The Burning, Chapter 4
Usual warnings: mature themes, sexuality, violence, yaoi (male/male) romance ... although this chapter is TOTALLY PG.
Studiously ignoring the layers of sweat, dust, and sand coating everything, Gaara managed to pull off his robes and change into the Kage robes without getting too much dirtier. His mind was racing ahead to the imminent meeting with his advisors.
What he'd learned on the journey back to Sunagakure was not encouraging. The unknown assailant turned out to be a low-ranking Suna politician named Siraii who had gone missing several months ago. He'd been involved in no scandals and was not a shinobi (and therefore had no missions), so Gaara remembered his disappearance causing quite a stir. Siraii had no spouse or children, either, and yet he wasn't the kind of man who would just leave on a moment's notice without telling anyone - much less stay gone for as long as he had. Eventually the Suna authorities had stopped actively searching for him, but he remained listed as a missing person.
The aspects of the situation which had alarmed Gaara most were twofold: one, Siraii seemed to have no memory of anything that had happened since he'd left Suna (although his best interrogators were even now determining the truth of that statement); and two, since the man wasn't a shinobi, he literally wasn't capable of doing the things that he'd done. Even the most cursory scan from Neji's Byakugan could determine that.
Gaara sighed. He was joined by Kankuro and Temari as he proceeded to the council chambers. The three of them caught each other's eyes just once before the two elder siblings opened the doors for Gaara's entrance. In spite of everything, Gaara felt his spirits lift just a little. His family was with him.
His heart jumped into his throat when he saw a familiar head of spiky blond hair at the table. What the hell is he doing here? Gaara thought almost angrily.
Of course, he was then immediately angrier with himself. Now was not the time to get distracted.
After the formalities had been dispensed with, there was a moment or two of awkward silence. "Kazekage-sama," began an esteemed elder, "if I may be so bold, why is the leaf shinobi -"
"Honored elder," Kankuro interjected in as soothing a tone as he could manage, "we are aware this is highly irregular. The Konohan is here because the commander believed he would have unique insight into the… source of the trouble."
"Thank you, Kankuro-san," the elder responded adroitly.
"Where are the interrogators?" Gaara asked quietly. "They should report first."
"They will be here shortly," Temari replied.
"And the security chief?"
As if on cue, the chamber doors opened again and the interrogation team, the head of security, and the commander strode in - limped in, in the latter's case. Wondering why under the sun the commander hadn't sought out a healer, Gaara asked for his report.
"Kazekage-sama," the commander nodded, "I am afraid we are almost no farther now than we were when he began. We do not know where Siraii-san has been all this time, and we do not know why he was attacking."
"Are we sure he was the one attacking?" Gaara asked wryly. No one responded. Gaara's brows arched upward. "Well?"
"Gaara," Naruto said hesitantly, eyes downcast, "it was him."
"How can you be sure, Naruto?" Kankuro jumped in. "No offense, but you only saw this man for the first time today."
Naruto's eyes remained focused on the table in front of them, as though he were too shy to look Gaara in the eye. Gaara experienced just a moment of anguish, wondering if he'd caused this, too; then common sense reasserted itself. They were talking about something very serious. Naruto was bound to be more restrained than usual. "Go on, Naruto," Gaara urged him quietly.
One of the interrogators broke in. "The Konohan was present while we were questioning Siraii-san," he recounted almost pleasantly. "Naruto identified Siraii-san's presence as the same one he felt on the battlefield."
"It was the fox," Naruto corrected, looking up for the first time. He looked not at the interrogator, but straight at Gaara. The Kazekage saw Naruto's troubled expression, those beloved blue eyes filled with pain; his breath caught in his throat for just a moment. "The fox knew. It was different, weaker somehow, but the presence - the hate - was the same."
"Unfortunately," the interrogator continued as though Naruto hadn't spoken, "no one else was able to verify what Naruto-san was sensing."
"Neji couldn't tell, either," Naruto affirmed. "And he couldn't figure out why the guy was invisible at first."
"In that case," Temari intervened, "Siraii-san must have been working with someone else."
"I'm not sure," Naruto argued. His expression was beginning to take on its customary animation now. Even the most somber mood could only keep him down for so long, Gaara thought with amusement. "From what the fox was feeling… it's more like … this guy was being used somehow. Manipulated." Naruto's brows knitted.
Kankuro gasped. "You mean, like a puppet?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied. "But the fox couldn't tell who the puppeteer was."
A leaden silence followed that statement. Kankuro traded glances with his brother; the Kazekage gave a subtle nod.
"Thank you, Naruto-san," Kankuro intoned, extending a hand as he stepped toward Naruto. "We will take you to your quarters now."
For once, Naruto did not protest, but merely nodded and followed Kankuro out the chamber doors. He did not so much as glance at Gaara on his way out, a fact that caused Gaara more pain than any physical discomfort he had experienced that day.
Once Kankuro had returned, the conversation continued. "Have we learned anything of value from Siraii-san? Anything at all?" Gaara tried to keep the edge out of his voice.
"Yes," the head interrogator spoke up. "We did learn one important thing, actually." He paused. "It seems we are in no more immediate danger from him."
"And why is that?" Gaara asked. He had rarely seen the man so troubled.
"He's dead."
The room erupted into questions. Gaara stood, raising both hands for silence. When order was somewhat restored, he asked simply, "How?"
"Kazekage-sama, our apologies for holding back this information," the head interrogator continued. "We did not want to go into full detail in front of Naruto-san. The man we took into custody was not Siraii-san, but someone - or something - else. Once Naiobi-san" - he gestured to the other interrogator - "broke through the impostor's defenses, we gleaned from his mind a single image of the real Siraii being murdered by an unknown assailant, before the impostor somehow committed suicide. Upon dying, his body changed - the skin turned pure white and Siraii's features disappeared."
Kankuro's face had lost most of its color under the makeup. "That doesn't sound like a puppet," he whispered to Gaara.
"A substitution," Gaara stated. "One that was able to fool a Byakugan?"
"Apparently so."
"Hmm." Gaara used his tried-and-true tactic of maintaining silence to see if anyone would volunteer more information. When nothing was forthcoming, he asked, "Have the medic-nin analyzed the body?"
"Not yet, sir," Naiobi answered. "For the time being, the body is being both sealed and guarded. I'm not convinced it's - well, human."
Gaara nodded, thinking quickly. "All right. Tomorrow, we will try to get some answers. Tonight, I feel we are all due for rest and relaxation. Even the stoutest warrior can accomplish nothing without sleep."
"Gaara, what about the festivities tonight?" Temari asked quietly. "I'm sure everyone would understand if we asked the village to delay a few more days. We've been dealing with a severe threat here."
"No," Gaara intoned after a moment's deliberation. "We deal with threats constantly; I believe it would cause more harm than good to deny our people their celebration." He smiled wryly. "We've done battle and no lives were lost. We must be thankful." For just the slightest instant, he allowed himself to imagine Naruto, relaxed and smiling, hands clapping along to the drums; whether he chose to dance or not, Naruto would never be the wallflower at any party.
Gaara took a quick poll of the faces in the room. He knew the elders and advisors would go along with whatever decision he made on this matter, but he could tell he'd made the right one. "Tonight," he said decisively, quoting some long-dead desert poet, "Suna's walls will quake not with fear, but with happiness."