Chapter 28: Truths, Plans, and Worries
Gaara woke up to find himself in a pitch black area that didn't seem to end.
"Where am I?" asked Gaara as he looked around at his darkened surroundings.
"Son?" asked a masculine voice from out of the darkness.
"What was that voice?" asked Gaara as he continued to look around.
"I'm right here." answered the voice from behind Gaara.
The young Kazekage turned around to see a man appear from the darkness. He looked almost like Kankuro, except he was older and wasn't wearing any face paint.
"Father?" asked Gaara, not believing what he was seeing in front of him.
"Hello son." answered the Yondaime Kazekage as he walked closer to his youngest child.
"Am I dead?" asked Gaara bluntly as he looked around at their empty surroundings.
"No you are not." answered the Fourth as he crossed his arms.
"Where are we then?" asked Gaara as he looked at his father.
"In your subconscious." answered the Yondaime Kazekage flatly as he raised an eyebrow at his youngest son.
"Shouldn't I be dead?" asked Gaara as he looked down at the ground in anger.
"No, your allies saved you. You live to fight another day." answered the Fourth.
"But how can I beat a guy like Seiriyu? He's too powerful!" exclaimed Gaara in anger as he continued to look at the ground.
"You'll figure it out." answered the Fourth with sincerity.
"How can I? I lost! The village is going to be invaded and I…" Gaara trailed off as he looked off to the side.
"Lost your girlfriend?" suggested the Yondaime as he walked closer to his son.
Gaara didn't speak, but he nodded his head with a glum yes in answer.
"Look son, we'll win some battles and lose some battles. The key to winning battles is to learn from your past mistakes and improve on them. It also helps to understand your enemies better so you can figure out their weaknesses more easily." advised the elder Kazekage.
"Good advice, Father." said a sarcastic Gaara as he crossed his arms. "I'll use it next time."
"You'll figure it out eventually. Just let your instincts guide you to the right answers." said the Fourth. A tired look appeared on his face and he turned away from Gaara.
"I must go." said the elder man as he started to walk away from Gaara.
"What?" asked Gaara as he looked at the man's back.
"I can no longer maintain this form Gaara. I must leave before all my chakra dissipates." answered the Yondaime Kazekage as he continued to walk away from his son.
"Wait, before you go, I have one question to ask you. Why did you order the execution of Seiriyu's clan?" asked Gaara as he ran up to his father.
The Yondaime stopped walking and turned towards his youngest child. "You really want to know son?"
"I do." answered Gaara. "If I'm going to understand Seiriyu, then I need to know about that execution order."
"Fine, I'll tell you." said the Fourth in defeat. "I ordered the execution order against the Kotowashi Clan because they posed a serious threat to Suna. They were creating a large army to invade Suna."
"Why?" asked Gaara. "What did Suna ever do to them?"
"The Kotowashi Clan was originally one of Suna's premier clans before they were exiled from the village."
"Exiled?" asked Gaara.
"Indeed; they were planning an assassination attempt against the Second Kazekage. He found out about it and confronted the Kotowashi Clan leader. The Clan leader challenged him to a duel and fought well. But in the end, the Second prevailed. He killed the Clan leader and exiled the rest of his family from Suna."
"I see." commented Gaara.
"The Second sent ANBU members to watch the Clan after they were exiled. We soon learned that they moved to Amegakure and became prominent members in their society. They used their status to grow an army."
"An army to attack Suna for revenge for their exile and the death of their Clan leader?" asked Gaara.
"Exactly; but before they could get their plan fully into action, I ordered the execution order and had the entire clan eradicated." said the Fourth glumly.
"They weren't completely eradicated. Seiriyu said that he and his cousin Mioka are the only survivors." replied Gaara.
"I see. Maybe his cousin can be of some help to you." said the Fourth as he turned away from Gaara.
"How will she be helpful?" asked Gaara.
"I don't know, but if she pleaded with her cousin to spare your life, then she must be of some good." said the Fourth as he began to disappear.
"Father, wait!" exclaimed Gaara as he tried to reach him.
"I know you will succeed my son. I have faith in you." said the Yondaime Kazekage as he completely disappeared.
"He has faith in me?" asked Gaara incredulously to himself.
"Gaara!" yelled a new and familiar voice.
"Kankuro?" asked Gaara in surprise.
"Gaara!" yelled a feminine voice.
"Temari?" asked Gaara as he looked around the area. "Where are you?"
"Wake up Gaara!" yelled Kankuro.
"Come back to us Gaara!" yelled Temari.
"But I'm right here!" exclaimed Gaara. "Damn it. I need to wake up."
Gaara closed his eyes tightly and began to concentrate.
"AHHHHH!" Gaara yelled as he sat up. He then winced in pain and grabbed his broken ribs.
"You're awake!" yelled Ryu happily as she climbed onto Gaara's shoulders.
"Good to know you're not dead again after all!" exclaimed Kankuro with a worried grin.
Temari slapped him upside his head.
"Sorry!" said Kankuro as he rubbed his sore temple.
"How are you feeling little brother?" asked Temari as she turned her attention to the bandaged redhead.
"I'll live." said Gaara bluntly as he looked around the room, which was dusty and run down. "Why does it look like we're in an abandoned warehouse and how long was I out?"
"Because we are in one. And to answer your second question, you've been out for three days." answered Daisuke as he walked into the room.
"Where are we?" asked Gaara as he turned to his siblings.
"We're hiding out in a warehouse on the outskirts of the capital city. After Seiriyu left the arena, ANBU members were sent to capture us. We avoided them and have been here ever since." answered Kankuro as he looked through a broken window that was boarded up with wood. "Daisuke here is a trained medical nin. He's the one that bandaged you up."
Gaara looked down at himself to see that the only thing that was covering his chest were white bandages. There were some wrapped around his arms as well. Gaara turned to the advisor. "Thank you."
"Just doing my job." answered Daisuke as he sat next to Temari.
"What about Izuka?" asked Gaara, but he already knew the answer.
"Seiriyu took her. He's probably back at the tower right at this minute planning out his invasion." said Ryu in a pissed tone. Gaara couldn't help but share the sentiment.
"What does he even plan to do with her anyway?" asked Kankuro as he put his hands in his pockets.
"There are many possibilities Kankuro. He could use the tailed beasts within her to aid in his attack against Suna, absorb her massive amounts of chakra to make it his own, or gloat to the world that he beat the Kazekage and has the Sage of the Sixth Paths in his possession." said Temari nonchalantly.
Everyone gave her blank glares.
"Too much?" asked Temari.
"Just a tad." answered Ryu.
"All those possibilities are bad nonetheless. We need to rescue the Lady Sage and stop the invasion. Duel or no duel." said Daisuke.
"And how can we accomplish that?' asked Kankuro.
"Mioka could be of some help." said Gaara a little hopefully.
"Mioka? You mean Seiriyu's secretary slash cousin?" asked Ryu as she turned to Gaara.
"Exactly; if she was able to get Seiriyu to not kill me when he had the chance, then there is some good in her." said Gaara as he crossed his arms.
"That's not a bad idea, Gaara. Where'd you think of that?" asked Temari.
"Father?" answered Gaara blankly.
"Huh?" asked everybody else.
Gaara proceeded to tell the others all about the talk he had with his father within the confines of his mind.
"The whole Kotowashi clan was bad news right from the get go." said Daisuke in understanding.
"That's one troubled clan, ever since the time of the Second Kazekage." Temari said to herself.
"Well at least we know a little about Seiriyu's past." said Ryu. "It could be useful to us in the future."
"You may be right Ryu. So, what's the plan?" asked Kankuro. "Quietly break into the Dictator's tower, find Izuka, rescue her, and somehow breakup the invasion?"
Everyone else gave each other sheepish looks.
"Oh boy." said Kankuro as he placed his head in his hands.
"What choice do we have Kankuro? Seiriyu probably has all the city gates guarded, so getting back up is out of the picture." said Temari.
"Plus if we fly, I think a large purple serpentine dragon will definitely be noticeable in the sky." said a sarcastic Ryu as she flew around the room.
"You make a good point." said Kankuro with a nervous laugh.
"The plan you just said Kankuro is basically our only option." said Temari.
"I guess so." said Kankuro as he turned to his little brother, who managed to stand up on his own.
"You think you're healed enough, Gaara?" asked Kankuro with a hint of worry in his voice.
"I'll manage." said Gaara as he took a scroll out of his pack. He unsealed it and a spare red coat, vest, and shirt appeared from out of the smoke.
"How many do you have?" asked Temari as she watched Gaara put on a spare shirt and then his coat and then his vest.
"A few." answered Gaara as he turned to the rest of them.
"How are you going to fight without your sand?" asked Ryu.
"I actually carried a spare sand gourd sealed in a scroll with me on our trip, but I gave it to Izuka for safekeeping." said Gaara as he scratched his head.
"Well now, all we need to do is get to Izuka first and then disrupt the invasion." said Temari as she placed her fan on her back.
"This is one of the few days that the sun has actually appeared and the rain stopped. The time now is 6 p.m." said Daisuke as he looked at his watch.
"We leave for the tower when the sun sets." said Gaara.
"Right!" said everybody else.
Gaara walked over to the window that Kankuro was standing in front of earlier. He looked out of it and instantly laid his eyes on the Dictator's tower in the distance.
"I hope you're okay Izuka. I promise to get you out of there. Just stay safe and don't let Seiriyu try anything." thought Gaara as he looked at the tower with a determined look on his face.
At the dictator's tower
Izuka finally awoke to see that she was in the living room of the Sand Sibling's suite in the Dictator's tower.
"I'm in the suite?" asked Izuka to no one in the room.
She got up from the couch she was laying on and walked over to one of the large windows. She looked at the clouds and noticed the sun starting to set on the horizon.
"I must have been out for a few days at least." Izuka said to herself. "That was some black lightning I was shocked with."
"Good night to watch the full moon, huh?" asked a mischievous voice from within the room.
Izuka spun around to see Seiriyu sitting on one of the recliners with a smug smile on his face.
"What are you doing here?' asked Izuka.
"I'm just admiring my prize." said Seiriyu with a full blown smirk on his face.
"Prize?" asked Izuka as she walked a few tentative steps over to Seiriyu.
"Indeed. I won the duel between me and your boyfriend." answered Seiriyu.
"He's not dead, is he?" said Izuka a tad unsure to herself.
"Not really. I spared his life, but the wounds I've dealt him should be enough to kill him. Unless his siblings, advisor, and your dragon save him somehow." answered Seiriyu in annoyance.
"Oh, they'll definitely save him. There not going to let him die a second time." said Izuka in a cold voice.
"Then it's a good thing I sent my ANBU after them." said Seiriyu as he got up from his chair and walked into the kitchen. Izuka cautiously followed him.
"What are you going to do with me?" asked Izuka as she stood in the kitchen doorway.
"I'm going to keep you locked in my tower for now and I have made sure of it that you can't escape." said Seiriyu as he took out a water bottle from the fridge and took a swig from it.
"How so?" asked Izuka.
"Look at your wrists to find out." said Seiriyu as he pointed to Izuka's hands.
Izuka looked down to see a kanji seals scribbled right around her wrists. She looked at the dictator in annoyance.
"What are these?" asked Izuka in agitation.
"Those kanjis are seals that will shock you with the same black lightning I shocked you with earlier if you even try to step a foot out of this suite. We wouldn't want a repeat of that now do we?" asked Seiriyu as he walked past her.
"You're bluffing." said Izuka.
"I never bluff when I'm serious Lady Sage-san." said Seiriyu as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, bolts of black lightning emanated from the seals and started to shock her.
"AAAAH!" said Izuka as she felt the lightning ravage her body once again.
Seiriyu snapped his fingers to cease the lightning.
"It's a lot more subdued from the first time." commented Izuka as she shakily got back up to her feet.
"Very perceptive of you Izuka." said Seiriyu as he stopped in front of the door. "The seal gives you a lesser shock, but it still gives you pain, doesn't it?" he asked with his sadistic grin.
Izuka turned to him, but she didn't answer him.
"In two hours, you will join me as my date for a celebratory banquet down in the tower's main hall. I'll send a servant here in a few minutes with your outfit for the event. The banquet will be attended by many influential citizens of Amegakure, including the Rain Daimyo, so please, play nice." said Seiriyu as he opened the door.
"I'll see you then, my Lady Sage-san." said Seiriyu with a smirk as he left the room, closing the door behind him with a silent click.
Izuka let out an annoyed groan as she slowly walked over to the window. She looked out into the city skyline.
"Gaara, I hope you and the others are all right, wherever you are." she thought to herself as she looked out into the city, wondering if this never ending nightmare was ever going to end.
End of chapter 28.
A/N: Please review and vote on poll.
BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUTS: Happy birthday tomorrow, January 23, Shino Aburame from Naruto!