Resonance (Kakashi x OC, Gaara x OC) -- Book 2

Chapter 23: Lost

Gaara received word regarding the Summit much later than he expected. Perhaps they couldn't come to an agreement where it was going to be held. He patted the hawk absently as he looked down at the scroll. It glared at him sharply before ruffling its feathers and taking off. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw they intended to have the meeting in the Sand. Talk about ruffling feathers.

...while the Kage Summit typically meets in a neutral location, the current movements of the Akatsuke prevent us from safely meeting in any of the usual locations. As the Village Hidden in the Sand is currently the furthest out of the target zones, it is the most ideal location at this time. We trust that the Kazekage will be welcoming of a delegation from each village in attendance...

The letter continued on with more of the same. He had 10 days to make sure they were prepared. Delegation? How many people were coming? He sighed and pulled out a clean scroll and started drafting a message to the Hokage.

He looked out the window. He could see the sun wavering on the horizon. A storm was coming like the first night he was with Keiko. He hadn't been able to sleep in his bed since she was gone, if he could even sleep at all. He spent more time among the people of the town and the patrols, checking on things personally. He had noticed a difference in the morale when he did so. It was time consuming, but the change was unmistakable. They already had been more supportive of him since he had been returned to them from the dead, but he noticed that the elders and officers questioned his decisions less of late.

He wondered if she was still alive or if the Akatsuki had...no, he knew she was alive. He didn't know how, but sometimes at night he could hear her whisper his name. He never missed anyone this way in his life. He didn't think he could have ever learned to love if Naruto hadn't changed him. He finally had everything he had wanted his whole life: the love of his village, the love of a wife, and others who were like him and understood him. He hated the Akatsuki for destroying it. It seemed cruel that his happiness had been cut so short after a life of being outcast and feared.

Thinking about depressing things wasn't going to help him, he decided. He went up the stairs to where the hawks were sleeping. The one he patted earlier screeched at him and flew up into the rafters avoiding his hands. He picked up another and stroked it gently before putting the scroll on it's back and watching it fly off into the cloud of dust.

He went back down to his office and found one of his guard from the Leaf standing there waiting

"Kazekage-sama. I'm so sorry to bother you, but we've been getting reports from civilians in and around the village of sightings of men in black cloaks with red clouds. Apparently they've been asking questions, looking for someone. The description sounds a lot like Keiko-sama."

Gaara's heart skipped a beat. Could she have escaped?

"And has anyone sighted her?" he asked evenly.

The guard's face remained impassive, "I'm afraid not Kazekage-sama. No one has reported seeing any sign of her of late. If you don't mind my saying, I feel confident if she were free she would at least get word to you somehow even if she couldn't reveal herself. I worry that maybe she might be in the hands of someone else...or otherwise...."

"Thank you for the report. You can go," Gaara said, cutting him off. He didn't want to hear any more.

"Yes sir."

So much for the intelligence for the Summit that the Akatsuki movement was far from here. The Akatsuki were certainly getting bold by not hiding their movements, unless it was a rogue member.

Keiko. Where are you.