Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Twelve~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
It was rather surprising actually in Quoi's opinion.
Ever since he even met Sasuke Uchiha not too long ago, he had realized of how cold the Ninja was. He was very stoic like and he wasn't very nice, not even to him. And he really didn't seem to care about anyone or anything but his moments of revenge on someone, which he had mentioned that he had wanted to kill someone. His brother. But as soon as they reached Sasuke's destination, which happened to be his room, actually, Sasuke immediately ordered him to sit down in the only chair in the entire dark room while he went over to a dresser on the other side of the room. Quoi had obeyed, of course. He was still very nervous around this ice block of a person.
But it then surprised Quoi when Sasuke pulled out a bottle of antiseptic out of his drawer, a rag and a few bandages before going over to him and holding them out to him. "Do you know how to dress your wounds?" He had asked coldly.
Taken slightly aback, Quoi stared at him for a few seconds before quickly shaking his head and grimacing. "No. I'm only ten and I wasn't ever trained in the medical field at all. Master Gaara really didn't teach me that stuff. And I'm really not much of a ninja. I haven't even left the Ninja academy yet." He told him.
With a very impatient grunt and a roll of his dark eyes, Sasuke bent down to one knee and began cleaning the wounds on Quoi's person. He had to shoot the boy a dark look when he yelped loudly when the antiseptic touched the cut on his arm but was satisfied that he didn't make another sound as he roughly cleaned the cuts and scratches all over the kid's body.
Then he silently ordered the boy to tell him about Gaara and how strong he was now. Not wanting to anger Sasuke Uchiha anymore, Quoi then launched into his little tale of exactly how he had met Master Gaara. He even told him about the first time he ever saw his master. He explained how Akatsuki had been in control of the Sand Village for nearly Fifteen years until Gaara of the Sand came along and liberated it. He told Sasuke everything that he knew so far. He even told him about how Sasori of the Akatsuki had murdered his parents and how Master Gaara had found him and tried to comfort him after the murder of his father.
After that was explained, Quoi told Sasuke about how the Akatsuki found out about Gaara being in the Sand Village and they had attacked him. He didn't leave out anything as he told Sasuke about how his master fought the Clay Bomber member, Deidara above the Village and did everything he could to protect it and it's people while trying to defeat him. He even told the raven haired, cold tempered ninja about how Deidara did defeat Gaara and had captured him and took him to the Akatsuki base to extract the Shukaku from him. During that entire time, Sasuke hadn't said a word as he listened to the boy, frowning and narrowing his eyes during the story. But not once did he interrupt. However, after that last piece where Quoi explained that Gaara was recovered and saved by Naruto, Sakura and even Kakashi, as well as several of the Sand Ninja, his head jerked up a little to look the boy when he said that some how Gaara still possessed the One Tailed demon. He frowned deeply when Quoi told him that everyone was suspecting that it had been Sasori, himself, who spared Gaara's life and bound the One Tailed demon to him so that it couldn't leave him.
"I don't think that's true though." Quoi admitted as soon as Sasuke finished wrapping the cut on his arm with some bandages. He had a thoughtful frown on his face as he turned his eyes away from the raven haired ninja. "Whenever they talk about it and say that about Sasori, Master Gaara always looks away and I can tell he's not telling them the truth. I think it was one of the other Akatsuki who did it. Maybe....." he made a face. "I think......I think it was Itachi Uchiha who did it. I heard him mutter the name a few times."
At the name, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's flashed and he looked very seriously at Quoi. He had to admit that surprised him but it also made him very suspicious. If it really was Itachi who spared Gaara's life, what was his brother up to? There was no possible way that he would spare someone's life unless it actually meant there was something in it for him. If Itachi saved Gaara's life, Sasuke thought while narrowing his eyes to slits, then there was something he wanted from his old teammate. 'What are you up to, Itachi?' He thought bitterly.
Just then the door to Sasuke's door slid open and that made the raven haired ninja's head jerk around to glare icily at who just entered his room without even knocking or without his permission. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw that it was Kabuto. The gray haired ninja had made a quick glance around before pausing to see that Sasuke was in the same room as the boy. He looked surprised to see that his cold tempered comrade was actually dressing the boy's wounds and that made his mouth quirk up a little as if he found it amusing. He didn't even seem to realize that he had done something that really made the Uchiha annoyed and angry. "Oh. There you are." He said looking directly at Quoi, who was cowering back against the chair. But then flickered his eyes back to Sasuke, who stood up. "Well, I was looking for Orochimaru's new test subject but I wasn't expected to find him here with you, Sasuke-kun. I thought you had nearly beaten the life out of him and dropped him off somewhere in the base by now. But....." He smirked a little as he looked at the bandage around Quoi's arm. "Here you are....dressing his wounds. Talking about surprising."
Sasuke continued to give him a dangerous look. "What did I tell you about knocking before entering, Kabuto?" He asked coldly before he grabbed the antiseptic and the rest of the bandages and put them away.
Kabuto rose his eyebrows before he grabbed the door, closed it half way and knocked on it a few times before entering again. He was just doing it to irritate Sasuke, even though he knew it wasn't a good idea. So he wasn't surprised when the Uchiha turned and gave him a very annoyed and cold glare. "Relax, Sasuke-kun. I didn't think you were in here. I thought you might have gone to track down Orochimaru-sama and bug him about training you again." His eyes flickered back to Quoi who stood up and moved to stand behind the chair, as if using it to shield himself from the Four-Eyed freak. "Besides, I was sent to find the little experiment. Orochimaru-sama has asked me to start on him before we move to the new base. He doesn't want it running away." He said now moving into the room towards the boy.
Of course, that was exactly what Quoi did not want Kabuto to do. He wanted to stay as far away as he could from this sick freak. So when the Four-Eyes started moving towards him, he shoved the chair at him to trip him before bolting towards Sasuke, as if asking him for protection. He was sorely disappointed when Sasuke didn't offer it. The raven haired ninja just roughly pushed him away from him towards the wall, where Kabuto cornered him. "Sa-Sasuke-san, pl-please.....don't let him touch me!" Quoi begged, cringing against the stone wall.
"Please." Kabuto said dryly as he moved closer to him. "Sasuke-kun don't give a rat's ass about you. He doesn't care about anything but his own ambition. He might have dressed your wounds but trust me on this. He doesn't care about you."
Quoi pressed himself closer to the wall as he looked pleadingly up at Sasuke. He knew that he was showing his weakness by being afraid but he really couldn't help it. He was terrified of what was going to happen to him. He was just a kid, after all. Not even a Shinobi yet. So he knew he was allowed to show some weakness until he really was a ninja. "Please.....Sasuke......don't let him hurt me." He begged.
Sasuke met his eyes with such a cold stare before he looked away and turned his back onto him. "You heard Kabuto. All I wanted from you was to train and to get information from you about Gaara." He tilted his head towards Kabuto. "Do whatever you want with him now. I don't care." He said coldly.
Again, for almost the fifth time that day, Quoi felt as if his world had shattered right before his eyes and he felt his heart fall in his chest. He had really hoped that Sasuke Uchiha might defend him like he had before. But it looked like that everything that Kabuto and Orochimaru had said was true. He didn't care. Slowly, he shook his head as he stared up at him with disbelief and hurt. His breathing was becoming very heavily which immediately sped up when Kabuto roughly grabbed his arm. He tried to jerk away but the Four-Eyed ninja kept a very tight hold on his wrist. So tight that it nearly cut off his circulation. The boy winced but tried to jerk away again as Kabuto began dragging him towards the door. He had tried to grab a hold of something to anchor himself down but the evil Medical ninja gave him a sharp jerk that he missed what he was trying to grab for.
Sasuke only watched Kabuto yank Quoi right out of the room and watched as the gray haired ninja turned back to give him a pleasant nod and shut the door.
Kabuto dragged the boy roughly down the corridor, who was struggling as hard as he could to break loose from his grip. He only tightened his grip on his wrist and jerked him sharply, almost making him trip. It really irritated that the boy was making such a fuss. In his opinion, most would happily agree to be a test subject to Lord Orochimaru. Especially when it was in the serpentine's interest in enhancing the little brat's strength a little. He knew it was a little painful to the subjects, due to that some had cried or sweated terribly from the experiments but this boy was just being childish.
"Let go of me! I don't wanna become an experiment! Let me go!" Quoi shouted as he pulled back but found himself fall flat onto his face when Kabuto yanked him hard.
Kabuto was giving him a very icy look as he held tight to Quoi's wrist before he jerked him to his feet again and went on to dragging him down the corridor. "Stop making such a fuss. If we're successful, you'll be the strong ninja you wanted to be. You should be happy that Orochimaru-sama is so interested in you as it is. He usually doesn't care about those who whine as much as you do." He said coldly before yanking Quoi into a large room with torches lighting it up well.
There were many machines and a few tables in this room and it was clearly some kind of lab. There was a medical cabinet against a wall on the far side of the room. Next to it was a large table where there were glass test tubes full of strange liquids and syringes. It was mostly the medical blades set on the table that really scared Quoi. There were even a few bloodied rags laid on the table. Jars full of the strangest things sat on the table as well and inside them were body parts; such as fingers, eyes, a brain! It was those that made Quoi yelp in fear and fight even harder to break away from Kabuto. But the gray haired medic yanked him back and dragged him over to a medic bed with straps hanging on the sides. He didn't hesitate at all as he pulled the kid over to it and then turned sharply around as the boy tried once again to break free.
Looking highly irritated now, Kabuto grabbed Quoi by the neck and swung him around into the air before slamming him down onto the medical bed. The air had been knocked from the boy's lungs which caused him to cough and sputter while Kabuto roughly grabbed his arm and strapped them down. He moved quickly to strap down the other arm and then his legs before pulling a strap down over his chest to keep him from thrashing. He didn't even seem to care that he made them too tight either.
Once the boy was strapped down, Kabuto took a deep irritated breath before fixing his glasses as they had slipped down his nose a little. He even ran a hand through his gray hair before turning away from Quoi, who was still struggling on the bed, even if it was useless. " Sai-kun was right. You are such a pain. Fighting like that when you know it's useless."
Of course, Quoi wasn't listening to him. He was struggling hard against the straps before he closed his eyes tightly to squeeze some tears out and he threw his head back against the bed. "MASTER GAARA!" He bellowed.
Kabuto winced at the loud pitch of the boy's voice before he grabbed a syringe and a small bottle off the table. He was very annoyed now with this little brat. He had had some subjects fight like this before but once they had been on the medical table, they usually shut up and watched him as he began preparing for the tests. But this little gaki......he was still making a loud fuss! He was surprised that Orochimaru didn't show up right then, hands covering his ears and looking very angry. With his brow furrowed with anger, the medic filled the syringe up with some of the clear liquid before turning back to Quoi. "This should shut you up!" He growled before stabbing the needle into Quoi's crook of his arm.
Quoi yelped in pain before shooting the gray haired, four-eyed freak a glare before he suddenly felt very dizzy and tired. His eyes started to droop a little and he felt as if the world started spinning. "Wh-what......what......." He panted wearily.
"Sedatives." Answered Kabuto dryly before yanking the needle out of his arm and tossing it onto the table behind him. "At least it'll shut you up. I'm getting very tired of having to listen to you. Now," He was now smirking as he began moving around the room and gathering a few things. He pulled out a few bottles from the cabinet and then went back over the table next to the medical bed. "Let's get started. First, I think I better inject the poison into your system. It stays in your system a very long time. In about a month, I'll have to inject you again with it. This stuff will keep you from running away from us. If you try it, you will die. We have the only antidote." Kabuto said smirking wickedly at the boy as he began filling a new syringe. "And you'll need the antidote every 12 hours or it will eat away your life."
Quoi tried to watch him but he was starting to see double, though even his vision started to blur as tears filled his eyes. He felt completely hopeless now. He knew that his Master would be coming for him but he was pretty sure he wouldn't get there in time.
However, he heard Kabuto swear and he looked to see him put the syringe back down. The Gray haired medic was glancing around before he shook his head. "Damn it. I nearly forgot about the Bingo book. And I just had to leave those files in Sai's room." He gave Quoi a very annoyed look but shook his head. "Don't even think about going anywhere until I get back." He then snorted as he turned and started out of the room. "As if you could anyway. Those straps are keeping you from moving and there's no way those sedatives are going to let you walk out of this room. Someone would have to carry you out." He muttered as he left, leaving Quoi to lay on the medical bed, dizzy and tired.
It was very quiet, yet cold in the underground tunnel. The three Leaf Ninja, the young Kazekage and the Puppet Master managed to find the entrance without attracting any attention, which came as a relief. They had succeeded in masking their Chakra and they were pretty sure that no one suspected that they were there. The five silently crawled through a narrow tunnel until it came to a stone wall, where Yamato began to examine it. He frowned as he looked it over, touching it with his hand before turning back to the others. "Just like I thought. Seems their hideout is surrounded by rock." He told them.
Gaara let out a very quiet but frustrated sigh. He knew that was going to be a problem, even for his sand. Rock wasn't exactly easy to break without making any noise. Which is why everyone turned down Naruto's idea of letting him break the entrance door with his Rasengan. The other four knew very well if the blonde did that, there was a good chance that Orochimaru would definitely know they were there and he would kill Quoi before they had a chance to get to him.
"Well, then how do we.....!" Naruto whispered, sounding irritated at the turn down.
No one spoke for a long moment before Yamato placed his hand on the stone door. From where Gaara stood he could see that the wood manipulator was pressing hard on the stone until he managed to rupture it a little. "Here we go....." The ANBU said quietly making Naruto and Sakura frown with wonder. "It's for this kind of hard rock in particular that if you apply just a little force to a small crack....." He cut himself off before holding his fingers in front of the crack in the stone. And to Naruto, Sakura and Kankuro's surprise, his fingers, their selves, emitted thing roots right out of them before sinking into the crack. The wood slowly began to grow and caused more cracks before breaking the stone completely and causing a silent collapse in the stone until there was a hole in the wall, right into the base. "See. Just like I said." Yamato said before his hand returned to normal. He quietly looked around in the dark corridor before crawling through and waited for the others to crawl into the corridor with him. "Well, at least we've succeeded with the infiltration part. We'll look for Sai first."
"I won't." Gaara said quietly making all of them look at him. His face had grown very serious but he shook his head as he folded his arms, meeting their eyes. "I have to find Quoi and make sure he's safe first. You find Sai and take care of him. Kankuro.....help them."
The Puppet Master shook his head as he glanced over at Naruto, Sakura and Yamato. "I'm going to help you, Gaara. They'll understand, right?" he asked.
All three Leaf Ninja nodded as they glanced at one another. They understood very well, actually. They knew that Kankuro was still feeling terrible for not watching Quoi and protecting him when he should have. So they didn't blame him for wanting to help Gaara find their young friend first. "It'll be fine, Gaara. You and Kankuro should locate Quoi. It's bothering you that he's in such danger and you can't really concentrate if he's in that danger." Sakura reassured him as she glanced at Naruto, who nodded in agreement. "Just go find him and make sure he's safe."
"As for us...." Yamato whispered before closing his eyes to concentrate. He was quiet for a very long moment before his eyes opened again. "This way. Quoi is also this in this direction. We should stick together for now."
Everyone nodded before they began hurrying through the darkness. They had to keep their eyes open for any movement and listen very hard for any sound. They wandered the stone corridors silently but then Yamato shook his head as he turned down another corridor. "Just a little further." He whispered to them.
And after a little more of wandering, Yamato stopped in front of a door, looking at it with a hard look. He held up a hand to the rest before grabbing the door knob and twisting it. Gaara could hear movement within the room and judging by Shukaku's threatening growls, he knew it must have been Sai. He, with the others, just watched Yamato try and open the door but then frowned sternly when he realized that it was locked. He held up a finger and pressed it against the lock pad before pushing his finger into place, forming a wooden key. Giving his hand a little twist, the ANBU finally unlocked the door before opening the door and peering inside carefully. "And look who we have here." He remarked quietly before he opened the door to reveal who was inside the room.
Gaara's face grew very dark the very second he saw a blankly surprised Sai standing in the middle of the room, staring at them. He felt the hot sand storms within his head explode inside his head and his demon was demanding the blood of this traitorous pale ninja. He was sorely tempted of giving in that temptation. He wanted to kill Sai for what he had done and for even involving Quoi's kidnap.
However, Sai put on his fake smile as the five ninja entered the dark room and he shook his head. "The Hokage Controlled ANBU. Impressive, as always. To think that fake corpse wouldn't fool you." He said pleasantly.
That is until he got thrown hard against the wall by a sand made hand, pinning him tightly. His head hit the wall just as hard and it made him wince for nearly the first time in his life but he reopened his eyes, looking at Gaara as he moved forward, looking extremely dangerous. He noted that the others were looking at the red head with unease but they really hadn't done anything to stop him from hurting the pale ninja in black. The young Kazekage glared darkly at Sai as he kept him pinned against the wall with his sand but didn't move to kill him......yet.
"I suggest you tell us what is going on here, Sai." Yamato warned him, his face almost as dark as the young Kazekage's.
Naruto nodded as he hurried forward to stand right next to Gaara, glaring up at the pinned Sai. He looked just as angry as his best friend. "You! Why did you betray us?! And where is Quoi?!" he asked a little too loudly.
Sai winced a little at the pressure of the sand but then forced his fake smile once again, acting as if nothing really actually was happening. He shook his head at the blonde, even though Sakura was shushing him to be quiet. "You shouldn't make too much noise here. It'll mean trouble." He told them. He earned an angry growl from Naruto but Sakura had clapped a hand onto the blonde's shoulder and held her finger up to her mouth.
Gaara continued to glare at Sai before he glanced side wards at Sakura when she placed a hand gently on his shoulder, giving him a soft look and shaking her head. He knew what she was trying to say. So with a growl within his throat and a dirty look thrown at Sai, he pulled his sand back off of the Root ANBU, who immediately started rubbing the back of his neck as if trying to get rid of the pain there. The Kazekage folded his arms, still letting sand slowly swirl around him, just to remind Sai that he wasn't playing around anymore with him. He didn't look surprised when Sakura moved forward and held out Sai's book to him. "Here. We found this." Sai blinked at her for a second before he took it with a quiet thanks. "You're here under Danzo's orders, right? Danzo's planning something through working with Orochimaru and you were chosen as a go-between. What is it he's up to?"
There was a long silence in the entire room as everyone waited for Sai to answer. They were all pretty sure that he wouldn't. He probably wouldn't tell them anything. Gaara thought it pointless to even ask. He knew that Sai probably wouldn't betray Danzo. Why would he? Danzo was his superior. He thought it was better to just kill.......
"He's plotting the destruction of Konoha with Orochimaru." Sai suddenly admitted, making Gaara and the others blink in surprise. They honestly couldn't believe that he just admitted it. He sold out his superior.
Yamato's face darkened but he shook his head. "Part two of it, right?" He asked, not happy at all.
But Sai fake smiled pleasantly and shook his head. "No....actually....."
Naruto growled at him and balled up his fists, looking as if he was going to start swinging. And Gaara wasn't going to do anything to stop him at all. "We already know that all of your smiles are fake! And the same goes for the lies you force through them!" He snapped but then winced when Kankuro slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up.
There was a brief pause before Sai shook his head, looking at him, still with his fake smile, but it was more faint this time. "My mission ended in failure the moment you found me. And I can't very well take care of all of you by myself....so....since you already know so much there isn't much reason to hide things anymore." He turned slightly away from them, no longer smiling and lowered his head. "Just as you say, we are going to destroy Konoha as it exists today." That just earned a growl from both Naruto and Gaara. "In order to destroy Konoha, I was to gain Orochimaru's favor. Thus, giving us a chance for us to ally with him. That was my true mission."
At this point, Yamato had taken out a kunai and was pointing it at him with a very deadly look on his face. He, like the others, looked furious but he was being professional about it. "Keep talking. Tell us everything you know." He ordered him.
"Do you even realize what it is you're saying?! What it means.....!" Naruto was growling at the pale ninja in front of him.
Gaara shook his head as he folded his arms and gave Sai a very deadly look. He was hating this ninja more and more. Especially while he was saying this, he put his stupid fake smile back onto his face. "Do you honestly think that I will ally my village with Danzo if he thinks about trying to become the Hokage?" He growled. "Everything you've just said....."
"No....that's not everything." Sai interrupted quietly turning his blank eyes onto him. "I was also supposed to secretly transmit information on Orochimaru to Danzo-sama. In other words, I was also assigned a mission of espionage." He told them.
That surprised all of them but made them frown as they glanced at one another. Gaara narrowed his eyes a little and slowly met his eyes with Kankuro. They both didn't like this at all. There was something that Sai was not saying. But Sakura tilted her head as she studied Sai. "So the mission was to ally with the enemy then use and outwit him in the end.....and that enemy is Orochimaru? That is such a dangerous mission." She muttered.
Sai just kept on his fake smile but shook his head. "Once Konoha falls, Orochimaru is guaranteed to betray us in the end after all. My mission was intended to allow us to always stay one step ahead of him."
"Pfft. You really think that you can fool Orochimaru like that?" Kankuro asked gravely but he was ignored.
"Danzo wants to make Konoha his own, obviously. And you, on your own, were assigned to a mission to make that possible." Sakura said shaking her head and looked just as grave.
Again Sai shook his head as he faked his smile again. "I was singled out due to the special abilities I have. The ink I write becomes small living animals and protecting them selves from harm they carry the information out to their destination." he told them.
Sakura glanced side wards at Gaara but her face darkened again as she lift her head higher and gave Sai a very stern look as she clenched her fists tightly. "If Konoha becomes the stage of a battle again, countless of people will die! What you're trying to do is going to have real life consequences! But do you even understand that!" She told the ninja in front of her angrily.
Sai just snorted and shook his head. "I just follow orders." He remarked and that caused everyone to glare even harder at him. It seemed that what Kankuro said to Gaara right after he met the ninja had been true. Sai really was the perfect machine for the Ninja Village. "And just to let you know, 'Sai' is just a name that was assigned to me merely for the purposes of this mission. In reality, I have no name." That made everyone stare at him with bewilderment. "I am nothing more than a tool of Danzo-sama. I don't really exist. As such, no matter what you say to me means nothing."
Those words brought back a distant memory to Gaara and he was very sure that it brought the same memory back to Naruto, seeing the look on his face. He was sure that his best friend was thinking of the same person he was. Haku. The young Mist Ninja that Shukaku made Gaara kill during the Land of the Waves mission.
"In that case......." Sakura whispered softly. "Tell me why you care so much about that picture book you carry......" The demand from the pink haired kunoichi made Sai blink as if he'd been stung by something but then his head lowered and he held up the book in his hand. He stared at it for a long time before turning it over to the side of the white haired boy. His eyes narrowed a little but there was definitely something there. "The two children on the covers.....that's you and your brother, right? You carry that because it is the only thing left that proves you really do exist. Am I not right?" She continued. But Sai didn't really answer but stare at the book in his hand. "Even for us Shinobi, abandoning our emotions completely is impossible."
There was another pause before Sai lift his eyes and looked at her directly. "Please explain, why would carrying this picture book serve to prove my existence?" He asked quietly.
Sakura shook her head as she glanced over at Gaara, meeting his teal colored eyes. She took a step closer to him and then gently wrap her hand around his, causing Sai to frown with interest. "The reason why you refuse to let go of that book....is precisely because you find yourself unable to forget your existence as somebody's brother. Don't you understand?" She asked then looked at Sai, frowning. "It's because your bonds with your brother are very important to you." Her words made Sai's eyes lit up a little. "The reality is you don't want to erase the bonds between you and your brother....."
"Bonds?" Sai whispered.
Yamato was still pointing his kunai at Sai, as if he was holding him there. "Sorry to say, but we took a little peek at the contents of that book." He admitted. "The picture on the two pages in the center is the only part of the book that's left unfinished. Judging from the rest of the book, you would end up fighting your brother on those center pages. Sai.....I know that you were apart of ANBU's Roots. And I know about the special training that Danzo put you through to relieve you of your emotions." His words made everyone look at him with surprise and curiosity. But he shook his head as if he wasn't going to talk about that training. "Training identical to that of the Forsaken tradition. That were once practiced in the Village of Bloody Mist, Kirigakure. Sai, you're brother died because that training."
Sai narrowed his eyes at Yamato but he dipped his head down. "You're wrong." That made everyone frown once again. "I had intended to give this to my brother as a present. But just when I was about to complete it....my brother....he died of an illness." He lowered his head, still looking blank. "We weren't connected by blood. But he always complimented on my art." He rose his dark eyes and looked at them again. "Roots was filled with a great number of children that had been separated from their families due to battles. And I became close to one of those children calling him my brother." He lowered his eyes again onto the book in his hands. "About this picture book....the picture I wanted to show my brother the most....the one in the center....After my brother died.....I just can't seem to remember what I was planning on drawing." He told them.
"You say you share no emotions, Sai, no feelings" Gaara finally spoke after a very long time, getting him to look at him. But he shook his head. "But I know you are lying not only to us, but to yourself. With every word you just said, I see sadness in your eyes." His words made Sai's eyes widen but he dipped his head down. "Sai, my student, Quoi is in danger because he followed you. It's true he was foolish for doing that. But I know he was worried about you. He wanted to see what you were doing and make sure you weren't getting yourself into trouble. And because of his concern for you, he placed himself into grave danger." The young Kazekage's let out a shaky breath. "I took him in when his father was murdered by the Akatsuki. He had no friends, no family. But I took care of him. And I still want to take care of him. We have developed a bond that no one can break."
"But....he disobeyed you again......" Sai said his mouth parting a little.
With a sigh, Gaara lowered his head and looked at the ground. "I know. But the truth is....I can't give up on him. He's like a brother to me and I can't give him up. I need to save him from the danger. And the only way of doing that is you telling me where he is and what Orochimaru has done to him." He raised his eyes again and he looked right into Sai's eyes. "As a Kage, I would order you, demand you to tell me where my apprentice is. And because you said you only follow orders, you would tell me." But he shook his head as he dipped his head lower. "But I'm not going to. I'm going to ask you to tell me where he is. I have to find him." But then his eyes flashed open and he jerked his head around. "Damn it! Kabuto's coming." He whispered harshly.
Everyone stiffened and turned to look at the door, feeling the Chakra coming closer. They knew that if they didn't get out of there now, they would be discovered. Kankuro hurried over to the door and looked out only to duck back in and close the door quietly. He was swearing rapidly before looking right at Gaara. "We're not going out that way. He's down the hall."
Sighing, Gaara rose a hand, forming a sign. "Then it's my way." He glanced over at Sai, frowning at him. "Yamato-taichou, as much as I want to, I know we can't trust him. Please, bind him. And make it quick." He told him. Yamato nodded before hurrying over to Sai and creating wood to wrap around him. He and the others were surprised that he didn't even bother fighting them. Once Sai was bound, Gaara took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he formed a sign with his hand. The sand gourd on his back practically exploded before sweeping up the room's occupants and transporting them right out of the base.
Not more than few moments later, everyone was outside again, much to Gaara's discontent. He really wanted to go back into the base and find Quoi immediately. He had to find him. But first things first, dealing with Sai. Once they had Sai sitting back down against a large boulder, the young Kazekage sent his sand right back into the base, connected to him through his Third Eye technique. He wanted to try and locate the young boy first before he went storming back into the base. That way, he'd know where to go before Kabuto or Orochimaru could go hurt him.
"Unfortunately, Sai....." Yamato had began as he stood over the ninja in black. "We're going to have to leave you here with my Clone watching you."
Naruto nodded as he slammed a fist into his other hand, still glaring at Sai. "Now, to get back to what we came here for......" he looked away back to the entrance of the base. "It's time to rescue Quoi! And get back Sasuke!" He growled under his breath which made Gaara merely glance over to him before turning to searching throughout the base with his sand.
There was a short pause as Sai looked up at Naruto before he turned his head away, looking down at the ground. "It'd be better if you gave up now." That remark made one of Gaara's eyes snap open and glare at him, as did the others. "I met Sasuke. Orochimaru is always with Sasuke. If you continue to go after him, the best you'll manage is to be torn to pieces and turned into guinea pigs. Just like Quoi is now." Sai continued making every stiffen and look at him with alarm and confusion.
"What the hell do you mean?!" Kankuro demanded his hands balling up into fists.
Sai slowly lift his eyes up and looked right into Gaara's, who now had both eyes open and was glaring at him. He didn't seem to be afraid of the young Kazekage as he should have been. Especially with that very dangerous look trained on him. "Orochimaru plans on making Quoi one of his experiments. Ever since I told him that Quoi was your student. And he means to kill him if you show up around him. You're better off staying away if you want your student to live. As far as I know, Kabuto's already starting on his tests on Quoi. I believe he said that he needed to inject some kind of poison into Quoi's system whereas he has the only antidote that can save his life. But it's a poison that he'll need the antidote every 12 hours as Kabuto had explained to me when I asked."
"YOU SON OF BITCH!" Kankuro yelled before launching forward and slammed a fist into the side of Sai's head, knocking him side wards. He would have swung again if Naruto and Yamato had not hurried forward and grabbed his arms, pulling him back. "You told Orochimaru that Quoi was Gaara's student?! What kind of guy are you?!"
But Gaara was right in between his brother and Sai, holding up a hand to him and giving him a serious look. "Kankuro, keep it down. You'll alert Orochimaru by yelling like that and who knows what he'll do to Quoi if he hears you." He told him sternly before turning sharply back to the bound ninja on the ground. "Sai, what do you mean Kabuto's injecting some kind of poison into Quoi?"
Sai lift himself back up, even though it was rather difficult. He had one eye closed making a grimace from Kankuro's punch but then he looked back at Gaara. "Just as I said. It's a poison that will cause Quoi a lot of pain and he will never be able to leave Orochimaru or Kabuto's side because he'll need the antidote every 12 hours. Or that's what Kabuto told me. Like it or not, Quoi belongs to Orochimaru now. His very life depends on it. That is, if Kabuto has injected him with the poison yet." he then shook his head as he kept his eyes blankly on Gaara. "Of course, that is if he's still alive to be Kabuto's little guinea pig. The last time I saw Quoi, Sasuke Uchiha was dragging him away to use him as target practice for his Jutsu."
Those words cut deep into Gaara's heart, causing his face to drain of color. He could already imagine what Sasuke, himself might have done to Quoi. Kankuro, on the other hand, yanked away from both Naruto and Yamato, turning back to the base with a stone cold look on his face as he began hurrying over to the entrance. "I'm going back in. Try and stop me, and you won't like the results." he growled when Naruto had tried to grab his arm but the blonde stopped immediately.
No one spoke as they watched Kankuro dive right back through the entrance though Gaara's face also hardened and he rose his hand up sharply again to form the hand sign. He began to continue his search through the base. He had to try and help Kankuro find Quoi.
"Besides......Sakura said that you care for Sasuke as though he were your own brother, Naruto." Sai continued as he turned his dark eyes onto the blonde, whose back was turned to him. "But he said he doesn't even care about you anymore. And despite that.....do you really intend to go up against Orochimaru of all people, just for him. You're going to put your life on the line to bring him back? But why? It's not like you've been ordered to do this....."
There was a long silence between everyone but then slowly, Naruto turned back and faintly smiled at the memories. "Way back when, I used to hate Sasuke. But once I got used to being with him, I realized he's really a lot of fun to be around. He's the person that, more than anyone else besides Gaara, accepted me and my existence. He accepted both me and Gaara when no one else would." He tilted his head towards Gaara, who was keeping his eyes closed as he concentrated but he knew that he was listening. "Sasuke is our friend. And he represents bonds that I wanted so long to receive. So that's why. I know he wants to cut those bonds, but I refuse to. I'm going to make him see that. I'm going to make him accept that bond. He might want nothing more than to kill his own brother, and I don't blame him. Itachi murdered their entire family but him. He tortured Sasuke. So I will stand by Sasuke's side when he wouldn't!" Naruto said still forcing his smile.
"Bonds......" Sai murmured. He then lowered his head still looking at the ground. "Still, that's much reason....not if it means facing someone like Orochimaru."
Naruto just grinned as he shook his head. "If my arms get ripped off, I'll just kick him to death. If my legs get ripped off, I'll just bite him to death. If my head gets ripped off, I'll just stare at him to death. And if my eyes get ripped out, I'll just curse him to death." He lightly shrugged before moving over to Gaara's side and lightly tapped his shoulder with his knuckles. "Besides, he's scared to death of Shukaku. And if Orochimaru knows what's good for him, he'll give Quoi back right now before he ends up facing a pain worst than death." His face went very serious as he looked at Sai. "Cause Gaara's very scary when he gets pissed off. And he's starting to get pissed because Orochimaru had the gull to touch Quoi. You might not be able to tell because Gaara's really serious but I think you'll get the idea when you watch him rip Orochimaru apart." He paused for a long moment but still kept his eyes on Sai. "Even if it means getting torn to pieces, I'm going to take Sasuke back from Orochimaru no matter what! And I'm gonna help Gaara save Quoi! I don't care if you're not with us and your on that Danzo freak's side. We ARE getting Quoi and Sasuke back! With or without your help!" He growled at him.
For a moment, no one spoke as they stared at the blonde; Yamato, Sakura and Sai that is. Gaara was still concentrating on his sand within the base. He was starting to get irritated because he was having a hard time finding Quoi. The corridors of the base was so dark and there were so many twists and turns. There wasn't even a sign of Orochimaru or Kabuto. He had spotted Kankuro running through the dark, searching frantically for Quoi but the sand moved on.
"Once my clone's ready, we're going." Yamato told him now folding his hands together into a sign.
And right at that moment, Gaara's eyes snapped wide open when he had suddenly saw something within the corridor that had caught his attention but so did the rain of kunai flying at them. He knew he had to break away from his sand for now because of the threat that was coming at him and the others.
Quickly, he launched himself away from Sai as did the other three. They moved several feet away to avoid getting hit by the kunai before they all turned to glare at Kabuto as he dropped down in between them and Sai. He was smirking coldly directly at Gaara, whose face was very dark. "Sai....judging from your situation...I suppose this means you were captured." He then quickly moved towards Sai, bending down beside him. "Since it doesn't seem you've betrayed us....I'll trust you, for now." He told him before holding up a glowing blue hand and slicing through the wood binding Sai.
"Kabuto!" Gaara growled viciously through his teeth.
Sakura shook her head with the same deadly look as she watched Sai stand up and stand right by Kabuto, who was smirking at them. "This guy just doesn't give up......" She hissed between her rosy lips.
Naruto glared hatefully at Kabuto but shook his head as he stood in a crouch, looking ready to pounce at his enemy. "If you two are going to get into my way.....then I'm not going to be holding back!" He then nodded towards the two clones he had standing above Kabuto and Sai, who had a Rasengan ready. They launched their selves downward at the two, moving as fast as they could.
But as soon as they got close enough. Kabuto whirled around and high kicked the Naruto clones away from him and Sai, causing them to explode into smoke and leaves. "So pointless....." He chuckled.
"Fights aren't decided till the very end, and we're just getting started!!" Naruto yelled at him.
Kabuto just laughed and shook his head before straightening himself and smirking at the blonde from across the way. "No, no. That's not what I meant. Watching you makes me truly feel pity. People change." He shook his head again as he lift it higher. "Sasuke is no longer the Sasuke you used to know." He then turned his eyes over to Gaara, who was looking very ferocious right now. "As for your precious little student, he won't live long enough to see you again, Master Gaara. I can guarantee you, he'll be changing very soon. The poison that Sai just mentioned to you," he grinned cruelly. "It hasn't been injected into him yet but I will soon enough. And I can promise you, if he doesn't stay with Orochimaru-sama, he. Will. Die. Very. Horribly. And painfully. I don't know what Orochimaru-sama sees in the little brat, but I'm pretty sure he's planning on using him as a new vessel at some point."
Gaara very well nearly exploded with rage and even almost transformed into Shukaku. The demon inside was roaring with his own rage and he was screaming to be let out to kill Kabuto and then move onto eating Orochimaru before they could hurt Quoi. His eyes even started to dark and his sand skin started to crack a little.
But.....something stopped him.
And that something not only startled him and his companions but Kabuto as well for Sai had ducked right around the gray haired medic and quickly trapped his arms behind his back, holding him tightly. "Wha-what are you doing?!" Kabuto exclaimed looking over his shoulder with shock.
Sai gave him a very dark look as he tightened his hold on Kabuto's arms, keeping him from moving at all. "You say people change....and here I am." He said darkly. "But there are also things that don't change......bonds. I want to see what they're really made of." He let his eyes flicker over to Naruto then over to Gaara. "As for you threatening Quoi, I found myself not liking it the very minute he showed up in the forest and Orochimaru telling us that we were taking him with us to make him an experiment. I don't understand what exactly I felt when he said that he was going to make Quoi into his little test subject, but I didn't like it. I couldn't say what was really on my mind because I would blow my cover and my mission would be for nothing. I have been planning on finding Quoi before you could do anything to him and lead him out of the base so he could escape from the beginning. But hearing that last remark, I think it's best to up my plan now."
All three, Gaara, Naruto and Sakura looked at Sai with surprise but they felt truth behind his words. They sensed that Sai had been very serious about saving Quoi and letting him go in secret. The young Kazekage felt his face soften and his respect was slowly returning for Sai, if he had any. "Sai....." He murmured.
"Sai! Just keep him still like that!" Yamato told him before quickly slapping his hands together and having rise out of the ground.
Once Kabuto was bound and sitting exactly where Sai had just been a few moments ago, everyone was standing in front of him, while glowered at them. Gaara turned his eyes onto Sai as had Naruto. They had to hand it to him, he was pretty deceiving but they were happy that he was doing it for them and their causes. "Sai.....why did you.....?" Naruto began.
The raven haired ninja turned and faced both of them frowning. "Why is it that you place so much value in the bonds between you and Sasuke? What exactly are those bonds you speak of....I decided I need to know the answer to these questions myself." He faked his smile as he looked at them and even let his eyes flicker over to Sakura. "According to you three, I've been unable to get rid of the bonds that formed between me and my brother." he shook his head as he kept his fake smile on his face. "If those bonds are so important to me...then I might be able to figure something out if I see the bonds between you and Sasuke, Naruto. And you and Quoi, Gaara. That's all."
There was a pause before Naruto, Gaara and Sakura faintly smiled right back at Sai. They were beginning to see a change in Sai and they were starting to understand him. The young Kazekage felt his respect for him starting to grow stronger and he was starting to will himself to liking him. "Sai.....thank you." He couldn't help but murmur to the pale ninja.
"Heh, heh." Kabuto started to laugh quietly before shaking his head. "The four of you don't know the real Sasuke-kun."
The moment of peace was gone and everyone was looking at Kabuto with serious looks. They didn't really like the way he was laughing. It was too sinister and there was no doubt something that he wasn't telling them. Frowning darkly, Sakura narrowed her eyes at Kabuto. "What's so funny?" She asked him dryly.
Slowly, Kabuto lift his head to look at the five before him. He had such an evil look in his eyes that it made Gaara feel uneasy. He was smirking up at the Leaf ninja and the Kazekage with such evil. "If I'm guessing right, he'll still be in his inner chamber." He admitted about Sasuke. "After all, he had been planning on training against the boy. Orochimaru-sama and I had believed that he would severely beat the brat. But I was surprised when I didn't find them in the Dojo. Sasuke had taken the kid to his chambers and had actually cleaned his wounds, as if he had been worried about him. But that wasn't it at all. He was only getting information from the boy about Gaara, asking how strong he had become so that he would know what he'd be up against if the Kazekage had found him. He didn't even try and stop me when I found that little brat so that I could begin my tests on him. He just simply shoved him towards me and told me to do whatever I wanted to Quoi. He didn't even care what happened to him." He shook his head as he continued to smirk at them. "There are a large number of rooms strewn all throughout the base. If you end up looking in each, you might find him. Still...if you aren't careful, you might chance upon a snake as well. Orochimaru-sama keeps his quarters in the same area after all." he told them.
Gaara glared at him, knowing that there was another angle he was getting at. But knowing Kabuto, he was going to draw it out until the last minute, where it was close to being too late to do anything. Yamato just shook his head and shifted his weight. "I thank you for being so honest." he remarked dryly.
Kabuto chuckled but shook his head. "Oh, you shouldn't be thanking me." He said smirking.
"You expect us, the hunters, to become the prey then?" Yamato asked, narrowing his eyes and when Kabuto nodded he shook his head. Now, fights aren't decided till the very end."
Again Kabuto chuckled but shook his head as he lift his head a little. He looked rather nastily at them. "Oh, it's been decided already. At least the part about the boy. If you hurry, you might just be able to stop me from killing him, myself. Since that is one thing that you're after." He told them and then smiled wickedly when every one of them stiffened. He snorted with cruel laughter and shook his head. "Oh, come on. You're suppose to be an ANBU and you're suppose to be the Almighty Kazekage of the Sand Village, the One Tailed Jinchuriki host, Gaara." His eyes flickered between Yamato and Gaara still grinning evilly at them. "Surely you haven't noticed that I'm not even here. You're not the only ones who can create Clones."
'Damn it! I knew there was something fishy about him! That's a Corpse Clone! Kabuto's not even there! He's heading for wherever Quoi is!' Shukaku roared within Gaara's head.
Gaara's eyes snapped wide open as he looked at Kabuto, whose eyes surely enough went very blank and his head dropped down on his chest. He felt his entire being just freeze. "He's a corpse?!" He couldn't help but demand out loud at Shukaku, making everyone look wide eyed at him before Yamato launched forward to check. "Shukaku! You knew that and you didn't even tell me!" The young Kazekage yelled at his demon.
'Hey, hey! I didn't know just yet, all right! This idiot just smelt like death, as he always does! So I wasn't too sure until now!'
Yamato even swore as soon as he checked 'Kabuto's' vitals and then shook his head as he whirled around on his heels, looking sternly at everyone. "This isn't Kabuto! It's just a corpse he was using that looked like him! He was never here!" He told them.
"Where is Kabuto then?!" Naruto exclaimed looking at the corpse with wide eyes.
Gaara reached up and gripped a fist full of his hair before his teeth clenched tight and he dropped his hand into a sign. "He's going after Quoi! And he's probably going to warn Orochimaru about us!" He exclaimed, still very angry that he had been deceived and he didn't even notice. He was cursing himself as he immediately began picking up right where he left off and sending out his sand to search the base for Quoi or Kabuto, hoping that he'd find them very quickly. This time he was doing it more frantically.
Yamato jumped into the action immediately and pointed at the entrance. "We're moving in, now! Gaara, you best try and locate Quoi before Kabuto does and if you're lucky, Kabuto! If you find him first, feel free to kill him. He's threatening your student and a young boy so he deserves to die! We'll split up into two teams to search for Sasuke. Sakura and I will form one, Naruto and Sai on the other! If something comes up, focus your Chakra. That will be more than enough to produce a reaction in the seeds I have in your bodies. I'll be there for you at a moment's notice! Now let's hurry before we lose any more time!" he told them as he was running towards the entrance.
Sai was immediately hurrying after while Naruto and Sakura hesitated to look at Gaara as he stood right there, concentrating on his sand. "Gaara, good luck. And hurry!" The pink haired Kunoichi said before she bolted after Yamato and Sai. Naruto nodded to his best friend before hurrying after.