Book One- The Enemy

Chapter 29

Gaara looked through the stilled battle below, Sand, Earth, and Leaf staring up at him, in awe, in fear, his gaze however focused elsewhere. The fallen sun hiding behind the dunes, the orange light that remained casting a glow behind the wave of sand rising to his call, his chakra, what little remained from the drain earlier, spared from further use as he raised his hand, the command clear, the golden wave shifted and burst forward into the darkening ravine below.

Hinata and Lee braced themselves at his side, but the sand never touched them, carefully brushing past their legs as it followed the silent will of Gaara as it created his terrain below.

The shinobi watching below gawked as the incoming attack, some ran, others braced themselves and cried out the sand taking no mercy to the Earth shinobi that it tracked, no regret as it settled between the fights, burying some and knocking back many more.

Gaara stepped to the edge lowering his arm and allowed the sand to lie down in the ravine on its own, turning the hard earth into his perfect terrain, his battle beginning. Behind him Lee and Hinata came to his sides, each casting their own glances down to the battlefield below, though more in a stunned silence.

"Kazekage sir what are your orders?" Lee asked looking from the path below to Gaara expectantly waiting for his response, following his orders from Shikamaru.

"Help your friends, I must go to your Commander" he didn't wait for their response, ghostly blues shutting as his body began to crumble away, grains of sand breaking apart from his body as he disappeared before the Leaf shinobi's eyes. The sand shifted moving below, moving to the man it sought, the one who slowly opened his dark gaze to look at Saku, the fear on the Sand shinobi's face more than present, shocked seemed to be appropriate, fear even better.

"You, how?" Saku gapped, his mouth quivering as he took a step back, his weapon barely clenched in his hand as it dragged in his internal debate to retreat.

"Told you I had it figured out" stated as a fact, if not a big smug to be so right "it's not wise to underestimate your opponent and how far they will go" Shikamaru warned.

"But he's supposed to be dead" Saku hastily looked to him as if he was seeking the answer under the narrowed dark eyes watching his moves cautiously "they were supposed to trap him in the desert alone, it was fail proof!"

"You didn't consider that I'd sent my shinobi after him" Shikamaru stilled a painful ache to his gut and continued, his stern tone strained in speaking "and Kankuro's unit should be protected as well so looks like you failed your rebellion against them"

"You" Saku glared down at him the grip on his fan tightening, the intent clear "How did you know about this!"

"Like I said it was my mission" The confusion turned into a sneer then a furious shout as he raised his weapon to Shikamaru, his response a hardened glare, prepared to die, he'd be a coward if he shut his eyes now. The fan crashed down, the sand breaking its path a few inches from Shikamaru's face, the gasp from Saku met with a silent blue glare, forming gradually in front of him, the grains of sand beginning to create Gaara's form in between the men.

Silence met the three, one relieved, one quiet, and another attempting to find words in his shock. Raising his hand, Gaara pushed back into Saku, the sand from the save he created coming to force Saku back, the action resulting in his sudden flight backwards, while in the air Saku regained some sense of self in his fall and countered, softened his landing with a gust of wind landing further down the ravine, further away from the Kazekage, but not far enough to show his rage to the two, the failure of the plan masked across his face.

"Are you alright?" Gaara kept his gaze firmly on Saku, his question a monotone concern and a surprise, but Shikamaru sighed in relief, glad everything seemed to be in his favor today, aside from the two wounds paining him to move.