NOW THAT THERE IS A CHOICE FOR ME, I CHOOSE TO BE FREE.
"Are you sure it should be me? I've only been working on the jutsu for two days," I asked Tsunade as we walked up the steps to the cliff to get to the hidden home.
"Gaara, I've never know you one to be uncertain about something simple," Tsunade smiled. "You'll do fine, even Kaiko said you perfected it better than me."
"What if she lied?" I snapped.
"Kaiko has never been one to lie, not even when it came to this secret. If she didn't want people to know, she just wouldn't tell them. She speaks her mind and you may meet the beast if it's that curious. I've met him once a couple years ago. Sarutobi said that each person to use the jutsu will meet kyko eventually. If he shows himself, don't let down your guard."
"How would he reveal himself if she cannot transform?" Tsunade tapped my head and laughed.
"You have changed so much since those chiming exams four years ago. You actually act normal now, even if your still cold at times."
"I've had a good year, I'm glad my beast is gone."
"Glad to hear but now it's time to focus. She's going to be feistier than this morning with the sun setting in a couple hours."
We jumped down to the head of the first hokage and slipped into the hole that was hidden skillfully and opened the door. As we walked down the stairs a kunai whizzed past my head and I stopped it before it hit Tsunade. I saw some of Kaiko's arm peeking out from a corner and noticed that she was sitting down. I walked closer, getting my sand ready and as she was about to lunge at me I wrapped her arms and torso in sand and lifted her off the ground and drew her into the living room while she growled at me. As I lowered her to the ground she crossed her legs so she was sitting Indian style on the ground by the wall. Once I retracted my sand, she crossed her arms and glared at me.
"Did you have to do that?" she snapped but stayed sitting.
"Did you have to throw a kunai at us and try and attack me?" I countered and she smirked before her eyes widened and seemed to turn purple.
"Gaara, now!" Tsunade growled and I hurried over to Kaiko and sat behind her and pressed my hands to her exposed marks and drew my chakra into her.
Kaiko's shoulders and head slumped forward and I felt her body shaking under my hands. I looked at Tsunade and she nodded and sat in front of the couch and started to meditate. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes and focused on my chakra levels until I felt pain in my head and I opened my eyes but found myself in a forest and Kaiko was sitting in a tree, calmly.
"Guess he wants to meet you now," she muttered. "Be careful around him. His antics are confusing to try and figure out."
"Now that is not very nice Sezu," a deep voice growled and his voice carried through the trees as a large white tiger came into view. "Hello boy, I was hoping that Tsunade would let you do the jutsu today. I've been very curious about you since I have felt the potential you have the past couple days in the training. I do thank you for giving me more time with Sezu."
"Stupid beast," Kaiko muttered. "You might want to get off the ground Gaara."
I looked at her and her eyes were narrowed on the tiger. I looked back at the tiger as he lowered himself as if he was about to pounce. I grabbed a tree branch and swung myself into a tree as the tiger pounced and was just in time. I climbed higher so he didn't claw me accidently and looked down at the beast.
"Kaiko, will my chakra levels still be normal with all this?" I asked the girl and she snorted.
"Tsunade didn't tell ya? As long as they were controlled before you were pulled here then you'll be fine unless Kyko wounds you. If that happens then we're all screwed. What was Tsunade doing?"
"Meditating in front of the couch."
"Good, then we still have a good chance to keep him sealed if you get hurt," she sighed as she jumped over to me. "He likes to hunt after those who enter his world for the first few time. Did it with Sarutobi and Tsunade several times. They got irritated of it but were glad that they didn't lose any of their techniques..."
The cracking of a branch under us made us look down and I saw that the tiger was slowly trying to climb up into the tree. Kaiko jumped off to another tree and disappeared from view and I looked down at the tiger. The branch he had managed to grab broke and he fell back to the ground on his back.
"So is the saying all cats land on their feet a lie?" I called to the tiger and he growled at me. I smirked and summoned my sand and encased him in sand as soon as he rolled back onto his stomach. "Kaiko, you can come back out now."
I saw her slid out of a hole in one of the trees across the small clearing and she laughed as she looked at the tiger.
"Guess you really do have talent," she mused, sitting down and leaning against her tree.
I closed my eyes for a second then when I opened them, I was looking back at Kaiko's back where my hands were. Her head was slumped forward and she was breathing slowly. I could feel her heartbeat and it was steady as well. Her body was no longer shaking.
"What did you do Lord Gaara?" Tsunade spoke and I looked at her and she looked surprised. "She looks like she's actually asleep for once. Usually during this time, she's being hurt by Kyko."
"I trapped that tiger in my sand," I whispered, looking back at my hands.
"Then she may actually have a chance at a normal life in Suna," Tsunade sighed happily then the room went quiet.
