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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
- 7
- 8
- 9
Author�s Note:
Question from Parimonylaw:
Hi, I really like your story, and I have a question for you, if you don't mind:
If Kadu have ties with Akatsuki, he must at least had hear about Uchiha
Itachi... I find careless and absent-minded that Sasuke let slip that he is
also an Uchiha, not thinking that Kadu could perfectly came to the conclusion
that they are related somewhat and that would lead to the discovery of his
facade and plans. Even if Itachi is dead. Is all part of the plot?

Answer: That's actually
going to be addressed in the plot, but I'm glad you asked. I will say that
Sasuke can't exactly conceal who he is, even if he and Gaara had tried to lie
about his identity from the start, there are people in Suna who would recognize
Sasuke and KNOW Gaara knew his identity. That would cause a lot of
uncomfortable questions and suspicions; both for Sasuke and for Gaara (such as
"Why is the Kazekage concealing this foreign ninja's identity? We all know
he's that Uchiha from Konoha and they fought together in the Chuunin exams when
we attacked Hidden Leaf." or "Did Uchiha use Sharingan on Gaara? Is
the Kazekage being manipulated? Controlled?") Even if they had lied only
to Lord Shin (or simply attempted to not mention Sasuke was an Uchiha) they
have NO IDEA who Kadu's spies are and what information Shin will be getting
from those spies.

So the best way to alleviate
suspicions would be to be to act "normally". Normally, in this case,
being that Sasuke is supposedly now working for Gaara, and both have no idea
Kadu is anything more then a powerful Lord of Wind Country. In that case, why
would Sasuke hide his identity? There would be no reason for him to lie to
Kadu, unless he distrusted Kadu (more then usual shinobi paranoia at least).
And if he showed evidence of distrusting Kadu, Kadu would have to ask himself
�Why does he distrust me?� and that�s the question Gaara and Sasuke really,
really don�t want Kadu asking himself.

Part Eight: Playing Parts

Shin had one of his body guards
arrange dinner and the night�s entertainment. Sasuke accompanied the Lord as
befitted his role of part companion part body guard�The second role was more
traditional. Leaving aside the fact that Sasuke would rather kill Kadu then
protect him, the Lord�s own body guards were his real protection, Sasuke�s role
was more for formality, a symbolic gesture from the Kazekage that even in Suna,
Gaara was looking out for Shin. It almost made Sasuke smirk, though he was the
only one who would appreciate just how much Gaara was looking out for Kadu�Specifically
looking out for the knife Kadu might try to twist into his back.
Kadu had reservations at one of
Suna�s more expensive restaurants�It was a place frequented by the upper crust
of Sunagakure, clan heads, council members, and the richer civilians. Sasuke�s
share of any expenses would be paid for by the Suna government, as it was
considered another part of his role to entertain the visiting dignitary, and
entertainment included playing dinner companion.
Sasuke remained himself during the
dinner with Kadu; he acted neither overly cold nor was he overly polite�his
personality just wouldn�t let him put on the diplomatically polite mask of
false friendliness. Kadu showed no signs of being offended by Sasuke�s
abrasiveness, in fact the first time Sasuke replied to one of his comments a
little acidly, Kadu had laughed.
�It�s good to see youngsters that
aren�t afraid to show some backbone to a venerable old man.� He�d said amiably.
�One gets tired of sycophants after a while. Especially at my age. I admire a
young man with a spine; young Temari just as fiery, though she shows a feminine
discretion that does her credit. But we are men, it is not so unbecoming for us
to speak our minds.� Shin had sipped his wine, eyes turning up at the corners
as he smiled. �I�m sure you�ve met Temari? Yes. Of course. You might think of
courting her, you would make a handsome couple.�
�You can�t be serious.�
Kadu laughed again. �What if I am?
I�m quite fond of the girl, and I think I might become fond of you as well. We
older folk like to meddle in the lives of you young ones, especially in matters
of love. It comes from boredom; once you get to my age you�ll understand.�
Sasuke highly doubted Kadu ever
suffered from boredom, not with the intricate extent of his power networking.
�All the same I�ll pass. I�d rather not get on the bad side of a powerful kunoichi,
if it�s all the same to you.�
�Ahh well, if you say so.� Kadu�s
eyes twinkled merrily behind his spectacles. �Or is it perhaps that you already
have someone special?�
�Not really, I have more important
things to concern me then romance.�
�More important then romance? My
dear boy what do they feed you young shinobi? Not to boast, but I was quite a
ladies man at your age; what could possibly be more interesting then romance
for a healthy young man?�
�Romantic ideas can get you killed
as a shinobi. I want to advance my rank and standing, not die in a mission
because I was distracted by thoughts of a woman.� Sasuke shrugged, sipping his
own tea. �Our wits are our biggest asset; as far as I have observed romance is
the antithesis to clear thinking.�
�Ah. Ambitious. Ambition is another
healthy outlet I suppose, but it saddens me to see such a fine young man speak
in such a jaded way. But then, I do not live the life of a shinobi. I will pray
that someday your mind will be persuaded by the romantic. Being too serious
isn�t healthy for a young man either; everyone needs to relax.�
Again Sasuke had to suppress a wry
smirk. From what he knew of Shin the man never relaxed his guard. The entire
conversation was likely a way of sounding out Sasuke. The irony was not lost on
the Uchiha. �I�ll take that under advisement Lord Kadu.� He replied, face
neutral.
�That is your polite way of telling
me you disagree. Very well, I see you are a driven man, I will respect that.�
Kadu leaned back in his chair smiling. �So I will simply pry in a different
direction. How are you liking Suna? Coming from the Fire Country I imagine the
climate and customs are all a bit alien to you.�
�� It�s hot.�
Kadu gave a deep, throaty chuckle.
�I cannot fault your most astute observations, dear boy. It is, indeed, hot
here.�
Sasuke allowed a small smirk. �It�s
different, yes. The Kazekage is much� Younger then the Hokage. That itself
makes the place different.�
Shin tilted his head, still
smiling, but the light reflected off his glasses in a way that reminded Sasuke
of Kabuto. �Indeed, our Kazekage is young, but he is strong, and has proven
himself quite resourceful for his age. We all expect great things of him.�
Sasuke just shrugged in reply.
�Ah, perhaps I am making you uncomfortable;
let us talk of less personal things. I have plenty of time to play the nosey
old man, hmm? The play isn�t for another hour, and we�ll be spending plenty of
time together. Tell me, do you play shogi?�

Kadu had a private booth in the
Suna theatre. He was joined before the performance by two members of the
Sunagakure government council, whom he greeted and chatted with while they
waited for the performance to begin. Sasuke noted their faces, memorizing the
conversation as he feigned interest in the play program. When the lights dimmed
for the performance one of the men left, the other stayed to watch the show
with Kadu. Sasuke watched Kadu and the councilor discreetly, but both men
showed nothing more then interest in the show.
The play was some classical tragedy;
Sasuke automatically followed the plot and observed the acting with disinterest,
in case Kadu wanted to discuss it later. His main attention was divided between
the two men in the both and the body guards outside of it. One of them had
discreetly followed the councilor that had left�Yamasaki�and he hoped Kankurou
was out there and watching, because he had no excuse to leave and find out why
one of Shin�s body guards had business with a council member of Suna.
Gaara arrived at intermission,
taking the seat formerly occupied by the second council member. The Kazekage
didn�t engage in much conversation between the two, but he also ignored Sasuke,
which left Sasuke free to observe all three. As far as he could tell Gaara was
fairly bored by the play, though he doubted anyone who wasn�t Gaara�s siblings
would have been able to tell. At the end of the performance Kadu invited the
councilor� Kuramoto Yoshiki�and Gaara to join him for tea. Both accepted the
offer, and Sasuke informed them that he would retire for the night.
He left in the direction of the
Jounin barracks when they parted outside the play house, but doubled back and
followed the three men and two body guards back to the hotel. He waited,
watching, until Kuramoto exited the building, not long after Kuramoto left,
another figure exited, one of Kadu�s bodyguards. Sasuke was already suppressing
his chakra, but he damped it further before following the two. He didn�t have
to go far before he saw the bodyguard hand Kuramoto his coat, but he knew there
would be some sort of correspondence in that garment. He tailed the councilor
back to his compound; Kuramoto Yoshiki was one of the key members of Suna�s
conservative faction, if he remembered correctly. All he needed was a glance at
the correspondence before the councilor read it, likely it would be destroyed
after that. Sneaking into the compound was simple enough, the guards were few
and relaxed, Suna was their home, and aside from the usual political
maneuverings, it was a generally peaceful time for the village.
Sasuke attached himself to the
ceiling of the office and waited tensely as Kuramoto went about preparing for
bed. The coat was draped over the desk chair, and the councilor began making himself
a drink. It seemed to be a small age before the councilor left the room. Not
sure how long he�d have, Sasuke dropped down and quickly hunted through the
council member�s cloak. He found some random odds and ends, and a dinner
invitation from Kadu that Sasuke could not recall the Lord giving Kuramoto.
Scanning it with his Sharingan to make sure he could reproduce every detail,
Sasuke quickly replaced everything and arranged the coat as it had been.
He had barely slipped out the
window when the councilor returned to the room. Sasuke froze, still partially
visible if Kuramoto wanted to look out the window; in the darkness if he stayed
still and the councilor wasn�t really looking, he might be missed, but if he
moved the movement might draw his target�s attention.
It made Sasuke�s shoulders itch
with tension to have to stay frozen in such an obvious location, but he dared
not move. After half an hour of listening to the sounds in Kuramoto�s room,
Sasuke smelled something burning, and then the lights dimmed. The squeak of the
office door prompted Sasuke to drop quickly into the darkened yard and make his
way stealthily to the Suna government building.
Gaara was waiting in his office
when Sasuke arrived. The Kazekage didn�t say a thing as Sasuke hunted up paper
and pen and then sat to write. As Sasuke reproduced the dinner invitation, down
to every scratch and squiggle, the Uchiha reported his observations. Gaara
didn�t comment but he did listen intently. When Sasuke was done he handed the
paper to Gaara, who scanned it.
�I suspect it�s code, I think
Kuramoto burned the letter after he read it. I could attempt to crack it
tonight if you wish.�
�No, you need to sleep. I�ll be relieving
Kankurou�s watch soon. I can decipher this while I observe Kadu.�
�Alright. Goodnight.� Sasuke stood
and left the Kazekage studying the letter.

For the next few days Sasuke�s
routine was more or less the same. Sasuke accompanied Shin during the day,
entertained the Lord or watched who he interacted with, left at night, reported
to Gaara , and then went to bed. He was beginning to get a feel for who might
be in Kadu�s confidence and who might just be an influential acquaintance.
Kuramoto and Yamasaki were Sasuke�s top suspects as being neck deep in Kadu�s
plots. There were three others, two older Jounin and a Chuunin, that often
visited Kadu or found excuses to bump into the lord. Sasuke pegged those three
as likely spies.
Gaara had failed to discover any
cipher in the dinner invitation, and Sasuke and Kankurou had had equally little
luck when the Kazekage had reluctantly asked them to attempt to find a code.
Sasuke had to conclude he�d missed something, or that whatever Kuramoto had
burned that night Sasuke had followed him had not been the dinner invitation,
but some other correspondence Kadu had managed to slip the councilor. He had no
way of knowing and with no means of finding out; he�d have to accept his
ignorance. It grated somewhat, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Sasuke was also glad for Gaara and
Kankurou�s mostly unseen presences. While Sasuke kept an eye on Kadu himself,
Kadu�s two body guards would occasionally slip away, and it would have irked Sasuke
that he had no way of knowing what they might be up to, if he hadn�t known
Gaara or the puppet master would keep an eye on them.
Sasuke was also getting a good idea
of how dangerous Kadu himself was. The man�s charisma was unbelievable. He took
time every day to play shogi with Sasuke, during which time they would drink
tea and Kadu would tell stories about his grandchildren or ask Sasuke innocent
seeming questions about all sorts of things, from the Uchiha�s taste in past
times to Sasuke�s opinions on anything from lunch to the Kazekage. In many ways
Shin reminded Sasuke painfully of Sarutobi. He had the same grandfatherly aura
about him that the Third Hokage had had, and that charming, guileless smile was
certainly convincing. Not to mention their discussions were always interesting,
since Kadu made no attempts to conceal he was educated and brilliant, though he
wasn�t condescending or vain about it either. Shin also seemed to project
genuine interest when he listened to people, it effectively flattered everyone
he talked to, from the council members of Suna to the serving maid at the tea
house he favored.
But Sasuke was watching, and every
now and then the sly, calculating look behind those rectangular glasses
reminded Sasuke exactly who and what he was dealing with. Even still, the
Uchiha was beginning to wonder what kind of Daimyo this man would make; he
didn�t seem particularly tyrannical, and the underhanded and terrible things
that had been done by Kadu�s agents seemed so out of place with this calm,
sociable Lord.
�You look pensive Sasuke.� Kadu
smiled gently, placing his piece on the board without hesitation.
Sasuke shrugged.
�Ah. Are you perhaps restless? You
have, after all, been chained to a rather boring fellow for nearly a week now.
A hot blooded young man like you is used to more action. I even hear you would
spar with our Kazekage now and then, before I came about.�
�I would hardly call you boring,
Lord Kadu.� Which was the truth. �As too sparing with the Kazekage, I�m the
only disposable shinobi in the village, I�m sure I�ll be dragged back into it
when you leave.� Sasuke contemplated his next move, wondering if Shin would
take that bait.
Shin raised an eyebrow at that.
�Disposable? Why would you speak about yourself that way? I�m sure you�re very
talented for the Kazekage to wish to spar with you.�
Sasuke moved and looked up at Shin.
�I�m very talented.� He replied with a sneer. �But I�m not a native. If I get a
little injured in practice no one will care much.�
Kadu frowned disapprovingly and
sipped his tea. �Sasuke.� His voice was gently scolding. �I�m sure that�s not
the case at all. Fatalism is not suited for the young.�
�It�s the truth all the same.� Or a
warped version of the truth.
�Well.� Shin lapsed into thoughtful
silence as they played a few rounds. �I�ll have to have a word with the
Kazekage.� He said at last.
�What?�
�He�s wasting valuable talent, or
letting it get resentful. That�s a very childish thing to do. Even if you
weren�t born in Suna, I�m sure you had good reasons for coming here. Didn�t you
lad?� Kadu looked up, meeting Sasuke�s gaze. The Uchiha knew he had to explain
his defection from Konoha, it was what Shin was expecting.
�� Yes.� Sasuke said, feigning
reluctance. He�d prepared for this, he knew what he�d say. �My clan was killed
years ago. I spent� A long time hunting down the man responsible. Once I�d
dealt with him� Well, Suna was as good a place to start again as any.�
�Who could do such a thing? Wipe
out an entire clan?� Kadu feigned horror, and Sasuke had to fight not to laugh
at the hypocrisy; worse things had been done with Shin�s knowledge, on the
Lord�s orders.
�� Sasuke ducked his head, using
his hair to hide his expression, in case his disgust showed. �My brother.� At
least the emotion in his voice was real, even if it was directed at Kadu and
not at the dead Itachi. He suspected Kadu knew the story already; Sasuke would
have found out in Shin�s shoes.
�I am� Sorry.� Shin�s regret and
sympathy were so artfully real, it was only because Sasuke knew better that he
wasn�t actually fooled. Once again Sasuke considered how very dangerous the man
was. Sasuke was playing a very deadly game, trying to out-act this star player.
�I shouldn�t have� Forgive an old man his foolish curiosity. But this means the
Kazekage is dreadfully abusing your sacrifice, to go through all that and
finally settle here, only to be unaccepted.� Shin shook his head.
�It�s in the past.� Sasuke said
abruptly, sipping his tea but letting his scowl show. He hoped he�d caught Kadu
with that little display, but the man was good. Very, very good. Sasuke was
abruptly reminded of Kakashi. What�s under the mask? Just another mask.
The thought made him almost melancholy.
They finished the shogi game with
talk of more innocent things, but Sasuke couldn�t help his nerves from singing
with tension. Either Kadu had bought the sob story, in which case Sasuke
expected Kadu or one of the body guards to approach him at some point before
the Lord left. Kadu had no reason not to buy the story. Sasuke had been entirely
truthful, just selective in what he�d revealed. Everything Sasuke had said
could be backed up by facts if Kadu chose to investigate it. Or. Or Sasuke had
blown it, and Kadu would know he was being played along, and he�d have to ask
himself why.

Sasuke didn�t have to wait long for
his answer. Three days before Kadu was scheduled to leave the village, the Lord
invited Sasuke to have a drink with him in his hotel room. Sasuke consented,
opting for tea as he always did when Kadu asked him what he would prefer.
Once the two had settled in and
talked for a while, Kadu smiled.
�I�ll miss our shogi games when I
go, my boy.�
�Playing with you has been
interesting.� Sasuke said by way of reply.
�Ah, I�ll miss your refreshing
attitude as well. But I know the Kazekage won�t be able to spare you.�
�What do you mean, Lord Kadu?�
�I could do with a likely lad like
you to help me out in my affairs, Sasuke.� Kadu said seriously, holding
Sasuke�s gaze. �But I know that Suna is hurting for shinobi as is. I couldn�t
take you from our good Kazekage. Still��
�Still?�
�Well, occasionally I have little
errands I need done by a trustworthy fellow, and I don�t always feel quite
right, just asking any of the ninja here to do them for me. Of course I would
pay well for the services, but I�d hate to let our hard-working young Kazekage
know I�m not entirely confident in all of his staff. He�s so serious, I don�t
know how he�d take it.�
�Lord Kadu, are you asking me to do
work for you� On the sly?�
Shin winced, �The way you put it
Sasuke, it sounds entirely distasteful.�
�I�ll do it.�
Shin raised an eyebrow.
�I warn you that the Kazekage keeps
me on a short leash, but� I�m better then that. I can do your little tasks. It
will be a challenge to do it secretly.�
Kadu smiled. �I knew you were a
young man who liked excitement. Really, the Kazekage should give you more
reign, I�m sure you can do amazing things.�
�I can.� Sasuke said, completely
confident. �But how will you get my assignments to me?�
�I have ways.� Kadu smiled in a
fatherly way. �But will you be able to keep things discreet?�
Sasuke stared at Kadu, �You
wouldn�t have asked me in the first place if you didn�t think I was capable.�
Shin laughed. �Ah, you are a good
young man. I hope when I return I will have the pleasure of your company
again.�

Three days later Kadu departed with
his bodyguards. He waved fondly to Sasuke and talked for a few minutes with
Gaara before setting out. Sasuke watched in mixed triumph and predatory
anticipation. Gaara and Kankurou both had interesting bits of information and
leads to follow from their spying, and Sasuke had the juiciest prize of all; he
just had to wait for one of Kadu�s agents to contact him with his tasks, and
then they could really begin to map out the extent of Shin�s plans.

For those interested, Shin Kadu�s
look is vaguely like that of Kou Shoka from Saiunkoku Monogatari. http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/saiunkoku/almanach/img/image_kou-shoka.jpg
Did anyone spot the mathematical
reference in this chapter? Yeah, I�m a dork.

Replies to Reviews:

Jess249: Thank you for reviewing! I�m new at fight
scenes, so I�m glad it came off as believable!

DevilLived: Haha, I know what you mean about fight
scenes. I�m not sure I�m good at them, but I�m trying to make them interesting
at least.

As for Shin, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that he
lived up to expectations!
- 7
- 8
- 9
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A Leaf in the Wind Country