A/N: well my mom came up with another idea for a filler, but i know you guys just want to get on with the story so SORRY MOM! D: well i have to explain this in detail for many reasons. i might've said this before earlier in the story, like right after Kiss that I'm stupid and totally forgot that Gaara died and Shukaku was taken by the Akatsuki and I was like oooooh shiiiate! so for this story I NEED Shukaku so I know I just F-ed up the freaking storyline but that's okay i think. don't ask me how Gaara fell asleep, you can have fun with that reason as well. yeah if i just F-ed up the story, you can hate me, it's okay *sniffle* D; i'll try to make the fight scene longer (OMG EPIC FORESHADOWING!) and any OOC is my fault, and ahead of time I apologize. :D so sit back and enjoy the show! :D R&R i wanna know what you guys think. i like feedback :) and, do you people tittle your J's? Yes err No? xD lol this might be the longest chapter (like 3,000 to 4,000 words xD i'm probably exaggerating) but no matter. enjoy! :D
Sleep
It was late that night and Reiko had just finished her paperwork the paper work Gaara had asked her to finish. As she looked over the things while she walked down the hall, Reiko looked up at the waning moon. Reiko grinned back at the sideways toothy smirk the moon showed. Reiko stopped in front of the door, thinking if she should go in or not. What if was asleep? Reiko thought about their time with Asumi and Tora. She shook her head as she thought, No, he wouldn't be asleep. Reiko stepped in, to see the chair's back to her.
"Kazekage-sama?" Reiko began approaching the desk, cautiously. She didn't know it, but she felt it in the air; something was very wrong. The room had an eerie, desolate feeling. Reiko unlatched her shuriken pouch, pulling out a kunai. She spun it around her finger quietly, her footsteps light. Reiko set the papers down the desk, still waiting for a response. "I'm leaving now." She said brusquely, turning her back to the chair.
"Leaving so soon?" Called an unfamiliar voice. Reiko, with her back still facing the chair, put the kunai back into her shuriken pouch. She then took out a few senbon, twirling them between her fingers.
"Yeah, I suppose I am leaving." Reiko replied, tossing one of the senbon straight up into the air, tugging on an invisible string, bring it back down. "Put your weapons away, child. I only wish to talk." The mysterious voice demanded. Reiko did as so, waiting for the voice to speak again. When it didn't she did, "Who are you and what have you done to the Kazekage?" Reiko barked turning to face the back of the chair. The voice chuckled spinning the chair around, making Reiko gasp quietly. "Dear girl, I am the Kazekage." Said the voice. Reiko scowled at the face; he was not the Kazekage. He looked the same, but his eyes and voice were very, very, very different than she knew.
"You're not the Kazekage!" Reiko cried, her scowl deepened when he began to chuckle again. "Such a stubborn girl, aren't you? Have you ever heard of a bijuu or possibly a jinchuuriki?" Reiko thought for a moment before she remembered that among the nine bijuu, the Kazekage was one of them. Reiko nodded, making the Kazekage smirk.
"Very good. Do you know which bijuu?"
"No, but I suppose which ever one it is, that's you." Reiko mused snidely, a devilish grin fiddling with her lips.
"Ah, you're smart for such a stubborn girl. " Reiko shrugged, "A compliment or insult?" She asked, frowning at the figure in front of her. With a casual shrug, he replied, "Either. You chose." Reiko shrugged again, crossing her arms. After a few moments of silence, he began to speak.
"Formality is a great way to show grace, don't you think?" He asked with a grim smile. Reiko shrugged thinking about it for a moment. "I guess. Who are you then?" Reiko asked, looking at the sneering ghost of her employer.
"I am Shukaku the Ichibi, otherwise, the second conscious of your employer. " Reiko nodded at Shukaku, easily perplexed.
"I'm Reiko Ot-"
"Oh I am very well-aware of who you are," Shukaku interrupted curtly, he grinned at her again before going on. "You should know that he thinks wildly about you... Something about 'unknown feelings'... " Shukaku stood up from the chair, stepping away from the desk, walking towards Reiko. He stopped in the middle of the room, turning to his left, beginning to pace as he waited for an answer. Reiko's heart skipped a beat then stopped. He thought about her? Were those unknown feeling built up hatred? Or an uncontrollable feel of love? She was confused now. Very confused. Reiko looked at the figure in front of her, then at the ground.
"'Unknown feelings' you say?" Reiko repeated, looking up again. Shukaku stopped the pacing body to look up from the floor. He laced his fingers behind his back, grinning a toothy, half-hearted grin.
"He's always been a confused little boy. But ever since you waltzed your way into his little, bleak heart, things slowly straightened out for him. And lately, his will has been held against me, making it oh so very hard for me to get through to him. As I try to talk to him, he just turns his back and ignores me. Ah, ignorance was a bliss for the boy, while it grew to me as a nuisance. I thought, and thought, when it finally came to me. What better way to get rid of a nuisance than getting rid of it from the source. And you can take your time guessing what that source is.
As I devised a plan, I watched you fight, taking mental notes along the way." He paused to chuckle, and to let this sink into Reiko's skin. She didn't respond as she waited for him to go on. With a sigh, he began, "You have a keen sense of hearing, sheer brilliance in accuracy, and your speed isn't that bad either. As I thought about it, I knew you would be a challenge. But as naive and cocky you are, I thought of it as a simple task to get rid of you." Reiko clenched and unclenched her fists, a grim smile of her face.
"But if I'm gone, wouldn't the Kazekage still be crazy about me?" Reiko smirked, thinking she hit a weak spot. Her parents always told her, if the enemy was a talker, let them talk and keep calm to devise a plan. Shukaku kept a small smile of his face as he spoke, "He would. But he'll be confused, but he'll listen." Reiko nodded again, shaking her arm, a very light rattling coming from her thick sleeves. Shukaku didn't notice the ringing, but he did notice the shine.
"Well, I never go down without a fight." She said grimly, throwing four senbon at the figure in front of her. A frail wall of sand pushed them out of the way. "When I said you would be a challenge, I was referring to my own strength; the stubborn boy's will makes it hard for me to gather sand." Reiko frowned, pulling them back with an almost invisible string. "And here I thought you were being sweet and complimenting me." Reiko said sarcastically. She had taken all his notes into consideration; her hearing was excellent, she could hear a baby's cry from two miles away, her accuracy was the best in her class and got as close as near perfect, and her speed. Her speed could increase if she felt the need, but that took a lot of energy and she only used it when she really needed to.
Reiko pulled out a kunai, cutting the string on the senbon, tucking them away on her person. Shukaku watched her movements carefully. One step, two, three, four... gone. He didn't seem phasedat all, feeling something run across his cheek. A little warm blood trickled down his cheek, hearing a faint thump. He turned slightly to see Reiko leaning against the desk, a smirk on her face. She had both eyes closed, spinning the kunai around her finger. When she felt the presences of eyes dawn upon her, she opened one eye and looked at Shukaku. "Surprised? You shouldn't be." Reiko mused, stepping away from the desk. She disappeared again, but this time Shukaku knew exactly where she would appear.
She knew she had the upper hand, but what she didn't know was that he could tell where she was going to stop. Reiko knew she was going to end up beside him, but instead, she ended up on the floor. She looked up at the figure in front of her, seeing a very grim smirk. Reiko hopped up from the ground, seeing that he had a weapon of his own. Reiko wasn't very fond of hand-to-hand combat, but if that was the easiest way to get to him, she'll do whatever it took.
"It took a long time for me to figure out a way to get control of the boy... but he fell asleep not so long ago. Convenience like that is great, don't you think? Wouldn't it be convinient if you just let me kill you and get things over with?" Reiko snorted, standing her ground as she listened. "Yeah, no thanks. I don't like giving in so easy." She said before striking. Reiko was really surprised at how much noise this was making, and that no one noticed. Reiko saw sparks fly, and spots of blood on the floor. She had small cuts along her arms, and a few scratches on her face. She examined Shukaku to see he had a few cuts on his face as well.
Reiko was careful not to leave an open spot for him to attack, but when he tried to strike her face, she blocked it with her kunai, leaving a weak spot; her stomach. Shukaku noticed this faster than Reiko had, and shoved her. She thought she didn't go very far, but when her back hit the door knob very hard, she knew it wasn't for distance. The sudden impact made Reiko cough and shriek in pain at the same time. Reiko thought nothing of the pain in her back, until she stood up. Her legs buckled and she fell back to the ground, coughing. Blood surfaced and dripped down the corner of her mouth, making Shukaku grin.
"You're a very fragile girl from what I had seen. You hurt easy, and your bones snap easy. Another reason why this would be easy." He said, running towards her. Reiko stood up, ignoring the pain in her back. Reiko agreed with what he said; she was always the one that got hurt. Her bones were twigs and her skin was paper. She hated it, but Reiko knew she was born that way and she couldn't change it. The kunai's collided, and sparks flew.
"You will..."
clink!
"Regret..."
clink!
"Ever..."
clink!
"Wanting..."
clink!
"To pick..."
clink!
"A fight..."
clink!
"With me!" Reiko snarled, shoving Shukaku against the wall with a loud thud. She held the kunai tightly in her hand, her knuckles white, up against his neck. Shukaku chuckled against her hard eyes. Reiko was confused for a moment, but showed no emotion. "Silly girl, what are you waiting for?" Reiko's hand was hesistant. She needed to take things into consideration for a moment. Reiko knew she couldn't kill a person, none the less a demon. She thought about it very hard. If she killed the demon taking over the Kazekage's body, wouldn't that mean she would kill the Kazekage? Her heart stopped again. She couldn't bring herself to kill the Kazekage. Reiko looked at the face infront of her, looking behind the demon to see his face. What was this feeling churning Reiko's stomach? What was making her heart beat so fast?
She took a handful of the cloak, glaring at the grinning face in front of her. As Reiko thought, Shukaku brought the kunai up to her stomach, waiting for the right moment. Reiko frowned to herself in confusion. Was it hatred? No, it wasn't. Images of their kisses flashed in front of her eyes. She shed a single tear. "No..." Reiko whispered to herself, loosening the grip on the cloak. Shukaku looked down at her, "Hm? What's wrong? You can't bring yourself to do it?" He sneered.
"Go on. Kill me. You know what would hap-"
"Shut up!" Reiko demanded, her eyes narrowing into slits. Shukaku grinned deviously, "You said you hated him. Why don't you just kill me?" He asked, making Reiko snarl.
"I know what I said," She said, reading the words projected in front of her eyes. Reiko felt jealousy when they met Asumi, and fear when they first kissed. She felt hopeless when she was kidnapped, but comforted when he came and saved her. She couldn't doubt it and she couldn't deny it; she was in love with him. Reiko shook her head to herself, feeling stupid. Shukaku watched carefully before asking, "What's wrong with you? You have me here, kill me!" Reiko leaned forward, her forehead against his shoulder. A few tears raced down her porcelain cheek, making her sniffle.
"I can't..." She muttered.
"And why not?"
"Because..."
"Because why?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"Because I love him!" She vociferated. Shukaku continued to grin deviously, pushing the kunai into her think sweatshirt. The kunai she held dropped to the floor, making a loud noise. "I've always loved him, but denied it. How stupid can I get?" Reiko said to herself, unaware of the kunai he held. As it pierced the sweatshirt, it slowly and easily, broke the fishnet shirt wore, and tore through the bandages. Reiko's mind was tangled together and her heart was racing itself. She wondered how long it would take before her heart just exploded. Here she was, in love with the Kazekage and about to be killed by a demon in the Kazekage's body. She wanted to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat along with her tears. She was choking back her tears because when Reiko was a child, and started to cry, she would pass out. It was generic since her mother had it, so Reiko refrained herself from crying often.
Finally, the kunai's razor tip pierced Reiko's skin, the blood rushing through her sweatshirt. As he looked down at the blood that dripped to the floor, Shukaku's eyes softened into dull green eyes. Gaara was in-control of his body again. The first thing he noticed was Reiko's grip on his cloak, and her mumbles about love. That was this feeling. Love. Those unknown feelings Gaara went through were no longer unknown. The kunai dropped from his grip, making Reiko look up to see the face she loved. Reiko knew she couldn't hold it in much longer, her tears letting themselves go. Gaara slumped down to the floor, Reiko falling with him.
She cried into his shoulder, her blood staining the white cloak. She mumbled things like "I'm sorry," and "I love you, but I didn't know it." It was so un-Reiko he had to admit, but he didn't say anything. He felt the same way, but he kept quiet. Gaara held her close, her crying ceased as she fainted. Gaara pulled her sticky face away from his should to look at her. He wiped a single tear that clung to the edge of her eye, kissing her gently on the forehead.
Temari came very early to see if Gaara had finished what they needed, and when she saw the sight - all the blood and the broken pots - she gasped and the took Reiko to the infirmary quickly. Gaara was scolded for not bringing her in time, but he didn't listen. He watched the door where they were fixing Reiko; he only wanted to know if she was okay. And when the head of the medical nin came out, he said she was going to be fine. She was very hurt, but fine. Gaara was the first one to enter the room, seeing Reiko on her side. He sat down in the chair next to the bed, waiting for her to wake up.
A/N: That was a very suttle end... to this chaper! Haha! Gotcha thar didn't I? Next chapter's gonna be drabblish and very vauge. R&R! That was the huge plot twist in the story! COME ON I WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK FOR GOD'S SAKE! D: Don't make this writer sit in the corner and cry because she worked so hard to write this and no one reviewed D: lol jk I won't do that, but please review. It warms my heart :'D