[5]
Gaara
"She's gone too!"
Gaara glanced up from his perch on one of many statues of previous Kazekage. The sand he'd been toying with out of boredom fell to the ground before returning to his opened gourd. He wasn't alone in the Sunagakure Council Room--the 11 members were present and accounted for. At the abrupt interruption of the ninja guarding Hana Utsuri, the members went at attention.
"Utsuri Hana-chan is missing as well?"
"The Elder Utsuri?!"
"What will the Sand Village do--"
"Don't speak like that! We must remain strong!"
"But without the Kazekage-"
"Silence!"
Gaara shut his eyes in annoyance as he listened to their bickering. It had been months since learning that Nikko Utsuri, the last heir to the Utsuri Clan, had been kidnapped somewhere among the Land of Swamps. At the time he had been on a mission. A mission that although had failed, left him with more knowledge than he'd started with.
Uzamaki Naruto, Gaara recalled.
It had been the nine tails holder who had opened Gaara's eyes. His former way of living, loving oneself, had proven weak in the light of having friends to rely on. When he had returned to Sunagakure, Gaara wasted no time in practicing how to behave. It had been so very long since he'd even bothered trying to interact with anyone. How did one make friends? How could Gaara prove to his village that he wasn't the monster they all thought him as?
Many moons had passed since returning. Enough time that he felt a bit more confident in his ability to be himself. Most of the village still didn't see him as anything other than a monster in human form. But the few who had given him a second glance where slowly but surely spreading the news of his change.
With the change came new responsibilities. Because Naruto had shown him a better way of living, Gaara couldn't act like he didn't know what to do--or how to use his status as Jinchūriki to better the lives of his village. He had been taught well despite not living up to any of those standards and failing as a weapon.
With this in mind Gaara walked toward the gathered sand watch members. They saw his approach and stopped bickering to listen to the Jinchūriki. "Nikko Utsuri was kidnapped three months ago. Since then we haven't heard any news of her location despite sending teams to search. Any ninja from the Utsuri Clan would be valuable to our enemies. I will rescue her and find Utsuri Hana." He bowed his head.
The members of the council looked at one another in disbelief. Finally they collectively began breathing again, and the loudest among them said, "Very well, Gaara-san."
Silently Gaara was pleased to be taken seriously. For the first time in his life, these people looked at him with something other than hate. As he dwelled on this he heard them discussing the situation further: "Hana-san was the best wielder of the Jikan henkō no Justsu. What if they've already gotten to her?" "We mustn't think that!" "Even if they've gotten her we need to recover the body."
Gaara crossed his arms and shut his eyes, telling them, "I will go to the Land of Swamps. If anyone would like to join in this mission let them speak now."
Silence.
It grew.
So it seemed they didn't want to be alone with Gaara. That was fine. "Very well. I'm leaving now."
**
Nikko
"I-Idate-kun?" Nikko covered her mouth with her slender hand in shock. She looked up into his deep eyes and hurriedly glanced away. "A-Are you uhm, okay?"
The one in question took a step back and ducked his head towards the dirt. "--Nevermind. A-After I win the race I'll definitely tell you!"
She let out a nervous breath and saw the trio of monarch butterflies fluttering wildly in protest. Only Nikko could hear their words. "So close, Hime-sama! Morino-san was going to confess!"
The girl wanted to squash the butterflies but refrained and smiled up at Idate. "I see! Then, I'll look forward to it."
Sharing a smile, the two were clearly sharing feelings for one another. The moment was gone and Nikko parted ways with her companion to think about how to spend the remainder of the evening. "Perhaps...a dip in the hot springs?" She said aloud.
"Oh yes Hime-sama! What a great idea! Maybe your fated will come by!"
Nikko's brow twitched and she flatly replied, "Aponi...you really are a true hentai aren't you?"
"Aponi is only trying to help!"
"..."
With a shake of her head, the girl thought some more. "Hmm...I haven't trained as a shinobi in quite awhile." She recalled all the ninja equipment she'd hidden away in the hat box. A hat box she had lost. "I've been so busy with working that I forgot I was even a Utsuri--"
"Shhh!" Aponi glittered before gold flakes fell down and successfully choked Nikko's words. She hacked and clawed the air as the butterflies said, "Hime-sama mustn't let everyone know who she is! Did you forget the plot to kill you?"
Oh yeah. That was a thing wasn't it? "Hak hak. I remember...this body was poisoned before right?"
"Indeed. We have left Sunagakure, but the enemy will be close behind." Aponi said. "The [bad endings] will follow Hime-sama even if she went to the farthest corner of the earth."
"Damn. Hmm...well, I told Idate-kun...oh! And my boss Shizuka-san knows it too. Then there's that old guy--"
"--Jirocho-san, Hime-sama."
"Yeah, him! So that's like...two. No biggie." Nikko stuck her nose in the air. "Even if they told people I don't think anyone here knows who I am. Anyway! I'd rather talk about this race coming up. Do you know anything about it Aponi?"
Aponi lit on top of their owners green head. "Three. That is three...and I'm afraid not Hime-sama."
Nikko sighed. "Eh, whatever. It's probably not a big deal anyway. I mean, Naruto-san hasn't shown up here so--"
No sooner had she uttered the name then an all too familiar orange jumpsuit sped past her. Nikko felt the air whip her long hair in her face before whirling around the kimono she wore. A loud and boisterous teen stood with feet wide apart, one hand to his forehead as he peered around the town. "Alright! We made it!"
"Naruto-kun be quiet. You're too loud." Said a pink haired Sakura.
Nikko's mouth fell open in shock.
No fucking way--
I'm being trolled aren't I?
As she stood there in utter disbelief, her shoulder was bumped. She turned to see a dark haired boy, and as he passed her, cold dark eyes glinted with annoyance. "Even Sasuke-san," Nikko gasped aloud.
He stopped.
Turned.
Looked at her with wide black eyes. Then scowled. "How the hell do you know my name?"
"Er--" she gulped. "L-Lucky guess!"
Naruto wandered over to the nearest ramen stall and ordered the biggest bowl they offered while Sakura followed him. Sasuke faced Nikko and tilted his chin back a little, glaring. "I doubt that. You're not even a ninja, so I don't see how you'd hear my name...and I've never been to this place before. Try again."
"Uhm..f-fan? Yeah! I'm a big fan!" Nikko clasped her hands together and leaned to him. "S-Sasuke-kuun!" She exaggerated with hearts in her eyes.
"..."
The Uchiha survivor swiftly pulled a kunai from his pouch, twirled it once and held it out to attack. "Three seconds."
"Wha-?" Nikko backed away in fright. Aponi wildly flew around while shrieking, "Hime-sama! Think of something!"
"Three."
Gulp.
"Two."
Nikko backed away further. I'm screwed!
"One--!"
She clenched her eyes tight and squeaked before turning and attempting to flee. Immediately her chest hit against something solid. "Oof!"
"Hm?" A voice piqued.
Seeing that nothing had befallen her, Nikko peeked up and gasped. "K-Kakashi-sensei--"
The half mask wearing jonin looked from his reading material to the green haired kimono wearing girl below him. He blinked in puzzlement. "I don't believe we've met before. Hm? Sasuke-kun, why are you looking murderous?"
Nikko looked from Kakashi to Sasuke before holding both hands to her head. "No no no...this isn't happening!"
Hearing the commotion, Naruto and Sakura walked over to see what was going on. Naruto had one long noodle hanging from his mouth and he quickly slurped it up and held out his chop sticks, pointing to Sasuke who still had kunai drawn. "Hey! What the heck're you doing, Sasuke-kun? She's not even a ninja!"
Kakashi snapped his book shut and patted the top of Sasuke's head dotingly. "Now now, let's not get carried away. Please put away the dangerous weapon before someone gets hurt."
In response Sasuke made a grumbling sound but did as told. He then eyed Nikko warily and squinted. "Hn. She knows Kakashi-sensei's name too."
Sakura and Naruto looked about as confused as possible with limp noodle arms and open mouth. "Huh?!"
Nikko collected herself. Above her Aponi flitted nervously. "Hime-sama! It's time to use the Jikan henko no jutsu!"
Good idea! The girl smirked and bit her thumb, swiping blood across her eyes. As she began the hand signs to alter time, Kakashi's watched in apparent shock. The other members of team 7 were equally as surprised.
"Those hand signs--" he said before the jutsu became active. His voice slowed until unintelligible.
"Jikan henko no jutsu!" Nikko voiced. Everything around her slowed to a snail pace. The unaffected girl and butterflies hurriedly ran towards the forest. In the process she tripped a time or two due to the long kimono, but finally was far enough away to catch her breath. She released the jutsu. "Ha..ha...Aponi, what the heck?! Those were--" she gasped for air, "--main characters! Hak--hak--"
Aponi glittered gold. "Hime-sama...I was afraid of this. You see...it's part of the curse. The [bad endings] will follow you everywhere. And this can cause any changes in history to be drawn to your bad karma..."
"Bad...karma?" Nikko finally regained her composure. "So you're saying no matter where I run to, I'm screwed?!"
"Not necessarily Hime-sama! Just until you break the curse."
"You mean until I find my true love?"
"Yes."
With a dramatic sigh that only a teen can have, Nikko sagged into the bark of a tree. "Gee...great. This sucks! It's bad enough someone is trying to kill me, and now this crap? Ugh! If I keep running into Team 7 I just know I'll be drawn into the story--and who knows what could go wrong if that were to happen!"
Aponi sympathetically perched on their owner's shoulders. "On the bright side of things Hime-sama, it appears Morino-san could very well be your true love!"
"Idate-kun..." The girl looked up to the trees in thought. While it was true she had began to care for the tea land dweller, she didn't know what constituted as a 'true love'. "I hope so Aponi..."
**
Gaara
Blood, and it's old. Gaara rubbed the stained blood onto his thumb and sniffed. How old he couldn't be sure, but old enough it was barely visible on the tree. He looked down from his stance on the limb to the cave below. From the angle of the blood splatter it could have only have come from the cave. Gaara leapt down and entered the cave. A horrid smell rose to his nose. He almost gagged before covering his mouth. The smell of a rotting corpse. He thought. Could it be Nikko Utsuri? With that thought he ignored the horrendous odor and went into the cave further.
A large half eaten bear greeted him. The whizzing sound of flies were almost overwhelming his senses. Not her. But what could have injured this bear? Gaara frowned in thought. He glanced around the cave and spotted a pile of dried out leaves. There was an indention in them as though made by a form. The size of the pile and shape of the indention led him to determine a human had came to the cave. It could have been whoever had taken the Utsuri girl.
Assessment done, he left the smelly cave and leapt through the trees some more. Then, the gourd on his back thrummed. Blood?
The sand had a way of knowing things. Who or whatever had bled had left a traceable amount in the ground. It must have been weeks old to have traveled so far into the earth. Gaara stilled and analyzed the sensation. The trail is leading me to the Land of Lakes.
"How clever. It would be much easier to hide someone among water." He glanced around and spotted a marking on a tree trunk. On closer inspection it was a knife marking. Someone had been keeping track of the path they'd traveled. Which could only mean one thing; they intended to return this way.
The sand manipulator used his powers to form a floating carpet of sand. He rose above the trees and made quick pace over the forest which gradually gave way to a large lake. The sun beamed off the blue water and blinded him. One wrong move and the deep lake could overtake him. He glanced down into the water, studying it's current. The quickest way to cross would be the way he had; by air. However, whoever had taken the girl wouldn't have that ability. Which left by boat or swimming. It would take a lot of strength to swim such a long distance, so Gaara had his doubts someone would attempt it. Especially carrying another person. Which left boat.
He maneuvered the sand lower and eyed the shoreline for any hint. It wasn't long and he came upon two shapes on the shoreline. What is that? Gaara hopped from the sand onto the earth. Something white was sticking out from the dirt a bit. Clearly it had been washed up. Beside it, a box in the shape of a heart. Gaara picked up the items and dusted them off.
In his hands lay the evidence that Nikko Utsuri had indeed came this way. The silly mask her clan wore stared at him. "She made it across the water," he observed. A quick glance into the hat box revealed ninja equipment. That puzzled him but he stored both in his sash. He now possessed her shoes, mask, and ninja tools.
Gaara shut his eyes and felt around him. Nature was a loud ally today. The ground around spoke of many feet. I see. This is a trading route. The Land of Tea lies on this side while the Land of Lakes is behind me. Her kidnappers could have used a boat and left down the water. But somehow he didn't think that was right. There wouldn't be a reason to discard her things here. Unless...
Unless she was being held nearby--and they needed to get rid of her identity. After all, nobody even knew what she looked like without the mask. Which made his job difficult. He thought on her appearance. Utsuri Nikko...had pale skin. Hair the color of jade.
Gaara faced the new terrain. "I'm almost there, Utsuri Nikko."