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A Leaf in the Wind Country	By : Figaliz Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 973 -:- 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
- 5
- 6
- 7
Maldoror is the main
influence on my take of the characters of Sasuke and Gaara (aside from the
anime and manga of course). However the writing is all mine, so all character
inconsistencies or OOCness I claim as my own fault.

But if you like my stuff you should really, really read Maldoror�s because hers
is simply amazing. ( http://maldoror-gw.livejournal.com/
)

No one kill me because of the
chapter title. I had to do it. I couldn�t resist! >.< I am weak.

Part Six: Ninja vs.
Pirate
��
The pirate lair was exactly where
Gaara had predicted it would be, situated in the main set of caverns by a
covered inlet. There were a handful of guards, which Sasuke and Gaara avoided
with ease, after waiting for Sasuke�s eyes to readjust to light. They searched
each of the caves the pirates had taken over, discovering about twenty
inhabited chambers and nooks in all. Rather, the caves showed the signs of
inhabitants; all but the guards were still out raiding with Drummond. By
Gaara�s estimation the raiding ships would return to dock at the base within
the next two to four days. The two shinobi would use that time to familiarize
themselves with all the potential escape routes the pirates could utilize, and
make sure that when they disposed of the pirate gang, not a single bilge rat or
swabbie would escape. They also watched the guards left to care for the
pirate�s lair: they were a lax lot, lazy and drunk when they weren�t about the
daily business of mending, brawling or gambling. The only position that seemed
to warrant any real attention from them was that of the coastal lookout, who
mainly watched for the return of the fleet, and therefore new plunder.
When the pirate lookout raised the
call that Drummond�s flag had been sighted, Gaara and Sasuke were ready, each
moving with stealth and speed to his position. They would wait for the crews to
dock and come ashore, within hours the pirates would be drunk with celebration
over the haul.� Sasuke would strike from the rear of the caverns, using speed
and surprise to take care of the pirate�s escape routes. Gaara would lie in
wait at the makeshift dock, destroying the rigging, oars, and any chance of a
watery escape, as well as cleaning up any pirates that attempted to flee in his
direction. Before they parted to take their positions, Sasuke stopped Gaara
with a touch.
Gaara glared at the hand on his
elbow, then at Sasuke, who didn�t take the hint, though Gaara knew he�d
understood the look well enough.
�Try not to kill anyone if you
can.�
Gaara stared.
�Just try, that�s all I ask.�
�� Gaara shook off the offending
hand.
Sasuke shrugged and disappeared,
making his way to his position and leaving Gaara to contemplate what that
request revealed about Sasuke, and what impact, if any, that might have on
their alliance.
Gaara waited as the pirates docked.
There were three ships in the small fleet, Drummond�s flagship, and two others
captained by her most trusted lieutenants. The lieutenants were the ones whose
presence elevated the mission from A-rank to S-rank. Drummond herself was only
moderately dangerous, a Chuunin or Jounin team wouldn�t have much trouble with
her and her gang. Her strength was her tactical mind and leadership abilities.
The two officers who commanded her extra ships, however, were both in
Sunagakure�s Bingo Book; missing-nin from Wave Country, they commanded
dangerous water techniques that had helped elevate Drummond�s gang from medium
league pirates to a notorious gang. It was, therefore, their mistake to have
decided to move to Wind Country in search of loot and prey; they had
miscalculated, coming into Gaara�s territory, and they would pay for it.
It didn�t take long for the pirates
to start celebrating. Loot was unloaded from the ships and divided among the
crews, some fights began and were immediately settled either by the officers in
charge or the men involved. Eventually things sorted out into a round of drinks
and food as the gang gloated over their rich haul. Revelers began to trickle
into the rear caves to celebrate and gamble away their new spoils, until there
was no one left but the normal sentry to guard the cove and the ships, and he
was dead drunk.
Gaara sent a small tendril of sand
snaking around the sentry�s mouth and nose, muffling the cries as the man
choked. Gaara recalled his sand as the man passed out, pausing a moment to
watch that the drunken sentry still breathed, and then began to walk across the
water to the first ship.
He thoroughly trashed the first two
ships easily and noiselessly. He fouled and severed the rigging and sails,
crushed the oars, and sent his chakra to the bottom of the cove, burying the
anchors so deep in sand that the anchors would have to be abandoned or freed by
him before the ship would be loose. The ships would be unusable for escape, but
they weren�t ruined, it would simply take work and some extra supplies before
they would be sailable.
The final ship was Drummond�s
flagship, the largest of the three. Gaara climbed the ship the old fashioned
way; wasting chakra on using his sand to transport him or lift him was
pointless and flashy when this part of his mission was intended to be done with
as much stealth as possible. Not to mention it would be just that: wasting
chakra.
Pulling himself up the side with
the robe left by the disembarking sailors was easy enough, though he pulled the
robe up after him as an afterthought. There was no true dock in the cave, the
sailors had reached the shore via longboats, no point in giving an enemy even
the small advantage of a rope to scale the ship; assuming any of the pirates
were left to flee Sasuke.
Drummond�s ship didn�t use oars, so
it was a simple matter of securing the anchor and destroying the rigging. Gaara
was halfway through completely undoing the mainsail when a flicker of
unfamiliar chakra to his left had him hitting the deck before he consciously
considered the action. Water hissed over Gaara�s head and smashed against the
railing behind him reducing it to splinters and kindling.
A man stepped out from the
captain�s cabin, followed by a girl.
�Well well well, we seem to have
picked up rats.� The man was nearly skeleton thin, with a blade of a nose and lank,
oily brown hair. �Here we are trying to have a nice quiet drink to ourselves
and we�re interrupted by some meddlesome cur. You know it�s not polite to
interrupt honest sailor folk when they�re celebrating.�
The girl next to him, she was short
and average, with spiky black hair and a skimpy outfit, giggled and then gasped
as Gaara picked himself up off the deck, sand hissing in the air, skittering
and scouring gashes in the wood of the deck around him. �B-Boshi that�s��
�Shut up Miho.� The man snapped,
eyes round in his gaunt face, bravado evaporating in the face of Gaara�s pale
eyed stare. �It�It doesn�t matter who it is. This is our element.� He tried a
grin, he probably meant it to be wicked, but it came out watery and strained.
The girl giggled again, her pitch
was two octaves higher and forced. �Th-that�s right! No one can beat us when
we�re in the sea!�
�You are welcome to try and prove
that.� Gaara�s voice was low and deadly, he folded his hands over his chest and
watched the pair with outward disinterest. Inwardly he was wondering if this
unlikely duo were really the A-ranked criminals that had made him decide to
take the mission instead of assigning it to another team. They certainly didn�t
seem powerful, or fearsome. They looked cowardly and weak; he was disappointed.
The two spread apart on the deck,
settling in defensive stances. The first volley was extremely disappointing, he
countered the thrown kunai without the aid of his sand, simply side-stepping and
letting the knives pass him harmlessly. The second was only a little more interesting,
the girl used some sort of animation jutsu on the ropes on the deck, sending
them coiling and grasping like snakes after Gaara. His sand dealt with the
ropes easily. He didn�t even have to move. The man had been forming a set of
seals as the girl used her ropes, he finished and crowed triumphantly,
gesturing.
Gaara watched with mild interest as
a huge wave formed off the side of the ship. The man was controlling the water,
holding it hovering over the deck. �Now you�ll see what comes of messing with
us!� The man�Boshi�sneered. A thin rope of water began to form at the end of
the frozen wave. It whipped out suddenly, lashing down towards Gaara with force
and speed, it cut through the sail and rigging, but curled around the mast to
strike at the red-haired shinobi. Gaara stood still, arms still crossed as his
sand barrier rose to repel the threat. Water sprayed against the shield of
sand, scattering around Gaara like raindrops, but unlike rain each drop
swerved, a thousand tiny blades of water aiming point blank for Gaara. They all
connected, sending the Kazekage to the deck in an explosion of sand with the
force of the barrage.
Boshi howled in victory, raising
another rope of water to make sure the job was done.
�What an interesting technique.�
The bored voice at Boshi�s elbow caused the pirate to freeze and glance slowly
sideways. Gaara stood at his side, unharmed, sand pouring from his gourd to
make a sort of sparkling, grainy halo around him. Boshi hissed and leapt back,
sending his second rope of water at Gaara as he did. The Kazekage raised an
arm, hand outstretched, fingers hooked like claws. A wall of sand met the
water, and this time there was no splash, the sand engulfed and absorbed the
water, turning dark with the moisture. In the light of the cavern it almost
looked as if the sand were bleeding.
Gaara reached forward, the sand
surged towards Boshi before the pirate could begin to control another of his
water tendrils. The pirate stumbled back, and the sand was upon him, engulfing
him, racing up his legs like reverse quicksand, it had reached Boshi�s waist
before a sharp �HA!� made Gaara glance to the side.
The Genjutsu the Miho girl used was
surprisingly effective. It took a strong will and control to pull off a
successful Genjutsu trap, especially when the target was Gaara. The illusion
was dizzying, he was drowning, sight warped by the effect of water, power
draining away with his breath, helpless as he sank straight to the black depths
of the sea. He couldn�t move, couldn�t swim, and couldn�t fight the
inevitability; the tides would have him. His lungs were being crushed with the
weight of all that water above him.
The control only lasted moments, Gaara
let out a surge of chakra, breaking the trap, only to find three ropes of water
crashing down on him, intent on crushing him. His automatic defense deflected
the crushing force, but most of his sand was in a heap around Boshi�s legs, too
far to reach him in time; it was the sand armor that detached from his skin and
formed the umbrella shield above him, but that left his skin only thinly
covered by a layer of sand armor, exposed to the cutting knife-edges of the
droplets. The barrier dropped around him, shielding him from most of the
splash, but a few of the water blades still got through, cutting through his
weakened sand armor and biting into his flesh.
Ignoring the still unfamiliar
sensation of pain, Gaara raised his hand, his sand collected around him, then
surged forward, crashing over Boshi and crushing the man as Gaara closed his
fist gently. The wave of water by the ship fell, rocking the boat and Gaara�s
footing. He used the momentum of his half stumble to pivot, sending his sand to
overwhelm the girl, but she was already down, Sasuke kneeling by her form to
check her pulse. The Uchiha looked up as the sand retreated from him and the
unconscious kunoichi; his glare was as poisonous as a coral snake�s bite.
�The other should be alive, though
most of his bones are broken.� Gaara replied to that glare.
�What were you doing?� Sasuke
stood, voice as harsh and jagged as frost.
�Didn�t you want them alive?�
�If possible! What were you
doing?! You could have taken these two without all that trouble.�
�You were watching. Why ask me? You
saw.�
�I thought I was watching a badly
rehearsed play.� Sasuke marched up to Gaara, glaring daggers down at the
shorter man. �What the hell was that?�
Gaara shrugged, sand slowly
slithering back into his gourd.
�You�re even� You�re bleeding.�
Sasuke�s voice still crackled like lightning, his expression was less openly
murderous, but he was still angry enough to show it. �Were you having fun just
playing around here? I cannot believe these two third rate hacks made you bleed.�
�I was overconfident.� Gaara said,
voice disinterested, though he watched Sasuke�s face for the flickering
emotions there. He was actually surprised by how upset Sasuke was over this. It
was interesting.
�You were overconfident.� Sasuke
repeated, raising an eyebrow. �Suna nearly lost its leader to a pair of Wave
Country rats, and you were overconfident.�
�I�m not interested in your
hysterics. I take it you took care of the rest of the gang?�
�My hysterics.� Sasuke took a step
forward, dangerously invading Gaara�s personal space. �I witness a farce of a
fight�I was the first to make you bleed, do you remember? Do you remember what
you turned into, when I managed to pierce your skin?�and you aren�t interested
in my� Hysterics.�
�Is Shukaku what you�re worried about?
I have him under control. These� Scratches won�t make me lose my grip on him.�
�You think I�m worried about
Shukaku?� Sasuke darted a hand forward, fingers hovering near Gaara�s cheek,
before he stepped back. �Let me see to those cuts, then you should put the sand
armor on. No on should see you bleeding.�
Gaara shrugged again. �They will heal
quickly.�
�Shukaku?�
�Yes.�
�Let me tend them anyway.�
�More of your hysterics.�
�� If you want to call it that.�
Sasuke�s expression was back to neutral, but his tone had a wry edge.
�Why are you so upset over this?�
Gaara was genuinely curious as he watched Sasuke pull out a small first aid
kit.
�I�m going to touch you, will the
sand let me?�
�You aren�t threatening.�
�� Apparently not. Why do you think
I�m upset? An important ally took pointless wounds in a battle he should have
won within seconds. We should have switched positions; you�re at a disadvantage
on a ship. If it gets around that worms like these two managed to penetrate
Gaara�s Sand� You are in serious trouble.�
�We had these positions because
they made sense. I was able to disable the ships without destroying them in far
less time then it would have taken you.� Gaara tried not to start at the feel
of damp cloth and stinging antiseptic. It was an extremely odd feeling, being
touched, especially when the Uchiha�s cold skin would accidentally brush his
own, it felt weird, like static shock. Gaara wondered if Sasuke had been using
the Chidori.

�I was overconfident, yes; I should have ended the battle immediately. � Ow.�
�Maybe the sting will remind you
not to leave an opening for weaklings again.� Sasuke�s voice was unforgiving as
his administered disinfectant to each of Gaara�s cuts. They were all miner, the
thin layer of sand armor had deflected the force of the blows, leaving only
shallow cuts where there would otherwise have been deep gashes. The worst
looking of the lot was a wound that oozed on Gaara�s cheek, and another that
grazed the Kazekage�s throat. Once cleaned, most of the cuts seemed to
disappear.
�My reputation will be fine you
know.�
�That�s not all that I�m worried
about. Is that arrogance a habit of yours? Letting enemies get openings that
have the potential to kill you?�
�I was in no real danger, even with
the Genjutsu on me, my automatic defense was functional.�
�� Never mind.� Sasuke�s voice
could have frozen flame. He finished caring for Gaara�s cuts in silence, hands
gentle, even though his expression was sour. A little while later the Uchiha
leaned back, screwing the cap on the antiseptic liquid and stowing the tiny
medical kit away.
�Are you done fussing?�
�I believe I�ve satisfied my
hysterics for now, yes.�
�Good, what did you do with the
pirates?�
�They�re subdued and tied, Drummond
is over there.� Sasuke nodded to a limp form on the shore. Captain Drummond was
an ugly woman, coarse and muscled; she had arms like tree trunks and a face
that could frighten children. �I thought it best to keep her separate from the
others, even though she�s bound and tied. She�s known to be tricky.�
Gaara nodded, unsurprised that
Sasuke had subdued the entire gang without killing them. Even had they not all
been drinking like fish, the mission was within the limits of something that
could have been easily executed by either of them solo. He could somewhat
understand why Sasuke was so annoyed; Gaara would have subdued both shinobi
without further incident even without Sasuke�s help, but he should not have
allowed even that one opening. Especially not against such weaklings.
�Uchiha.�
Sasuke turned to meet Gaara�s eyes,
watching as the sand armor slid around the Kazekage, concealing everything
beneath the mask of sand. �Yes?�
�� It has been almost four years
since I fought with anyone to� Practice.� Gaara watched Sasuke�s expression:
the Uchiha was smart, he immediately grasped Gaara�s meaning. It had been about
four years since Gaara had stopped randomly killing people to affirm his own
existence. Since then his only battles had been against those he faced in
missions, and Deidara. It didn�t matter how much Gaara trained his control over
Shukaku, chakra, or techniques, if he had no real practice with his abilities,
he did not know their limits until a true battle. It wasn�t the best way to
test one�s training.
�When we get back I�ll spar with
you.�
Gaara�s eyes widened a fraction.
�That isn�t what I had meant.�
Sasuke met his eyes. There was an
unspoken promise there, but the Uchiha wasn�t going to bother repeating
himself. �You should go inform the local militia to come pick up these rats,
I�ll sit on them until you return.�
�� Gaara nodded, dusting himself
off and walking to the edge of the ship, jumping off without looking back, to
walk across the surface of the water. If Sasuke was so keen to spar with him on
their return to Suna, Gaara would not turn down the chance to truly hone his
abilities.

Replies to Reviews:

Thanks to those who�ve voted for this!

DevilLived: I imagine despite Sasuke�s coolness it
still wasn�t fun for him to be at Gaara�s mercy. Especially with Gaara being so
tactful about reminding Sasuke about the whole �You are my prey� incident. I
think they are both finding the other fascinating, if infuriating. Their
personalities clash wonderfully. Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you
enjoyed this chapter as much as the last!
- 5
- 6
- 7
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A Leaf in the Wind Country