Chapter 3 - Meeting in Sunagakure

Team Gai reached the Sand Village before nightfall, but had to wait until the next morning to see the Kazekage. Their business was only with him, so it was the unanimous agreement that they find an inn to check in to, and get some meaningful rest. The inn, as it turned out, was priced fairly enough so that each person could get their own room, thankfully. The thought of having to bunk in the same room as Neji or Linda made Ryouko feel slightly nauseous. After saying their ‘good nights’, each retired to their rooms to rest up.

Ryouko immediately pulled out his scrolls and began to study. Jutsu and jutsu, for hours. Sitting on the floor near his futon, Ryouko guessed that five hours was enough, and let himself go to sleep. His sleep was full of dreams, most likely due to his last thought before falling asleep:

Valentines Day. Oh crap.

--

Ryouko woke with a start, sitting up and launching his blanket away from the tatami mat he was laying on. He rubbed his face with his hands, disbelieving.

It’s normal for a boy my age to dream about a cute girl…but I always deny to myself that I’m human enough to have those thoughts. I guess I was wrong…

Ryouko looked at his journal, deciding to write this thought down within the confines of it’s pages. It was an interesting dream, despite Ryouko’s trepidation.

A dream. A window to another realm. Whatever it was, it was both good and bad. Let me explain:

The dream was of my and Sakura. For some reason, I was beat up, and my shirt was torn. Sakura took care of me, then…well, she kissed me. But it wasn’t a ‘get well soon’ kiss. She was running her hand down my chest, pulling my head tight into her, pulling herself as close to me as she could get. She had me pinned to the wall, and I couldn’t fight her, she was using her chakra to restrain me. Then…and this is the part that bothers me…she kissed me again (her tongue was involved this time. I don’t even know what that feels like, how could I dream about it?!), but she was wearing…well, something different. Nothing really dirty, I mean. But this black gown...she looked beautiful. Like she had just come from a party…that might also explain my shirt and tie attire in the next section of the dream, where she grabbed me by the tie and kissed me again.

Okay, I’ll admit it, she looked sexy, and part of me wanted this dream to either continue, or be real. (Let’s face it, I’m clueless. The girl is gonna have to make the move, I guess, unless I get a burst of courage) But that’s just it. I shouldn’t be dreaming about a friend like that, no matter my thoughts.

Even though I couldn’t help it, that dream just feels like an attack of Sakura-sempai. Maybe it was of what happened to her. That must be it. Still, to dream about someone that way…I know it’s normal, but it’s worrisome to me nonetheless.

The mission is going well enough. I’ve made Neji angry, Tenten laugh, and I’ve ignored Linda. Lee and Gai are cool, if not a little strange. But who isn’t. Tenten is kind of cute, truth be told. I like her eyes, and her prowess with weapons. Odd that those are the two things I find most attractive. Why am I attracted to powerful girls? Is it because I hold weakness in contempt?

For now, I’m going to let this rest. Time to get to work.

--

Kakashi was waiting, to Sakura, Sai, and Naruto’s surprise.

“Well, you three are on time for a change! Glad you’re ready to go!” Kakashi declared happily, looking up from his pervy novel.

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S ALWAYS LATE!!!” Naruto and Sakura shouted at their instructor.

“Oh? Am I? Guess I just think about more important things…oh well. Now, your mission is-”

“FINALLY! I’ve been dying for a mission! Tell us, sensei! What are we doing? Tell us! C’mon! I’m ready to go!”

Sakura cracked Naruto across the head. “Shut up, Naruto, he’s trying to tell us right now!”

Kakashi rolled his visible eye. “Alright, enough, save it for the mission. You three have been requested by the Sand Village to investigate a murder of one of their elders, apparently at the hands of a Rain Village jonin. The Kazekage will tell you more once you get there. This is an A-ranked mission, but it’s nothing you three shouldn’t be able to handle. If you need back-up, Sunagakure should supply it. Any questions? Alright, go for it.” Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

“Awesome, seeing Gaara and his sibs again! I can’t wait! Man, the Sand Village has this rare, spicy ramen, maybe I can get the recipe for old man Teuchi!”

--

Gaara, his siblings, and Baki were seated on one end of the table, with Team Gai, plus Ryouko, occupying the other end.

“It’s safe to assume that the Rain Village has a vendetta, and are acting out,” Gaara said, looking for an objection. He found one in Ryouko.

“It’s best not to assume that just yet, Kazekage-sama. It’s entirely possible that one or main Rain Shinobi are working on their own, drunk on national pride. The Sand Village has embarrassed them at the chunin exams, and is a more profitable nation. As the information I extracted shows…” Ryouko handed the folder to the Sand delegation “…the Rain itself hasn’t shown an interest in was since the Kaguya clan’s slaughter. Militants have risen and fallen within the land. Perhaps someone is trying to ruin the government, overthrow the Amekage, and take power themselves in the ruin left in the wake of a war.”

This was why Team Gai had brought along Ryouko, a genjutsu specialist. He was a good choice for diplomat when the need arose. Despite his anxiety, he had a way of keeping a cool head under pressure, and using cool logic to prove his point. Team Gai, as a rule, were excellent warriors, but they weren’t known for keeping cool heads. Gai and Lee were both hot-blooded, competitive individuals by nature. Neji was too arrogant, Linda too quick to judge, and Tenten…she might have been able to do it, but she had no desire to. A kunoichi’s role always turned out to be different in cases like this, usually involving seduction to get a point across. Tenten hated that.

“I see…” Gaara said finally. “For now, we will assume these are isolated incidents. Perhaps perpetrated by the same person? The one your village captured…given the time frame, it’s possible he’s also our murderer.”

No one argued that point. It was entirely possible, and more than likely.

“Ryouko…” Gai tapped him on the shoulder.

“Sensei?” Ryouko replied, already knowing what was next.

“Toss on your interrogation gear and see what he knows. Tenten will accompany you.”

Ryouko nodded his head. “Understood.” Ryouko left, holding the door for Tenten as she walked out behind him. The door closed, and everyone sat in silence, waiting for Ryouko to return. The silence was broken very shortly.

“GAARA!”

Naruto barreled into the room, followed by a haggard-looking Sakura and an indifferent Sai.

“Naruto…Uzumaki…You’ve come for my mission. It’s…” Gaara struggled, still getting the hang of this whole “people skills” thing. “It’s good to see you again,” he rasped. Naruto was surprised by that.

“Hey, you’re talking like you aren’t psycho anymore! That’s awesome!”

“Are you on your way to investigate the murder?” Neji wanted to know, his gaze softening since Ryouko had left the room. Although he didn’t like the thought of Tenten being with him, that was for sure.

“Yes, that’s why we’re here. Has anything turned up?” Sakura wasn’t asking anyone in particular, just a general question.

“YAAAGHHH! BASTARD, STOP IT!”

“Oh, Ryouko-kun must be here!” Sai pointed out. They had heard what Ryouko’s genjutsu could do. This sounded like a repeat customer. Sure enough…BAM!

Ryouko kicked open the door. Or he opened it using the guy’s face, one of the two. Whatever the case, Tenten looked pretty mad, definitely mad enough to pretend Ryouko WASN’T dragging a kicking and screaming man into a room for interrogation after his psyche was already at it’s limits.

“I thought you all might like to hear this in person,” Ryouko growled, stuffing the prisoner into a chair. “He’s telling the truth, or else he’s an incredibly good liar.”

The prisoner was foaming at the mouth, and bleeding from injuries. Ryouko hadn’t actually touched the man until he had started mouthing off in such an offensive way that even Tenten landed a punch. Ryouko had to pull her off and calm her down, then administer some basic medical jutsu to make sure this clown didn’t die.

“Talk, now. You know what I can do just by looking at you. Start talking, or start dying, take your pick, dirtbag…” Ryouko knelt down near the captured Shinobi’s face. The Shinobi spit on Ryouko’s face, eliciting a reaction from his team. But Ryouko put up a hand to stop them. The spit dripped down his face. Ryouko wiped it away with a piece of cloth.

“You’re not the first to get the guts up to do that. You won’t be the last. But think about it- is spitting in my face REALLY the last move you EVER want to make? Because killing you would save me a lot of time and chakra. But you opening your mouth and talking would save me even MORE of both, in addition to saving your life. Now, just tell them what you told me…”

The prisoner gave in an talked.

“…The government is weak, we were going to overthrow that pitiful Amekage, and make the land ours! When the head is weak, the hands and feet suffer, and we’ve done enough suffering! That’s why the twenty of us were ready to revolt. We just needed
helped. I never REALLY belonged to this village, I was feeding information the whole time. But I’m no murderer, THAT honor belongs to our leader, Shoichi. You’ll all die eventually, at the hands of our mighty new empire!”

Ryouko hit a pressure point and knocked the prisoner out.

“Convincing. When we captured him, he only had his Sand Village headband and Ninja Registration on him, but that was enough for us to turn him over to you. He’s given me a few locations, but not much else. His mind is on the brink now…if I pushed for more, he’d either die, or go insane, and he won’t be of help to us either way. May I suggest a secure prison? I could always return to interrogate him at your convenience, Kazekage-sama.”

Gaara and Ryouko exchanged glances. The two had long since buried the hatchet. Gaara respected Ryouko for not quitting during their impromptu fight before Ryouko became a Shinobi. With a destroyed eye, Ryouko refused to get out of the way and let Gaara kill his friends. Of course, those ‘friends’ all turned on Ryouko later, but at the time, it was pretty damn noble!

Ryouko respected Gaara for making his nation profitable, and for trying to better himself. There was no problems about ancient history. Ryouko’s eye had healed, so he was fine.

“That might be best…yes, please return…how long before his mind recovers?” Gaara was still looking at the prisoner. Ryouko closed his eyes, calculations running through his head.

“At least two months. He’s taken quite the mental beating the past couple days, more than I would usually give out. But this one was special. Said some awfully nasty things I won’t repeat.”

“Alright. Dismissed. Thank you for coming, Leaf Ninja. Naruto, your team can stay, I need to talk with you…”

“Ryouko can stay, too. He’ll be of more help if our mission is over,” Neji quickly pointed out. Ryouko shrugged.

“No argument. Thank you for working with me Gai-sensei, Lee-san, Tenten-san, Linda, and even you, Neji-tan,” Ryouko again used the nickname that Neji hated to irk him. Tenten stifled a laugh; it was funny to see uptight Neji getting worked up over a stupid pet name, of all things. Although Ryouko wouldn’t have considered Neji friend enough to give him a pet name he meant.

--

Sakura and Ryouko both blushed.

I’ve been dreaming about him/her, and now he/she is here? Oh my God! Gotta stay calm!

“Hey, let’s hit the mixed bath!” Naruto declared. “Hey, who wants to skinny dip? You, Sakura-chan?”

“Hm…Naruto-kun, is it hard to keep your pants up without a dick? They’re baggy for someone your size…” Sai pointed out. Naruto turned red from embarrassment. Neither Sakura nor Ryouko could look him in the eyes after that comment.

“Let’s NOT go naked, mixed bath or not. We should have it to ourselves this time of night.” Ryouko craned his neck to look out the window. It had to be near 4:00 am.

--

All wearing bathing suits, or something similar, the four piled into the hot spring. Ryouko and Sakura took one look at each other, blushed, and turned away.

Oh my God, his chest! Just like in my dream! No no no, don’t think that, Sakura!

She’s so pretty! I never dreamt about the bathing suit, though…damn it, stop that Ryouko! Behave yourself, you’re both adults, and…wow she’s pretty…

Ryouko and Sakura promptly tried to stop staring at each other, and went to opposite ends of the bath. At the same time, they couldn’t avoid each other forever.

Valentines day is coming… Everyone shared the thoughts about this one. Naruto and Sai weren’t shy. After not landing Sasuke, Sakura had gotten to be shy. Ryouko had always been shy, in contrast to all of them. February 14th (and one month later) were terrifying days for Sakura and Ryouko. Giving chocolate, getting chocolate, it sounded so simple…until you tried it. Did I give it to the right person/people? Will I get any chocolate back? Romance? Love? Or solitude? What’s it gonna be? It might as well have been Russian Roulette for Sakura, Ryouko, and countless other shy people.

--

That night, Ryouko and Sakura each made an entry.

Ryouko: I saw Sakura-sempai today. In a bathing suit, of all things! I’m no perv, but…she looked so beautiful! I guarantee I’ll be dreaming about her again…is it wrong to hope the dream I have tonight is like the last one I had about her? I mean, I either dream about Sakura-sempai making out with me in sexy outfits, or I dream about the guy I just tortured to within an inch of his sanity…it’s a no-brainer, I guess. Even if it DOES make me a perv…I wish I knew how Sakura felt. I’m sure she hasn’t given me a second thought…

Sakura: Oh my God! I saw Ryouko-san without his shirt! And, even better- in a bathing suit! Well, sort of. They were more of ANBU shorts, but still! Wow! He looked so cute…and innocent, too. For a tough warrior, he looked kind of lost. Maybe he was thinking about Valentines Day and White Day, too? I wonder if I’ll dream about him again tonight? No objection^^. I’m sure he’s forgotten me already, I’m nothing special in a swimsuit. (sigh)

--

Ryouko joined Team Kakashi in their mission to head to the Land of Rain. The four were in high spirits, despite the dreaded V-day on the horizon.

“Our mission has changed. Now we have to suppress an uprising and warn the government. Easy!” Naruto clearly thought this was a one-day mission. Sai shook his head.

“It’s likely we’ll be subjected to questioning ourselves, Naruto-kun. How we came about such information, whose side we are on, and the question that will do us in- do we have proof of our affiliation? If we mishandle this situation, we may put the Leaf Village in danger…”

“How’s that?” Naruto didn’t quite get that one.

“War…” Ryouko muttered. “If they think we’re helping the rebels, they’ll accuse ALL of the Hidden Leaf, and we’ll get dragged into a war we can’t afford.”

“If that’s the case, we should send them a scroll or something…or maybe get that prisoner as proof. Either way, walking into a country unannounced might do us harm before we even talk to the government,” Sakura pointed out. She found that everyone agreed with her. Unfortunately, none of the Leaf Shinobi had a summon that was built for this trip, and non-threatening.

Sai made a suggestion that, while it made sense, was the last thing any of the team wanted to hear.

“Maybe only one of us should go, so they don’t feel threatened.”

Ryouko nodded. “I agree, that makes sense. We also need it to be the right person. I think that’s me. It’s not some glory-hog thing, either- it’s my genjutsu. It will protect me against interrogation. And, well…” Ryouko looked a little shy as he said “I never mind getting a new ‘badge of courage’ for my Village. Ibikki was explaining that to me. Either way, one person should go. I’m the only one here who isn’t on a team, so it makes sense that it should be me.”

Sakura could tell that no one wanted to send Ryouko. They all knew he had gotten a raw deal with his training. He refused to admit he might be overmatched, and thought nothing of putting himself at risk.

“Hey, why don’t we sleep on it? It IS late, and we’ve been traveling all day. It’s better to rest up and be thinking clearly tomorrow.”

No one had enough energy to argue, so they set up camp in a small, secluded clearing. It was peaceful. Team Kakashi sat back and relaxed. Naruto dove into a stream nearby to catch fish (although maybe shadow clones weren’t the best way…), while Sai started to draw the landscape in his sketchbook. Sakura took off her headband and tried to smooth her hair.

Ryouko, of course, was different. He was standing at the edge of the clearing, his exam proctor-ish (-ish because he hasn’t achieved the rank necessary to be one, but at the same time has to dress uniformly) uniform still on. Now that they were near the Land of Rain, it was safe to wear his trench coat without the heat being TOO horrible. It was like an old friend, Ryouko thought. How many times had this coat helped him survive on the battle field over the years? Too many to count.

Sakura sighed a little, wondering what was going through Ryouko’s head. She decided to make a small entry in her diary, although it wasn’t all about Ryouko.


There he is again. Ryouko-san. I’ve written a lot about him lately, but there’s so much to write about. Ryouko-san is a complex person with simple needs, the best I can tell. But it seems a lot of laws don’t apply to him. By “laws” I mean ‘general rules for humans’. It’s like the world doesn’t interest him. I can’t understand what made him that way…it’s just so sad to see. It reminds me of this time, three years ago, all of the “rookie 9” went to look at the stars. Ryouko-san didn’t go, but Lee and I spotted him studying on a distant roof. It was strange, though…when I mentioned this to Ryouko-san, he nodded and agreed with me. But it was what he SAID that got to me:

“I couldn’t hope to understand them…and they couldn’t hope to understand me…I’m an outsider, looking on, maybe wishing I could be one of you.

When I said “You ARE one of us,” he said, without sounding superior: “I can’t ever hope to be. All of you has a bond, thick as blood. For me to achieve such a bond…I would have to be normal…”

I didn’t understand what he meant. He seems as normal as the rest of us. But there’s this…I don’t know, aura of sadness around him sometimes. Like now. He walked over there, by himself, but he’s thinking about something that’s really bothering him. I don’t know HOW I can tell, but I can.

Oh well, I know he’ll talk when he’s ready. Ryouko-san is shy, and a very private person to begin with. I’ll let him come to me, he might only retreat more if I prod him.

Today was a good day, though. It’s always great going to new places, seeing new things, meeting new people. And, of course, seeing Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro again was great! I’ve never been to the Rain Village, so that’ll be an adventure, too. Oops, I’d better stop, Sai and Naruto are about to fight…again -_-‘ Well, Naruto is going to fight Sai for Sai making fun of Naruto’s, um…well, you know! I can’t tell Naruto I find it hilarious!

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