Chapter 12: Chromosome X
"Are you working late again, dear?" Sakura's mother asked, her head popping out the door opening of the kitchen. Sakura was sitting on the wooden floor of their hallway while she pulled her high black kunoichi boots on. She blew a strand of hair out of her face while she nodded.
"Yes, I'm heading to the laboratory. Shizune is waiting for me there."
"You have been there every night the last three days. I heard you come home around 2 o'clock in the night the other day. Aren't you pushing it too hard?" her mother inquired with a slight frown. She took a few steps until she was in full view, leaning against the doorpost while pulling her yellow rubber cleaning gloves off.
"What is keeping you and Shizune-san busy?" she continued.
"We're running tests on two samples, one of blood and the other glass," Sakura explained while she hopped on her feet and grabbed her coat from its hook on the wall
"Who would've figured you need three full days for that…" her mother pondered out loud. Sakura huffed with a lopsided grin and shrugged. She couldn't explain her mom any more than she had, as her nightly meetings with Shizune were supposedly secret. The samples she referred to were those she took with her of Ayumi's blood and the shrapnel they found on the beach in the Land of Rivers. She slid her arms through the sleeves of her coat and gave her mom a quick kiss on her cheek.
"I'm probably back late tonight as well. Sleep well and see you tomorrow!" she cheered and instantly went out of the door, leaving her mother shaking her head.
'Sometimes it's hard to remember as a mother that your girl grows up. And growing up she did. She became mature so fast… Sakura is only trumped by the Lady Hokage in medical expertise. That blood must be odd indeed if she needs this much time to check its properties.'
Sakura jumped up the roof of their apartment and continued towards the laboratory, her soft movements as she speeded from roof to roof a whisper on the wind. She dropped down to street level when she reached the building and proceeded towards the verification seal placed next to the entrance. When she reached the room where she and Shizune worked she found her mentor had already begun ahead of her, as always accompanied by her pet pig Tonton.
"Hey Sakura! I brought you take-away ramen if you want," she said looking up from the computer and vaguely motioning to a plastic bag on the table. "But first I think you should look at this. I've isolated a cell and I don't know what to make of it."
Quickly Sakura made her way over to Shizune and leaned forward to the screen. Her eyes scanned the codes on the screen. The image displayed a cell's core, the nucleus. The nucleus is composed out of 23 chromosomes along with a binding chemical called chromatin. A chromosome is a long sequence of DNA.
"You see this?" Shizune pointed at the screen, "it looks like there is an extra chromosome inside of the cell's core."
"This can't be right. We should run the test another time," Sakura frowned.
"I thought that too," Shizune responded softly, "so that's why this is already the fourth test I ran, and the result is always the same. The machine works fine. Maintenance was just last week!"
Sakura pulled another chair close and sat down.
"Why don't we run a more specific test on the DNA?" she suggested and took control over the mouse, clicking on the screen to enlarge the image. The chromosome resembled a perfect X. The two strands were quite short and crossed right in the middle.
"Finding the chemical composition of these chains is top priority," Sakura stated.
Shizune nodded and Tonton oinked. For a moment she paused, thinking back to the pale-skinned lavender head with her peculiar eyes. An eerie thought started to creep in. If all human cells are composed of 23 chromosomes, and she had an additional one, did it suggest a new bloodline limit was discovered? Finally they received results on the blood's characteristics... but only more questions arose from that knowledge. Sakura never backed down from a challenge however. She clenched her fist and nodded firmly to herself.
'Hell yeah! We're getting to the bottom of this!' she promised in silence.
"Oi Ayumi! My shirts haven't smelled this clean in a while. Temari always forgets fabric softener. Thanks dudette," Kankuro cheered when he came into the living room. Ayumi was having breakfast in the kitchen and smiled with her mouth full of toast. The Sand Siblings were in a hurry today, she noted.
"We have a meeting," Gaara explained to her. "But we'll be back before sundown."
"Okay," she replied, listening to their hurried movements and Temari hollering down the staircase if anyone saw her 'fucking shoe'.
"Under the coffee table, Temari-pig!" Kankuro shouted back, receiving a flurry of curses from his sister. He chuckled and Temari stormed down the stairs, one foot in her black high heeled sandal and the other bare. She rolled her eyes at Kankuro's boyish grin and crouched down, reaching under the low table for her left shoe.
"Temari, we're getting late for the meeting because of your shoe. Keep them together next time please," Gaara spoke calmly.
"The chief has spoken," Kankuro said with a teasing wink to Temari.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I will," she replied apologetically, ignoring Kankuro's provocations. The three of them walked to the hall way and Kankuro opened the front door. Before leaving Gaara stopped for one moment and looked at Ayumi who was dipping her toast in her tea.
"Will you be okay? I'm sorry we're hardly home, but it's a busy week. Use anything in the house you want while we are gone," he told her, feeling sorry because he knew it was lonely. Somewhere he felt regret he had not been able to learn more about Ayumi due to his tight schedule . She looked up and turned her head into Gaara's direction, almost facing him, and flashed him a smile. Relieved, he smiled back without noticing.
"Don't worry," she coed, "I'll be fine!"
"See you soon," were his last words before the siblings scurried out of the door and let it fall shut. The silence returned to the house. The clock above the television ticked and the water in the pipeline gurgled. Complete and utter silence. Ayumi let her head hang with a sigh.
'Owh man… I know I said I will be okay, but I'm stuck in this house for well over a week without being allowed to go outside. Everyday Gaara, Temari and Kankuro have things to do, and I'm left here to fend for myself. I know their work is important, so I don't want to bother them or make them worried over me. I've practiced my skills doing house chores… Yesterday I imitated the washing machine by creating a ball of water around the clothes, adding soap and swirling it all around for a period of time. Doing chores is good training… Now I can see up to six metres around me. But I'm aching to get out of the house and have some fun. I'm really curious what this town looks like…'
She pouted with a deep sigh, placing her plate in the kitchen sink. That's when she noticed something left on the counter.
'Hey! They forgot their lunch. I know Kankuro complained about the bad quality of the Kage Tower cafeteria and who knows how long this meeting is going to take. Maybe they intended to eat lunch during the meeting.'
She touched the plastic bag and pulled it closer to her.
'Shall I? Temari took me to the market before and the Kage Tower is not far from there… would I remember the road? I know in my past I had no trouble finding my way around, and back then I was completely blind! But this is a new town.'
She was ready to forget about it and picked the bag up to stow it away. Halfway the fridge she froze in her tracks.
'No! I should see this as an opportunity. A way for me to test my skills and show them my gratitude for helping me.'
With newfound resolution she strode to the hallway. She picked up the poncho Temari bought her, brown with a purple rim, or whatever the color was, and held it before her. She tilted her head and placed it back. Her hand reached for the poncho Gaara lend her in their journey from the Land of River's.
'For goodluck,' she thought and pulled it over her head.
Ayumi walked to the front door and twisted the knob. She was greeted by the hot, dry wind twirling into the door opening. She inhaled deeply and took a few steps outside. Subconsciously she clenched her hand around the handle of the plastic bag in her effort to concentrate on the humidity in the arid air of Sunagakure in order to make out the shapes of the area before her. The wind picked up and suddenly the door slammed shut behind her. Startled she turned around, facing the firmly closed door.
'Shit! I don't have keys. I'm trapped outside! Now I really have to find them.'
She walked forward to the street and felt the thin layer of sand on the cobble stone scour under her sandals. The sun wasn't at its highest point yet. The true heat of day was bound to come later. The low sun and the coolness of the elongated shadows aided Ayumi's vision. She walked up close to the wall of the opposite building and began her journey to the Kage's Tower, without any clue of how big the city of Sunagakure actually was.
Gaara was in his full Kazekage attire. He was both alert and pensive, resting his elbows on the granite table with his clenched hands against his chin, as he listened to words of his main opponent, council member Yuudai.
"He's too confident, its despicable," Temari hissed under her breath to Kankuro. She felt particularly unfriendly towards the elder man ever since he voted to choose a new Kazekage on the same day Gaara was kidnapped by Deidara and Sasori. He was the pillar of conservatism in their town, and due to his charm and debating skills, ever-sounding logical and reasonable. He emanated natural leadership. Even though he resorted to a cane, he stood tall and firm whenever he spoke, drawing all attention to him. With the aristocrats wrapped around his finger he was a formidable foe now he turned against Gaara. The subject of their meeting had been whether to send troops to the Land of Rivers to abide the promise Gaara had made to their lord. That, and the future of Ayumi.
"How can we trust someone from The Leaf to make a judgement of the threat this prisoner poses to our country? It's not in Konoha's direct benefit to extract intel from this intruder. Shouldn't we rely on our own abilities to decide to allow this outsider the luxury of living amongst us?"
"The Yamanaka have excellent extraction techniques, better than ours, and we had a council member bear witness," Gaara refuted.
"I trust Fuji, but he is only one of us. We reach clearer judgement with our opinions combined," Yuudai continued looking his peers in the eye and receiving several nods, "if she is innocent, surely there is nothing to fear?
"Hear hear!" some of them exclaimed, drumming with their hands on the table. Temari sighed and shot a troubled look at Kankuro and Fuji. What could they say to null the words of reason? Even they had to admit the arguments were valid. But before she could wrap her mind around what to say in Gaara's defense, he spoke out himself, his voice chilling those in the room to the bone.
"I'm sure all have not forgotten that Ayumi is currently living under my roof," he said, displeased by the hostile words of the council member. "The house I, Kazekage, share with two of the highest ranked jounin in the village, Temari and Kankuro. Many a time you have left an operation in our hands, pleaded us to take charge of the situation when all others failed, trusting us to serve in Suna's best interests. The three of us kept close watch of Ayumi's behaviour and can all vouch she isn't the enemy we are looking for. Are you saying we aren't capable of objective judgement after resorting to our aid countless times?"
Yuudai pulled a foul face and the other council members looked baffled, lowering their eyes in shame or shuffling uncomfortably on their seats. Yuudai glared at them and his mouth corners hardened.
"But I think we all still agree she needs to be held under house arrest!" he spat.
"You still defy my judgement?" Gaara retorted coolly, squinting his eyes at Yuudai from under his Kage-hat. "I think it's time to allow our guest more freedom. She may enter all public areas and the Kage tower. All other military building remain off limit, and she is bound to the village perimeters, of course."
It was a long time ago, but still not long enough in the face of Yuudai's years to forget. The hardness of Gaara's eyes. Those eyes reminded him of the blood-craving monster he once was, the uncontrollable jinchuuriki of Shukaku, the One-Tail, even if his mind was clouded against the knowledge those times were over and buried in sand. He swallowed and returned the stare defiantly.
"Let's cast a vote," Fuji put forth, seeking a way to end the disagreements. Clearly the other members were relieved to be offered an anonymous way to speak their mind. "Those in favour of extended house arrest, write down 'Yuudai'. Those in favour of our Kazekage's decision, write down 'Kazekage'."
Memopads were reached for and each of them secretly wrote down their answer. A seal was cast on the closed papers to prevent anyone from tampering with the results by using jutsu. Colonel Baki stepped forward to collect the folded memo's and counted the votes. He nodded slowly and looked at Gaara sympathetically.
In the meantime Ayumi was wandering the streets of Sunagakure, feeling more lost by the second.
'How long ago did I leave the house? Shouldn't I have reached the market by now?'
The sun was climbing and the temperature was rising, reducing the shadows. Ayumi's face felt hot.
'I didn't even take a bottle of water with me. I didn't think things over in my enthusiasm.'
She continued walking and took a turn to the left. The sounds were diminishing. She didn't know, but she had missed the turn towards the market a long time ago. After roaming the streets without knowledge of the city's layout and no good sense of time she had reached a deprived area of Sunagakure where almost no one could be seen on the streets during daytime because most people were at work.
"Damn it! If I continue like this I'll probably arrive tomorrow," she muttered to herself and wiped her forehead with the palm of her hand.
"Hello! Is someone there?" she called out. "I need directions!"
A group of three guys looked her with curiosity. On a barrel besides them were a few empty cans of budget beer. They had never seen this odd haired girl in their neighbourhood before. This was a quarter of the city where mostly common folk and failed Genin's lived, who didn't earn a living high enough to live in an upper scale part of town. This girl was wearing a military poncho, but the way she shuffled along the street, feeling her way by staying close to the walls of the buildings, was in stark contrast with that ninja attribute. They poked each other and grinned when she called out. One decided to step up.
"What's up miss?" he snapped and stepped in front of her.
"Hi," Ayumi smiled nervously, "I'm supposed to deliver this lunch at the Kage tower, but I have to admit… I'm lost."
"What's going on? New in town?" the boy mocked. Ayumi didn't know what to think of him. He smelled like beer and he didn't seem all that concerned with helping her, but no one else responded to her plea of help.
"Yes," she simply answered.
"Glad you met me and my bud's," he drawled tipsily, winking his friends to come closer. "We'll give you a hand. We'll even carry that bag for you."
She could see them, meaning their shapes, the blood and fluids running through their body in contrast with the aridity of the air. One of them jerked on the plastic bag. Startled she pulled it closer to her chest.
"I'll carry it myself," she said hastily.
"Don't make her scared, Finn," the other snarled, "we don't want to make a lady nervous for no reason." Finn giggled stupidly in response. Ayumi felt her heart rate pick up but tried to shake off the creepy foreboding. She braced up and lifted her chin.
"If you could help me find the right direction to the Kage's Tower, I will be grateful. But don't try anything stupid, okay? I'm friends with the Kazekage… and I'm-I'm a pretty badass ninja," she stammered and mentally slapped herself for sounding insecure while telling a blatant lie. 'I can't even throw a shuriken straight… hell, I never even tried. Would they buy it?'
"Sure, no problem," the biggest one answered, obviously on the verge of laughter.
'I guess they don't.'
"It's this way," he placed a hand across her shoulder and led her on. Ayumi held the plastic bag with the Sand Sibling's lunch in front of her with both hands. The boys were grinning and led her back to where she was coming from at least.
'I hope we'll be in a busier area soon, that would be better.'
In the Kage's office Baki was ready to announce the results.
"Those in favour of our Kazekage's suggestion… 9. Those in favour of council member Yuudai's suggestion…" he paused, clearly finding it hard to admit the result. Yuudai was keeping his face straight, but Baki saw the glint of joy in his eyes nonetheless. Yuudai already understood the answer of course, anyone with basic math skills could count the heads of the full Council. But to hear his expectations confirmed…
"12," Baki finished.
"Hmpf," Yuudai grunted with a cocked up eyebrow and resisted the urge to look at Gaara, as he knew it would be understood as a direct challenge, and it was too early for that. Temari's lips were pressed together and her eyes conveyed anger. Kankuro merely sighed and accepted defeat. Gaara was unreadable, but he watched Yuudai closely. Above the noise of the chattering Baki loudly scraped his throat.
"This meeting is finished," he spoke, "today's decisions are… Suna will send one Jounin, one Chuunin and four Genin to the Land of River's to aid them for a period of four weeks. Regarding the girl named Ayumi… she remains under house arrest."
The council members stood up from their seats and poured out of the room. Kankuro caught two of them congratulating Yuudai just as they disappeared from sight.
'After years of stability and joyousness, council member Yuudai uses the first crisis to open old wounds and cast seeds of doubts in the hearts of the others,' he thought. 'I hate to admit it, but Ayumi is a liability to Gaara's credibility. She better carry a trump card, or I fear she'll go down eventually, dragging Gaara's reputation with her. We've got to change the odds in our favour again.'
Gaara made his way towards the exit and stopped next to the Kage's statues. His eyes glided from his own resemblance carved in granite to that of his father. He knew his father had faced tough fires in his tenure as well. People questioned his leadership from time to time. Most of these questions concerned with the incapability of his son to control the One-Tail, of course. Eventually Gaara's father was able to fight off the instigations of his unsuitability as Kage, be it in Gaara's disadvantage. He knew he was not like his father and that the older council members favoured the Fourth Kazekage. But then he thought about Naruto, all the stigmatization he had also endured, and how his willpower allowed him to rise above the situation, and Gaara smiled.
'I will have to be stubborn and positive-minded,' he thought resoluted. 'I wonder what Sakura and Shizune learnt from the samples they took to their laboratory. I suspect we will receive word soon. Then we will know what to do next. In the meantime Snake's tail is also under investigation. I'm sure we'll get more clues with this double approach.'
"Gaara, you coming?" Temari asked. He looked at her from the corner of her eye and turned around to follow her. The four of them, Baki had joined the Sand Siblings in the corridor, walked towards the grand foyer of the Kage Tower. Kankuro's stomach audibly churned.
"Darn it! I forgot my lunch," he moaned.
"Guess you'll have to make do with the cafeteria," Temari stated, receiving groans back from Kankuro.
"Gaara, can you please put it on the item list of next meeting to upgrade the cafeteria?" his brother pleaded. Gaara huffed and smiled lightly.
"You've been complaining about the food for over a year," he replied with mild humor, "I will try to push the issue forward, but I suggest you lobby with the other council members about the importance of cafeteria food as well."
"Kankuro," Baki snapped preachy, "how can you be so careless. Shouldn't there be more pressing matters on your mind after this meeting!?"
"I know,"Kankuro pouted and rubbed his hand over his stomach. They were alerted by the clacking of shoes in front of them.
"Kazekage-sama!" it was Rin's voice. Soon she came running into view with Matsuri in her wake. They stopped before the group and Rin gasped for breath. They must've came running from the far side of town.
"It's the girl…" Rin panted, not fully in shape yet after the beating she received last week, "Ayumi… she's…she…"
A/N: Thanks for reading and sorry for the long wait! There's been a lot going on, especially health wise :/ due all that I had a serious case of writer's block.
I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Tell me your thoughts, be it positive or points of criticism :D
Next time, some positive changes in Ayumi's life and her relation with Gaara... (their relationship will gradually become warmer, as Ayumi gains more confidence in herself and her abilities grow from being a human washingmachine to usefull addition to the village) also Naruhina's wedding, Chuunin exams and Nana's trials to regain her father's respect are future chapter material :)