Chapter Three
Title: A Leaf in the Wind Country
Pairing: Gaara/Sasuke eventually.
Warnings: Fairly AU after Gaara’s abduction by Akatsuki, many of the things from the manga are the same, some are not. For one, Gaara still has Shukaku.
Summary: Sasuke has accomplished his goal, Itachi is dead, but instead of returning to Konoha, he turns to the Kazekage of Sunagakure. But why? Is there a new threat to the villages of Sand and Leaf?
Links to previous chapters:
Chapter One: A Leaf in the Wind
Chapter Two: Cloak and Dagger
And now to the fic.
Part Three: With Friends Like These…
The next three days were hectic. Kankuro left on his mission the first day, leaving Sasuke to watch Gaara make arrangements for a special ranking trial, from Genin to Chuunin to Jounin. When Sasuke wasn’t with Gaara under the pretext of being watched, he was allowed to wander the streets of Suna under the guard of two senior Jounin, and the unseen Anbu. Usually he preferred to stay with Gaara, to observe how those around Gaara reacted to their Kazekage, partly to learn more about the man he would be working with, partly to catch any hint of guilt or dislike that might indicate a traitor. It was more fascinating then he’d thought it would be. Gaara’s people treated him with a mix of deep respect, even genuine liking, and fear. All of the Kazekage’s shinobi staff avoided unnecessary verbal jockeying, no extra pleasantries or flattery, and most of the civilian staff was the same. There were a few obsequious individuals, but even they kept the brown nosing short. There was absolutely no one who treated the Kazekage with the sort of informal, friendly familiarity he had grown up with in Konoha, nor the worshipful fear he’d witnessed with Orochimaru. Sasuke wasn’t sure why he was surprised, he knew Konoha was considered especially lax and idealistic for a ninja village, if not downright eccentric, and Orochimaru had been insane in his own unique way, but seeing the difference first hand was still enlightening. Despite the formal way Gaara’s staff handled him, Sasuke noted that a majority of them showed no resentment to their curt Kazekage; they seemed more adverse to disturbing him, then angering him, those that weren’t obviously a bit terrified of him at least.
As for Gaara, he treated everyone the same. He was equally crisp and to the point with the counsel as he was with genin who brought him his lunch. He oversaw the assignment of missions with a face as cold as stone, and he was sharp and demanding with anyone he thought might not be prepared for a task. The shinobi took this in stride and answered his questions smartly, and it didn’t take Sasuke’s sharingan to figure out that Gaara’s sharpness stemmed from worry. Altogether it was an enlightening three days.
The third day Gaara was going through the usual reports and missives on his desk, when he handed one to Sasuke. It had the Hokage’s seal and it smelled rather strongly of sake.
Sasuke skimmed the contents of the letter, the slightest of frowns forming on his lips. Tsunade addressed Gaara formally enough, but then proceeded to call into question the Kazekage’s sanity, ancestry, and possible substance abuses. As an official documents went it was not very diplomatic. After the insults Tsunade demanded a better explanation for Gaara’s actions, stating in final that Sakura and Naruto would be on their way to retrieve those explanations personally. Sasuke caught himself scowling by the end of the letter, and looked up quickly to find Gaara watching him.
“What will you do about this?” Sasuke asked, setting the letter back on Gaara’s desk, carefully rearranging his own expression to neutral. He had enough practice not giving even a twitch of muscle away to reveal his feelings.
“Assuming she sent this when she sent her agents, they’ll be here tomorrow late, or early the day after.” Gaara neatly rolled the letter scroll, smoothing it with precise fingers. “Temari left for Konoha this morning, she might meet them on the way. Regardless, I will tell them nothing.” There was something in Gaara’s expression like grim determination. “Did you wish to speak to them? They were your team.” Gaara was looking at Sasuke again, expressionless, but from the way his fingers had stilled, poised over the Hokage’s missive, Sasuke read anticipation in every line of him.
“If they arrive in two days I should already be in my trials.” Sasuke pointed out. “If you’re unable to convince them to leave me alone, however, I will see them for ten minutes, no longer. They will have to be content with that.”
Gaara nodded, abruptly setting the Hokage’s letter aside. Sasuke couldn’t read him, he had no idea what Gaara was thinking at that moment or if he’d gotten what he anticipated. It was, in a small way, intriguing to be unable to read every movement or mood of Gaara, just by watching him. Certainly he was more open then he had been at the Chuunin exams, but just watching the Kazekage gave Sasuke only the smallest flashes of insight. Three days would have been more then enough for Sasuke to read anyone else so well that he could predict their moves in his sleep.
But not Gaara. The Kazekage barely came up to his chest, had so much dark around his eyes most people assumed it was makeup, not the effects of a lifelong inability to sleep, and was the most dangerous man in Sunagakure.
As refreshing as it was not to be completely sure of the Kazekage’s thoughts and intentions, it was also less then reassuring. Gaara was not an ally he trusted; never mind that they’d tried to kill each other once, that wasn’t the problem. Sasuke didn’t know enough about Gaara to trust him. The Kazekage was guarded, quiet, and notoriously paranoid. His past was bloody and as unpredictable as a sandstorm. By all reports and observations Gaara had settled down after becoming Kazekage; but was that careful control over himself, or the silence before the eruption? Most of Suna seemed to believe it was the former, Sasuke was reserving judgment.
Naruto and Sakura arrived in the middle of Sasuke’s second ranking trial. Sasuke noticed them being shown to the booth where the Kazekage and other judges watched the proceedings. He’d been going easy on Gaara’s forces, and he was still winning without trying. The truly talented Jounin were either on missions or too valuable to risk injury in a simple ranking test. Even with Sasuke attempting not to hurt his opponents, serious injury was always a risk.
It wasn’t as if he were attempting to go easy on his opponents because they were allies either. It was just the way he was. It was more then just a habit left over from being raised in Konoha, it was his deliberate choice not to take another life unnecessarily. That extended to bloodshed. So far he had defeated all his challenges without drawing an opponent’s blood, he was confident he could finish the rest of the challenges with the same boast. With the weight of his former teammate’s eyes on him he finished the second trial quickly and left the training ring they were using as the trial grounds. He entered the building he was allowed to use as a sort of preparation room and helped himself to a cup of water. He already knew Sakura and Naruto wouldn’t listen even if Gaara tried to dissuade them from visiting him, which he doubted the Kazekage would do in the first place, though he wasn’t sure.
He could have set a clock by the thirty seconds it took before he heard that loud voice outside the door.
“SAAASSUUKKEEE!!!!” the door flew open and a stormy eyed blond ninja in black and orange raged into the room, followed by a much quieter-and that in itself was probably dangerous-pink haired girl in the outfit of a medi-nin, who closed the door discreetly. Sasuke set his glass of water down and watched the two from his seat on the bench. They looked mostly the same as the last time he’d seen them, before he killed Orochimaru. He didn’t see their new teammate, his replacement, but he supposed he wouldn’t; he hadn’t noticed the other during his match, and Tsunade’s letter had only mentioned these two.
“Sasuke!” Naruto stomped forward glowering. “What the hell are you doing here? Why didn’t you come back to Konoha if you wanted to join a village so bad?!” Uzumaki grabbed the front of Sasuke’s shirt in his fist, growling into Sasuke’s face. “What the hell you bastard? We’ve been trying to get you back all this time and WHY ARE YOU HERE!?” Sasuke let Naruto rant in his face a little longer, before disengaging the blonde’s clutch on his shirt. He caught the punch Naruto aimed at his face without blinking, staring Naruto down over their combined fists. He could see Sakura out of the corner of his eyes, watching. He already knew who she’d help if it came to a fight, it almost made him want to smile. It wouldn’t be his back she defended. As grown up as these two got, as much as they changed, he still knew what they’d do. It was, in a way, comforting.
Naruto was snarling still, teeth bared in his feral expression, but he didn’t pull back from Sasuke’s fingers around his fist, not until Sasuke let go on his own. Then he stood there, fists clenched and teeth grinding as if the force of his glare could knock Sasuke cold where a punch couldn’t, just so they could drag him home to Konoha.
“Answer damn you!” he finally yelled, frustrated by Sasuke’s silence and calm. Flustered by the situation.
Sasuke let himself smile then, watching the effect it had on them. Sakura looked suspicious, and guardedly hopeful, Naruto looked confused, then even more pissed off.
“Did you come to fight me, scaredy-cat?” He murmured, tone light, almost playful. “I’m afraid I’m otherwise occupied at the moment, but we could make an appointment if it means that much to you.”
“If you wanna fight I’ll beat you to a pulp and drag you back in a gunny sack, Sasuke-bastard!” Naruto declared at the top of his lungs. For a moment it felt like Sasuke had never left team seven.
But he had. There were four years of separation and pain between the three of them now; he hadn’t forgotten it, neither had they.
Sasuke stood, forcing Naruto to step back and look up at him. He was a good head taller then Naruto and Sakura, and looking down at Naruto he slipped back into the familiar neutral mask.
“Why would I return to Konoha?” He asked coldly. He met Naruto’s eyes, then Sakura’s. “There’s nothing for me there. You’re annoying, coming here.” Naruto did punch him then, Sasuke let him. Sakura grabbed Naruto’s arms before he could try and get another punch in, though Sasuke could see the tears-rage or pain?-in her eyes before she looked away. She dragged Naruto to the door, using her considerable strength to subdue him before he caused any real damage, and then stopped.
“We’ll still be waiting in Konoha when you’re ready to come back.” Her voice was cold and emotionless, but she didn’t turn around to meet his eyes either. The next minute the door slammed behind her and Naruto, shaking the building enough that dust and sand dislodged from the roof, dusting Sasuke with a fine coat of golden grains.
Sasuke tested his cheek and lips with practiced fingers. Teeth had scraped up the inside of his mouth, and his lip was split. His own blood added its bitter taste to the meeting, but his teeth were fine and with his new increased healing the bruise wouldn’t last a week.
So much for beating the Sand Shinobi trials without bloodshed. The thought made Sasuke smile ruefully, ignoring the pain the expression elicited from his bleeding lips.