When Waves Meet the Sand

With a soft hiss of pain, Kumiko removed a deeply-embedded senbon from her thigh, watching the fresh spray of blood with hazy blue eyes.

Dropping the needle onto the ever-growing pile of bloody metal, she scanned the unconscious shinobi on the other side of the clearing, checking that they were still harmless.

Reassured, the Waterbender returned to the laborious task of removing the needles from her body, doing her best to ignore the-blood, blood on her hands, melting the snow into slush and screams echoing off the ice-blood that still trickled from her wounds.

Grasping a needle that was stuck awkwardly into her elbow, Kumiko bit her lip to keep from crying out as it was removed, blinking back tears.

‘Must have been near a nerve…’ She reasoned, out of breath.

“Kumiko!”

“Sweet’eart!”

Lifting her head with some difficulty, she smiled weakly.

“Meg, Kana…”

Megumi did not waste a moment reaching her side, a frown marring her face as she took in all of the puncture wounds, slices, and bruises covering Kumiko’s body.

“Damn, sweet’eart, did ya jump inta a meat grinder?” Kana teased, barely scrounging up a light enough tone for it.

Kumiko managed a slightly better smile, seeing through her friend’s act.

“More like a storm of senbon.”

“Amegakure nin are known for their use of senbon, as well as their Water-style jutsu.” Megumi noted, taking a moment to glare at the downed squad. “I suppose we can add lack of moral fiber to the list as well.”

“Sick bastards…” Kana growled, hands clenching into angry fists. “I oughta crush ‘em right now!”

“No!” Kumiko shouted, wincing when her attempt to stand was thwarted by a fresh wave of pain.

Megumi jerked forward, putting her hands on the girl’s shoulders to keep the Waterbender upright.

“Be careful.” She scolded, carefully removing the girl’s water pouches.

“Whatta ya mean ‘no’?” Kana argued, growing increasingly cross. “They deserve it fer ‘urtin’ ya! If I’d been ‘ere when ‘ey tried it, I’d ‘ave smacked ‘eir ‘eads clean off!”

“No more.” Kumiko replied, firm.

Megumi sighed at the tension that formed between her teammates, shooing Tomo away to keep the feline from the fresh blood and oozing wounds.

Surprisingly, Kana gave in, arms crossed huffily as she turned her head away.

“Yeah, yeah…”

Kumiko relaxed slowly, wincing as the red-haired kunoichi went about removing the last few needles from her back.

Tomo meowed anxiously, licking at the girl’s bloody fingers, and was comforted when those fingers scratched underneath his chin.

“I’m alright, Tomo-kun…” The Waterbender cooed, forcing her body not to tense up as another senbon was removed.

A thought occurred to her tired mind, and Kumiko scanned the clearing in confusion.

“Where’s Ki-chan?”

Her friends paused, confused.

“She’s not with you?” Megumi questioned.

The younger kunoichi shook her head ‘no’, growing worried.

“I sent her for help in the middle of the fight…Where did she go?”

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Despite what many people would be inclined to believe, Fubuki is a very bright creature.

She was not restricted to base animal instincts like her brethren, a blessing given to all Animal Guides, so the Polar Bear Dog knew exactly what to do.

All that time spent training with the Inuzuka clan had sharpened her nose, making it easy to follow the right scent through the trees and find her target.

True, it had taken longer than expected, but that damn snake had tried to eat her!

Panting with exhaustion after the long run and impromptu fight, Fubuki nearly collapsed in relief once she found him.

Gaara seemed surprised to see her, if the slight hitch in his breath and widening of his eyes was any indication.

Taking a moment to shake some of the serpent’s blood from her fur, the dog made sure her legs were steady before moving closer.

Ignoring the other two, she went straight towards Gaara, stopping a couple of feet away and gesturing with her head over one shoulder, letting out a low whimper.

The boy did not seem to quite understand, and Fubuki huffed softly, wondering why not all humans were bright like her cub.

With Kumiko in mind, the Polar Bear Dog let out a louder whine, shifting anxiously from side to side and hoping Gaara would catch on.

His eyes narrowed, suddenly intense, and Fubuki was rather proud of her cub’s choice in mate.

“Where is she?”

She motioned back the way she had come once more, and then offered her back for the boy to climb on.

When he hesitated, Fubuki decided enough time had been wasted and took matters into her own paws.

In a move that likely would have resulted in her death were it not for Kumiko’s influence, she picked the boy up by the gourd strapped to his back and deposited him on her own back with ease.

Levering herself fully upright, Fubuki held back a snicker at Gaara’s clear unhappiness with her manhandling as she took off into the trees.

After all, Kumiko needed both of them alive and well at the moment.

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To say Gaara was ‘concerned’ would be like calling the ocean ‘slightly wet’.

Once his mind had processed that it was Fubuki, splattered in blood and without her rider, the Jinchuriki felt nothing short of panic.

He could not help imagining what could have happened to Kumiko, hoping she was alright and not…

Gaara suspected that what he found was not that far from what a nightmare must be like.

The grass was splattered with blood, her blood, senbon and kunai buried in the dirt like grave markers.

And there was Kumiko, stained red and blue and purple over almost inch of skin, staring at him with those eyes as if she had just seen salvation.

“Gaara…”

Completely oblivious to anyone else, Gaara was immediately by her side, trying to see through the blood for any serious injuries.

Shukaku growled in the back of his mind, and Gaara looked into her eyes, rage licking at his insides.

“Who did this to you?”

Kumiko did not say, but her eyes flickered to the side, and he glared at the three unconscious shinobi a few yards away.

A fully-male squad from Amegakure, at the very least five years her senior, were sprawled unceremoniously on the ground, likely where they had fallen to Kumiko’s blows.

They had tried to take her away from him.

When he thought of the possible reasons why, his blood boiled.

And they were still breathing.

The sand reacted, leaking from his gourd and slithering through the grass like snakes, swallowing the three bodies whole.

It would only take a moment, just a little pressure, and-

Warm hands cupped his face, and intense jade eyes locked with teary blue.

“Please, don’t…”

The anger evaporated like water under the desert sun, and he felt the sand go lax at the sight of her tears.

“Kumiko…”

“No more…” The girl pleaded, burying her face in Gaara’s chest to muffle her shaky sobs. “No more blood…Please…”

Wrapping his arms securely around her, the Jinchuriki hummed softly in an attempt to soothe away Kumiko’s tears, running a hand through her hair.

“Alright, tenshi, alright…” Gaara whispered, heart cracking at the faint trembling he felt. “I promise, no more blood…”

Shukaku mumbled rather unhappily about that, but did not argue with his container about it; the last thing the Bijuu wanted was for her to start crying.

An awkward cough reminded the pair that they were not quite alone.

“It’s nice yer bein’ all mushy an’ all…” Kana started, face turned skyward as if that would make this entire thing more bearable. “But sweet’eart should heal ‘erself up ‘fore the mutt breaks her vocal cords.”

Fubuki flicked the Earthbender upside the head with her tail with a snort, sitting down and looking away as if she had not been pacing and whining only moments before.

Blushing at the reminder, Kumiko straightened up, pulling water from her discarded pouches to coat her hands.

The liquid glowed upon contact with her skin, and Gaara watched, fascinated, as the cuts and bruises vanished, the punctures knitting themselves together at a slightly slower pace.

In a matter of minutes, it was as if Kumiko had not been injured at all, though her clothes were still a bit torn.

Blinking away the haze brought on by blood-loss, she remembered something extremely important.

“Oh spirits, Sakura-chan!” The Waterbender shouted, jumping unsteadily to her feet and stumbling slightly to regain her balance. “I promised I’d go back! It’s been hours!”

“You’re in no position to go anywhere.” Gaara argued, putting a hand on her arm in case the girl started to sway.

“I promised.” She replied steadfastly, frowning. “And I never break a promise.”

Turning away from the now bound and gagged ninja she had been using as a distraction, Megumi sighed at the glare-match that was ensuing.

“There’s no point arguing with her when she’s like this.” The Firebender advised. “We should go see if they’re alright, and then get to the tower as quickly as possible.”

Gaara was extremely tempted to argue, but held his tongue; Megumi was nothing if not logical, and if she really believed Kumiko could not be swayed…

“I’m going with you.”

Apparently caught off-guard by the quick reversal, Kumiko blinked up at him in surprise.

“What?”

“I’m going with you.” Gaara repeated as Fubuki approached, curious. “I will not stay behind while you run into danger.”

Heart warming at the reassurance, Kumiko smiled, the weight lifting off her shoulders.

“I wouldn’t run in with anyone else.”