I'm in school at the moment. I've been editing this bit by bit during my computer class, so now that it's done. I'd thought I would put it up.
-o-o-o-
"Huff…huff…huff…" Kira panted as she ducked under another attack from one of Kankuro's puppets. Her eyes were gold, activated by her kekkai genkai as her long fangs gleamed, hissing at the toy attacking her.
Kankuro was hiding among the empty buildings that stood in the training area. They were built to help them train to become better ninja, since the buildings had more places for enemies to hide and items to use. But with Kira's keen senses, it was easy for her to pinpoint his location and dodge any ambushes by his puppets.
It was another boring day of training. Missions were few these days, so they had more free time to hone their skills and test new jutsus. Temari was gone on another trip to Konoha; although they all knew she was probably with Shikamaru. Gaara allowed her to go on any missions that were involved with him. Although the two denied it, even Gaara could see they had a strong bond. But long distance relationships were 'troublesome and a total drag'.
Gaara was stuck in meetings again, more news from allied nations about possible dangers to the villages. Kina went with him, finding sleeping on his lap more appealing than sparring. But Kankuro and Kira hadn't fought in awhile. It was time for another fun battle.
Kankuro moved his fingers as he hung upside down on the ceiling of a fake awning. He was well hidden by a few posts, and his height above her made it impossible to be seen unless she was right below him. But he had full few of her, and it was easy to see that she was beginning to fatigue.
Opening its mouth, Crow took out a sharp tipped pole-like blade with a paralyzing poison. It bent downwards to follow Kira as she ducked under its many arms. But she placed her hands on the ground beneath her, lifting her legs from the floor and striking the puppet in the chest. It was sent flying into a wall, but shot an array of similarly poisoned kunai from its still gaping mouth. She cursed under her breath, pushing off the ground completely, spinning as she dodged the attack.
She quickly landed on her feet, gold eyes darting side to side. Kankuro had more than one puppet in use, and she wasn't planning on being caught off guard that easily. The wind blew, carrying mixed scents in the air with it as it tossed the stray hairs from her face. She inhaled, catching the familiar scent of wood. "Damn it." She said as she leapt away from her spot. A moment later and Kankuro's second puppet came blasting from below the ground. "Too close." She muttered, hearing him curse from not too far away.
"Damn. She must have sensed the ground shifting under her feet." Kankuro mumbled as he redirected his puppets. He blinked, squinting out from his hiding place. Seeing that he could no longer see his opponent, he knew he wasn't safe. Kira was quick, probably as fast as the ninja he had met in Konoha. Maybe even faster. It wouldn't be hard or take too long for her to search the surrounding area. He had to see his puppets in order to use them, so she would know he was somewhere nearby.
He flipped down, landing on the ground without making a sound before darting towards a new empty building. But before he could make it, a huge wall of fire lit up making a full circle around him. It had been a trap. He scowled, pulling his arms towards his body as he brought both of his puppets to him. But Kira was in front of him before they were, and reached forward as she grabbed onto his shirt. Pulling down, she kneed him in the gut, bringing her foot into his side before releasing him.
Kankuro coughed. He was a puppet user. Naturally, taijutsu was his weak point. He looked up at Kira, releasing the chakra strings as his puppets went limp. "Alright, alright, I give up." He said, falling onto his behind on the ground. He heard Kira's panting subside as she caught her breath. "Are you feeling alright? You usually have much more stamina than this. You barely used your jutsus, and your kekkai genkai was only brought up ten minutes ago. We just played hide-and-seek."
Kira shook her hand, sitting down on the ground in front of him. "It's nothing. I'm just tired lately is all." She sighed, flipping her head and redoing her ponytail. "I haven't been feeling very well. I'm probably just catching a bug." She stated before standing up.
"You get sick?"
She hit him on the top of the head. "I'm still human, Kankuro." She growled.
"Just making sure…" he muttered before standing up as well. "All right. Let's go pick up the brat. He's probably done with his meeting by now."
Kira nodded in agreement, picking up Crow and opening its mouth with her hand as she spoke. "Okay cat-man. Let's go pick up your wittle brother." She teased.
"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT MAKING FUN OF MY HAT?!" he yelled, running after her as she raced off towards the village. "YOU'RE THE CAT PERSON, NOT ME!"
"Uh-oh. I made Mr. Kitty angry."
-o-o-o-
Kina followed behind Gaara's heels as he exited the large room and headed down the hall. She had been planning on sleeping through most of the meetings, but they turned out to be more interesting than usual. The council had even objected to her presence for this one, something they hadn't done before. But Gaara had defended her, saying she never bothered anyone before and would most likely sleep through it.
She had stayed awake instead. The organization they were speaking about was too interesting. This wasn't the first meeting they held about it, so she didn't know all the information the others did. But what they had spoken about troubled her.
'Why would the humans want to capture the hosts of the tailed bijus? During the Great Ninja War, humans did try to control them. But the demons were too strong, and it ended up in complete disaster. It's impossible to control the chakras of the demons completely. They ended up angering the demons, and had to seal them in order to stop them from destroying the villages. Although that power is something to want, how and why would they obtain it?' she looked up at Gaara. 'And what are we going to do? Gaara carries the Shukaku demon. He can protect himself, but these people seem to be capable of defeating him if they are as organized as they seem. I'll have to tell Kira. If this village wants to keep their Kazekage, they have to be able to defend not only the Kage, but the village and themselves as well.'
Kina sighed, giving a greeting as Kankuro and Kira stormed around the corner. Apparently, the chase had turned into a race, and Kira was running slower than usual to give her friend a chance.
Gaara stopped, watching impassively as Kankuro tripped Kira, only to be pulled to the ground with her. He watched the two roll towards him, threatening to bring him down as well, before finally saying their names.
They both stopped, Kankuro in a headlock as they looked up at him with blank expressions. "Hello, brother." Kankuro croaked, prying Kira's arm from around his neck and pushing her off to stand. She stood as well, dusting herself off before holding her arms out. Kina eagerly jumped into them, purring as her partner stroked her soft head.
"How were the meetings?" she asked, looking up.
Gaara simply shook his head as he crossed his arms in front of him, tucking his hands into the folds of his robes. "More information, but still not enough for me to take action. How was your training?"
Kankuro frowned, "She won our spar. She set up a trap of some sort with her fire. Turns out she's still tricky, even without the demon cat." He took a quick step away from the cat, dodging her swiping claw. "But she was tired when we finished."
"I told you, I'll go to the medics later. It's probably just a cold coming or something." She turned to Gaara. "Come on, let's get something to eat."
The other two nodded in agreement, ignoring her change in subject as they headed towards the nearest place to eat. When they entered, hateful glares were given to Kira as the three sat down. "Uh-oh. I think your fan club is having a meeting today." Kira muttered as she unseeingly counted the glaring women. They all seemed to be eating in the same general area.
When Gaara became the Kazekage, it didn't take very long for the fan clubs to start. Each member seemed to hate Kira. At first they thought he would reject her, and carried nothing against her. But rumors started to spread, and she became the enemy of any girl (or man) who fantasized a relationship with Gaara. If what they had could be called that.
Kankuro snickered, finding it amusing as the woman who took their order walked away. She had been unfriendly towards the other two, but had treated Gaara like he was a god.
Gaara didn't say anything, although his eyes showed mild amusement as Kina hissed at the others.
"I'll just ignore them for now. As long as they don't threaten me, I might as well avoid feeding their fire. None of them know me well enough to make a decent rumor anyways…unless Mei betrays me in a bribe again."
"Again?" Gaara questioned after the woman handed them their food.
"I'm not in the mood for story time." she stated, breaking her chopsticks before busying herself with her food. He frowned, but let it slide as he listened to Kankuro's description of their battle.
A few minutes later…Kira was the first to finish, cleaning three plates spotless, only to order more when her stomach gave another hungry growl. Kankuro had moved on to telling about their race, only saying when she cheated and leaving out when he did.
The glares had stopped, until one of the women suddenly stood up. She was tall, and was very pretty compared to the others she was sitting with. She scurried to the trio's table, and pointed an accusing finger at Kira, who didn't even look up. "You!" she said, trying to make her voice as intimidating as possible as she jabbed her finger into Kira's shoulder. Gaara felt her chakra level rise slightly before going back down.
She blinked, looking up with a blank look and noodles halfway in her mouth. "Me?" she asked, splashing the woman's face with broth before swallowing it. Her face showed mock confusion.
"Yes you. Is it true you whore yourself to the Kazekage in order to get a place to live? Why would a ninja need to do that to earn money? I mean, is there a shortage of missions or something? Look around here-" she continued to rant, not seeing Kira as she struggled to breath, choking on her food. It wasn't until Kankuro gave her a good smack on the back that she was able to speak. "WHORE MYSELF?" Gaara and Kankuro tried to hide themselves from her outburst. "Where the hell did you get that you meddling, accusing, pompous bitch!?"
"So it isn't true?"
"I'm still a virgin!"
"You are?" Kankuro and the woman both asked in unison; clearly surprised.
Kira gave him a warning glance. "Yes. Also, how I do make a living and where I live is only the business of those who are my friends and I. Not you. So you can tell the rest of your little club no, I do not whore myself. Nor do I do any other demeaning thing you might've brewed up in your little pot of rumors."
Kankuro snickered as the woman's face scrunched up in distaste. Her hand darted out, but Kira casually dodged the slap by leaning back and catching the others wrist. She stood up, not releasing the others hand until she was standing at her full height… "Look, lady. I'm a ninja. A ninja. If any of your stories begins to spread anything that I find threatening to my position in this village, I will personally track whoever started it and extinguish the problem myself." Her grip on the other's arm tightened warningly, forcing the other to bend down towards Kira's height. "Don't think for a second you're 'beloved' will stop me." She said, gesturing to Gaara. "I will take any punishment with pleasure." She finished, finally releasing her grip.
The woman glared at Kira, probably wishing she would burst into flames from the intensity, before quickly making her escape. It took only a few minutes for the others to slowly disappear as well.
Kira sighed, plopping back down in her seat as the other two stared at her. She placed her arms on the table, and rested her head in her arms. "I'm going to head off." She finally mumbled, standing up.
Gaara furrowed his brow, standing up as well and placing a hand on her head. "Your skin is cold." He stated.
She swatted his hands away, stumbling back slightly before standing up straight. "Calm down. I'm going to head back to the mansion." She stated, ending the conversation as she walked off.
Kankuro stood up as well, a confused look on his face. "How can she be cold? We're in the desert, and she controls fire."
Kina jumped to the ground, racing to catch up with her partner. Gaara frowned, angry that she had pushed him away. "Go get a doctor, Kankuro. I'm going to get out of these robes and head home as well."
The other nodded, placing their bill on the table before walking out.
'Suddenly she's nice. Then she becomes weak, and her body is as cold as stone.' He shook his head as he headed outside. 'Normal days are too boring, apparently.'
-o-o-o-
Kira leaned against the door of her room, resting her head back against its frame as she stared dazed at the ceiling. She felt weak as she walked to the bed, falling onto it in a heap. It was the hottest part of the day, but she felt like she was frozen solid in a block of ice. She frowned, realizing her main source of heat during cold nights, her chakra, felt low and disappearing. In fact, it felt like something was eating away inside her, leaving a deep gash in her chest.
She blinked, reaching a hand down to her chest. She winced as the gem emerged from within her body. Its usual bright glow had dimmed, making it look dull in the sunlight. "What in the world…?" she said, feeling the toll of not having the gem within her. It disappeared back into her skin, leaving a faint mark.
"Something the matter?" Gaara's deep voice asked, causing her head to snap up. He was standing in front of the door, dressed in his normal clothes. His was wearing black pants and a black collared shirt with a brown belt. The black cloth contrasted perfectly with his pale skin, making the black around his eyes an attribute to his appearance.
She frowned, shaking her head. "I'm fine. I'm just low on chakra today. If I rest, I should be fine." She stated, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her body to try to warm herself up.
He cocked an invisible eyebrow, walking over to her and placing his hand on her cheek. "You're as cold as stone." He said, "A doctor is coming…unless you'd rather tell me what is happening."
"No doctor. The gem is doing it to me. The last time this happened, I was twelve. I just have to go on a mission. An assassination mission would be great." She said, stopping herself from leaning into his warm hand.
"Why?"
"It's as if it is a living thing, and has to feed on me in order to keep alive." She explained, not sure on how it really worked herself. There was very little she knew, because nobody else had been fused with the gem.
"Is that why you're so small?" he asked, lips twitching slightly when her eyes widened. It didn't take her long before she bared her fangs and growled at him.
"No." she hissed. "You're not one to talk, either."
He ignored her remark as he sat down next to her. "I'll tell the doctor when he gets here that you're fine. Apparently, whatever is making you weak isn't something he can prescribe."
"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to sleep." She went onto her side, curling up into a tight ball as she closed her eyes. This was usual for her as she clutched onto a pillow. "When I wake up, can you have a mission ready for me?"
"I will. But I'm having Mei and Yu join you."
She groaned, "But they just got back from their honeymoon. I don't want to hear any lovey dovey crap."
"Either that or Kankuro and Temari."
She stayed quiet, pondering to choose the newly weds or the bickering siblings… the newly weds would probably be easier to walk ahead of and avoid.
"Fine. Yu and Mei."
"Agreed." He said, standing up. He reached a hand down, stroking her head gently twice before walking out. It was a small show of affection, but to her, it was plenty. Like a cat, a few pets on the head would make her happy.
She smiled, but winced as the pain in her chest chilled her body from the inside out.
-o-o-o-
And that's it. Bell is going to ring in a few seconds… so yeah. R&R