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A Leaf in the Wind Country	By : Figaliz Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 972 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Part Two: Cloak and Dagger

�You can�t seriously believe this
guy?� Kankuro slouched in his chair, a gloved hand rubbing the back of his neck
as he glared between his little brother and Sasuke. �I mean come on, it�s all a
bit farfetched isn�t it? Lord Kadu�s one of the most powerful men in Wind, what
could he want more power for? Don�t answer that.� The puppet master scowled. He
wasn�t a fool, he knew the various reasons men wanted power, even to the point
of obsession. And if Gaara believed the crazy missing Leaf ninja, then either
his Kazekage was going a little loopy from lack of action, or the Uchiha had
managed to spill enough convincing information to get Gaara in his protective
mode. In either case it was going to be a major headache. The only blessing in
all this Kankuro could see, was that he�d be on a mission when Temari came
back. He didn�t want to be around when Gaara told his sister the new enemy they
suspected.
�Well shit.� Kankuro muttered,
letting his head fall back until it thudded against the wall behind him. They
were seated in Kankuro�s living room, for now Gaara had arranged that Sasuke
not leave his side, while the ex-Leaf was awake. It wasn�t an arrangement that
caused much comment, Gaara was well known among Suna to be paranoid and
overprotective of his people. The Kazekage wanting to keep an eye on the �new
recruit�, especially one as powerful as Uchiha Sasuke, wasn�t unusual for his
character. What was more unusual was that he�d actually taken on a missing-nin.
That had everyone�s eyes wide, and the gossips speculating. Not that
they speculated very loudly, the people of Sunagakure respected their Kazekage,
in many cases had grown to love him, but they still feared him for the most
part, and in the cases of the older shinobi, there were a few that still
resented him. A ninja�s memory was long.
Gaara hadn�t responded to Kankuro,
watching his brother with that unblinking, basilisk stare. Kankuro had long
since gotten over being unnerved by that look. Well, mostly gotten over it, but
it still made him want to blink in sympathy. Kankuro looked away from Gaara�s�not
unnerving��gaze and turned to look at Sasuke. He regretted it instantly;
that cold, pale face was as impassive as the moon, and Kankuro could swear
those eyes were black holes into nothingness, for all the humanity they showed.
It gave him the creeps. At least the guy blinked, and usually kept his eyelids
partially lowered so that his dark lashes obscured those pits he called eyes.
And what was with the guy anyway? He was the prettiest man Kankuro had ever
seen, more so now then at the Chuunin exam four years ago. Men shouldn�t be
that pretty, it wasn�t natural. No wonder even his harpy of a sister had
thought this guy was handsome. He hoped she�d get at least a little ticked off
to find that Sasuke was prettier then her, this time around. If he was going to
have to sit through being stared at by these two, then his sister better not
have any fun when she got back either. At least as long as he didn�t have to be
there.
�So then what�s the plan?� Kankuro
asked after the silence had played at his nerves like a master tweaking a
marionette. �I mean you guys can�t exactly ask around, neither of you are
particularly inconspicuous. The Le-Uchiha doesn�t even have Chuunin status, no
matter how powerful he is that�ll be a problem when it comes to his activities
being questioned, and the next exams aren�t for four months. Obviously I�ll
keep my ears open and my profile low, and Temari�s even better at getting
intel, but just the four of us? We don�t even know who�s on this guy�s payroll.
From what you say it could be anybody. The slightest fuckup and we tip him off
that we�re on to him before we even know what we�re on to.�
�I can be inconspicuous if need
be.� Sasuke spoke up, his voice gave Kankuro chills just as much as his face
did. It wasn�t the inflections, the punk wasn�t oily, hell, he wasn�t even as
polite as Gaara, which was a feat, it was something deeper, as if the guy�s
very words were picked out with the most careful, calculated, terrifying
intent. He spoke enough, he didn�t hesitate or seem to choose his wording like
Gaara sometimes did, but all the same every sentence dripped awareness and
focus like venom. Kankuro was really glad this guy was on their side. He hoped.
�Yeah, well, even if you can,
there�s still your status. You could make Jounin easy, but you need official
approval.� Kankuro had decided it was easier to focus his gaze on one of the
wall scrolls somewhere between Gaara and Sasuke, looking at either was just
going to get him flustered, and they needed him to be calm and thinking,
whether or not he came up with anything worthwhile, at least if they were all
in on it, they might come up with something workable together.
�Anyway, it�s not as if you expressly
need the approval of both the Hokage and the Kazekage to rank, the Kazekage
would do.� Kankuro rubbed his thumb along his jaw line absently, savoring the
feel of his gloves against the sensitive skin. �Staging a big trial would be a
nuisance; it�d call too much attention. But maybe if you held a small match
against Chuunin and Jounin, with the normal judges and Gaara� We�d need an
excuse to do it. It�s a lot of trouble to go through for one new recruit.�
�How many Jounin do you have able
to do S rank missions?� Sasuke�s question was directed at Gaara, but Kankuro
answered.
�About twelve. Depending on the
mission maybe fifteen. Not counting Temari, Gaara and myself.�
�So four to six� teams of three, or
up to eighteen individuals, including the Kazekage. That�s not very many for a
village this size.�
�The village is still recovering
from the attack on Konoha four years ago, and Akatsuki�s attack last year.�
Kankuro muttered defensively. �We lost a lot of our skilled Jounin in Konoha,
and most of the rest last year. We have nearly five times as many Chuunin as Jounin.
A lot of the older Jounin that did survive are getting too old for active duty,
so that�s why we have only so many up to S rank work. Most of us Jounin do our
missions solo or with Chuunin or genin teams, we just don�t have the manpower�
Uchiha you�re a genius. Of course! Why wouldn�t we go through the trouble to
get even one more qualified Jounin in the ranks right now, when we need them
most?� Kankuro kicked himself internally, it was pretty obvious when he thought
about it, but it was more Temari�s kind of thing to think about. Oh well,
they�d come up with it anyway, even without her.
Sasuke didn�t look as pleased as
Kankuro however. �It may be advantageous for us, but it�s not a blessing.� The
Uchiha pointed out, souring Kankuro�s good mood instantly. �While the lack of
forces does give us a plausible excuse not only for my recruitment, but
promotion and possible laxness in regards to my restrictions, it also means your
village is weak. Shin�s spies and informants could already be working on
placing their own in positions of greater power here, assuming they haven�t
already. If he wants to target Gaara again, then he is in a prime position to
do so at this point. If he has other goals here, they are certainly within his
reach, and that makes everything we do more dangerous. Who knows how many
members of your very counsel may already be in his pocket?�
�Fuck, just give us the rope to
hang on then.� Kankuro snapped. �If you�re here to help us do something about
this guy, then why the doom and gloom act? Or did you just want to tell us
we�re all screwed and laugh as we squirm?�
�Kankuro.� Gaara spoke up for the
first time since outlining the situation to Kankuro.
Kankuro sighed and flopped back in
his chair, arms crossing. He hadn�t realized he�d half risen to growl at
Sasuke. The bastard had some sort of knack for being really annoying. Maybe it
was some kind of genjutsu. Bastard no jutsu maybe. The guy could probably market
it too. For whatever reason plenty of girls enjoyed that sort of thing.
Annoying fucking bastard.
Sasuke was watching him too, with
those soulless eyes of his. Creep. �My goal is to stop Shin and eradicate his
organization.� Sasuke replied, once he was sure of Kankuro�s attention. �In the
process we may indeed save your village, which would be ideal. However the
situation here is extremely precarious, should our knowledge or intent be even
suspected by Kadu, I would not bet a ryo for the chances of Suna remaining
intact another month. We simply do now know enough about his goals, or even
where the loyalties of all the villagers lie. Even a few traitors in high
places can cause extreme confusion and destruction, or didn�t you learn that
the last two times traitors infiltrated your village to cause problems?�
Kankuro was going to punch that
pretty face purple one day, he knew it. A glance at Gaara kept him from leaping
on the black haired ninja. If Gaara didn�t care that Uchiha was all but calling
Sand Shinobi lazy and incompetent, and probably twelve kinds of gullible on top
of that, then Kankuro wasn�t going to give Sasuke satisfaction of getting
pissed off. This time, anyway.
�Fine then, what do you suggest we
do about it?� Kankuro was rather proud he didn�t sound too sullen.
�Watch, spy, keep our ears and eyes
open at all times. Next time Kadu visits we can see who talks to him, who he
visits, what places he frequents. We already have some starting places from the
regular VIP surveillance from his last visit. Once I�ve been promoted, Gaara
may allow me to do more missions on my own, or with other teams. If I were to
be sent on missions with anyone we suspect as a spy, I can keep an eye on them.
If we are extremely lucky, one of Kadu�s informants will approach me to sound
me out, if they do I will be extremely receptive to being bought. Kadu is
notorious for wanting strong minions, I doubt he would consider Temari or you
as likely candidates, you�re obviously loyal to your brother, and Gaara has far
too unpredictable of a past. But the worst thing on my official record is going
missing-nin and joining Orochimaru. I highly doubt Kadu will be aware of my
motives, or care if he discovered them. He has a number of other missing-nin on
his payroll, after all.� Sasuke detailed his plan as if he were discussing the
weather. Kankuro wondered how I guy could talk so much and still be about as
expressive as a rock. It gave him the chills.
�So why didn�t you go to Konoha
with this? Since you pointed out yourself they�re in a stronger position to
take this guy out.� Kankuro asked. �Or at least why not tell the old lady
Hokage? If Kadu�s after jinchuuriki, or even if he�s just after power in the
Hidden Villages, it concerns her people too, doesn�t it?�
Sasuke gave him a rather cold look.
�Konoha is in Fire Country, far from Kadu�s usual routes, though I am positive
he has agents there as well. More to the point, I simply cannot get close to
him if I went there, or his organization. Whatever he is planning, he will most
likely begin it here, in Wind Country. You may need to inform the Hokage of the
situation, and call on her help, but at that point I expect Suna will be in
flames and the seat of Kazekage will be taken by one of Kadu�s agents, and you,
if you survive, will be fleeing with the survivors to Konoha. That is the
eventuality we would like to avoid.�
Kankuro ground his teeth, being
talked to like an idiot child was really getting on his nerves. Maybe he wasn�t
a political genius like Temari, or even Gaara, but he knew the stakes here. �I.
Get. The point.� He ground out. �I know the fucking risks here. What I want to
know is why haven�t you at least warned her? Say we do screw up and the shit
hits the fan, if we at least warn Konoha they might be able to help before the
situation gets more fucked up then it already is. It wouldn�t even be that
hard, send Temari on another diplomatic check up or whatever the heck she does
in Konoha, get her to speak to the Hokage in private, give that old lady the
details at least.�
Sasuke and Gaara both stared at
Kankuro, who slouched even more and looked back and forth between them
challengingly.
�That�s a good idea.� Gaara said
after a few moments, in that slow, deliberate way of his. �I�ll send her as
soon as she�s back and knows the situation. I�m sure by then I�ll need to send
her anyway, the Hokage should get my missive some time tomorrow.� Kankuro
allowed himself the smallest of smug smirks at that.
�Of course it�s a good idea, it was
my idea, wasn�t it?� Gaara just looked at him, but then, Gaara�s sense of humor
was sporadic and rare, and usually more then a bit cutting, so it was just as
well Kankuro�s brother chose not to respond to that one.
�Is that all then?� Sasuke asked
abruptly.
�Yes I believe so. Kankuro?�
�Yeah, yeah, I know the score now.�
�Very well.� Gaara stood, the robes
of his office rustling around him, and picked up his sand gourd by the door.
�Kankuro, I leave Uchiha in your care for today. Show him to the barracks where
he�ll sleep, show him around, answer his questions. I need to arrange for his
promotional trials with the counsel. Tomorrow escort him to my office before
you leave on your mission.� With that the Kazekage was gone, leaving his
seriously annoyed brother to baby the Uchiha bastard. With a family like this,
Kankuro was surprised he even worried about enemies like Kadu, one of his
siblings would probably kill him accidentally before any power mad lord got
around to it.
�Alright then, you heard him, I get
to be your tour guide. Lets go.�
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A Leaf in the Wind Country