Complex
Complex
Multi-chaptered
By Understandable Enigma
Summary: AU. "Shinobi" is a term used to describe the exceedingly rare, endangered hybrids. The hybrids have been hunted nearly to extinction, so much so that they must hide among humans. They face poachers, enemy shinobi, and more...Pairings: NaruHina NejiTen ShikaTem GaaraOC
Greetings again, my lovelies. See, now that my writer's block has abated, I am now simply overflowing with creative…stuff. I don't know how to describe it, but it means that I'll be updating more! Woo!
Chapter 7: Suspicion
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In the end, Gaara had been unable to get Kira to let go of him, and so sat in the back seat on the way back to her house. Sasuke sat in the front, smirking whenever he caught Gaara's eye, who in turn scowled. Temari, of course, found the whole situation hysterical and pretty much had a grin on her face the whole way. So, since he had nothing other to do besides to glare at Sasuke, Gaara took this opportunity to observe Kira more closely. Her olive skin was a nicer shade than his skin, which would burn, and he could tell she would tan in the sun. Her striking eyes, currently closed, were the same, palest of blues that would always remind him of ice. He had a feeling she could give even Sasuke chills if she ever decided to glare at him (but not Gaara himself, of course, because nothing could frighten him). He gazed at her straighter-than-straight hair and realized vaguely that she straightened it with a flat iron. Her hair fell to the small of her back, and was a red-brown color several shades browner than Gaara's own. Because he was regarding her so intently, he noticed something peculiar at her hairline, just at the roots…Her hair was a different color. She dyed it? Gaara wrinkled his nose in his mind; he hadn't known that Kira took so much stock in her outward appearance, and now that he realized how much that she did, his opinion of her fell quite a few degrees. Looking closely, he saw that the color at the roots of Kira's hair was…gray?
He didn't have time to ponder this because at that moment Kira decided to finally wake up. She stirred, shifting uncomfortably in her position (on Gaara's lap). She groaned in pain, probably her fever headache, and then finally opened her eyes just a crack. She could tell she was in a car, but what she was sitting on was definitely not a seat…Just then her sensitive nose picked up the arid, dry scent of sand and she realized belatedly that she was sitting on Gaara's lap. Oh, I fell asleep in the doctor's office, and I guess Gaara carried me out, and now I'm on his lap, she thought tiredly. Then…WAIT A MINUTE!! Kira yelped and jumped about a foot in the air, and narrowly missed smashing her head on the roof of the car. Sasuke turned to look at her and Gaara simply stared at her, one thin reddish eyebrow raised (1). Kira embarrassedly scrambled off of Gaara's lap and into her own seat next to him and buckled her seatbelt. Temari was laughing out loud, Sasuke was snickering, and the corners of Gaara's mouth were twitching upward. Kira's cheeks were a flaming red that had nothing to do with her fever, and she mumbled an apology to Gaara for having fallen asleep. Gaara in turn just waved his hand in a noncommittal way, and the rest of the trip home was silent, save for Temari's laughter.
Once the four reached the building at which Sasuke and Kira lived, called First-Class Foster Family, all but Temari got out of the car. Sasuke bid farewell to Temari and Gaara, and Kira said goodbye to Temari and thanked her for driving there. Then, as Sasuke was walking into the house, Kira stopped Gaara before he could reclaim the shotgun seat. He looked at her questioningly, and she gave a weak smile. "Thank you," she whispered, and Gaara smiled ever so slightly.
"Don't worry about it," and he climbed into the car. As they pulled away, Kira waved to them, and then turned to enter the house. Once inside, she found that all the other kids were home, and that Sasuke had disappeared into his room. Not wanting to get the others sick and figuring that Sasuke had already been exposed to whatever she had, she headed past the living room to the hall, the first room on the right being Sasuke's. All of the others had looked up and greeted her when she came in, and she gave them all weak smiles and waves, and she could tell they were still watching as she walked towards the door with the white and red fan on it. When she placed her hand on the doorknob, knowing that Sasuke would know it was her, she heard faint gasping from those behind her. She smiled inwardly, her inner mischievous side coming out just the slightest bit, and brazenly pushed the door open and plopped down on Sasuke's bed, to the amazement of their housemates.
Sasuke's only response was an irritated, "Close the door, they're loud and I need to concentrate on my work." Grinning, Kira went to close the door, and as she was doing so caught sight of the awestruck faces outside. She closed the door, shaking her head in the process. She turned around and flopped back on Sasuke's bed, curled up and shivering. "So, you aren't the most social of creatures, eh?" Kira asked Sasuke sarcastically, watching him as he worked at the computer. Sasuke snorted.
"Of course not…I really hate socializing. However, there are some people I tolerate, namely my friends," he said. "Other than that, I keep to myself. I don't form bonds with those I cannot trust, and the only person in this house that I can trust besides myself is you."
"Because we're the same?" asked Kira. Sasuke nodded, and Kira shrugged. She guessed that was a good reason…But she also felt that maybe it was a bad thing that all of the Shinobi she knew avoided relationships with humans—the humans could never know who they were, of course, but it was suspicious to avoid humans when they're all around you. Also, in the days of old, humans and Shinobi were friends, and traded together and sometimes even married one another. Alas, those days of peace were long gone…The war changed everything.
They say that the Great Shinobi War was the bloodiest war in history for both sides, and seeing as how "all" the Shinobi in Japan were "extinct", Kira figured that it was. However, the humans suffered nearly as many losses. The humans outnumbered the Shinobi about 250 to 1, because the humans were far more prolific. Humans could have many life partners, but Shinobi had only one love, and if that person died (because Shinobi never left one another, they mated for life) then the one left alive would never move on, never have any more children. Also, depending on the species, Shinobi could only have children every few years, the longest spans being for the deadlier breeds. For example, rabbits like Hinata could have a child once a year, but a wolf like Kira could only have a child once every five years. Thus, human numbers were staggeringly higher than Shinobi numbers…Which is why they won the war. Humans are far softer, breakable, and fragile than Shinobi, who are made to live in the wild. Shinobi are far more deadly, as well, with their teeth, claws, and speed. An unarmed human in conflict with a Shinobi would be dead in seconds…But then, in the war humans were never unarmed, and Shinobi took it as a weakness to fight with weapons.
A Shinobi, for all intents and purposes, is like a half-human, half-animal being. They had qualities of both kinds of being, and were, as a result, the most dangerous beings on the earth. See, they had the deadly cunning and intelligence of a human, but the durability and lethality of an animal. This is the reasoning behind the slightly derogatory slang term, Hybrids…However, because of their animalistic instincts, Shinobi were not naturally violent. They tended to run from danger when they could, and only attacked when provoked. Thus, humans believed them to be extinct because all wild Shinobi ran as soon as a human was anywhere near them nowadays. Another thing that was unknown to humans was that a Shinobi could take any of three forms: their human form, their Shinobi form, and their animal form. The human form had the greatest thinking and reasoning skills, but was also the most uncomfortable and difficult for a Shinobi to maintain. The animal form was stronger and faster than normal animals of that species, but took a toll on the person's cognitive and reasoning skills. The best form of a Shinobi, the most comfortable and also the most recognizable, was their natural form, a blend of animal and human characteristics.
Take Sasuke for example. In his Shinobi form, he has paws, retractable claws, very sharp fangs, panther ears and a tail. However, he's got an otherwise normal human face, a normal torso and only a small amount of fur on his paws, ears and tail. His eyes also turned the unsettling golden green color that most big cats have with the slit pupils famous to the feline family. Kira pondered over her own Shinobi form…Thick, shining silver fur would cover her arms up to her elbows and halfway up her shins. She had a bushy silver tail and pointed ears, along with long claws that weren't retractable and very sharp teeth. Her eyes remained steely blue, but her pupils grew to allow for far superior night vision, and the cones in her eyes were less sharp, so colors weren't as vibrant. But, she was stronger, faster, and just so much…better.
Kira wondered if there were any humans left who would befriend a Shinobi. Honestly, it had happened before, right? It seemed logical that a human and a Shinobi could become friends, and then stay friends even if the human discovered what the Shinobi really was…Well, if the human was a good person and the friendship was strong enough. Kira was so caught up in these thoughts that she didn't realize that Sasuke was talking to her until he screamed her name and hit her in the face with a pillow.
"Huh?" she asked dumbly. Sasuke was frustrated that she wasn't paying attention, and flabbergasted at how detached she had just been.
"What are you, stoned?" he asked, smirking. "I asked you if you wanted food. It's almost six o'clock." Kira glanced at the glowing red numbers on the face of the digital clock that rested on Sasuke's neat end table. Sure enough, he was right. Man, they really needed to get out more. Honestly, who spends a couple hours just sitting there, thinking? Kira turned to Sasuke and gave him a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks. While you get it, can I go on your computer?" she asked. Sasuke looked like he was going to say no, so she pouted with her best puppy dog face, which, unsurprisingly, is very easy to master when you're part canine. Sasuke rolled his eyes and 'hn-ed', then walked out the door and into the kitchen. Grinning at her victory, Kira climbed off of Sasuke's bed and walked over to his computer and proceeded to play solitaire. She loved that game, and she played it all the time. She really hadn't had anything to do when she was younger after her family had died because she was always alone, so she played solitaire constantly. It was among the reasons she was ridiculed at her old school. However, she never really did care what others thought, and continued to play the game in solitude. Shocking, considering the nature of the game, eh?
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Sasuke wandered lazily out to the kitchen while Kira remained in his room. He looked in the refrigerator, trying to find something easy to cook that he could eat. He never was one for cooking, although over the years he had become more that proficient at it. He just really hated cooking because it made such a mess. He knew that Iruka would be home late tonight, and that Anna would take care of everyone else, but he didn't feel like waiting for his food. Anna would usually make dinner around seven, and he wanted food now. Sasuke shut the refrigerator door, irritated, and looked in the cabinets to find something simple and quick to make. He grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese and started to prepare it when the doorbell rang. He knew someone else would answer it, so he didn't bother to really even acknowledge it. However, when the door opened and one of his housemates called his name, he put down the food he was making and made his way to the door.
It was Gaara. No wonder the person who had answered the door had automatically called for Sasuke…Gaara wasn't the friendliest of people. Okay, he was downright scary to people who weren't his friends. Sasuke let him in and closed the door, then turned to look at the redhead. He raised one dark eyebrow in question, and in response Gaara silently dug one hand into his pocket, and pulled out a bottle of medicine and shook it. As the pills inside rattled against the plastic, it clicked in Sasuke's brain; Kira's medicine. He smirked and nodded towards his room, saying simply, "My room." Nodding, Gaara proceeded silently to Sasuke's room, while Sasuke in turn went back into the kitchen. Sasuke's housemates that had witnessed the nearly silent exchange sweat-dropped.
When Gaara entered Sasuke's room, he found Kira playing solitaire on Sasuke's computer. Odd. Sasuke usually never let anyone within ten feet of his computer. When Kira heard Gaara come in the door, she looked up and smiled. "Hey, Gaara," she closed out of the game and turned to face him. "What's up?" He wordlessly chucked the bottle to her. She caught it deftly and looked at it, confused, until she realized it was her medicine. Tsunade must have given it to Gaara when she'd fallen asleep on the table. Remembering the events caused her to blush, especially when she recalled waking up on Gaara's lap. She laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Thanks, Gaara. So, what else is up?" She asked, motioning toward the bed, indicating that Gaara should make himself comfortable.
Gaara thought that it was a bit presumptuous of Kira to invite people to be comfortable in someone else's room, but nonetheless sat on Sasuke's bed. She was waiting patiently for him to answer, so he said, "Hn. I finished the picture I was working on." He had, and he was quite happy with it, too. It had come out better than usual, and he was actually thinking of submitting it to the teacher of his art class for a grade. He actually really liked the teacher's input on his art.
Meanwhile, Kira looked excited. "Cool! Do you think I could see it, or are you one of those shy artists?"
Gaara merely nodded and said, "Hn." Kira, who by now was really getting the hang of interpreting the subtle differences between each 'hn', knew that Gaara was saying, "Yes, of course you can see it, I don't mind." They remained in a companionable silence, sometimes breaking it to talk, but mostly just enjoying each other's company. When Sasuke came in with the food, he had brought three plates and the pot of macaroni, as well as drinks. Kira first used the drink Sasuke had brought to take her medicine, then the three of them ate on the floor of Sasuke's room, seeing as how Sasuke didn't want them eating near his computer or on his bed…friggin' neat freak. Gaara left soon after they were done eating, and Sasuke and Kira talked for a couple hours. Then, Kira's illness made itself known again, and she decided to head to her own room before she fell asleep on Sasuke's floor. Bidding goodnight to the stoic boy and to the kids she passed in the hall, she made her way to the end of the hallway to the room that had recently become hers.
As soon as she entered the room, something seemed off. It felt like there was another presence there, as if something had been changed or altered. It was almost as if…
As if someone had been in there while she was out. Someone who wasn't human.
And from then on is when things started to get interesting.
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AN: Okay, another chapter down! It's a lot later than I would've liked, but I'm working on it, okay? Also, school lets out in a couple weeks, so I'll be able to update more. However, right now I'm dealing with finals…lots and lots of finals.
(1) HE DOES HAVE EYEBROWS!!
Also, the name Anna might be a little confusing, but it's not the English name. It's also a name in Japanese, and is pronounced "ah-nah". I thought that might be a little confusing.
As always, please read and review! Now is when the story starts to get good.
