Chapter Twenty-nine

Home at Last

"Go get cleaned up, my son."

"What?! Why?! I have to put my stuff away!" Gaara shrilled indignantly. Shukaku turned around and folded his arms.

"You can keep the obsidian, and the beads, but not the broken bottle and especially not the dead mouse! The snake will be set aside for milking; but then released."

"But I like the mouse! It's interesting, and I'm sure I can preserve it-"

"No, it will rot and smell. Besides, there are quite literally millions of mice in this world; I'm sure you will find another. They are nothing more than flea-ridden, disease carrying destructive pests, so why you insist on keeping that wretched thing is beyond me. Now, go take your bath, and I will put your new collections in your room. Now, off you go. This feast is in your honor, after all, so make sure you clean every inch of yourself thoroughly."

"But I like the dead mouse, and why do I have to give up the snake? Snakes eat those flea-ridden, disease carrying destructive pests!" he looked up at his father angrily, stubbornly clinging to his items of interest. Shukaku sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. After several long moments, his gaze flicked back at his son.

"How about a compromise? I will take the snake to the reptile chamber, where it will be cared for in a large, spacious tank. Since it is a poisonous serpent, its venom is an ingredient in a wide variety of potions. Later on tomorrow, I will teach you how to milk a snake, but first you must positively identify the serpent. However, the dead mouse must go, understand? The broken bottle is useless, and besides, I can get you all of the glass bottles you will need for your new classes, you feisty magical youngling, you. Deal?" Gaara considered, then nodded in assent. The dead mouse wasn't that interesting anyway.

"Why is the feast in my honor? I thought I was in trouble because of Kenshi."

"You're the youngest youngling on record to awaken, and you have the strongest awakening. Besides, it's no secret that Kenshi intended to do away with you, or at least maim you. The other younglings confessed to knowing what was going on."

"So I'm not in trouble."

"Not technically, but you are going to study your butt off in magic, little mister. Chiyo will take care of your lessons during the day, and I will be training you at night. It is imperative that you learn control, my son."

"Alright," he began to head off to the bathing chamber.

"Wait just a second, you little upstart, you agreed far to readily. Just what are you up to?"

"I want to do this, I will be the best, I'll be greater than them all, just you wait! You'll see, I'll be the best; I'll prove it! I'll show them all that I do deserve to be prince, I'll make them all see that they're wrong, that they were all wrong. I'll shut them up once and for all! You'll see, father, I'll make you proud, you'll see." His eyes gleamed with a thirst to prove himself, a thirst to prove to everyone that he was indeed Shukaku's son.

"You've always made me proud, my son, always," he murmured as he embraced the feisty youngling before sending him off to his bath. Gaara practically floated on air as he ran off to bathe. Bath time was much more pleasant now, and he selected sandalwood soap for himself. It was his favorite, after all.

When he was through cleaning himself he had to put on his clothing. It was black pants and cloak with a chocolate brown shirt. The royal red sash was carefully wrapped over his chest and around his waist, a deep red with a golden trim. He still had plenty of time to kill, so he made a beeline for the kitchens, hoping to coax a few tastes from the cooks and servers. It was no secret that the entire staff adored him, it was the nobles that he had a problem with. Well, them and occasionally the guards, who weren't used to putting up with an inquisitive youngling and often tried to shoe him away.

"Well, well, there's the little prince now. Surely you'll be a dear and taste this roast for me, won't you?" a female cook came over to him, and had cut a small piece of meat for him. He smiled and took it, and promptly ate it. It was tasty, as usual, and so he spent the next hour or so, sampling a small tidbit of this and that, and generally soaking up the attention and praise like a sponge. The kitchens were another favorite place for him, and it was where his father found him.

"There you are, you little mischief maker! I do hope you haven't spoiled your appetite!"

"But Lord Shukaku, surely a few nibbles of this and that wouldn't do any harm?" one of the cooks called out, cheerfully unrepentant. Even Gaara couldn't muster up any guilt for munching ahead of time. Shukaku chuckled, and messed up Gaara's hair.

"Oh, very well then, come along, Gaara." He nodded and walked out, turning back once to bid an all too temporary farewell to the kitchen staff, who cheerfully waved at him. At least some people liked him.

"Hey there, little missies, I brought something back for you!" Kisame hollered to the trio of girls. He had been fishing in the sea, and often brought back shells for them, and had fished out some pieces of jade as well. Along this particular spot was a large deposit of jade, although no one knew why. Gaara himself had added several nice pieces to his part of the wagon. Apparently he collected rocks, to put it bluntly.

He had been very distant as of late, almost cold to Hinata. No, not cold, cool. He rarely interacted with her at all, save for giving her the medicinal tea, and making sure that she didn't wander off too far. He didn't even bother to talk to her at all, beyond the occasional order not to wander off.

Her visions continued, and were deeply unsettling. Sometimes they were nightmarish scenes full of blood, and other times they were simply unusual scenes of things that seemed mundane, but she didn't understand them. They were always accompanied by strange emotions and feelings that she didn't understand, and normally wouldn't feel if she were in the same circumstances. She wondered what was going on; was she going crazy?

Then, of course, there was Kyuubi. He kept shooting her looks, looks that unsettled her. Did Gaara's lack of interest in her mean that it was open season for her? She shuddered. She was so sick of this, of being the weak one. Everyone else here was so much stronger than her, her fellow humans excepted of course. What made it worse was that since they were so much stronger, they automatically thought that it made whatever they did okay. Alright, so it was just Kyuubi and Gaara who held that mindset, and occasionally Naruto, but it was still there.

Kyuubi slept around, a lot. Almost as much as Gaara, but unlike Gaara, he actually slept with humans too. He didn't really form any bonds with the females either; and to him, she would be just another notch on his belt.

At least Kisame was still nice to her; their relationship hadn't changed at all. He often brought her strange things from the oceans, shells, bits of dead coral, shark teeth, precious stones and metals from sunken ships, and just about anything else that looked interesting. She also had a nice collection of loose pearls fished out of the, what were they? Oysters? Well, some sort of shellfish anyway. He brought up a net full of crustaceans, squid, fish, and shellfish from the sea daily, which was then cooked in the fire. He had just come back now.

"Today is conch, and they have such pretty shells, don't they? So big and hefty, to get the creature out I'm going to drill a small hole into the shell to release the suction. It'll slip right out then. Then you can clean up the shells and keep them. Look, one for each of you, see? Also, there's crab and fish, but Hinata doesn't like crab, so that's not your issue. We'll make conch soup in the big pot, and boil the crabs in the other pot. Hey Zetsu! Could you gut the fish so we can skewer them? We still have some of that garlic left right? It'd make a good rub for it."

"Yeah, and the old bat can go get water and stuff to add to the soup."

"Bite my scrumptious ass, weed-boy!" he sniped at him, but went off anyway. Hinata busied herself with feeding the horses and the mule, as well as giving them a little brushing. Temari wandered off with Shukaku, while Risu played in the sand. Kankuro decided to help Zetsu with cleaning the fish. Kyuubi and Naruto went off to gather driftwood and stones for the fire. Gaara was nowhere to be scene, until he dropped out of the sky like a falcon.

"There are no inns between us and Suna, so we're on our own. Perhaps it's for the best. However, I have found a shortcut, of sorts. It's an old transport circle, and it will lead us to within a day's travel from the capital. I will lead you there tomorrow. Oh, and Kyuubi?" he sounded almost coy, playful even. However, something in his tone set Hinata on edge. When Kyuubi looked up Gaara pounced on him, easily pinning him to the rocky ground. He whispered something in his ear, and the fox paled visibly. Gaara then pulled smoothly away, leaving the fox shaking.

Hinata suddenly felt a strange sensation. Instead of frightened, or even nervous, as she was usually when Gaara started getting temperamental, she felt an alien, smoldering anger towards Kyuubi for some sort of insult or disrespect. Yes, and a bit of pain and frustration too. Kyuubi just couldn't get a grip on his hormones and leave her be, further sparking his anger at the fox, but also making him and easy target to vent his frustrations with Hinata, and why did he always have to do everything? Couldn't someone else at least offer to scout ahead? His father for example, he had wings too, so he could easily fly ahead, but no, it was always him. Perhaps it was a good thing, since it allowed him time to think, but it was the principle of the thing really. He-

Whoa, wait a second, that was weird. The last time she checked, she was a she, not a he, and her father didn't have wings, so what the heck was going on? Oh no, hell no, impossible. There was no way she could read his mind. It was impossible, wasn't it?

Of course it was, she must be hallucinating, or woozy from the heat and her, now significantly better, anemia. Yeah, that's it, she was still anemic, and although she was better and stronger she had been fairly active today, with a lot of bending just now, what with making sure the horses' and mule's legs were okay, and cleaning the shells and such. When she stood up so suddenly in response to Gaara's attack on Kyuubi, she must've had a head rush. It must've done something weird to her brain temporarily. She must've imagined what he was feeling and combined it with her own emotions. Of course, it made perfect sense…right?

Gaara sighed and fanned his wings, stretching them and then folding them neatly along his back. He was in a mood. He could practically smell Kyuubi lusting after his mate, and had to slap the male down. She wasn't emotionally ready for that kind of intimacy, and being small and virginal, he seriously doubted that the fox wouldn't hurt her. That and he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else touching her. He tolerated the females and his father simply because his father didn't lust after her, he was after Temari, and the females were, well, females. For some bizarre reason they liked to touch each other's hair and primp and preen each other. It was so weird. Well, Hinata wasn't so touchy-feely in that sense; it was more of Temari and Risu. Seriously though, if anyone ever offered to do his hair or brush his wings, he'd snap their little necks.

She still frustrated him, she really did. He'd thought that they had had a breakthrough when she let him bite her. However, she had been more skittish than ever, and his efforts to be friendly had backfired. All he could ever sense from her was either a whirlwind of fear or confusion. He had decided to back off a bit, to give her time to clear her head, but it had been a month now, and with no change. How much time did she need?

Or, and this was even worse, perhaps she had made up her mind, and her opinion remained unchanged. He growled softly. It wasn't fair, or right. He had made a huge effort to try to see him in a positive light, to show her that he wasn't going to hurt her. Yes, he had been clueless on exactly how, but he had tried so hard anyway. How could she not see that?

Fine, just fine, he was done making the moves. If she wanted him, she'd better start making the advances, because he was done. Done, with everything. It was her turn.

Yes, he knew that life wasn't fair, but this still sucked. He growled and stalked off. He wasn't hungry anyway, not for companionship or the meal. He needed to go and cool off, refocus his perspective or whatever they called it.

Humans were such fickle creatures, irrational and unpredictable. She was no different in that aspect. In fact, the ones that he had stuffed in a bottle had also been irrational, unpredictable, and cruel. Was she really all that different from them?

All she felt was pain, and she was looking up at a pair of eyes that she shouldn't recognize, but did. The man had broken her ribs, both men were beating her, trying to get him in the cauldron, trying to- You! Suddenly the memory was gone, and she could sense someone in her head. Get out! A mental wave slapped her down, leaving her stunned and confused.

Gaara strode over to her fury boiling in him. Humans couldn't read minds, so how the hell had she done that?! The others looked on in shock, puzzled as to what was going on. He jerked her to her feet.

"You little twit, just what the hell do you think you're doing?! Dipping into my mind is incredibly dangerous, do you hear me?!" she paled in fear, and began to squirm desperately against his claws. He growled, stiffened, but set her down. She scrabbled away, turning to flee from him, but he blocked her, easily picking her up and bringing her back to the campsite.

"My son, I don't believe she's doing it deliberately."

"Oh? Then enlighten me, father, just what the hell was that just now?!"

"I believe this started when you first bit her; then you could access her mind without trying to at all, as if she were speaking aloud. After the second bite, I believe she can do the same to you. It's unintentional, much like overhearing another's conversation. She doesn't know how to shield her mind, but you do. I've never seen something like this before. The bond between you runs deep, whether you like it or not. You know as well as I do that not just anyone can read another's mind, and none by accident, until now. I believe you should probably explain to her just why it is so dangerous for her, and to perhaps block your mind from her. You should also try to teach her to block her mind, so she won't feel so vulnerable." Shukaku turned to his Temari and proceeded to stroke her back. She looked at him.

"That had better turn into a massage."

"Of course, my princess, a nice, long massage, with special attention to your lovely shoulders and neck." Oh yes, he still had it.

Gaara stepped towards Hinata, who shied away. He grasped her arm, being careful this time, and guided her away.

"You do realize that I am ancient, yes? Good. My mind, if you were to read it unchecked, could very well crush yours with the sheer weight of seventy millennia, little missy, let alone the memories. I have seen things and experienced things that would drive you mad, child. I will shield myself from you, so we don't have anymore accidents, yes?" she shivered under his gaze. She felt like an intruder, and a naughty child. That wasn't fair though, how was she supposed to know?! Temperamental, moody-

"I would change that thought, if I were you." His tone was deadpan, no emotions in any direction. She stiffened. That wasn't fair, why didn't he stay out of hers? She didn't know anything about mental shields and stuff! He nosed his way into her head all the time-

"Not purposefully, you little minx, now pay attention! To shield yourself, you need to control your emotions. I suppose your thoughts will be more difficult to control, what with you being mute and internalizing everything. Try to remain aware of your surroundings; study them constantly. If your senses are actively being used, you are less likely to sink into your thoughts or to broadcast them so loudly to me. Now then, away with you," he made a shoeing motion with his hand before walking away. Hinata stared after him. That's it? After all that happened just now, she was supposed to be calm and normal while he just walked away like nothing happened? She stood there, trying to absorb the fact that she had been dismissed, that he had felt nothing after his anger had ebbed. He really didn't care, it had all been some sort of sick game to him. She slumped in defeat, hurt by the latest turn of events.

After their meal, Gaara led them all to an ancient circle of runes carved into the floor of a shallow cave. He knelt down in its center, and murmured soft, spidery words. A golden glow lit up the circle, and, one by one the group walked through it. The mule with the wagon was the second to go, plodding ahead calmly. The horses, after watching him, allowed themselves to be led nervously through the golden circle that was now floating above the stone one.

As the others walked through and re-organized their stuff and calmed the horses, Gaara breathed the harsh, dry air with relish. He felt the scorching sun warm his wings, the hot sand soothing his irritated mood, and the wind whisper across the dunes. At last, after what had seemed like an eternity, he was home.