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Sand in the Leaves	By : ahmenet Category: Naruto > General Views: 1274 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
For those who read
the manga, this story is now not only fan fiction but suspension of
disbelief. But hey, I don’t own Naruto and can only curse the
writer for going so far out of my plot line.

“Take slow
breaths. Not too deep.”

Kankuro sucked in short
breaths between coughs. The small coughing fit had hurt like hell
and his ribs ached while his lungs burned.

“Relax as much as
you can.”

He was sitting up for
the first time since his hands had been broken. He couldn't remember
how long ago that had been. The medic, Kouhei Hirasi, had
reluctantly allowed him to move more than the simple exercises he'd
been doing. No small thanks to the constant badgering he'd subjected
the blond to.

“Better?”
That same blond hovered over him with a clinical eye and thinned
lips.

“... yeah...,”
He took several more small breaths. “Yeah... I'm good.”

“I knew this was
a bad idea. Pigheaded pain in the ass.”

Kankuro inwardly
sneered. This guy had some nerve. For the last week he'd done
nothing but insult, taunt and boss. Of course, it could have
something to do with the guards constant jeering.

“Now,now, there's
no need to be rude.” the guard ducked and a kunai went sailing
over his head followed by a menacing growl.

It had been like this
for several days. Kankuro could only guess they were getting closer
to the Hidden Leaf Village. There was an underlying tension in all
of the playful banter. Each little noise brought complete silence
and a two man scout of the area.

“We... were...
followed?” Speaking was still difficult.

“Stop talking.”
The medic gave him a tight lipped glare. “Yes and no.
Someone's following us but they're not from Suna.”

Kankuro gave him a
sharper look. Who else would be following?

“Try lifting your
leg again.”

He did. Nothing
happened. He'd not been able to move his legs since the last visit
from Aya. He wasn't sure what the man had done but the results had
been unnerving. When the medic touched the exposed skin of his thigh
he felt the roughened tips of his fingers and the warmth of his skin.
The pressure was bearable and he swallowed as he tried to move away
from it.

“You feel that?”
The medic watched his face closely.

“Yes.”

“But you can't
move it.”

“No.”

The medic looked
thoughtful for a moment then removed his hand. Kankuro let out a
small frustrated growl before taking in another series of small
breaths to stave off the coughing it nearly caused.

“Alright. Time
to move.”

All too soon the
puppeteer was on his back once again and being lifted on the gurney.
The medic stayed close to his side, occasionally speaking or fielding
taunts from the guards. He listened with half an ear and wandered
how much longer they would be moving and if his brother was really
alright.

0.0.0.0.0.0

“Hold!”
Gaara yelled the word as he brushed the dust from his backside. Of
course, neither of the genin listened. The chuunin exams had started
six days before. As with the year he and his siblings had come,
there were too many participants and a weeding process had been put
in place. He was now looking at the last of the young ninja to make
it through the process. He had to admit, they were definitely good
if a little over zealous.

Gaara rolled his
shoulders and stepped back into the fight which had now escalated
into an all out brawl. The young Suna puppeteer, Ronin, and his
current adversary, Wafa, were only two of the many genin to get into
out and out grudge matches during this exam. He doubted many of them
would pass. These two certainly wouldn’t and for some reason
he was disappointed about that.

“I said Hold!”

Sand pour from the now
arm length gourd strapped to his hip and snaked its way between the
two combatants. Gaara felt the hush as everyone watched, not to see
if he’d kill them, but to see how each ninja reacted.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Kakashi had nearly
finished cursing the Hokage, the village of Konoha and any other
idiot that had voted for Gaara’s appearance at the end of the
Chuunin exams when Midori, the young female puppeteer in Kane’s
group, swallowed loud enough for everyone to hear.

“He won’t
kill them.”

Kakashi wasn’t so
sure about that and apparently the genin agreed. The look she sent
her sensei held a world of disbelief and fear. Of course, that might
have had a lot to do with her being next.

“That’s how
sand coffins start”, was her shaky reply.

Kane only smiled at
her.

Curious, Kakashi turned
back to the three ninja in the center of the field. Gaara had indeed
begun to build the foundation for the sand coffin up around the two
genin but he was being far too slow with it to consider his actions
lethal. No. This was a test. And at that moment, their little
puppeteer wasn’t doing so well.

“He’s not
fighting back.” Matsuri murmured from her spot between Midori
and Kane. “He’s expected to hold but not to lie down and
bare his belly. He should know that.”

Kakashi nodded
wordlessly as the sand shifted around Ronin’s ankles and caked
his sandals. While just on the other side of the redheaded proctor,
Wafa, the young Hyuuga from Anko’s team, watched the sand with
narrowed eyes. Her movements were swift and precise as she dodged
Gaara’s simple attempts to restrain her.

“I wouldn’t
let him hold me down either.” Kane murmured.

“You’re not
making me feel any better, sensei.” Midori muttered then
sucked in a breath when she realized the sand was now up to Ronin’s
knees.

And then the sand
stopped. Swiftly it sifted back into the gourd at Gaara’s hip
as everyone above released a breath most didn’t know they were
holding. Ronin shook visibly as Gaara walked toward him only
relaxing when Gaara stopped, spoke a few words to him, then sent him
out of the ring. His shoulders hung in defeat as he trudged to the
stairs. His teammates, Mine and Sorano, already charging to meet and
possibly defend him from the jeers of their peers.

“Do those two
have some sort of history?” Kane asked in a low whisper as he
watched Gaara and the white-eyed leaf genin face off on the field.

Kakashi only shrugged
but angled his good eye toward the other waiting guards. They’d
paid little attention to his conversations with the sensei’s
since Gaara had appeared on the field, but there was no need to blow
his cover now. Enough shit had fallen in his lap as it was.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Tsubasa and Mayu ran to
met their teammate as she stepped, stunned, from the field having
just had a short conversation with the bane of their existence.

“What did he
say?” Mayu placed a comforting hand on her friends shoulder
and tried to read something in the strange expression on her face.

“He said…”
The young Hyuuga couldn’t seem to finish.

“He said?”
Tsubasa walked around her other side and raised both eyebrows,
clenching his fists in agitation.

Wafa inhaled deeply
closing her eyes and shaking herself. A moment passed before her
eyes opened and her teammates watched expectantly as she opened her
mouth.

“He was…
impressed...”

Both teammates eyes
widened before the two let out a whoop of excitement and ushered
their stunned friend into the seats.

Anko watched as her
little chicks cheered what they hoped was a triumph for at least one
of their rank, though Tsubasa still had his fight coming. She let a
small smile creep to her lips. Sure they were young but she knew
they’d been ready for this. And she hadn’t been wrong.
After all, any genin willing to stand up to a former foreign
dignitary and psychotic killing machine had to be tough enough for
the chuunin exams.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Ino pulled the door to
her bedroom closed and leaned against it for a moment. Eyes closed,
she reached for the coffee mug she’d left on the book shelf in
her haste to reach her husband. It was cold. Grimacing at the
bitter taste she left the door in favor of the kitchen to dump the
contents.

When two ANBU had
dropped off a half conscious Fudo on their doorstep she’d been
ready to kill anyone who wore a mask or had facial scars. She’d
brought him in and accessed the damage, cursing Tsunade for not
preparing her for what she'd see on the outside and her training for
allowing her to see the damage beneath. He’d recover. Was
recovering. But it was obvious they’d given him more than a
thorough working over.

Watching the dark
liquid run down the drain, she thought about the man in bed only a
few feet away from her. She smiled when she remembered the look on
his face as she tucked him into that bed and made him as comfortable
as possible. He’d been smiling. His eyes alight with more
than just the haze of pain. She’d seen happiness and
contentment there. And as much as she wanted to scream at him for
being an idiot and not cooperating, she understood what it meant for
him to feel trusted and secure of his place in her world. And though
it was stupid as far as she was concerned, he’d impressed his
peers in the village. He'd not given up the little insignificant
knowledge he had from his old village while still honoring the leaf
and earned the respect of a good number of the black ops.

Stepping away from the
sink Ino slipped into a chair at the small table and ran her fingers
over one of the two rolled messages in front of her. One for her
husband and one for her. Fudo would open his when he woke but... she
fingered the seal on the message for her. The message from Tsunade.
She hoped it was an apology but somehow doubted it. Most likely a
summons, but for what?

“Well, no sense
in waiting.” She mumbled to herself and released the seal.

The parchment unrolled
under her fingers and as she read her eyes widened and her throat
constricted. Moments passed as she read and re-read the message then
slowly, as if coming out of a dream, she lowered what she considered
a surprisingly short message for its content to the table and let a
small smile bloom even as the tears started to fall. Fudo was never
going to believe this.

0.0.0.0.0.0

“You stupid
Bitch!”

Takako held her
burning cheek as her grandfather glowered down over her. The
carriage bounced once on the dirt road then smoothed to a rumble once
again.

Her family had been
informed of the situation and had rushed here in an attempt to
salvage their investment. When informed of what had taken place her
family had seemed appalled and distraught. When they'd been told the
marriage contract had been breached they'd begun placating arguments.
They'd argued she was traumatized. They'd argued she was young and
foolish. They'd argued that had Uchiha-san simply made her the first
wife she wouldn't have felt so insecure. They'd argued that this
didn't constitute treason, since she didn't really know about the
attack on the village.

Nothing worked.

She'd always known
Sasuke would be a hard man to gain but she'd been sure of her skills
as had her family. She'd been sure she could keep him happily
oblivious while his wealth was slowly leached into her family
coffers. When they'd found out the supposed second wife was now the
first she'd been furious but still sure she could do her job. Then
she'd seen him and money and power were no longer enough. She'd
decided he'd be hers as well. And she was again sure she could
accomplish the task. She now realized how impossible that task was.

“All of our work
and you carelessly throw it to the winds and for WHAT!? Your job was
simple. Spread your legs and play the good wife. Get into his good
graces and his accounts.”

Only she knew spreading
your legs and being the good wife would never be enough for Sasuke
Uchiha. It had taken her five weeks to find a way he could get it up
long enough to get the job done. It had taken another three to find
out why. The carriage slowed as they passed over another bump in the
road.

“Now we've not
only lost our position but we can't even barter with the children!”

She spared a thought
for the children then pushed them from her mind. All the pain and
discomfort she'd endured had not given her the affection and position
she was sure they would. She'd been cheated. She didn't want the
reminder. It was just as well. Sasuke had forbade them to see the
twins and only allowed her to say good bye to Tadao with the Hokage's
personal guard present. The boy hadn't even cried.

“I hope, for you
sake, you have a good explanation for the council when we reach home.
I doubt they will be lenient in your punishment.”

She had to smile as the
carriage slowed a little more. They would be passing the boarder
soon. No longer in the Land of Fire and she would lean out of the
window to take one last breath of air into her lungs before she died.

Her grandfather raised
his brow and slapped her again. She simply turned to the window.
Not long now. An hour, maybe two.

“Why is this
carriage slowing? Incompetent fools. I should have brought our own
guards.”

Don't worry,
Grandfather, she thought as she
pulled back the curtains and look across the tree laden landscape.
In a few hours we won't have to worry about anything ever
again. She only wondered if
she'd get to see her husband one last time. She was sure he'd be
gloriously beautiful with her blood sprayed over his porcelain skin.

0.0.0.0.0.0

Shikamaru
leaned against the stadium wall. He'd watched the clouds for several
hours that morning but the village had been unusually noisy and he'd
grudgingly given up on peace and quiet. Luckily he'd never needed
either to sleep. So he leaned with his eyes closed and the sounds of
fighting and cheering lulling him as the chuunin exams continued.

“They're
taking a break and Tsunade's coming this way.”

Shikamaru's
eyes flew open to see Gaara standing in front of him. It wasn't the
first time the red head had managed to sneak up on him but he had to
admit he found it annoying.

“Why
would I be worried about Tsunade coming?”

Gaara's
lips tipped in an almost smile before he turned his head in the
direction of the special seating.

“Shizune
is dealing with an overload at the hospital. The paperwork is piling
up. I'll let you fill in the rest.”

It
only took a moment for the laziest ninja in Fire country to sprint
into the stands taking a shaking former Kazekage with him. They
watched from a thick low support block as the Hokage and her guard
walked by, her eagle eyes scanning the crowd for an unsuspecting
victim.

“I'd
say thank you but I'm sure you didn't do this for free.” He
turned to look at a man he never thought would be a friend and
sighed. Gaara's shoulders were still shaking. “What do you
want?”

“Information.”
Gaara replied in hushed tones allowing his mirth to tapper off with
the request.

“Troublesome.
What is it?”

Gaara glanced over his
shoulder. Shikamaru followed his gaze to the man blatantly watching
him.

“Later.”

“Done.”

They watched the man
turn and say something to another younger guard. Moments later
several sets of eyes were on them.

“Think they'll
try and kill you before they leave?” Shikamaru asked half
joking, half not.

Gaara shrugged,
“Someone's always trying to kill me. They rarely ever
succeed.”

0.0.0.0.0.0

Sasuke kissed Tadao's
head and pulled the door closed as he left the room. Sunlight poured
in shades of red and purple through the windows at the end of the
long hall as he walked toward the shrine and, hopefully, a moment of
peace.

The hush of the door
sliding open then closed sounded loud in the silence of the small
building. The Uchiha fan spread over the mats as he stepped across
them to kneel in front of the alter. Closing his eyes he blocked out
the sound of his own breathing and relaxed into the quiet and calm.

For one hour he sat in
silence. Praying to his ancestors for guidance and blocking out the
thought of what was happening in a carriage so many miles away. When
the hour was over he lay a single flower on the alter before standing
to leave the room.

He wondered idly if
Itachi had felt this detached when he'd murdered their mother and
father. Somehow he doubted it. But then, he'd loved them. Still he
thought he could understand a little what his brother had felt that
night. When he'd destroyed his world to protect a village of people
he barely knew.

He touched the only
family picture left on the wall. The only one that hadn't been
destroyed or taken in his absence.

“Don't worry,
brother. I don't have the capacity for mercy that you did. No one's
going to hurt our family again.”

0.0.0.0.0.0

Taro looked up as the
door opened and his eyes fixed on the dark haired woman who came to
visit him so often over the past few days.

“Taro-kun. There
is someone I'd like you to meet.” Shizune stepped into the
room.

The boy shifted his
gaze to the woman walking in behind her. She was younger than the
other, blonde hair falling in her face, and very beautiful. When he
noticed the weapons pouch on her hip, he wondered if that bit of hair
ever got in the way. Then the woman smiled and spoke.

“Hello, Taro.
May I call you Taro?”

He nodded and continued
to watch as the blond walked farther into the room and the brunet
closed the door.

“Taro-kun,”
Shizune stood close to the door. Her arms folded in front of her.
“this is Ino Yamanaka. Do you remember our talk about her?”

He nodded again and
watched this 'Ino' he'd been told so much about.

“Hi.” he
mumbled.

Ino's smile brightened.
Shizune smiled as well.

“Yamanaka-san and
her husband have agreed to have you stay with them until your mother
returns.”

Taro's eyes widened for
a moment then dropped to the sheets of his single bed.

“What if my mom
doesn't come back?”

The question was barely
audible but Shizune and Ino shared a significant look. Ino was
ashamed of the hope she knew shown in her eyes at the prospect of his
mothers permanent absence. She looked back to the boy and lightly
touch his arm. The skin was smooth and soft beneath her fingers and
she savored the feeling a moment before she spoke.

“Then you can
stay with us as long as you like.”

The boy nodded and a
soft sigh escaped his lips. “Thank you, Yamanaka-san.”

“You're welcome.
And you can call me Ino.”

0.0.0.0.0.0
- 23
- 24
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Sand in the Leaves