minutes passed before the bell rang.
"I'll get it!" Kankuro hollered and picked himself up from the couch. He scratched his chest and walked to the front door barefoot.
"Gaara, it's for you!" Both Temari and Gaara turned their heads.
"I bet it's Matsuri," Temari jested.
Gaara's face revealed his anxiety over that possibility and Temari started laughing. He liked Matsuri as a kunoichi and didn't want to step on her feelings, but lately it had gotten hard to ignore her obvious attempts to get close to him. She, thinking he had failed to perceive her message, resorted to more desperate acts every time to draw his attention. But the situation was more like she failed to understand his rejections. He got off the stool and walked towards the door averting his eyes to Kankuro as they passed each other.
"No, it's not her," Kankuro told him and Gaara's inner-self sighed with relief. It was Ryuu standing in their hallway with a falcon on his shoulder.
"Pardon me for entering your residence and disturbing you at night, Kazekage-sama," he said apologetically, "but the intelligence department received a special message I was sure you'd be interested in."
Gaara said nothing and waited for the man to go on.
"Here," he said, handing Gaara a well-folded note.
"It's from the Land of Rivers. I've decoded it."
Curiously Gaara folded the paper open. His eyes scanned the document, quickly absorbing the message. He slightly frowned.
"You did good coming to me," he spoke finally. Ryuu relaxed and smiled since he had received a compliment from his Kage.
"Please notify the following shinobi to report at eight in the morning in my office: Reki and Matsuri. Prepare provisions for a four man cell to travel to Tanikagure."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!" the ninja said bowing. He opened the door and disappeared into the night. Gaara returned to the living room to see Kankuro at the tip of his favourite spot on the couch and Temari sitting on the armrest next to him. Both were looking at him expectantly.
"There's been a discovery in the Land of Rivers. Three scouts reported seeing people emerging from the sea in a rural area south from Tanigakure. Reported features were consistent with our profile of the enemy."
"We might find Miyuga!" Temari exclaimed. Miyuga was a shinobi who had last been seen near the borders of the Land of Rivers. After search parties with sensory-type ninja could not trace anything leading to him within Suna's own borders, they figured their next best place to look would be in Tani. Gaara had sent a request for permission to enter a week ago.
"Then we must go!" Kankuro said. Gaara nodded.
"The Lord has also invited a cell from the Leaf to take part in the mission, as they have reported missing people suspected to be in the Land of Rivers as well. We are to meet at a location on the outskirts of Tanigakure."
Temari and Kankuro nodded in understanding.
"I'll be putting together a team early this morning. I expect you both in my office at eight."
"Of course, Gaara," Temari responded with a soft smile. With her keen eye she could see the tension in his shoulders. Caring as she knew Gaara had become, it made sense that the missing Miyuga and the deceased Han and Shinatsu didn't leave his mind. He was concerned to find the culprits who threatened the safety of the Sand.
In the morning Gaara got up at 06.00 and took a hot shower. While the water was falling on him, trickling down his toned chest, he was spacing off in thought. His mind was torn between the various aspects of his duties as Kazekage. Bound to his office, bound to the council, he had woken up this morning with only a single thought on his mind. He quickly dried himself and dressed in dark pants, a mesh shirt and his favourite long-sleeved crimson coat with a grey holster vest on top. He looked in the mirror at his reflection as he buckled the belts around his waist and smirked lightly. Hardly an outfit for a regular paper-work day. He knew he was going to have to face resistance over his decision, but he found comfort knowing that his friend Uzumaki Naruto would've probably made the same choice in his place.