New Lives
Chapter 53
Tsunade was not used to entertaining terrorists, and Deidara's arrogant, and frankly rude, behavior didn't help. "The council doesn't believe that you can be trusted, and neither do I. You're a terrorist, a murderer and a lunatic."
Deidara grinned broadly, "You forgot 'artist'."
"Unfortunately, your idea of art is killing people."
Deidara turned red, "Any fool can kill people, un! I am a Master of the Art of Explosives! Would you say a Ninja Puppeteer was just a murderer?!"
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, I almost forgot, when Kankurou-San gets wind of this . . .
"I'd say Sasori was little more than a murderer, he had great skill, but he used it to kill people, and not just in battle, he outright murdered people!"
Deidara gritted his teeth, but held back, "You're not being very diplomatic, Hokage-Sama, I'm here to talk about peaceful relations, not the past, un."
Before Tsunade could reply a certain Ninja Puppeteer burst in uninvited, "YOU!"
Tsunade stood quickly, "Kankurou-San, don't do anything stupid!"
Kankurou just glared at the Artist-Nin, "You killed Gaara! You filthy scum!"
"You got him back, didn't you? No harm, no foul, un."
Both men jumped as Tsunade brought her fist down on her desk, shattering it to splinters, "The next one of you to mouth off is going to end up just like that! Kankurou, shut up! We're in the middle of negotiations here! And Gaara has already made a treaty with Iwagakure, do you want to start a war over something he's forgiven?!"
Kankurou snarled at Deidara, "This isn't over, Blondie, jan."
Tsunade moved toward the Puppeteer, "I warned you, Puppet-Boy! I'm gonna' break you in half!"
Kankurou yelped and ran out of the office as Tsunade shook her fist at him. "Humph, that was easy... Now where were we?"
Deidara shuddered, This chick is nuts!
...
Kidoumaru spread leaves over the top of the lean-to he'd constructed with sticks and branches, "The leaves will provide insulation, as well as shade from the sun and cover from the rain or snow. But be sure to use thick layers, not just a few leaves." He stood up and wiped his hands on his pants, "Okay, get into your teams and make your own shelters." He walked around, watching as the students built their own lean-to's. He walked over to where Team Eight was working, Dosu, as expected was making a perfect lean-to, after all, he'd had the same wilderness training as Kidoumaru himself. His teammates, Kara and Yoshi, were helping best they could and learning quickly.
"Good work, guys. Keep it up."
He suddenly shot up, as did Dosu.
"Everyone in the trees! NOW!"
Even as everyone lept to safety in the branches, a massive wild boar charged into the clearing, grunting angrily. Kidoumaru spoke calmly, "Wild boars can tear a man to pieces. They can't lift their heads very high, though, and they can't climb. So, if you run into a wild boar, take to the trees or some other high place." Kidoumaru howled in perfect imitation of a wolf, and the boar fled, squealing. "Imitating a predator should scare them off, but not always."
A few minutes later, he jumped back to the ground, "We'll wait a little while, just to make sure he stays gone. Everyone stay on your toes."
...
Shikamaru squirmed as Tayuya forcefully groped him, "Tayuya!"
She smirked, "Somebody's got to make the #! Moves in this relationship you lazy #!"
"Help! Rape!"
Tayuya laughed, "If I was gonna' #! rape you, you'd know it."
Shikamaru thought as best he could with Tayuya's hands wandering all over him, "Tayuya, did you ever find Kidoumaru attractive?"
Tayuya stopped for a moment, "He's... Kind of cute, for a #! six-armed freak. If you #! Tell him I said that I'll #! Rip your #! Balls off!" She pulled back a bit and frowned, "Why, do you?"
Shikamaru's eyes went wide, "NO! I was just wondering, I mean, he's not ugly, and you've known him for a long time. . ."
Tayuya sighed, "This is my first #! Relationship, all the #! Boys I knew in Oto were either freaks or #! Sadistic #! Or both. Most would have #! Killed me given half the chance, to get my position. We were always getting challenged by #! Punks who thought they'd take us down and get into the Five, but most of them were #! Cowards who #! wet themselves whenever we #! Walked by. Most of them went for Kidoumaru 'cause he was the #! Leader, besides #! Bone-Boy, that is, but a lot of #! Went after me, thinking I was weak because I was a girl. Idiots, I killed all their #!"
Shikamaru stroked her hair, "It must have been tough."
"Tough, it was a #! Hell-hole! If you showed the slightest bit of #! Weakness, you were dead, they'd #! Eat you alive. You wouldn't have #! Lasted five #! Minutes." She shook her head, "You'd probably have saved some poor #! Fool from getting his #! killed, and he'd have turned around and cut your #! Throat. That was Otogakure."
"Do you ever wonder, what it's like now?"
"I've tried my #! Best to forget that #! Place, I don't want to go there again, even if they made it into a #! Paradise. . . The memories would still be there."
...
"Hey, Naruto." Kidoumaru walked over to the blonde, "How ya' doin'?"
"Fine! Me and Hinata are going to the movies tonight!"
"I'm on my way to the hospital, Sakura had to work late today."
Naruto grinned broadly, but Kidoumaru wondered what he was thinking, he knew that the boy had been chasing Sakura for years, and now she was involved with someone else. "So, how was class?"
Kidoumaru let out an exaggerated sigh, "Murder. Those brats are vicious. And we ran into a wild boar, an angry wild boar."
"Really?" Naruto was interested.
"Yeah, but we all took to the trees before he could put us out of the game. I drove him off with a wolf call, there was no real reason to kill him."
Naruto laughed, "Hey, did you know there's a rumor going around that you're a cannibal?"
"Yeah, Shikamaru and Dosu already told me. If it gets the brats listening and learning, I don't mind."
"Are you a cannibal?"
Kidoumaru grinned evilly, "Maybe..." Naruto's eyes widened. "Well, I gotta' go, see ya' Kit." Kidoumaru waved and walked off, leaving a slack-jawed Naruto behind.
...
Kidoumaru bumped into The Twins as they were coming out from their therapy session with Dr. Misume.
"Hey, how are you guys doing?"
"Tired." Sakon replied, "It's funny how just talking can wear you out."
"I heard about you and Sai, Ukon. That was crazy, but it sounds like it worked."
Ukon smiled, "What can I say, I'm a genius, unlike stupid here."
Sakon glared at his brother, "What was that, Pig-Face?"
"Stupid and deaf! I need a t-shirt, I'm With Stupid!"
"You know you're just jealous because I'm the good-looking one..." He paused, "Life screwed us making us like this, so why didn't it make us ugly? Then we wouldn't have been..." He paused, his fists clenching, "#! I wish we were ugly..."
Neither Ukon nor Kidoumaru responded to that. Ukon finally spoke up, "And I wish I'd been able to kill him, but we can't change a #! Thing in the past, can we?"
Kidoumaru shuddered slightly, he knew about what Orochimaru did, he had been too afraid of the Snake, Kabuto and Kimimaro to do anything to stop it.
What was I supposed to do, tell someone? Everyone already knew, and they either didn't care or were scared like me.
He actually had tried something, tried to protect someone, once, when he'd first arrived, and had spent two horrible months in the labs paying for his courage. Another way I failed my team...
"Spider-Butt, are you alright? You look all zoned out."
"I... I'm sorry. I should have at least tried to help you." His gaze seemed distant somehow.
"They'd have killed you or stuck back in the labs. You'd never have gotten past Bones, much less the Snake-Faced #! And Four-Eyes." Sakon sighed and Ukon spoke up, "Besides, you always took good care of us."
"Hey, sexy." Sakura stepped out of the hospital, "Waiting for me?"
Ukon grinned, "Yeah, we are sexy, aren't we. Let's go to my place and..."
Kidoumaru stuck a hand over the Twin's mouth. "Sorry about that, Ukon learned manners from a wild boar." He yelped and pulled back his hand as Ukon bit it.
"See ya' later, Sakura. Don't trust Spider-Butt here, he's got six wandering hands..." Ukon laughed, "If it doesn't work out, call me."
"You little maggot! Hitting on my girlfriend!"
The Twins took off.
"Six wandering hands, huh? I only have two..." One of which quickly found it's way to the Spider-Nin's behind...
...
"Kazekage-Sama," Baki bowed before his leader, "There are two ninja from Konohagakure at the gate seeking entry. One is Kotaro of The Wasps, the other I do not know, but I recognize from the Chuunin exams. The one who fought the Beast-Nin."
"What do they want?" Gaara asked.
"To buy supplies." Gaara nodded.
"Let them in."
The two figures walked down the hot, sandy streets of Sunagakure, seemingly unconcerned with the heat. Gaara approached, with Baki by his side. "You've come a long way for supplies."
Kotaro grinned, "A very long way, Kazekage-Sama, thus far we've been to Otogakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure. I want my student to learn about the other nations."
Gaara nodded, "An excellent idea. And your name is..." He snapped his fingers, "Hiro, Correct?"
"Yes, Kazekage-Sama."
"I remember you from the Chuunin exams, you made a very impressive showing."
Hiro bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Kazekage-Sama."
"You are welcome to all of the hospitality of our village."
The travelers thanked him once again. They had traveled by night to avoid the heat of the desert sun, and intended to stay a few days before heading of to Amegakure and it's far more suitable climate. After parting ways with Anji in Kiri, they'd struck out for Sunagakure, and Hiro could honestly say that he disliked the area intensely, so hot and barren. He preferred forests and rivers, places filled with life. There was much life in the desert, of course, but most of it hid beneath the sands to avoid the heat of day, and was rarely seen. The life in the desert was as hard and merciless as the desert itself. The people were often the same, outside of Kankurou, all the Suna-Nin Hiro had met were grim and humorless, at least on the surface. But then, so was Hiro.
...
Abumi Zaku watched as the final papers were signed, the final adoption papers. He was shaking with excitement, anxiety and energy. He felt an arm go around his shoulder and found Eiji was hugging him, he felt someone take his hand and looked over to see Kin smiling at him. I never thought that this could happen. I'm just a street rat, a thief, a guy who used to work as a killer for a frickin' monster. But they want me, they actually want me... He bit his lip to keep from crying, and Eiji pulled him closer.
"Well, bro..." He tried to say something else, but he couldn't seem to get it out. Akira and Tomoe walked over and joined in the hug.
"Welcome to the family, Zaku."
To be continued...
