Part 36 'Twas The Night Before The Wedding
The Day before the wedding!
Everything.
Was.
Chaos.
People running around like headless chickens like they'd caught rabies from a scabby looking dog. There were rehearsals last minute additions to various things and to top it all off Gaara and I had to great all of the guest's today yay! Not. I had spent most of what would have been a peaceful nights sleep bent double over the toilet. I was having to drink various concoctions to keep me from keeling over and to try to make sure the baby didn't come out looking like something out of a shark's jaws and sprouting limbs left right and centre. Life was just peachy. And yet again I was dogged everywhere I went by the kindest person I'd ever hope to be with in this situation. Yup you've guessed it my etiquette coach. Makaiko was being her usual self and not helping anyone do anything, although admittedly she was keeping a very close watch over me, as was Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. We were currently walking through the marriage ceremony but there of course was no dress rehearsal due to superstitions of a lot of people.
"Keitii stand straight if you slouch again I will stick a big metal pipe down your back!"
"I'll tell you where to stick your bloody pipe in a minute!"
"Can we please just carry on with the rehearsal?" Gaara said wearily.
"Yes Kazekage-sama!" We carried on walking down to where the priest stood while wooden flutes were played. The practice went smoothly after that apart from Makaiko tripping over her own foot and landing flat on her face.
We preceded to the banqueting hall which wasn't quite finished yet (okay no where near finished) but Gaara confirmed about who was okay sitting next to who and being asked yet again if I had any family coming. I had indeed invited Katsou and Amaterasu's families and also the sensei's also a couple of the landlords of pubs where coming who I'd made friends with. Gaara walked around whilst Makaiko and I sat.
"It's a bit different to the weddings in the demon world." She said looking at all the decorations.
"I expect they serve human heads on platters and blood instead of sake do they?" I said dryly, my head was fucking killing.
"Yes they do actually," Makaiko said coolly, she was of course lying. "I'm not lying," she said quickly.
"Did you just read my mind?"
"No Keitii-chan because as we all know that would be just plain stupid." She grinned at me.
"I need alcohol and some basashi or maybe shiokara." Makaiko pulled a face.
"Are those your pregnancy cravings kicking in?"
"I was joking about the shikoara but I do want the other two or just alcohol would do." She gave me a pitying look.
"You know you can't have alcohol till after the pregnancy Keitii-chan." I pouted.
"This is so not fair why can't men go through all this bloody pain?!" because they're weak and less capable beings than us and are in many creatures." I laughed; she hated it if any male was given anything over her because he was more powerful, I did agree with her of course.
"I am so tired," I said sleepily, "I just want some rest and alcohol," I moaned.
"Oi I'm not having you bloody pass out on me again!" I glared at the floor and then rested my head on the table and Makaiko mimicked me her red cat like eyes blinking at me. "I'm not letting you close those eyes Miss Yanagi for lest I start singing."
"Oh god please don't anything but that!"
"Okay hey I have an idea how about I get the alcohol and drink it for you?" She said cheerily.
"Not funny Makaiko-san," I said through gritted teeth and I glared at her, she flinched slightly as she was mostly used to my evil glares.
"Cheer up Keitii-chan you're getting married tomorrow!"
"You wouldn't know it and I have decided that I hate weddings!"
LINELINELINELINE
"Ne Keitii-chan?"
"What?"
"Why is it every time you do the slightest thing wrong the day after you're in a strange mood like you're in now?" I did not answer Katsou, we had been given a mission by a lesser village who had been betrayed by a group of three who were called in their village 'the elite' but they'd been trained in a bigger village then moved to a smaller one hoping to gain glory but power is not good for some people. "Keitii-chan?"
"Leave it," I said tonelessly. The reason I was in one of those 'moods' was due to the fact that it had taken me a bit longer than anticipated by my father for the mission, and as a result I was beaten but under my clothes Katsou could not see how my father had thrown me across the room, slamming me in to walls. The characteristics I adopted for days at a time were not the usual ones I had. I'd isolate myself from everything and lack any emotion, it was just my training kicking in automatically to block out the pain. We were travelling at great speed through the forest, for this mission we did not need masks as long as we were quick and silent. We were the equivalent to the ANBU and we were certainly better than most of those idiots. Team 9 was the prodigy of the village and out of team 9 Katsou and I were superior to Amaterasu, yet out of us two I was superior to Katsou and he knew it. "We'll stay here for now."
"But Keitii-"
"Katsou question me and I will kill you understood?" He nodded and went about gathering some wood for a fire. The night had drawn itself upon us quickly and I did not fear the dark but knew that more than a full day's solid travel would take its toll and I would not enter battle that low. Katsou lit the fire and sat down looking at me, I just stared back emotionless. I was full of hatred towards my village and that god for saken star but more so towards my father.
"Keitii have I done something?" I just stared at him and I saw him trying to read my face which was wiped of any emotion.
"No," I said finally.
"Well what is it then?"
"To reveal ones weaknesses is stupid beyond belief." I did not trust anyone in battle or in the world apart from my older brother. Katsou sighed; he hated me in this mood.
"Keitii-chan we're finally out of that village with all those lesser beings." I inhaled sharply as I felt pain surge through my body. I bent double clutching the grass, Katsou rushed forward. I looked up,
"Get away," I hissed.
"But Keitii-chan-" I stood up shakily and in a flash I sensed something moving in the shadows, I whipped three kunai out slotted in between each finger and threw them with accuracy in the darkness. A man stumbled out of the bushes both arms bleeding heavily and a massive blood stain soaking the shirt where his chest was. I kicked him over with my foot and looked down at the pitiful creature I had wounded. A man about 20 older than me. He was my prey the one I was hunting. I laughed coldly as the fire sputtered beside me.
"So you're one of the elite yet you're efforts are that of a little mouse." I grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him against a tree and punched him in the stomach, he coughed and blood spurted out of his mouth.
"The others will be here soon to rescue me." I raised my head to look at him slowly and laughed softly.
"I doubt that." Katsou came out of the bushes with two others bound and gagged, one a woman with long wavy purple hair and pale blue eyes. The man had black hair and green eyes, neither looked particularly fearsome or anything like near to anything that could match Katsou or even Amaterasu for that matter. I pulled out four kunai and shoved them with force in to his chest and stomach; he collapsed to the ground slowly dying from his injuries. I turned towards the other two who looked scared like little lambs. I damaged their internal organs and let them bleed to death and let their internal organs slowly fail.
After I had 'dealt' with the so called 'elite' I sat back down by the fire. Katsou was looking at me. "What do you want now?"
"You're so different recently Keitii-chan you're scary the way you just killed them."
"That's the mission what we're hired to do so why fuck around with something that isn't even worth killing?" I said with hatred and disgust.
"All I'm saying is ever since you trained with those high ranking ANBU you're different and emotionless when you kill and I've never seen even ANBU do that all the time only from S-rank ninja."
"Katsou the village expects great things from us even more from me and I never fail anything."
"All I'm saying is Keitii-chan don't become like this all the time because you're so hard to talk to or get on with, I know that you've unlocked nearly all of the stars secrets so don't shut yourself away from everyone." I stood up looking down at him.
"You know nothing about me."
"I know a lot and I'd know more if you just told me what's wrong Keitii-chan! But you seemed determined to spend all your time training then drinking and nothing else!" He glared at me, he knew nothing though, no-one did apart from Sachiyo! "I bet even Makaiko didn't turn out this weird!" I snapped and even though he was considerably taller and heavier than me I picked him up by the throat and slammed him against a tree.
"She knows more than you do about me but even she has never seen me fight recently but I know you have so don't make me hurt you." I hissed dangerously, I let him go as he collapsed to the floor gasping for air. I walked away back towards Hoshigakure.
"Keitii-chan wait up!" I just kept walking and Katsou whirled me around, "Keitii-chan I'm always there for you because I care so don't be so distant with me!"
"Katsou you know fucking nothing about me!" I glared down at his hand grasping my wrist. "A true shinobi shouldn't show emotion as that shows their weak spots even if they try to cover up emotions with another type Katsou just piss off and leave me alone!" I yelled at him my anger spilling over and as I walked away I heard him yell at me.
"What happened to that pleasant innocent little girl I once knew?!"
"Stop dwelling in the past Katsou because I'm not that cute little six year old anymore!" I formed my hands as the chakra moulded in to wings and I flew away in to the night.
Later that afternoon we had to greet all of the guests from other village of which seemed to never bloody end! I greeted Katsou's family first even Misami and Nori had come to see me get married.
"How are you Keitii-chan?" Norio asked in his deep voice.
"I'm fine and excited to be getting married already but how are you doing?"
"It's different without Katsou everything is emptier and quieter but we visit his grave every week." I nodded as Nori let his voice drift off, Nori was in the ANBU and always was a person who never seemed quite there but was very sharp. I smiled as Misami ran up and hugged me but she only reached my waist.
"Hello Misami-san how's the training going?" She shrugged.
"Boring it's too easy." I grinned at her; she was as talented as Katsou was at that age. I greeted their parents who seemed to be coping relatively well but then again you may never be able to tell with good shinobi but I suspected that Katsou's mother had spent many sleepless nights crying. Next I moved on to the Hoshikage's family, Amaterasu's mother talked with me at length whilst her father talked to Gaara.
"So how are you finding life with the Kazekage then?"
"Wedding preparations hectic, the security tight but it's great really and I'm happy enough." She smiled, I knew that she'd wanted Katsou and me to become an item because all of our families had been close and Amaterasu had always said it herself. I moved on from all of this awkwardness to the rest of the Hoshigakure guests. The landlords of pubs greeted me warmly and were sorry that they'd lost their best customer. After that we had a long long long long long looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong talk with non other than Uzamaki Naruto who I swore was colour-blind I mean black and orange is a no go! As Naruto talked I wondered if he was a normal human being because he didn't even seem to draw breath!
"Okay that's very nice Naruto thanks for the gifts and support again we'll see you tomorrow." I grinned and dragged Gaara off before Naruto could get another word in.
Soon enough we were piled high with gifts, Makaiko had come along and I had piled her high with half of the gifts which she strained under the weight of. As soon as we got back to the Kazekage manor Makaiko chucked them in a spare room which when we loaded all of the presents in was bursting at the seems. And finally all the preparations were in place for the wedding, I sat down in the banquet hall which was deserted except for me and Makaiko. "I am so fucking glad that's over!"
"You're not the only one," we sighed as we slumped in some chairs. "Who thought you getting married never would have believed it Keitii-chan especially at 16."
"Yeah I know this year has been a hectic one." She gasped and sat up suddenly.
"What is it?" I asked panicked.
"Keitii-chan?" She asked slyly.
"What is it?" I was vary wary.
"I know I won't be around when the baby is born but... BAGSY GODMOTHER!" I laughed. "Don't laugh Keitii-chan I'm serious," she said with her most convincing serious face on.
"Of course you are you fucking idiot!" She grinned at me. "I'll miss you Makaiko-san."
"I won't miss you."
"What?!"
"Only joking," she said grinning at me. "You never know I might come back and haunt my brother that would be fun." She grinned evilly. "Seriously he screams like a girl."
"No I do not scream like a girl!" Hiroaki said indignantly popping up from under the table. "Nice legs Keitii." I kicked him in the chest so hard it sent him careering out of an open window.
"No doubt the biggest pervert I ever saw is your go forsaken brother!"
"Aww come on Keitii-chan we love him really."
"Speak for yourself!"