Konan and I walked away from the village, our hats covering our faces.
"You've made the right choice." She stated softly.
"Maybe..." I whispered. We didn't speak anymore, just headed away from everything I knew.
"Hey!!" I heard the loud, annoying yell of Naruto.
"Fuck..." I muttered under my breath. We stopped as they landed behind us. "You're members of the Akatsuki, give Mia back!' I sighed.
"You never learn, do you?" I stated blankly.
"Wait...that voice." Shikamaru's voice followed. I turned towards them to see Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru and my father.
"Mia?" Sakura questioned. I removed the hat. "Why?"
"This is the most profitable way to achieve my goals." I lied.
"What did they do to you?" Naruto asked when he noticed the sling and bruises I had received from Pain.
"They showed me how blind I was."
"Mia, they have you under their control!" Naruto continued.
"No. I joined of my own free will." They all looked at me stunned.
"Why would you join them?! They murdered your family, your village and forced you to kill your brother!" Sakura yelled as I frowned.
"You could never hope to understand. You who has never known loss."
"What about Gaara?!" Shikamaru yelled now.
"It is unfortunate that I will have to take the life of the person I love the most in this world." They all stood there with their mouths hanging open.
"You plan to kill Gaara?" Naruto muttered. I knew he was good friends with Gaara now.
"Yes."
"HOW DARE YOU!" He went to charge toward us. My Osore appeared, causing them all to freeze.
"You will understand my choices one day. Let's go Konan." They all collapsed to the ground. We jumped away before their reinforcements arrived.
"You didn't hesitate." Konan stated.
"I know what I must do."
"Pain will be pleased." I said nothing as we headed back towards the hideout.
~
*Two Days Later*
Upon arriving, everyone gathered and looked between the two of us.
"Everything went smoothly." Konan said to Pain.
"Good. You did well, Mia."
"I don't need your praise. I did what I had to."
"Even still." My arm was almost completely healed now.
"Take her back to her room." Konan muttered. Itachi led me back to my prison cell, but to my surprise the sealing papers were gone.
"Don't make us regret letting you have your chakra." he stated leaving. He didn't even lock the door. After only a few days they trust me enough to keep my chakra? No, this had to be a trap. They wanted me to try to escape. I had to keep playing along. There was one thing I was sure of though:
I wasn't killing Gaara.
Gaara's POV
Why the hell would Shei allow her to play their game?
Apparently, Shikamaru, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi had seen Mia's clothes and went after them. Upon returning they relayed the information to Lady Tsunade and I.
"I can't believe Mia would would say or do those things." Naruto grumbled.
"That's because she isn't." I stated firmly. They all looked at me confused.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"She stopped by our hotel room. She told me goodbye, but after she left Shei told me the truth."
"The truth?" Kakashi finally spoke.
"She's playing along. Pain has the ability to harm others. He broke her arm, cracked open the back of her head." They all froze. "If she really followed them, she would have killed you all after she rendered you unconscious with the Osore." I explained.
"I thought she was acting strange..." Kakashi muttered.
"Kakashi-sensai?" Naruto looked at him.
"She had to go along with their lies. It's her only hope to escape."
"Exactly."
"So is Pain really that strong?" Temari muttered. "Mia is so strong willed, but with no effort he broke her arm...?"
"You saw the sling just like I did. Shei seemed scared of his power too." I muttered.
"Gaara..." Kankuro frowned.
"Right now we need to continue our efforts to stop the Akatsuki. Mia will be alright."
"But--!" Temari started.
"I understand your worry, Temari. But Mia is our friend, we have to believe in her. You know how strong she is." Temari sighed.
"Alright."
~
Within a few hours we had developed a new plan. My mind wandered several times to Mia. I knew her better than anyone, was she really okay?
"Gaara?" Kankuro asked when I didn't acknowledge his question.
"Huh? Sorry." I muttered, coming back to reality again.
"You're worried too?" Everyone looked at Kakashi.
"Guess I can't hide anything from Mia's father." I gave a soft chuckle.
"Its only natural that you would be worried. She's your girlfriend after all. You have to play the strong Kazekage role, but deep down you want to find her." He stated.
"That about sums it up."
"Mia is just like her mother. She won't lose to anyone. But she also knows when she's an a bad situation. Once she sees the perfect opportunity, she'll come back to us."
"Yes."
"Just keep your spirits up. You made her a Jonin for a reason."
"Wait?! She's a Jonin?!" Naruto yelled.
"Yes."
"Aww! Why does she get to be a Jonin and we don't?!" He complained to Lady Hokage.
"Because you still have a long way to go before you're ready to be a Jonin." She glared.
"But Grandma Tsunade!" She immediately punched him upside the head. "Oww!!" He rubbed the new bump on his head.
"Mia grew up alone and afraid much like you and I, Naruto." I started to explain. "She had to grow up much quicker since she lost everyone she held dear to her. That's how she's different from us. She was forced to understand the truth behind her powers, when she was four. She has a power no one has seen in decades. No one to understand what its like, no one there to teach her how to use it." Naruto frowned. "She had to learn all alone."
"The Osore..." He muttered.
"Where's the book you looked at Lady Tsunade?" Temari suddenly asked. She seemed surprised, but handed her the book on previous Osore users. "Aki Hosaka, Ero Hosaka...its not random trait...its in Mia's bloodline! why didn't you say anything before?" Temari accused.
"We didn't want to know if Sayaka or Haku may have possessed the power as well."
"Did they?" Kakashi now challenged.
"Haku didn't, that's probably why they recruited him in the first place. After they found out he didn't, losing him wasn't that big a loss." Tsunade answered.
"And Sayaka?"
"We can't be sure, but from previous records on her abilities we believe it may have been possible."
"So Mia inherited a Kekkei Genkai...from her mother's bloodline." Kankuro muttered.
"Why wouldn't you tell Mia that?" I demanded.
"Because the Osore was meant to be destroyed. Your father believed it posed a threat and wanted to destroy it from existence." She paused. "He wanted you to kill her." My body froze. "Shukaku was supposed to...end the Osore." My ears rang as this information came to me.
"Where did you learn this?" I muttered softly.
"We received some records that had been lost in the fires. They detailed the accusations made against Rasa by Mia's step-father. They also detailed Mia's abilities with the Osore growing up." My eyes stayed glued to the floor.
"Is that everything? Or is there more you've kept from us?" Kankuro questioned.
"That's all our specialists have been able to decipher." Lady Tsunade stated.
"You disgust me." Temari growled at her. "Mia is our friend and you would keep that from us?!"
"Calm down, Temari." Shikamaru started.
"That's enough, Temari." I said firmly.
"Gaara..."
"We're leaving." I turned to leave.
"Lord Kazekage, I did this not to hurt you, but to keep you and Mia safe."
"I don't care what you have to say to me. If Mia knew this...he brother might not be dead, she might still be standing here with us." I let the door slam shut behind us.
"What do we do now?" Kankuro asked.
"We find Mia."