4/? The Stirring Blade
Title: The Stirring Blade
Series: Naruto
Character/s: Tenten (pairings will be worked in later. Muuuuuch later.)
Summary: AU; Set in a kingdom where warrior clans serve an emperor across the twelve lands that make up the land, join Tenten as she tries to start a new life after her grave loss. She will find it even harder than she first thinks it to be.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Not in this particular chapter, maybe, but the overall fic.
First Chapter
Previous Chapter
Chapter Four: Reveal
”You hold it like this,” said Shen. “Remember-you’ll never be able to handle twin swords if you don’t treat them as one weapon. If you believe you are holding two different blades, you won’t have the attention to mind them both. Two parts; one weapon.”
Tenten pouted. “This is hard. I fight better with just one sword.”
“Keep practicing,” said her cousin, smiling and patting her head. “You’re already better than some men with a single blade. With more training…”
“You’ll train me?” Tenten asked hopefully. “Father’s too busy, and Mother says I know more about the blade than she does. Nobody else wants to teach me.”
The older Huang let his eyes rest on her, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. “I could…”
“Please!’ said Tenten, and gave a short bow of respect. “It will be an honor.”
Her cousin laughed and put a hand to her head again. “I’ll come everyday.”
The only day Shen did not come was the day he and the rest of the family died.
~
Her first thought when she came to was where the familiar weight of her sword went. All she could feel was dull pain in certain parts of her body, and worse pain in her head. She opened her eyes, struggling to focus. It was dark and damp; she was lying on something scratchy but not too hard.
She mumbled something. She didn’t know what.
“Tenten?” a hushed voice asked. “Oh, Tenten-you’re awake…”
“Sakura?” Tenten managed to sit up, but the pain was almost intolerable. “Gnnngh. Is everyone… where are we?”
“We’re prisoners,” came the flat voice of Shikamaru. “Our friend with the painted face was part of this band of bandits.”
“Wh-what do they want with us?”
“You want the troublesome truth?” Through the dark, Tenten could see the hunched over figure of Shikamaru. “The best possibility is that they want our belongings. The worst is that we get sold.”
“Or we die,” Tenten said grimly, understanding the situation.
“Yes,” said Shikamaru, “but perhaps that would be better.” She blanched.
Tenten didn’t know what to say to that, so she kept quiet and tried to look around. They were in some kind of cave, a shallow one, but they seemed to have been given some mats. None of them were tied up, but they all seemed to be injured. Shikamaru was sitting on the ground, pressing his fingertips together and keeping his head down. His hair jutted upward. Sakura was nearer to Tenten, her green eyes visible with worry. Her arm seemed to be tightly wrapped. Chouji and Sasuke were both on the mats, unconscious.
“Are they all right?” Tenten asked warily. She didn’t want to upset anyone.
Sakura nodded. “I tended to them myself. They… the bandits… they let me treat everyone. They even gave bandages and water.”
“You healed us?” Tenten inspected her body. The parts with open wounds were tightly wrapped, and the joints that still felt odd had no doubt been treated.
“It is one thing I can do,” Sakura said softly, smiling slightly through the dark. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do much if they did not provide materials.”
Tenten shifted, and looked Chouji and Sasuke over. “Then they’re only unconscious?”
“Yes. Sasuke woke up earlier, but…” Sakura looked away, not finishing her sentence. Shikamaru spoke up for her.
“He woke up and starting fighting. They knocked him out again.”
Tenten winced. That must have been horrible.
“He is more trouble than we thought.”
She felt anger at hearing that voice. “Kankurou,” she snarled. “What do you want?”
Even though there was hardly any light she knew he was smiling. “It was not a personal attack, don’t take it like that.”
“Yet now what?”
“Eh, I’m here to gather the other girl and the big one.” Behind Kankurou, two more mean came. They were armed. Kankurou faced Sakura. “Your lover’s out cold, right? That will make it easier to take you now. Come on.”
They moved toward her but Tenten was in front of her. “Where will you take her?”
“I don’t know,” said Kankurou, shrugging. “I am merely doing as I am told. I think you should decide against standing in the way, little tiger.”
Tenten made to attack, but then Shikamaru said sharply, “Don’t.”
One of them grabbed Sakura, and the other picked up a still unconscious Chouji.
“Many thanks,” said Kankurou, and they left. The cave suddenly felt very, very hollow.
“Why-“ Tenten began angrily.
“You are in no condition to fight,” Shikamaru said firmly. “And even if it will be extremely troublesome once this guy wakes up, it will be worse if you reopen your wounds. Sakura spent a lot longer on you than she did on the rest of us.”
“But they may take her to be sold! Along with Chouji!” Tenten’s voice rose, unable to control anger. “You know that-you should have wanted to stop them as much as I do!”
“Of course I want to stop them!” Shikamaru yelled back unexpectedly, startling her. She took him to be the levelheaded type. She was shocked into silence, so he went on, calmly, “If I were not injured, if these bandits were not such skilled fighters, if I, were a better fighter…” He grunted. “I’m sorry I shouted.”
“No…” Tenten was very white. She knew he spoke the truth. “No… I’m sorry… I just…”
She closed her eyes. Shikamaru was probably more worried about Chouji than Tenten could have been about Sakura. She only knew Sakura for a day or two, but Shikamaru and Chouji were friends all the way back from O-hitsuji.
“I’ll think,” Shikamaru said suddenly, his voice trembling. “I promise you I’ll think.”
They sat in silence.
~
She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew was a commotion in their cave. Tenten sat up, doubled over in pain, then looked around. She winced as she realized that Sasuke was awake-and he was not happy.
”Where is she?”
“We don’t know where they took them,” Shikamaru was telling him flatly. Sasuke’s eyes flashed, and Tenten felt afraid somehow.
“When are they coming back?” Sasuke asked, in a terrible voice.
“I don’t know. Sit down. Sakura took time to heal you, and you are wasting her efforts.”
Tenten admired Shikamaru; he was keeping his cool and standing up to Sasuke. She also admired Sasuke; to stand up in spite of his injuries was nothing short of amazing.
“Amazing,” said someone else, sounding quite sarcastic. “You’re awake and ready to swing a sword, are you?” It was Kankurou. Sasuke turned towards him with a murderous look on his face. Kankurou shook his head. “Do not even try. I’m very tempted to hit you with another blunt object right now.” He seemed to be in worse spirits.
“Why shouldn’t he kill you?” Tenten asked dully, surprising them. They hadn’t known she was awake. “You took his woman.”
“For the last time, I didn’t take her for myself,” Kankurou said, looking grumpy. “Why is everyone saying that? I only did as Gaara told me to.”
Shikamaru looked up. “Gaara?”
“My brother,” said Kankurou, as if he suddenly remembered why he was there. “He wants to see you three now. Since you seem to be in better shape.” His tone was mocking.
Tenten boiled in anger, but he offered no more explanations. Five men were with him to escort them out of the cave. She walked in between two of them, but they did not tie her. With Sasuke it was the same, but Shikamaru needed help. Both his legs were injured.
Outside it was much brighter than she anticipated, but it was still overcast. Tenten wondered how long they had been in the cave. The place seemed to be an established camp, with sturdy shelters and settled-looking fires. Kankurou led the group to a tent a little away from the rest, a large one that was on slightly higher ground. It was guarded by two men at the entrance.
It was warm inside, but not entirely comfortable. In one corner there were scattered belongings. On another side there was a low block of wood being used as a table. Here and there were signs of inhabitation, but none of happiness. In the center of all was an earthen mat, with somebody seated on it.
The young man had red hair and very bright eyes. In other circumstances Tenten might have found his eyes to be pretty, but in this case she only took in the dark circles around them, the cold expression, and the tattoo on his forehead. He looked straight at them, his look sending a chill down her spine. At Kankurou she was angry, but to this man-Gaara-she was afraid.
“You’re all aware by now who we are?” he asked, his voice as cool as his expression. Tenten got the impression that he was bored but at the same time menacing.
Shikamaru spoke. “No ordinary bandits.”
Gaara looked at him, his expression never changing. “Shikamaru of one of the noble families in direct contact with the Emperor, the Nara. Escaped O-hitsuji.” Shikamaru stiffened. Gaara turned to Sasuke. “Sasuke of Ryu, a member of the Uchiha clan, the largest and most powerful clan of the west.” Tenten felt faint. She knew what was next. “The last Huang of Tora, Tenten.”
“What do you want?” Shikamaru asked, sounding tired.
Gaara did not blink. “We follow the commands of one who leads a rebellion in the west, one involved in the war. You may know him as Orochimaru.”
There was a sudden thud as Sasuke blanched and hit something. One of the men posted as escorting guards doubled over. Gaara ignored the fuss.
“Our job is to find all those who escaped O-hitsuji and Ryu, and now, Tora. Particularly those that were connected to the Emperor. We are to kill them after extracting information.”
There was a pause, and Shikamaru sighed. “Then…? You are to torture and then kill us now?”
“Two days ago Orochimaru betrayed us,” said Gaara. “Or, more accurately, he was deceiving us from the start. It became evident that the orders no longer came from our leader, because Orochimaru killed him.”
“Maybe you deserve it for helping him destroy clans,” Sasuke spat. Kankurou lunged in anger but Gaara stopped him.
“We did not know what he was doing in Ryu until he reached O-hitsuji. Even then it never appeared to us as anything more than a petty rebellion.”
“Then why did your group take part in it?” Shikamaru questioned.
“He promised us freedom,” said Gaara simply. “The Emperor has been ignoring our plight for years. All we want is to return home after serving in the Old War.”
“You’re foreigners?” Tenten gasped. She shouldn’t have been surprised; their fighting style was unusual.
“The foreign army that came to help the Empire,” Shikamaru murmured with awe.
“We’re all that’s left of our grand army,” Kankurou said bitterly, “a small encampment, because your Emperor never deigned to send us home. We can’t get past any borders, we can’t send messages home, we are dead to the world.”
“The Emperor… “ Tenten could not believe it. The Emperor was the grace of the Empire. There was no way he was that cruel, that blind, that…
“He’s dead,” Gaara said shortly. “We received word from contacts in the palace. He’s been dead for a while now.”
This time Shikamaru’s head snapped up. “The Emperor is dead?”
“The palace proclaims that it is old age, but that is doubtful.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Orochimaru has been a guest at the palace for a few months now.”
“What?!” Tenten’s mind was quickly losing its will to be shocked any more. “They received him as a guest even though he was leading a rebellion?”
“They are not aware of his background. He assumes the title of an honored guest.”
“This is terrible…” Tenten dropped her head into her hands. “Who… who is the next emperor?”
Gaara bent his back and leaned his chin on his clasped hands. “Naturally his first born son, but with Orochimaru things have become complicated. He has charmed the Empress, and she is pushing for him to be the next Emperor. She has no sons of her own, only two daughters, but she is willing to give one to him in marriage for the title. She is at odds with the late Emperor’s son, who is still to have a ceremony.”
Shikamaru’s eyes widened. “Then the two different imperial armies in the west-“
“One’s the old lady’s, the other’s the new Emperor’s,” Kankurou confirmed. “We don’t know what they’re trying to do, but with Orochimaru and that other rebel group things have gone steadily out of control.”
There was a silence as they digested what they just heard. Tenten felt sick; both her heart and her head were throbbing. Her family had served the Emperor faithfully for all their lives, right up to their deaths, but they never once met him. They served him unquestioningly, believing it was their duty to the Empire. But now it occurred to Tenten if it was so easy for a person such as Orochimaru to take the throne, then who was to say the previous one was good? She did not even know if the new Emperor, the son, was truly worthy of his role.
“Then what do you want with us?” Sasuke asked, calmer than he was before. The name of Orochimaru seemed to be the thing that was making him angry; Tenten could feel him stiffen and she could see his eyes flash. Gaara raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke pointed out, “If we are no longer needed you would have taken care of us like the other two.”
Gaara shrugged. “Orochimaru wanted you, and not anyone else,” Gaara said bluntly, “but after the betrayal we aren’t so ready to hand you over to him. With you here we have an advantage.”
“What about me?” Shikamaru asked, steadying himself. He still needed assistance to stand.
“You we need ourselves,” said Gaara. “We know what your position was at O-hitsuji. You are a man of talent.”
“Talent used in a worthless war,” Shikamaru said, his voice bordering on resentment. “I left my post. I don’t want to have anything more to do with it.”
“Soon you will have no choice,” Gaara told him. Shikamaru stared back, unwilling to agree.
“…And me?” Tenten asked quietly. “Why haven’t you sent me away like Sakura and Chouji?”
Gaara gave her an unreadable look. “My father was friends with several of the Huang family members. They were comrades in battle. One of the Huangs saved his life once.”
“So to repay the debt, you kidnap me?”
“No,” said Gaara, and he turned the full force of his eyes on her as he said, “we are considering taking you in, in the place of your lost family.”
~
//TBC
~
Chapter 5: Choice
~
~
Notes:
This one got too long, and then I had to chop it. In a way, it’s good, because then I got to go on longer, but it messed up the chapter schedule. Oh well.
Kankurou started to play a much bigger role than I intended him to. Initially he wasn’t really supposed to do too much, but as I was figuring out the entire plot I found that he played a bigger role than I thought. Funny how writing characters will surprise you. Gaara surprised me as well, since originally he was supposed to be crueler and less noble (for the moment). I guess I just went ahead and matured him because there was too much to explain to waste time on his pre-timeskip blood thirst.
~
Series: Naruto
Character/s: Tenten (pairings will be worked in later. Muuuuuch later.)
Summary: AU; Set in a kingdom where warrior clans serve an emperor across the twelve lands that make up the land, join Tenten as she tries to start a new life after her grave loss. She will find it even harder than she first thinks it to be.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Not in this particular chapter, maybe, but the overall fic.
First Chapter
Previous Chapter
Chapter Four: Reveal
”You hold it like this,” said Shen. “Remember-you’ll never be able to handle twin swords if you don’t treat them as one weapon. If you believe you are holding two different blades, you won’t have the attention to mind them both. Two parts; one weapon.”
Tenten pouted. “This is hard. I fight better with just one sword.”
“Keep practicing,” said her cousin, smiling and patting her head. “You’re already better than some men with a single blade. With more training…”
“You’ll train me?” Tenten asked hopefully. “Father’s too busy, and Mother says I know more about the blade than she does. Nobody else wants to teach me.”
The older Huang let his eyes rest on her, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. “I could…”
“Please!’ said Tenten, and gave a short bow of respect. “It will be an honor.”
Her cousin laughed and put a hand to her head again. “I’ll come everyday.”
The only day Shen did not come was the day he and the rest of the family died.
~
Her first thought when she came to was where the familiar weight of her sword went. All she could feel was dull pain in certain parts of her body, and worse pain in her head. She opened her eyes, struggling to focus. It was dark and damp; she was lying on something scratchy but not too hard.
She mumbled something. She didn’t know what.
“Tenten?” a hushed voice asked. “Oh, Tenten-you’re awake…”
“Sakura?” Tenten managed to sit up, but the pain was almost intolerable. “Gnnngh. Is everyone… where are we?”
“We’re prisoners,” came the flat voice of Shikamaru. “Our friend with the painted face was part of this band of bandits.”
“Wh-what do they want with us?”
“You want the troublesome truth?” Through the dark, Tenten could see the hunched over figure of Shikamaru. “The best possibility is that they want our belongings. The worst is that we get sold.”
“Or we die,” Tenten said grimly, understanding the situation.
“Yes,” said Shikamaru, “but perhaps that would be better.” She blanched.
Tenten didn’t know what to say to that, so she kept quiet and tried to look around. They were in some kind of cave, a shallow one, but they seemed to have been given some mats. None of them were tied up, but they all seemed to be injured. Shikamaru was sitting on the ground, pressing his fingertips together and keeping his head down. His hair jutted upward. Sakura was nearer to Tenten, her green eyes visible with worry. Her arm seemed to be tightly wrapped. Chouji and Sasuke were both on the mats, unconscious.
“Are they all right?” Tenten asked warily. She didn’t want to upset anyone.
Sakura nodded. “I tended to them myself. They… the bandits… they let me treat everyone. They even gave bandages and water.”
“You healed us?” Tenten inspected her body. The parts with open wounds were tightly wrapped, and the joints that still felt odd had no doubt been treated.
“It is one thing I can do,” Sakura said softly, smiling slightly through the dark. “But I wouldn’t have been able to do much if they did not provide materials.”
Tenten shifted, and looked Chouji and Sasuke over. “Then they’re only unconscious?”
“Yes. Sasuke woke up earlier, but…” Sakura looked away, not finishing her sentence. Shikamaru spoke up for her.
“He woke up and starting fighting. They knocked him out again.”
Tenten winced. That must have been horrible.
“He is more trouble than we thought.”
She felt anger at hearing that voice. “Kankurou,” she snarled. “What do you want?”
Even though there was hardly any light she knew he was smiling. “It was not a personal attack, don’t take it like that.”
“Yet now what?”
“Eh, I’m here to gather the other girl and the big one.” Behind Kankurou, two more mean came. They were armed. Kankurou faced Sakura. “Your lover’s out cold, right? That will make it easier to take you now. Come on.”
They moved toward her but Tenten was in front of her. “Where will you take her?”
“I don’t know,” said Kankurou, shrugging. “I am merely doing as I am told. I think you should decide against standing in the way, little tiger.”
Tenten made to attack, but then Shikamaru said sharply, “Don’t.”
One of them grabbed Sakura, and the other picked up a still unconscious Chouji.
“Many thanks,” said Kankurou, and they left. The cave suddenly felt very, very hollow.
“Why-“ Tenten began angrily.
“You are in no condition to fight,” Shikamaru said firmly. “And even if it will be extremely troublesome once this guy wakes up, it will be worse if you reopen your wounds. Sakura spent a lot longer on you than she did on the rest of us.”
“But they may take her to be sold! Along with Chouji!” Tenten’s voice rose, unable to control anger. “You know that-you should have wanted to stop them as much as I do!”
“Of course I want to stop them!” Shikamaru yelled back unexpectedly, startling her. She took him to be the levelheaded type. She was shocked into silence, so he went on, calmly, “If I were not injured, if these bandits were not such skilled fighters, if I, were a better fighter…” He grunted. “I’m sorry I shouted.”
“No…” Tenten was very white. She knew he spoke the truth. “No… I’m sorry… I just…”
She closed her eyes. Shikamaru was probably more worried about Chouji than Tenten could have been about Sakura. She only knew Sakura for a day or two, but Shikamaru and Chouji were friends all the way back from O-hitsuji.
“I’ll think,” Shikamaru said suddenly, his voice trembling. “I promise you I’ll think.”
They sat in silence.
~
She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew was a commotion in their cave. Tenten sat up, doubled over in pain, then looked around. She winced as she realized that Sasuke was awake-and he was not happy.
”Where is she?”
“We don’t know where they took them,” Shikamaru was telling him flatly. Sasuke’s eyes flashed, and Tenten felt afraid somehow.
“When are they coming back?” Sasuke asked, in a terrible voice.
“I don’t know. Sit down. Sakura took time to heal you, and you are wasting her efforts.”
Tenten admired Shikamaru; he was keeping his cool and standing up to Sasuke. She also admired Sasuke; to stand up in spite of his injuries was nothing short of amazing.
“Amazing,” said someone else, sounding quite sarcastic. “You’re awake and ready to swing a sword, are you?” It was Kankurou. Sasuke turned towards him with a murderous look on his face. Kankurou shook his head. “Do not even try. I’m very tempted to hit you with another blunt object right now.” He seemed to be in worse spirits.
“Why shouldn’t he kill you?” Tenten asked dully, surprising them. They hadn’t known she was awake. “You took his woman.”
“For the last time, I didn’t take her for myself,” Kankurou said, looking grumpy. “Why is everyone saying that? I only did as Gaara told me to.”
Shikamaru looked up. “Gaara?”
“My brother,” said Kankurou, as if he suddenly remembered why he was there. “He wants to see you three now. Since you seem to be in better shape.” His tone was mocking.
Tenten boiled in anger, but he offered no more explanations. Five men were with him to escort them out of the cave. She walked in between two of them, but they did not tie her. With Sasuke it was the same, but Shikamaru needed help. Both his legs were injured.
Outside it was much brighter than she anticipated, but it was still overcast. Tenten wondered how long they had been in the cave. The place seemed to be an established camp, with sturdy shelters and settled-looking fires. Kankurou led the group to a tent a little away from the rest, a large one that was on slightly higher ground. It was guarded by two men at the entrance.
It was warm inside, but not entirely comfortable. In one corner there were scattered belongings. On another side there was a low block of wood being used as a table. Here and there were signs of inhabitation, but none of happiness. In the center of all was an earthen mat, with somebody seated on it.
The young man had red hair and very bright eyes. In other circumstances Tenten might have found his eyes to be pretty, but in this case she only took in the dark circles around them, the cold expression, and the tattoo on his forehead. He looked straight at them, his look sending a chill down her spine. At Kankurou she was angry, but to this man-Gaara-she was afraid.
“You’re all aware by now who we are?” he asked, his voice as cool as his expression. Tenten got the impression that he was bored but at the same time menacing.
Shikamaru spoke. “No ordinary bandits.”
Gaara looked at him, his expression never changing. “Shikamaru of one of the noble families in direct contact with the Emperor, the Nara. Escaped O-hitsuji.” Shikamaru stiffened. Gaara turned to Sasuke. “Sasuke of Ryu, a member of the Uchiha clan, the largest and most powerful clan of the west.” Tenten felt faint. She knew what was next. “The last Huang of Tora, Tenten.”
“What do you want?” Shikamaru asked, sounding tired.
Gaara did not blink. “We follow the commands of one who leads a rebellion in the west, one involved in the war. You may know him as Orochimaru.”
There was a sudden thud as Sasuke blanched and hit something. One of the men posted as escorting guards doubled over. Gaara ignored the fuss.
“Our job is to find all those who escaped O-hitsuji and Ryu, and now, Tora. Particularly those that were connected to the Emperor. We are to kill them after extracting information.”
There was a pause, and Shikamaru sighed. “Then…? You are to torture and then kill us now?”
“Two days ago Orochimaru betrayed us,” said Gaara. “Or, more accurately, he was deceiving us from the start. It became evident that the orders no longer came from our leader, because Orochimaru killed him.”
“Maybe you deserve it for helping him destroy clans,” Sasuke spat. Kankurou lunged in anger but Gaara stopped him.
“We did not know what he was doing in Ryu until he reached O-hitsuji. Even then it never appeared to us as anything more than a petty rebellion.”
“Then why did your group take part in it?” Shikamaru questioned.
“He promised us freedom,” said Gaara simply. “The Emperor has been ignoring our plight for years. All we want is to return home after serving in the Old War.”
“You’re foreigners?” Tenten gasped. She shouldn’t have been surprised; their fighting style was unusual.
“The foreign army that came to help the Empire,” Shikamaru murmured with awe.
“We’re all that’s left of our grand army,” Kankurou said bitterly, “a small encampment, because your Emperor never deigned to send us home. We can’t get past any borders, we can’t send messages home, we are dead to the world.”
“The Emperor… “ Tenten could not believe it. The Emperor was the grace of the Empire. There was no way he was that cruel, that blind, that…
“He’s dead,” Gaara said shortly. “We received word from contacts in the palace. He’s been dead for a while now.”
This time Shikamaru’s head snapped up. “The Emperor is dead?”
“The palace proclaims that it is old age, but that is doubtful.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Orochimaru has been a guest at the palace for a few months now.”
“What?!” Tenten’s mind was quickly losing its will to be shocked any more. “They received him as a guest even though he was leading a rebellion?”
“They are not aware of his background. He assumes the title of an honored guest.”
“This is terrible…” Tenten dropped her head into her hands. “Who… who is the next emperor?”
Gaara bent his back and leaned his chin on his clasped hands. “Naturally his first born son, but with Orochimaru things have become complicated. He has charmed the Empress, and she is pushing for him to be the next Emperor. She has no sons of her own, only two daughters, but she is willing to give one to him in marriage for the title. She is at odds with the late Emperor’s son, who is still to have a ceremony.”
Shikamaru’s eyes widened. “Then the two different imperial armies in the west-“
“One’s the old lady’s, the other’s the new Emperor’s,” Kankurou confirmed. “We don’t know what they’re trying to do, but with Orochimaru and that other rebel group things have gone steadily out of control.”
There was a silence as they digested what they just heard. Tenten felt sick; both her heart and her head were throbbing. Her family had served the Emperor faithfully for all their lives, right up to their deaths, but they never once met him. They served him unquestioningly, believing it was their duty to the Empire. But now it occurred to Tenten if it was so easy for a person such as Orochimaru to take the throne, then who was to say the previous one was good? She did not even know if the new Emperor, the son, was truly worthy of his role.
“Then what do you want with us?” Sasuke asked, calmer than he was before. The name of Orochimaru seemed to be the thing that was making him angry; Tenten could feel him stiffen and she could see his eyes flash. Gaara raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke pointed out, “If we are no longer needed you would have taken care of us like the other two.”
Gaara shrugged. “Orochimaru wanted you, and not anyone else,” Gaara said bluntly, “but after the betrayal we aren’t so ready to hand you over to him. With you here we have an advantage.”
“What about me?” Shikamaru asked, steadying himself. He still needed assistance to stand.
“You we need ourselves,” said Gaara. “We know what your position was at O-hitsuji. You are a man of talent.”
“Talent used in a worthless war,” Shikamaru said, his voice bordering on resentment. “I left my post. I don’t want to have anything more to do with it.”
“Soon you will have no choice,” Gaara told him. Shikamaru stared back, unwilling to agree.
“…And me?” Tenten asked quietly. “Why haven’t you sent me away like Sakura and Chouji?”
Gaara gave her an unreadable look. “My father was friends with several of the Huang family members. They were comrades in battle. One of the Huangs saved his life once.”
“So to repay the debt, you kidnap me?”
“No,” said Gaara, and he turned the full force of his eyes on her as he said, “we are considering taking you in, in the place of your lost family.”
~
//TBC
~
Chapter 5: Choice
~
~
Notes:
This one got too long, and then I had to chop it. In a way, it’s good, because then I got to go on longer, but it messed up the chapter schedule. Oh well.
Kankurou started to play a much bigger role than I intended him to. Initially he wasn’t really supposed to do too much, but as I was figuring out the entire plot I found that he played a bigger role than I thought. Funny how writing characters will surprise you. Gaara surprised me as well, since originally he was supposed to be crueler and less noble (for the moment). I guess I just went ahead and matured him because there was too much to explain to waste time on his pre-timeskip blood thirst.
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