First things, first, I'd like to thank everyone who alerted, reviewed and added this story to their favorites list! Dattebayo Japan indeed! I do hope the country's people are fine after that nasty aftershock.
Special thanks to:
MidnightCherryBlossoms, my beloved beta who's been busy playing with her hair thingies but still did her job anyway!
LuciansLycanNightShade
Shifuni
JessLuvsWriting
gaara99
GaarasMyBoyzz
Only a small band of readers, but I really cherish each and every one of your support! You are the reason for why I strive to better my writing!
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd seriously explore Shino's backstory. Don't you think it's strange that his hasn't been explored?
This story will not have any relation to Naruto's dream of achieving Sasuke Uchiha's return or defeating Orochimaru. This happens a little bit after the Rescue Gaara arc. In other words, kind of AU (Alternate Universe). Thought you should know.
Kankuro raised an eyebrow, though the expression wasn't clearly visible behind the purple lines of paint on his skin. "I gotta say, that's a sight more interesting than annoying you about Nara,"
"What business I have with Shikamaru is none of your business," Temari snapped, glaring at her brother. Kankuro always seemed to make a jibe about the Konohagakure tactician whenever he had a chance; it was the only thing that the puppeteer wasn't afraid to make fun of Temari about. Of course, that didn't mean Temari's punishments were any less scary.
"Shikamaru? Since when did you get on such friendly, familiar terms with him, Temari?" Kankuro grinned slyly, the kabuki paint enhancing the eldritch aura of his smug smile, "Did Shika-chan tell you to call him that?"
Temari menacingly lifted her fan off the ground, letting it tilt slightly open. As the first purple star was revealed, teal eyes glinted maliciously as another glare was directed to the master puppeteer. "Don't make me hit you, Kankuro,"
"Please don't, Temari. I'd prefer to have my head destroyed by other means," Kankuro eyed the weapon warily; a corner of his painted mouth twitched in disgust.
The ambassador merely narrowed her eyes at her brother's words. "If not my fan, then my weasel. I have Kamatari at the ready, for your information. Just a quick summon away. And you of all people should know that he's more than capable of slicing off your head. Who knows, we might be merciful enough to not rip your precious made-up face to shreds."
"It's not make-up! It's ceremonial paint used by masters of the sacred art of the theatre!" Kankuro corrected hotly, before adding with a low mutter, "I honestly prefer having the bloodthirsty Shukaku Gaara to you,"
A forced cough distracted the siblings from their banter. The youngest of them stood there, sleeves of his ceremonial robes dangling by his sides, having come undone during the meeting. Gaara was gazing at his older siblings with clinical interest, coupled with a hint of annoyance; it was probably because Kankuro had mentioned his name in his absence.
"Sometimes, I think I'm the oldest one in the family," Gaara stated dryly in his detached tone of indifference, as Kankuro got onto his feet, strapping his scrolls onto his back. "Get my gourd, will you?"
"What am I, your slave?" Kankuro did as his brother asked anyway, as he pulled on his summoning scrolls before grabbing the massive sand gourd, tucking it securely under his arm.
"You think wrong," Temari replied in response to Gaara's question, folding her fan and hoisting it over her back, "So, how was the meeting?"
Gaara wrinkled his nose in slight distaste at the mention of the council gathering as he began to walk. "Same as usual - talks about the menial riots in the village, which somehow always end up being a long reminisce of the days long past."
"Senile old coots," Kankuro jeered, falling behind his siblings, "Why can't any of them be as cool as Chiyo-sama was? At least she had a sense of humour, as twisted as it was."
"That's because you're biased, Kankuro," Temari scoffed, as the three made their way out of the building, "And watch what you're saying - you may be head of the new puppet brigade, the Kazekage's brother and one of his bodyguards, but that doesn't mean you can diss them like that,"
"Speak for yourself," Kankuro muttered under his breath, pushing open the doors with his free hand and stepping outside.
The place was rather empty, probably because they were in an area where most of the political offices were placed, far from the commercial lanes. The spherical structure of the Kazekage mansion was far in the central area of Sunagakure; only a small silhouette could be seen from where they stood. A loud screech attracted their attention; the three of them looked up.
"That bird looks out of place. It doesn't look like one of our messengers, either," Kankuro squinted his eyes against the glare of the sun, lifting a hand to point at a fast-moving dot in the sky, "Think it's the reply message from the Godaime Hokage? You sent a message to her, didn't you, Gaara?"
Only when Kankuro had pointed the bird out did Gaara suddenly remember his previous suspicions about Kohaku.
It was difficult to explain, but when Gaara was reminded of it, a strange sensation squeezed painfully in his chest; it was like the familiar dull ache he had felt before, when he and Kohaku had been on bad terms, but it was somehow different.
"Maybe," Gaara shrugged, now intent on getting back to his office building as fast as possible, in order to see the message. He had waited a long time for the reply. His hand snaked up to his chest; his fist clenched over it as his eyes looked down. Why was it hurting again? Was it the apprehension he felt? His mind wandered to the memory of him helping Kohaku in the archives earlier. The pain intensified, making Gaara stagger slightly, faltering in his steps.
"It looks different from Konoha's usual hawks, though," Temari noted, as she led the way to Gaara's workplace, oblivious to Gaara's internal conflict, "I've used some of theirs when I go there. They usually use doves and pigeons."
"Who cares? Maybe it's some new improved breed or something," Kankuro rolled his eyes sardonically. Why did his sister have to be so paranoid about everything? "Just because the bird's different doesn't mean the message will be any different."
xxxx
A man, to be more precise, a teenaged boy, stood in front of the sand fortress that protected Sunagakure from unwanted visitors and prying eyes. A stifling breeze blew, rustling the black locks of straight-cut hair abundant on the boy's head. He lifted a gloved hand, shielding his eyes from the sudden onslaught of sand in the wind, waiting for it to pass before pulling his hand away. He nonchalantly adjusted the bag slung across his back, slightly bumping the tanto he carried on on a sheath on his right shoulder.
Despite having travelled under the scorching sun of the Land of Wind, his skin was pale; a somewhat sickly shade of paper. Too pale, in fact, as it contrasted into an almost perfect monochrome with his black raiment, hair and eyes. There was no expression on his face; only a detached one that showed no emotion as a trickle of sweat ran down the side of his temples; even under the sweltering heat of the hot sun he displayed no emotion.
As he looked up, the silver of his forehead protector glinted under the harsh rays of the sun. The leaf emblem was engraved onto the metal plate. A Konohagakure shinobi.
He started towards the gates, leaving imprints of his sandals on the sand behind him, and the guard on duty gave him a cursory glance as he stopped the shinobi.
"State the purpose of your visit."
"I am under the orders of the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama, to join Team Kakashi as the fifth member in its mission,"
"Do you have any proof?"
A gloved hand reached into the backpack, pulling out a slip of paper that served as his passport. The guard peered at it, comparing the picture with the boy's appearance, taking note of the authenticity of the document before stamping it with a red seal of approval.
"Welcome to Sunagakure, Sai."
xxxx
With his back hunched over and facing the daily crowd of the sandy streets, Naruto wore a troubled expression, blonde brows furrowed in deep concentration. He scratched his chin; a sign of indecisiveness as he studied the polyester cups sitting in neatly stacked rows. A young woman standing by him had a half-smile on her tanned face; the shopkeeper was evidently amused by the foreigner's serious approach to ramen.
"Which brand is better? Damn, I wish I'd brought more from Konoha when I left. Why doesn't Suna sell the ones I like?" Eyes of cornwall-blue darted back, forth, left and right, taking in the display of ramen cups carefully, "The bigger, but more expensive, one or the one that comes with disposable chopsticks but doesn't taste as nice?"
Naruto continued his internal debate, weighing the pros and cons of the two different brands in his mind critically. The others of his team were somewhere around the street in one of the many shops that lined it; Kakashi had forced everyone, including Kohaku, to go into town to pick up some things. He had declared that they needed to do a bit of sightseeing, for none of them had done any since they first arrived in Suna a few months ago.
"Naruto-kun."
Dismissing the familiar voice with an airy wave of his hand, Naruto remained staring at the cup ramen, only providing a short response of, "Hn?"
"I brought some cup ramen from Konoha."
Perking up, Naruto turned around, coming face to face with a smiling Sai. Shocked by the sudden appearance of his teammate, Naruto did what he could only think of at the moment.
He shrieked.
"Eeeeeeeee!"
xxxx
Kakashi looked up from the pocket novel he had been browsing in front of a bookstore at the faint sound that sounded very much like Naruto. Kohaku pulled her gaze away from the posters that were announcing releases of new books tacked onto the wall, looking up to regard the jounin. "Kakashi-nii, I believe that was the sound of Naruto-kun's voice. It sounded very distressed."
Kakashi quirked a silver eyebrow. "Did it, now? All screams sound the same to you, though, don't they?"
Kohaku frowned, though it was barely noticeable. "All the same, it would be wise if you just went to check, just in case."
"Ah, so you care," the teasing tone in the ex-ANBU's voice caused the frown on Kohaku's face to deepen by a slight measure. It wasn't everyday someone like Kohaku expressed concern for another; it was a rare sight indeed. Kakashi knew this fact, and wanted to relish it.
"Believe what you want."
xxxx
"Sai! You bastard! What're you doing here?"
An accusing finger was pointed at the still-smiling shinobi; Naruto's eyes flashed with heavy suspicion as they regarded the black-garbed boy standing in front of the blonde.
He then pulled his glare away from Sai, as a flash of silver indicated that Kakashi was there, Kohaku in tow. He had made a point to bring Kohaku where ever he went, since Kohaku hated mingling in large crowds and thus would've gone straight back to the apartment if she was left alone. "I heard your screaming, Naruto. What's wrong?" the jounin then belatedly realized Sai's unexpected presence, "Oh? Sai? What a surprise! I can certainly understand why Naruto reacted like that now."
"Hello, Kakashi-senpai," Sai nodded amiably, another smile plastered onto his pallid face, "Naruto-kun was very engrossed in his decision-making, so I that's why I had to lie in order to get his attention. Was that wrong?"
"I suppose so, but who am I to judge?" A chuckle escaped from Kakashi's concealed mouth, making Naruto glower at his captain's mirth, "So, what brings you to Suna?"
"Tsunade-sama ordered me to come here as back-up. She says more people will probably speed up the completion of the mission," Sai explained, taking a wise step backwards, away from a very irritated and disgruntled Naruto.
"She did, now did she?" Kakashi scratched his masked chin thoughtfully, "I suppose I didn't get the message. Can't blame her, though. The weather's been a mess lately, with all those desert sandstorms occurring. Did you get caught in one on your way here?"
"No. I was lucky enough to arrive unharmed."
"And not sunburnt," A sullen Naruto glared at his dark-haired friend, shooting an accusatory look in his direction. It was true, because everyone on Team Kakashi had gotten a shade darker when they had first arrived in Suna, and until Sakura finally bought them sunblock lotion for their unaccustomed skin, Naruto's face had stung every time a hard breeze blew past him. "Does that mean you completed your solo mission and you're joining Team Kakashi again?"
"Yes. Does that please you, Naruto-kun?"
"Of course not!"
At mention of that, Kakashi remembered the girl standing invisibly beside him. Kohaku was disinterestedly looking away, her eyes staring at a distant object; the jounin sighed, despite not showing it, it was plainly obvious that the auburn-haired girl was itching to get back to the dark confines of her room with a book and a lamp to accompany her. It was a wonder she wasn't as pale as Sai was; she spent most of her time locked up in dark places with her favorite volumes of historical politics. The Copy-Nin gestured towards the apathetic Kohaku. "Sai, meet your replacement, Shishimiya Kohaku,"
"Actually, since Sai is Sasuke's replacement, that makes Kohaku both Sasuke's and Sai's replacement," Naruto corrected with a pretentious air of wisdom, nodding to himself in agreement with his words.
Ebony eyes fell upon the short figure; the emotion in them was indiscernible. Sai's face was set with an unreadable mask of a smile, long having been perfected by many hours of relentless practice, as he regarded Kohaku with a nod. It was hard to tell whether he was genuinely smiling or not. The girl returned the greeting, acknowledging the Root ANBU with a nod of her own with nary an expression on her face.
xxxx
Everything looked the same.
The structures, the colour of the buildings, the clothes the residents wore… Gaara took comfort in this; albeit the fact it got boring five seconds after the first look, Sunagakure's bland layout could not be any more safer. If an intruder foreign to the labyrinth of Sunagakure ever infiltrated the village, he would most likely get lost instead of finding his target. Of course, only the well-practiced eye of a Sunagakure villager or someone who visited the village very frequently would be able to discern which building was which, and which lane was situated where.
"Kazekage-sama!"
Gaara, looking out the window of his domed office as he stood with his arms crossed, turned his head slightly with a pensive expression written all over his face. He had been staring at the cloudless sky, contemplating on what Tsunade's answer would be, until he decided to stop. Most of his scenarios consisted of good news; Gaara hated himself for being overly optimistic. So, instead, he had turned his thoughts onto his beloved village, studying the various expressions of the people going about their daily routines beneath the rounded globe that was the Kazekage mansion.
One of his subordinates, dressed in the standard attire for a Suna shinobi, was panting heavily at the open doorway, gasping to catch his breath. The sand veil that he wore around his head was askew, and the sole strap of the one-strapped Suna vest slipped down his shoulder. It was obvious that he had been in a hurry to get to the office.
"What is it?"
He lifted one of his hands; his fingers were wrapped tightly around a scroll. That meant he had been the sentry on duty at the aviary. "It has the seal of the Hokage of Konohagakure, Kazekage-sama!"
Gaara held out a hand, and the scroll was deposited onto his palm. Pulling it back, Gaara saw that the shinobi had been right. Right where the strings had been tied, in the melted red of sealing wax, was an imprint of the kanji for 'Fire' set against the background of the Konohagakure emblem.
It was the unmistakable seal of the Hokage, used only for important, top-secret messages.
Even if the seal had not been used, Gaara would have still known that it was important, because of the telltale red of the scroll's paper. His eyes narrowed slightly; he didn't want to openly show his concern in front of the shaky shinobi. The village did not need to be thrown into a panic just because a red message-scroll had come bearing the seal of the Hokage.
"You may leave. Please call for Temari and Kankuro to come here as soon as possible," Gaara murmured, tugging at the strings that fastened the scroll, breaking off the sealing wax.
The shinobi nodded skittishly, scrambling towards the door before a quiet, "Wait," from Gaara stopped him.
"D-do you need something else, Kazekage-sama?"
Gaara shook his head, before smiling one of his rare half-smiles. "Don't worry, Korobi."
The harried expression on the shinobi's face dissipated; a reluctant smile formed on his face. As terse as Gaara's words were, they had a firm kindness that had a profound effect on the sentry. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama," he bowed deeply, gratitude emanating from him. Reassured by his powerful leader, Korobi finally left the room, this time with a more professional manner.
Gaara slowly let his smile drop; it was replaced with a grim expression. His seafoam eyes fell upon the characters carefully brushed with measured strokes against the parchment, but some lines were wobbly; it was like Tsunade had had a difficult time writing up the message. His irises darted up and down as he processed what Tsunade had written.
He felt his stomach sink.
xxxx
"What happened, Gaara? We came as soon as you summoned us,"
Temari and Kankuro had arrived; with Kankuro bursting through the door, very much reminiscent of Konoha's orange blur, while Temari had strolled in with a more refined dignity. Despite that, the worry and concern on their faces were the same.
After dropping Gaara off at the Kazekage mansion, the two bodyguards that gone on to do their usual activities. Temari had been taking a break at her favorite tea shop, blissfully snacking on chestnuts when a chuunin had come running towards her, half-shouting something about Gaara and a scroll. The concerned ambassador had then followed the messenger to the puppetry shop that Kankuro frequented. They had found Kankuro cooing over some new parts, and without a word, Temari flung some money onto the counter, shoved the parts into a paper bag and dragged the bewildered puppeteer towards the direction of the Kazekage mansion.
"What's wrong? The guy you sent to call us was in a tizzy," Temari was quick to get to the point, as Kankuro flung his scrolls onto the sofa, along with his purchases, pulling off his hat before standing in front of the desk with his sister.
"Something happened?" Kankuro raised an eyebrow; Temari hadn't told him anything except for the fact that Gaara had summoned them.
Temari's expression hardened; her blonde eyebrows knitted together in concern when she saw the way Gaara was standing. Instead of the normally dignified and proud way Gaara carried himself, his shoulders were slumped; his head hung slightly. Instead of a Kazekage descended from noble ancestry, Gaara's posture reminded Temari of the helpless teenage boy that Gaara rarely was.
Gaara wordlessly pointed to the scroll lying unfurled on his desk. With wary looks at the sight of Gaara's unreadable expression, the two older siblings' gazes fell to the contents of the scroll.
'Gaara, I am afraid that the omission of Shishimiya Kohaku's mission history is not a clerical error. The absence of such information is because such information is not allowed to be imparted. The reason for this-'
Reading the next line, Temari looked up, expression grim, while Kankuro cursed loudly and ran a gloved hand through his spiky head of hair, slightly overwhelmed. The reason for Gaara's helplessness was irrefutable.
"I thought she was strange, but this explains it all," Kankuro muttered through his hand as he rubbed his face, smudging the ceremonial paint on his face with the force that Kankuro was exerting through his hand. One could tell that the jounin was under some sort of strain; it was a difficult feat to blemish the paint Kankuro used by just mere rubbing.
"I agree," Temari's frown softened with sympathy when she studied her youngest brother's blank expression. The concerned sister inside the hard kunoichi was worried about her youngest brother - he had not said a word since they arrived.
Gaara seemed to be in shock. He stared at nothing; his gaze unfocused. His mouth was slightly parted; probably in disbelief.
'-is because Shishimiya Kohaku is a member of Root.'
Sai makes an appearance! I loved bringing Sai in - he's such an awesome character. He has an equally awesome theme song in the second Shippuuden movie. As does Shino! …Okay, I digress. But seriously have you listened to either? Sai's is Choju Giga and Shino's is Destruction!
FAQ Time!
Is Kankuro really the head of the new puppet brigade?
(SPOILER AHEAD). Well, there was one in the series where Chiyo and Sasori were said to be part of it. I'm assuming that it was disbanded or something, and that Kankuro revived it because of his undying love for the art of puppetry.
Who's Kamatari?
Kamatari is the one-eyed awesomeness that Temari summoned during the Chuunin exams in the original Naruto.
Does the Hokage seal exist?
In this story, it does. However, I do not think it does in the actual series.
What's wrong with Gaara?
Well, I won't go into detail with this, but I'll just say that he feels overwhelmed.
So Kohaku's a member of Root, is she?
Before you jump to conclusions, I'll make this very clear: Yes, she is, but she's not going to be all-powerful and unbeatable. More things will be further elaborated in the chapters to come. Though, I wouldn't say I didn't see this coming. I think some (If not all) of you think the same, as well. I dropped about a gazillion hints throughout the course of the story.
So, as always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
Luv,
Pichuzilla