Jinchuriki

A story by Songstone

Songstine: Well, I had to repost because my sister kicked me out of the other account. That means I have to start this story over from the beginning. I'm so sorry guys! I hate this so much. I'll be losing all of your wonderful reviews! If it isn't too much, I would love it if you would please start this story over and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 1: Moving in

The wind was billowing through the open window of the car, blowing back locks of black hair from the young man's face. His cheek was pressed against the palm of his hand and he was leaning on his elbow, his coal colored eyes staring blankly at the passing trees. He sighed heavily for the hundreth time in the past hour and yawned, feeling the cold night air hitting the back of his throat when he opened his mouth. Leaning his head out of the window further, the young man suddenly felt a tap against his shoulder.

"Lee, shut the window already. The bugs are flying in here. Also, you can get an earache from all of the cold air blowing in your face." The said boy, Lee, straightened his spine and obeyed his father's command, shutting the window on the passenger side.

"Sorry dad." Lee muttered to the older man that was driving the sleek, green car. He crossed his arms over his chest and put his forehead against the cool glass widow, his eyes still watching the thinning forest. They had just passed through a large city a little less than ten minutes ago, and now they were headed toward the country side. Their new home. The ebony haired teen sighed again, heavier to where his chest puffed out when he breathed in, and then lowered his eyes to the art book in his lap.

"Lee." Hearing his name called, the young man looked up from his musings and locked eyes with his father, who was watching him with a thoughtful expression.

Despite being a stern looking man, Maito Gai was a very loving and gentle parent. He and his son were extremely close. Not only were they attached to each other, but they looked almost exactly alike. They both had the same jet black hair and eye color and the same large eyebrows. Their relationship was strong even when Lee was a child, but only strengthened when the younger boy's mother died in a car accident when he was seven, leaving him and his father on their own.

Lee watched his father as he was being watched back with nearly identical black eyes. But that was all broken when Gai had to turn back to the county road he was navigating. "Lee, I'm sorry that we had to move. I know you liked your old home." The older man started, avoiding a pothole that had deepened over the years of poor care. "But the job here pays better. I think it's the best choice for the both of us." He looked sideways at his son and reached out to gently ruffle the boy's hair. "I'm sorry."

Lee glanced back up at his dad, his gaze having dropped when the older man mentioned his previous home. He smiled weakly and then looked back down at his art book. Picking up a chewed up pencil, Lee opened the scetch pad to a fresh page and began to run the lead tip over the white sheet. "It's okay dad. Really." He insisted. His father had been apologizing repeatedly ever since they had started to pack their belongings, five days ago. "I don't mind moving. It's just that . . . mom's grave was in our old town." He muttered the last part under his breath and then began work on a new project, a scetch of a forest filled with deer and birds.

Gai pulled his hand back to rest on the steering wheel, a crease forming in his brow when he heard his son mention his late mother. Lee was watching his father drive from the corner of his eye, hoping that he hadn't said anything to upset or sadden the older male. Slowly, he raised his eyes from his paper and looked at his dad's face. "Uhm . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. I'm just . . . going to miss visiting her grave." Lee mumbled. He and his father had made a point of going to the cemetary every Friday after the teenager had gotten out of school. They would spend hours there, talking and reminicing while they placed fresh flowers in the vase that rested in front of her headstone. He looked back down at his book when his father only nodded. "That's all."

"That's all right, Lee." Gai spoke after taking a minute to gather his thoughts. "I understand. But we can make a trip back there after we get settled and I'm comfortable with my new job. Maybe for spring break . . ." He nodded to himself and he was probably already setting a date for their trip.

Lee sighed again. It was a day and a half's drive to get back to his old home, so he highly doubted that they would be able to travel back there just to refill an empty vase. But there was always hope, so he held onto that as he continued his drawing. He was finishing up the lineart when he looked up, feeling the car coming to a stop. He saw that they were pulled up in a driveway, and that the sun was setting beyond the lush, green trees that lined the opposite side of the road behind them.

"Well, we're here." Gai stated, smiling down at his son and unbuckling his seatbelt. "Come on, Lee. Let's go heat up some food and then go to bed. We'll unpack later." He opened the car door on the driver's side as he turned off the engine, the vehicle rumbling a bit before the air stopped from the vents and it was completely still. Lee closed his book and stuck his pencil behind his ear, pulling back his seatbelt and stepping out of the car door.

Lee quickly rushed back to the trunk of the car to help his dad pull out some blankets and pillows. They began to walk up the stairs to the front door, when Lee felt a sudden chill in the air. He whirled around when he thought he could feel something touching the back of his neck, but saw nothing as his eyes scanned his surroundings. He dismissed the strange sensation as the wind teasing him and then scrambled into the doorway when his dad turned the key and pushed the door open.

"Ah!" Gai exclaimed, tilting his head back and breathing in deeply. He kicked the door shut with his foort, locking it and then flipping the lightswitch, illuminating the dark room and chasing out all of the shadows. "Here we go! Wow, what a nice place." The tall, lean man commented, walking further into the hallway, head swivling this way and that as he peeked into the kitchen and then the living room. Finally, he and his son arrived at the top of the stairs where there were four doors. Three were bedrooms and one was a restroom.

"Which room is mine?" Lee asked, looking at all of them curiously. He knew the room at the end of the hall was the master bedroom that came with its own bathroom and extra closet space, so that automatically went to his father. He wasn't sure if the other two were the same or not, but decided to ask in case his father had planned anything for one of the rooms.

"Whichever one calls out to you." Gai said as he kicked open the master bedroom door. He dropped all of the blankets and pillows on the floor and then fell to his knees, spreading them out to form a make-shift bed to sleep on that night.

Nodding, Lee chose the room at the opposite end of the hall, leaving the bathroom and spare room standing directly in front of the stairs. He kicked it open like his dad had done and looked inside. It was smaller by comparison to his old bedroom, but was livable. He sauntered to the middle of the room and placed the blankets on the floor, spreading them and smoothing them out just as he had seen his father do. He dropped his pillow near the wall and tugged one side of his 'bed' to use as blanket while he slept. He decided that he wouldn't get anything to eat. He was tired from the long car ride and had a new school to enter in the next day, so he wanted to be rested and well when he woke up in the morning.

Lee was drifting off into a warm slumber, when he heard his dad step over the squeaky floorboards. He felt his father running his fingers lovingly through his black hair, shaped in a neat bowl cut to immitate the older man. A soft kiss was planted at the top of his head and Gai muttered, "Goodnight, Lee" before he quietly left the room and decended to the lower part of the house, most likely to make some soup to eat. Lee grinned and snuggled deeper into his blankets, starting to think a bit more positively now that he was actually in his new home. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he had once though.

Another strange chill ran down Lee's spine and his eyes flew open when he sensed something moving in the room. He sat up, scimming his eyes over every detail in the room. There wasn't any furniture and no one else was with him. A soft humming noise was present, and upon further investigation, Lee found that the air conditioner was blowing gently from above his head. He sighed and fell back into bed, ducking beneath the covers to hide once again. He was going to have to get used to a lot of things here. The scenery, the people and the expecially the sounds outside of the window. It was almost a soft whispering of some sort.

But Lee quickly blocked out all noise and nuzzled his pillow, closing his coal colored eyes and curling into himself for more warmth. This was a strange place, he had to admit. He didn't like it all that well yet, and he was still homesick, but he would adjust with time, just like his father had told him. He trusted his dad's words, replaying them over and over in his head as he fell into a deep slumber, snoring and twisting on the floor while the crikets outside decided to sing him a lullaby to help him relax.

Songstone: I hate to beg. But please, if you would be kind enough...I would love to hear your thoughts one more time.