A/N: wow o.o after uploading chapter 3 a while ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see I've been rewarded with reviews and followers/favorites. Thank you!~ Glad to notice you like the story so far! It's been busy during the holidays, this is the reason why I didn't update. Hope everyone had a good new year. I wanted to update earlier, but here it finally is. A new chapter!
"Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power" - Lao Tzu.
Chapter Four: Awoken
'This mission is my chance to make Gaara-sama notice me!' Matsuri thought as she followed the others across the desert. The sun was sinking, casting long shadows.
"We'll make camp under those rocks," Gaara said. They headed for the lone rock formation that stood like a beacon in the emptiness of the desert.
"Should we cook a meal now we are still inside Suna territory?" Rin asked.
"Hell yeah, something warm will do," Kankuro responded.
"Alright," Gaara said.
Matsuri kept silent and watched Gaara's back.
"You know Matsuri, you're a wonderful cook. A beautiful one too," Gaara mentioned with a husky voice after trying her soup.
"Owh Gaara, I'm hardly," Matsuri squealed. She waved his compliments away with her hand. Suddenly he grabbed hold of her. His hand felt warm. He looked deep into her eyes, his jade greens shimmering, he moved forward slowly, a blush formed on her cheeks, their lips almost touching!
"Hey, don't slack off Matsuri!" Kankuro called out watching her nearly drooling.
"Huh?" While she was spacing off in her private thoughts she had slowed her pace. Gaara looked over his shoulder questioningly.
'He's probably wondering why I'm so unfocused. Aghh! That was so uncool!' Matsuri scolded herself, fretting over her small mistake because of fear Gaara will like her less. 'Keep it together Matsuri.'
When they reached the rock formation Rin started a fire going with some dried wood and tinder she brought, using a simple fire jutsu to ignite the flame. Meanwhile Kankuro and Gaara set up two tents together. Matsuri used her tracking skills to see if there were any other people who had recently passed the rock formation. She looked over her shoulder at the two brothers who got along easily and wished she could be a part of it.
"I'll heat up soup," Gaara told them, "we can eat with bread and dried meat."
"Sounds fine," Rin smiled.
Kankuro grabbed a can from his backpack and tossed it to his brother. In the east the sky was deep blue with bright stars, from the west the last rays of the sun clung red on the dunes. The wind softly carried the sand across the desert. Gaara watched the landscape around him.
'Crimson like blood,' he thought. 'Too much blood of Suna's shinobi has been shed.'
Soon the stars and the dancing flames from their fire were the only source of light in the area. Now that the temperature dropped animals in the cracks of the rock started to show themselves: a snake slithering across the ground, the chirping of insects and the scurrying of desert mice. Gaara felt right at home. He especially enjoyed the times he and his siblings travelled out of Sunakagure and camped in the desert. He smirked remembering Temari's panic reaction when she find out one morning a lizard was inside her sleeping bag. He ate in silence while the others were conversing, reminiscing about drunk nights in the bar and the last Chuunin exams. Kankuro and Rin roared with laughter.
'I hope Kankuro won't bring up the story of my first drunk experience. I'll kill him.'
He thought back to his meeting with Veeran and Gunzen. The reptilian woman seemed unlike anything he had ever seen. It reminded him only of Kabuto's snake sage technique, but this woman did not use any seals signifying she used ninjutsu. It was as though her body was morphed that way, to hold exceptional flexibility and the ability to elongate certain parts of her body. It was strange to see the round metallic plug at the base of her neck. Now he thought about it, did he see something like that on the cyborg too? Somehow it must be a clue, it must mean something.
"Gaara, let's call it a night," Kankuro suggested. He looked at his brother and nodded in response. He got up, Kankuro following him inside the tent. He always had difficulty falling asleep, something that lasted from being jinchuuriki of the One Tail who had tormented him in his dreams, but now he was kept awake by his worries as Kazekage. He poked Kankuro when he was snoring. The puppet-user mumbled something inaudible and turned around on his other shoulder. Gaara lay with his back towards Kankuro and closed his eyes. Time to get some sleep.
It was night-time. Heero had left that evening and was on his way to the city. B26 was to be prepared for a transfer in one week. The halls of the fortress were silent, all but one person lay asleep. A1 tip-toed through the glass corridor and headed for lab B. Outside of the glass a group of fish swam past her, their silver scales shimmering. At the base of the tunnel the seaweed danced with the current. It was impossible to see far into the murky water. Yes, this building was underwater. She arrived at lab B. A1 typed in the entrance code and cursed the digital voice for being so loud. After giving her fingerprint she entered the chamber. The main source of light were the several tanks in the middle of the room, casting a soft green light on the tiled walls, dancing as the water moved in the tank. All the tanks were empty apart from one. From her position near the rail of the deck she could see the body floating, knees pulled up close to the chest. A1 pulled a face like of tasting something sour. First things first, she had to erase her tracks. Stealthily she glided down the stairs to the main computer. Long wired tubes with a thick needle at the end hung beside it, ready to plug into the back of the neck through a mechanical entrance that served as a medium to translate the electric pulses of the brain back to the computer and vice versa. But A1's neck had not been spoiled by such a device. She would have to enter the computer manually. She opened the command screen and started typing in codes. The messages of her actions flooded the screen. She was deleting the data on her entrance to the lab. It was a night for mischief and she didn't want to leave any tracks. Indeed she was proficient with the computer, a characteristic skill of her people. Tabigarasu they called themselves. Birds of passage, wanderers. Now their homeland was lost they rooted nowhere for too long. She turned her back to the bleeping computer with its flickering lights and walked to the glass prison of the girl. She huffed at the sight, floating in the water so helplessly, at the mercy of scientists.
'That was me until a year ago. I have experienced the same.'
She leaned against the metal encasing of the glass orb. Her eyes fell on the code engraved there.
"B26," she whispered.
A1 was curious about the girl. She stood on her toes and pressed her hands against the glass to get a good look of her face.
'They say you were blind. I wonder if they corrected that flaw.'
The girl had her eyes closed. Lavender hair floated around her head, carefully cut by the scientists at shoulder length, bangs coming to her eyebrows, equally lavender.
'It's so unnatural. Is it part of the mutation?' A1 thought crumpling her nose and snorting. 'Who you once were is stolen from you. Now you have no name. Lab B, guinea pig 26. Like me, I'm always called A1... But I'm Nana... and they'll remember!'
She felt contempt towards the girl for the simple fact she had claimed the undivided attention of everyone. Soon after going through the mutation she realized it meant her isolation, being disconnected from the others. A strange new being, created with a specific purpose. A machine of war... To that purpose Nana held like a lifeboat. It made her special, needed. And here this B26 thing was. Someone whom she could relate to were the circumstances different. Perhaps they would have been friends. Now Nana saw her as a rival. When this girl was reborn fully as B26 Nana would become less needed, while she wanted the acceptance of her people. She didn't want to belong to the same league as this girl.
'I'll shake you up a bit,' she thought with a cheeky smile.
She turned around towards a computer. Soon the robotic female voice announced the configurations she made.
"Life functions stable. Core monitor on. Barbiturate feed 100%, Coma stage 1. Recovery in process. Barbiturate 95%... 85%...75%...Coma stage 2…60%...50%...Coma stage 3. Command executed. Blood pressure rising. Life functions stable."
Nana couldn't help but snickering like a child pulling a prank. Soon B26 would be awake enough to hear her, to respond to stimuli. She'll tell her what's going on. She could see involuntary twitching of her limbs and fingers.
"Lung performance...40%...65%...100%"
Yes, she clearly saw the heaving of B26' chest. The girl shocked as though she choked on the large tube inserted into her throat 5 inches deep. It had pumped oxygen into her lungs for nearly 2 years, since during deep-coma the brain stem stops functioning and machinery needs to step in to keep the body alive. Now her lungs were working for the first time again on their own. Big bubbles rose up from the mask.
"You can hear me, can't you?" Nana said, pressing her hands against the glass. Fingers twitched.
"Soon they'll be putting lies into your head. Do you remember who you are? It's important!"
She frowned. This was nuts! Why was she doing such a dangerous thing? Nana decided it was because of empathy for the girl.
Ayumi floated somewhere in the twilight of her consciousness. Her body felt strangely light and heavy at the same time. From a distance, as though underwater, she could hear a voice. Visions of a nightmare came to mind. She could sense herself being strapped onto a mechanic table, lowered into a tub of water, darkness around her. For the first time ripped away from everything that was familiar. Truly blind. The smell of medicine, of blood. The sharp pain of a syringe emptied into her arm. The liquid running cold through her veins. The feeling that menacing faces loomed over her limp body. They were ninja. A primal fear rose up from within her along with a headache. The brain sputtered after having been asleep for so long. 'Yumi!' she heard the calls of a boy and then the sound of bare fists against flesh. She wanted to reach for him. Who was this boy again? It felt important to remember. She needed to go to him! He needed help. But these memories were too cruel, entering her mind all at once. She wanted to forget. And there was this voice outside, but near. If she would focus on that voice, perhaps she could haul herself out of this nightmare.
"They've used you for an experiment. You've become a chimaera. That means your genetic code is altered, fused with an element. Can you imagine? To every strand of DNA a new chemical connection added. They've done all sorts of tricks on you. Oh, I can know. I watched some of it. They were twisting their machinery into your spine. I'm lucky not to have that."
What was she hearing? Her head hurt. Ayumi could recall cold steel pressed against her neck. She wanted to touch, see if it was still there, but her head was obstructed. She couldn't move! Nana saw the twitching hands.
"You're plugged into the computer and you're still in a medically induced coma… But I'm surprised, already being able to move around this much... It's futile though! Trust me. You're trapped until they've fully brainwashed you and can put you to use."
A cage! Bubbles rose up from the inhalation mask furiously. She couldn't move. She was in a cage! The cold metal table, the syringe. Hands jerking her around. She was taken away, held captive.
"Blood pressure rising. Heartbeat 132 per minute."
Nana took a step back, her eyes grew bigger. B26 had spunk!
"Are you angry? I see..." she said steadily. Her heart stirred at the display of despair that drove this girl out of her coma.
"Do you know your name? Wait, I'll look it up for you. Maybe it's in the archive." She walked to a different panel and started opening files.
"B26… B26…Where are you" Nana whispered while concentrated, "Ah! Here it is!"
She turned around towards the limp girl.
"Ayumi. Your name is Ayumi," she said with a small smile rocking back and forth on her feet. Nana's smile faded. She started to feel stupid. Why was she helping her? She despised this girl, right? Then why did it feel like she was looking at a reflection of herself? They were nothing alike! The panel next to Ayumi's orb showed incredible rise in activity from within her. She was awakening fast!
'Shit, this is getting out of hand!' Nana suddenly realized and turned to the panel hastily.
"Barbiturate feed initiated, coma stage five," the robotic voice droned.
'Stage five! When did this happen? She's nearly recovered!'
Ayumi felt white-hot pain as the fought the sensation to fall back asleep. Slowly she lifted her hand. She wasn't sure if her eyes were open, but had a feeling she could see the thin girl in front of her. Her head turned from the panel to her. She tasted the plastic of the tube in her raw throat. Something warm and wet against her skin, seeping through her lashes. Water.
Nana noticed how Ayumi lifted her hand, it crept up ever so slowly, but nearing its goal.
"Barbiturate feed 50%...60%..."
The drug ought to work quickly. Her fingers flew across the typing board. Inserting commands to inject the girl with sedative, to regain control over the brain stem.
Ayumi's hand was closing in on the wire plugged into the base of her neck. Her fingers missed their target, then she felt the back of her hand brushing against the steel. She clenched her fist around the wire, muscles aching from the sudden strain after months of rest. Her hand burned but the steel was cold. She shook from the pain and effort of pulling it out. Nana looked with horror at her spasms.
"Fatal error. Command unable to execute," the robotic voice boomed through the room. The red swinging light of the alarm turned on.
"Emergency in lab B," loud through the intercom throughout the entire fortress. Ayumi's eyes fluttered open. Nana was trembling on her spot. Ayumi moved in her prison and noticed the glass that encased her. She frowned behind the oxygen mask. The palms of her hands against the walls of the glass orb. If before she seemed harmless like a puppet, Nana saw now how very alive she was. And she was a chimaera. An asterisk appeared on the surface, cracked loudly and branched out. The sound was ear-deafening in the silent room. Nana felt her heart banging against her chest and heaved hard. She spun her heel and made for the exit. After flying up the stairs she pressed the button to open the door furiously. If she was quick, perhaps she could make it out in time. She needed to avoid suspicion, or even her own life was likely spent. The armored glass corridor bathed in red light.
"Emergency in lab B," the alarm continued unforgiving.
Footsteps! Footsteps ahead!
"Guns at the ready!" a rough voice in the distance, "shoot any intruder!"
Shattering of glass from within the lab. She imagined the girl carried out with the water, like a new-born cast from a womb. B26, awoken and free! What fury would take hold of doctor Heero? Nana's doe-eyes filled with panic. Frantically she looked around her. She was in a tube deep under water, five miles off shore from the Land of River's. The guards were nearing... Carrying stunning rifles or worse. It was difficult to estimate how far ahead they still were. The emergency exit! It was the only way.
Ayumi was alone on the cold floor. Her trembling hands clasped the inhalation mask, undoing the clip that fastened it behind her head. Slowly she pulled it away from her, gagging as the long tube scraped against the walls of her throat. Bile quickly rose up from her stomach, the sour slime that entered her mouth a shocking experience for her papillae after two years of being fed through probes. Anguish. Resentment. Flashes of painful memories she tried to repel confusing her. Her head pounded. She didn't know where she was. Wicked shouts coming from the opened door above her. There were other people. Ninja's. Those damned shinobi! She had been held captive. Every nerve of her body was screaming to stay out of their hands... They were coming.
"We're about to cross the border," Gaara said, "from here on be extra alert. Our enemy moves on this territory."
In front of them a terrain of rough grasses, thinly grown with trees, exchanged the high dunes of the desert. The birds chirped from the crowns of deciduous trees. The growth soon thickened into a lush forest. Gaara led his platoon forward. This green country also harbored the huge cave where Akatsuki extracted the One Tail from his body. Subconsciously his hand travelled to his stomach. The One Tail. It was the second day of their journey and the sun was almost at its highest. One more night camping out in the wilderness. Tomorrow they will reach the inn named "River's Fortune". He wondered which of the Leaf shinobi would be there to meet them. He was sure Konoha sent their finest, but hoped to see familiar faces.