Author's Notes:
Thank you all for the name suggestions! My sincere apologies for the later than usual update. My schedule has been packed since I'm finally going back to my home country next week after 3 months of being stuck here alone.
Enjoy! Chapter 9!
And please review.
--
They were supposed to be sleeping when it happened.
The night air of the village was unnervingly calm, a thick blanket of silent tension weighing down in the air, suffocating anyone able to pick up its scant presence.
The kazekage was one of them.
A certain blonde woke groggily, swimming in the sheets of the large bed to come to the conclusion that, once again, there was an empty space next to him. He would have to have a talk with the sand nin about the concept of sleeping together. Begrudgingly, he hauled himself upright, tired eyes scanning the room for a glimpse of the insomniac redhead.
Gaara stood alone in the balcony of the Hokage's quarters, his eyes wandering over the sleeping village. The cooled night air slipped through the thin material of the black shirt, caressing his skin in a way the sand laced winds of Suna could not. Yet... Something was not right. This anxiety that was building up faintly at the back of his mind was itching him awake and away from the warmth of familiar strong arms.
"I would have tied you to the bed if I knew I was going to wake up alone."
The redhead did not need to turn to recognize the owner of the voice now leaning against the low wall next to him.
"Go back to sleep, Naruto."
The hokage easily ignored the order. He was already 50 percent awake now - going back to the lavishly spacious bed alone felt increasingly unappealing. The stillness of the night was a pleasant change from the hustle of the day he had grown used to. His eyes wandered towards the slim figure next to him, an unfamiliar feeling of unease oozing from his pensive blank stare.
"I know you're worried about what will happen now with Kazuki-"
"Tatsuki."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, there's really no reason to worry."
"I would have wanted him to have a full family."
The blonde fell silent. Part of him was glad Gaara was back, regardless of the circumstance. He could not have imagined having to go through the week's events without the silent company of a particular redhead. It put in stark perspective the strange, unsettling inevitability of parting. Neither of them had experienced what it was truly like to be part of a complete family, or at least, one that was not trying to kill off their own offspring.
"Gaara..." Naruto started slowly, fumbling for the words in his still sleep hazed mind. "It will-"
"Naruto." the sand nin cut in abruptly. The blonde was about to snap at his lover for interrupting what would have been a slurred but emotional speech, only to find the kazekage suddenly perched on the parapet of the hokage's balcony, poised to leap off.
"Hospital. Now."
--
The figure moved silently through the now too quiet hospital. Sandaled feet stepped lightly over another body of yet another nameless guard, drawn towards the immense yet all too familiar chakra at the end of the long hallway. He mused briefly at the village's scant security, entertaining for a moment the thought of running Konohagakure over by himself. Before he could further mull over the idea, he found himself standing in front of a pair of thick wooden doors, unable to proceed further.
He ran a hand over the door, hearing a dangerous sizzle as he did so.
"Seals?" he smirked to himself. "Amateurs."
With a quick movement, he broke through the thick barrier surrounding the door. The ripped seal burst off the surface of the door, sending it fluttering limply to the ground in a little more than a smudge of ash.
The doors burst open with a loud bang, flying off their hinges and scattering in splintered chunks in various parts of the room. The slight commotion had torn several seals placed carefully about the room, stirring a sleeping chakra trapped within.
Weak. Like the rest of this doomed village.
There was the tiniest of gurgles that lofted up from the small cradle in the middle of the room, drawing his attention. The raven haired man approached the child slowly, extending a pale finger to flop aside the cottony blankets. The infant was sound asleep, curled in a loose ball on its side, fiery hair glowing softly in the moonlight that basked the room.
"You will regret taking this child, Uchiha."
Madara paused slightly as the voice echoed in his mind. A smile of recognition crept across his face.
"Kyuubi."
The fox snarled. "Clever boy. Now leave before you ruin everything."
The tall man raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think you can escape through this child?"
"I could only transfer part of myself before the connection was interrupted. But unsealed as I am in the infant, it's more than enough to blow your brains out from here." The demon fox snapped, letting out a ripple of chakra along with his unmasked threat. Madara frowned, brushing aside the tinge of discomfort.
"I doubt you can do anything with the number of seals in this room."
"Like I said. You will regret taking this child."
"Do not underestimate me, fox."
--
Gaara was running.
The hospital loomed just ahead. He darted swiftly from rooftop to rooftop, his feet barely touching the ground. Fear had stealthily crept up into his cold pale eyes. Fear... He hated the feeling with a passion. It made him feel so weak, the idea of losing something. He could feel Naruto sprinting behind him, slowly closing the distance between them.
Damn it. Catch up already.
Within moments, he had skidded ungainly into the hallway, nearly tripping over a lifeless form slumped over on the ground. His eyes snapped up from the bloody figure to the doorway from which he had come from. Naruto was still a little ways from the hospital, but he did not have the luxury of time to wait for the blonde boy.
He's here.
His feet pivoted and shot back down the corridor bathed in crimson, each step echoing loudly in his pounding heart as he pushed himself to run faster, then faster still. He burst into the room as a large figure loomed over the cot, lifting a small bundle out. The intruder was completely unperturbed by the immense and angry chakra that now flooded the room, radiating from a livid redhead at the door.
"Ah... Kazekage."
Pale green eyes flashed with unmasked fury and a slim hand shot out to his side. The wall next to madara crumbled instantly, reforming into a thick column of twisting sand. It arched in the air, lashing downwards towards the intruder.
Madara quickly sidestepped the sudden attack, tucking the child deeper within his robes. The sand attacked again, the other wall beginning to crumble and whip out from the opposite direction. The wild, violent swipes of the coarse sand was only made more dangerous with the immense number of concrete chips swept along with it. A roar of pure anger left the normally level kazekage, his eyes wide with unrestrained hatred as his hands flew at frightening speed, sending the sand into an all out offensive.
The Uchiha leapt deftly away from the attacks, his robes already in tattered clumps. He glanced disapprovingly at the gaping holes in the material. Enough of this. His eyes shot back to the redhead, hands forming a quick succession of hand seals as pillars of sand descended on him.
Before Gaara could react, a rush of water cascaded towards him, sweeping him out of the room and into the corridor. With all the sand he had created going into his relentless attack, they could barely reform into a barrier when the water hit.
He sat up in the puddle of water as his sand wall crumbled in a wet mess, his eyes widened in desperate realization as he looked towards the room now several metres away from his reach.
They were gone.
--
Azure eyes strained ahead to catch the quick flashes of movement in the branches as he raced after the sand nin.
Baka... You can't take him alone...
They ran.
And continued running.
Even long after they could no longer sense the Uchiha's chakra.
Running blind didn't matter as long as they were closing the distance.
And he would have ran to the ends of the land had a hand not clamped firmly on his shoulder. In a moment, he was flung to the ground, glaring into a pair of bright blue eyes with a convoluted mix of anger and surprise.
"What are you doing, Naruto." he snarled, struggling to get back up, his strength easily overpowered by the weight above him.
"I would ask you the same thing, Gaara." Naruto hissed, pushing the redhead further into the ground. "We both want to save Kazuki but we don't know where they're going, neither are we prepared to fight him."
Pale green eyes averted from the piercing stare, his mind abuzz with a mess of unanswered questions. Naruto scanned the pale face below him, running a thumb over the muscles twisted with rage. He had not seen Gaara lose his head in battle since...
The blonde forced a smirk on his face, releasing his grip on the kazekage slightly. "Not going to argue this time? Wise choice."
--
Soft footfalls landed in the darkened room. Wind flitted in through the open window, billowing through his thick robes. He lowered the fidgeting bundle onto the stone pedestal set in the middle of the room.
Pale fingers ghosted over the soft red spikes, feeling the thick chakra pulse angrily under his palm. The quick seal he had slapped hastily on the infant would not hold for much longer.
"That's it?"
Madara turned to see the younger Uchiha leaning in the doorframe, casting an unimpressed look at the child.
"Ahh. This is the kazekage's son."
Sasuke huffed in obvious disdain. "He doesn't seem like much."
"Do not underestimate him." the older Uchiha said evenly.
Sasuke fell silent.
Madara frowned inwardly at the younger man's impertinence. But for now, the former leaf nin would still be useful. "His chakra is unstable. Stay here and seal the chakra."
The younger man moved to voice his vehement objection. Having been cooped up in the dingy room for weeks was already frustrating as it was and he could hear his bones and muscles scream for a fight. He was quickly silenced with a sharp glare.
"You will stay here."
"Madara-sama."
Cold black eyes turned to the girl who had slipped into the room. Perfect timing.
"Karin. Assemble the Suna troops. Tell them to prepare for war."
--
Apologies again for the late update. Please review.