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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Sakura Haruno stared aghast at the Fifth Hokage behind his desk as he waited for her response. The tension in the air was tangible. Her Anbu escorts stared impassively behind their beast masks, despite the outlandish mission that was just offered to her. A picture of Sakura's intended target was held tightly in her left hand, obscuring the visage so only the familiar rusty red hair of Gaara of the Desert made his image recognizable.

"Suna has entered into a state of instability. With the death of the fourth Kazekage, their own traditions dictate that a trial of candidates will compete for the prestigious title of the fifth Kazekage," Danzo Shimura patiently explained, his sharp gaze all but cutting into the thirteen year old before him as he assessed her.

...

Sakura ran across the sand silently, her black kunoichi uniform shrouding her in darkness against the pale moonlight of the desert. Without her hitai-ate, the pink hair from her bangs whipped freely in face, but it was a necessary evil if it meant avoiding recognition. Before her, Suna's looming lights grew ever larger as she grew closer to the hidden village. Her heart beat fast and heavy in her chest as she thought of what she must do and once again cursed the Hokage, Sasuke, and her own poor judgement for getting her into this mess.

...

"Sir, I-I don't understand why this has anything to do with Gaara," Sakura protested weakly, mentally cursing Naruto and his tardiness. Three months had already passed since he had left to find Lady Tsunade and there had been no word from him as of yet. If only he had found the Slug Princess and returned. It would be her sitting behind the Hokage's desk instead of the shady, bandaged man before her coercing her into a guaranteed suicide mission. Six months had passed since the Chunin Exams and Sakura still had vivid nightmares about the demon that had nearly crushed her under his chakra infused sand.

...

Since the village was almost entirely surrounded by the walls of the desert, Sakura was forced to use the main gate without detection. The entire process took far too long for her tastes but if she was to succeed, there could be no evidence of Konoha's interference. The odds of being caught were staggeringly against her, but Sakura forced such possibilities into the back of her mind.

...

"Suna's jinchuuriki is one of the candidates eligible to compete in the trials. Recent reports indicate that since his skirmish with Naruto Uzumaki, Suna's jinchuuriki has attempted to reform his behavior," Donzo continued, oblivious to Sakura's mental woes.

"Gaara wants to become Kazekage?" Sakura murmured in disbelief. She remembered his maniacal sneer, and drool, and wild black eyes. How could such a thing be possible? He couldn't have reformed in such a short time could he? After all, the guy had craved blood! What was Suna's Council thinking?

...

The building structures of Suna were much different than Konoha's, with their large, round stone structures shaped like domes. It was all very strange and if Sakura had allowed herself to be distracted, she knew she would have been overwhelmed by the strange setting. The buildings all looked nearly identical if not for the labels that decorated some of the more prominent structures. According to her intel, the Sand Siblings had yet to move out of the former Kazekage's residence which was located directly behind Suna's central office of command.

...

"Even the potential of a jinchuuriki becoming a Kage of one of the Five Great Ninja Nations cannot be allowed," Danzo finished, his voice grave.

"So you plan to assassinate him!?" Sakura demanded, both incredulous and appalled. Despite the vicious bloodshed of her previous encounter with red head, Sakura couldn't help but think of Naruto and how hard he had tried to reach Gaara during their battle, and how hard Naruto had suffered growing up. Without her, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei, he may have very well turned out like Gaara had: violent and unstable in his loneliness and need to fill the void of his painful existence.

...

At the rate she was going, the sun would rise before Sakura found Gaara. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to be patient as she watched the sentries and memorized their walk patterns. It was the only way she could ever hope to slip inside the residence without confrontation. With the stressed importance to remain anonymous, Sakura knew she would have to kill any who crossed her path.

The concept of killing, of truly ending another's life, was something that Sakura had never experienced before. She knew that once it happened, that person would become a stain on her soul.

Red hair and pale eyes flashed unwilling in her mind before she was able to suppress it.

...

Sakura closed her eyes, troubled by her thoughts.

What if it had been Naruto? After all, he is a jinchuuriki and he does want to become Hokage…

"You aren't in any position to refuse this mission, nevermind object to it, Miss Haruno."

...

Suna's patrol pattern was ridiculously complex. It took nearly a half an hour for to memorize their movements and then another ten minutes to maneuver around them before she was confident enough to scale the building. As Suna's jinchuuriki, the fourth Kazekage had kept Gaara's housed in quarters at the very top of the structure. It was a long climb and Sakura took that time to meditate on what she must do.

Could she take another life? As a kunoichi it was something that she knew she would have to do someday, but at the same time the concept of eliminating someone she knew had never crossed her mind. Gaara wasn't her friend by any stretch of the imagination, having only encountered him once; but he was Naruto's or so the blonde had claimed.

Sakura was somewhat skeptical but she knew the two shared a bond as jinchuurikis, regardless of the status of Konoha's and Suna's rivalry. If she managed to succeed in her mission, Sakura knew that it would be a betrayal to teammate. How would she ever be able to face Naruto afterwards?

Of course in the grand scheme of things, she really didn't have a choice.

...

Sakura's eyes opened and her head snapped up to meet Danzo's gaze.

"After all, was it not you who let Sasuke Uchiha escape from Konoha? In the eyes of the council, that makes you an accomplice to a rogue ninja and a traitor to the village," Danzo pointed out critically as he folded his hands under his chin.

"That wasn't my fault," she ground out, his words forming a painful lump of ice in her chest.

...

As Sakura scaled the dome's wall, she reflected that there was a very good chance she wouldn't be returning at all. As a Genin, her skills in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were mediocre at best. Her mission's only saving grace was in Danzo's report that Gaara now slept. It was the only time he was vulnerable. Of course it was still a long shot, and with no back up as Danzo had 'suggested' that her mission remain off the record; if she failed here tonight, no one would be coming to her rescue.

...

"Up until that point Sasuke was a competent shinobi and dedicated member of Team 7. I had no way of knowing he was not going to come back," she spat out through teeth, doing her best to suppress the terrible memory. Danzo had the gall to smirk at her.

"Really?" he challenged before sifting through the papers on his desk.

...

Upon reaching the top floor, Sakura used one of her knives to pry into one of the windows. It was very dark inside and once she gained her footing, she was aghast to find that the top floor was nothing more than a small, roomed attic, bare of anything but a bed in the corner and several windows covered up with paper. It left her incredibly vulnerable with nowhere to hide.

...

"Ah here it is," Danzo began before scanning over the paper.

"According to the Anbu on duty, you begged the Uchiha to take you with him."

Sakura felt all the blood drain from her face and the ice in her chest spread to her throat as the Hokage recited the report. Her mind could barely wrap itself around the concept that his spies had caught her during her most vulnerable and intimate moment with Sasuke, nevermind that she had been caught red-handed in the midst of a lie…

...

Was this small room really Gaara's quarters? It was insultingly sparse and a clear testament as to how little the Kazekage and his village valued him. Even Naruto had more than this...

A small movement on the bed drew Sakura's attention and with growing alarm she realized that she wasn't alone in the room.

...

"I can't do this," Sakura argued, her voice quiet but firm. Truly there was no reason she should accept the mission. There were other, better shinobi and kunoichi more qualified for such a situation. She hadn't even made Chunin yet. Gaara was leaps and bounds ahead of her. He would tear her apart if she ever got close.

...

The red hair confirmed who he was, but the rest of Gaara was hidden beneath a twisted sheet. Sakura felt her grip tightening on the knife she had yet to put away. The pressure to finish what she started urging her into action.

'This is it,' she thought to herself as she carefully maneuvered herself closer to him. It would be just as easy as Danzo had said.

...

Danzo narrowed his eyes as Sakura's voice gained in volume.

"I don't think you understand the grievances against you," he told her and carefully slid a paper across his desk towards her.

...

Biting her lip. Sakura loomed over the slipping boy and raised her knife.

An image of Naruto flashed before her and her movements paused. Naruto was her friend. He was Konoha's jinchuuriki but he was her friend. He trusted her. He had nothing and no one and despite how terrible the village had treated him in his early years, he still wanted to be accepted by their peers. He wanted to be respected and loved. He wanted to be Hokage.

Swallowing thickly, Sakura took a hesitant step back. Wasn't that what Gaara wanted? Love and acceptance? Wasn't he competing to become Kazekage? He and Naruto were two sides of the same coin. Sakura looked at the knife in her hand. The mere idea of raising a knife to Naruto with killing intent was revolting. Slowly she lowered harm, realizing that she could not complete this mission.

...

Sakura frowned and picked it up.

"This is…" she murmured. Dread filled her lungs as she read the condemning words and saw the list of signatures.

"This is a formal complaint filed by Konoha's Council to have you prosecuted as a rogue shinobi for your actions. If you see, all twelve signatures have been added."

...

No, she would find another way to convince the council of her loyalty.

At that moment, the boy in front of her shifted and then the sheet was off and she was staring into a snarling face with wild, black and yellow eyes.

...

Sakura felt her vision narrow to the paper in front of her. This couldn't be happening. Her loyalty was being questioned. The council thought she was a traitor… She was at a loss for words.

"Fortunately for you, Miss Haruno, I'm willing to move past such grievances. The council however, has questioned your integrity and may need some convincing," he told her and looked pointedly at the wrinkled image of Gaara in her hand.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Sakura stared aghast at the drooling monstrosity before her. Gaara had a firm hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing. His sclera was completely black and the irises themselves glowed an eerie yellow in the dark. It was too hard for her to see his actual sand but the ominous sound of shifting wind and grains around him didn't bode well for her.

Gaara growled something undecipherable at her. His teeth gleamed sharply in the soft moonlight spilling from the lone window she had opened.

'Danzo lied. Gaara doesn't sleep at all,' she thought dimly to herself as her vision began to dim. She was really going to die. Her mind scrambled for her to do something, but with her oxygen levels so depleted any techniques she could hope to perform were lost in the very real terror and belief that she was about to meet her end.

Weakly, she tried to call Gaara's name and reach for him.

'Maybe he will recognize me,' she hoped desperately. The moment she touched his face however, a giant claw raked up the front of her chest, slicing deeply into her delicate skin. Crying out, the impact of the attack sent her colliding with the far wall and cratered her inside of it. The desperate few gulps of oxygen she managed to suck in immediately escaped her lungs from the harsh impact.

Gaara watched her darkly from where he stood on the bed, his breathing was heavy from the excitement of bloodshed. His yellow irises twitched giddily and his smile was just a little too wide to be natural.

"More," he rumbled at her and licked his lips.

Sakura was vaguely aware of muffled, panicked voices outside of the room but it was all white noise compared to the very real situation she found herself in.

A hot pain erupted across her torso and Sakura didn't even have to look down to know that her black clothing was shredded. When mixed with the cool night air around her, the wounds positively burned. As Suna's jinchuuriki advance, the pain was eclipsed by the danger before her as the sand surrounding Gaara exploded on all sides and rushed towards her.

"Gaara," she choked out. The sand immediate slowed from a frenzied assault to a stream of fluid waves that surrounded but did not attack her. Gaara's smile was suddenly gone and his eyes were very still. Sakura was too weak to move from where she was pinned to the wall but she guessed that maybe he had somehow remembered her.

The door opened on that very moment and light spilled in from the outside. Gaara's sand froze in mid air.

"Gaara!" Temari called as she raced in shortly followed by a disgruntled Kankuro. It was clear from their sleepwear that both of them had come running from their beds.

"What's going on?" the puppet master demanded. The two sand sibling gaped at their brother but when they tried to move closer he snarled softly at them and they stilled their movements. Despite the light spilling into the room, it was still too dark for them to identify the assailant.

"Another assassin was sent by the council?" Kankuro demanded incredulously. Temari eyed Gaara warily as she inched towards the light switch.

"No," Gaara told them, shaking out aggressive stance. His eyes never left Sakura's. They were once again a pale jade.

The light came on then, chasing away the remaining darkness. Wheezing from her pain, Sakura couldn't help but flinch as her vision was overwhelmed. It was getting harder for her to stay awake…

"Why that's…" Temari gasped. Her words were drown out as the sand rushed towards Sakura and engulfed her. Then the pink haired kunoichi knew no more.

Danzo stared out of his office window at the many lights flooding out from Konoha's village. Even in the night Konoha was like a beacon of power and life brightly shining for all to see… and it was all his.

"I must say I was surprised to hear your summons," a deep voice spoke softly into the night. Despite the very real threat he posed, Danzo chose to keep his back to him. It was a necessary farce, the intended belief that he was so well guarded that even in such a vulnerable stance he could not be caught unawares.

When Danzo failed to reply the other continued.

"It's not everyday that the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf requests a commission."

White robes fluttering restlessly, there was a moment of silence before Danzo finally turned around and appraised the hunched over, veiled Akatsuki member before him. There was only so much time he had before their meeting was compromised. Silence could only get him so far.

"Has my order been completed then?" he demanded. The puppet master shifted slightly and a new, smaller person stepped forward. Danzo took in her pink hair and bright emerald eyes. There were no seams. No strings. No sound of wooden clicks. The very real skin perspired and gleamed with sweat in the dim light of his office.

"I trust this will suffice," the puppet spoke in a clear confident, and all too familiar voice. Then she smirked. Danzo felt himself mirroring the gesture.

The puppet's resemblance was uncanny.

By now Sakura Haruno had already breached Suna's territory and engaged the onetailed jinchuuriki. It was a shame. She was so young. Her death however was for the greater good and a necessary loss in the grand scheme of things. When the others found out it would already be too late.

"You've outdone yourself," Danzo praised the puppet master.

"And my payment?" the deep voice prompted in lazy tone. Danzo nodded and gestured to a dark corner in his office where the pale, still form of one of his operatives knelt in a submissive posture.

"Sai?" Danzo called in a voice that expected no less than obedience. At his words, the Root agent stood and came into the light. His black eyes stared impassively back at the Akatsuki member for a moment before he bowed languidly to him.

"Lord Sasori," he greeted.

"What does it mean?" Kankuro demanded as they stared at Sakura's prone form lying unconscious on the floor. Gaara crouched down to study her, his jaw repeatedly ticking as he withdrew the sand surrounding her.

"Do you think," Temari began and bit her lip. She had to do a double take to make sure that the pink haired kunoichi was still alive. Gaara was trying to learn control but once he retaliated against an enemy it was rare for him to spare their lives.

"Do you think Konoha sent her? Do you think they're in league with our council?" The blonde continued and shared a worrying look with Kankuro. Ever since they had returned from the Chunin Exams and Gaara had made his intent to become Kazekage known, the council had upped the number of assassins they had sent after him.

"No," Gaara said after a moment and stood up.

"This has nothing to do with the council," he murmured. His mind played back to his last battle with Naruto and the forest where they had both collapsed. Konoha's jinchuuriki claimed Sakura was one of his precious people. She was one of the friends that had saved Naruto from his loneliness, one of the people that made him stronger.

Did her presence here tonight have something to do with Naruto? A fierce ache suddenly bloomed in his chest. Gaara clenched a fist at it unknowingly as he thought of his new friend.

Did Naruto know that one of his precious people had come to Suna with intent to kill him? Worse, had he somehow been apart of the plan? The redhead tried to push the terrible thought and the pain of betrayal away. No, there had to be another reason behind it. Naruto wouldn't do that. Slowly his hand lowered as the pain disappeared.

Gaara thought of the girl and how he had silently waited for her attack. She had hesitated there at the last moment, he recalled. Her arm holding the knife had been lowering when he had revealed himself. He didn't know her well enough to determine the integrity of her character so he had no way of knowing if assassinations were common assignments for her but judging on her hesitant, amateur mistakes he suspected another element was at play. He just didn't know what.

"What's going on?" a new voice called. The three sand siblings turned to find one of the sentries standing outside the door to the room. Other faces quickly peered over his shoulder as they stood on the stairs waiting for an explanation. Before Temari, Kankuro, or Gaara could say anything, their eyes collectively traveled to the pink haired kunoichi lying unconscious on the floor.

"An intruder?" the sentry asked.

"Someone inform the council that there's been another attempt on Lord Gaara's life!" another sentry ordered.

Temari and Kankuro shared an exasperated look and mutually rolled their eyes. All the attacks so far had come from the council. It was just custom to inform them when one of the prominent family members were in danger. The hypocrites acted concern and solemn whenever they learned of another assassination attempt on Gaara, but all three siblings knew that next time they would just try all the more harder to eliminate him.

Without the fourth kazekage to act as a buffer, Gaara existence and usefulness to the village no longer outweighed his bloodshed and berserker mode.

When one of the sentries moved to pick Sakura up, Gaara sneered dangerously at him, forcing the man to quickly back away.

"If she's still alive the council will want to question her and find out who she is," he explained nervously as more sentries cautiously approached.

"She needs a medic," Temari cut in.

Gaara's jaw twitched again as he realized belatedly how damaged the girl was. The deep claw marks from his sand raked from her right hip all the way up to her left shoulder. Her clothing was in shreds and the blood pooling around her was considerable. He hadn't killed her, but unless attended to there was a very real chance she could die. It would hurt Naruto if one of his precious people slipped away quietly in the night because her wounds hadn't properly been treated.

He stared intently at the blood wondering what it was about her that gave Naruto strength. Was it in her blood? The cuts were long and deep, the threads of her black stealth clothing having split away to reveal just how small and fragile she was. The redhead didn't understand. She was just a child. How could she give Naruto strength?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sand shinobi before him.

"We'll take her to the hospital," one of the sentries promised but Gaara was quick to protest.

"No," he told them in a softly threatening voice. The redhead knew more than most how underhanded the council could be when dealing with threats. There was a very real chance if he let them take her away, then he could never see her again; and if she disappeared forever what would happen to Naruto? Would the nine tails jinchuuriki's strength fail him? Would he become lost without one of his precious people?

Gaara did not know as he had no experience in such matters, but no matter what he wanted to help his new blonde friend. His eyes once again swept over the pink haired kunoichi. That meant he had to help her too.

"I'll take her to the hospital," Kankuro suddenly interjected. Gaara relaxed slightly as he watched his older brother reach down and gently scoop the girl up.

"We'll both take her," Temari added.

"The Anbu will have to escort the girl. She can't remain unsupervised," a brave sentry protested. Temari inhaled angrily, ready to tell the man off and remind him just who he was talking to. Gaara however beat her to it when he stepped in front of the man. The sentry blanched when he realized just whose attention he had attracted.

It had been a long time since anyone, aside from his siblings, had willingly stood in the onetailed jinchuuriki's presence in an enclosed space. It never ended well.

The redhead however remained disturbingly calm.

"The Anbu won't be necessary," he told them, narrowing his eyes in silent challenge. He wasn't Kazekage yet, only a candidate for the succession and so his word was not law. Right now fear was the only thing keeping the sentries subdued and even then it wasn't always enough. Especially in light of his recent efforts to change his nature, to learn control so that he could be accepted by his village.

None of the sentries could quite bring themselves to look directly at him as one of them in their midst bravely argued.

"The council will want answers."

They all held their breaths collectively as they waited for the jinchuuriki's reply. None of them knew just when his anger and impatience would explode. His instability made him incredibly unpredictable. Gaara however was learning how to leash his furry and when he spoke his reply was assertive but calm.

"Then I will question her."

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Lord Tojuro of Suna lounged casually back in the Kazekage's office chair and stared offhandedly out the window at the rising sunset. The view was breathtaking. Taking a sip of the delicate wine he had poured himself, the pale haired and handsome Shinobi took a moment to appreciate the room. It hadn't been used since the death of the fourth Kazekage.

Someday it would all be his, he just had to wait a little longer.

His musings were interrupted when his sour faced spy, Shishio, came bustling into the room with the Council Leader, Ebizo following on his heals.

"I'm sorry my lord, but he insisted on following me," the dark haired shinobi apologized. Tojuro felt his annoyance flare.

"Tojuro this is the Kazekage's office," Ebizo admonished. Tojuro fought the urge to rolls his eyes at the elder. If he was ever to obtain the position of Kazekage, several key characters and obstacles would need to be removed, Ebizo being one of them.

Before Tojuro could offer any sort of apology or explanation, Shishio came forward with his flint eyes, high cheek bones, and eternal frown, and bowed low to the noble lord and then Ebizo.

"Forgive the interruption my lord, but there has been another attempt on, Lord Gaara's life," Shishio explained.

Speaking of removing obstacles.

While Ebizo was visibly disturbed by the news, Tojuro narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The assassins he had hired to eliminate Suna's jinchuuriki were not suppose to act again until the day before the next candidates' competition. Without Gaara competing, Tojuro was sure to win the title of Kazekage… So then why had the assassins revealed themselves prematurely?

"If Lord Gaara keeps disposing of the assassins before they can be questioned, we'll never find the culprit responsible for hiring them," Ebizo lamented. Tojuro forced himself to relax, remembering that in the grand scheme of things it did not matter. Gaara's violence was legendary. Even if the assassins he had hired thus far had failed, with no survivors, no one would ever be the wiser of Tojuro's involvement.

It was of course all for the good of the village.

"There was only one assassin this time," Shishio interrupted. Ebizo and Tojuro both simultaneously turned to him in surprise.

"and she's still alive. The Sand Siblings escorted her to the hospital where Lord Gaara stated that he would question her himself," Shishio finished.

None of it made sense. Only one kunoichi? Due to Gaara's background and shinobi skills, the assassins he had hired always attacked in numbers. Furthermore, why had the jinchuuriki spared this girl's life? No one before had survived. What had changed? Just who was the girl? More importantly, had she revealed his own identity? Tojuro needed answers.

"The Council must know about this," Ebizo murmured. The two council members shared a confirming glance with one another before Tojuro turned back to his subordinate.

"Bring them both to us. Immediately."

Sakura woke to the familiar sterile smell of ammonia. As someone who desired to train in the medical field, she had poked around Konoha's hospital in her studies enough to recognize when she herself was in one. Trying to open her eyes however was a task she had overestimated. Her eyelids felt like lead and her body positively ached.

Doing an internal chakra scan, she was dismayed to realize that her energy had been depleted in it's instinctive desire to heal itself. Furthermore, she suffered from bruised ribs, a hairline fracture to the back of her skull, and five deep lacerations across her stomach and chest. How she had obtained such injuries came back to her in a flash, and suddenly the ability to control her eyelids were irrelevant as her shock forced her eyes open.

Gaara...

The bright light from the medical lamp hanging directly over her head made her wince but once she grew accustomed to it, her eyes took in the unfamiliar setting. Wherever she was, she wasn't in Konoha. The room and medical equipment was too outdated to belong to her village. No… she was somewhere else. The next most logical answer as to her location was chased away from her thoughts when her once silent room came alive with hushed voices.

"She's awake!"

"Kankuro, be quiet!" a feminine voice chased after the first with a hiss. Sakura turned her head towards the voice and blinked once as the morning light flooding in from the outside of her window nearly blinded her with it's potency. The sun had risen. Her time was up…

An image of Gaara's snarling face came unbidden to Sakura's mind. How had she survived?

"She's obviously awake," the first voice grumbled.

When her sight once more adjusted, Sakura was dismayed to realize that two of the Sand Siblings, Kankuro and Temari if her memory served correctly, both sat to the left side of her bed and were glaring at her.

"Do you know where you are?" the blonde asked the pink haired kunoichi. Before she could answer however, Kankuro leaped in,

"What did you hope to accomplish by coming to Suna!?" Temari promptly stood and elbowed him in annoyance.

"Idiot, we know why she came to Suna. She was trying to attack Gaara," she reprimanded. The puppet master huffed once in mirroring annoyance at his sister before turning back to Sakura.

"Okay then, why did you attack Gaara?"

Sakura studied the two with a frown thinking that Gaara was the one to attack her. She didn't think either of the two wanted to hear the technicalities, however. Both of them had dark circles under their eyes indicating poor sleep. Judging from their sleepwear, she guessed that her intrusion last light had kept them from their beds. Despite the circumstances, she felt vaguely guilty for lying in bed staring at them when it was clear that the both of them needed rest.

She opened her mouth, ready to begin her explanation when a new but familiar wispy voice interjected itself into the conversation.

"That's enough."

Eyes widening, Sakura turned to find the the third Sand Sibling standing at the foot of her bed. Catching her gaze, Gaara of the Sand stared back at her evenly with his arms crossed. While she silently berated herself for not noticing his presence or approach, the pink haired kunoichi couldn't help but mentally catalogued his appearance.

While the white shoulder and belt sash remained, it looked like he had traded in his netted shirt and black shift and pants for a maroon tunic and trousers. Because of the bed and her reclining position, her view obscured his knees and footwear. Not that it mattered.

Realizing she had been staring, Sakura fought down a faint blush and forced herself to stare at the redhead.

"Gaara the council is going to want-" Temari began only to be cut off by her youngest brother.

"Leave us," he told his siblings. Sakura inwardly flinched at how cold he addressed the two. He hadn't spared them a glance at all. He might as well have been addressing some undesirable underling with how much warmth or lack thereof that had been projected into his voice.

His siblings however did not object. After sharing a meaningful glance the two nodded and walked out together. With their absence Sakura was once again reminded of just who she was alone with now in the room. She fought back her trembling as the sound of her room's door closing, indicating Temari and Kankuro's departure.

The weight of Gaara's stare was almost painful and the pink haired kunoichi found herself forcing her body into sitting up, unable to bare the vulnerable position any longer. The rush of pain was immediate. Looking down, Sakura winced when she realized that clothing around her torso had been replaced with thick white bandages.

'The damage must have been bad,' she thought darkly.

"I can smell your blood," Gaara told her after a moment. Startled, Sakura did a double take only to find Gaara stalking his way closer to the right side of her bed. Feeling smaller by the second, her mind briefly considered fleeing, before she realized that her body would not be able to keep up with the physical demand of a chase.

"You're name is Sakura of Konoha isn't it?" Gaara demanded. Jerking slightly at hearing her name and knowing that he remembered her, Sakura stiffly nodded and drew the medical blankets tighter around her. It was discerning to know that she had the attention of a psychotic, bloodthirsty killer.

"You tried to kill me," Gaara continued and much to Sakura's dismay pressed his hands down on the edge of the bed and leaned closer to her.

"Why did you hesitate?" he asked after a moment and Sakura all but blanched as he loomed over her. With such close proximity Sakura realized bleakly that Gaara did in fact have pupils in his eyes and that they blended nearly perfectly with his pale jade irises; it was not a chakra induced alteration in his appearance as she had first believed.

"Answer me," Gaara told her, his voice suddenly very soft and dangerous. Sakura was once again reminded of the moment when she had raised her knife over him only to freeze in uncertainty. Her resolution had her lowering her knife and leaving her completely vulnerable to Gaara's surprise attack.

Feeling a knot thickening her throat, Sakura tried to swallow past it and gather her thoughts. Gaara at the very least deserved an explanation.

She wasn't a killer, she wanted to say. She had never ended another's life and she hadn't wanted to go through with it. She wanted to explain how Sasuke's defection and her own loyalty towards her teammate had cast doubt on her allegiance and character. She wanted to explain her suspicions of Danzo and how he had some sort of agenda against jinchuuriki, and how the one tailed host could have just as easily been the nine tailed host that she had been ordered to kill.

"Naruto…" Sakura began. Trembling emerald eyes met baleful jade as they stared at each other. It was impossible for Sakura to interpret the fluctuating emotions in the redhead's eyes but whatever it was Gaara saw in her made his aura relax minutely.

Before anything could be further explained, her door came bursting open and several Sand Anbu came rushing in. Gaara tensed and stepped away from her. Sounds of Temari and Kankuro's outraged shouts could be heard in the hallway but it seemed as if they were both being kept away.

"Lord Gaara," A masked shinobi addressed the jinchuuriki. Sakura took note of the barely contained disgust in the Anbu's voice and body language, and wondered what she had done to deserve such scorn.

"You and the girl have been summoned to the Council Chambers by Lord Tojuro."

Sakura realized belatedly that the loathing and disgust wasn't for her. They had barely taken notice of her and why should they? She was a young girl, weak and wounded, barely dressed and without weapons sitting helpless in a bed.

No. Their hatred and fear was directed at Gaara.

It was all so sudden.

Ino watched with sad and confused eyes as Sakura finished packing up the last of her boxes. Her room was now a sad, empty space with pale shaped marks on the faded pink walls where pictures had hung, and scrapes on the floor where Sakura had gotten carried away practicing taijutsu.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ino asked the pink haired girl softly. Sakura stared solemnly back. Ino wasn't sure if it was because of Sasuke's departure or Naruto's absence, but the bright sheen in Sakura's emerald eyes had dulled considerably. She had tried to reach out to her friend but Sakura was slowly but surely pulling herself away from her. Today's actions just seemed to have cemented the deal.

"Of course," Sakura told her and calmly walked out of her childhood bedroom without a second glance. Ino took one last look at the bedroom before following her out.

"This isn't like you, Sakura. Are you sure you want to do this?" Soft voice spokes just out of Ino's line of vision. When she entered the front room, she found Sakura's parents as they both stood and watched with silent confusion and tight lipped sadness as their daughter bowed formally to them and then without a word carried her last box out of the house. Ino shared a frustrated look with them.

"You've got to do something!" she urged them. Sakura's mother turned away in tears while her father looked frustratingly at the door Sakura had just walked out of.

"It was a direct order from the fifth Hokage," he told her in an angry tone. His posture was stiff but his eyes were sad. They could no more forbid Sakura from leaving than Ino could.

"That doesn't even make any sense! Why would Danzo want Sakura to relocate and on such short notice?" she demanded.

The sound of the front door closing brought the blonde out of her musing and she quickly ran to catch up with her pink haired friend. She huffed in annoyance when Sakura kept her pace steady and continued down the street. It quickly became apparent that Sakura was planning to carry the last of her possessions to her new apartment all by herself without Ino's aid, unlike how she had with the previous boxes and furniture.

"Your assistance is no longer required," Sakura told her softly. Stung, Ino fell back some.

"I'll come with you…" the blonde told her, suddenly feeling awkward and uncertain. Sakura remained silent.

"This is crazy you know?" Ino continued after a moment. It was like she was talking to a brick wall. Sakura kept on walking as if she hadn't heard her.

"You're only thirteen! You can't live by yourself!" She told Sakura and took a hold of her arm, intending to whip her around and face her. However, the moment her arm clamped around her, Sakura took advantage of Ino's vulnerable position and flipped her onto her back in the street.

"Hey!" Ino shouted in real anger this time. Sure she had been a little assertive, but Sakura's aggressiveness was crossing the line.

"The Hokage is going to make me his apprentice. He has sanctioned for me an apartment housed in the Hokage office district where I can be closer to my duty," Sakura told the blonde. Her words were calm and soft. Ino felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as those green eyes stared down at her.

'Sakura is looking at me, but she isn't really seeing me,' she thought with unease. It wasn't like the pink haired kunoichi at all.

"So you're finally going to dedicate yourself to training as a medic?" Ino asked, wincing as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Sakura stared blankly at her before turning abruptly around and continuing her walk.

Danzo watched silently from the shadows as the blond girl called out to the puppet as she watched it walk away, begging her to stop. He knew it was a wasted effort.

Who or whatever the puppet had been before Sasori had gotten his hands on it was irrelevant. The prosthetics, Genjutsu, and seals that had gone into it's creation made it the perfect instrument for him. With a beating heart and body that could bleed blood and self recover, it was the perfect slave. The puppet would obey his every command.

Perhaps she would serve as the perfect bait as well. Konoha's jinchuuriki was bound to return from his folly mission sometime; and there was always Sasuke Uchiha… Smirking, Danzo turned around, ready to be on his way when he spotted Kakashi Hitake lounging casually across the street against an adjacent wall. In his hands, he held an orange book, but his one revealing eye was hard as he stared accusingly back at the fifth Hokage.

Danzo frowned.

Something would have to be done about the copy nin.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Tojuro scowled as he followed Ebizo into the Council room, only to find the other members already seated, meaning that he was of the last to arrive.

"Lord Elder," Councilman Goza greeted, standing from his seat to bow in respect to Ebizo as the latter took the head chair closest to the empty one where the Kazekage would sit. Following Goza's lead, the other eight councilmen stood and Tojuro was forced to remain standing to show his outward support for their council leader. Inward he seethed, hating the ceremonies wasted on an old man who he was sure would die from his age soon.

Nostrils flaring, Tojuro was unprepared to meet Goza's dark gaze staring at him from across the table. As the most popular candidate, Tojuro had won the majority of the council over. Goza however had the support of the Honoured Siblings: Council Leader Lord Ebizo, and Veteran Lady Chiyo, thus the gained support of Suna's Puppet Corps by default.

Looking away, Tojuro fought back his sneer.

"Now down to business," Ebizo ordered. Once he sat, the others all followed suit. Ebizo looked to Tojuro expectantly who proceeded to address the others.

"There has been another attempt on Lord Gaara's life," Tojuro told his colleagues, fighting to keep the confusion from his voice and the scowl from his face.

Murmuring instantly flooded the room. They escalated quickly to full out shouts.

"Did the jinchuuriki survive?" Councilman Joseki demanded. The man's eyes were almost shining in their anticipation. Tojuro felt himself relaxing slightly, knowing that he had a sure and true ally in Joseki's hatred towards Gaara.

"Where is Lord Gaara?" Councilman Baki demanded. He on the other hand was quickly becoming a thorn in Tojuro's side, as the only member of the council to openly support Gaara in the boy's attempts to become Kazekage.

"The assassination attempts will never cease unless we can find the one behind the source of this malicious attacks," Goza commented.

"And how do you propose we do that? There's hardly anything left after Lord Gaara is finished with them," Councilman Yura scoffed.

"The boy needs to learn restraint. He is a running candidate for the Kazekage's position," a clean faced councilman called Ryusa explained.

"Just who is going to teach him this restraint? You!?" Yura jeered.

"I say let the assassins come. If the jinchuuriki is unable to fulfill his purpose as protector of the village then he is of no further use to us," Joseki waved his hand dismissively.

"Are you suggesting we just let the assassins have him?" asked the squinty-eyed councilman called Sajo.

"How can you suggest that! Jinchuuriki or no, Lord Gaara is one of the three Sand Siblings and a member of the Kazekage Clan-" Ikanago, a younger councilman shouted.

"-the former Kazekage's clan. Once the fifth's reign begins, those three brats of the fourth's bloodline will have no standing in this council," Tojuro smiled darkly.

"-not if Lord Gaara wins the candidacy!" Baki interjected.

"That's enough, all of you!" Ebizo called to order. The shouting turned to murmures and eventually whispers until the council room reluctantly went silent. Turning to the two Anbu stationed at the entrance Ebizo commanded,

"Bring them in."

A moment later the doors opened to reveal Suna's jinchuuriki, Gaara of the Desert, walking shoulder to shoulder with Team Seven's Sakura Haruno of Konoha.

Gaara walked stoically towards the council chambers. Beside him, the girl walked silently next to him but she might as well have been miles away for wherever her thoughts had taken her. The redhead too, felt his thoughts returning to six months ago, back to his battle with Naruto.

Even amongst the pain and blood, punches, and head-butts; he was aware of her. Through the jutsu casts, the dodges, and kicks, and explosions, his sand had been covering and slowly crushing her small body. Gaara remembered her shallow pulse and her small bones and the very pores of sweat on her skin as he slowly extinguished the life within her with his impenetrable sand. There had been some blood then too on that tree, and her desperate moans that had given away to helpless gasps as her heart worked laboriously before she fell unconscious.

Gaara thought of her answer in the hospital. It was because of Naruto that she had hesitated. It was because of him that she hadn't wanted to kill Gaara. Allowing a sardonic smirk to grace his lips, Gaara realized that it was because of Naruto that he hadn't killed her either.

Sparing a sideways glance at Sakura, Gaara wondered if she had come to him for revenge against what he had done to her. It was plausible, however unlikely. He remembered his instinctive belief that he had to kill those that were powerful enough to present a threat to his life and therefore his existence. Even now, he struggled with that killer instinct. Did Sakura too struggle with such things? Gaara knew that if their situations had been reversed and she had nearly killed him during the Chunin exams, he would have sought to terminate the threat. Even now with her weak attempt on his life, she still posed some threat.

Gaara didn't know yet if or how he would retaliate should she make another attempt, but her being a special person to Naruto complicated matters.

As they neared the council doors, the Anbu surrounding them had them halt as they waited for theire queue to enter.

"Bring them in," could be faintly heard before the large double doors opened to reveal a large, bright room with high ceilings and burgundy carpets. In it's center, a large, circular table made of alabaster stone housed thirteen councilmen all staring at them with various degrees of contempt and mild interest. Behind them stood large marble stones fashioned after the four deceased Kazekage that had already served Suna.

Gaara made a point of avoiding looking at the fourth one.

"It would seem this assassin in particular, was spared by Lord Gaara," Ebizo commented dryly. The jinchuuriki was aware of their disbelieving eyes as they swept from him to the silent pink haired girl beside him. As one the council tried to determine what made that particular girl so special as to have somehow stopped the one tailed host's infamous violence and bloodied rampages, but Gaara knew that their speculation and questions would forever go unanswered unless he revealed who she truly was.

Narrowing his eyes, Gaara caught the gaze of Tojuro. The man reeked of violence and agitation as he openly studied Sakura with a hungry and impatient intent. Gaara knew from experience that what Tojuro broadcasted from the outside the others more or less felt on the inside. They were always out for blood. Sakura could still be in very real danger from the council.

The pink haired kunoichi for her part felt like she had been caught unawares, ripped from her bed and tossed naked into the lion's den, vulnerable and weak. Of course that wasn't entirely true as she had been awake when Suna's Anbu had come to collect her and Temari had been allowed to help dress her before she had been whisked away. Now she stood before the council barefooted and dressed in a loose fitting brown tunic and matching pants, shivering despite the dry climate. The spacious room with it's four, giant solemn statues staring down at her from behind the twelve frowning men did nothing to calm her nerves.

Gaara beside kept his face neutral but there was an undertone of hostility and agitation that she had not failed to notice. The council as a whole seemed to sense it as well as a majority seemed to shift restlessly in their seats.

"Welcome Lord Gaara and assassin," an older, eye sunken elder greeted the two. Sakura stared silently at the man, barely containing her surprised cough at being addressed as an assassin and so casually at that.

"I am called Ebizo," the old man explained good naturedly and then nodded to the two men on either side of him.

"This is Lord Goza," Ebizo gestured to the man with a short beard on his right. Goza inclined his head politely but his eyes were assessing and curious as they studied the pink haired kunoichi.

"And this is Lord Tojuro-"

"With all due respect, Lead Councilman, but this is hardly the time for introductions. This is an assassin who attacked Suna's jinchuuriki," the clean faced, scowling man in question interrupted Ebizo before the elder could continue.

Sakura force herself to stand tall and keep her face calm, despite the quickly growing panic that threatened to break loose. Even in her wildest dreams she had never imagined that she would be put on trial by Suna's council for attempting to assassinate Gaara. Her failure was almost eminent but she had never thought of anything beyond a bloody but hopefully quick death by the redhead's hands. It never even occurred to her that their would be legal consequences for attacking him. Danzo had never given her any instructions on what she should do, should she fail and be caught.

"Lord Tojuro she's just a little girl. One can hardly charged a child with attempted murder," Goza pointed out evenly. Beside him, another pale skinned councilman nodded in agreement.

Sakura fought the urge to shout at the council and demand that she be recognized as the thirteen year-old Genin that she was even as the logical part of her mind warred within herself and reminded her that such actions would be foolish.

"Are you suggesting that we try her as a child and give her a slap on the wrist and send her on her way?" Another, gruff voiced councilman asked.

"Our laws are very specific about children," a tanned faced man added.

"She's hardly a child!" another voice interjected. Sakura startled at the newcomer, recognizing him as the instructor that had accompanied the Sand Siblings to the Chunin Exams six months prior. Sakura felt herself begin to sweat under the man's hard glare. She knew he recognized her. If he exposed her, the consequences would just be that much more steep... What was the man's name?

"Lord Baki, before we continue any further discussion we should include the one who was attacked in these proceedings," Ebizo chided the man - Baki, Sakura now remembered - before everyone turned to look at Gaara. If anything the tension around Gaara only grew.

"As the intended target, you have a say in what punishment would deem appropriate," Ebizo told the redhead.

Gaara for his part was agitated at the council's interruption of his earlier attempt at interrogating Sakura. Forcing their way into the situation was the opposite of helping. While a small minority on the council may respect him as a member of the Kazekage clan and candidate for the running seat, most saw him in barely restrained contempt. As far as he was concerned, they were all buzzards circling in on his own business, his own prey. Ever the greedy ones, none of them truly cared if an assassination attempt on his life succeeded or not.

Before he could speak however, Tojuro jumped in with acidic words.

"I can hardly understand why we need the jinchuuriki's council. He's here to service Suna. The assassin should be dealt with as we would any other law breaker and intruder. Death," he stated, turning his baleful stare to Sakura.

"Lord Tojuro, she is a child," Goza reminded him. Sakura fumed at being spoken over and at.

"If we had an acting Kazekage, he would be the one to pass judgment," Ebizo stated. The others murmured in agreement.

"But we don't have a Kazekage at the moment, only three candidates and one little assassin." Tojuro reminded them with barely contained patience. However, it was Sakura who exploded, finally at her limit.

"I'm not a little assassin or a little girl!" she shouted. Her voice was so loud that it echoed off of the high ceilings, effectively silencing the council. Every man in the room, including Gaara stared at her in surprise.

"My name is Sakura Haruno of Konoha. I'm a member of Team Seven and a Genin class Kunoichi. I'm thirteen years old, not some little girl," she ground out at Goza and Tojuro. While outwardly she seethed, her spirit faltered somewhat when the latter councilman merely smirked at her.

"There you have it, Lord Goza. By her own admission she is no child. Our laws recognizing her as a woman and adult and therefore her punishment will be death just as any other law breaker," the clean face man gloated. Beside Sakura, Gaara went very still.

"No," he stated, so lowly that only Sakura could hear him.

"Why did you come here, Sakura and who sent you?" Goza asked in a mild tone, ignoring Tojuro's pointed words. Sakura for her part was beginning to regret her emotional outburst. Not only had she put herself in mortal danger by stating her age and rank but she had also quite possibly pitted Konoha against Suna by revealing where she had come from. She didn't intend to further expose herself by revealing Danzo's hostile intentions, no matter how creepy the Hokage was.

Closing her mouth, Sakura stared down the council with a hard frown.

"She's not going to talk," Baki grumbled before he caught Gaara's gaze. Whatever he saw, forced the councilman to shrug off his aggressive stance.

"You do understand, kunoichi that here in Suna we have ways of interrogation that could make you talk," Goza continued, his voice still mild. His lecture was interrupted by Gaara.

"I am Gaara of the Desert. This girl is no threat to me. We have only just begun to heal the tensions between our village and Konoha's. Do we really want another platoon of their shinobi to once again occupy our village? Have we not humiliated ourselves enough from the last surrender?" Gaara pointed out. His voice started out soft but quickly grew in volume.

Sakura stared at him in awe, surprised by his wisdom. When his jaded gaze turned to her, she suddenly felt choked up and nervous standing next to him.

"I suggest we return the girl to Konoha as a sign of goodwill," he finished. Unexpected warmth flooded Sakura's chest but before she could open her mouth, Tojuro interrupted.

"Unacceptable. You are not Kazekage, you don't get to decide what we do or do not do with the kunoichi. Under our law, her tresspasses against us - against you - are penalized with death!"

Gaara's gaze and voice both darkened considerably.

"Don't pretend to care about the tresspasses against me, especially when you have committed so many in the same name and purpose," he growled. Several councilman whispered in hushed tones and even Sakura stepped back slightly.

"We cannot allow the kunoichi to go without learning what her true purpose is, Lord Gaara," Goza pointed out, placatingly. Gaara turned his venomous gaze to him.

"Interrogating a Genin from Konoha could be considered hostile intent. Their village may retaliate and Suna could suffer for it," the redhead bit out. His patience was very nearly gone. Was being accepted truly worth this prattle? Was the goal of Kazekage truly worth the trouble this girl was causing him? Why couldn't he just end it? Gaara knew more than anything blood was the key to silence.

"You are suggesting that we are not strong enough to stand up to Konoha?" Tojuro demanded.

"Not without a Kazekage," Baki interjected.

"We cannot allow this girl to walk free," Goza added.

"not without first learning why she was sent. Furthermore, she could still pose a threat to Gaara's life, she failed today but as long as she is in Suna then she could succeed tomorrow."

"All the more reason to execute her!" Tojuro shouted.

"I would never do that," Sakura interjected suddenly. At her words, the rowdiness in the room quieted somewhat. Tojuro frowned.

"By your own actions you proved that you would. If Gaara hadn't stopped you, who's to say that you wouldn't have succeeded," he jeered. Gaara bristled at the man audacity. They were all hypocrites and the more he stood there, the more their deaths seemed like a good idea. The sand in his gourd shifted ominously.

"Gaara didn't stop me, I stopped myself!" she fumed.

Momentarily distracted, Gaara turned and blinked at the girl. Her words were more or less true. She had hesitated.

"Why?" Tojuro challenged and it was clear from his expression that he did not believe her.

"Because killing him wasn't a line I wanted to cross!" she hissed.

At her explanation, the council erupted into full blown discussion. It took Lord Ebizo several times to catch everyone's attention before they could be quieted. Gaara for his part, stared mouth agape at the girl next to him. His desire for death completely gone as his mind tried and failed to process Sakura's words. He didn't understand her at all.

"Our three candidates have each stated their desires. One calls for her death, one calls for her interrogation, and one calls for her return to Konoha," Ebizo stated. Sakura stared at the elder, with a lump in her throat. She was in so much trouble.

"As you cans see, this is a problem," the Lead Councilman concluded. Goza looked thoughtful while Tojuro continued to stare daggers at both Sakura and Gaara.

"Let the Kazekage decide," Baki murmured after a moment. Sharing another knowing look with Gaara, he turned to look back at the other councilman, making a point to look each one in the eye.

"Once this competition is over, one way or another there will be a Kazekage. He can be the one to decide Sakura Haruno's fate." There was a general murmur of consensus to Baki's words. Ebizo nodded in appreciation.

"Lord Baki's makes a valid point. All those in favor?" he asked. Sakura slowly felt the tension drain out of her body when everyone except Tojuro and two nameless councilman raised their hands in agreement. Beside her Gaara relaxed somewhat.

Turning, she smiled softly at the jinchuuriki. Despite his reasoning, he had defended her.

"Thank you," she told him softly. Gaara stared at her intently, unsure exactly what to say. Her emerald eyes were so bright and open and he could hear her heart beating steadily in her chest. The blood on her was still fresh but he could could ignore that in favor of the strange sensation she was inspiring inside of him. In this moment she was not afraid. In this moment she was like Naruto. She made him feel peaceful. She made him feel understood, appreciated even. It was wonderful.

The moment was ruined however, when Tojuro rose from his seat, called for the Anbu, and pointed nastily at Sakura.

"Arrest this woman."

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

With his fingers steepled together, Danzo stared from across his desk at Kakashi Hitake. The Copy nin had an unusually steel gaze as he held eye contact with the Fifth Hokage. Though expressionless, Danzo was slightly unnerved by how unaffected Kakashi was by 'Sakura Haruno's' presence. He had summoned the puppet's attendance as a test for the Copy nin and now she flittered around Danzo's office organizing books, signing papers and passing on messages, but Kakashi had yet to spare her a glance.

With such a change in his only remaining pupil's tutelage, Danzo would have thought that Kakashi would have been more interested in Sakura's literal and figurative movements and would perhaps have tried to approach her in an attempt to sway her from her 'new goals.' The point was moot of course, because the real Sakura Haruno was more or likely dead; but Kakashi Hitake should not know that. The Copy nin either suspected something was amiss and would therefore not approach Sakura in fear of exposing himself or the Copy nin simply did not care about his female student as much as he had for Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.

Danzo couldn't decide which theory was correct.

"Yes," Danzo murmured and slid a report across the desk to the Copy nin. Kakashi glanced at the report briefly before turning his gaze back to the Fifth. Danzo's frown grew at the man's nihility. He would have thought that Kakashi would be more interested in Naruto Uzumaki's whereabouts. It was frustrating because everything he predicted from the man had proven false.

"How was this obtained?" Kakashi demanded. Danzo raised an eyebrow at the man's audacity. One simply did not question the Hokage in such a blatantly disrespectful manner. Danzo was still unsure exactly where Kakashi stood with him however, and so in a rare allowance, he dismissed the Copy nin's brazen words.

"The intel comes from a reliable source," he explained in a vague tone. Danzo could not of course let it slip that the intel was from one of his Root agents working directly under the infamous Akatsuki member, Sasori of the Red Sand. Danzo was not exactly sure how or where Sasori had learned of Jiraiya and the nine tailed jinchuuriki's movements but he dared not question the puppet master's information.

"Am I to assume that this is a solo mission?" Kakashi drawled. Danzo narrowed his eyes. He needed to end the conversation quickly before he gave himself away. Even with all of his implanted Sharingan, he could not read the man before him at all.

"If you do not want the mission, I could always give it to someone else," Danzo threatened. The tension in the air grew taught as a bow string before suddenly defusing when Kakashi inclined his head.

"That won't be necessary."

Bowing stiffly, Kakashi quickly left.

Outside, he very nearly barreled into Ino who stood impatiently next to the entrance.

"Well?" she demanded, with her arms crossed. Kakashi shook his head distractedly before pulling out a slightly crumpled paper from his pocket.

"I could not speak to her. Not in front of the Hokage," he sighed. Ino scrunched her nose in frustration and watched as the silver haired shinobi quickly scribbled out a note. Briefly, Ino wondered if it had something to do with Sakura but was disappointed when Kakashi tucked the paper in an envelope and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Then what was the purpose of seeing the Fifth?" Ino growled, angry at how casual Sakura's teacher was acting. Didn't he care at all? Kakashi for his part was reminded of Sakura. The two girls sounded almost exactly alike in their spitfire attitude. It made sense considering the two were friends, or rather had been friends… It was discerning to Kakashi that Sakura had not even acknowledged his presence in the Hokage's office, almost of if she had been asleep. She was there, but not there. Ino had described as much from her last encounter with her best friend.

Shaking his head, Kakashi stepped around the blonde. Things were happening too fast. Six months of silence from Sasuke and Naruto and now everything was happening at once. Sakura's behavior disturbed him greatly. There had been no outwards signs of her sudden interest in the Hokage and now in a matter of days her lifestyle had dramatically changed in order to become his apprentice. It was not adding up.

Now was not the time, he reminded himself. Naruto needed him. At least with Sakura he could be assured that as the Fifth's new apprentice she would more than likely remain in Konoha. The Copy nin did not have such luxuries with either of his other two students.

"Where are you going?" Ino demanded.

"I've been assigned a mission," he told her vaguely as he started towards the communication center. Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust, knowing better than to pry for details but unable to mask her contempt.

"So that's it then? You're just going to forget all about Sakura to go chase after some bogus task?" she demanded. To her frustration, Kakashi merely shrugged.

"That isn't an answer! Wait!" Ino shouted, determined to keep the Copy nin in her sights. If she could just convince him, then maybe he would help her with her Sakura problem. The pink haired kunoichi may have given up on Ino but Ino was not going to give up on her. With Kakashi as an ally, Ino was convinced that she could get to the bottom of Sakura's strange behavior.

"I've got a message to deliver," Kakashi murmured as an excuse, and then still aware of the blonde following him, he teleported himself directly to the communication center's hall, nearly giving the man on duty a heart attack in the process.

"S-sir?" the officer squeaked out only to have the Copy nin thrust an envelope into the man's face.

Danzo had failed to give Kakashi a direct answer in regards to his mission, and no answer was always open to interpretation. In the Copy nin's mind so long as the mission to retrieve Naruto and Jiraiya was successful, he had free reigns on the means. Even with Danzo's questionable intentions, Kakashi knew that he could not ignore the chance to find Jiraiya and Naruto. The mission was of the utmost importance and with Sasuke, Naruto, and now Sakura out of commission - Kakashi needed three competent shinobi who would not be compromised with allegiance to the Fifth Hokage.

"I need this delivered to Suna immediately."

Once Kakashi departed, Danzo quickly rose from his desk and summoned some ink and parchment.

"I think it's time to reap the benefits from our new alliance," Danzo told the puppet. Waving her over, the puppet watched silently as Danzo quickly wrote out his letter. With his head down, the Fifth was completely oblivious when her green eyes flashed a brilliant yellow for a moment as he explained his plans to her.

"Take this to our mutual friend and inform him that in two days time, the Copy nin will be traveling through his territory. I have no doubt that our friend will take advantage of his trespassing and do all in his resources to eliminate the threat." Danzo's words were slow and very clearly enunciated. He had to be careful, even there in his office lest he be overheard.

"Go now," he ordered the puppet and watched in satisfaction as she took the letter and strolled casually out the door.

As his new pupil, the puppet would be permitted into situations and territory that would otherwise be forbidden to the typical shinobi. Danzo knew that she would be able to leave Konoha without a fuss. If anyone confronted her, the ready made answer would be to inform them that she was simply about the Hokage's business; and with the puppet's supernatural speed and lack of physical exhaustion, Danzo estimated that it would only take her a matter of hours before she entered the Akatsuki's territory. It would leave Sasori plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming confrontation with Kakashi.

His plan was foolproof.

What the Fifth didn't count on was a certain blonde haired kunoichi, who was determined to tail after what she thought was her best friend, out of Konoha.

Sakura sat despondently in the bowels of Suna's dungeons beneath the Kage's palace. Still dressed in the thin material of the tunic and trousers, she sat on the cold stone bench behind black bars as the sole occupant in a dark, cold room full of otherwise empty cells. They were a harsh reminder of Suna's extreme action when it came to punishing criminals - death. The understanding that she had been spared on a technicality made Sakura shiver. The wounds on her chest stung from the action but it was a welcoming respite from the haunting thoughts of what awaited Sakura once a new Kazekage was elected.

The one called Goza wanted to interrogate her. Sakura was not familiar enough with the specifics but the understanding that they wanted to tear into her and pry her secrets open with violent precision horrified her. The other - Tojuro - wanted her dead. The pinked haired kunoichi couldn't understand his venomous demands for her death and the drive behind it. Somehow, someway, the councilman was threatened by her presence. If he won the candidacy, she was sure she wouldn't live past his coronation. Then there was Gaara.

Sakura was still unable to process how she felt about his involvement. He didn't want her to what? Die? Be interrogated? Remain in Suna? The idea that she had almost assassinated the one person that had stood in the way of her demise, disturbed her greatly. The shivers wracking her body turned violent.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, the very redhead who troubled her thoughts was currently making his way into the prison ward against the council's wishes. He was impatient. The Kazekage trials were far from over and he wanted answers now. Shukaku's voice had been absent during the council meeting but now he was loud in Gaara's head, calling him out as a fool for his endeavors.

The tick in his jaw was the only outward sign of his agitation as Shukaku warned him of the trap the girl would ultimately rend for him if he continued down his current path. Gaara wanted answers though, even if it put him at a disadvantage - even if it made him temporarily vulnerable. The memory of the wonderful feeling she invoked was still fresh in his mind as he slunk past the guards posted at the entrance. He would have to be careful not to hurt her.

Behind him, he was aware of Temari and Kankuro as they shadowed him.

Instinctively he wanted to swat them away, but the logical part of his mind reminded him that he had to change if he was going to be loved and cherished. His brother and sister - he sometimes had to remind himself that they were kin - were not there to handle him. He was not their ward to guard and babysit, as they had in the past. No, this time they were there as his comrades, and siblings to protect and assist him; just as it was supposed to have been in the beginning.

The instinct to remove them was dismissed.

Her scent found him first. There in the dark blackness of cages the smell of antiseptics, blood, and the faint unique scent of herbs drew him towards the farthest cell where he found her curled up with her knees drawn to her chest and staring at the wall.

"Sakura?" Temari called out. Gaara shot his sister a dark look, making it understood that he wanted to speak to her alone but then the pinkette was turning towards the voice.

"Temari?" she called out, wincing at the croak from her own voice.

It was clear to Gaara that his sister wanted to go to the kunoichi, but he was impatient. Already he was casting himself as the fool just to acquire answers. The wonderful feeling she invoked made him want to know more, but if he was going to proverbially prostrate before this girl, he would rather do it without any witnesses. He still didn't know who had sent the pinkette. Who was it that wanted him gone? He had never spared anyone before and now that the opportunity to learn more presented itself, the jinchuuriki wanted answers. The problem with knowledge is that to be found wanting was a weakness in and of itself.

Like a shedding the second skin of a snake, Gaara's comradeship slipped away from his siblings as he ordered them to leave.

"Gaara," Kankuro began and for one terrible moment it seemed that they would disregard his orders. The puppet master's eyes shifted restlessly from Gaara back to Sakura and with his hesitance came the blossoming understanding that his siblings were afraid to leave them alone together. Whether it was for his safety from her pathetic attempt at assassinating him or her own safety against his violent instability the redhead didn't know.

He thought of reassuring them but before he could a new voice called out.

"What's going on down there?" Footsteps followed and Gaara realized with quickly turning urgency that the moment of opportunity he was seeking was slipping away before it had even begun. Temari and Kankuro rushed to intercept the sentry but it would only be temporary. None of them were to be found down there, especially Gaara. There were rules that as a Kazekage candidate he had to follow.

His eyes scanned briefly over the kunoichi in her cage. Her emerald eyes looked black in the darkness and full of stress and trepidation. It was all falling away too quickly.

"Stop!" The squirmish behind him became white noise as Kankuro and Temari rushed the shinobi guard. They couldn't hurt him, not without hurting their brothers reputation in the process. Gaara dismissed it all, as he took an aggravated step towards the kunoichi's cell. To his disappointment Sakura barely acknowledged him as she watched the scene behind him unfold.

"Help!" the guard squawked as he was pinned down by Temari's wind and Kankuro's chakra strings. The scuffle was beneath Gaara's notice but the squirmish was causing too much of a ruckus. Sound evolved and more footsteps poured into the entrance.

"Gaara, we can't stay here!" Kankuro told him in a hurried voice. Gaara's eyes spared a quick glance to the door, showing the many shinobi guards rushing to investigate the commotion. He looked back at the girl - Sakura but her attention too was drawn towards the entrance. This was not what he had wanted.

"It's the jinchuuriki!" one shouted.

"What are you three doing here?"

"You shouldn't be here. Send word to the council."

The memory of the wonderful feeling was gone now and in it's stinging absence, annoyance stirred. Bitterness too. Why was this happening? Was he always to be denied? Even this little kunoichi before him, even this small moment? Shukaku's mocking laughter rang so loudly in his ears that his head rang in pain.

Snarling, he watched as the guards - mere insects - came towards him. Temari and Kankuro were completely overwhelmed. Words were spoken. Mouths moved. They told him somethings in their spoken language but Gaara couldn't hear them. He looked back to Sakura desperately as if she held all the answers. She in turned moved closer to the bars and to him, concern evident in her expression. Then the guards were surrounding him and trying to herd him away from her without touching him. Their fear was so potent on the air that he could choke on it.

Gaara fisted his hands into his hair, stressed and unsure. He needed this moment. He had to have it. Answers were important. The scent of fear distracted him. He needed answers. The rushed sensation of adrenaline and urgency and the awareness of Naruto's special person in a prison cell next to him overwhelmed him. He was impatient. It was so much. What could he do?

In the chaos of his thoughts, Shukaku laughed at him, whispering that there were other ways that he could overcome this. Reminding him of a time when he was not so weak as to let vermin dictate what he could not do. There was a time when he was not being hurtled as chattel away from and denied his prize. In the past no one would have dared to approach him in such a matter, so why should they now?

"Lord Gaara you will have to leave now and return to the council," a sentry told him.

It happened so quickly. One moment the sand was in his gourd and the next it was out and impaling through one of the shinobi that had stepped too closely to him. Panic quickly erupted.

"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled in warning.

"You have to stop this!" Temari called out. The two watched, horrified as Gaara's sand whipped out over the sentries. Having enough sense, they stepped back from what was sure to be another slaughtered.

"We shouldn't have let him come!" Kankuro called out to his sister over the loud sound of hissing sand.

"Gaara!" Temari called out again, desperate to gain her brothers attention, even if it meant putting herself in danger. The blonde knew that as soon as he butchered the guards, his reputation would be ruined, as would his chance to become Kazekage.

None of that mattered to the redhead however. In that moment the reek of fear and blood in the air stirred the irrational anger and old hatred up from the very marrow of the jinchuuriki's bones. It was in that old hatred that he was nameless and empty and the urge to kill all and end everything was overpowering. He would end them, plain and simple. Then there would be no more obstacles or petty buzzards in his way. He would swat them all away. Wipe them off the face of his Earth with his sand.

Grinning madly, he raised his hands and sent tendrils of sand about the shinobis' necks. Never again would they think to approach him. There were five of them excluding the stabbed one on the ground. They were defenseless. Soon there wouldn't be any of them. They were fools to think they could detain them.

"Stop!" a new voice called and then there were two small hands gripping his arms through the bars and shining green eyes staring at him through the darkness of the prison cell next to him. Touch was something new and foreign but interesting. Gaara's attention turned sharply to her and the violence was momentarily stemmed.

"You can't do this Gaara," she stammered but her eyes were all wrong now. They were full of mistrust and weariness and after being looked at in such a manner all of his life, Shukaku sneered at Gaara for allowing the weakness to slip through and affect him.

How dare she look with fear? How dare she retreat? After all the effort he had made and the vulnerability of interest he had sacrificed to save her, she dare to turn on him now? An old pain flared in his chest that was completely separate from the annoyance he felt from the guards. Gaara snarled, recognizing the wound for what it was. Disappointment. Pain. Anger. Betrayal. So much hurt. He thought she would be different. In the council room, she showed gratitude. She saw him. Him, Gaara, as a person. As someone to be appreciate. Now she was looking at him like everyone else did. Something to be feared. Something to avoid. Something like a monster. It hurt.

His sand rushed to aid him against the threat of pain that Sakura was causing. There would be no more coddling of this girl. He had done much for her. So much more than he had ever done for anyone, but no more!

The instinct to aid and protect Naruto's special person was buried so deeply into the recesses of darkness in Gaara's psyche that he was sure he could kill her if she did not give him the answers he so sought. Shukaku's taunts egged him on, reminding Gaara that he had brought the pain on himself by elevating the girl in his interest. He had given her some allowance in his mind and she had repaid in kind by flaying him with her fear. Hadn't he learned by now? No one was ever going to love a beast like him. He should have known better than to try. He did know better; but she was suppose to be Naruto's special person. She made Naruto stronger. She saved Naruto.

So why couldn't she save Gaara? Why did she have to be afraid?

"Why are you here!?" Gaara bellowed at her. Sakura cringed when the redhead slammed angrily against the bars of her cell with a wild and savage intensity. The sand around him swarmed angrily, flying in all directions and stinging Sakura's face and exposed skin. Behind him, the guards choked on the sand's tightening grip as it swung them high up into the air in a violent arch. Temari and Kankuro's voices were lost in the small sandstorm and forced to take cover.

Coughing, Sakura tried to cover her face only for the sand to thicken into threads and grasp roughly at her wrists.

"Gaara you-" Sakura choked out only to be interrupted by the yanking motion of the sand, pulling her forcefully towards the snarling redhead until she was pressed so tightly against the bars that they suffocated her from the pressure. Hands gripped her arms in a viciously and painful vice and hot breath dripped over her lips as he loomed before her.

"I will kill you now if you don't tell me," he growled thickly form his chest. Sakura noted that his eyes truly were gold now and she was once again painfully reminded of the Chunin exams. The difference was Naruto wasn't there to save her now. If she was going to survive she was going to have to save herself.

"The Kazekage doesn't kill his people," she bit out against the pain. The sharp wounds in her chest positively ached from the action of forcing air through her lungs but Sakura refused to give up. Indeed her words caused the redhead and his sand to pause.

"I'm a jinchuuriki," he snarled softly, as if that made all the difference in the world. Sakura could see why to him, it would.

"So is Naruto," the pinkette reminded him. Sakura's brilliant green eyes trembled from the pain as she forced herself to hold his violent gold ones. She did her best to ignore the fading cries and chokes of the guard as she willed Gaara to understand.

As if hearing her thoughts, the sand slithered away from Sakura and the pressure against the bars was suddenly gone. The sounds of the guards falling to the floor was vaguely acknowledged as the kunoichi forced herself to remain where she stood. Her instincts screamed at her to retreat from the threat; but the moment was vital, looking Gaara in the eyes was important and she refused to lose ground in any sense of the word.

"Naruto doesn't hurt his people. He protects them," Sakura told him solemnly.

"Just as the Kazekage does his people."

A new light of understanding shone behind Gaara's eyes as he thought on her words. Suna and it's people had hurt him just as Konoha's people had hurt Naruto; but if the blonde could rise up and prevail against his pain to protect his people, then why couldn't Gaara? Naruto was strong because he used his abilities to protect people. Someday he was going to become the Hokage. Gaara had to be strong too. He was going to become the Kazekage.

Gaara looked down at the guards lying at his feet gasping for air. Temari and Kankuro were kneeling over the stabbed one, checking his vital signs. They were all his people. They needed his protection, not his wrath.

He had almost forgotten the very first lesson that he had learned from Naruto.

The redhead looked back at Naruto's special person. It wasn't quite the moment he had wanted with her, but it was the one he had needed.

"Thank you," he told her in a sever voice and pushed his impatience away.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Tojuro scowled as he walked into the council room, irritated that the meeting had begun without him.

"This has been going on long enough, Lord Gaara cannot continue on his mindless rampages," Councilman Joseki snarled. Councilman Yura nodded in agreement.

"One jinchuuriki is not worth the life and well being of all our villagers."

"According to the guards, this was no random attack. He was trying to rendezvous with the kunoichi prisoner," Ikanago protested.

Baki grimaced and looked down. Goza frowned. Tojuro sneered.

"So what? We should praise the boy for his treason instead? Going against the council's orders and attacking our sentries is against our laws."

Several council members nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps it's time we revoke Lord Gaara's candidacy," Ryusa murmured and hesitantly looked to Councilman Goza for support.

"We could put it up for vote," Joseki offered, almost eagerly.

"As active running mates for the same position, Lord Tojuro and Lord Goza cannot vote as their positions are already compromised," Elder Ebizo commented.

"Thus making the council's vote incomplete," Goza added thoughtfully.

"So we're just going to let this slide?" Joseki demanded in outrage.

Tojuro appeared thoughtful as he tried to put the pieces of a plan into action.

The councilman was still preoccupied by his predicament with the kunoichi. If she turned out to be a member of the assassination guild he hired and she exposed him, than Tojuro would be ruined. She was a loose end that would need to dealt with. However, as long as the jinchuuriki remained in Suna, chances of eliminating the woman would be difficult. There was an answer to all of this, he was sure.

"Something should be done. The fourth Kazekage is gone. Lord Gaara has no allies or support in this village now. The jinchuuriki must know that there are consequences for his unchecked actions," Yura added.

"Lord Gaara is repentant," Baki spoke for the first time. His voice hard, as he struggled to defend his student from the council's judgement.

"If he is truly repentant, then I suggest he prove it," Tojuro interrupted. Several councilman murmured in agreement.

"Konoha has just issued a need for Suna's assistance. Lord Gaara can lead a team to aid our allies and strengthen ties," Tojuro's face twisted into a wicked grin.

"with the enlisted men."

"What?" Baki demanded in outrage.

"The enlisted men are full of shinobi, who suffered first hand against Lord Gaara's rampages. They were the first line of defence against the jinchuuriki in the past," Goza reminded the council.

"Most of them are chunin and jounin who would not hesitate to turn on Lord Gaara themselves," Baki growled out.

"I agree with Councilman Tojuro," Yura smirked.

"So do I," Joseki added.

"This will be an opportune time for Lord Gaara to personally socialize with our shinobi. If he is sincere in his quest to become Kazekage, he should become accustomed to his subjects and they to him."

Baki clenched his fist.

"But the next Kazekage trials are to commence in just two days time! Lord Gaara would be unable to participate if he is away assisting Konoha," the tattooed man argued. Tojuro smirked.

"I suggest we use Lord Gaara's mission as his own trial. The young lord's penance and the success of his mission will determine if he should continue in his candidacy."

Baki clenched his teeth. The trials were a very public spectacle. It's purpose was for Suna as a whole to see firsthand who was the superior shinobi. Assuming Gaara won over the enlisted men and succeeded in his mission with Konoha, he would be missing out in an important chance to win favor with the general public for the Kazekage position.

Baki looked to Ebizo helplessly, but the elder was already nodding his head in agreement.

"It is decided then."

Ino's first inkling that something was wrong came when the sun set. After chasing Sakura for the better part of the day, her friend showed no signs of tiring. By then Ino knew that she had to return to Konoha. Her parents would be worried sick, as would her teammates and Asuma-sensei would be asking for her if she did not show up for tomorrow's roster call. Physically she was exhausted, malnourished and dehydrated. Chasing after Sakura on a whim had been a poorly compulsive act.

Ino's biggest problem was that she had no supplies or map and with the sun set, she was hopelessly lost in the forest. Her best bet would be to retrace her steps, but Ino wasn't sure if she should set out in the dark or continue to follow Sakura on what now she believed to be the Fifth's business. Ino still thought the whole thing was fishy, being that Sakura was so far away from home and without any sort of backup or escort or even supplies for that matter. It was practically unheard of for a Genin to wander so far from their village without proper planning.

Ino had a half a mind to march down there and confront her friend but some instinct held her back. Something told her that not all was right with her friend.

Landing on a branch, Ino inwardly screeched when the branch creaked silently.

'Did she hear me? All afternoon I was so careful trailing her. I can't believe I was so careless!' she mentally lamented as she watched the pinkette pause and look around cautiously. Ino outwardly slouched in relief when it became apparent that Sakura was giving up her search and finally going to stop and rest for the night. She watched as her friend down below made a small perimeter using leaves and sticks to alert her to intruders. Then Sakura slid down against the farthest tree in the perimeter and pulled her knees up to her chest.

Still undecided if she should return to Konoha or not, Ino allowed her head to roll back against the tree she was resting against. Smirking, she looked down at Sakura. She was making the biggest rookie mistake by falling asleep. Still, Ino knew that if anyone tried to attack Sakura in the night, the intruder would have to deal with both of them.

With that thought in mind, Ino cemented her decision to follow Sakura.

'Someone has to watch Forehead's back. I'll have to send a message back to my parent's as soon as I reach an outpost,' she vowed and if her subconscious protested at the seriousness of abandoning her duty as a kunoichi to Konoha, her exhaustion was quick to snuff it out.

Yawning, the blonde was blissfully unaware when she too fell asleep…

An hour later the puppet finally allowed itself to move. Silently righting itself, the puppet looked up into the tree where Ino had hidden. The puppets eyes flashed yellow for a moment, before tilting its head. After a second of observing the sleeping kunoichi, the puppet deemed Ino not enough of a threat to eliminate and once more started on it's journey back to the puppet master Sasori.

Gaara stared sullenly out at the sunrise. His head hurt from his inner conflict with Shukaku. The tailed beast's disdain over the entire situation gave the redhead a headache. He was tired of his inner demon calling him a fool. His breath was still labored from his most recent skirmish. More likely than not he had lost his running seat as Kazekage; and even more frustrating he still didn't know who wanted him dead.

A movement behind him alerted the jinchuuriki to the arrival of his siblings.

"The four sentries were all treated at the hospital with non life threatening injuries. The fifth one, Koji, who is a Genin, has just come out of surgery and is in stable condition," Temari told him in a monotone voice. Gaara felt a pang in his heart. Those were his people he had attacked. They had done nothing wrong and he had hurt them. Again.

Oblivious to his conflict, Kankuro scoffed.

"Why on earth would they have a Genin on guard patrol?"

Temari shot the puppeteer a dirty look but before she could explain, Gaara interrupted.

"Genin rotate for prison patrol as part of the curricular requirements from the academy." An awkward pause followed. None of the sand siblings had been allowed to enter the academy because of Gaara's instability. In order for them to work as a unit, all three had been privately tutored by Baki who had readied them for the exams and graduation. They were the only ones in the entire village who had not actually attended the shinobi school and it was a sore spot to all of them for very different reasons.

Kankuro cleared his throat.

"Any news from the council?" he asked his brother in a strained voice.

Gaara didn't respond.

Temari shared a worried look with puppeteer before turning to look at their youngest sibling.

"Listen Gaara, we know that you have changed. No matter what the council decides, we'll back you up no matter what," she told him. The words were a struggle for the wind kunoichi, as she strived to say the right thing. She rarely reached out to her youngest brother. In the past, Gaara wasn't one to appreciate or even listen to her words. Furthermore, her father had discouraged her drawing attention to herself from the jinchuuriki. There had always been the danger that Gaara would turn on her.

Things were different now, though. The fourth Kazekage was dead. Gaara was trying to change. The least she could do was reach out with an olive branch-

Temari's thoughts came to a halt when she saw Baki approaching, still dressed in his council robes.

"So what's the verdict?" Kankuro asked.

Baki stared pointedly back at him. Quickly getting the hint that he wanted to speak to Gaara alone, Temari cleared her throat and grabbed Kankuro's arm.

"If you'll excuse us," she told her instructor before heading towards the doorway.

"Temari," Gaara called out suddenly.

Tensing slightly, the blonde turned around slowly only to be surprised when Gaara gave her a small nod.

"Thank you."

Blinking in bemusement, Temari found herself inclining her head before quickly leaving.

Gaara watched them go before turning back to his old teacher. There was a will o whisp of uncertainty in the redhead's eyes, but pride held him back from asking Baki what the council had decided to do with him.

Instead of answering him, Baki held out a parchment message. Gaara wordlessly accepted it and began to read.

"You deliberately disobeyed the council and broke into the Kazekage's palace dungeons to rendezvous with the prisoner," Baki began. Gaara's brow twitched at the word 'prisoner.' He was still troubled with the idea of Naruto's special person being treated so poorly by Suna's standards. Even if she had come to assassinate him, Gaara felt somewhat responsible for her.

"That is a crime in and of itself, but then to attack the sentries posted not only shows a lack of patriotism for a Kazekage candidate but is also grounds for treason and punishable by hard labor and imprisonment."

Gaara forced himself to concentrate on the message before him. He had expected it to be a declaration from the council. It was not.

It was request for a three man team from Suna, sent Kakashi Hitake of the Sharingan. The purpose of the mission was left unmentioned but it was not an unusual concept. More often than not, it was protocol when using messenger hawks to keep correspondences between villages vague. The less sensitive the information, the less chance that it could be compromised should it fall into the wrong hands.

"This is a message for assistance. It's from Konoha," Gaara stated, his voice flat. Baki ignored him.

"Fortunately, the council has decided to give you a chance for redemption. You are to leave immediately."

The jinchuuriki grimaced.

"I can't leave the girl." His thoughts raced at the impossibility of taking her with him.

"You don't have a choice," Baki told him gravely.

"The council has given you a pardon in exchange for offering your service to the Konoha to strengthen our ties. It's an official trial in continuation to your candidacy for the Kazekage seat. Remember what will happen to the woman if you don't win," his teacher reminded him sagely.

Gaara nodded mechanically, his mind elsewhere. Once he rendezvoused with the Copy nin, he could confirm Sakura's absence and hopefully come to a solution for the girl's predicament. Kakashi Hatake might also be able to assist Gaara in discovering the ruse behind his assassins, assuming the kunoichi knew anything.

As the redhead moved towards the exit, Baki held up a hand to stop him. Gaara's sand automatically moved to intercept the older shinobi before he could touch his shoulder. Gaara grimaced and forced the sand to return to his gourd while Baki took a step back. Gaara knew his teacher was afraid and something in him wilted. What would it take for his people to trust him?

"Temari and Kankuro will not be accompanying you this time."

The redhead narrowed his eyes at this but waited patiently for his teacher to continue.

"The council has decided to place you with the enlisted men."

Sakura felt her head slam into the cement wall behind her and immediately her eyes began to smart. The impact was hard enough to break skin and cause a massive ringing in her ears. Her skull was probably fractured.

Then he was standing before her, against her, pressed tightly to her front as he grabbed her by the front of her collar and shook her like a ragdoll. His grip was harsh and his hips pinned hers tightly to the wall behind her. His body was surprisingly warm against hers and through her tears she could see that his dark pupils were dilated and rimmed with a glowing gold.

Sand shifted restlessly around them. It spread irritatingly over her arms, up her legs, over torso and throat. His teeth were sharp as he snarled and pressed harder against her. His breath was warm against her lips and her chest flared in pain but there were no metal bars this time. His mouth moved closer to hers.

It was suffocating.

Sakura woke with a jerk, gasping for a breath she didn't have. Her senses were sluggish as she became aware of her surroundings and assailant behind her. She was lying face first on the meager bench in her jail cell with a hard weight pressed between her shoulder blades from behind. Gasping again, she became aware of her lack of oxygen and the vice around her throat. Her arms quickly went up to the rope noosed around her neck. Blinking, she stared through the darkness of her prison cell but there didn't seem to be any guards present.

Behind her, her assailant pulled out a knife and leaned over so the blade flooded her vision. Sakura's eyes widened even as she felt her body going slack.

"Good riddance," a voice huffed from behind her.

Sakura felt her attacker poised for the kill and waited until the last second to ram the back of her head into their face. The impact forced the other party back and Sakura used that moment to break out of their hold.

Twisting over from her position, she used her momentum to send a kick towards her assailant catching them in the middle. She hissed when the blade nicked her forearm but watch with satisfaction as her enemy crashed into the bars behind them with a loud metallic clang.

"What was that?" a voice called out. Sakura guessed that it was one of the guards. Her vision was growing black despite the lack of pressure around her neck and the pinkette was quick to remove the now slack rope from around her throat.

"Over here!" the guard called out but it was still too dark for anyone to see anything.

Something was wrong. Sakura felt her body grow slack. Her lungs were burning. Her mind tried desperately to understand what was happening but before she could conclude anything, she blacked out.

Shishio sat against the parallel bars, trying to control his breathing. He watched through his mask in satisfaction as the kunoichi collapsed. For such a small thing, she was surprisingly agile. It was no matter, though. The bit of poison on his blade would finish off what he had started. Lord Tojuro would be pleased. The woman was as good as dead. By the time the jinchuuriki returned it would be too late.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Gaara's silhouette cast a long shadow from the doorway into the barracks of the enlisted men. Behind him, the sunset was breathtaking in its amber glow with bits of amethyst mingling with the twinkling stars of twilight. Such sunsets were common in Suna and a trademark of pride for the Wind Country. However it was with great shame and humiliation churning in Gaara's stomach as he stood in silence at the entrance.

"The Council has ordered an immediate three man team to assist Konoha in an upcoming mission," Gaara told the men tonelessly, all the while trying to ignore the suspicion, fear and downright disgust that the shinobi were shooting him.

"Who's going to lead the team?" a faceless voice called in contempt.

"I am," the jinchuuriki told them, his mouth cotton dry.

The silence was damning.

Gaara sucked in a silent breath as he stared at the backs of the enlisted men. All dressed in various green armor, the redhead tried to stem the disappointment and familiar pain in his chest at the familiar scene as no one would acknowledge him.

Shukaku laughed maliciously in his head, calling him a fool for hoping that the outcome would be any different from the hundreds of times Gaara had tried to befriend his people in the past, while Gaara countered with his own logic that the enlisted men would be the first to mistrust him as they were often the ones who were called to assist the kazekage during Shukaku's previous rampage attacks. As a result, most of the enlisted men suffered casualties from the One Tail's - from Gaara's - attacks.

Clenching a fist and trying to swallow his rage, Gaara bowed his head.

"Please," he half begged, half growled in a small and low voice. In that moment the redhead thought of Temari, Kankuro, and Naruto, and reflected that they would have helped him. Then he thought of the pink haired kunoichi and in the bowels of his cage Shukaku laughed at him again.

When would things change? When would they all stop fearing and hating him?

"Give it back, Yaoki!" a timid voice called suddenly.

Curious Gaara lifted his head just in time to watch two enlisted men stumble into the main bunker from a side room.

"I told you, this headband is mine," the one with a head wrap chided good naturedly while he hurriedly tied Suna's insignia headband around his head. The other one, a dark haired shinobi who appeared to be about the same height and build as his friend, tried desperately desperately to grab the headband, all the while smiling humorously.

It was obvious that the two men were close friends, and both entirely oblivious to the tension around them. Gaara noticed the dark looks that the other men were shooting the two shinobi for interrupting Gaara's attempt at groveling before them.

"I told you Korobi - hey, what's going on?" The dark haired shinobi asked, finally noticing the atmosphere of tense men around them. Silence greeted them. Noticing the harsh stares of their comrades, the two enlisted men straightened and ended up making eye contact with the Suna's jinchuuriki.

Seeing his opportunity, Gaara took a step towards the two.

"What about you two?" he asked.

Sai stared disinterestedly out of castle's window. Below him the town was lively with tourists, cheap novelty shops, brightly lit game rooms, boisterous restaurants, and elaborate, architectural inns full of gaudy women. When Danzo had assigned him as a liaison between Root and the Akatsuki, it was understood that Sai would report back on all of his findings within the Criminal Organization. It was evident through Danzo's ambitious lectures to Sai, that he wanted to know the location of the Akatsuki's headquarters. However after nearly two days of travel, Sasori had lead Sai to Tanzaku Quarters with no clear intent as to why.

Now the two were cloistered in a secret room within the town's castle waiting for an associate of

Sasori's to reveal himself. The room itself was too dark to properly draw in, and Sai had no impulse to draw after the last sketch he had made of his newest companion had been confiscated. Sasori had not been amused by his self image.

The hours ticked by in silence, and though he was well versed with stealth and immobility, Sai couldn't help but be reminded of his earliest days in Root when they had beat the spirit and individuality out of him. Just as the sun began to set however, a commotion outside of the hidden room alerted the two to an intruder. Sai was sure that it was an Akatsuki operative, however when the figure stepped into the room, he was disappointed to find the Sakura puppet.

"Well this is unexpected," he smiled at it. The puppet stared evenly back.

"A new development, perhaps?" Sasori mumbled to himself. Making a complex set of hand signs, the puppet froze before walking stiffly toward Sasori and opening it's mouth. A murky light came forth. Sai used his stealth to intrude upon the moment, but he was chagrined to find that without inciting the proper jutsu, he could not see whatever it was that the puppet master could.

Sasori stared into the puppets mouth as he watched through the genjutsu all that had transpired from the puppet's internal view since he had departed Konoha. Such sophisticated findings had been stolen straight from Orochimaru's research laboratory by Sasori's spy, Kabuto. Orochimaru's genius research allowed the puppet to serve as an excellent surveillance system, with far more independence and individuality than one would expect from a doll, thanks to the animation jutsu instilled within the puppet. The signature fujitsu that allowed living flesh and blood to be grafted onto the puppet gave Sasori an inkling as to just who Orochimaru was working with.

Senju Tsunade.

The jealousy that Sasori might have felt towards Orochimaru at having outmaneuvered him in creating an even greater puppet was overshadowed by the intrigue Sasori felt in knowing that Orochimaru had somehow coerced Lady Tsunade into assisting him in his creation. His belief had lead him into sharing his intelligence with Danzo on Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki's whereabouts. Sasori was very confident in his prediction, however, objectively it was still speculation on his part that lead him to believe that the nine tails jinchuuriki and the three Sannin had somehow all encountered one another. However, right or wrong, Sasori was confident that whatever Danzo chose to do, the Akatsuki would ultimately benefit from the Fifth's actions.

As the scenes unfolded before him, Sasori took in the sight and sound that the puppet had observed from the past 48 hours.

"A trap. So that is Danzo's plan," Sasori mused, before turning to Sai. After the sun had set, the room had become so dark that it was impossible to see the other's face. Still it was easy for the puppet master to detect the upbeat charade the other projected into his posture and voice.

"You will contact the Hokage and inform him that if he wants the Akatsuki's aid against the copy nin, he will need to provide foot soldiers from his own stock," the puppet master murmured from behind his veil. His voice was soft and rumbled in soothing tones but the words themselves were pure steel. Sai smiled pleasantly at him.

"The Hokage will need a good reason for sacrificing the men of Konoha. It will be hard for him to convince the loyal shinobi of our village to betray the Copy nin -" the artist began.

"You and I both know that wasn't the stock I was referring to. Or have you already forgotten the Hokage's promise of Root's new standing faith with our organization," Sasori interrupted. Sai's smile began to waver between false cheer and a grimace. Danzo had promised Sasori use of Root, however the Fifth would still be vexed to use them against the Copy nin. The risk of using Root agents against Kakashi and being identified as Konoha's Anbu were great; and that secret was one that could not ever be exposed. Danzo would be ruined.

"Two prominent Akatsuki members will be waiting in ambush at another projectory point, should the situation escalate to such circumstances where their interference will be needed," Sasori assured him before once again turning back to the genjutsu surveillance. After a moment of studying the vision, the puppet master dispersed the jutsu.

"I can't help but wonder if-" Sai began again only to be once more interrupted.

"I'm not in the habit of revealing the inner clockwork of the Akatsuki movements. You should not become accustomed to such vices," Sasori growled. Sai watched silently as the puppet master sulked off. Once he was out of sight, Sai directed himself towards the Sakura puppet. The artist couldn't help but notice when it's eyes momentarily flashed yellow, but he was completely oblivious to the curse mark hidden under it's pink hair on the back of it's skull.

Sai's mind was on other things.

He had a message to deliver to the Hokage.

Ino was incredibly annoyed when she woke up the following morning to discover Sakura missing. The blonde had an inkling that her friend had purposely led her on a chase into the far reaches of the forest with the expressed intent of exhausting her. It irritated her to no end that Sakura had succeeded. Worse still, without Sakura to follow, Ino was well and truly lost.

With no food or supplies, she wouldn't last long.

Grimacing in distaste, Ino glanced up at the sun only to realize that she had slept in much longer than usual and was unable to pinpoint the exact time from her location.

Her teacher, Asuma would be disappointed in her lack of skills survival skills. Speaking of which…

"I'm gonna kill Sakura!" Ino snarled suddenly, realizing her team was suppose to report for a mission today. With her absence, an investigation would inevitably open into her whereabouts and when nothing turned up she would be labeled a missing nin.

"Well that's not going to happen! I'll be home before lunch!" she declared. Glancing one time behind her in uncertainty and thinking of her friend, Ino whispered,

"Sorry Sakura,"

before heading towards what she thought was the direction of Konoha.

Tojuro was waiting for Shishio when the latter crawled through the air duct into the Kazekage's office. With a quick slash of his knife the dark haired shinobi fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

"L-lord Tojuro why?" Shishio stuttered while he clutched at his wound. Fearfully, he watched as the councilmen sneered down at him, poised to kill.

"You fool, why have you returned? The girl still lives," Tojuro scorned. Shishio eyed the man warily.

"I don't understand. It was only a scratch, but the poison on the blade is deadly," he tried to explain. Turning his back to the wounded man, Tojuro eyed the masked man standing silently in the shadows. Shishio was oblivious.

"Lady Chiyo was called in. With all of her expertise in the field of poison, there is a strong chance that the girl will live," Tojuro told him with displeasure dripping from his words. Shishio winced and when it became apparent that the councilmen wasn't going to attack him, slowly stood up.

"Please, give me a second chance Lord Tojuro. I will not fail you this time," Shishio vowed. There was true venom in his voice but the potential behind it was completely wasted.

Without turning, Tojuro nodded.

"Go then and make sure you aren't caught," he commanded. Silene followed.

Once he was satisfied that Shishio left, Tojuro turned to the masked man hidden in the shadows. As he was still unable to contact the assassin guild that he had employed previously, Tojuro was forced to call on the Anbu that was loyal to him outside of Suna's standard employment. If the council ever learned of his independent operations, he would be deemed a traitor. Once he gained the position of Kazekage it would be different, but until then he had to take precautions.

"Shishio is a failure. Now that Lady Chiyo is involved and with the full scrutiny of the council, the kunoichi is beyond reach… at least for now. If Shishio is caught, it could ruin me. Before you send your team after the jinchuuriki brat, please take care of him." the councilmen ordered. The masked man bowed his head in compliance.

"Sunna cannot afford to have loose ends," Tojuro added.

"For Suna," the masked man nodded.

Sakura felt helpless as Sasuke loomed over her fallen prone form. Behind him, Konoha's gate waited silently for him to leave and never come back. Lying on her back, the pinkette tried to choke out the magic words that would make her dark haired shinobi teammate stay.

"Sasuke," she begged with tears in her eyes as the boy she had come to know and love, rejected the bloody offering of her heart. The pain in her chest was unbearable from her self inflicted wound but it would all be worth it, if Sasuke would just take her heart. He didn't have to be alone. She could save him. She was sure her love would be enough.

Lying on her back and delirious from the agony of what she had done, Sakura's arm shakily held out the organ, her grip shaking as she tried to focus on Sasuke's indifferent face.

"You haven't changed. You're still annoying," he told her coldly

Sasuke's words echoed in her memory and Sakura watched her heart began to crack.

"This is a new beginning. Each of us has a new path before us." The words were familiar but the voice changed to a darker, velvety tone that wasn't entirely foreign. Blinking through her misery, Sakura blanched when Sasuke's stone face warped into Gaara's maddening sneer. The pain in her chest rose to unbearable levels as Sakura watched in horror as the redhead snatched her heart right out of her hand and took a large bite out of it.

"NO!"

Sakura choked and tried to sit up, only to find gentle but firms hands on her shoulder holding her down. The pain in her chest was very real and to the pinkette's terror, she found that her lungs were almost completely contracted in her chest. Frantically, she looked around and tried to scramble away from her pain.

"Easy Sakura," Temari called. Sakura realized she was once again lying on a bed in the medical ward and Temari was standing beside her. On the other side of the bed was an old woman with short, jagged grey hair framing her wrinkled face.

"She's stronger than I thought. Hold her down," instructed the old woman. Sakura tried to focus but her body felt heavy even as she panicked and flailed. Temari had to double her efforts to hold the girl down as the adrenaline and panic made Sakura even stronger.

"This poison can only be retracted if her heart rate is low. I'm going to have to put her into a coma."

What!?

Sakura could only shake her head once before the old woman placed a glowing hand on her head and knocked her out. Temari's worried face was the last thing she saw before darkness once again claimed her.

Watching soberly from the doorway to the medical room stood Elder Ebizo and Councilmen Goza.

"Will she live?" Goza asked in a quiet voice. His interest in the young woman had peaked. During her short stay in Suna, not only had Lord Gaara shown an interest in her, but now she had become the target of an unknown assassination. The sooner Goza won the Kazekage seat, he would look forward to learning more about the kunoichi.

Beside him, Ebizo stroked his grey beard and nodded.

"I hope so. My sister is an expert when it comes to poison. If anyone can help her, it's Chiyo." Giza winced at the lack of honorific Ebizo used but tried to ignore it, wanting to know more about the assailant.

"How did this happen? Do we know who was responsible?"

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when Kankuro came barrelling out of breath into the room. The two older men studied the brunette intently. For once he was without his face paint and dressed in civilian garb instead of his traditional shinobi outfit. It was clear that Sakura's attack had caught him at an inopportune time.

"Has Lord Gaara been informed of the attack?" Giza asked mildly.

Doubled over and still trying to catch his breath, Kankuro shook his head and panted,

"No… I tried - I tried to catch him but his team had already left."

Shaking his head, Goza looked thoughtfully back at the girl.

"Let us hope the kunoichi is still alive when he returns - for all our sake."

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The sun rose beautifully onto Konoha's training ground. The air was crisp and the sky was a pristine blue. For an autumn day, it was unusually warm. Birds chirped cheerfully in a chorus of greeting and watched in interest from the shroud of red and gold leaf trees as a three people gathered in preparation for their mission.

"Where's Ino?" Choji asked awkwardly while trying to scratch discreetly at his stomach. They had been assigned a B rank mission a week ago by the Hokage. Everyone was suppose to meet in the training grounds before leaving, only Ino had never shown up.

"Troublesome girl," Shikamaru scoffed before removing his gear. After wearing his travel pack for fifty minutes, the thing had become heavy and irritating.

Watching with a frown and his arms crossed, Asuma studied his two pupils before turning back towards the direction of the civilian district. As the only female on their team, Asuma had made some allowance for Ino. She had her moods and quirks and was known to be fashionably late to some junctions from time to time, but this…

"This is late, even for her," Asuma murmured.

"I wish I didn't have to say this, but most of the people are terrified of you. They only see you as a weapon of destruction."

Kankuro's reluctant words echoed in his head as Gaara and his team traveled to the rendezvous point. The red head had set a decent paste. It was fast, but any sand shinobi should have been able to keep up. However, his teammates Yaoki and Korobi were lagging a bit behind. The distance between them kept growing and so Gaara kept having to slow down. Twice he had looked back on the two, but immediately the two would freeze up.

Worse, there were several shadows following them and Gaara had a good guess as to who they were. Anbu from Suna, his own village. They were probably sent by the council to eliminate him.

"I know the council ordered your cooperation and enlistment with the regular troops, but it's not going to be easy. The ranks are full of jounin that want nothing to do with you."

Kankuro's words were proving true. Gaara fought the urge to gnash his teeth from the hurt and frustration. The mission was more important than him. It shouldn't matter that the shinobi behind him didn't want to be his friends. It shouldn't matter a good twenty men or so from his village were waiting to kill him. All that mattered was finding Naruto and his teacher. Still…

The warm brown sand and blue skies of the desert slowly melted into the occasional brown and green shrub of healthy, growing earth. They were getting closer, but if they didn't pick up the speed they would fall a day late outside of the rendezvous time. Gaara had been respectfully maintaining his distance and allowing Karobi and Yaoki to follow at their own comfort, but time was lagging. He had debated telling them about the Anbu but thought better of it. It was unlikely that they were in danger of being assasinated. Gaara was probably the only target.

"I know they're afraid, but I have to do something. Doing nothing causes only more pain. I know what I have to do. I have to make my own path."

This time it was Gaara's own words echoing in his head as he turned around to confront his teammates. To his own frustration, the two stopped moving as soon as he did and so Gaara was forced to enhance his voice more than he was comfortable with.

"We must hurry. We are to meet with our ally before high noon. Time is of the essence," Gaara told them, doing his best to keep his voice neutral, despite how unsure and frustrated he was with the two. Gaara had never worked outside of a unit consisting of Temari and Kankuro and so he had little experience with other sand shinobi. Still, he was sure that they were both letting their personal fears get the better of them.

"You must not let your emotions dictate your actions," he continued. To Gaara's surprise, both men hurriedly closed the gap between them, both out of breath and chagrin.

"I apologize Lord Gaara. We only recently enlisted and have never worked so far outside of the village before," Yaoki apologized with a slight bow.

"We've never traveled at such a fast pace before. I'm afraid we're not very good at it yet," Korobi added with a grimace. Both men seemed entirely embarrassed. The idea that their pace was hindered by their lack of experience and stamina had never crossed Gaara's mind. He desperately wanted to ask if they were afraid of him, but he didn't want to push his luck.

"I see… Shall we continue?" he asked after clearing his throat. Nodding, the two waited for Gaara to take the lead before following. It was clear that the two enlisted men thought the matter was settled and Gaara could tell by their pace that they had doubled their efforts in speed, but the redhead's curiosity wasn't sated.

"You say that you only recently enlisted," he began and tried to ignore how Korobi startled somewhat as they ran.

"Y-yes that's right," he answered nervously.

"But you are jonin correct?" Gaara persisted.

"Um," Korobi began. Beside him, Yaoki slapped a palm over his face in embarrassment and almost stumbled over a shrub in his distractedness.

"We're actually only genin," Korobi continued with a cheesy, nervous smile. Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"I thought the enlisted men consisted only of jonin," he commented. The two men shared a meaningful glance.

"They were before the chunin exams. However after the fallout with the Konoha and Orochimaru's involvement…" Yaoki began.

" - we lost a lot of sand shinobi. Afterwards, the enlisted men started recruiting other ranks to fill in their numbers," Korobi finished. Gaara nodded. It was painful to acknowledge, Suna's blunder with Orochimaru, but unless they accepted it, no one from Suna would ever be able to heal. Still, there was one more thing that was bothering him…

"Then I must ask, why are you both still only the rank of Genin? You both look much older than your peers," Gaara commented. He had been keeping a detailed eye on his surroundings and noted how close it was until high noon. They would be late, but not by much. The scenery around them had once again changed from sporting bits of grass and shrubs to gangly bushes and tall trees.

Slowing his pace, he waited for the other two to catch up. Unfortunately both men seemed to be caught up on Gaara's last question and failed to notice their surroundings. Too late they realized their mistake and in order to avoid crashing into Gaara, both men flailed so wildly that they tripped over each other and landed in a large bush.

Gaara stared at them evenly trying to keep his bafflement from showing on his face. The answer to his question was obvious now. His teammates were both rookies. He had never been in such a situation. Shaking his head, Gaara turned to Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, who standing silently on the other side of the river with his arms crossed casually and leaning against a tree.

"Sorry we're late," Gaara called out and tried to ignore the shadows that had settled around him.

Ino blinked confusedly at the sight before her.

"This - this can't be right!" she shouted. Her voice was so loud that the birds in the nearby trees all scattered in flight from the echo of her distress.

Rubbing the grim from her eyes, Ino took in the sight of the village called Tanzaku Quarters. Knowing it only through text book study, the blonde had never been to the Poem Card city as it was often called in slang by adults. Her father had mentioned that he had visited the place in his youth during a rowdy mission, but Ino hadn't paid much attention as she thought that it would be a long time before she ever visited such a place.

Taking in the bright red and gold lights and tall elegant roofs, Ino could only gape as she stumbled her way out of the forest. She was dirty, with various sticks and leafs ensnared in her hair. After wandering around lost for almost a full day in the woods, civilization looked wonderful, even if it was a place rumored to be full of gamblers and loose women.

The blonde was so distracted by her musings that she was completely oblivious when a small group of travelers nearly bumped into her.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" Ino jumped and quickly moved out of the way.

Noticing her worn attire, the three travelers glanced confusedly at her before sharing a look between themselves.

"Are you here for the festival?" the lone woman in the group asked Ino after a moment of awkward silence. The blonde noted the woman's civilian clothes and unassuming shoulder cropped brown hair. She was probably in her mid forties. Her two male companions were younger, probably closer to Ino's age and also dressed as civilians, making it impossible to know which village they all hailed from.

Looking down at her dirty, torn, purple blouse and apron, Ino would have normally blended in quite well, sans her village headband. However with all the muk on her it was obvious that she was some sort shinobi, if not a vagabond.

"A-ah yes! I'm just checking out the view," the blonde answered nervously and scratched the back of her head. Her explanation was obviously a lie as the front gate of the village barely offered any view until after a person passed through the city's walls. The three travelers watched her curiously and when Ino couldn't bare it any longer she offered them all the prettiest, most charming smile she could muster.

The two males immediately responded with smiles of their own while the woman relaxed somewhat.

"Of course. If you happen to be in the silver roof lodging units, come find us. We'd love to have a dinner guest," she offered.

"Sounds wonderful," Ino gushed, silently urging the trio to move on. Smiling she waved as they entered the gate before turning back towards the forest. Konoha was over a day's journey in the opposite direction. Her attempt to follow Sakura had been a total blunder. The blonde knew her parents and teammates were probably worried sick. As a kunoichi of Konoha it was her duty to return as soon as possible. Worse still, her team had an upcoming mission. She was in enough trouble as it was.

But…

She was tired and hungry and dirty. Her travel through the forest had been anything but smooth. After stumbling upon a bear's den and finding its cubs, the mother had charged Ino up a tree. That had been followed by a crash landing into a bush and a sprained ankle. Now peppered with mosquito bites and and smelling faintly of sweat and animal dung, all Ino wanted was a long bath and warm meal… and maybe a soft bed.

"Are you coming in or not?" one of the guards posted outside of the gate asked.

Smiling grimly, Ino turned back to look at Tanzaku Quarters.

"One day won't hurt," she murmured.

Sai stood on the rooftop of the Tanzaku Castle. The full moon was high and serenely bright in the sky above him while the festival was a live and in full swing below him in the streets. Loud happy music whistled and clanged amidst the happy chatter and singing of citizens and tourists as they paraded the streets. A long stream of well wishers were on their way to visit the local shrine for a blessing as it was the Autumnal Equinox. Street vendors aligned the streets with every kind of goods and wears. Bright orange and red flags waved in the wind coinciding with the scent of several trade dishes as they wafted in the air.

It was interesting but Sai had a far more important task to fulfill. If Sasori caught him, he was as good as dead. The Akatsuki member had been very specific when it came to communications to Fifth Hokage. It was only to happen under his explicit supervision and instruction, neither of which Sai had.

The triad alliance with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru with Root may not be as productive as we had hoped. Sasori has promised two additional shinobi on his end to counter Kakashi's movements, should he prove troublesome on his mission. However, their specific whereabouts as well as Orochimaru's, remain elusive. In addition, several Root members are expected to serve on this mission, making Root the biggest liability.

Sai finished his letter, before rereading it once. Then with the hand of a well versed artist, he released a second scroll and sketched out the image of a raven using his Super Beast Imitating Drawing Art. The chakra infused ink had barely been etched onto the page before the dark silhouette of the bird extracted itself from the white parchment and materialized in the air.

Sai had been careful to fill in the space of the bird with as much as black ink as he could, making it look less like a drawing and more like a true bird and therefore far less conspicuous.

Silently, the dark haired shinobi handed the raven his scroll. If everything worked out correctly, his message would be in Danzo's hands by tomorrow. The bird was silent as it accepted scroll before taking off into the glowing moonlight.

Not a moment later, Sai startled as several shuriken shot out from directly behind him and over his head. Alarmed by the inhuman silence of the attack, the pale shinobi watched as they swirled towards the raven only to collide in a brilliant shower of black ink as the drawing was destroyed. Simultaneously, a thin but strong, unseen force coiled itself around the artist's feet and tripped him.

Sai would have caught himself from the impending fall if another unseen coil hadn't ensnared itself tightly around his arms, preventing his freedom. To his credit, Sai was still smiling when he crashed face first onto the roof's hard tiles and bashed his chin.

"Did you really think that I would allow you to get away with such treachery?" Sasori's voice murmured from behind his veil as he watched emotionlessly as Sai tripped. Silently, the slumped form of the puppeteer stepped forward until he was side by side with Sai's prone form.

"Chakra infused threads," Sai commented with an empty smile as Sasori used the very same technique to retrieve Sai's scroll which was on its way to floating harmlessly down into an alleyway below.

"Not unlike my chakra infused ink," Sai added as Sasori used his thread to fling the parchment into his hand. Opening the scroll, he briefly read over it.

"Don't compare your fleeting attempts of art with mine," Sasori murmured before using his chakra to disintegrate the scroll.

"Root's participation is paramount. I cannot allow you to compromise it," Sasori continued. His beady eyes then looked down at Sai calculatingly who in turn laughed mirthlessly.

"But isn't it already compromised? The Fifth Hokage won't agree to move forward without my input first. Isn't that what liaisons are for?" Sai joked. His words fell flat.

"Puppets can make just as fine a liaison," Sasori murmured as he moved to loom over the artist. Recognizing the imminent attack, Sai rolled over onto his back. As soon as his palms touched the material beneath him, he used Earth Release and allowed his body to sink into the castle roof's stone tiles, not a moment before Sasori's scorpion like tail came down to pierce his back. It was a narrow escape. Knowing he had little time, Sai released several clones of himself into the castle with the intent of using his Root trained stealth ability to escape the structure's walls and disappear into the festive crowd below. He was determined to send Danzo his message.

However, Sasori made for a formidable opponent and the attack of his scorpion tail not only pierced directly through Sai's middle but also threw him off of his trajectory. Terribly wounded, Sai was helpless when the metal weapon withdrew and consequently flung him onto the unsuspecting blonde haired bystander below.

Shishio stared down at the helpless prone form of the pink haired kunoichi lying on the medical cot. Because of the council's interest in her, she had been placed in a small isolated medical room. All was silent and the two guards posted at the door were oblivious to his presence.

Raising his dagger, he stared down at his target. The girl who looked only a few years younger than him, would clearly be beautiful once she was fully grown. As a ninja, Shishio had gone on countless missions for Lord Tojuro and one more life should have meant nothing to him. This girl, however, had somehow survived his last assassination attempt and thus had earned Shishio's grudging interest. It was a shame that fate had dealt her such a hand.

"I take no pleasure in this," he muttered, lowering his own hand fisted with his dagger, intent to bury the weapon in the girl's chest. He was unprepared for the sudden pain in his middle as a short sword impaled him from behind.

"W-what?" Shishio asked in disbelief as his hands shakily went to the front of the blade. Turning his head blearily, he was surprised to find an masked anbu standing directly behind him.

"Lord Tojuro sends his regards," the masked man told him, his white coyote face expressionless.

"Why?" Shishio gasped as blood spurted from his mouth. He could not understand why Lord Tojuro, whom he had always faithfully obeyed, would order his destruction.

"You're shortcomings can no longer be tolerated," the anbu explained before flinging Shishio off of his weapon and straight through the medical door at the far end. Silently the anbu turned to the sleeping pinkette for a moment before disappearing entirely.

"I just don't understand why Gaara is so interested in her," Kankuro grimaced as he and Temari walked the long hall of Suna's hospital wing. The kunoichi's room was on that floor and ever since the assassination attempt in her prison cell, he and Temari had done their best to keep vigilance over her.

"Isn't it obvious? It's because of Naruto," Temari answered. The siblings had met in the stairway and were in the process of trading 'shifts.' Temari had been up all night keeping watch over the prisoner and was more than ready to trade positions with Kankuro.

"Yeah, I remember. She was on his team during the Chunin exams. I still can't remember her name though," the puppeteer admitted. It went without saying that neither sibling had volunteered any information to the council, out of respect to their brother and his goals.

"It doesn't matter. Gaara knows that she's important Naruto and that crazy boy is the first one that has ever gotten through to our little brother. Ever since that battle, Gaara has held that boy in high esteem. He is going to do everything in his power to try earn Naruto's respect in return, even if it means keeping his would be assailant safe." Temari explained, rubbing her eyes in frustration. She was glad her brother was trying to change, but she hadn't expected to what extremes.

"She tried to kill him," Kankuro grumbled as if reading her mind.

"She's a means to an end," Temari insisted, thinking that once Gaara's team located Naruto and the boy confirmed her identity, Suna's Council would lose interest in the girl and she would be traded back to Konoha. Gaara would be pleased by the outcome and his bond with Naurto would likely grow...

"Her presence and involvement will not have any bearings on Gaara's goals to become Kazekage. If anything, her presence will deter him," Kankuro muttered, thinking how little value the citizens of Suna would find in Sakura. Not many knew that she had infiltrated the village, but if it became public knowledge that Gaara was interested in and possibly harboring a foreign threat, what little respect he had earned from the villagers would disappear.

"I know. I don't like it; but we agreed to support our brother," Temari argued.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of splintering wood and shattered glass. Several shouts had Temari and Kankuro running towards the noise and coincidentally the prisoner's medical room.

"Don't tell me..." Temari began.

"We think there was another attempt on the kunoichi's life," a grim guard informed them. The siblings looked on to the remnants of a splintered door and the corpse of a ninja who had quickly bled out onto the floor. What the siblings found more disturbing was that neither guard could take credit for attacking the assumed assassin. There was no sign of the responsible party, save for the unconscious kunoichi prisoner who was still obviously in a coma. There were no clear answers and the mystery surrounding the kunoichi was growing.

"Lord Tojuro and Lord Goza are not going to be pleased," one of the guards predicted.

Temari and Kankuro shared a grim look. It went without saying that their brother wouldn't be either.