Here's chapter one. I hope you like it! I also have an idea for a Naruto/X-Men mesh. It's like a crossover but it's also different. You take two different things and instead of combining all the characters or have a plot that combines both, you take the characters from one and throw them into the setting of the other. So I'm going to be taking the Naruto characters and putting them in highschool and adding the X-Gene. Let's see how chaotic that can be.
I wanted them to be non-ninja but I didn't want them to just be human either. Because my plot for it is kind of crazy. So, let me know who you would like to see with what power.
And onto the story!
Chapter 1: Village Hidden in the Sand
It had been four and a half years since I started living here. I don't exactly remember the events that lead me living here clearly anymore. I remember being chased by Deidara, Kisame, and Itachi and then I remember hearing a giant explosion. Then I woke up in a foreign bed in a foreign place with the faces of my adopted parents comforting me.
I shook my head. It all felt like a crazy nightmare. My adopted parents kept their promise though. Every single chance they got, they went out scouting for my parents: Any word on who they were or what had happened to them. But I gave up on that search a long time ago. They didn't even have the correct information. I gave them a false last name when I was nine. In the years in between, I had been lying to them, telling them I didn't remember my parents or my last name. The truth was that I knew Sasori was my dad. I was ashamed about it though. I didn't want anybody knowing my true origin. I don't remember anything about my mom though. Except her maiden name, that is: Kella. She was part of the Kella clan. I don't even know where she's from or where the Kella clan originated. My parents are the only concrete part of my past that I remember and even then, I don't remember much.
"Mew." Snug, my pet ocelot, hopped into my lap. She rubbed up against me, looking up at me.
"I'm fine, Snug," I sighed, petting her. She lied down in my lap and started purring. I was quiet for a minute. "How do you like it here?" I asked her.
She meowed and rubbed her head against my stomach.
"I don't know," I said, answering her unspoken question. I was torn. I really wanted to get away from my adopted parents but at the same time getting away from here also meant leaving Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara behind. "I want out of here. Of course I want out of here. But that would mean leaving Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara," I said, voicing my thoughts. "They're my only friends here. I don't want to lose them. But I can't stay here. I can't take staying here any longer, Snug. I can't stand them yelling at me when I sound like a cat sometimes!" I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I can tell them who I really am. Then I'd be out of a place to stay. I could stay with the Sand Siblings, but I don't want to impose. What I really need is to just get out of here." I glanced down at my cat. "I need answers, Snug. I can't wait around and do nothing, like a trapped jungle cat who knows that the hyena is on the prowl."
Snug stood up and jumped off my lap. "Mew," she said, looking me in the eye.
I nodded and stood up. "You're right. I should just go talk to them. I'm sure they wouldn't mind me tagging along to Konaha."
I gathered up my pet puppy, Yuurei, as well, and the three of us took a trip to see the Sand Siblings.
-x-x-x-x-x-
I poised my hand to knock on Gaara's door and just as I was about to knock, it opened, causing me to knock on the person's forehead.
"Cheza!" exclaimed Kankuro, snatching me up in a hug. Literally. My feet were no longer on the ground.
"Kankuro," I gasped. "Can't…breathe."
He laughed and put me back down.
Yuurei barked in excitement while Snug weaved around Kankuro's legs and wandered into the house, lying down just inside the open door.
"Sorry, Cheza." He leaned down to pet Yuurei. "Hey, Yuurei," he said, petting Yuurei upon the head. "Who's a good puppy?" he asked, standing up. Yuurei barked as Kankuro raised his hand to waist, palm open, facing down. Yuurei jumped and licked his open palm. "Good boy, Yuurei," he praised, taking a dog biscuit out of his pocket and tossing to my puppy.
"No face paint," I said, smiling at the interaction between Kankuro and Yuurei.
"Nope," he said with a nod. "Just got out of the shower. I haven't had time to reapply it yet."
"Don't. You so much hotter without it, Kuro." Kankuro smirked at me and I rolled my eyes. "Not like that," I said, giving him a small shove. "I love you like a brother. You know that."
"Yeah, I know," he said with a cocky smile. "But hearing that from you is a real confidence booster."
I felt a familiar sensation, loosing control over what I said. Neko was taking over "This coming from the girl who doesn't have any friends aside from you three losers."
Yuurei started jumping on me and barking up a frenzy. He even tried nipping at my legs, but Neko ignored him. Snug got up from where she was lying and wove back between Kankuro's legs. She sat down firmly in front of him, growling low in her throat.
"She doesn't trust you three. Cheza isn't even her real name."
"Your name isn't Cheza?" Kankuro asked, hurt in his eyes.
But Neko ignored him and kept right on talking. "And said girl can't go out of her house without explicit instructions from her parents and that's only to the grocery store and the academy." I cringed inwardly. I knew I wasn't out of the woods yet. "And you want to know what this girl really thinks about you, Kuro." I visibly cringed at the venom in my voice when I said the nickname, but I couldn't help it. This wasn't something I could stop. "She thinks you're hideous. She honestly thinks your puppet is hotter than you are, with and without the face-paint."
Snug growled at Neko and stood up, barring her from Kankuro.
Kankuro immediately walked back into the house and slammed the door in my face, leaving me there, stunned.
Yuurei stopped barking at me and jumping on me. Snug continued to stand her ground, staring at me, eyeing me to make sure I was back to normal.
"Damn you, Neko," I hissed under my breath. I turned around and started walking away, my pets following me.
The sound of a door opening stopped me in my tracks. "Cheza, wait!" Temari called, expecting me to be a ways away obviously.
"I'm right here," I said, turning around and rubbing my abused ears.
"Sorry, I thought you would have been further away. I thought you would have ran off."
"Why would I be the one running? I'm the one who just insulted Kankuro, called you three losers, and almost gave away my identity," I sighed.
Temari stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind her. "Things happen. I understand."
"So you're not mad at me for calling the three of you losers?"
Temari laughed. "Under normal circumstances, yes. But these aren't normal. You're going to have to tell them one day, Ayame," Temari sighed.
She was the only person in the village who knew my real first name. It wasn't that I didn't trust the others, it was that I didn't want them to get hurt. I knew Temari could handle her own and I really needed girl friend that I could spill all my secrets to.
I sighed deeply. "I know. But I just don't know how."
Temari smiled suddenly. "I have a proposition for you, Ayame!" she chirruped.
"Yeah?" I asked, my ears perking up.
"Kankuro, Gaara, and I are leaving for the Village Hidden in the Leaves in a few days, as you very well may know."
"I know. Everyone knows. Word spreads quickly through the sand here," I said, wondering what she was getting at. "Besides, that's kind of what I came over here to talk to you about," I said, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.
"Is that so? Well, my brothers and I were talking about how you haven't left this village since you arrived here four years ago and how your home life sucks. How would you like to come with us, Ayame?" she asked.
I gasped. "What? Really? Sweet!"
"But—" she said, cutting my enthusiasm short.
I cringed inwardly. A catch. There was always a catch.
"You have to tell Gaara and Kankuro what you told me."
"But Temari—"
"Ah ah!" said Temari, raising her hand up, cutting me off. "No buts. Kankuro's ego is hurt now and if Gaara overheard what you said, he's going to think that you can't be trusted anymore. Even if you change your mind and you don't go on the trip with us, you still need to tell them your secret. They can hold their own. You know they'd do anything to protect you."
I thought about it. "I don't want—"
Temari's eyes flashed in irritation. "Don't even say you don't want them getting hurt. That's a lame excuse." Temari smiled again. "Now, if you are coming with us, you need to be packed and ready to go by Sunday night. We're going to be gone for five to six months.
"Five to six months!" I exclaimed. "Wow. Alright then." I gave Temari a hug and ran off. Once their house was out of view, I slowed to a walk. "Damn you, Neko. Did you have to go and say those things?" I muttered.
Well, they're true, aren't they? a voice different from my own purred inside my head.
"They are not losers and I do trust them."
That can't be true or else you would have told them the truth about yourself and me. And tell me, why aren't they losers?
"They love me. They're more like my family than my adopted parents are." I kicked at the sand under my feet, making a sand cloud around me. I coughed as it filled my lungs.
We all know that's not true. They may love you now, but you know they'll hate you once they find out about you.
"That isn't true, Neko!" I exclaimed. "Temari loves me and she knows. Besides, it's my parents who will hate me if they find out."
The voice inside my head exploded with laughter. What a joke! You really don't think they hate you now?
"Shut up, Neko!"
She filled my head with images of me being beaten by my adopted father while his wife just stood in the background, watching, not interceding, just standing idly by.
-x-x-flash-x-x-
It had been three days since my adopted parents took me in as their own. It was dinnertime. It was also the first meal that they didn't order takeout. They asked me what I wanted to eat. I told them I wanted fish since I hadn't had fish for a while.
They told me they didn't have fish and that fish was expensive because this was a desert.
I, being a kid, threw a fit. That's what kids do. Now I know that they wouldn't let me get away with that kind of behavior.
But what they did as punishment was not right.
Dad took me into a room and mom followed. He grabbed a belt and whipped me with it.
Mom just stood there in the doorway, watching. I could see her grimace every time the belt made contact—But she never so much as moved a muscle to help me.
-x-x-flash-x-x-
"Stop it!" I shrieked. I got glances from some of the passer-bys as I grabbed my head and started running. I shook my head violently, trying to knock the memories out of my head. "Get out of my head!"
Shhhh, Child. Don't let that demon get to you," an third voice, an airy voice said. You know how much she loves to torture people.
"But she's right, Angel," I sobbed, tears rapidly falling down my face.
Angle was usually my shred of light in the darkness.
No, she isn't. She's just being usual morbid self, trying to get under your skin. Here. You're adopted parents may be abusive, but there is always a light in the darkness, a shining star, if you will.
Angel showed me scenes of when I first met Gaara.
-x-x-flash-x-x-
My adopted parents brought me to the park a week after they adopted me so I could make some new friends. Despite what they wanted I played by myself. I played on the swings by myself, I sat myself, I played on the monkey bars by myself. I guess it didn't matter what I did, I was always by myself.
They took me home because it was getting late, but we came back the next day. I played in the sand box alone for about a half-hour until a kid about my age came over and sat in the sand box as well. He ignored me completely but that was fine. I liked playing by myself.
I was completely engrossed in what I was doing until the sand in my hands started to swirl away from me and toward the boy who was in the sand box with me.
I didn't complain that he was stealing my sand. Instead, I watched him as the sand swirled around him. I thought it was prettiest thing I had seen.
"Wow," I said. "That's so cool! How are you doing that?" I asked.
He ignored me, of course, but I thought I saw a glimmer of a smile in his eyes.
A few minutes later, an adult came over and told me to play somewhere else. "You can't play with Gaara. He's a monster. He'll kill you."
I looked at the man and then at the boy he called Gaara. I tilted my head and examined the boy. I looked back at the man. "But—"
"You heard me. Now scram!"
I recoiled at the tone of the man's voice. I glanced at the boy once more. He was no longer playing with the sand, but watching me instead.
Gaara didn't look like he could kill me or that he even wanted to, but I didn't want the adult getting angrier with me, so I did what he told me and ran off.
"Dad!" I heard a girl yell. I heard footsteps running after me. "Wait!"
I felt somebody grab my arm so I stopped.
"Our dad is just protective. He doesn't want anybody getting hurt because of Gaara."
"Oh," I said, eyes downcast. I felt the same way. I didn't want anybody getting hurt because of me.
-x-x-flash-x-x-
Angel showed me another memory that occurred shortly after this.
-x-x-flash-x-x-
I was walking through the village to the park by myself. My parents were on a mission so I was by myself for a few days.
I went back to the sand box and found the boy there again. I looked around to make sure his dad wasn't there. He wasn't but the girl was. She was with another boy I had never seen before. He had hair that was a shade or two darker than Gaara's.
"Hi, Gaara," I said, sitting in the sand box with him. "My name's Cheza," I said, smiling at him. "I like what you did with the sand the other day. Can you do it again?"
Gaara ignored me again. He didn't look at me, but he followed my request and started playing with the sand again. This time he started building pottery out of the sand. He even made a little sand raccoon that I thought was the cutest thing ever.
The girl walked over to the sand box after a bit. "You're back," she noted with a smile.
"Yeah. I like watching Gaara play in the sand. He doesn't talk to me but I know he listens to what I say," I said, glancing at him. I looked back at the girl. "I'm Cheza. What's your name?"
"Hi, Cheza. I'm Temari. The other one sitting over there is Kankuro."
Upon hearing his name, Kankuro wandered over to us. "So, what do you think of our dear Gaar-Gaar?" Kankuro asked. The nickname received him a glare from his little brother. Kankuro chuckled.
I was silent as I thought about it. "He's mysterious. He plays by himself. He's like me." I smiled.
Gaara turned his attention away from his sand. "You don't think I'm a monster?" he asked, confusion riddling his voice and his expression.
"No," I said with a smile. "You're like me. You're misunderstood."
Gaara smiled a bit. "There is only one other person in the world who thinks that."
-x-x-flash-x-x-
I stopped running. I found myself at the park from my memories. I sat down on a bench and caught my breath.
"Thank you, Angel. I really needed that." I mentally turned my attention to Neko. And you! What do you have to say for yourself?
Why, whatever do you mean? asked Neko, faking innocent.
The lies you told to Kuro. I do not think he's hideous, even with the face-paint. It just draws away from his natural beauty. And how dare you say I think his puppet is hotter than he is!
Well it is, said Neko.
I'm repulsed by puppets, thank you.
You're quite welcome. I could see her smirking in my mind's eye.
I rolled my eyes. "Let's go home."
The walk home was silent and I was thankful for that. Neko usually started talking to me about anything and everything, including horror movies and blood splatter and it was quite disturbing, especially at night.
I turned the corner and saw my mom in the kitchen window.
Oh look at that. They're home.
I walked through the front door, Yuurei and Snug in tow.
"Honey, have you been crying?" my mom asked me.
"Oh, no. I'm alright. It's the sand. It was whipping around out there again. I think some of it got in my eyes." I smiled weakly.
"Where have you been, young lady?" asked my dad, angry that I wasn't home when they got back home.
"I was at Gaara's house."
"We've told you not to go over there," he said, walking toward me. "You know what happens when you disobey our explicit orders." He was looming over me now. He raised his hand and went to hit me, but Snug intervened, jumping up and biting his arm. "Damn cat!" he shouted, shaking Snug off his arm, causing her to fly at the cabinets only a few feet away.
With inhuman speed, I ran and caught her, blocking her from hitting the cabinets and absorbing her kinetic energy so that I took the blow instead of her.
Son of bitch! Neko shrieked in my head. How dare he!
I felt Neko take over my body and this time I let her, not putting up a resistance at all.
Yuurei went crazy again, feeling my increase in chakra again.
Neko got up and dusted the splinters of the cabinet off her clothes. "You filthy son of a bitch," she growled. "How dare you hurt her like that!" she exclaimed, running at him, fist aimed to punch him square in the jaw.
He sidestepped the hit and grabbed her wrist, a maniacal grin on his face as he yanked her back to him.
She growled. She always hated it when he would touch me or hug me or anything else, protesting it, calling him a filthy bastard.
My father went to slap me again, but this time Neko intercepted it, grabbing his hand before he could lay even a cell of skin on my face. She bent his hand back, almost to the point that it—
And I felt it, the snap of his wrist as it broke. He screamed out in pain and tried to yank his hand back, but Neko held it tightly.
"I'm sorry," Neko growled sarcastically, not sorry at all. "Am I hurting you?" she asked, a sneer on her face. "And I was bored. That's why," she said, referring to our trip to Gaara's house. "And how dare you lay a finger on her," she snarled. "Me, I can handle whatever you dish out, but you bring my ocelot into your hate fest, and you're gonna regret ever taking me in."
"Let go of my hand this instant, young lady," ordered my dad, speaking through the pain of his broken wrist.
"I'm sorry, did you ask me to break your hand as well?" Neko asked, tightening her fist around his palm until she and we could both feel the bones in his hand snapping beneath our fingers.
He screamed in pain and I inwardly cringed at the disturbing sensation I felt with each snap of his bones.
"Stop it, Cheza!" my mom screamed, terrified.
Neko dropped my dad's hand and turned to face my mom. "My name isn't Cheza."
Don't you dare, Neko! Don't tell them my real name.
"It's Neko," she said as she advanced on my mom. "You have no idea what you were taking on when you adopted Cheza four and a half years ago." Neko stopped advancing toward my mom and instead took a seat in a kitchen chair. "And by the way, she's been lying to you for these four and a half years."
Shut up, you self-serving cat! If you don't, I will strangle you the next time I see you!
"Did you know that Cheza isn't even her real name? Her real name is Ayame. She obviously didn't trust you enough to tell you this." I felt Neko smirk evilly at the glee she felt at revealing other details of my life. "And you'll just flip out when I tell you who her real father is." She giggled at the looks of terror at both my parents' faces. "Her real father is Sasori, the puppet master."
I gasped—or I would have if I had control of my body. My father was a puppet master? I asked. That explained my repulsion of Kankuro's puppet. A little bit anyway.
"Who—who are you?" asked my mother.
Neko smiled evilly. "I'm so glad you asked," she cooed. Neko stood up. Within seconds my human body had changed into that of a Nekojin, fusing with Nekomata's true form. I now had retractable claws, fangs, neko-ears, orange fur with black tiger stripes, and a tail that branched off into two. But, of course, I was still standing on two feet.
"GET OUT!" shouted my father, standing up, both his hands close to his chest. "We are not keeping a demon in this house! Get your things and get out!" He used his good hand to point at the door.
Neko gave me my body back, making me human again. Upon doing so I ran to my room and started packing all the things I owned that were of most value to me, including all of my clothes. Yuurei immediately followed me but Snug held back, growling at my dad and giving him a warning nip. Then she followed me.
When I was done packing, I made sure I had everything of importance with me: all my clothes, my toothbrush, my hairbrush, my eyeliner, and, lastly, my mom's forehead protector and some kunai knives and shuriken. I replaced my headband with my mom's forehead protector.
When I was sure I had everything, I walked over to my window. I opened it and kicked out the screen. I was thankful that my room was on the first floor. I dropped my bag out the window and then picked up Yuurei and set him out the window. Snug jumped out the window. Finally, I climbed out the window and made the trek back to Temari's house.
When I got there, I knocked on the door.
Kankuro answered it after a couple seconds. He narrowed his eyes at me and promptly slammed the door in my face.
I suppose I deserved that.
"Who was that?" I heard Temari ask.
"Cheza." Pause. "If that is your real name!" he shouted at the door.
"Give her a chance to explain."
"Why should I?" Pause. "She lied to me," he again shouted at the door.
"I'm sorry," I said. "It's for your own good. Really. Not even my adopted parents knew my name until a half-hour ago." I laid a hand on the door. "Just give me a chance to explain."
"And why should I?" he asked, venom lacing his voice. "You lied to me—to us. It's like we don't even know you."
"And you're right. There's a lot about me that you don't know. There's stuff about me that I didn't even tell Temari."
"Wait! You knew?" Kankuro exploded on his sister.
"Just let me in and I'll explain everything."
"Just let her in, Kankuro," I heard Gaara say.
"Whatever," Kankuro muttered, opening the door to let me in.
I stepped through the doorway and into the house.
"Explain," he ordered as soon as I set foot inside.
"What?"
"You're inside. Explain."
"I just got kicked out of my house because of my secret. And I had a fight with my dad for throwing Snug into our kitchen cabinets. Give me a few minutes to adjust," I said, snapping at him. "Besides, this is something you should all sit down for."
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Temari said, pulling me into a hug. "You can stay here. I take it that you're going to go with us to the Village Hidden in the Leaves then?"
I nodded into her shoulder.
"Here, put your things in my room," she offered. "I'll make us tea. And then you can explain everything. A lot must be going on if you're willing to talk about the things you didn't even want to tell me."
"I—I have too much going on not too," I explained. "I need someone I can turn too and if I can't trust you three not to freak out at the small details of my past that I have absolutely no control over, then there's nobody I can trust."
"What does that mean?" Kankuro asked.
"It means you can't freak out on me for anything I am about to tell you. You can freak out, of course, because what I am going to tell you is…heavy?—For lack of a better word. Just don't freak out on me."
"Oh?" asked Kankuro leaning forward in his seat. It looked as if curiosity got the better of him.
"Yes. Oh," I said. I still hadn't set my bag down, so I took it into Temari's room and set it down on the floor by her bed. Snug and Yuurei followed me around the house, keeping an eye on me.
I walked back into the living room and collapsed in one of the four chairs that were there, Yuurei jumping into my lap and Snug curling up at my feet. Gaara pulled up a second one and set it to my right. Kankuro pulled a third chair and positioned it across from me. Finally, Temari walked in, tea in hand. She put four coasters on the table and set the tea on them, then she pulled up the fourth chair, positioning it on my left. We had successfully made a square around the table in front of us.
"Okay." I took a deep breath and turned to Gaara. "Well first, Gaara, you are not allowed to get upset by what I am about to tell you."
Gaara studied me, confusion etched in his features. "Why would I get upset with you, Cheza?"
I sighed. "Why don't I start with the small detail of my name," I began, giving a glance in Kankuro's direction. "My name isn't Cheza," I said with a sigh as I glanced around at Gaara as well. "It's Ayame."
"I knew your real name wasn't Cheza," Kuro muttered darkly.
I rolled my eyes. "You're only saying that because you're bitter that I lied to you. I'm sorry, but it really was for your own good. My full name is Ayame Kella."
"See, that wasn't so bad," Temari assured. "But there's a lot more, right, Ayame?" she asked, after a pause, prompting me to continue.
"I—I—Please, don't hate me," I said really quickly.
"Why would we hate you, Ch—Ayame?" Gaara asked, catching himself before he called me Cheza.
"Nothing you say could make us hate you," Kankuro reassured me.
I looked at my feet. "It's not what I'm going to tell you that will make you mad at me, it's that I should have told you sooner."
"Tell us what?" asked Gaara.
I bit my lip. "Gaara," I said looking up at him. "Shukaku isn't the only—"
Tell them and I will slit your throat! Neko hissed in my ear.
Threaten me all you want, you stupid cat! I. Don't. Care! I could feel that I had balled my hands into fists. I must have done it without even realizing it.
"It's okay, Ayame," Temari reassured me, stroking my back. She must have felt the tension in my body.
"She's threatening me again," I muttered quietly, again looking at my feet. I hoped only Temari could hear me.
"What?" asked Kankuro.
I guess not. I didn't know how to respond. "It's—I—Nothing," I muttered without looking up.
"Shukaku isn't the only what?" Gaara asked, leaning toward me now.
"He isn't the only demon in this house," I whispered quietly.
"No way!" the boys exclaimed simultaneously.
"Who is it?" Gaara asked excitedly.
"Me," I practically whispered, still looking at the ground. The tears were filling my eyes now.
Don't be so meek, Neko ordered. Be proud of who you are.
Proud? I asked, raising my head and setting my jaw, as if she was actually sitting right across form me. I should be proud of you?
And why shouldn't you be?
You caused mayhem worldwide. You destroyed anything and everything you touched. You think that should make me proud of you? I shot back, utterly disgusted at the cat demon inside of me.
It should. It's because of me that you are where you are today. It's because of me that you are who you are today.
Shut up, you filthy cat! It is exactly because of you that I am where I am right now! If it weren't for you, my mom would still be alive! I'd still be with my dad! I wouldn't be worrying about people being killed because of me!
You know who they are though, you're father, and Kisame, and Deidara, and Itachi. With that kind of information at your fingertips, how much longer do you think you would have stayed with your dear old daddy?
But—I didn't find out who my dad really was until…
Oh please, muttered Neko. You saw the looks you got when you and Niji went out with him in the village. You saw how the other villagers reacted to him whenever you and Niji went anywhere with him or the others. You remember how your grandparents reacted when your mom told them the four of you were staying at the village. You would have eventually put two and two together at some point during the past four years. The only difference between that reality and this reality, is me. And let's face the facts; if you didn't have me, you would already be dead. You would have run and they would have caught you and killed you.
I clenched my jaw together. Don't you dare talk about, Itachi nii-san like that! He would have tracked me if I had run. And he would do anything to make sure he was the first one to find me. Besides, if things got really bad he would have taken Niji and me and made a run for it! You know he would have, you filthy excuse for a cat!
"Ayame?" asked Kankuro.
"Are you alright?" asked Gaara.
"Snap out of it," Temari told me, snapping her fingers in front of my face.
I smiled sheepishly, snapping out of my conversation with Neko. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," I apologized.
Kankuro was gawking at me, speechless, until Temari kicked him in the shin. He yelped, pulling his leg into his seat, wincing. And then he spoke. "But—who—you—how—you're Ayame."
I opened my mouth and then closed it again, giving Temari a confused look. She just shrugged so I turned my attention back to Kankuro. I could feel my eye twitching a slight bit. "Yep, I'm Ayame. Thanks for noticing," I said, giving him a wry smile.
Gaara was covering his mouth, probably because he was smiling or trying not to laugh. A small giggle escaped. Gaara uncovered his mouth and bit his bottom lip, trying to laugh anymore, lest he upset his older brother. "I think what my very eloquent brother," he gave a glance in Kankuro's direction, "is saying is that it seems almost impossible for you to be harboring a demon. You're so nice, Ayame. And you have been for the past four years that you've been living here."
I opened and shut my mouth, considering those words. "I am," I said, agreeing with him. "But Neko isn't."
At the mention of Nekomata, Gaara growled. It was a sound that started deep in his stomach and started building.
Yuurei jumped off my lap and started barking loudly, the chakra increase upsetting him. Snug quickly stood up and jumped to my left, away from Gaara. She hissed at him, her fur raising up.
"Neko," he growled angrily. "Nekomata. I thought I smelled your stench."
"And I'm surprised I couldn't smell yours," Neko said airily, speaking through me. "Although, I really shouldn't be surprised. What, with all the sand around, it's no wonder I couldn't smell you, Shukaku."
"You betrayed me, Nekomata." Gaara growled. Sand started swirling at our feet, creating mini whirlwinds. Yuurei barked at the swirling sand, jumping on the mini-whirlwinds.
Neko clucked her tongue. "Well, what kind of lady did you take me for? I'm a cat, for crying out loud! We watch out for ourselves and only ourselves. 'Love only yourself.' I taught you that, Shukaku."
"You betrayed us, you filthy vermin!" Shukaku growled.
I'm going to take a guess here and go ahead and say that, like Neko, Shukaku is speaking through Gaara.
The wind in the house grew stronger, whipping the sand up and around, in the air, in our faces, stinging our eyes.
Neko laughed. It was sound that chilled me to the bone. "You and Kyuubi were merely stepping stones in my quest for world power."
Temari's eyes went wide and Kankuro's jaw went slack.
Neko wants to take over the world? Shukaku and Kyuubi worked together? Neko was third in the trio? I thought in a panic. Angel? Angel, can you confirm any of this?
Well, I can confirm that our fluffy little kitty demon does, in fact, want to take over the world. As for this talk of her working with Shukaku and Kyuubi, I can say that I know as much as you do. I don't remember that far back. It's almost like my memories before I became your guardian are locked.
"You're the one who sent Kyuubi to his death," Shukaku accused.
"Oh please," Neko said, waving him off. "Kyuubi isn't dead. He's sealed inside some poor schmuck just like we are."
Shukaku and Neko squabbled like that for the better part of an hour until they finally gave Gaara and I our bodies back.
"Remember what I said earlier, Kankuro?"
"How could I forget?" he asked with a mono-toned expression on his face. "You said that my puppets are hotter than I am."
I visibly shuddered at those words.
"What?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing. I'll explain in a bit. When I said those words, it wasn't me. It was Neko. She was speaking through me. Like she was just doing. I would never say anything like that. And, just for future reference, your puppets creep me out."
"Oh?" he asked, his lips curling into an evil grin.
"Please don't get any ideas, Kuro," I begged. "They really do freak me out."
"What have my puppets ever done to you, Ayame?" Kankuro asked, serious this time.
"Just puppets in general." I looked around, making sure we were alone, not that we wouldn't be. I just had the creepiest feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching us. I leaned in and the others followed my lead. "My father is also a puppet master. Please don't think any less of me because of this, but my father is Sasori Akasuna."
Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara gasped.
"Sasori?" asked Temari.
"But…" Gaara trailed off, not sure what to say.
"Who's your mom?" asked Kankuro, breaking the tension and the silence.
I shook my head. "That's just it. I can't remember her very well. I don't have a picture or anything to remember her by. All I have is her forehead protector."
Kankuro stared at it. I removed it and handed it to him so he could get a better look at it. "Where is it from?" he asked.
"Yasore no Sato. That's where the explosion happened. It translates out to Village of the Wildflowers. That's why the symbol on the headband is a flowering rose. Sometimes it's also called the Village Hidden in the Branches."
"You miss it, don't you?" Kankuro asked me, still examining the headband.
I nodded. "It's nice here, but I miss being surrounded by the green of the jungle. It was a whole different world, living in the treetops. It was a different experience altogether. I'm surprised the explosion just destroyed the houses and not the treetops as well. I'm happy though. That means the village can be rebuilt or maybe it already has been."
"Well, if it has, maybe we can go visit it someday," Kankuro said, handing my forehead protector back to me.
I immediately put it back on.
And as I said before, please review. It's nice to know what you think of the story thus far. And I will R4R even though it seems childish to bribe you. If you have a story in mind that you like me to R4R you can tell me in the review as well.
