The first time Kira met her ANBU team leader, Shura, was the first time she found out life could be different for her. She'd been unsettled by the order to join a team, one that Shura himself had apparently requested be formed. It would have been almost creepy - an older man asked to form a team with two teenagers - if it wasn't for the fact that upon mentioning him to her mother, she'd been reassured. Her adoptive father had worked with the man and liked him and that had been enough for Kira to not worry about becoming another ANBU's subordinate.
Shura the Third Eye had been known for solo missions, so him suddenly forming a team, let alone one with her in it, had been puzzling to Kira. He was an imposing figure, even after so many years, but back then he had been unnerving with the disciplined haircut, sharp eyes, and half covered face. If that hadn't been enough, his first action with her had been to order her to take her mask off and give it to him. Kira had been... confused to say the least, and a bit taken aback by it. Still, orders were orders and so she had given it to him. He'd put it away instantly and then told her just as easily that she was only to wear it on assignment from now on.
Not during training.
Not during team meetings.
Only when they were actively doing ANBU assignments or receiving orders.
She was to be Kira instead of Koyote.
It had made Kira angry, a vulnerable part of her left to be scorched under the sun and exposed to the eyes of people.
"What about you?" she'd snapped, irrational as ever and she'd remembered seeing Aya tense at the tone. "You're wearing a mask, aren't you?"
Looking back on it, Kira wondered if she'd subconsciously been looking for punishment. After two years of being under Korin's foot after her graduation, followed by being left to her own devices for a few months, she wasn't quite sure how to deal with normal people. To his credit Shura had just given her an even look as if expecting the outburst.
"I wear this mask to set others at ease - not myself," he explained calmly. "That is the difference between us Kira, and one you need to learn." It had been a hard lesson, one that became clearer once she'd found out about the ripping scar on Shura's face, the one had made it look like he was always grinning widely with all his teeth on one side of his face.
She'd had to learn that the mask wasn't something she could hide behind for her entire life. It was meant to be used when she was acting as an ANBU and only then, a way to separate herself from the job and her life. To a point she still struggled with that, but Gaara had helped her without even realizing it, so she could get over that part of her tendencies. The ANBU mask was a tool; it helped shinobi play the role they had been assigned while it was on.
That training, that understanding, was probably the only reason she was still alive.
It was all a bit too unsettlingly easy to slip back into her role as Korin's hound. Simple and repetitive - a muscle memory never really forgotten - like slipping on a mask. That's all it was; a mask, a tool. It had to be, or else she'd lose who she'd become since gaining her freedom. She couldn't falter.
It was a mask.
That's what she told herself over and over again as she ran across the dunes of the Land of Wind behind a man she'd sworn to take down. It was an old forgotten mantra she hadn't used in years since being on a team and learning it.
She worried absently once again that it had been too easy, but then thought better because really it hadn't been that easy. It hadn't been easy to act like she didn't care when she'd turned on Sai, watching as his blood had pooled onto the ground. Walking away with Korin had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done, but for her friends, for the people who'd so easily accepted her, she did it.
It had been easy to fool them all though.
Shockingly so.
Korin seemed pleased to have his obedient shadow back, and the two remaining red chakra users – he called them the Red Siblings – seemed on edge with her at first, but had quickly let it go. Or so it seemed anyway. They'd watched her for a few hours after they'd all arrived but had quickly lost interest once it became clear that even though Kira had been part of the reason for their family's demise, it was also their fault for not following orders. It became clear that the ambush in the forest had been to capture Kira, not nearly kill her like it had. Korin didn't take mistakes lightly – they seemed to understand that as well as her. Shortly after that she'd learned they were headed to Suna and Kira had worked quickly to come up with a plan.
One that she hoped had worked. At the pace they were headed Kira could only guess they'd be back home by the day's end. It was a relentless pace she'd planned for and now everything depended on her ANBU team knowing her well enough to find her clue.
Had they been able to find the bracelet? She'd ground the thing under her own foot in that cave to dispel any suspicion. She hadn't liked it, she'd told her current companions; it wasn't the right color. What if Shura and Aya hadn't found it in time? What if Gaara hadn't gotten there? What if they didn't understand what she was trying to say?
What if? What if? What if?
She was going to give herself a conniption with the way her mind was running away from her. She was playing a very dangerous game of chance and Kira knew better than to think her former master didn't have plans of his own. Korin always had a plan and it worried her that she couldn't figure it out even though he was acting so... oddly off, somehow. She just couldn't pinpoint how and that uncertainty had her eyes flicking to the sword he kept at his waist.
Was he playing her, just as she was him?
It didn't seem like it, he was treating her just as he had before, but –
"Halt!" Korin's command stopped them all in an instant, not one of them even sliding slightly on the sand. The sudden stop was a surprise and nothing he'd spoken of in advance, but Kira saw why he'd stopped moments after they had. A dozen or so figures appeared over the top of a dune, all walking towards them at an even pace. She tensed for a moment, hands going for her weapons before Korin gave a hand signal to her and the other two to stand down. He was at ease she realized and Kira found herself curious despite herself and watched the new arrivals get closer and closer – until she saw just who they were.
Sound ninja.
The rare symbol on their headbands marked them as such instantly and Kira felt shock roll though her, mouth gaping slightly behind her mask as all of them took a knee in front of her old master. The one in front – a man with long bound hair and a burn scar over one cheek – was the one who spoke.
"We've been awaiting your arrival Lord Korin, just as you ordered," he said evenly and Korin nodded his approval.
"Fine work as always Ryusei," he commended. "Is everyone ready?"
"Yes, I've gotten replies from the agents inside Suna stating that preparations have gone unnoticed. We shouldn't meet any resistance." Ryusei replied with a smirk and stood once more, the other sound ninja staying stationary.
Agents inside...Hidden Sound ninja....
Kira found herself unable to really move in that moment, unable to really understand Korin's reply as her mind fractured and then clicked together to answer so many questions that had been plaguing her for days – weeks of time. Hidden sound ninja pointed to only one thing, or person as it were. Orochimaru. The powerful Sannin had created his own damn hidden nation, then used it to assault the Leaf at the same time he'd tricked her fellow sand ninja. Orochimaru's agents had been extremely loyal for the most part as far as Kira had been told, and there was no way they'd follow some stranger even if the snake of a leader they'd had turned tail and left them to their own devices. That meant Korin wasn't a stranger.
A rock smacked down into Kira's gut, bile churning and kissing her ribs.
The body they'd found of Korin, Orochimaru's experiments with corpses and possession. The mere fact that Rasa of all people had been taken down with little to no struggle in the first place, leading people to believe it had been a sneak attack from Orochimaru himself.
It had been in a way, she concluded staring at her former master.
Expect the attack hadn't come from the outside, but the inside. From a ninja the Kazekage had trusted completely. From his own personal guard. No wonder there'd been no signs of a battle – Korin Esley was a sleeper agent.
It was insane.
Kira had always hated Korin, but she'd at least been able to say the man had always seemed loyal to his home and his leader. She wondered in a half daze how long that hadn't been true. Had the man aimed to gain his position with the goal in mind to betray Rasa from the start or had something happened to make him change sides? There was no way for her to know that without asking and Kira certainly wasn't about to do that.
It did clear up some questions though; mainly where he'd found the Red Siblings. She let her gaze flicker to the two remaining - she didn't even know their names now that she thought about it. The brother and sister were standing close together as always, the boy towering over the girl in some form of comfort or protection. Kira had read several case files about Orochimaru's experiments on people in various locations around the world. If Korin had been working with the sannin he might have very well known about the red chakra wielding family and picked them up at some point after his supposed death. From what she understood, Orochimaru had simply left people in his hideouts to their own fates after he'd gone into hiding and then let people think he'd died too.
It seemed to Kira that as of late, faking your own death had become a popular ploy.
She should try it sometime.
But what exactly had Korin gained from all of this? She was still missing information and Kira found herself troubled even more than before because of this.
"Koyote," his voice cut through her like his blade might have and Kira flinched to attention. Korin was looking at her, motioning her forward and she saw the Red Siblings walking forward past her to join the sound ninja in what was apparently a meeting. How long had she completely spaced out?
Stupid mistake.
She simply bowed her head slightly at him and then moved to join the others. He watched her for a moment before looking over his small group of 'game pieces'. It appeared she was finally going to find out just what he was planning to do.
"We want this to occur with as little conflict as possible," he started off, instantly stepping back into the roll Kira had always known him for. The Scorpion Section's commander: ruthless, cunning, and powerful. Korin Esley of The Caged Mind. There was a reason people had followed him back then and were continuing to do so now. "With the Kazekage away the ANBU will be on higher alert than normal so taking out the front guards will need to be done quietly. I'll be leaving that to your team Ryusei."
"Yes Sir," the sound ninja replied quickly with a sharp nod. Korin's eyes moved over his game pieces carefully, figuring out just what would work.
"The siblings will work with the agents already inside the village to take out any hidden guards and secure the watch towers." His eyes lingered on the red siblings as they nodded and Kira realized that he didn't even use their names – they did have names right? "Koyote," his command of her ANBU name had her attention shift back to him before she could ponder that question. Korin gave her an even look, a smirk planted softly on his face. "Your job is to infiltrate the Kage tower and disarm the people in power there. Given your time there you should know where to go," he paused as she nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to stop any other form of response. "And if you see the Kazekage's brother, you are to kill him immediately. He won't stand for the takeover, so he'll have to be taken out. You shouldn't have a problem getting close to him."
She froze, eyes widening behind her mask. Kill Kankuro? Her mind instantly conjured images. It would be easy to get close to him. She'd fake getting back early as a surprise, let him run up to her and then... her mind shuddered. No. It wasn't even a damn option. Her old master was a fool to think she'd do that, He'd have to kill her first and Korin could... Korin was watching her. Everyone was watching her, waiting. Shit.
Another test.
Her teeth tore a hole into the side of her cheek, and she tasted blood.
It's a mask. Not real. Pull yourself together.
After what must have been mere moments of time Kira nodded her head, arms behind her back in trained ANBU stance. "It will be done," she said evenly, her tongue hardly working right yet somehow she sounded normal even as sweat broke out on her neck.
Her former master eyed her another moment that she thought might last an eternity before his smirk widened and she knew he was pleased. Pleased that she'd kill her long time friend without hesitation for him. She'd passed another test with a lie. Kira stomped down the anger and fear she was feeling, not really hearing the rest of the plan. She wanted to pound his damn skull in for everything he was assuming. It didn't matter. Kira would have to find a way to stop it.
"Let's get moving," Korin ordered, confidence radiating off his words and body. She almost admired him for that certainty in himself and his followers. Almost. Turning Kira moved to start her way down the dune with the others, all the while contemplating her next move, her next plan –
Light, blinding and eclipsing penetrated the sky above them, so bright that Kira had to close her eyes. She heard the shouts of surprise from others as someone hissed out a curse. A flash bomb? Her vision taken, Kira stumbled on the sand and then found herself unable to find the ground. Her footing was gone, and she was falling, tumbling in a dizzy spell till she smashed into something hard that smelled faintly of wood that brought her to an abrupt halt. Everything was still for just a moment of time before she felt the sensation of moving, of being ripped backwards and Kira barely began to push herself up blindly before it came to a jerking stop and she collided into another wall behind her, not even a foot away
A febel squeak left her as she groaned, blinking at her blurred vision as her head rang and spun. She wasn't sure what had happened but she certainly didn't like it. For a fleeting moment all she saw was darkness and Kira panicked, thinking she'd lost her sight, only for her eyes to finally adjust to find a small stream of light on the back wall of her sudden prison. It streamed in through a rectangle just big enough to see out of and Kira moved carefully, her hands guiding her along the small space, to look out of it.
Blinking through the spots in front of her eyes she saw Korin and his little army was in front of her, but a bit away, probably a good twenty to thirty yards. They all seemed a bit off balance, probably still trying to get their sight back like Kira, though her mask had done her the favor of blocking some of the light out and protecting her. Shifting her gaze Kira found herself starting as she realized who was closer to her. Sand ninja, and not just any, but her best friend himself – as if speaking of him before had called him to her. He stood slightly in front of her, back to her and Kira could just make out the form of Baki next to him. From the shadows on the ground she could tell they weren't alone but Kira wasn't sure how many were there. Eyes back on her friend Kira saw his fingers twitching at his side, chakra strings fanning out from them and towards her.
Quiet suddenly Kira knew exactly where she was.
Black Ant, his capture puppet was somehow even less comfortable to be inside of than she'd thought.
"Are you kidding me?" she hissed out to herself. She remembered very clearly telling her dear friend during a sparring match that if he ever put her in that 'smelly prison' she'd deck him. Too bad this was neither the time nor the place to do so. For a second she could have sworn she heard her friend chuckle. Instead the puppet master moved to cross his arms, pointedly looking at the invading forces.
"Sorry to interrupt your big plans but I can't let you go any farther," he said off hand and then nodded in her direction. "I'll be taking this traitor back with me. She can spend some quality time with your other spies." He said it so flatly, all humor suddenly gone, that Kira found herself flinching back slightly. Hearing him call her a traitor was... hard. He didn't think she was one of them, did he? Had her plan worked too well?
"Other spies?" Korin mused, walling forward towards them, eyes flickering over each sand ninja and then her prison. "I haven't the faintest idea w-"
"Cut the crap Esley," Kankuro cut in, clearly annoyed and Kira winced slightly. Korin hated being interrupted and the telltale twitch of a muscle in his jaw and his sudden halted steps only proved that. A smirk entered her friend's voice at seeing that. "Gaara had an investigation going on about the strange rumors and happens surrounding Kira for a while now. We found your little moles a little over three weeks ago and just watched them. When he saw them sending off messages yesterday, we knew something was up." The smugness of the statement seemed geared towards upsetting Korin and Kira couldn't fathom why. She also had no idea what he was talking about.
What investigation?
Gaara had never mentioned anything like that to her. It didn't really surprise her if she thought about it; if they'd been investigating things that had to do with her, it was likely that telling her would have botched the mission entirely. Didn't mean she liked being kept in the dark though, especially since they seemed to have found something. Korin merely frowned at the explanation, the creases around his eyes tightening in anger.
"Koyote..." he said flatly, in his ever-commanding tone and Kira tensed, realizing he expected her to act. With her prison mostly in darkness except the tiny view hole she certainly could. She just wasn't sure she should. All of this seemed a little too easy for her and Kankuro knew her powers so there was no way he thought she would just stay there if he believed her to be a turncoat. Her thoughts halted at her friend chuckled, hand moving to scratch at his chin.
"Sorry to tell you this but she can't hear you," he stated, making Kira pause again. She couldn't? "My Black Ant was doused with a sleeping tonic just for her. She was out before she was even over here." As if to prove a point he moved his hand back and thumped the top of his prison with a fist, causing her to scowl and look up as if she could see the offending appedage. Did he know how badly sounds echoed in there? "Can't have her shadow jumping her way out to save your ass, now can I?"
The relief Kira felt at those words left her limbs feeling a bit unstable. While she'd been ninety-nine percent sure that Kankuro would never believe she'd turn traitor, there had been that one percent of doubt. Clearly, she wasn't asleep, so that meant the Leaf had somehow gotten a message back to Suna fast enough. That meant her message and plan had worked.
Thank the gods.
That also meant Kira needed to be as quiet as possible to keep the act up. She had a feeling Kankuro had trusted her enough to know she'd figure things out and what she would need to do next. She couldn't help the smile on her face at that thought. He was trusting her with his life and Kira wouldn't let him down.
Korin let out a sigh, annoyed as he reached to his sword and quickly drew it. The saw-toothed blade caught the light of the distant sun in pinprick stars along its edge. "I suppose plans have changed," he addressed his pawns, the ninja behind him who Kira realized had all moved forward just a bit, some of them drawing weapons as well. "I was going to have you hunted down and killed but I guess I'll just do it myself." Wind whistled along his blade, caressing it, as he held it in a steady stance. "Kill them all."
His order was akin to a command for all hell to break loose.
Korin's blade slashed out as he ran, creating a gust of powerful wind that everyone moved to get away from. Kankuro cursed under his breath, leaping to the side and pulling Black Ant with him, only to suddenly mustly drop it when it became clear who he was fighting. Kira bit back a yelp as her prison went flying, crashing onto the ground on its side. She pushed herself up, finding nothing but darkness now, her little peeping whole buried in the ground. She could hear fighting everywhere through, heard the clacking of puppets moving and the ring of metal. She couldn't figure out what was going on and she needed to know to help.
Kira pondered the idea of going into the negative world of shadows, but the moment she did that Korin would sense she wasn't in the puppet anymore and that could make everything blow up in their faces. He might still think she was on his side, and that could work to her advantage. It was a big risk. Biting on her already raw cheek she closed her eyes and tried to weight out her options and track the battles going on outside. It was a tall order, given that the sounds of battle tended to bend together into one giant storm.
Clatter, clatter, strike. Sounds of cutting air and shouting. Metal tearing, footsteps, words. She wasn't able to tell, damn it!
Then she heard a scream she did know, a strangle yelp she'd own heard a handful of times except louder and real because it wasn't from training. Kankuro. Her heart stopped for one long moment as she processed that and tried to figure out if she should move or not.
Stupid. She knew that answer.
Kira pressed her hand to the ground and let the shadows eat her, dispensing her into the negative world she'd spent so much time in. Standing in the darkness, Kira used the twisting shadow shaped windows to few what was going on. There weren't many – something she grimaced about – not when they were in the middle of the desert. But people casted shadows, it would be all she'd get. It was hard to track the moving images, but she spotted Baki fighting the Red Siblings and the other sand shinobi seemed to be after the sound units. She shook her head, she didn't have time to look around she needed to find the right spot, the right shadows. She did. Her eyes locked on a pair of them, and Kira was moving before she really had the chance to look. All she saw was her best friend crouching, a hand pressed to his bleeding chest and Korin standing over him, ready to strike again.
His wind covered sword arched down – and hit the tough metal of Kira's tonfa as the bar rested across her raised forearm. She felt the wind attached to the blade slice into her arm and nick her ear as it was deflected away. Body still draped in the veil of shadows, she took Korin's moment of surprise to kicked up with her prosthetic leg, wheeling his sword arm away. In the next moment she yanked that same leg around in a spin and smashed it into his chest. Korin stumbled backwards enough for Kira to take two second to hash together a few signs and then smash her fist into the ground.
"Earth Style: Stone Fist! " The earth under Korin lurched and a chunk under his feet punched free and formed into a huge fisted hand. It smashed into him, sending him back with a grunt, crashing into the sand dune. Kira was suddenly very glad that during her stay at the Leaf she'd tracked down some more Earth charka users with Shikamaru's help. She'd learned a lot in the last few months and she intended to show Korin that.
Breathing hard in exertion, Kira stood back up straight and grabbed her other Tonfa from her leg. She glanced to the wound in her arm and frowned at it, but the blood was hardly flowing. It wasn't very deep, just a graze. She'd been lucky. Kankuro let out a large sigh and she glanced behind her for just a moment as he gave her a wide eye look.
"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" he joked, hand still pressed to his wound. It was worse than she thought, she could see the slice clear as day from one shoulder all the way down towards his stomach. The battered and sliced remains of his Sasori puppet laid near her feet, cut in half. It seemed the puppet had taken the brunt of the attack, but Korin's Saw-tooth wind slice wasn't something to take lightly. Kira looked forward again, watching as Korin stood back up, shaking the trauma of his sudden flight off with ease.
"Maybe you shouldn't leave your puppets upside down then," she grumbled back, heart still hammering away in her chest. They'd have to save most of the chatter for later. He was right, that had been way too close. Kankuro grumbled in reply and then hissed as he probably moved to try and stand. "Stay down," she murmured. "That looks bad."
"I'm fine," he snapped but didn't move to get up. She didn't reply, her eyes and attention glued to the man in front of her who was staring her down with a look of rage and frustration. "Kira I think-"
"Koyote!" the snarling accusation in Korin's voice had her spine tensing up, her grip tensing on her weapons. She'd expected this from the beginning, his anger when she finally switched back to the right side. He stocked forward and Kira heard Kankuro finally get to his feet again, the displaced form of Crow rattling off to her left as he tried to get it moving again. Korin's eyes were piercing and cold as ice. She'd never seen much color in them, and now they looked so black it made her hair seem light in comparison. Sweat broke out once more at her neck as she eyed Korin's sword. It was at his side as he walked, loose and ready, and Kira knew he could attack at any moment. "How dare you..." he seethed, and Kira blinked at his words, feeling the fear that had started to creep in turn to anger in moments.
How dare she? This man – this demon – had truly though she'd turn her back on everything and everyone for him. He'd ordered her to kill Kankuro, expected her to have killed Sai. He had hounded her for most of her childhood and expected obedience from her without a second thought. She wasn't just scared of him no; she loathed this man.
"That's what I was going to say," she replied, steel in her voice that surprised her. It seemed to surprise Korin to. He stopped a good two yards away, eyes narrowing. Kira took a step forward. She could have gone on a tirade, told him every reason why she would never follow him, but she had a feeling she didn't need to. "Are you really surprised?" she snapped. He stared at her for a long moment before rolling his shoulders a bit and meeting her gaze through the mask, such icy conviction there, it chilled her bones.
"No."
He darted forward without giving even a pause to that single word and Kira had to move in order to keep her friend out of the battle as Kankuro hissed in pain and Crow chattered back onto the ground with a yank and a rip of chakra strings. Seven steps into a run and she was blocking a violent sword strike with a tonfa again, though this time her arm wasn't backing it and the force of it sent shivers down her arm, racking it with pain. The wound she'd just acquired stung at the vibration and Kira realized with startling horror just how strong Korin was. She'd seen the muscles on him – firm and honed – but hadn't though he could pack this much of a punch. It was no wonder Kankuro's puppet had been shredded.
Thankfully, due to her size, she'd learned how to fight people stronger than her.
She pivoted her tonfa, making Korin's blade slide off of it and then quickly jumped back as the blade went for her legs instead of her chest. Her arm buzzed from the impact still, but she was ready for another attack as Korin cut the air with his sword, sending wind sickles right at her. She went to move to the side but hesitated but a moment when she realized Kankuro was still behind her.
Shit.
Raising her arms to block some of it with her tonfas, Kira let out a startled sound when the sand in front of her raised with them. Shocked into a statue once again, Kira didn't even flinch as the sickles impacted with the sand, spraying layers of grains off into the sides. A wisp of sand curled around one of her forearms in a gentle caress, offering silent comfort. Suddenly all the fear and anger melted away for the briefest of moments as the sand wall fell once more to her feet. A large shadow darkened the sand around her and Kira felt her lips twitch up on her face as Kankuro colorfully thanked the gods.
She looked up and smiled.
...
Sand coiled reassuringly around his wrist - the other end of it reaching out and connected to Kira's own arm - as he stood, hand out to command the sand he'd so hastily thrown up. He hadn't been completely sure how his sand had moved so fast, but watching Korin charge at Kira like that... he hadn't really processed his actions, they'd just happened. He watched silently as Kira used his intervention to jump a few feet backwards, retreating to stand in front of his brother and putting her guard back up completely, ready for anything. She'd already guarded his brother once, and would likely do so again. It appeared they'd made it just in time, their speedy arrival in thanks to Aya's summoning pact. The giant owl he stood on, hovered over the battlefield silent and still.
"That was close," Aya murmured from a few feet to his left, the only other rider on the smaller of the two owls. The redhead could only silently agree with that, wondering what would have happened if they'd been an hour later, or even a few minutes later. How many hits would Kira have taken in order to keep her friend safe? The anxiety of the day long trip piled up in droves now, all coming to a head as he looked things over. Gaara wondered if this was what people meant by stress giving them gray hair. If so, he'd need to look in a mirror later.
How long had they already been fighting? He glanced around the battlefield eyeing the ninja battling each other – most of whom seemed to have stopped at his arrival and were slowly gathering back to two different sides. It seemed he'd made quite the entrance without meaning too, the stealth in which the owls moved working in his favor. He glanced to Aya with a meaningful look that the blond understood instantly. She focused her gaze down, looking intently at the feathered back she stood on and after a moment the owl moved, descending slowly towards the ground.
Gaara took his leave of the beast as soon as it touched down, jumping off and landing softly on the soft sand below. Aya followed him quickly, the larger white owl still making its way down to the ground with the rest of his group. For the time being, the Kazekage shifted his attention back to the area around him, making his way over to Kankuro and Kira, the latter still on guard, her face covered. His brother, on the other hand, had no problem showing his expression of relief as he sighed, sagging slightly but still somehow standing.
"Making quite the flashy entrance, aren't you bro?" he mused, a smirk playing at the edges of his mouth. Gaara simply raised a pale brow at him, glancing once more to the blond ANBU who moved quickly to Kankuro's side and startws digging through her bag.
"Would you sit down? Did you seriously not bring any medical ninja with you?" she chastised, making the puppet master hunch his shoulders. It wasn't the best call, Gaara could agree with that, but the sand user also knew why his brother hadn't brought any. Truthfully, they didn't have many completely training medical ninja left, a good number of them either dying in the war or retiring shortly afterwards due to trauma. Those that they did have left were mostly stationed at the hospital. Gaara was hoping that the next generation of ninja being trained in the academy right now would have some interested parties in the trade. Kankuro didn't voice any of this, just grumbled quietly as Aya got the work on a pain seal.
Finally, Gaara allowed himself to look towards his main concern. Kira was still facing forwards towards the enemy, though it was quite possible she was looking elsewhere. He just had no way of knowing that. His eyes raked over her in a quick assessment to make sure she wasn't injured, and found a gash on her arm where his sand was still swirling around, as well as a bit of blood on her ear. They didn't seem serious, thankfully, and he didn't find anything else to his relief.
This wasn't the reunion he was sure was normal for a couple, and Gaara had envisioned something extremely different less than a week ago before this event came to light. From the way Kira shifted a little closer to him and her fingers twitched around her weapons; he knew she was stopping herself from doing anything. Letting your guard down in this kind of situation could be fatal. They'd have to settle for what they could get until another time, so he simply moved to stand right next to her instead.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, his gaze shifting to Korin across the way. The man looked passive to the untrained eye, his face blank and nearly as fool proof as the mask he had once worn as an ANBU. Yet, Gaara spotted signs – the white-knuckled grip on his sword, the angle at which he held the blade. There was even a small tick on his neck that pulsed with a rapid heartbeat. The man was positively furious, and that fact brought an oddly satisfying feeling to Gaara's chest.
"Yes," Kira answered quickly, pausing for a moment before going on. "No. I don't know. It's been a long few days." An honest answer he should have seen coming. Could she really be alright after everything that had happened lately? No, probably not. "Glad you guys are better at planning than I am," she quipped after a moment and Gaara was sure she was smiling, if a bit wearily. "Sure took me by surprise." Behind them both, Kankuro laughed, displaying what Gaara would have done if they weren't facing down an enemy.
"Wish I could have seen your face Kira-ouch! What was that for?"
"You're moving too much," Aya replied flatly, annoyance in her tone. The redhead felt his lips curve towards a smirk. He didn't even need to look to know what was going on. Kira snorted from under her mask and shifted her stance, only to stiffen almost instantly again at her former mentor took a step forward.
"This is all rather convenient," he hissed out, not even glancing over as the two remaining red charka users flanked him on either side. "I always knew there was a chance the dog would betray me. Her loyalty had seemed too easily swayed." His eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Now tell me..." Korin trailed off, pausing for a moment before he even fully asked the question. He was smart, Gaara knew that from before he'd betrayed Suna, and the sand user could see as the pieces suddenly clicked into place. "The bracelet." Anger coated those two words, his wingmen tensing at the tone. The young leader couldn't help but be just a little satisfied at the agitation breaking out on Korin's face.
"It seems the ANBU you trained were even better than you thought." Gaara shouldn't be taunting the enemy, that was a low blow by any standard, but Gaara was having a hard time staying neutral about this fight. This man had tortured Kira for years, and he was the one who more than likely killed Gaara's father. The redhead had more than once wished Korin were alive just so he could take him down himself. It was one of the last wishes he'd wanted actually granted. Teeth clenching together, dark eyes flashed to the masked girl next to Gaara as Korin seethed.
"How very convincing Koyote, going so far as to kill that boy just to trick me. It's too bad you wasted your surprise attack; you won't get another like that." His insistence on using Kira's ANBU name left Gaara a bit more irked than he would have thought. He'd been telling the truth when he'd told Kira he didn't like the name, didn't think it suited her. Coyotes were scavengers and Kira had never been one, she hadn't taken what was left; she'd fought for what she'd earned. The raven haired girl in question acted like she didn't care but he knew it bothered her on some level. He should see about getting her mask changed changed in the future. He wondered if Korin had ever used her given name, but his words were of no consequence, seeing as they were false.
"Sai is alive," he stated, arms crossing once again over his chest. From the corner of his eye he saw Kira relax ever so slightly at the news. It seemed, even if she had done the move herself, she had still worried she'd hurt her friend worse than planned. Korin made a low sound, the lines around his eyes deepening with his frustration. To Gaara's surprise, Kira took a small step forward.
"Concede Korin," she offered in a flat tone, probably wanting nothing more than for this to be over. "This doesn't have to be a bloodbath." It was something Gaara hadn't been even tempted to offer himself, but Kira had never been one to fight out of revenge, or when it was pointless. Gaara had simply been under the mindset that Korin was going to die, one way or another. He supposed execution was an option, but from the defected ninja's expression, him surrendering to allow that to happen seemed very unlikely, cutting words poised to spill from his mouth any moment, only for someone else to interrupt him.
"I would do as the girl says Esley," a nearly slimy voice mused from behind and to the left of Kira. She flinched, and for the first time looked away from Korin to find said voice. Gaara didn't need to, for he knew who it was and that the person had finally jumped down from the other Owl where Temari and Shura had been watching him. It wasn't really a surprise that Kira readied her weapons once she caught sight of him and Gaara quickly reached out and touched her forearm to stop her. Kira reeled, looking to him and he could nearly see the expression she must have had on behind her mask as Orochimaru stepped into view on her other side. The snake ninja kept walking forward, only stopping when he stood halfway between both groups, his arms lose at his side, completely relaxed. This gave Kira enough time to stare for a few moments and then look back at Gaara with what was probably panic.
"What the hell is he doing here?" she hissed, and Gaara couldn't really blame her for her distress. He'd been a bit more than that when the Sanin had shown up at the gates of Konoha and offered them a deal in their favor. Apparently Orochimaru had quite a bit of intel about Korin and had heard about what was going on. Kakashi still wasn't sure how seeing as the man was under twenty-four-seven surveillance, but the former enemy turned docile had offered intel and help for a favor from the leaf to be cashed in later. Nothing big, he had said. Just something he might ask for when the need arose.
"He came to us offering help," Gaara replied after a moment, and it had been an offer Kakashi had supported after a debate. Gaara had not been sure about it, but he trusted the copy ninja and that had been the end of it. "He can be trusted... for now." He'd have to tell her the rest once this was all over. The battlefield was no place for a debriefing and thankfully Kira knew that and simply nodded her head, turning back to the scene in front of them.
Korin and his small army of sound ninja all seemed a little stunned to see the rouge standing in front of them. The Red Siblings – Orochimaru's designation for the red charka users – looked flat out furious on the other hand, displaying expressions closer to a feral beast then human. The Sanin tilted his head to one side like a curious cat and then hummed.
"So many of my subjects in one place, and you've organized them so well. I'm impressed Esley." Apparently, they weren't on a first name basis and Gaara pondered if that was normal, or if it was a way to demean the man in the same way Korin had to Kira. "All of this just to attempt to take over Suna?"
"It is to take what is rightfully mine," Korin snapped, anger lacing his tone once more, though he'd lowered his sword to his side. "I was promises Suna, or did you forget our deal when you ran with your scaled tail between your legs?" His words had Kira twitching in shock once again, but Gaara already knew this, had learned it when Orochimaru had explained his ties to the former Scorpion Section leader. From what he understood, the Sanin had contacted Korin shortly after he'd become a new ANBU and they'd made that deal. Loyalty to the rogue in exchange for rule over Suna. As to what Korin had planned to do with that power or why he wanted it, Gaara didn't know.
Maybe he liked doing copious amounts of paperwork? It was possible.
"My, my, aren't we cranky today," Orochimaru mused, his smirk the near definition of serpent like. "If I remember right, you didn't exactly stick around once the one-tails failed to do his job. I'm afraid your contract was voided as soon as your troops failed to do what you said they would – including yourself." His eyes sharpened with his tone, turning harder and dangerous. Gaara pointedly ignored the fact that he was basically being blamed for Korin's plan falling apart, especially since really, he wasn't sorry about it at all. One of the largest failures for the Sanin had been a turning point in the redhead's life for the better.
To his surprise, Gaara watched as Korin took a small step backwards, before almost immediately replacing the step with a scowl. "Believe what you will, now get out of my way." Despite his commanding tone, only the two siblings and a few sound ninja seemed ready to follow, the rest hesitating to even move. Orochimaru hummed, and took a leisurely step forward.
"I will, once I get my subordinates back under control. I'm not sure where you got the idea that you could take command of them, and I commend your steel to do so. Sadly, that ends now." His eyes slid over the faces of the ninja in front of him, his stance still relatively relaxed. "Now then, those of you who don't wish to die, I would advise that you stand down. Suna for the time being, is not my enemy."
"If you really think..." Korin growled, understandably agitated by the undermining but certain it wouldn't work. Only, as Gaara watched, it did. More than half the sound ninja seemed to hesitate, looking around them and then slowly sheathed their weapons, moving towards an area off to the side where a few Sand ninja were waiting. After a quick glance from Gaara, those ninjas quickly understood they would be playing guard duty. Korin's jaw clenched and he let out something close to a hiss. "Traitors. Get back here!" This was really turning out not to be his day.
"You two as well," Orochimaru called out to the Red Siblings, ignoring the fuming rogue ninja. The two tensed at the words and unlike the sound ninja, rage took hold of their features once again.
"You're kidding me," the girl growled out. "Why would we ever follow you again? You were quick to take our family in, but just as quick to discard our parents when they grew sick. Then you disappeared and left us to rot in a cell." As she spoke red water began to form along her arms like angry tidal waves driven by a different force than gravity. The boy, who had been silent so far simply took a predator like step forward, his bare feet heavy set and crimson cracks forming under them, instantly hardening the sand.
Their story didn't surprise Gaara, but their hatred did. From what he'd seen no amount of abuse from the Sanin seemed to make his loyal subjects hate him. Orochimaru, to his credit, simply scoffed. "And look at what leaving those cells did for you: four of your siblings are now dead. It's such a waste."
Gaara saw Kira flinch at the words, her own mistreatment by Korin in some ways mirroring what she was watching. Forcing himself not to reach out a hand to comfort her, Gaara almost missed the siblings completely losing their tempers. The girl snarled and launched a torrent of water at her former master and while Gaara was sure he could have dodged the attack, he let himself get hit and carried far to the left side of the group. Both siblings glanced at Korin for a moment before he nodded his head in compliance and the two were off.
While that hadn't really been the plan, it still worked out. With those two off fighting Orochimaru, that left Korin with three sound ninja. Odds that were quickly being evened as Baki and Shura stepped up on Kira's other side.
"We'll take what's left of his forces Lord Gaara," Baki offered and Gaara shifted his gaze to the two older men for a moment. Shura hadn't been in a fight since both his legs had been broken, but the Third Eye of the Sand seemed perfectly fine now.
"Very well," he agreed, eyes shifting forward again. "Temari, have any able ninja left form a perimeter around this area. We don't want anyone escaping." At his command his sister acted, taking control of the ninja his brother had brought with him. That left Korin and the man stared him down with hate in his dark eyes.
"Planning on taking me on yourself Gaara?" he questioned, his sword at the ready once more. Gaara frowned at him but didn't move from his spot as Kira took the first step forward and reached for her mask. Surprise flickered through him as she pulled the ANBU mask off, but a part of him knew exactly why she was doing it – why she had to do it.
"No," Gaara answered plainly and he couldn't help but smirk slightly as Kira slipped her mask onto a hook on her belt. She met his gaze and nodded her head as they got ready to finally put into practice what they'd been training to do since before the war. "You'll be fighting the both of us."
"Koyote," Korin snapped, the command there and expecting but the raven-haired girl simply readied her weapons and stared him down with no trace of fear left in her eyes.
"My name is Kira Araya Nara," she informed him, and moved into a readied stance, pointing a tonfa wheedling hand out towards their opponent in a way that reminded him of Lee. "And I am no stray for you to bark orders at anymore."
For the second time in what was only a few moments Gaara was surprised by her actions and words. While the name change was something new, all the redhead could think in that moment, was how proud he was of her for finally facing her demons head on.
He realized then, just how much he loved her.