Chapter Thirty-seven

Demonic Gifts

Hinata was still rather angry with him. Although he found this endlessly amusing, Gaara was beginning to tire of it. If he had done something worth getting pissy about, that was one thing, but it had only been a kiss, and he had a right to discipline the maid for crushing her poor body like that! His Hinata was entirely too nurturing for her own good at times.

Really, all he had done was frighten the maid a little; he had been gentle about that with her. He had killed others for far less. He sighed as he heated a poker in the flames. He was in the depths of his dungeons, a little slice of hell that only he knew about. The fires in the chamber kept it very warm, the better for the nerves to recognize and respond to pain. The surrounding stone walls were golden from the flames' light, what little that could be seen anyway. The rest of it was pitch black. There were no windows and only one heavy iron door. Most of his toys were hidden in the darkness, the better for the imaginations of his prisoners.

The large metal bowl hanging from the ceiling had a roaring blaze in it, and Gaara thought it was cheerful. The opinions of Yashamaru and Worm were unimportant. Gaara had happily informed him that he was formally stripping him of the title of Kazekage, and that from that point on he was Worm, since he had no other name. It had been by far the least of the torments that Gaara had in store for them.

His Worm was still chained to the wall, while Yashamaru currently resided under his boot. Gaara sighed as he looked down at him. Bruises, burns, cuts, slashes and scrapes covered his body. It took them so long to heal enough to torment them again; even with his assistance. He was feeling rather cheated. He had always healed so much faster, even as a blood-starved youngling. They had always been able to torment him again and again.

"You know, that little thing is quite frustrating at times; losing her temper over the silliest of things. I didn't hurt that maid all that much, and it was for her own good anyway. Little maids are certainly not allowed to harm my mate just because they are frightened. Give them an inch, and they'll take a mile and then where do you stand? Ah well," he chatted mildly as he watched the poker heat to a golden yellow tipped in fiery white before he lightly traced it down Yashamaru's chest. A strangled croak escaped his throat as the stench of burning flesh filled the air. The skin on his chest blistered and blackened as Gaara chatted on.

"Little Hinata is far too tenderhearted for her own good. Silly creature gets into more trouble because of that, but it does keep things interesting. Besides, she has the most endearing scowl," his voice was so light and nonchalant. True, this was about vengeance and his own sense of justice, but it was also highly entertaining and rather useful. He could complain and vent about his mate as much as he wanted without fear of it reaching her ears. They were a captive audience. He looked down at Yashamaru as he continued his croaking.

"You're not as much fun when you can't scream." He grumbled at him. Honestly, why were these pathetic creatures so frail? He gestured to the darkness at his right, causing a blue vial to drift from some shelf hidden in the shadows to his hand. He uncorked it and jerked his toy upright, ignoring his protests. He pried open his jaw and poured the contents down his throat before slamming his jaw shut hard enough that he would've shattered his teeth if he had any left but jagged remnants. He liked to keep those wounds open and unhealed. Yashamaru retched and cried out. Gaara let him huddle for a while before advancing with the poker.

"There; that's better. Now, where was I?"

Far away from the dungeons were the markets, where Hinata had joined Temari and Shukaku on a shopping trip. Kisame shadowed Hinata along with her new maid. Her maid had declined to give Hinata her name, stating that she needn't bother with such trivial things. Hinata had insisted that such things were not trivial, but it had only upset her, and she had let it go. Apparently her former masters had been very harsh, and had eroded her sense of self to such an extent that she thought of herself as trivial. Hinata could relate, and was determined to show her that they were wrong.

The markets were an exotic treat. Many of the buildings were constructed from stone or carved out of massive deposits of sandstone. They were for the most part neat and clean. Nearly everything one could ever desire was there, with one exception. There were no slaves. None on any of the auction blocks. Hinata was shocked.

"There hasn't been legal slavery here for roughly fifty-thousand years. My son was the first emperor to attack it head-on. He stopped the importing of humans for the purpose of slave labor, and made it illegal to enslave demons and hybrids as well. Many of the lords had to go underground about it. Of course, it is still only a technicality, as it is still a feudal system that we live in; our natures seem to want a strict hierarchy, but it is still vastly different from what it was. Servants now have the option of choosing another master if it is agreeable to the new master. The stronger the demon lord, the tighter his grip on the servant, but Gaara's watchful eye is on them. This is why he took your new maid, Hinata; he knew that her former master is a nasty piece of work.

"However, there are still little pockets of hell in other lords' houses; he is not so naive to think to stamp it out completely. But he has come the farthest. My son has always set lofty goals for himself, first the youngest emperor and the first to crack down on slavery, now seeking to court Hinata. I'm still not sure which is harder." Hinata shot him a dirty look at that; really, she wasn't so bad! He was just a butt sometimes, that's all. Shukaku merely smiled and continued on with his explanations and observations.

"A word of caution, little Hinata; your shyness and skittishness only encourages him to continue the chase. When you combine that with your current temper, he will probably get…mischievous. You have already learned that he finds your temper rather entertaining, so why are you feeding the beast?"

"B-because he's b-being mean!" Shukaku laughed at that, while Temari and Kisame looked at her worriedly. They had both heard the rumors that the emperor was tiring of her current mood, and they worried about who he might take it out on. Sure, he could be noble and very brave, but at the core he was a rather evil piece of work that was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted. They had no desire to be caught in the middle of this.

Temari was wearing a white and blue floral pattern sundress, with white heels and a purse that was the same shade of blue; as blue as the sky above them. Hinata was wearing a similar sundress in white and violet with splashes of lavender. Her bag, which had been forced on her by the seamstresses, also matched her dress. The only difference in pattern was that Temari's was based on hibiscus while Hinata's was based on lilies. Temari thought it was cute; Hinata was just feeling funny prancing about in a sundress and low heels in the market place. She was bound to fall on her butt sooner or later.

"Yeah, I get the stuff about demons and hybrids, but what about the humans? He's made it obvious that he hates us."

"Yes, my little honey pot, but it is self-preservation. You Chosen are born amongst the humans; therefore, it is wise to let your kingdoms grow populous to a point. Your numbers were severely depleted by our kind, particularly during my father's reign, but now the cities are full again. Fewer humans mean fewer Chosen, which means fewer pure-bred demons. Only one female out of one hundred thousand is a Chosen, more or less. When my son first became emperor only five hundred thousand or so humans lived in the land called Konoha. Now there is over fifty-million. It would have been more if not for disease and the wars that seem to pop up every couple of decades or so. All because he ended the trading of humans in quantity, and other nobles trying to take over little slices of human land and claiming it and all the souls as their own."

"But doesn't he-"

"He doesn't necessarily practice what he preaches. He does it on purpose; no one tells him what to do. Even so, he usually takes male humans as food, but he prefers feeders."

"What's a feeder?"

"Little sugar plum, a feeder is a demon or hybrid that sells their blood. There are few hybrids of our species, but they do exist and they do need to feed. They primarily serve us though. Instead of tax money, they give him their blood at regular intervals. It is a win-win situation. They are relatively few in number, but we don't need that many in any case."

After his explanation he pointed out the sights of the market, giving little tidbits of information about the history and landmarks. Hinata listened with half and ear, pondering her current situation. She was distinctly uncomfortable spending Gaara's money, even if he was obscenely wealthy. They were, in her eyes, currently fighting and it didn't feel right to go and shop on his dime. If he had been more passive or charitable, there may not have been an issue, but then again, they probably wouldn't be fighting. However, he was not charitable, and most definitely not passive. This could end badly. Shukaku kept reassuring her that he didn't care if she went shopping, but still.

As the day wore on, she bought a decorative pillow for her bed and a pretty lavender-crystal vase for her desk. Her maid was carrying her things, having been insistent that it was her job and that her ladyship needn't bother herself with such trifling matters. She had responded that she could handle a pillow and a vase, but it had fallen on deaf ears. That; and the fact that she seemed genuinely happy to be carrying her things made her finally stop trying to argue with her maid. Hinata sighed softly. What did one do in this situation? She puzzled over her current problem as they entered a jewelry store with the others. She was drawn over to a case that held an ornate necklace on display. It was set in platinum and had a teardrop shaped tanzanite in the center the size of the first part of her thumb. It was a deep blue-violet color that shimmered with flashes of pink and burgundy. It was flanked by two pearl-sized snow white diamonds, and six tanzanites (approximately half the size of the diamonds) that were the same deep color as the large stone in the center. The metal was a thin, wide band that was a quarter inch in the back and gradually increasing in size as it reached the complex centerpiece holding the stones. The balance of metal, stone, and spacing was precisely calibrated to allow the maximum light through to make the stones virtually glow.

It was beautiful. It was wondrous. It was- Hinata blanched as she saw the price tag. Her clan in its entirety didn't make enough in a year to even begin to cover that. She began to edge away, only to be approached by a salamander demon. He was short, only five-two, and slender enough that she thought that she just may outweigh him, not a feeling that she was used to in this land. His eyes were emerald green with red irises and black pupils, while his skin was black and vivid blue. His cloths were simple dress pants that were grey and a white dress shirt. He had no shoes; his feet simply wouldn't allow normal shoes. His head bobbed in greetings and acknowledgement of her apparently superior rank, another thing that she wasn't used to.

"Ah, the Lady Hinata, greetings, greetings, so wonderful to have you grace our shop. You wish to see that necklace, yes? Exquisite taste, milady, here, I will fetch it for you right away!" he hustled over to the counter, and Hinata had a mild heart attack. At least, that was what she thought it was.

"No, no thank you! I-I was just-"

"Ah, I see, you already know. Very well then, I will wrap it up for you! A lovely necklace for the beautiful lady of the emperor!" Definitely a heart attack, she was sure of it. Temari and Shukaku looked over. He had gotten her a brown piece of amber with gold flecks set in a gold chain with matching earrings. He chuckled softly.

"N-no, I-I'm sorry, I w-was just looking!" her voice had gone up several octaves in alarm. The salamander was puzzled. Was she being coy? Perhaps trying to bargain? The necklace was well within the emperor's means, and he had a history of collecting fine stones and pieces of jewelry such as this. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't mind his bride purchasing it.

"Just buy it, Hinata, my son won't mind." She squeaked indignantly at them both.

"N-no, it's v-v-very pretty, but, but but butbutbut I'm g-g-going outside, I-I w-w-w-w-w-wasjustlooking!" and with that she bolted out the door, leaving a puzzled salamander. What had he done wrong? Most noble ladies made their selection and that was that. He watched as her guardian and maid scrambled to catch up. Shukaku approached him.

"I would be expecting my son to arrive tonight if I were you. He will come if for no other reason than to prove a point."

"Yes, milord, I will put a hold on it then. Thank you for your patronage." He bobbed his head and scuttled back.

When they got back to the palace her maid scuttled up to her chambers to deposit her pillow and vase. She was cornered by Gaara, and she let loose a small shriek of surprise, which he chose to ignore.

"Only two bags? What are they?"

"A-a vase and a pillow, Lord Gaara."

"What? Are they encrusted in jewels or precious metals?" such things would be gaudy, but whatever made her happy. The maid shook her head no. He frowned slightly in puzzlement.

"Then are there any items to be delivered? Furniture, large vases, anything like that?"

"No milord."

"Then did she eat at a gourmet restaurant? I know that she didn't arrive earlier to drop anything off…"

"No, milord." He stared at her.

"Why? Shopping is supposed to be natural to females, why is she having difficulty? Surely it can't be concern of money!"

"I-I'm afraid so, Lord Gaara. She seemed hesitant to spend your money, and I believe she feels guilty over just these two purchases. She practically ran out of that jewelry shop-"

"Tch, how typical of her. Cary on, little maid, I have things to attend to." With that he strode away.

Gaara was not at dinner that night, or around for most of the evening. Hinata was feeling concerned and a little guilty. Here they were fighting and she had gone off and spent his money on stuff. He must be really mad…she sighed as she headed up to her own room. She would just read a while and then take a bath. It was a nice evening out; she could sit on her little balcony that overlooked the flower garden.

While his mate was fretting over her insignificant purchases, Gaara was making his own. The salamander had yelped in surprise as the emperor had simply appeared in the middle of his shop. He was never going to get used to that. He hustled over as Gaara strode right to the case containing the necklace. He knew his mate, she liked different shades of violet and blue, and this necklace had her written all over it. He considered the necklace.

"Hm, shopping inept or not, she does have a good eye. Box it up. The matching earrings too, both sets, the bracelet, and that ring. Here is her size, when it is finished deliver it to me. Anything else you'd like to show me? Large stones or fine jewelry, we need to work on her collection." He passed a slip of paper to the salamander, who took it with a deep bow.

"Ah, I have several nice mystic topazes and some Neptune topazes too, Lord Gaara. Would you like to start there?" He was relieved that he wasn't angry with him. The picky emperor was actually surprisingly easy to work with. Show him only quality things, no gimmicks, no junk. If he liked it, he bought it, if not, move on. Never argue or haggle with him, he saw such things as a waste of time and insulting.

Three different topaz necklaces ended up with the tanzanite, each with matching earrings. Two opal necklaces, a ruby, a sapphire, a string of perfect black pearls, a string of dark grey pearls with a pendant of grey pearls and diamonds, black coral, a blue diamond, a red diamond, and a star sapphire, each with matching earrings and either a ring or a bracelet. When the rings were sized, the salamander would personally deliver them. In addition to the jewelry, Gaara purchased several large loose stones to add to his collection. He headed back for his palace, to meet with his moody mate.

Her room was empty, and the bathroom door was shut. He could see the embroidered pillow set neatly at the center of her bed, a deep violet color. Her vase was only ten inches tall and slender, a deep blue-violet streaked with lavender, crystal clear. He knew that she would get flowers tomorrow morning for it. The sound of running water attracted his attention. Time enough for examinations later; they needed to talk. He set the bundles on her bed, and teleported to her bathroom.

Her back was to him, and she was completely oblivious. Her tub was filling up with hot water and foam. He started to say something, but when she began to tug on her dress sleeves he stopped and made himself invisible. If she was going to be pissy with him, he'd give her a reason, and enjoy himself in the process. He leaned back against the wall, and watched as her dress slipped down and off her body. She went over and checked the water, and then unfastened her lavender colored bra and let it and her pale lavender panties drop on top of the dress before padding over and sinking slowly in the tub with a happy sigh. He smirked and crept closer, enjoying himself immensely. Such a lovely body, her breasts were really top notch. Full and perky, and that cute butt of hers was nice too. That slender waist, the way her hips flared out in graceful curves, that delicate neck, the silken hair, all was such a delicious treat to behold. Right now her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, baring that delicious throat. He should really get her convinced to let him bite her again; there wouldn't be that hellish burn, just sweet pleasure.

She reclined in the tub for a few moments before soaping up a soft cloth and began to wash herself. Ooh, what a treat. His greedy eyes followed her movements as she washed her shoulders and arms, and then stood up to wash her legs and her cute little feet. His lips formed a smug smirk that went unseen as she washed her tummy and then her breasts, taking her time. She was unhurried and wanted to relax. She rinsed off just as slowly, and he licked his lips, imagining his tongue tracing its way slowly from just below her navel to her breasts. What a treat. Perhaps a nip on one of them, on that delicate pink skin that formed their peaks, he was sure that he could get her to love his fangs.

He watched her recline in the tub again, and waited a beat, letting her completely relax. Then he crept closer, stretching out on the floor behind her. He put his lips to her right ear, and whispered softly.

"What a lovely sight, you delicious little morsel." She screamed loud enough to shake the mirror on the wall, and jumped up and whirled around to see him materialize. She ducked into the water, swiftly hiding herself in the bubbles and glared at him furiously, her face as red as a rose. He laughed as he gazed at her, unrepentant.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"H-how long h-have you b-b-been laying there?"

"I haven't been in here long, just before you got undressed is all." She gave another strangled shriek; he had been watching the entire time?! Mortified, she tried to simultaneously cover her face and her body. He chuckled again.

"It's not like I haven't seen you before, although, watching you wash that luscious body of yours is quite the treat. Oh come now, surely you didn't think that I'd let you get away with all of that, now did you? And no, I'm not talking about the pillow or the vase; I'm talking about your attitude. If you're going to be pissy with me, then I will give you a reason to be. The vows have been reaffirmed, the main groups of traitors are dead, and the maid is fine. Let. It. Go. I am not my father; I will only tolerate so much before I remind you that I have teeth and I will quite happily bite you. In many ways and in many places. Now, come here." She didn't, and he sighed.

"You know I'm not going to hurt you, my sweet one, I haven't seen you for a while, and I miss you. Especially when you're temperamental." She continued to huddle miserably against the far side of the tub, and shook violently. Well, he hadn't meant to upset her quite this much. He teleported over and pulled her shaking form into his arms. He kissed her forehead and her eyes, murmuring soft words in some sort of language that she couldn't-hey!

"I-I am n-not a f-fussy k-kitten!" he chuckled softly.

"That depends on whose point of view you take. Come now; let me get your back. I'll behave."

"I-it's a little l-late for that!"

"Note that I didn't say how I would behave, exactly, yes?" she tried to protest again, but when he rubbed circles on her back with that soapy cloth, she shivered, shuddered, and shut up. That was so nice… he gave a throaty, masculine laugh as he continued to massage and cleanse her back at the same time. Lots of sharp teeth left in him yet, and ready to chomp.

"Well, are you ready to talk to me yet?" she shook her head no; there was no way that he was moving from that spot behind her, his hands were far too skilled. He laughed again as he caught her thoughts. Who knew she would be so responsive to his touch? He wasn't even trying, yet.

"No? Then perhaps I should join you. Smelling like a flower is a small price to pay when you're involved." That got her attention and a strangled shriek was the only response she could make. He laughed as he finished her back.

"Join me when you're done then. Use a towel." He snatched her favorite butterfly nightgown and vanished into thin air. She angrily surged out of her tub; he had taken her panties too! That dirty, rotten, perverted, sadistic, evil emperor of doom! She heard him chuckling on the other side of her door. She grabbed her washcloth and threw it against the door. It landed with a wet smack, and fell to the floor with a messy plop. She still didn't feel better; she'd have to find some way to get even. Panty-thief! Before she could lose her nerve she dried off angrily and wrapped the towel around her body and strode out.

Gaara was reclining on her bed, resting his head on her new pillow and spinning her panties on his clawed finger, a smug smile on his face. She went scarlet and dashed over to get them away from him. Evil pervert! He let her get close before closing his fist on them and slipping them in his cloak. She was then snatched up and pinned underneath him before she could blink. He gave her a scorching kiss, dragging one claw lazily down the center of her body. She gasped and he purred in pleasure. So very responsive.

"So, I can see your shopping exploits and have heard that we are in a fight. Just what do you have to say for yourself?" she opened her mouth, and he nipped her lips, making her stuttered incoherently.

"Ah, I see. This is serious. You are the most shopping inept female I have ever laid eyes on."

"B-but-"

"The fight is in your imagination, I am certainly not angry with you right now, and I have already tasted victory from you. I had only been mildly frustrated with you, and I have resolved that any time I get frustrated with you I will sneak in to watch you bathe. A very satisfying solution all the way around."

"I-"

"You aren't really that upset with me, I can tell. Now then, your shopping issues. A pillow and a vase? That is all? Granted, it is a comfortable pillow, but still, if I give you permission to shop, then shop! Silly creature!" he held out a case to her, and she hesitantly opened it to reveal the necklace that she had been looking at, along with two sets of matching earrings and a bracelet. She looked at him in awe. He had a satisfied smile on his lips.

"There are more, Hinata. The rings will be in when they are finished. Your favorite nightgown doesn't have the neckline to try it on. Let me fasten it on you." Hinata shivered at the touch of the cold metal as her demon proudly displayed his gifts.