Chapter 58: Sleep Talk

"You . . . You were never taken to Amegakure . . .? Gaara asked her in a breathless whisper as he looked at her with as much shock as he could muster. "You were never there to begin with?"

"That's correct . . ." Izuka responded with a small shake of her head. "I was never taken to the country after I was kidnapped. I haven't set foot there since Seiriyu was still its' dictator."

"Then that would mean the surveillance mission to figure out your location . . ."

"Is all for nothing . . ." said Izuka as she finished his statement. "Since it was obvious that Rain nin were the ones that kidnapped me, the Rain Daimyo knew that the Five Great Nations would focus on the Land of Rain itself in terms of places that they could have possibly taken me."

"Amegakure is the obvious location they could have taken you, so we focused our attention there, and he used our assumption to his advantage and had you brought to another location to go through 'reeducation' . . ." grumbled the young Kazekage as he shook his head. "And we played into his hand, hook, line, and sinker."

"That's correct . . ." said Izuka as she shook her head. ". . . Unfortunately."

"How . . . how exactly have you been faring through what they've been putting you through for these past few months?" Gaara suddenly asked as he took a step forward toward her.

"It hasn't been exactly bearable Gaara," said Izuka as she leaned back against a wall. "They've been putting me through hell in order to get me on their side. Starvation, different types of genjutsu . . . They're trying anything and everything in order to break me."

"Have they tried anything on the tailed beasts so far?"

"The people in charge of reeducating me tried to control the tailed beasts themselves at first, but their plan quickly failed," explained Izuka as she shook her head. "They found that trying to take control of eight beasts that reside in one body was much more difficult than controlling one beast in one body. So, they quickly changed tactics."

"They figured that if they couldn't control the tailed beasts directly, they would control the jinchuriki instead . . ." said Gaara as he pieced it together. "They're 'reeducating' you in the hopes of getting you to use the power of the tailed beasts for their gain."

. . . And of course, none of the tailed beasts are for that idea." said Izuka as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Do you have any idea where the Rain nin have taken you Izuka," Gaara asked her as his face went all serious. "Any idea at all?"

"No . . . I was placed in a wooden cocoon when the Rain nin kidnapped me remember?" said Izuka as she shook her head. "They made sure to not let me aware of anything on the surrounding area once we reached the location. However. . ."

"However . . . what Izuka?" asked Gaara as he looked at her suspiciously. "What are you going to say?"

"What I was going to say is that the Rain Daimyo would eventually visit the complex from time to time to check on the progress," said Izuka as she closed her eyes. "His usual base of operations is his palace and since he knows that he'll be treated like an enemy if he leaves the Land of Rain and comes into a territory that is allied with the Five Shinobi Nations, he's not going to travel far."

"So, you're basically saying that you're in a location that is close to the Land of Rain, that is also considered an ally to the Land of Rain." said Gaara as he began to put the pieces together.

"Yes, so I suggest you look towards shinobi lands that share a border with the Land of Rain, who the Rain in also consider as allies," advised Izuka as her voice took on a scholarly tone. "It's probably your best bet to finding me now."

"Don't worry. I will," said Gaara as he shook his head. "So what's this about agents in the Five Great Villages Izuka?"

"Amegakure is trying to ruin the Five Great Villages from the inside out," said Izuka as she shook her head. "Not only is it using its own men, they're hiring mercenary groups and even missing nin you find in bingo books in order to do the job. They've only been assigned one job, to basically cripple the villages by whatever means necessary."

"So that once Amegakure finally makes a move to fight the villages, we won't be at full power when we face them," said Gaara as Izuka walked over to him. "The worst part is, because they hired outside sources, it'll be hard to tell the difference between a regular missing nin and a missing nin working for Amegakure."

"Missing nin have to be captured, regardless if they're working for an enemy village or working independently," said Izuka as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hopefully, the agents will be caught before they do anything disastrous to the villages."

"I share your sentiment," said Gaara as he wrapped his arms around Izuka's skinny frame. "You have grown a bit smaller since the last time I saw you Izuka."

"If that was your way of saying that I got skinnier, then yes, yes I have gotten smaller since the last time you've seen me," said Izuka as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I did say that they used starvation as a tactic to get me to crack. It hasn't worked so far, but it did help me to lose a little weight."

"As if you needed to lose any more weight," said Gaara as he shook his head. "You were stunning when you still had the weight on, and you're still stunning now, even if you're skinnier than usual."

"Hmm . . . thanks Gaara," said Izuka as she let out a deep breath, her eyes looking tired as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can't hold the connection any longer Gaara. I have to go."

"I know, but I don't want to see you go." said the redhead as the two locked eyes.

"I don't want to go either, but it is what it is," said Izuka as she let a sheepish smirk come across her face. "But I know you and the others can find me. I just know it. I have faith in you guys."

"Your level of confidence is relieving . . ." said the Kazekage as he noticed the area around them was starting to darken. "I promise you will be found. I swear it."

"Thanks . . ." said Izuka as she let out a small breath. She leaned in and kissed Gaara right on the lips, the young Kazekage receiving it with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he saw sunlight shining into his room through the window. He sat up and soon realized that he was no longer in the darkened hallway, but he was back in reality, in his room, in his house, in Suna.

"Soon Izuka . . ." said Gaara as he crumpled his bed sheets in his fists. "We'll get you back . . . I promise."

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