Chapter 56: Frazzled Nerves

"Meeting adjourned!" called the young Kazekage as he looked around the table at his weary looking group of council members. After spending the last two and a half hours discussing the Amegakure issue with the council, Gaara felt tired and irritated as he watched as most of his council left the room. Baki, Temari, and Kankuro were the only ones that lingered behind, all of them looking at the young redhead as he let out a deep breath and closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Things are not going to get easier from this day forward if Amegakure continues to act like the way it has these past few months."

"I can't help but agree with you on that one little bro . . ." said Kankuro as he shook his head. "Things may just get worse before they even get better."

"I wonder how Ryu and Mibiku are doing over at the Library?" mumbled Temari as she brought a hand to her chin. "I guess we'll ask them later when they find something useful . . ."

"I bet they'll find something soon enough . . ." said Baki as he got out of his chair and made his way toward the door, but stopped when he grasped the doorknob and turned to look over his shoulder. ". . . It's been a long day. You three should probably go home and get some rest."

Gaara looked up at the turban wearing ninja with a stoic look on his face before letting out another deep breath. He knew Baki was right about getting some much needed rest. He wouldn't be any help if he deprived himself of sleep, like Shukaku did to him for a number of years.

"You're right Baki . . . We do need to get some rest." mumbled Gaara as he looked him in the eye.

"A good night's sleep can always do a person some good." Kankuro further added as he shot out of his seat.

"I'll see you all in the morning then, well rested . . ." said Baki as he opened the door. Once he had left the room, Temari and Kankuro turned to Gaara to see that he was looking out the window once again.

"Damn, Gaara must be hurting inside . . ." Kankuro whispered to his sister as the two continued to eye their brother wearily.

"Duh, you would too if you knew that your super-powerful girlfriend was being 'reeducated' in order to side with the enemy . . ." mumbled Temari as she shook her head. "I just it can't be helped."

"You two do know that I can still hear you right?" asked Gaara as he turned to them with a stoic expression. "My hearing isn't that bad you know."

"Sorry . . ." said Temari as she walked over to him. "We understand how much you dislike this whole Amegakure situation, but we just gotta believe that Izuka won't succumb to the Rain's 'reeducation' tactics. She's a strong girl Gaara. She'll pull through this . . ."

"Sis is right bro . . ." said Kankuro as he walked over to the two with his hands in his pockets. "If anyone can pull through such a dreary situation like being tortured by the enemy for months on end, it's Izuka. She'll persevere . . . And if not, then I guess Naruto inherited all the perseverance from their parents when they were born after all."

"Did you have to say that last part!?" exclaimed Temari as she slapped her brother right in the side of his head. "That last part was so not needed Kankuro!"

"Sorry!" whined the puppeteer as he rubbed his aching temple. "I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry if I was out of context."

"It's okay Kankuro . . ." said Gaara as he finally got out of his seat. "Let's go home and get some rest. We can all think a little clearly after getting a few hours of sleep."

Kankuro and Temari nodded their heads in agreement before following their younger sibling out of the room. They quickly exited the building and made their way through the quiet streets of Suna toward their home. When they reached the gate of their home, all of their eyes widened when they saw Ryu laid out on the top step reading through a very old looking scroll, her eyes scanning the parchment intently.

"We didn't expect you to be back at the house so soon Ryu . . ." said Temari as the three walked up the steps. "I guess you didn't have to look for long till you found something interesting for us to see. . ."

"You got that right Temari . . . Mibiku is still at the library looking through the archives. He plans to pull an all-nighter and I'm going to join him," said the dragon as she began to float up in the air before landing on Gaara's tired shoulders. "But before I go back, Mibiku and I thought it would be in your best interests if you three took a look at this scroll we found."

"What's it about?" asked Kankuro as Ryu handed the old scroll to let him take a look at it first.

"It's probably the best possibility theory in what happens if Izuka isn't wearing her amulet for a long period of time," explained Ryu as she watched as Gaara and Temari looked through the scroll. "Parts of it are written in very old Japanese, but it's still readable enough."

"It says here that if Izuka doesn't wear her amulet for a long period of time, then she slowly reverts into that other her . . . that jinchuriki version of her." mumbled Temari as she read through the old document.

"A more . . . uncontrollable version of her . . ." mumbled Gaara as he narrowed his eyes at the document.

"Yeah . . . more uncontrollable, but not uncontainable . . ." explained Ryu as she as shook her head. "If Izuka's more uncontrollable, then that would mean she'll become less focused and less aware of her surroundings. The Rain nin could definitely take advantage of that and contain her much more easily."

"But it doesn't guarantee complete control of her . . . right?" asked Kankuro as he raised an eyebrow.

"No, it doesn't guarantee complete control of her. It just guarantees that Izuka can become somewhat more containable. That's a start." mumbled Ryu as Gaara handed her back the scroll.

"But . . . this is just a theory right? It's not possible . . . right?" asked Temari as she turned to the dragon.

"I don't know about that Temari," mumbled Ryu as she shook her head. "I've been with Izuka for a long time. I've seen her when she loses control. Like the scroll says, I've seen her become less focused and less aware, which has allowed others to contain her better. Once they contained her, it didn't take long for her to settle down on her own. . . Ryuna wasn't one for letting her jinchurikis just waste away her chakra like it was just a simple commodity."

"I don't know how to feel about this Ryu . . ." mumbled Gaara as he shook his head. "This doesn't help to settle my nerves one bit."

"I know . . . This is just something for us to think about," said Ryu as she began to float in the air. "I'm going to head back to the library now. I'll come back when Mibiku and I find something more substantial. See you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" called Kankuro as the three watched the dragon as she flew away. "Now what?"

"Let's go inside, eat, and then go to sleep . . ." mumbled Temari as she let out a yawn. "I'm beat."

"Alright then . . ." said Kankuro as he began to follow his sister into the house, stopping when he noticed that Gaara wasn't following after them. "Bro, you coming or what?"

"Oh . . . I'm coming . . ." said Gaara as he continued to look down the path where Ryu flew off to. He soon enough turned around and followed his brother inside, his nerves still on edge, his worry still on focused on his captured girlfriend.

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