Reading Guide
"Gaki" Biju talking
'Gaki' Biju thinking
"Hello" Person talking
'Hello' Person thinking
"Gaara stared up at the half full moon" Flashback
"Negative Hollow" Technique name
- Elemental Countries - Place
"FREE RAMEN!" Naruto
Disclaimer: Roll one ordinary six sided die. If you get a seven then I own One Piece and Naruto.
- Land Of Wind: Suna -
Crocodile and Daz walked down one of the main streets of the Village Hidden in the Sand, or Suna, as the natives called it. Despite the heat, Crocodile wore his usual suit and fur overcoat. He also wore the same green handkerchief that he had worn during the War of the Best. Daz walked slightly behind him, wearing a suit. The two were posing as travelers, Crocodile was posing as a businessman in search of trade while Daz was posing as his bodyguard.
'It's good to be back in the desert, it's so relaxing,' Crocodile thought, then he frowned. 'Strange, I feel a headache coming on. I haven't had a headache since, well, I can't even remember.' As he continued to walk down the street, the headache only worsened. 'What's going on? Is there something going on nearby?' Crocodile focused on his Observation Haki and immediately a lance of pain shot though his mind.
'Something's near, something bad. I've never felt anything like that. I best proceed with caution.' Crocodile stopped and signaled Daz to follow him. He walked over the side of the road and leaned against the wall of a store, Daz doing the same. Once he was situated, he once again activated his Observation Haki, but he limited the information he received. His head began to throb, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the first time.
Crocodile looked down the street, that was where the feeling was coming from. 'It's getting closer, I wonder what it is? It should be here in a moment, I guess I'll wait and see.'
After about thirty seconds of waiting, Crocodile noticed a disturbance in the crowd in the direction the feeling was coming from. The people seemed to split, as if the were afraid to be close to whatever was coming. As the people moved to either side, a red haired boy became visible. He wore a strange gourd on his back and had a tattoo of a foreign symbol of his head. The feeling was coming from him, there was no doubt about it.
Crocodile's frown deepened. Looking at the people around the red-headed boy he saw fear and disgust clearly written of their faces. Turning to a civilian who happened to be near him he began to gather information.
"Excuse me," he said. Once he had the civilian's attention he continued. "I recently arrived in this Village, I'm a businessman you see, and so I'm unfamiliar with the people who live here. I must admit I'm curious, who is that red-headed boy?"
The civilian's features instantly morphed to show his hatred and distaste for the boy. "That thing is no boy, it's a demon. It caused massive damage to our Village years ago, and now it struts around our Village in human form. It'll kill you if you get on it's bad side. Take my advice, just stay away from it."
Now that was interesting. 'A demon huh? No, I think not.' Turning to Daz he asked for his opinion. "Daz, what do you make of that kid?"
The kid in question had reached their spot on the wall and was walking by while Daz answered. "He reminds me of Zoro, he has a demonic feel to him, but I'd say he's a human."
Crocodile smiled, the frown that previously clouded his features disappearing. "Good, well then, why don't we talk to him?" That said, he set out after the mysterious red headed 'demon.' After a minute the pair caught up to the boy in question. 'Daz is lucky, he doesn't have Haki,' Crocodile thought. He still had his headache, and it still seemed to get worse the closer he was to the boy. 'Then again, the headache isn't as bad as it was whenever the boy first passed by. Perhaps I'm getting used to whatever is causing it.'
"Hello," Crocodile said to get the boy's attention.
Gaara blinked in surprise. Turning around he saw a man wearing a suit with a gray overcoat. He mentally began to sweat. Even looking at that thing made him feel hot. Next to the man in the coat there was another man, this one dressed in a suit. He had a buzz cut and a scar over one of his eyes. Looking back at the first man he noticed that he had a scar as well, one that stretched all the way across his face over his nose.
"My name is Crocodile," the first man introduced himself, "and the man behind me is named Daz. Who are you?"
"Gaara," he replied numbly. Someone wanted to know his name?
'Hey, don't get all sentimental on me,' Shukaku said. 'So he asked your name. He obviously isn't from around here. He probably just wants to know why everyone looks at you like they do.'
'You're probably right,' Gaara thought.
'Probably? There's no probably involved in this. I'd even bet on it, if I'm wrong I'd be willing to teach you everything I know,' Shukaku said, supremely confident in his own intelligence.
'Really?' Gaara thought dubiously. 'And what do you want if you win?'
'If? You mean when. Anyhow, what I want is for you to get off your lazy ass, go out on an A or S ranked mission and kill some people. Deal?'
If Gaara had been a less stoic person he would have sweatdropped. After a moment of thought he replied.
'Fine, deal.'
Turning his attention back to the two men in front of him, Gaara decided to get straight to the point.
"What do you want?" he asked.
The man named Crocodile seemed to think about it for a minute, then nodded to himself. Gaara was able to hear him muttering the words "Maybe, maybe." Looking up Crocodile responded.
"I just want to talk to you. It might actually wind up being a long conversation. Why don't we go to a restaurant. Your choice, and I'll pay. In exchange I just want you tell me about yourself and then to hear me out."
By this point Gaara was thoroughly confused, but he agreed to the man's offer and began to lead the two men to his favorite restaurant.
The Oasis was hardly the nicest restaurant in Suna, but Gaara liked it none the less. His main reason for frequenting the place was that the owner and waiters didn't mind his presence. It might seem like a little thing, but most of the other restaurants turned him away and those that didn't treated him like a monster.
The Oasis was a small place, possibly being able to seat thirty at most. The lights were dim, and it was situated in one of the northernmost districts of Suna. It was completely out of the way, and when combined with the fact that they were willing to serve Gaara, they didn't see too much business. Gaara and the two men were seated in a booth in the corner of the main room. They had the restaurant to themselves.
"To begin, would you mind telling us about yourself?" the one named Crocodile asked.
"I don't mind," Gaara replied. "Where to begin. Well, I have a demon sealed inside me and his name is Shukaku. He's the reason the Villagers hate me."
'That and the fact that you've killed a couple dozen of them,' Shukaku commented snidely.
At this Crocodile had to raise an eyebrow. 'A demon? Well, I guess it explains the headache. I must have been sensing it without knowing what I was feeling. Come to think of it, my headache is completely gone now. I guess I'm used to the demon's presence.'
"Because Shukaku is sealed inside me, my life has been difficult," Gaara said, ignoring Shukaku completely. He told the two strangers about his father, the former Kazekage, and how he tried to have him killed. He told them about his life and how he had even gone insane at one point. He recounted his encounter and fight with Naruto, and he found himself revealing all of his feelings to the pair. Once he had finished, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
The three men sat in silence for a minute, drinking the water that the waiter had delivered at the onset of Gaara's story.
"After hearing your story, I have an offer to make you," Crocodile said. Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow.
"The Elemental Nations, and Suna by extension, are in danger. The Elemental Nations will be invaded, and I'm part of a. . . group that's tying to stop the invasion from happening."
Gaara's back went ramrod straight. Gaara looked back up at the moon and a chill went down his spine. Something bad was coming, he didn't know what, but he could tell. The world seemed to scream for him to run, but after a moment the feeling passed. "Something's coming, something big. I'm sure of it," Gaara muttered. Crocodile continued, unaware of the thoughts passing through Gaara's mind.
"Assuming we fail, my group is also ready to help defend the Elemental Nations. You appear to be quite strong, and it's easily apparent that this village won't accept you and yet you still wish to protect them. If you agree to join our little group, you'll be able to do so much more. You could help save not only the people of Suna, but also your friends in Konoha as well. I know it's a lot to take in, and so I'll give you seven days to come to a decision. If you decide you want to join, or to know more, meet me here in exactly one week at the same time."
His part said, Crocodile stood up, and Daz did as well. The two then left the restruant leaving a stunned Gaara in their wake. If Gaara had cared to think about it, he would have heard Shukaku cursing about how he had lost their bet.
(A/N: I'm evil, aren't I? You all wanted to see Zoro and Sanji in Konoha, didn't you? Well, don't worry, that's next chapter. Anyway, I've decided that I'll attempt pairings in this fic. It'll be my first time doing so, and I'd accept and criticism that you have to offer. I currently have two pairings in mind. One is a secret, the other is RobinxItachi. Somehow those two just seem to go together, although I can't say I'm really sure what a romantic relationship between the two of them would look like. Won't know until I try, I guess.)