Chapter Twenty-one
Death Chase
Shukaku was having issues. Serious issues. There was something wrong, because his son and Hinata were acting even more unusual than normal. She had apparently decided to take a swan dive out the window. There were a lot of factors that had made her go suicidal, however temporarily. She was very sick, and had a feverish mind, but there were other issues. The months of abusive treatment, Gaara's unpredictable behavior, and his latest attempt at courting her had probably sent her over the edge. The poor thing didn't understand that Gaara was actually trying to appease her and make her feel safe, not threaten her with imminent death. If the situation hadn't been so serious it would've been comical. He had given her a severed head for a present, after all.
However, their demonic heritage had been revealed, and the citizens of Tanzaku had begun to form a mob outside, ready to do battle with the evil demons and purify their captive maidens, and Kankuro. Shukaku didn't understand why they didn't just leave and head for the mountains, but Gaara was insistent on staying put for now. Zetsu had snatched up Nettle, and Naruto was acting like Kankuro's bodyguard.
However, if those guys thought they were having issues, then they were nothing compared to what Gaara was going through. For one thing, he was arguing with himselves. He had focused his consciousness inward and was on a plane of his mind that appeared to be a windswept desert at night. The feral part of him was there, growling at him furiously. His appearance was like that of his own, with the exception of the sharpened teeth, lengthened fangs, and black eyes with the golden iris and star pupil. (Shukaku's in the series.)
"You failed; you should have just taken her and bound her to you from the outset! Now we are all stuck with an unfaithful female!"
"Oh, pipe down, she's not unfaithful. She hasn't even been kissed yet."
"But she will be. You don't give her the affection that she needs, so she will seek it in others, and she's too damn naïve to understand what males want! Stupid!"
"That's not the worst of it! She doesn't like us!" his younger self shrilled. The most obvious difference, other than size, was the lack of wings. His species' wings didn't grow in until puberty, in order to blend in with humans and to make childbirth a little easier.
"That's your fault! It was your idea to give her presents!"
"At least he tried! Besides, how were we supposed to know that the silly thing wouldn't have liked us killing off her tormentors!"
"And now she's mad at me! I don't want her to be mad at me! I just wanted to make her happy!"
"I don't see why we need her! Humans are the foulest creatures on the planet, and I can't believe I let you two talk me into this!"
"She's not like them, she's nice! I saw it when we looked at her back in the smelly cave with all of those weird creepy-crawlers-"
"Besides, we need her. We're tired of being alone. We need a mate. We shall continue to court her, but we need to take drastic measures against the others. Isolate her, away from both males and females. She must depend exclusively on us."
"Yeah! The others might try to take her away, and the girls won't like her 'cuz we won't play with them anymore! They might hurt her!"
"Why? Why do we need her? I don't want-"
"Silence. Listen. You saw her mind, just like the rest of us. She is ours, and was meant to be ours."
"She'll see us, she'll understand. She's nice! She doesn't hold anything against demons; she just scared of us because you keep hurting her! She likes the others better! You stop picking on her!"
"You're only pushing her away, and making our courtship even more difficult. We need her, we want her, and if necessary, we will force her!"
"No! Don't you hurt her!"
"Besides, she's so small, that'll probably kill her. If she doesn't die from the injuries she'll kill herself. Idiot!"
"That's not what I meant; I mean that we cut her off from the others. If she is, then she will be totally dependant on us, and will be forced to accept us as her mate."
"I don't think that will work. She won't like being trapped."
"She's sick right now, she won't think anything of it for now, at least, not immediately. Besides, so long as we're good to her, she is less likely to fear and hate us anymore. We must take care of her, and keep the others away as much as possible on the road home. Fortunately we have that little human female and the male to distract the others, and another female is on the way. If we do this right, it will work. It will just take time and patience."
"I don't see why we should bother."
"Because we are tired of being alone, seventy thousand years is long enough. We need her, we want her, and you know it. Stop this foolishness!"
"That's right! We'll get her more presents, but different ones. The females seem to like sparkelies and shiny rocks, so we'll stick with that! When she comes out of herself and sees the shiny rock, she'll like it! She liked it before, remember? We'll get her more, lots more! And you be nice to her!"
"Oh, and you should also watch out for the others, you may be losing your grip when it comes to being their leader, because of the spell. Especially the two foxes. Not only that, they have a much better track record when it comes to our little bride, you fool!"
"Bah! They won't be a problem. And it'll be a piece of cake to keep her close."
"Somehow I think she is going to make you eat those words…"
"She's awful clever, and really good at escaping. If our senses weren't this good and we weren't keeping a close eye on her we'd never have caught her in the woods!"
"Yes, and it was only by luck that we were able to get her during the rainstorm. Had we been even one minute slower, we'd have lost her and probably never found her. Don't be so quick to underestimate her!"
"She's crippled by illness and injuries. She won't be able to escape. Relax."
"If the prospect of her escaping wasn't so dangerous to her, I'd laugh when she gives you the slip, and we all know that she will!" the feral demon opened his mouth wide in a twisted smile that showed all of his sharpened teeth. The child giggled as well.
A creak in the doorway interrupted his "conversation." His eyes darted over to see the girl that he'd been waiting for. She clutched two suitcases tightly, and shook visibly. He could smell her fear from his current position next to the fireplace in an effort to keep Hinata warm.
"You're late, girl." His eyes narrowed in disapproval. She thrust her chin out in a brave show of defiance, but he could tell that it was all show.
"My name is not 'Girl,' it's Temari! What did you do to my brother?!"
"He's fine, now get over here."
"What is she doing here, Gaara? Why are doing this?!" Shukaku shrieked in distress, she was the spitting image of his lost Karura. Gaara carefully set Hinata on the chair and went over to Temari and dragged her over to his father.
"She is the reason why we came here, father. She is your Chosen, your reincarnated Karura. She has no memory of her previous life, but her soul is the same."
"Don't do this to me Gaara, you know that this is wrong, that it's impossible-" Gaara cut him off with a slashing gesture to the floor.
"Not impossible! I have checked time and time again. That is the spell I was working on in my chambers all this time, and that was why I insisted that we come here. The stick was a convenient diversion, because if when I checked her and found the spells to have been misleading, then it was better for you to not have gotten your hopes up and then crushed. That is why I never told you. Check for yourself, and you will see that I'm right. You have a second chance, father, don't throw it away." He shoved the girl into his father's arms, and gathered Hinata up in his.
"We should probably go now, that seal won't hold much longer. What the hell are you two doing?!"
"Kankuro started it!"
"I did not, you overgrown pussy, you did! If you had left my hat alone, you'd be gravy free!"
"Zip it! The girls are in danger you bat sucking fox-shitters!"
"You overgrown pollen-stuffing posy assed freak, I had nothing to do with it!" Shukaku shot back at Zetsu, miffed that he had been insulted without cause.
"Shut your putrid pus-licking pie-hole, I wasn't talking to you!"
"You tuber-fucker, I will not just sit back and take your shots, you nectar guzzling perverted posy!"
"Bat-come guzzler, go service your relatives!"
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Gaara bellowed, making everyone jump and Hinata's soul flicker briefly to the surface, before she shut down again. His furious gaze seared them all, even his father.
"You are acting like spoiled brats! Too long have you lived in comfort, have you forgotten how you had to fight for what luxuries you enjoy? Have you forgotten to behave in the face of an emergency? You all muttered and complained about how I didn't value my Hinata like I should, and that I didn't take care of her properly, yet here you are, standing around bickering while an angry mob of those maggots are swarming around the place thirsting for our blood! Of course we demons would make it out, but do you have any idea what would happen to the girls?! Well?! Do any of you remember what that guard said about purifying the human females who are captured by demons?! Do you have any idea what they do to purify them?! Well?!" No one answered him.
"They tie them to a wooden stake, surround them with kindling and brush, pour oil on everything, and throw a torch on. Do you understand?! The girls will be burned alive at the stake if they are captured! I know better than anyone that fire does not cleanse, it blackens, now shut up, grab your packs, and get moving to the top story, MOVE!" Shukaku made a strange keening sound and clutched Temari tightly to him, and snatched the pack and slung it over his shoulder. She clutched her suitcases in a death grip, and squeezed her eyes shut as they streaked upstairs. They heard a sound like serpent's hiss as the seal faded away, and the mob began to swarm in.
Zetsu snatched up the little girl and their packs and lunged up the stairs while Naruto dragged Kankuro along behind him. Gaara urged them on from behind, shielding Hinata as best as he could. She was conscious, but unresponsive.
The others had managed to leap over the rooftops, leaving Gaara behind, faced with a difficult decision. He could hide his mate with his wings and shield her, but that would shorten his jumping range, leaving them both vulnerable to whatever the mob decided to throw at them. He wasn't concerned by any damage that he would take, but Hinata was another matter. He could attempt to take to the skies, but that left her exposed to the mob, and it would only take one good hit for her to die. His aura of fear might work, but a panicked mob could be disastrous unless he flew ahead.
He heard a buzz, and snatched three crossbow bolts from the air. The mob stilled at this display, and he squeezed his claw, snapping the bolts and letting them fall to the ground. He then gave a powerful flap of his wings, whipping up a storm of debris and humans to confuse and slow them down before launching into the air. Once there, he unleashed his aura of fear, buying them approximately five minutes to escape. The death chase had begun
Last call for votes! When I start the next chapter, I will close the poll, and I will then explain how I came up with these names. Thanks for taking your time to review and vote, I really appreciate and enjoy your feedback!