Moon's Light, Reality's Dream

Here is the second half of Chapter Five! Amy and I have been cutting down how big the chapters are, as well as how big the paragraphs are. After about one more chapter, the story will pretty much become original, and it won't necessarily follow the plotline of the manga. Since, 1) Kakashi isn't on mission for awhile, and 2) Gaara isn't involved in the manga until much later on. Romance will be coming shortly. Thank you for your patience!

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Moon's Light, Reality's Dream
月の光、うつつの夢
Chapter Five - チェイス (Chase)
Part II.


足跡を なぞる日は足跡を
I followed your footprints, that day I could hear your footprints
はじめから理解ってた　だから悲しくはない
From the beginning, I understood, so it’s not sad.


Hitori crouched down as Kankurou glanced over at something that appeared out of place. The Anbu pointed ahead to where bits of Gaara’s defensive sand seemed to be trailing, swirling almost agitatedly around in front of them. Blood that could have only belonged to Gaara gave some of the golden grains a dark maroon hue. The strange tracks cutting through the soft landscape alongside the footprints were another mystery.

Deidara's bird wouldn't leave such markings. Were the two separate tracks meant to throw them off?  Her hand closed over the blood covered sand, squeezing hard as if she drew some form of power from it. Kankurou darted off again and Hitori found herself unable to keep her mind rational as she followed after him. He seemed far beyond driven by the ties he and Gaara shared.  She didn’t think she could ever understand such a thing.

        "Where the fuck are they?” Kankurou’s pace only increased with every angry stream of words that flowed from him. She wasn’t inspired to reply to his words, knowing them to be the product of his anxiety. He had every right to be scared, but Hitori was more levelheaded, or that’s what she chose to believe. She wasn’t obeying orders. A letter should have been sent to Danzou the second she saw the Akatsuki member. And yet here she was, chasing after Gaara with the fierce intent of killing those who took him. “They haven't had enough time to get too far so we must be close, Anbu. Keep your eyes open.”

        Above them the purple sky was cracking into the streaked orange of dawn. An almost ethereal light bathed the two figures walking ahead in the blur of the heat waves already rising from the sand. Kankurou cursed under his breath, reaching a hand behind him to the scrolls on his back. He was going to prepare to battle straight away? Hitori’s eyes narrowed at the careless gesture as she slowed behind him, reaching for the short katana on her back. If he was going to move irrationally, than she would do her best to back him up. He'd put her in a very awkward position.

        Failure here would mean death. She wasn’t familiar with Kankurou’s methods, only that he used puppets. His chakra flow was weaker than hers, but she didn’t doubt him or his skill, and that thought surprised her. The distance between them and their enemy was closing quickly as she followed his reckless advance. The two Akatsuki members must’ve known they were being hunted. Hitori had felt fairly confident at the thought of taking on Deidara, but the appearance of his partner changed everything.  The file on the Akatsuki claimed the members were practically impossible to kill, and that made facing just one of them frustrating enough.

She wondered if she would have to use a specific jutsu that Danzou taught her for tough situations. It would kill her, but she was willing to pay that price save Gaara. Only one question remained. Was it strong enough to kill both of the men before them? She placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "Don't die, kabuki boy." Kankurou turned to reply, irritation flashing in his eyes, but he wasn't given the chance.

        “Oi, oi…” The blond-haired Akatsuki member sighed as he hopped onto the back of the clay bird and looked to his partner. “Looks like we have uninvited guests at our party.”

        Sasori turned his bulky body around and watched as Kankurou and Hitori stopped just a few feet away from them. Black eyes that lacked any spark of humanity bored into Kankurou’s. The Akatsuki member could sense something about the boy, something that made his mind want to play. “I don’t like to keep others waiting. I’ll end this quickly.”

        Hitori's eyes narrowed at Deidara as Kankurou moved, wasting no time rolling out his scrolls with precise, confident movements. Her partner smirked, his painted lips twisting before they parted to speak.

        “I want to show you my puppet performance.”

        Hitori didn't miss the slight widening of Sasori's eyes or the smile that slowly crept over Deidara's smug face at Kankurou's words. Something odd was happening here. Taking another step back, she kept her eyes trained on the two Akatsuki members, trying to figure out what it was.

        "Ah, that's right, Sasori. I nearly forgot." Deidara's lazy voice didn't match the ice in his eyes. "This Jinchuriki has siblings. He must be the puppet master. I think his name is Kanturou. Or maybe it was Kampachi..."

        "It's Kankurou!!" The anger in his voice seemed on the bare edge of control, and Hitori almost sighed. Losing control of your emotions would lead to clouded thoughts, and Kankurou couldn't afford to have his mind in any more upheaval than it already was.

        “Deidara, get out of here and leave me to play,” The dark voice sounded more than a little amused as the blonde nodded and turned to leave. Sasori kept his eyes narrowed on Kankurou. "I'll be your opponent."

        One look at Gaara’s unconscious face caused Kankurou to react, his hands out before him as he started manipulating the chakra strings attached to his puppets. "Hitori, after him."

        “I intended to.” She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating her chakra in her legs before she started running after the rapidly dwindling figure of Deidara. His strange bird was lifting higher into the air with every passing moment. The sand shifted oddly under her feet. Something was moving beneath her. Ignoring it, she kept going, her eyes never leaving her target.

        “Watch your ass!” Kankurou's shout seemed perfectly timed with the appearance of a long metal scorpion tail rising out of the sand. Hitori moved quickly to the side and an odd wooden object took the blow intended for her. It was one of Kankurou’s puppets. As the tail curled around it, she ran on as fast as she could, glancing back once as if to thank him for buying her time to escape. She wondered if he would be okay. Shaking her head, she reminded herself that there was no room for regret, for feeling anything at all. She was commanded to go after Gaara, by Danzou, by Kankurou... by her own instincts.

        Don't die, Kankurou.

        Deidara’s plan would be disappear from sight, but she wasn't about to let that happen.  Her limbs grew tired, and the chakra in her calves was practically burning the blood in her veins, but she had learned to withstand it. She paid no heed to her body’s cries of warning, driving herself onward relentlessly. The sand gave way to forest, her feet once again meeting hard ground as she slipped a kunai free.

        This terrain was what she knew best. With a push from her legs, she leapt onto the nearest branch and the kunai slashed out, leaving a clear arrow carved into the bark, a sign for Kankurou to follow. Hitori moved faster in the branches, even with the scoring of some of the trees she passed, until she was practically side by side with her quarry. The faint scent of Gaara’s blood was the only smell she could take in. She'd be damned if he was going to die now. Protecting him was what was demanded of her, but that wasn't the only thing driving her anymore.That flaring sensation returned - the one that had announced itself as anger.                

        Deidara was aware of the Anbu’s presence, he just couldn’t do anything about it. He silently cursed Sasori, wondering how his partner could have let anyone slip past him. The importance of this mission demanded perfection in every action. His pursuer was starting to bother him. Everyone knew the Anbu were persistent, but this one had a look in her eyes that told him she would be even worse than most. He idly wondered if taunting her would do any good.

        “Master Sasori would be pissed off if he knew I was about to say this, but I figured since you’re going to die anyway, it really doesn't matter!” Deidara called out to her, watching the Anbu’s expression carefully. “The Kazekage is a host, and we want the biju inside him. It’s always easy to just take what you want. Lives are very fragile, but so easy to control. Kind of like this guy here. He wasn’t as weak as I thought, but he obviously wasn’t strong enough, ne?” With an irritatingly casual gesture, he patted Gaara's unconscious head. "Now he gets to die for his weakness."

        Hitori jumped across the open path, moving effortlessly into the branches closest to Deidara. The unexpected movement caused the Akatsuki member to speed up and ascend even higher into the sky. His cowardly behavior was nothing more than an annoyance. She made her way from one firm branch to the next, jumping higher and faster with each exchange. He was out of her attack reach, but she could still see the area he was fleeing off to, which was going to have to be enough information for now. She couldn't do a lot without a full team. Maybe Kankurou would catch up to her soon.

        She descended lightly as the trees came to an end, looking around her warily at the new rocky terrain. The smell of water had replaced the scent of Gaara’s blood. That realization caused her hands to ball up into fists. She steadied herself on top of the giant boulder and carefully scanned the quiet area. No doubt there were several nasty traps laying about for any intruders. There had to be something that would give away where Deidara had descended, this being the only possible location he could have disappeared to within such a short amount of time. An untold number of minutes passed as her eyes searched the area. Finally, she let out a soft sigh.

        'Gaara...' Long, thick lashes fell closed against white skin. 'I’m sorry.'

        The feeling that she couldn’t place now was like a pounding in her head. It aggravated and haunted her. She slammed her fist down, hoping the pain would draw her attention, but all she could think of was how irritating emotional responses felt, as if they replaced something crucial within her. She couldn’t be sorry if she didn’t know what the word meant, if she had never felt it. She wasn’t allowed to feel this way. She wasn’t allowed to be conflicted. If she saw Gaara right now... Would she be able to restrain herself from punching him to make up for the amount of frustration and confusion he’s caused her?

        Yomi laughed in the back of her mind, muttering about shadow puppets and ‘I told you so.’ Just the impression of his presence threw her into a memory of the bath house incident. She and Yomi were forced to stay a day or two, due to an injury that seemed less than convincing on his part. She realized, as they had been sitting across from each other, that he was just using the minor hurt as an excuse to slack off. The number of orders he sent out for banana pudding was sickening, and Hitori estimated that the establishment grossed over 500 ryos from Yomi’s savings in that one afternoon.

        Nearby one of the serving girls was being manhandled by a particularly disgusting old man. The occasional slap to her backside had turned into firm grabs. Yomi held his glass up to his lips as his dark eyes lingered on the scene, then moved to his partner, certain she'd noticed the incident as well.

        “What do you feel when you see something like that happening to another woman?” Yomi scooted himself closer, curious now by the silence of the other Anbu. She turned her mask covered face, and heard perverse words leave the man’s mouth as the woman continued to try and move, excusing herself almost desperately. The customers were always right, and some felt completely free to grab at the women who were serving them food.

        “I don’t feel anything. They’re not our mission,” Hitori said finally, giving Yomi what was possibly the most unsatisfying answer she could have. The way he rolled his eyes at her words merely confirmed it. This was why Yomi wasn’t fit to be Anbu Root. He was filled with emotions when he wasn't actually on a mission. Hitori hadn’t questioned it then, but was it okay to be Anbu like that?

Was it possible to feel emotions and then not, when the circumstances called for it? Emotions get in the way at some point. That was the reason why Danzou had so deliberately erased hers.

        While the man paid his fee, Hitori watched without interest as Yomi grabbed the him by his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. Then he did something typically Yomi - he found the man’s wallet and dumped out every ryo out on the counter. Almost as an afterthought, the back of his hand pushed hard, sending the unfortunate man's face into the counter as well. Usually, Yomi would then walk away, and that’s what Hitori had assumed would happen. Instead, he gently took the woman from behind the counter and walked her over to the staggering figure who was now quaking with fear before the diminutive Anbu.

        “Stand still,” Yomi ordered him in a hard voice, and the man was too shaken to disobey. A warm smile creased Yomi's face as he turned his attention to the woman, “I want you to hit him with the same force he used to grab you.” Hitori watched as the woman slapped the man repeatedly, just as Yomi had instructed, until the idiot seemed to have learned his lesson.

With a final warning, and promise from Yomi to return if things should ever happen again, the two Anbu left. Yomi looked as if he was feeling quite satisfied with himself. He could feel his partner’s eyes on him, and he could have sworn that it was a look of curiosity. Hitori was trying to figure out why he would do what he'd done in the bath house.

        Yomi decided to indulge her. “Feelings are natural. You can’t get rid of them entirely. I don’t care who you are." He laughed softly before continuing on. "Just wait. It’ll bite you in the ass one of these days. And when it does, I’ll be there to say ‘I told you so’. “

        Hitori shook her head, wondering at herself. She wouldn’t give up. Turning her back on Gaara wasn’t an option. Failing him would be worse. Without another thought, she sprang into motion, searching every inch of the terrain nearby before coming to the water. She moved as quietly as possible. Small fish swam around and between each of her steps as she disrupted their small community.

The water was making an odd noise up ahead, as if the flow had been interrupted by something. Maybe she'd finally found what she was looking for. Wherever they were, it had to be somewhere nearby, somewhere on the water. She would continue searching. He needed her. Even as that thought bloomed, Gaara's voice echoed softly in the back of her mind.

'I wish to one day be needed by someone...'

        It was an odd feeling.


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        The Sand village was in chaos, exactly as she'd expected it to be. Kankurou had been brought back poisoned and near death, but Sakura was inside working on him, and somehow Nisei knew he'd be alright. She leaned back against the wall, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched everyone and everything. What happened to Gaara was unfortunate, but it wasn't her mission. She was more than happy to help in any way she could, but Tsunade's orders came before anything else. Nearby, Kakashi was talking to Baki, and she strained her ears to hear the conversation, alert for any mention of what she was looking for.

        "Exactly why are you here without your team, Nisei chan?" Kouki's voice caught her off guard for the second time that day, and she was glad her mask was still on to hide the frown she couldn't stop. She knew he meant well, and had a tendency to be overly curious, but it was really starting to become troublesome.

        "I have my own mission for the Hokage. It just happens to coincide with this one, so I tagged along with Kakashi's team." He opened his mouth to speak again, but she held her hand up for silence, having just caught Baki's voice saying the word 'Anbu.' Kakashi glanced over, noticing her attention, and nodded at her before turning back to the other man. The Root she was looking for was definitely still here, then. Good.

"I'm sorry, Kouki san. I really need to see to this matter." Without waiting for him to reply, she slowly walked over to her former sensei as Baki turned to go back inside the medical building. "You didn't question him directly, I hope." The usual cold tone of her voice when she was forced to speak to this man had become downright icy. She blamed her unhappy trip down memory lane on the way here.

        Kakashi blinked before speaking, and that was the only indication he gave that he'd noticed anything odd about the way she spoke to him. "Baki mentioned that we should be on the lookout for her, since she went out with Kankurou after the men who kidnapped Gaara." He never met her eyes, his gaze resting on the door to the building, his face unreadable. Nisei frowned a little, crossing her arms as she thought quickly.

        "It looks like I'll be going with your team after all." She chose to keep her own eyes moving, not stopping on any particular thing, just taking it all in. The operative she was chasing was female. There weren't too many female Anbu Root members, which narrowed things down a little. Kakashi had gone back inside by the time the next question occurred to her and she wavered for a moment, wondering whether it was important enough to follow him.

Even if she was determined to prove to him that he'd been wrong years ago, it didn't mean she enjoyed spending time in his company. With a sigh she slowly followed, making a note of who else was in the room before stepping close to him and softly asking her question. "Did you happen to get the name of the Anbu?"

        Apparently her voice was louder than she intended, because Kakashi hadn't had a chance to do more than turn a questioning look on her before Kankurou blinked open his eyes and frowned a little. "Another one of you?" He seemed a little irritated as their eyes met, then his closed again as he winced a little. "Her name is Hitori."

        Once again, Nisei was glad of her mask. It hid all but the slight widening of her eyes that accompanied a look of shock. Danzou had sent that one here? She reached out and grabbed the shoulder of Kakashi's uniform, pulling him backwards a little. "Danzou's pet. I'm definitely coming with you." She ignored the way her mind practically groaned at the thought of how hard she'd already pushed herself. It couldn't be helped though. That particular operative was one of Danzou's most dangerous creations. Nisei should know.

She'd fought her once before during a training exercise, and been badly beaten. The memory of it still stung, and she pushed it all away in irritation. Everything was starting to fall into place now. The shorter one with the monkey mask would be Hitori's partner, Yomi. "Kankurou san, did Hitori come here alone, or did she bring a partner with her?"

        Kankurou gave her an odd look before replying. "No, she's alone." Satisfied, Nisei turned and headed for the exit.

        "Please let me know when you're ready to leave," she called back to Kakashi. As she stepped through the door, the harsh sunlight stung her eyes again. Moving her bag in front of her, she settled herself outside the building and began writing a message for Tsunade, outlining everything she'd learned so far, as well as informing the Hokage of her intention to join Kakashi's team in pursuit. It didn't take her long to finish.

As she sealed it she waved down a passing shinobi and gave it to him, instructing him to send it out for Konoha immediately. She tried to ignore the small drama going on with Kakashi's team, Temari, and some elderly woman not too far away as she checked over her weapons. Satisfied that she had everything she needed, she waited patiently for the team to start moving, then fell in behind them.

        The sun began setting before they were more than halfway across the desert, and Nisei was glad to see it go. Suna was oppressively hot, even during it's mildest season. The hounds were having no problem tracking the scent from the fabric Kankurou had given them, and the odd, partially obscured tracks in the sand only confirmed that they were going in the right direction. As they ran, she tried to puzzle out all of the questions about her mission, but nothing really seemed to fit. Running off in pursuit with just Kankurou for support made almost no sense whatsoever.

        Nisei was grateful to take to the trees again, feeling the difference in her straining muscles almost instantly as she leapt off each branch, always holding herself to the rear of the group. She'd already pushed herself further beyond her limits than she'd thought she was capable of. Her thoughts had started to wander again when a frustrated wail from Naruto brought them back, and she halted a few branches behind the others, watching as they all jumped to the ground.

        "No, Kakashi sensei! We can't stop now!" Naruto flushed lightly, and his seemingly boundless energy was almost visible, like a chakra aura around him. "Gaara..."

        "We all need to sleep, Naruto. If we're too exhausted to fight, we won't do Gaara much good, will we? It's a long run from Konoha, and we haven't really rested yet." His tone was almost gentle, and slightly bored sounding as he reprimanded his student then turned away, his eyes traveling up to watch Nisei as she leapt gratefully out of the tree. She tried to hide the way her legs shook at the landing, but he noticed it anyway as he walked slowly over to her. "You really need to rest, Nisei."

        "No kidding," she snapped back, easing herself down gently and rummaging around in her bag. She was beyond needing to rest. A week of sleep might bring her back to her full potential, but even that was doubtful. Her tired body urged her to move faster, and within moments she was settling herself onto her bedroll with a heavy sigh. Keeping her back turned to the others, she eased her mask off and placed it carefully next to her, laying down on her side. Heavy lids closed, and a soft sigh escaped as sleep claimed her.

        Kakashi kept glancing back, until he was certain everyone else was settled. Naruto let out a loud snore, as if to punctuate that he was, indeed, sleeping soundly. The Copy Ninja stared into the fire for several moments as the night deepened around them. Finally, he was the only one left awake.

With a quiet only he could manage, he moved closer to the sleeping Anbu and glanced down at her, marveling at how much, and yet how little, she reminded him of Rin. It wasn't that they resembled each other physically, because aside from the same black hair, they didn't. Nisei had something about her that made her more than the other woman. He couldn't quite put his finger on what that quality was, though.

        He settled on one knee beside her, one hand reaching out slowly to gently move that long dark hair away from her face, still curious about the mark he thought he'd seen there earlier. She shifted slightly as her hair brushed her skin, but was then still again. He leaned a little closer, straining in the flickering firelight to find it again, and then it was suddenly there, clear before his eyes. A scar. A scar where he'd hit her, where her mask had broken under his hand on her face.

            His fingers idly traced the mark along her cheekbone as the memories from that day came back to him. The way she'd stared up at him as he'd insulted her, not even making a rational attempt at explanation other than pointing out his failures. Her small arms had felt like those of a child beneath his hands, and he'd wondered if he'd end up breaking her before he could make her understand. He glanced back down at her face, stilling his movements, the tips of his fingers still resting lightly on her skin.

            What was it about this woman that had always made him feel irrational where she was concerned? Her long hair felt like silk as he brushed it away from her face again, noticing how little she'd changed over the last few years. The most promising of his Anbu students, and the one who'd caused him the most regret. How many mistakes had he made because of what he felt when the weight of her golden eyes rested on him?

Those glances were cold now, her eyes only rousing that deep feeling of regret in him. It was impossible to change the past, and he honestly couldn't see much in the future in the face of her hostility. He'd been wrong, but he didn't know how to tell her, or show her that he knew this now.

            One of the small logs in the fire cracked apart with a loud popping noise, and he drew his hand slowly away from her, already feeling a sense of loss as the warmth of her skin faded from his fingertips. Moving away quietly, he lay back on his own bedroll, staring up at the stars winking through the canopy of trees over his head. He knew sleep would be impossible to find, but that didn't bother him too much. Someone needed to stay alert and keep them all safe. His eyes fell on Nisei's sleeping form one last time.

Even if he felt like he didn’t deserve it, it still was nice to see her.


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Chapter Six is completed, just waiting to be edited! Our friend will be doing sketches of the original characters in the story, which I will link up at some point, onto the author page. Woohoo! Also, Thursday's rock, don't they?