The Great Medic (discontinued?)

14: Rolling Thunder

The air outside was cold and bitter, the pounding rain outside the large cavern drowning the quiet steps of those encroaching on the terrain. The sound of the wind harmonized like a broken piano with the powerful onslaught of precipitation; it had been estimated to flood sometime later that evening if the rain continued to bear down on the small industrialized country. A clash of thunder sounded off, the howling winds drowning out the noise that tried to ring alongside the cave walls. The walls inside the cavern shook violently as if a small earthquake had been created by the thunder's all-enveloping sound. The following lightning strike struck the ground not too far from the entrance of the cave, igniting a small flame in its wake.

The storm above their heads was one that could kill but was also one that provided the best cover to finally meet in person after months apart.

Ten dark-clothed figures stepped towards the middle of the large cavern, each appearing in their own fashion - an illusion, a jutsu, or merely walking in from one of the many holes that littered the insides of the cave. Behind the group lay a large statue that shuddered lightly with another boom of thunder, reminding the members that their time here was limited underneath the onslaught the land was taking above it. Without a word, the group each took their respective spots on one of the statue's fingers, standing amongst each other in a semi-circle. They did not speak nor look at each other for a long while, at least, not until their leader stepped forth from the shadows.

"Hopefully, this meeting will not take as long as our last one." The man spoke without haste although there was a bite to his words. Purple-ringed eyes regarded the group around him, searching his members' faces for some kind of understanding before continuing, "It has been over five months since we last spoke. The whereabouts of your targets is of much interest to me at the moment. The Jinchuuriki's, where are they now?" Without moving his body whatsoever, the leader's eyes looked at a blond who was giving the man a bored stare, "Deidara."

"Yeah?" The man raised an eyebrow in question, standing up a bit straighter.

The leader bit back a sigh, "What of the one-tailed Jinchuuriki?" His voice was flat and stern, arms stiff by his side. "How close are we to capturing him?"

Deidara groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face in annoyance, "Agh, the kid's pretty much guarded wherever he goes. There are eyes on him at all times - hell, I bet he can't even go to the bathroom without someone breathing down his neck." He rubbed the back of his neck, sighing heavily. "We're probably not going to have much of a chance to get him at night either, like when he's sleeping - apparently the Jinchuuriki is a chronic insomniac because of some shotty sealing done of him. Found it out when I was snooping through town."

After a brief moment of silence, the leader looked to the man's partner, "Sasori, what do you think of this?"

"It's unfortunately true. Shukaku's jailer - we've deduced that his name is Gaara - is one of the main priorities of Sunagakure and they are unlikely to let anyone else use him. There is absolutely no way we can get to him unless we do an all-out attack on the village." The man's voice was deep, shrouded underneath his dark cloak. The tail coming out from behind his body swiped at the air a few times. "He is the village's most powerful weapon, they will not let him out of their sights so soon."

"Even his sand has a mind of its own!" Deidara interrupted, as if he'd just remembered this information, "We witnessed an assassination attempt on the kid and his sand completely obliterated that guy."

Sasori gave the blond a long stare, annoyance clear as day in his aura, "For these reasons, I believe we should wait to grab the one-tailed Jinchuuriki until their village becomes lax in their protective tendencies over him."

"And when do you suggest this time will be?" Their leader inquired, purple-ringed eyes wide with interest.

"The chunin exams." The puppeteer answered swiftly, "My network of spies gifted me the knowledge that the next chunin exams will be held in Konohagakure in less than six months and that, with the recent build in trust between Konoha and Suna, there is potential in Gaara being amongst those to take their genin exams as he is of age to participate."