Author Note: I do not own any of Naruto what so ever.
We Were Meant For This Part 3: Shadows
XXXXX
The council chambers were lit by the bright rays of the burning candles, alerting the exhausted members that twilight had now arrived in all her luminescent glory upon the quiet village of Sunagakure. Each member had been called from their dwellings by a hastily written scroll by the Kazekage around dusk that their presence was needed immediately and that no word should be disclosed to their families whatsoever.
They now sat quietly, tension filling the chamber as they felt pressure filling their bodies upon the arrival of their Kazekage. The grains of sand that often accompanied Gaara drifted around his body as he strode into the room in disarray with his marble face set into a near grimace. He was dressed in his dark mahogany tunic that he usually wore during daytime when not in meetings or surveying the new developments around the village. It seemed now was not the time for formality. Baki and Kankuro, whom looked equally forlorn and even menacing with their dark faces set in scowls, approached the uneasy council members, followed closely by Gaara. Gaara pushed back his carved stone chair swiftly and rested his hands upon the cracked stone table in front of him. He looked at each council member slowly, gauging his or her faces, before gesturing for Kankuro to hand him a single heavy scroll that he unrolled before him.
"You have been called here for a singular reason of great importance to the security of this village. Konoha's ANBU have delivered intelligence to me this afternoon from Lord Jiraiya concerning the cult now revealed as Akatsuki. There have been murders committed by this cult that we have received information on previously. They were vague in the reports before but now we have details on the victims and the goal of the Akatsuki."
"Why haven't our own ANBU discovered this intelligence?" voiced one of the councilman.
Gaara crinkled his nose then answered curtly. "Jai was in charge of the ANBU previously but he has been absent of late."
"Has something befallen him? Is an attack imminent?"
"What do we do?"
"What is this Akatsuki's goal?"
The council's voices all rang out at once, the rising pitches echoing along the clay walls like a choir of dying animals. Each one voiced their concerns, anxious questions, anger, and amplified fear. It felt like a turbulent tide rising, almost consuming Gaara and creating a building headache behind his all ready weary eyes. He grasped the bridge of his nose and tried to breathe slowly, his cool patience dissipating by the moment.
When he had received the scroll that afternoon by hawk, he had been buried in old books and dusty scrolls ready to fall apart. His office resembled his own inner turmoil for he had been trying to bury deeply his own volcanic emotions and unnatural thoughts, thoughts and feelings bent on destroying his unstable sanity. He had not received any return scroll from Hinata, mistaking each seal he saw as the Hyuga crest and any delicate handwriting for Hinata's own. Not that he had ever seen it or anything, but he knew without a doubt it would be as delicate and elegant as Hinata herself. At first he felt a kindling of excitement, similar to adrenaline rushes before fighting, but that had cooled after a month to the dark tendrils of nervousness and hopelessness. So now his office became his cave where he could brood and bury every memory deep down in the pitch black abyss, for what was the point of even lighting a candle or venturing out for hours into the burning sun if it wasn't Hinata's own unique light beside him. All he had was the remorseless sun beating down on him, which left the only option of any closeness to her spirit; the luminescence of the gentle moon. With the moon glowing before him in its entire splendor and the stars twinkling in their magnificence, he could fold himself up and recall all the memories of watching her train by the Konoha waterfalls all those years ago. He has wondered often if she was there too, looking at the moon just as he was and remembering the same events that had pushed them into the strange rapport they now shared, this intense bond that had shattered the protective walls around his soul. He wasn't afraid of it now nor was he dense about what he felt about it.
When the hawk woke him from his brooding thoughts, he had immediately read it after tearing Lord Jiraiya's seal. The sage had been sending scrolls him concerning information he had begun to gather about a cult that was building. The news of the murders of those that held tailed beasts soon followed then the dire warning that the murderous zealots were after Gaara himself. He came to a quick decision to notify the council after a round of heated debate with Baki and Kankuro.
So now Gaara listened to the chorus of the council members, letting them continue their maddening song of despair before he let his sand leave his body and swirl around them. It wasn't long before a hush fell over them.
"Calm yourselves. We will raise security and have every able-bodied shinobi stationed in selected parameters around the village. I want a scroll sent to Konoha recalling Ambassador Temari and notifying their Hokage about the situation," Gaara ordered quietly.
A tall male council member with midnight black hair that tumbled over his right eye and sported a clean goatee stood from his seat, giving Gaara his full attention.
"I will suggest we create a task force of jonin and ANBU to be stationed around the borders, Kazekage."
Gaara looked over the man and nodded. "Yura, you have command over the task force."
The man, Yura, nodded briefly and bent down to take his seat but not before hesitating and rubbing along his neck as if in pain. He blanched, laughing nervously before clearing his throat and letting his eyes wander away from the council. What were once clear and focused eyes were now blank and drained of any emotion.
Gaara narrowed his eyes, inspecting this odd sudden display, before giving his attention to the council. "This meeting is over. I want updates on manpower, the shinobi we have, where they are, everything. Nothing will be omitted. Direct any concerns or questions to Yura or Kankuro. Dismissed."
XXXXXX
Kankuro felt his body relax and begin to shiver slightly, both from the chill of the night breeze in its infancy and the release of tension during the council meeting. Sweat dripped from the dirty brown strands of his hair that peeked from under his black hood and down his face, smudging the sharp edges of his purple tribal paint along his cheekbones. He hadn't realized his clenched hands during the heated discussion, never feeling his fingernails dig into the skin. Salty sweat mingled with the blood that crept from the small wounds now. Kankuro let out a sigh and quickly matched his stride alongside his brother's once Gaara had nodded that he was ready to retire. He found himself lost in his thoughts, barely acknowledging the council members as they pushed past him in hurry. All he thought about was the odd behavior from Yura and the even stranger absence of Jai.
"Gaara, did you notice how weird Yura was acting at the end? Was it just me?" Kankuro asked aloud.
"I was wondering the same thing. I can look over reports and files from the infirmary, anything that might suggest any illness, if you wish Kazekage," Baki offered quietly.
Gaara's footsteps were light and becoming quieter. Both men stopped to look at the young Kazekage, who had his arms folded over his chest in deep thought. His hairless brow was knitted tightly atop his closed dark eyes. The silence lasted a few moments before he relaxed his features. Gaara looked directly at them both.
"Let that be for now, but set up an investigation into Jai's whereabouts. We must focus our efforts on protecting the village from any harm. No blood of any Suna villager shall be shed as long as I am Kazekage," Gaara murmured softly.
"As you wish, my lord. I will leave for my post."
Baki bowed and bounded down the hallway, leaping off the ledge of the open balcony of Gaara's office. Kankuro was surprised they had arrived at the large rotund Kage quarters that Gaara had kept to like a hermit the past few months. The room was still in chaos, if not worse than it was. Temari would really ream into Gaara if this place weren't cleaned up. Kankuro let his lips turn into a smirk as he thought of their older sibling.
"I wonder how Temari is. The Chunin exams should be finished by now. I bet Suna's team kicked some ass. How much do you bet?"
Gaara sighed, letting his small frame rest against the grainy railing of the balcony. He found his eyes once more drawn to the moon and the ever-watchful stars.
White-eyes of loneliness…
Despair…
Pain…
"I don't bet."
"Whatever you say. I bet on your pretty stars you keep staring at that we did awesome. Temari's letters stink of pride in the students. The Konoha style academy really increased our success rate and performance. It helps I am such a badass teacher, ya know?"
Kankuro snickered, puffing out his chest in pride. He waited for a reprimand from Gaara on being arrogant but none came his way. He let an eyebrow rise in mild curiosity and surprise at the still figure of his brother lounging against the balcony, his shimmering sea green eyes lost in the twilight sky. Kankuro knew exactly what to say to shake his daydreaming brother up, he just wasn't sure if it was wise. He snuck up by Gaara and placed a hand on his shoulder, no longer afraid of Gaara's reaction to touch.
"Hey, I wonder how Hinata-chan is doing. Maybe you should write her and ask her to visit. She can see the village again, check out the academy, see some ruins, and give me a welcome kiss…" Kankuro drawled on jokingly, trying to draw his brother out anyway he could.
"What?!"
The air around Kankuro turned into ice, the air almost hard to breathe. Gaara looked at him first in blazing anger then confusion, a war of blazing emotions battling behind his glassy eyes, before he pinched the bridge of his nose as if in pain. Kankuro felt immediate guilt, opening his mouth feebly to give a quick apology. Gaara was swifter to break the tension.
"Hinata…"
"I didn't mean it, bro."
Gaara shook his head fiercely, his hands shaking. "No, something is wrong. I…feel it…here."
He pointed at his chest with a trembling finger before letting his arms slacken by his sides.
"Ah, Gaara, I am sure she is fine…"
Gaara wasn't listening anymore, finding himself distracted by a growing shadow overhead. He tilted his head up, turning his body to the side, straining to look out into the night sky. It wasn't the shadow of human, but rather birdlike. He let his eyes narrow and balled his hands up. This wasn't any native bird of Sunagakure by any stretch of the imagination. He had read enough about every species living among the desert. It could only mean one thing.
"Alert the council leaders and the shinobi the village has been breached, Kankuro."
Kankuro froze up, barely registering the steel tone of his brother's. His lips began to shake, words unable to form, before he took looked to the sky and saw the strange flying creature.
"Now, Kankuro!" Gaara shouted, the adrenaline racing through his body as he leapt nimbly onto the railing and perched like a cat about to pounce on a bird.
"What about you?"
"I intend to meet the intruder head on."
Kankuro gasped. "No! The Akatsuki want you Gaara. They're after the Shukaku."
Gaara turned his face to look upon his brother intently, his stony expression softening slightly before turning hard again. His determined eyes met Kankuro's worried ones, both set firmly on the others'.
"Kankuro, I will not let this intruder hurt the villagers or destroy what we have all worked tirelessly on. I wouldn't do that to her, now or ever. Now, go!" Gaara's voice turned eerily calm, his tone demanding compliance. Before Kankuro could respond, Gaara let his sand flow from his gourd and envelope him before he was nothing but tan specks flying overhead towards the flying intruder…
XXXXX
Outside, along the borders, the grisly scene of a massacre was painted with the bright ruby blood of once proud jonin and ANBU. Their wide eyes were hollow, masks broken to lay among the sandy earth like relics of the fallen from an ancient battle, bodies broken and mutilated like thrown aside dolls a child had grown bored of. All this littered the once beautiful and stoic caverns and mountains along the Suna borders.
A blood soaked shinobi, noticeable only by his goatee and ebony hair, knelt at the feet of two other shinobi. One hobbled over as if deformed with his face covered tightly while the other, handsome with flowing blonde hair and painted eyes, stood smugly.
"Good job, servant. Jai was wise to pick you as our loyal sleeper agent…" rumbled out a low voice from the hunchback.
"Yes, master," the kneeling shinobi echoed.
"Yes, yes, your form needs improvement but overall it was a work of art," the flaxen haired man agreed.
"You know what to do, Deidara."
"Of course, Sasori. I believe this will be my most magnificent masterpiece. This Kazekage will love my art and appreciate it most definitely."
XXXXX
Author note:
Wow, I really deserve some punishment for this terrible writer's block lately. I am sure Virgo from Fairy Tail would agree. I was involved in a holiday musical in winter 2013 followed almost back to back with trips to Rome and Soave. I was very busy for a while then just hit writer's block like a train without brakes working. I found myself reading some really great fan fiction on here ranging from stories about Spirited Away, DBZ's Vegeta and Bulma to my latest interest, Fairy Tail. That fan base is pretty rabid, I gotta say LOL, but its a fantastic manga/anime. I see the attraction and why it's so popular. I have spent a lot of time catching up on new/old anime, working on a new song, and music lessons. Please thank the Fairy Tail sound track and the goddess Florence Welch for helping me get inspired again. Please review! Thank you guys SO MUCH for following and favoriting this story.
New on this story: I estimate about 2 more chapters left with an epilog. I am breaking it down into smaller chapters instead of very long ones.
Once I finish this story, I plan to outline a 2014 sequel, maybe a one shot, then maybe try out writing a new fanfic surrounding Loki of the Avengers with an OC (a Valkyrie actually) or Loke and Lucy from Fairy Tail. Its not a canon couple by any means, I am just very fascinated by their chemistry and partnership. There are a few well written stories about the couple on here, one by the fantastic Rhov. I can only dream to be that amazing and brilliant...