Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Loveless Suna ❯ Chapter 58

This chapter is long overdue with both holidays of me and my beta, but here it is, finally. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for the reviews.

Beta: sangoran_21

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or make money from this.

Next morning, Sai woke me up to eat the breakfast Sakura had bought while I had been sleeping. “So, what's the plan for today?” I yawned as I sat up. With my eyelids half opened, I picked up the bun that got thrown into my lap and started to unwrap it. Taking a bite of my vegetable bun, I looked up as Sakura sat down before me. She pushed a note towards me and I discovered the word ANBU written on the paper after closer inspection. I raised my hand and motioned with my finger, asking if they were all around us. She nodded as Sasuke opened his mouth.

“I was planning on making a summary with all the information we have `til now,” the broody writer said, and Sai pulled out his drawing equipment as a response.

“Then, we could visit the public baths since the two guys want peace and quiet,” Sakura suggested, and I nodded while shredding up the note—we wouldn't want to leave evidence behind. After breakfast, I chased the guys outside to freshen up and change; Sakura joined them in their room, leaving me alone. Once I was ready, I opened the door and let out a short yelp when I found Asura suddenly standing before me.

“Asura…-san, you scared me.” I couldn't be more than glad that I had thought about putting on my disguise. Before he left, Sasuke had put some sort of undetectable screen around a small area in the corner of the room where I could use my chakra without being detected; I had no idea how he had done it, but it seemed to work since no ANBUs were infiltrating.

“Ah, sorry,” she apologized, and I shook my head.

“Don't be, what can I do for you?” She smiled sweetly and gave me a short nod, indicating she didn't want to have this conversation in the hallway. “Oh, sorry, come in.” I stepped backwards and closed the door after she passed me.

“Your partners aren't here?” she asked, looking around.

“Ah, no, they're in the boy's room. I've just changed and was actually going to join them when we met,” she nodded, eyeing my unmade futon.

“Sorry for the mess,” I apologized, following her line of vision.

“No, it's my fault for visiting unannounced.” I couldn't imagine why Gaara had wanted to hurt her—she was so sweet! But then again, I don't really know a lot about Gaara during that time. “I've asked my father for permission, and he granted it on the condition that he gets to meet you and your partners first.”

“So basically, the Tsuchikage wants a security check first,” I suggested, and she shrugged before nodding.

“It's just a formality; I'm certain he'll give permission. He is interested!” Asura reassured me.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely, and an uncomfortable silence sets over us. “Do you want to meet my colleagues?” I broke the silence and she nodded with her everlasting smile in place. I led her into the hallway and walked to the room next door. Knocking loudly, I yelling it was me with a guest; I knew their disguises would be in place but a warning upfront couldn't hurt, could it? Sasuke opened the door, glaring at me.

“I'm writing!” he hissed angrily, and I rolled my eyes.

“Don't mind him; he's just in one of his moods.” I cocked my head sideways so I could see Asura; my daddy's glare had seemed to have an effect on her since her smile suddenly looked strained. Sasuke grunted before letting us enter, and slammed the door closed behind our guest; my eyebrows rose a little as I noted Asura almost glued to my back. I frowned at Sasuke over her head, and watched him stare at the girl; he had also noted her odd behavior. “Everyone, this is Asura, the Tsuchikage's daughter I told you about. Asura, you've just met Tarou our writer, Kinji is in charge of the drawings, and Chio is the woman with the connections,” I gestured from Sasuke to Sai, and ended with my hand directed towards Sakura.

“It's a pleasure to meet you!” Sakura jumped up, and with two steps stood before our guest; this time, Asura didn't shy away. “Have you come bearing good news?” she asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“My father has given permission for an audience,” she answered, not forcing her smile any longer.

“Oh, we need to get ready then!” Sakura grabbed my shoulders, and started to shake me—she was getting a little too much into character for my taste.

“Yes, but calm down first,” I mumbled patting her hands.

“When is the audience?” Sasuke grunted.

“In the afternoon,” Asura answered not taking her eyes from Sakura and me.

“Chio, release Masana! I need her help,” Sasuke ordered, and walked back to his `working' desk.

“Of course!” Sakura released me, and I turned back to Asura.

“Is there something else you wanted?” I asked politely while the brooding writer growled behind me. The girl seemed to have gotten the picture, and bowed towards me.

“No, I see you're needed. I'll see all of you at the Tower in the afternoon,” she smiled and bowed again before exiting.

“So, what does the brooding writer need me for?” I asked dropping down next to Sasuke.

“Read this!” he ordered, handing me the scroll with the summary he had made. I scanned the paper and looked up into the Sharingan.

“We're not being watched any longer,” he announced before leaning backwards all of a sudden, completely relaxed.

“You think the Tsuchikage will give us permission?” Sakura asked, and I nodded.

“Yes, Asura said it was only a formality.” She glanced from Sai to Sasuke before looking at me again. “And are you up to it?” I gave her an odd look. “There's a big chance we'll run into Shizi at the Tower,” she explained and my heart suddenly felt heavy, but I nodded nonetheless.

“She won't know it's me,” I mumbled like it would explain everything and I felt Sasuke lay his hand on my shoulder.

“You'll need to keep the Nine Tails in check,” he said with an urge in his voice as I turned to look at him.

“I know.”

-

An hour after the sun had reached its peak, we were standing before the Tower, and dread had filled me at the sight of it. The last time I had stood here, I had left in anger thinking Gaara was a cheating bastard. Sakura put her hand on my back in comfort and it was the push I needed to continue. The ANBUs at the door clearly expected us since they let us enter without a word. Once inside, we were led towards an empty waiting chamber. `I guess we're not that important,' I thought as I sat down in one of the six chairs present. After half an hour, Asura entered the room apologizing for the long wait. She took us straight to her father and I was more than happy Shizi was nowhere to be seen. As expected, Sakura got the job done—we got permission to enter the attic.

-

“I warn you, it's really messy'” Asura said as she opened the door—her father had the necessary jutsus removed during the audience—the room looked like a hurricane had struck.

`It's worse than the ruins of the Vessel,' I thought a little dejected.

“I guess we better start,” Sasuke mumbled and we fanned out. I noticed Asura glancing at my daddy before following me further into the attic. After two hours, we finally rediscovered an old armor that had been used during the Rukkei War, according to Asura. Since we were supposed to be interested in everything that had to do with the War, Sai started sketching the armor. It didn't take long before Sakura found an old diary. Carefully, she started to study every page and announced it had been written by Senami, the wife of the, at that time ruling, Tsuchikage.

“Sadly, her last entrance only tells about a brooch she had presented to her husband,” she announced to no one in particular, but we got the message.

`We're looking for a brooch,' I thought glancing at Asura. “That brooch must still be in the family?” The girl blinked at me.

“The previous Tsuchikage wasn't married and had removed everything he didn't find useful here,” she waved around.

“Jewelry wasn't useful I guess,” I thought aloud, and she shook her head.

“It would be interesting to find it then.” Sai stood beside us all of a sudden and Asura quickly stepped behind me. I gave Sai an odd look before looking over my shoulder.

“Then we'll search for it.” The girl behind me sounded a little shaken but I chose to ignore it, for now. When evening had fallen, we still hadn't located the brooch, but we were allowed to return the next day.

-

“She's scared of men,” Sasuke said from the futon beside me. Sakura had almost begged to switch rooms, and with a sigh, the raven had given in; I had been chuckling as I watched Sai enter his room with Sakura sprinting behind him.

“Who?” I asked confused.

“Asura.” I blinked remembering the way she acted around Sasuke and Sai.

“Maybe she's just scared of strangers?” I tried, and saw Sasuke turned on his side so he could look at me.

“She didn't have a problem with Sakura and all the male ANBUs kept away from her intentionally.” Now I frowned; I couldn't help but think of Gaara.

“You think it has something to do with what Gaara did to her?” I asked quietly, and I could feel his eyes burning into my head.

“Just be careful,” he mumbled, turning back on his back. I glanced sideways to his black silhouette and frowned.

`Whatever he did, it seems to be haunting us.'

-

After a week, I was close to giving up and didn't think our permit to the attic would last very long; Asura had been with us the entire time, and I wondered if she didn't have anything better to do. She stayed close to me and Sakura—making me think Sasuke had guessed correctly—but I couldn't just confront her, so I let her be. I had also noticed my daddy trying to sneak off into the rubble, but failing every time—Asura didn't want to be near him, but she kept an eye on his every move. “Masana!” Sasuke hissed at me, and I turned at him with an innocent expression. He waved me over, and pulled me behind an old wardrobe once in reach. “I need you to get that girl away from me!” I frowned and was suddenly pushed against the backside of the wardrobe; one hand landed next to my head and the other on my hip. “Can't a man have a minute for himself?” Sasuke hissed over his arm to the person who had just joined us.

“I-I'm sorry. I-I'll...” Asura bowed apologetically and quickly disappeared around the wardrobe. I raised my eyebrows and my daddy rolled his eyes.

“I figured this would work,” he shrugged and I shook my head laughing without a sound. When I looked back at Sasuke, he had activated his Sharingan and was looking around us carefully not to raise suspicion; I realized he had wanted to look with his bloodline since the beginning and understood his annoyance with Asura. “Turn!” he ordered. I felt him pull me against him before stepping backwards and reposition us so he could scan the next area. Slowly, I laid my arms around his neck and sighed.

“Why is it always me? Can't you use S...Chio next time?” I questioned while he scanned the next area.

“There's obviously something between Chio and Kinji,” he answered, twirling me around again before glancing at me. I frowned at the look he was giving me. “And at least you won't search more behind it,” he confessed, and a laugh slipped between my lips. “It isn't funny!” he hissed and I only laughed more.

“Oh, it is!” I panted wiping the tears out of my eyes. By now, my daddy had released me, and Sai's head popped out from behind the wardrobe.

“Something funny happened?” he questioned as I turned fully towards him. I noted Asura eying me from behind Sakura, who had shown up next to her boyfriend.

“Oh, nothing,” I waved my hand in front of my face dismissively and walked over to the worried girl. “Let's continue searching!” I chirped happily turning her away from Sasuke. I figured he had probably deactivated the Sharingan, but I couldn't risk it.

“Are you alright?” Asura asked once we were at a safe distance.

“Of course,” I rolled my eyes, “he always does that when things don't go his way.” That was probably the wrong thing to say since the girl's eyes widened in panic. “But he has never forced himself on me.” I assured her. “Actually, nothing has ever happened between us. He just sees me safe because I know he doesn't mean it. Other women would start looking for something behind it,” I explained with a hidden truth. Asura glanced backwards, but I know she couldn't see Sasuke from her position. “He's a successful writer, good looking, and single—a lot of women in our village are after him,” I explained, and it seemed to convince the girl. At least as much as needed to stop her from worrying. After another ten minutes, `Tarou' announced he had found the brooch in a hidden compartment of an old jewellery box. `The Sharingan worked!' I was dancing around in my head as I speeded towards my daddy. He handed me the brooch, and I couldn't contain the smile that crawled onto my face looking at it. Like the drawing, it had a large red stone in the middle and was decorated with creative symbols, but it wasn't ostentatious; it had a simple, elegant look. `With this, we can save Gaara!'

-

Before leaving, we cleaned up a small portion of the attic as promised. With that done, Asura led us to her father, whose permission we still needed to keep the brooch, even if it wasn't permanent—we would be gone before they would notice. I was still staring at the brooch in my hands while walking beside Asura when Sasuke joined us on my other side. With his hand, he messed up my hair and mumbled an apology loud enough for Asura to hear. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced at the girl beside me, noting she looked a lot more relaxed than a minute ago. I smiled again feeling like everything would work out.

-

“Father!” Asura announced her presence as she entered the room, after a voice granted her entrance. “We found the brooch!” she continued, and I followed her inside. I bowed politely to the Tsuchikage, and noted someone stood beside him. Looking up again, the smile fell from my face as I looked up into Shizi's eyes. I could feel anger boil inside of me as she gave me a short uninterested glance. Sasuke laid his hand on my back in a comforting way, and pushed me further in the room. My eyes dropped to the floor, and I decided it was interesting enough to keep my attention. Asura's hand suddenly came into view and I looked up surprised at her. “The brooch...” she explained seeing my expression. My eyes widened realizing I had missed the conversation and quickly handed her the jewel. She stepped towards her father's desk and extended the brooch towards him.

“A fine specimen indeed,” he mumbled, studying the jewel before turning to his oldest daughter, “Don't you think?” Shizi gave the jewel a quick, criticizing look before answering.

“I guess. Now can you make this short? We were in the middle of something!” The Tsuchikage rolled his eyes.

“That conversation ended the moment they left. Now about the bro-...”

“NO!” Shizi interrupted as my eyes moved between father and daughter-I was certain they were talking about us! “You felt the power she contains! He'll use her!” My eyes widened before narrowing in a glare.

`Gaara won't use me!' I could feel a familiar heat rising, and I bit my lip trying to suppress it. Sasuke laid his hand back on my back as a comfort and a warning. `Shit, he can sense it!' I realized and hoped he was the only one.

“He won't, he... lov-...”

“No, he doesn't!” Shizi yelled hysterically. Her father narrowed his eyes dangerously and she took a step back. “We're done talking!” Shizi's face seemed like it was hit as she took a step backwards.

“Why are you protecting him after what he did to Asura?” she almost whispered and my eyes widened while focusing on her.

`What did he do?' I wondered again as my eyes moved back to the Tsuchikage. He had stiffened in his chair.

“Will he do the same thing to her?” Asura asked with a tiny voice I wouldn't have heard if she wasn't standing beside me.

“When she's not useful anymore,” Shizi answered and I glared at her; she frowned at me in confusion. The heat peaked again and I closed my eyes, trying to force it down.

“You need to stop him, father!” Asura yelled and I opened my eyes to see her standing before the Tsuchikage's desk. “He can't... We can't let him...”

“Calm down, Asura,” her father soothed her. He rose from his chair and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “We still have guests.” He eyed us. “It's unfortunate that you had to see this, please forgive us. We would appreciate it if this conversation doesn't leave this office.” He gave us a hard stare and we all nodded. “Keep the brooch,” he added and Sakura quickly moved forward to accept it.

`He's bribing us with the brooch.' I realized, and let Sasuke move me outside. I shared a last look with Shizi and left with a heavy heart. `She didn't sense it, did she?' I wondered biting my lip.

-

“We move tonight.” I could feel Sasuke's eyes on me as I was studying the brooch once more, and nodded.

“I wonder how this works?” I questioned, turning my head towards him.

“The Kazekage just has to fill it with his chakra and call it back when he needs it,” Sai answered as my head turned towards him. Looking back at the brooch, I smiled.

`He'll be relieved.'

-

Sai let a painted mouse run on his hand and turned towards us; he nodded once and we moved—the coast was clear. We kept to the shadows and ran towards the main gate; getting closer, Sasuke went ahead and as we reached him, the guards fell before him, caught in a genjutsu. Using her strength, Sakura opened one door of the gate and signed us to slip pass her. After she slipped through, Sakura pulled the gate back in position, and I sighed in relief as we started to run away from the village, hoping we would be far gone before they found out the writer's company had disappeared. Suddenly, I felt a chakra speeding towards us and realized it was already too close to avoid when Sai pushed me aside. “Are you alright?” he asked, while scanning the area as he helped me up again.

“Yes,” I answered and searched for our comrades. Sakura stood on the other side of the road and Sasuke a couple of meters away from us. `Thank Kami they noticed it before I did!' Turning back to the spot we had occupied a minute ago, I noted a large number of kunais sticking in the ground.

“I knew you weren't who you claimed to be!” a voice announced from on top of the gate, and Shizi caught my eyes when I looked up at her. “Isn't that right, Shizuka-sama?”

`She did sense the Kyuubi!' I realized, and my eyes narrowed as Sai took a protective stance before me. Shizi took in the posture before her eyes moved to Sasuke stopping before Sakura. `Can she identify them?' I wondered before a flash of chakra announced an attacker behind us. Automatically, I pulled a kunai out my pocket and blocked the attack with ease. Back to back with Sai, I scanned the area before me and found multiple chakra signals.

“They're surrounding us,” the artist mumbled, and I glanced at the other two. Sakura had just knocked an enemy into a rock and Sasuke still stood where he had been but now with two defeated ninjas behind him. Hearing a wet, airy sound behind me, I glanced backwards to see painted dogs and the open scroll Sai had used to summon them. “I'll create a distraction, escape when you can.” I nodded and the dogs got into motion. I stood still when I felt Shizi's eyes follow my movements and concentrated on the chakra signals before me; I felt two of them speeding up towards us and narrowed my eyes. `They're splitting up. Are they going to attack from both sides?' I wondered, and felt the earth underneath me shake. When I glanced down, I found two painted mice and took a step forward as a test; they flanked me and my two attackers used my small distraction to their benefit. One suddenly broke through the ground grabbing at my feet—which he just missed—while the other sent a big rock my way.

“Sai!” I yelled as I jumped on the stone before jumping off it again on the other side. The ex-ROOT nin landed beside me and nodded at me before making a sign with his hands. His paintings suddenly took form, hiding us from our attackers. I followed Sai, who started to run away, from the village, and watched him block the third attacker I had sensed on his way. I sprinted pass the nin who was laying on his back, watching him recover from the corner of my eye. Suddenly, Sai stopped as two new earth nins showed up before us. They were stepping closer and I knew they would reach the raven at the same time as I did, maybe only a couple of seconds later. Sai looked backwards at me and got into a supporting position; I narrowed my eyes as he patted his knee. Without losing speed, I continued to run towards him. Once in reach, he grabbed my arms and threw me in the air, making my feet meet our attackers' faces. The moment my feet met the ground again, he was already pulling me with him pass the staggering nins. As we ran, Sakura joined us. “Where's...?” I asked panting and she nodded her head backwards.

“He's distracting them. Don't look back!” she warned me and I realized he must be using another genjutsu. We kept running as screams rose from behind us, but didn't stop or look back; when we were out of the danger zone, Sakura stopped us. “We should wait...” she panted and I nodded while finally turning around to look for my daddy; after another ten minutes he came into view stopping before us. Immediately, I noticed his left eye was bleeding.

“Are you alright?!” I asked worriedly, as he started wiping his blood away.

“I'll be fine,” my daddy answered monotonically before turning to Sakura. “I suggest we continue to keep our advantage.” The woman nodded while I frowned at the blood that was now colouring Sasuke's hand.

“After I've treated your eye,” she compromised, seeing my worried expression. I watched her hand glow green and hover over the deactivated Sharingan. After a couple of minutes, she was already done, making me think she had treated Sasuke's eye before. Stepping away from the Uchiha, Sakura pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him. Sasuke accepted it with a quick glance at me. I frowned as he signed us to continue.

`Forget it, his eye's healed... We'll be returning to Suna... Hopefully Gaara isn't too mad...'

R&R