Chapter 36: Shukaku Speaks!

"Shizukara, I'm so glad you've decided to visit me in my lovely home." greeted Shukaku as he showed Izuka a smile that showcased all his teeth.

"Cut the chit chat Shukaku. We both know why I've decided to come and visit you after all this time." answered Izuka as she took a step toward Shukaku's cage.

"Aw Shizukara, you've hurt my feelings. I only wanted to greet you to my humble abode." answered Shukaku as he showed a face of mock hurt as he stretched out his arms to emphasize his quaters.

"Maybe if you stopped calling me Shizukara I would be a little nicer to you." answered Izuka coldly as she crossed her arms.

"But isn't that your whole name? What? Am I mispronouncing it Shizukara?" asked Shukaku with a sinister smile as he pronounced her name as Shiz-uck-kar-a.

"I will only say this once and only once. It's pronounced Shi-zu-ka-ra. If you mispronounce my name one more time, there will be severe consequence." answered Izuka coldly as she continued to walk until she was right in front of the cage.

"Like what Shizukaka?" asked Shukaku as he said her full name, changing the last syllable in her name.

Izuka didn't respond. However, she raised her hand, commanding the sand in his cage to swarm around Shukaku.

"Do you really think that controlling the sand within my cage will do you any good? The sand is my domain!" exclaimed Shukaku as he began to laugh maniacally.

Izuka continued to retain a neutral expression as she commanded the sand flying within Shukaku's cage to wrap around his neck. The sand started to Shukaku, getting tighter and tighter with each movement of Izuka's fingers.

"WHAT THE HELL?" cried Shukaku as he tried to break free. "I can't break free!"

"Of course you can't Shukaku. As long as you are within this cage, you can't use your control over sand." explained Izuka as she commanded the sand around Shukaku's neck to become tighter.

"Let me go little girl!" exclaimed Shukaku with a snarl as he struggled to break free.

"Not until you tell me how to stop the Kotowashi Clan's kekkai genkai." answered Izuka as she gave Shukaku a sharp look.

"Fine, I'll tell you! Just stop choking me dammit!" cried Shukaku as he started to struggle for air.

Izuka let a small smirk appear across her face as she commanded the sand to let Shukaku's neck go. As Shukaku gasped for air, Izuka placed her hands in her pockets.

"How can Gaara and I defeat Seiriyu and his kekkai genkai?" Izuka asked the sandy tanuki as he coughed hoarsely.

"Aren't you pushy?" responded Shukaku as he cached his breath.

"I'm on a tight schedule." responded Izuka as she scowled at the one-tails.

"Someone wants to get back to her boyfriend." mumbled Shukaku under his breath. This made Izuka scowl even more.

"Alright . . . I'll tell you how to defeat the Kotowashi Clan's kekkai genkai, but first I need to give you a little history lesson." explained Shukaku as he crossed his arms and laid on the ground.

"A history lesson?" asked Izuka as she raised one of her blonde eyebrows.

"Indeed my little blonde jinchuriki; in order to understand how to stop the Kotowashi Clan's kekkai genkai, you need to learn the history of how the kekkai genkai first came about." Shukaku further explained as he let out a loud yawn.

"I see," responded Izuka as she looked at the ground before staring Shukaku straight in the eye. "Continue"

Shukaku showcased one of his signature sinister smiles before speaking. "Very well then; let's start from when I first met the Kotowashi Clan shall we?"

Back in the real world

Gaara stared at Izuka's face with startled eyes. Izuka's eyes were no longer emerald green. They were half open and were now pitch black except for the irises that were now the same yellow and five star design as Shukaku's were. The only thing that moved however was her mouth, which was speaking silent words and going way too fast for Gaara to read or understand them.

"What is going on in there Izuka?" mumbled Gaara in a voice of agitation and worry as he started to pace around her.

He continued to pace around in a circle when he suddenly heard a sharp sound come from outside the room. A second sound came after the first, twice as loud as the second one. That's when a new sizzling/cracking sound could be heard from behind the door.

"Oh no" whispered Gaara as he commanded his sand to shield him and Izuka just in time before an explosion detonated in front of the suite door, taking out the door and half of the wall. Shards of furniture flew across the suite and some even hit the sand shield, but none made a dent in it. As the smoke cleared, Seiriyu and the Lightning Twins walked into the room from the large opening from where the front door once stood.

"Nice timing on the sand shield Gaara-san, but you and the Lady Sage made a very predictable mistake by coming back to your old suite." commented Seiriyu with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

Gaara lowered his sand shield so that his face was the only part of his body that was visible. He sent an angered scowl straight at the dictator.

"Where's the Lady Sage? Is she hiding behind that sand shield of yours?" asked a curious Seiriyu as he began to rock back and forth like a five year old would.

Gaara didn't bother to answer him.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." said Seiriyu with a smirk as he stopped moving in place. "Lady Sage, won't you show your face?"

Gaara turned to Izuka, who wasn't fazed at all by the explosion since she was still in her inner world.

"Sorry, Izuka can't speak with you right now. Can I take a message?" asked Gaara with a scowl as he returned his stare back to Seiriyu.

Seiriyu let out a small chuckle. "Get him"

The two twins responded by pointing their palms right at Gaara. Lightning bolts shot from their palms at a rapid pace, aimed directly for Gaara. Gaara raised his shield back up just in time to block the lightning strikes. The twins continued their onslaught of lightning strikes, but Gaara's sand shield managed to not break down throughout the whole attack.

"C'mon Izuka; hurry up in there." mumbled Gaara as he continued to hold up his shield while momentarily glancing at the girl behind him.

Shukaku's Cage

"I didn't meet the Kotowashi Clan, the Clan met me." said Shukaku as he let out a sharp yawn.

"They sought you out?" suggested Izuka as she raised her eyebrow once again.

"Indeed, they wanted to learn from me. They wanted to learn how to control the sand and desert like I can. But, their chakra wasn't compatible to mine, so they never were able to master it. The members of the clan are natural lightning element users, not a wind user like myself." explained Shukaku as he gave Izuka a pompous look.

"But they did manage to learn something of yours." suggested Izuka as she leaned against the front of the cage.

"Yes, they learned other things that helped them develop into a very powerful clan, but a very dangerous and unstable clan at that." added Shukaku as a thoughtful look appeared across his face.

"Like your blood thirsty nature?" suggested Izuka as she gave the tanuki a questioning look.

"Exactly, but they also learned something important. They never knew about the potential of their kekkai genkai in the beginning. I was the one who pointed it out."

"You?" Izuka asked as she scratched her arm. "How?"

"When I first watched them come into contact with other people, I literally saw the chakra come out of the ninjas whom the Kotowashis touched. Originally, the Kotowashis' kekkai genkai was limited to the palms of their hands." Shukaku further explained.

"And somehow, you were able to teach them how to enhance their genkai?" responded Izuka with narrowed eyes.

"Indeed, it was simple really. I can gain power by absorbing the wind. I taught them how to do that with chakra, and let me just say they were definitely fast learners."

"How did they even find you in the first place?" Izuka suddenly asked the tanuki as she raised her head to look him straight in the eye.

"I was a nomad that traveled through the desert. My only objective was quenching my bloodlust. With every tribe I found, my bloodlust was satisfied. All the Kotowashis had to do was follow the trail of bodies that I left behind."

"But why did you let them hang around you so much if you're usually a loner?" Izuka asked him suspiciously.

"I saw a little bit myself in them so I let them hang around me. Although, now that I think about it, it was because of them that the First Kazekage found me." Shukaku told her with a scowl on his face.

"All the more reason why you should tell me what the weakness is." responded Izuka with a scowl of her own, but was a little weirded out that Shukaku sounded sentimental speaking his last sentence.

"Touché, young jinchuriki. Touché." responded Shukaku with a knowing smile.

Real world

The onslaught of lightning attacks continued as Gaara continued to hold up his shield to block them, but soon enough, he was starting to get tired.

I can't keep this up forever. Gaara thought to himself as he wiped as he started to feel weary.

"Too bad the Lady Sage can't help you get out of this."

Gaara instantly looked up to see that Seiriyu was standing on the ceiling, his gaze instantly locked on Gaara.

"Meditation time must be really important to the Lady Sage if she has decided to leave you out in the cold like this." commented Seiriyu as he kissed his teeth.

Gaara never let his gaze falter as he continued to stare Seiriyu down.

He doesn't even notice that Izuka's eyes are similar to Shukaku's. He probably can't see them from where he's standing.

Gaara pondered this as he continued to hold his shield up, but that's when he felt the lightning attacks hitting his shield start to lesson.

"What the?" Gaara whispered to himself as he turned and moved away just in time before Maki could land a fist shrouded in lightning on Gaara's left side. Thanks to the surprise attack, Gaara sidestepped out of the way and blasted Maki away with a torrent of sand. That's when Aki went on the attack. She tried to land a few lightning jabs to Gaara's midsection, but Gaara managed to dodge each one.

This isn't good. They're driving me away from Izuka. I have to get back to her. Gaara thought to himself as he commanded his sand to grab Aki, holding her in place.

Gaara smirked at his work, but soon it disappeared as he turned around to see Seiriyu with his katana right at Izuka's throat, Izuka's face not even flinching thanks to the trance she was in.

"I wouldn't take another step if I was you," suggested Seiriyu with a sadistic is smile. "If you do, it wouldn't end for your girlfriend now will it?"

Gaara let an angered scowl grace his pale features as he stared at the katana at Izuka's throat, looking menacing in the moonlight that was coming in through the window.

"Let Aki go please. NOW!" yelled Seiriyu as he continued to move his katana closer to Izuka's neck; his blade now touching her skin.

Gaara never moved his gaze from Seiriyu. He moved his hand, commanding for his sand to let go of the female twin. Aki shot Gaara a blank stare before returning to her sensei's side, Maki soon joining her.

"Now, we're going to wait until the Lady Sage comes out of her meditative trance. Judging from her eyes, she must be speaking with the One-Tails and I can't wait for her to tell us what she and Shukaku were talking about." explained Seiriyu as he smiled brightly, but it was giving off a more disturbing effect.

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he commanded his sand to return to his side.

Izuka, what are you and Shukaku doing in there? Did you get him to talk? He thought as he brought his hand back to his side.

He'll find out soon enough.

End of chapter 36

A/N: Please review

Birthdays:

April 23: Aaroniero Arrurerie (Bleach)

April 24: Neliel Tu Odelschwank