Roshi's POV
I sat in a snowy field while Valin examined a flower, rare that there were any this time of year.
"What are you doing you crazy baboon?"
Valin looked back at me then at the flower. I stood up and walked over to him. A snowdrop...?
"Snowdrops are the first flowers to appear in the begging of the year..." He examined the flower more carefully.
"That is true..." I adjusted my hitai-ate.
"But this one shouldn't have even sprung up yet... It's not its time..." He continued squinting at it.
"You think it means something?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"The world does work in mysterious ways..." Valin said. "But then again it could mean nothing! An accident!" He threw up his arms and walked away saying some happy chant in another language.
"Crazy baboon." I shook my head. How did I gets stuck with this crazy baboon. But there are no accidents in life...
I looked at the snowdrop trying to recall something of significance to me that had to do with snowdrops. Nothing came to mind.
The sun was starting to set. I used my Lave Style to make a small, dry, igneous rock platform for me to pitch my tent. This is when Lava Style comes in handy the most, during the winter. Especially During Iwagakure's frigid winters.
I shudder at the thought of the place I hadn't been to in years. The last time I was there was when Han was five, twenty-one years ago. The people there were just as cold, hard and uncaring as the winters. I didn't hate the place, I just disliked it. I'll never understand why Han decided to stay there when he was young instead of traveling with me.
"Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open." Valin said climbing up my back. "And the boy was rather young."
"I still should have gone to check up on him..." I gazed into the fire that was burning on the platform. "I wonder how the boy is...?"
"There is but one way to find out." Valin said. "Go see him. You two barely knew each other there for a mental connection couldn't be formed. Going to see him is the only way to know how he is."
I gritted my teeth at the very thought of the place but I knew I had no choice. I wasn't too far from Takigakure which wasn't too far from Iwagakure... But it was in the opposite direction that I was being pulled by The Shock.
I sighed as I watched the fire die. I had to go back to the place eventually so I might as well have a good reason for going there.
I was ready to set off when something told me to look across the field.
"Well this is a coincidence!" I called. The two people turned thier heads to look at me.
"Roshi! How have you been?" Fu and Gaara raced towards me.
"Not too bad." I shrugged. Valin climbed off my back to greet his siblings. "Where are you two headed?"
"Shizuka Na Jinkan No Yama..." Fu said dramatically. "The Mountain of the Still Time."
"So you felt The Shock too..." Valin said. "Hmmm... If that is the case then it was no accident that we ran into each other." Valin bounced on his knuckles a bit; one of his four tails hit me in the face. Crazy baboon.
"We're heading there as well." I said. "But I have to make a stop in Iwa first."
"Iwagakure's in the other direction." Gaara commented.
"I know but I have to see Han, Jinchuriki to the Five Tailed; Tasunke."
"We all felt The Shock." Shukaku said. "They'll come."
"This is just something I have to do." I said gently. I knew how Shukaku could get.
"Well if you're going to see a fellow Jinchuriki then I'll come too!" Fu said.
"Please don't rhyme." Gaara said. "We'll have to deal with a lot of that once we meet up with Yugito and Killer Bee."
"Actually that was unintentional." Fu shrugged.
"We'll travel faster if we carry you..." Cho said quietly.
I rarely heard Cho speak since I met her. Her voice was light, kind and slightly soprano. She would often avert her compound, light blue eyes when she spoke by turning her head away.
The Tails enlarged themselves to Mounting Size. I was impressed with their speed, I had never ridden Valin before and it felt exhilarating. Cho seemed like she was going rather slow, like she was holding herself back. Fu had Cho fly up high and did a loop-the-loop.
"Show off." I scarcely heard Gaara say over the wind that was rushing past my ears.
I could hear Fu's laughter plain as day as she and Cho flew back down again. It amazed me how different our personalities are.
Gaara was seclusive, slightly as kids say it emo, but he cared. Yugito was wise for her age, kind, openly caring, but could be tough on those she cared about. Fu was bright, bubbly, a chatterbox, had quite a vocabulary, a show off and got furious when people called Cho a beast. Killer Bee is very proud of his own power, cocky, stubborn, overconfident, lazy but he like the others cared. Naruto was very much like Killer Bee and had quite a similar out look on things as Fu.
Lady Nozomi from what I heard was unique, a mixture of many personality traits. Wise, yet would forget about her own well being if it meant saving someone else, temperamental, yet in control, easily annoyed, yet had patience and was sympathetic, she was powerful but had no self confidence. It would truly have been an honor if I got to meet her but sadly fate had other plans and we never got the chance.
We were only a mile from Iwa, I took the lead. We came to a skidding halt a few feet from Iwa's gates. The guards were in shock. Most likely for the large number of Jinchuriki before him, the fact that he was seeing three Tails at once, and that I was back...
"Roshi..." One male guard said in surprised.
The other guard, a female, straightened herself to her fullest height. "Roshi, what are these..." She looked at us in disgust. "Children and Beasts doing with you? They are not of our Land."
"Beasts..." Fu growled. "Why I oughta-!"
Gaara grabbed Fu by both arms and had his sand wrap itself around her legs to hold her back.
"She's a bit touchy about people insulting Cho." Gaara explained still holding Fu back, Shukaku grabbed her by the hem of her knee length skirt.
"Cho?" the male asked.
"Hello..." Cho said quietly, as usual she averted her blue eyes from them.
"She's just shy!" Shukaku around the peachy-red fabric in his mouth.
"You might want to take it back." Valin said. "I won't do anything but you haven't seen what she can do when she's angry."
I thought back to when I left Konoha with the other Jinchuriki. Fu, when we were far enough away from Konoha, unleashed some of her power on some rocks and trees. Not a pretty sight.
"Okay. Fine I take it back. But what else do you want me to call them?" The Iwa Kunoichi asked. She looked and sounded a bit scared now.
"Tails." I said. "That's what they call themselves."
"Right... So what are you and these children and Tails doing here?"
"We're here to see Han." I said.
"Han...?" the male Shinobi asked. "He lives at the West edge of the Village. Kinda secluded guy."
"Well it's no wonder!" Fu said annoyed. "Considering how all of us Human Sacrifices are treated." She glared at them. "Ironic isn't it? The Sage of the Six Paths was a Jinchuriki and treated well and with respect but anymore we are hated and despised."
I placed a hand on Fu's shoulder, she was shaking with rage but it was stopping slowly. Cho butted her lightly with her head to calm her down. Fu looked down at Cho and smiled weakly as she stroaked Cho's horn.
I glanced back at the guards, the expressions on their faces were mixed with awe and shock. They let us pass without another word, Shukaku, Valin and Cho returned to Travel Size. Valin clung to my back, Cho rode on Fu's shoulder and Shukaku on Gaara's head.
People in the Village glared at us as we passed, I saw a few Shinobi take off, most likely to tell the Tsuchikage we were here.
"Fu! Gaara!" Three teenagers raced up to us.
"Hey guys!" Fu said brightly.
"What are you guys doing here?" The female member of their Squad asked.
"Just here to see Han." Fu said off handedly.
One of the males shrugged. "We've seen him around but he never looks at anyone."
"It's no wonder why!" the other male exclaimed. "With the way people have treated him..." the boy shook his head.
"Fu, Gaara you know these kids?"
"Yeah we know them. When I took the Chunin Exams. We didn't become friends until after the Second Exam." Gaara explained.
"I'm Natsumi." The girl said. "He's Sagure..." She pointed to the taller member of her team. "And that's Mamoru." She pointed to the boy who had his hitai-ate around his neck like a scarf.
I nodded to them. "It's good to meet you. You wouldn't happen to know where Han lives would you?"
"Yeah... Ummm..." Sagure said closing his eyes for a moment. "Fifty-five Avalanche Road... I think... Or somewhere in that area..."
"Thanks." I said.
"We gotta get going. If we're late our Sensei will have our head! See ya later!" Natsumi said. She and her Squadmates took off.
I knew where Avalanche Road was. Not too many people every lived on that road for self exclamatory reasons. It was a place where a few powerful Shinobi lived, mostly so no one could bother them. The homes here looked average, nothing special but not worn down.
Fifty-five Avavalanche Road. I hope this goes over well...