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Sand in the Leaves	By : ahmenet Category: Naruto > General Views: 1273 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
“Honey! I’m
home!”

The door slammed behind
Kakashi as he lifted the collar of his shirt to wipe the sand from
his eye. Having not been in the desert during a sand storm in ages
he’d forgotten what a pain in the ass it was to work through.

“Even got sand in
my jocks.” He muttered as Yugao came around the corner.

“Storm bad?”
She asked and walked to the mat set up in a small dining corner.

“No worse than
normal I’m sure.” He intoned while dropping to his place
and inspecting the sand still trapped between his toes. “I
need a bath.”

She nodded and tapped
the knobbed handle of a seal against the table. “What did they
say?”

“I am to
accompany the genin contingent to the Hidden Leaf Village. My
support of our youth is commendable and they are pleased that I was
willing to leave my wife behind to perform such an important task.”
He looked up and his uncovered lips curled in a sneer. “And I
will receive more ‘detailed’ instructions the day before
departure.”

She nodded solemnly and
pulled out a small message scroll.

“How many of the
original council members are there?”

“Two.” He
gave her names and descriptions which she dutifully wrote on the
scroll.

“Units one and
four reported the west gates have been sealed. They’re working
on rerouting now. Someone also noticed a few of the vendors haven’t
been showing up for the last two weeks. A group has moved in to deal
with the rumors and work up the stories. By the time this is over
with it will look like this guy took out half the village.”
Yugao lifted the brush and dipped it the ink well once again to add
another note.

“By the time they
figure it out it will be too late.” Kakashi ran his hand
through his short choppy locks.

Yugao smiled and
pointed the brush toward his head. “I still can’t
believe you cut it.”

He shrugged then looked
over the scroll. “It’ll grow back. How’s
Kankuro?”

The smile slipped from
her face and he tensed as she lowered her eyes to put the brush back
in the well.

“When I went in
today he was running a high fever. It took longer than usual to get
it under control.”

Kakashi frowned. “Will
the seal hold out to the removal date?”

She nodded. “I’ve
modified my schedule but this will most likely happen again.”
She sighed. “It looks like one of his former students or some
close friend is tattooing his face markings on in the traditional
manner. They’re doing it alone or at least using fewer needles
so it takes longer.”

Kakashi’s one eye
closed for a moment. “And with fewer needles the chance for
infection is higher not to mention it’s extremely painful.”
He took a moment before nodding for her to continue.

“Watching him
daily I can make sure the wounds don’t go septic but I can’t
stop the high fevers and it’s possible, as you said, he could
develop a serious infection.”

“Is there a way
to stop this man from continuing?”

“Aside from
killing him I don’t think there is one. And sadly, he would
be missed. He’s a puppeteer and apparently one of the better
ones.” Yugao shook her head in disgust as she lifted the brush
and completed the message.

“Then we do what
we can but under no circumstances are we allowing capture. If the
seal fails before the time lapses we will simply have to take our
chances and hope he’s strong enough to survive. We won’t
leave him but I’m not losing anyone on this.”

She nodded and rolled
the scroll. “I’ll warn him of the eventuality.”

“Good.”
Kakashi reached for the scroll and preformed the hand signs to seal
it.

“Do you have
sentry duty tonight?” She handed him the ink and metal seal.

“No.” He
press the inked seal into the scroll and tucked it into his jacket
and readjusted his forehead protector. “I’ll deliver
this then come directly back here.”

“You want ramen
tonight?” She asked with a small smile.

Kakashi sighed. They’d
been here over a month and almost every night they ate ramen. It
shamed him to think he’d been ruined for nearly any other food.
But to be honest, all of the really good food vendors had already
been moved.

“Yes, please.”

She laughed at him as
he hurried out the door for all the world like a dog with his tail
between his legs.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Gaara sat, hands
folded, at the long table in Shikamaru’s mothers dining room.
Somehow it seemed wrong to refer to it as Shikamaru’s . It was
just too structured. Shikamaru sat across from him; a very fine
bottle of expensive sake sat between them flanked by two cups.

“You were right.
Suna has issued its formal entrance in the chuunin exams.”

Gaara nodded. He’d
been almost certain before, but it was nice to have proof. He waited
to be angry at the maneuver on the Hokage’s part but anger
never came. He’d spent the better part of the last week
thinking it all over. Trying to imagine what he would do if he were
in her position right now. He’d come to the conclusion he
wouldn’t have told himself much either. In fact, he was
certain he’d have held back considerably more from himself than
she had. The thought that there was so much more going on that he
wasn’t privy to grated at him, but there was little he could do
with the information if he did have it. Still, having a little
knowledge of why would make him more capable of playing his part and
offer a salve for his already bruised ego.

“There were a lot
of coded documents in her office too troublesome to try and take and
a lot more medical charts. I hadn’t thought she brought those
to her office but I don’t have enough medical knowledge to get
any useful information off of them.”

Gaara frowned. It
seemed odd for patient medical information to be in the Hokages
office. Those files should stay within the confines of the hospital
unless they dealt with the security of the village. But she was a
medic and he had, on many occasions, found himself far too deep in
village business to deal with anything that wasn’t directly in
front of him.

“I did find a
mission statement that looked promising but Shizune came back early
and I had to make a quick exit. I’ll be able to go back in two
days from now…”

“There’s no
need.” Gaara forestalled his argument with a raised hand. “I
appreciate your efforts more than you know and as much as I’d
like to know more, it isn’t worth you getting into trouble.
Especially trouble of this magnitude.”

Shikamaru stared down
the table at him for a long time before he nodded his agreement.
Then made a silent promise to go back for his own curiosities sake.

“Well, if that’s
the end of that,” Shikamaru reached for the bottle and cups at
the center of the table. “Why don’t we get an early
start.”

“I really don’t
drink. I haven’t had anything stronger than tea in more than
three years.” Gaara explained a little warily.

“You a mean
drunk?” The shadow ninja asked.

“Not that I know
of.” Gaara replied. “I’ve been told I’m
friendly enough.”

“Oh, then you
have nothing to worry about. Now drink up.” He poured two
cups and slid one to Gaara who touched the cup with light finger
tips.

“When will the
others arrive?” Gaara asked his cup.

“Hum…”
Shikamaru downed the contents of his cup and filled it again.
“About two hours.” Gaara’s eyes flew up and
widened. Shikamaru raised his cup in salute. “Now drink. If
we’re lucky the girls will take pity on us and we’ll get
soft laps to rest our heads on.”

An image of his first
night out with Kankuro came to mind. The heavy scent of perfume and
liquor teased his memory as he tossed back the cup to help swallow
the lump now forming in his throat. He closed his eyes and winced at
the bite. When he opened them his cup was once again full. He
stared at the quivering surface for a moment, shrugged and downed it.

0.0.0.0.0.0

“Gai?”
Chiharu turned in her lovers arms and nudged his tanned chest.
“Gai?”

The normally green
suited shinobi cracked one eye open and slid it to the woman next to
him.

“Why are you
still awake, Chiharu?” A hand slipped over her belly beneath
the sheets. “You are not satisfied?” She slapped it
away while he started to smile.

“I’m fine
and you know it.” She laid her head on his chest, listening to
the steady heartbeat beneath the skin and muscle. “What do you
want for your birthday?”

His hand dropped
heavily against the side of her head and she sighed as he smoothed it
through her hair. He was always so heavy handed yet so gentle.

“You know what I
want. I ask for it every year.” Gai whispered
uncharacteristically subdued.

Chiharu sighed and
attempted to burrow deeper into his chest. He did ask every year and
every holiday and nearly every time he walked into the room.

“I’m sorry,
Gai. That is not a gift.”

“You are the only
one who thinks so.” He placed his hand under her chin and
lifted her head to look at him. “Would it be so bad? Being my
wife?”

She rolled on top of
her long time friend and companion to place a gentle kiss to his
lips. “You know I can not. No one will accept me as your
wife. My background…”

Gai touched a finger to
her lips. “Is in the past and there it will stay. No one will
object to you as my wife. You have lived as a wife for years. Why
not make it a reality? Share this life with me, Chiharu! Stop
holding me at arms length.”

“I already share
this life. Let it be enough.” A tear dropped from the tip of
her lashes and she tried to kiss the growing questions from his lips
but he held her still. His mouth grew hard as he waited.

“I will not sully
your name. An orphan would have been acceptable as a wife but a tea
girl… all the other things I’ve… I swore to you
that I would give you my heart, all of my love, any children you
desired. But I can’t give you this. I’m sorry, Gai.”

His eyes cooled and
she dropped her head to his chest again before that coolness
penetrated some part of her she didn’t want to look too closely
at. After a moment she felt his sigh and the slight tension start to
drain from his body.

“I do not wish to
argue tonight.”

“Nor do I.”
She croaked around her tears.

He lifted her head once
again and frowned. “Ah now, do not cry my beautiful flower. I
did not mean to upset you.”

“I know.”
She squeaked out and tried to hide her face again.

“I am sorry,
Chiharu. I simply want to love you forever the way you should be
loved. I want to make you only mine. I want you to be truly happy.”

Her smile was soft and
watery but no less beautiful. “I will always be only yours.”

“Some day you
will say yes.” He whispered again softly before pulling her
down a final time to rest on his firm chest.

As her eyes drifted
closed she prayed that one day he would get his wish. And that she
might find the courage to be the one to give it.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Kurenai opened the door
to a hassled but smiling Sakura.

“Thanks for
watching her. I know you have a lot of things to do and I…”

Kurenai cut in as her
son sailed into the room and took little Tsunades hand and dragged
her back out with him.

“Hidekatsu!
Don’t be so rough with her! She’s still little!”

Sakura laughed and the
older woman turned to see her junior shaking her head.

“I think she
could jump from the water tower and not break a single bone. She’s
indestructible.”

“They are never
indestructible but they do put the rest of us to shame.”

Both women contemplated
the ravages of age in sulking silence then nodded.

“So, where’s
the party?”

Sakura looked
sheepishly toward the clock on the wall. “Shikamaru’s.
I’m due there in an hour.” She shrugged. “Neji’s
bringing the sake so who was I to argue.”

Kurenai whistled low as
a solid thud came from the back of the house.

“Well, have a
good time. I’ll try and send her back in one piece.”

“I’ll see
you tomorrow morning.” Sakura waved and pulled the door closed
at her back.

Something that sounded
like breaking glass then a high pitched squeal had Kurenai turning
back to the hall and her son’s room. Hopefully she’d be
able to keep her promise to Sakura and send her daughter back with
little to no physical damage.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Neji shuffled the heavy
box in his arms but couldn’t free a hand.

“Hinata, get the
door would you.”

Hinata stood just
behind him chewing her lip and eyeing the door with trepidation.

“You said he was
here already, right?”

Neji rolled his eyes
and leaned against a nearby tree. He lifted one knee to rest the
foot on the trunk and sat the box on his level thigh. He sighed as
the weight left his shoulders then turned a more irritated look on
his cousin.

“You can’t
avoid him forever, you know. If you’d not been spying on us
you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Hinata, her mind
returning to the Hyuuga baths and her less than formal encounter with
the former foreign dignitary, went from pale pink to bright red in
record time. Her eyes widened before she turned her back on her
older cousin in an attempt to hide what she’d been thinking.

“I’ll never
be able to look at him again…. without picturing him….
well… you know…”

“Naked.”
Neji offered.

“YES!”
Hinata wailed into her hands.

“Hokage save us.”
Neji muttered then hefted the box back into his over tired arms.

“Fine. So you
picture him nude. Just close your eyes and open the door. I won’t
make you stay if you’re that uncomfortable.” He grunted
and pushed away from the tree. “Just hurry up. These bottles
are extremely heavy.”

Hinata straightened her
back, turned and walked directly into the door. She bounced back,
rubbing vigorously at her nose as Neji closed his eyes, shook his
head then started to chuckle.

“That really
hurt, Neji! I think I have a nose bleed.” Hinata wiped at her
nose. Her hand came away smeared with red.

Neji continued to
chuckle as the purple haired kunoichi leaned her head back and
pinched her nose closed. She groped for the door with her free hand
and pulled it open with more force than necessary.

“But the irony is
just too much. You’re the heir to the Hyuuga main family and
carry the byakugan, and yet you run face first into a door.”
He shouldered past her, looking down into her now narrowed eyes.

“You’re
never going to let me live this down, are you?” She asked in a
nasally voice as her fingers still pinched off the blood flow.

“No.” He
smirked and lugged the box inside. “Shikamaru? Where do you
want…?”

Hinata closed the door
and turned to look at Neji. He was staring into an open doorway.
His face showed his confusion.

“Neji? What is
it?” She came around him and looked into the room.

Shikamaru was sitting
at the far end of the dining table, facing the two of them. He was
listing dangerously to the left and smiling down the table at another
man shaped lump. Hinata recognized the red hair and looked to Neji
in alarm.

“That man…”
Shikamaru slurred, “Can not hold his alcohol.” He
tipped dangerously then righted himself almost as an afterthought.

Neji took note of the
empty sake bottle tipped on its side in the center of the table
before he turned to put the case down next to the wall. After
rotating his shoulders a few times and cracking his neck he walked
back to the table and grabbed the back of Gaara’s hair.

“Neji!”
Hinata screamed, fearing what would happen if Gaara got angry over
Neji somewhat rough treatment.

But the sand wielder
was passive as his head was slowly lifted from the table. Both
Hyuuga watched in awe as a pale cheek stained cherry peeled away from
the drool stained surface to show a wide grin and foggy sea green
eyes.

“Heeelooo!”
Gaara sung cheerily and lifted only his fingers from the table top
to wiggle in a wave of greeting.

Hinata dropped her hand
from her nose, which had finally stopped bleeding, to gape at her
cousin’s teammate. She’d never seen him smile, if you
could call that a smile.

“Well,”
Neji said as he slowly lowered Gaara’s head back to the table.
“It looks like tonight should be very interesting.

0.0.0.0.0.0

“Ino, you look
fine.”

Fudo gave her a small
push to get her moving. They were stopped on the street just down
from the Nara home. Ino had spent the better part of an hour simply
trying to make her pony tail sit perfect center on her head and now
they were in danger of being late. He knew the party was informal
and her friends wouldn’t mind but he always hated to run
behind.

“You love me,
right?” He asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Of course I do!
What kind of stupid question is that?” Ino tossed her hair and
checked her face one last time in her hand held compact.

“I was just
wondering. You put more effort into dressing tonight than you did
for our wedding.”

“We eloped.”
She cut her eyes at him.

“Details,
details.”

“Fudo, you know I
love you. I GAVE UP a traditional, attention grabbing wedding to be
with you. And if I haven’t told you every day with words I’ve
most certainly told you every night with deeds. Let’s not also
forget the special ‘care packages’ on missions.”

Fudo smiled. He loved
those care packages. He nearly killed Kotetsu the day the older
ninja snagged a couple of pictures from it.

“So why so much
prep tonight? Don’t think I haven’t heard about the sold
out Hyuuga-Sabaku peep show.”

She at least had the
grace to blush but she didn’t look the least bit repentant.

“Because a girl
has to look good when showing off her husband to foreign dignitaries,
and I heard all about the Drunken Anko Table Dance, so don’t
act all innocent with me.”

“I admit to
nothing.”

They turned to one
another with matching smirks.

“So you’re
here to make me look good?” He asked while toying with a lock
of hair by her ear.

“Baby, I always
make you look good. Tonight you’ll look like a god.”
She winked, reminding him of the origin of his name as she plucked at
his vest.

Their looks went from
playful to heated in a matter of moments and, as with almost every
function they attended, they got sidetracked.

“Fifteen minutes
late won’t be a big deal, right?” Ino asked.

“I’ll give
you twenty and I’ll take the heat.” He pulled her toward
a nearby back yard and both figures disappeared into the darkness.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Kankuro lay as still
and quiet as possible while Yugao tended the swollen marks on his
face. He’d developed an infection as she’d thought he
would. The pain was bearable but only just. The good news was it
was treatable. the bad news was that he would most likely get
another since the tattoos were only half finished and they could not
move him from the cell.

“It’s been
suggested that will kill the man who’s doing this to you. I
have urged against it but I’m beginning to wonder if it needs
to be done. If he’ll do this to a friend I can only image what
he’d do to an enemy.” Yugao pressed the soaked strips
over the raised purple tented flesh and began the task of resetting
another finger.

“He wasn’t
always this way.” Kankuro told her through barely moving lips.
“He was once a very good friend of mine. He’s kind of
mousy really but he’s smart. Got picked on a lot. I just
defended him a few times a suddenly had a friend.”

The blue haired ANBU
pressed hard on the broken finger, making the puppeteer grunt before
pressing her now green glowing hand to his chest and releasing the
small amount of sealed healing chakra for this session. Looking at
his protruding ribs she prayed there would be enough time.

“As our group
made it’s way to the Leaf Village for that first chuunin exam,
one of the guard began complaining about the rationality of our
mission. I think the Kazekage… Orchimaru I mean… I
think he would have killed him if Gaara hadn’t beat him to it.
Without warning he just sent out the sand and smothered the poor
bastard to death.”

He paused to take in
deep even breaths as the healing jutsu once again pulled a great deal
of the pain from his body and began to lull him to sleep.

“When we returned
I had to explain to my friend that his father was killed during the
attack. But he knew. He knew Gaara had done it. They found his
body a few weeks later. Covered in sand and crushed. Everyone knew
what the sand coffin could do.” He opened his eyes just long
enough to look into hers and smile. “He asked me to choose.
Him, a friend who’d stood by my side and been with me when
others simply dismissed me, used me or treated me with cool and false
respect. Or Gaara, who’d killed more men before he turned ten
than most jounin kill in a career but wanted nothing more than to be
a man instead of a monster.” His shoulders moved in something
akin to a shrug. “I chose my brother.”

She lifted her hand and
the green glow died away. His eyes slowly lowered again as she
pulled the strips from his face.

“I’m sorry
I can’t do more.” She lay a cool hand to his cheek and
brushed it over his matted hair.

“You’ve
done enough. I can’t ask for more.”

“We will take you
out of here.” She said leaning over his slowly withering body.

“I want to see my
brother again. Whether you take me from here or I crawl out on my
belly, I have no doubt that will happen.”

“You’re
very determined.”

“I’m a
shinobi. Determination comes with the title.”

She shook her head,
knowing he couldn’t see her and stood, lifting her hand to
close the seal and leave him here alone again until the next visit.

“I don’t
know you’re name,” she heard him say in a sleep inhibited
voice, “But if you want to do something more for me, I have a
favor to ask.”

She looked down at his
bruised eye lids and swollen cheeks. She shuddered to think of the
pain he would be in when that man started inking his eyelids.

“If I’m
able, I’ll do whatever you ask.”

0.0.0.0.0.0

Hope you enjoy.
Took forever to write and just as long to edit.
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Sand in the Leaves