I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter.
Read and Review please! I will be eternally grateful and probably review your story if you have one.
I take constructive criticism seriously. So feel free to tear this piece apart if need be.
I have a humble request. If you are an artist of any kind, would you mind drawing one of the scenes from this story?
Also, the name Renji did come from Bleach. I didn't know what to name the character so I called him Renji with every intention of later changing it, but the name stuck.
Hell Singer
"What the fuck do we do now?" Kakashi stalked back to camp brushing sand from his hair and neck. This whole scenario felt so wrong. He licked his lips and tasted grit beneath his mask. A dragon, he says. Well, thanks! A real life lesson for us. "Let's go meet a dragon!" Makes it sound like a fucking picnic. This was not supposed to happen. He accidentally started a war. A war! He hadn't meant for this. If I had just fought harder before leaving Konoha…Damn!
Iruka and Jezebel waited for him. Iruka paced, kicking sand as far as he could with every step, dutifully ignoring Jezebel. He listened but heard only birds and rustling shrubs. Something drank from the nearby water hole, Jezebel tugged at the neckline on Watcher's shirt, and a scent, unique to the desert- sharp and fresh, so much so that if you inhaled hard it might burn your nose- that is if you did not choke first.
Iruka turned around. Kakashi leaned on a palm tree almost directly in front of him. He relaxed, arms crossed and Iruka decided it wasn't worth the effort of being angry with him.
"He's not staying then,"
"He never considered it. He's been planning this from the beginning, that bastard," Kakashi inhaled sharply. He had been manipulated into this, like a fool. The subtle shifts between dead heat and sweltering breezes nauseated him. He felt sick of himself, sick of sand, sick of Watcher, sick of Jezebel. And Iruka looked to him for answers. Well I don't have answers! "He did tell me one thing,"
"A hint?"
"Pain and Desperation,"
"What about it?"
"That's what he said, before riding off into the sunset like a movie star gone wrong,"
"Pain and desperation. What has that got to do with anything?"
"You're all talking about me like I'm not here again!" Jezzy had been standing still in the clearing meditating, or doing what looked like meditation to Iruka when he glanced up from pacing. In reality, Jezebel wracked her mind again and again for some sort of magical channel, the existence of which she couldn't even be sure of.
"Does it matter?" Kakashi gritted his teeth beneath his mask. "You still listen. And you obviously never hesitate to be opinionated!" Jezebel flung the black thing she held across the clearing. It landed somewhere with an audible thud. No one turned to look.
The three stood in a silent triangle, each sizing up the other two. Iruka faded into the background under the force of wills between Jezebel and Kakashi. The clearing fell silent. Iruka looked from one to the other. Erg...
"Do you want to fight!"
"Yeah," Kakashi ambled over to Jezebel. "Yeah, preferably with someone who won't fall over when I push them," He poked her hard in the shoulder. She rocked back, but didn't fall over, and stared at him defiantly.
Kakashi took a deep breath and shook his head. He reacted to his pressured, fraying nerves. He dealt with this type of situation before, he could do it again. He turned away and walked in the opposite direction, stopping back to Jezebel. Team work, sensei said. Team work!
Iruka sighed, a look of relief plain on his face.
"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to pick a fight,"
Iruka stepped between the two of them.
"Good, ok then, let's be rational about this-," Jezebel launched herself at Kakashi's back. Iruka felt her wind rush past his face. Kakashi sidestepped and threw a kunai at Jezebel. It hit a thigh, sending a spray of crimson blood onto Watcher's shirt. Jezebel pulled it out. Rivulets of blood began to run down her legs. She ignored this and turned toward Kakashi, eyes narrowed. Kakashi noticed again, the pupils had not changed. He sighed, rather annoyed at himself for reacting to her bait.
"Guys!" Iruka jumped between them, holding both arms out "You need to try-," Jezebel attacked, Iruka focused his chakra in his arms, ready to knock the two apart. The moment never came. Jezebel slammed into the chunin, sandwiching him between herself and Kakashi, the brick wall.
Stars exploded beneath his eyelids. Iruka rolled, clutching his head between clenched fists.
"Erg!" Jezebel bent double scrapping her temples. Kakashi instantly knocked her across the clearing where she landed in unmade futons and didn't get up. She had some strength reserved, smart.
Iruka pulled himself to his feet, still massaging his temples, which throbbed like no other. He stood in front of Kakashi.
"What did you think you were doing! What do you have to prove? Jeezus! We're all nervous, but you… you… GROW UP!" Kakashi brushed the expressively ranting Iruka aside and stalked over to their makeshift camp. Jezebel lay on her back in the blankets. She stared up at the clear sky, chest heaving. Kakashi grasped her shoulders and firmly planted her on her feet, holding her upright.
"Look," his nose nearly touched hers. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You just... you punch a few buttons," Jezebel shrugged away from his gauntleted hands
"You meant to hit me. But that's ok because-," She swung at his face mid-word. "I forgive you-," He caught the swing.
"Uhuh, yeah,"
"Hello,"
"What, Iruka!" Kakashi glared at him, still holding Jezebel's fist, unperturbed by her efforts to pull loose. Iruka raised his hands, palm up.
"That wasn't me,"
"Well," Jezzy turned away from biting at Kakashi's constantly moving fingers. "Then who the hell was it? There are… Three of us!"
"Four of us, there are four of us,"
"IRUKA-"
"Are you stupid-?"
"I didn't say anything! Did my mouth move? NO!"
"Ahh!" Jezebel shot into the air. A tiny gray ball of fur clung to her calf. Jezzy spun, trying to fling the puff ball away. It released, shot ten feet away, and then padded up to the trio looking mollified.
The little dog sat down and made itself comfortable, back feet sticking out in the same direction. The animal made most house cats look big. It reminded Jezebel strongly of a massive cotton ball. It reminded Iruka of a dirty snowball. It's eyes peeked out from under a fluffy topnotch. It didn't seem to notice the long black ear stuck inside out on top of its head. The puppy wagged its docked, silvery tail and methodically licked its chops. Then it stared at them, head cocked to the side.
It's CUTE. We ask Watcher for a hint, he gives us random phrases and…
A toy poodle. One without a stupid haircut, but still a toy poodle!
Dad left me That? I'm going to eat That!
Jezzy nursed her bitten leg where tiny crimson bots had begun to erupt and add the her already oozing thigh. The strange animal licked one fuzzy grey paw.
"I was the one who was talking. Why is that so hard to believe?"
Gai poked his pudding bowl head up into the hot sunlight. He climbed up the ridge on top of the squad's little rise and peaked over. From here he saw everything. The horizon stretched on forever, endless and unfathomable. A halfway risen sun reflected on everything, forcing Gai to shield his eyes with a hand. It beat down on his crispy red ears and on the desert causing shimmering waves of heat to float up from the sand.
Gai squinted, he could just make out a spot eclipsed by shadows. He wondered what it was. It did not move so Gai, quickly bored, continued his scan of the area. A tiny bit closer small clouds of dust billowed up across the plain. Gai stared at these awhile. They moved, the dust springing up proved it. A caravan of travelers? Or shinobi coming to evict the Leaf from their land?
Closer still Gai could see the infamous water puddle. He turned left, then right, scanning. He heard nothing, not even breeze; the world filled itself with dead heat (the kind that weighs on you until you can't move). He stuck out his tongue, tasting dry sand-scented air. Then he looked directly down the rise.
Boulders and small rocks littered the sides. On the back, where Gai crouched, the hill sloped gently down. But this craggy side shielded them from view. In the midst of tan and brown boulders little animals crawled amongst the rocks and tiny prickly pears. Scorpions, ants, not much else; the cactuses and gravel ended at the far side of the water hole. Beyond that sand spread out on its merry way to nowhere.
Gai imagined Kakashi's sudden appearance on the slope. He would go bounding down to Kakashi, arms out. Then they would have a jolly battle and Kakashi would lose yet again. He would walk away, head hanging, Gai would pose for any resident cameras, and all would be well with the world.
He froze in sudden horror. Someone was climbing up the slope. The someone crept n utter silence. He blent in perfectly with the shadows cast between boulders. Had he not moved Gai would never have noticed him at all; not by sound, not by smell. His movements reminded Gai strongly of a cat slipping between the rocks. Not once did gravel crunch or sand give way. The shinobi stopped about one hundred yards away, nearly fading from sight entirely. He would know that from the top of the rise he could see everything, including the anbu squad.
Gai studied him. Bandages wrapped around his arms to the elbow and legs. Not a symbol of unhealthiness. Instead of the average shinobi sandal he wore a pair of lace up boot with a thick heavily treaded sole. Some jutsu prevented them from leaving tracks in the sand. He tied his shuriken holster on the left leg. On his back rested a katana. The once silver hilt shone shiny and black where it peaked from more gauze wrappings.
Gai processed all of this in about six seconds. A sand scout! He has to be! Gai readied himself to attack, grabbing a kunai from his holster. A risky move, the sand shinobi would know that land and how to use it to his advantage, but he would also be confident. Thus, in his strength, his weakness. He would not be expecting an attack. Gai shifted his weight slightly.
The sand ninja froze, looking up. Gai ducked. The shinobi scrutinized the ridge shielding Gai. He sensed something, but could see nothing, which meant nothing. He felt carefully with his unbandaged fingertips for the next handhold. Shit!
Something hard and cold poked into the back of his neck. A blade, he knew immediately.
"You move and I will kill you," said Gai. The ninja licked his lips. "Drop your weapon," The ninja released the kunai he grabbed last second. Gai thrust him around so they were faced each other and ripped the shuriken holster from the man's leg with one of his own shuriken. The gauze came apart like paper in his fingers. He unstrapped the sword from the sand shinobi's back and hefted it over his own shoulders. The weight surprised him.
"Have you got anything else?"
"No," Gai turned him again to face up the rise and poked the back of his neck. "Walk forward. Move and I promise you will never move again,"
Renji believed this. The strange shinobi appeared behind him only milliseconds after being ahead of him.
"Ok," he said. He intertwined his fingers behind his head. "Ok, I'm going,"
Renji worked as a field jounin for Sunagakure. He had, as Gai originally surmised been a scout, one who recently applied for anbu consideration. He wore bandages across his arms and down his thighs to his calves protecting against sunburn. Most of his spiky flame red hair peaked out of linen wrapped unevenly around his head and ponytail. The bandages even circled over his hitae-ate for fear of the sun reflecting off it. Brown eyes glared out of a face so tan it it looked like new leather, making his hair stand out even more brilliantly. He no longer wore his supply pack and his belt felt naked without it.
The lead squad tied his half bandaged hands behind his back. Now he knelt in a short, squat, makeshift tent awaiting… whatever. What were leaf anbu doing in Wind Country anyway? Renji flicked his tongue across the roof of his mouth finding it parched dry.
One leaf anbu stood in the tent with him. The man looked imposing, from the back anyway. Maybe 6'4." His presence filled the tent completely. Renji locked his jaw, resigned. The anbu wore black leather gloves- he must be sweating- visible every time he ruffled the papers on a collapsible table. On the back of his head perched the anbu mask and under that a leaf hitai-ate worn bandana style. His biceps were greasy, probably from anti-sun oil, and ended in gauntlets that covered his forearms. He turned and fixed piercing black eyes on Renji.
"Water?" Renji shook his head, no. If it came from the nearby spring it usually needed purification first. "Don't worry, it's safe. We tested it,"
"No," his throat rasped a little.
"Ok then," the man paced around him, getting a good look at the kneeling jounin from all angles. "My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm an anbu captain for Konohagakure. You have something that belongs to me," Ibiki watched for a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes. Nothing. No recognition. No confusion. Just emptiness. Ibiki continued.
"Who are you?"
"Renji of the Sand,"
"Spectacular katana my colleague brought in, perfectly balanced,"
"I'd like it back," Why is he talking about my katana?
"Was it your mother's? Father's?"
"It's mine,"
"A gift?"
"No,"
"A token or prize of some sort?"
"It was given to me-,"
"A gift then-,"
"- by an enemy, a leaf shinobi,"
"A prize. I thought the scrollwork looked familiar,"
"Yes, a prize,"
"And what would be your ideal prize?"
"A life,"
"Whose?"
"Not yours,"
"Do you believe in a life of freedom?"
"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"
"If an enemy of yours, a leaf shinobi, was taken prisoner and put in custody, is that right?"
"Of course,"
"What if that person had nothing to do with your battle and was entirely innocent?"
"He's still an enemy,"
"If you kept the shinobi in custody is he living a life of freedom?"
"No,"
"So you believe he should not be living a life of freedom?"
"No, yes!"
"So you don't believe in a life of freedom?"
"No, wait! Yes… No- what?"
"So the captured shinobi should not have freedom?"
"No freedom,"
"So you don't believe in a life of freedom?"
"Yes,"
"Where is the real prisoner?" Renji's eyes flicked to the upper left. Recall.
"I don't know,"
Ibiki sighed, blowing air out of his cheeks. He learned almost nothing. Renji had the rank to know of prisoners, but either he didn't know or he had forgotten.
Ibiki thrust the tent flap open and stalked out leaving Renji in the cool shade collecting inside the tent. Renji knelt, slight tremors rocked his body. Renji's very presence told Ibiki one thing. The sand shinobi were moving and, judging from Gai's description of the plains, they would be here in a few hours.
Anko waited patiently for Ibiki to come out. Patience, she reflected, was painful. Ibiki waved Anko into the tent to bring water for the Sand Ninja as soon as he exited.
Inside Renji stared at the ground in front of his knees. One song kept playing through his head. It had nothing to do with anything. His skull ached and he couldn't tell if it were suddenly overfilled or completely empty. He gasped, eyes wide. A small sliver of saliva dripped spinning from his lips. It caught the triangle of light from the doorway and sent iridescent colors spinning on the canvas walls. He bent to wipe his mouth in his shirt collar.
What had that Anbu done? So many questions. The ache in his head. He had been caught (that much he knew) in an elenchus. How much had he told Morino? What had he said? Morino… he was a medical nin of some kind. Had to be. That was not a normal team leader.
Another member of the coterie came through the tent flap, closing it this time. Renji looked up and unconsciously steadied himself on his knees.
This female anbu wore gritty sandals and khaki shorts that ended right below her knees. Over her white stomach stretched fish netting and above that, the desert anbu uniform. She used her hitai-ate to hold back spiky black hair and wore her mask on top of her head at a jaunty angle.
Look how cute I am. And now, you die! His amusement was belied immediately as he studied her dark eyes. They concealed a haunted look. She had once been hurt. Horribly.
Ibiki ran his fingers over the ebony scrollwork that made up the hilt of Arabai Renji's Katana. Very plain curves, with silver so tarnished it became black. Someone had imprinted trains of Ivy down leather sheath. Ibiki wondered where the sword had come from. He pulled at the hilt. And he tugged again. The sword would not separate from the scabbard.
"Gai, take a look at this," Gai reached for the katana.
"Ah!" It thudded to the sand, where it stuck straight up, tendrils of smoke curling around the hilt. Gai raised an eyebrow. "You're wearing gloves,"
"Nice sword though. I get the feeling it'd be a pleasure to fight with. Anko, you look flushed,"
"I'm fine… Renji did say it was his sword, didn't he?"
"You talked to him?"
"A little," Anko worked a rock out of her sandal. "I only told him he'd be ok. He's angry and pretty confused," It's making me feel kinda guilty for holding him here.
"Yeah," Ibiki sighed. "Except, the sand doesn't have Kakashi. Or if they do, Renji doesn't know about it,"
Anko nodded.
Footsteps thundered down the rise and Genma skidded to a stop, spraying grit everywhere.
"The Sand!"
Iruka held his jaw closed
"Guys?" said the puff ball. Iruka tapped his fists against his forehead. Sanity? Check. Sanity? Check. Check. Check…
Ok… A talking poodle. Deal with it. Besides, Kakashi smiled, I like dogs. Only most dogs don't look like large dirty snowballs.
He unconsciously placed an arm in front of Jezebel. She had a sort of questionable look in her eyes again. Probably hunger.
"Who are you?" He tried. The puppy cleared it's throat and straightened a little.
"I am Lord P.S, former emissary to the divine and current companion of Itako Jezebel," Jezzy turned to Iruka.
"What is P. S?"
"I'm a dog!"
"Look," said Kakashi. "That's fine, but we're a little busy right now. So, unless you've got something important to say, please, shut up!"
"Fine, fine! You guys go get beaten to a pulp. I'll stand by and watch,"
"Ok," Iruka beckoned Jezzy and Kakashi to him. Jezzy made a point of standing opposite of Kakashi. "Watcher said "pain and desperation," so we need to know what that means,"
"Suppose," called P.S. "That desperation meant how one feels prior to going for a walk. Or maybe-,"
"Shut up, you stupid puppy!" Jezebel hissed.
"Or maybe. It refers to the feeling one has when-,"
"Hold it!" Iruka pushed Kakashi and Jezzy aside. "You know what Watcher's message means!"
"I know what Watcher's message means," Puppy Spaz did a dog style grin, all glistening pearly teeth.
"Guys!" Iruka turned to them. "Think about it! Look, you know about latent ability, right?"
"Yeah, apparently I have a lot of it,"
"Sure,"
P.S. did a dog style shrug. "Come on guys… put it together… Jezebel's power was taken and put where?"
"Pain and- I got it," Kakashi's face spread into a wicked grin. Iruka backed up. "Sometimes when a kid is backed into a corner with no way out, latent abilities burst through, forced out by pain and the knowledge that they're going to die" The three stared at Jezzy.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not stupid. I'm NOT just going to let you beat the hell out of me,"
"P.S. you know what you're doing, right?" asked Iruka.
"Lord P.S! And yes, I know what I'm doing!"
"Jezzy…" Iruka looked a little sad. Kakashi scuffed a sandal, impatient. Sand slid between his toes.
"Sorry Jezebel," Kakashi leaped at the narrow eyed girl. She screeched and threw herself to the sand. Iruka grabbed Kakashi's elbow.
"We're not trying to kill her,"
"I know," Iruka looked doubtful. "I promise,"
P.S. curled himself into a ball in someone's bedroll and yawned. It wasn't his problem if they killed each other. He didn't know either of the two shinobi and didn't care to.
Iruka took out a kunai and circled Jezebel, mimicking Kakashi. She stood, hands planted on her hips, unable to see both of them at the same time. Kakashi dove aiming for her abdomen. She swung at him but her fist whistled through empty air. At the last second Kakashi stopped dead in front of her. She stumbled, knocked off balance by the force of her intended blow. Iruka anticipated this and struck from behind. He punched a kunai into her shoulder blade and pulled down her back, leaving a heaving canyon of split flesh.
"Arg!" Jezebel arched. Blood welled up like lava erupting from a volcano. She dodged sideways, between the boys, squeezing her shoulder blades together so the blood could clot- which it did.
Again the boys circled. Unwilling to fall for the same obvious trick twice Jezebel bolted away and stopped when her feet got caught in a blanket. Huh? How? There was Iruka, right in front of her. But Kakashi? Where?
Iruka made a seal with his fingers. Bunshin no jutsu. So easy. Five other Irukas appeared next to him, advancing with deadly purpose.
They're not going to kill me. They need me. They're not going to kill me. They-
"Arg!"She felt a tug at her ankles. A sudden movement and her face hit the blanket. Sand; in her clogged nose, her blind eyes, her mouth. She choked. Her hands? Something held them down. Her eyes burned from grit in the blanket. Legs? Yes! She kicked out. Thud! A hit!
"Rowr!" Jezebel's ankle burned as P.S. latched on to it (though he released immediately afterward "What a nasty flavor!").
Her lungs were collapsing, like electricity branching from lightening. Her heart worked overtime, trying to tap dance out of her rib cage, through her breasts and over the sand. Her nose burned. Air! Let me have air!
"They have Kakashi! Hokage would never have sent us here if he wasn't sure," The collapsible table shuttered as Ibiki slammed his fist into it. Anko pressed her fingers to her temples. This mission started to get to her as soon as she had been sent on it. Something to do with the lack of trust people instilled in her. Anko's skin still crawled from dark chakra.
So rare to see her commanding officer like this. Everyone else had showed how pissed they were that Kakashi went missing, after Hokage told them their missions was to find him. Ibiki never let anyone see a crack in his iron exterior. He had cracks up the wazoo now. Ibiki clenched his fist. Anko braced herself for a storm.
"The problem is, I'm not even sure Hokage was right. Maybe I'm reading the sand kid wrong. I'm going to question him again,"
Anko licked her lips. She felt bad for Renji. After spending an hour nursing him how could she not? It's not like either of them harbored anti-social tendencies. He seemed a capable ninja, getting caught like this must be a bitch. She also knew what was to come. Ibiki had no respect for those who couldn't keep secrets. And Renji… Well, Renji was human.
Anko didn't protest as Ibiki went to relieve Genma as Renji's guard. Instead she pressed her forhead in her hands. Her team, so different from the rest of the village. The majority of Konoha scorned her.
Kakashi. He and Ibiki had been the first two to trust her like that. They brought her back into the world of Konoha. Her brothers… What the-? Going all sentimental like that! Be alive Kakashi. Please, be alive.
She massaged her temples. The Sand arrived about two hours ago. And her team prepared for an attack, but one never came. Instead, Baki told the team "This sand contingent had been called for a single purpose. That purpose is to hunt an internal menace." So they claimed. And they asked about Renji. Ibiki denied ever seeing him.
Wicked accusations flew from both sides. ("Get the hell out of our country!" "We can't leave until our mission is complete," "You must leave. Otherwise we will be forced to make you," "Bring it!"). The voices circled around Anko's head like dead fish floating on murky pond water. Her ineloquent speech shone with clarity, even in her own mind.
Now, both groups of shinobi waited for the stalemate to break. A theoretical line had been drawn between the two camps and woe to whoever crosses it. This tense silence left Anko relieved' at least she didn't have Ibiki's job. Negotiating uneasy peace could be tricky business.
"Well," she whispered, a little belated. "Wait a few hours," What had happened to her priorities? Her gut instinct told her Renji knew nothing, and Anko listened to her gut instincts.
She picked up Renji's katana by the sheath. It had been leaning innocently against the table. She caressed it with her finger tips and palms. The sheath felt warm to the touch, like bathwater.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGG!"
"Why?" Jezebel lay on her back in the sand watching the sky spin around above her and waiting for her stomach to slip through her bowls and into the sand where it would evaporate.
"Why what?" Iruka rested with his hands on his knees, sides heaving. Kakashi disappeared, presumably for water. Jezebel flitted around somewhere on the edge on consciousness. "Water you talking about? I mean, what?"
"Why do…" she breathed heavily. "All this?" Iruka raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Well, if we don't, a whole lot of innocent people might die,"
"Yeah, but why?"
"Why what?"
"Why does it matter?"
Iruka blinked. How would someone explain that? It wasn't something that could be described; not the emotions that were involved. People… they look out each other. But, that didn't really explain anything. Iruka tasted each word before answering.
"Because, that's what people do. They care about each other,"
Kakashi ambled back into the clearing and splashed Iruka with water from a wooden bucket. Then he set it down. He pulled his fingerless gloves off one digit at a time and dunked his hands in the water. He sipped through cupped fingers, watching Jezebel.
They had been at this for a while now. Jezebel had shown extraordinary resilience to a beating, remaining conscious for most of it. Even Kakashi sweated like a pig, though that could be because of midday heat.
Iruka sweated too. Only he had not just started feeling fatigued. It took copious amounts of precision and energy to control every strike. He motioned for Kakashi to bring the water to Jezebel but Kakashi raised an eyebrow, no. Instead, he left it near P.S., so the tiny poodle could drink if he could reach inside the bucket and not fall in.
Finished, Kakashi stalked over to Jezebel. Iruka gulped.
Kakashi wrapped his partially gloved fingers through Jezebel's nightshirt and jerked her to her feet. Iruka looked away as her head snapped back and the shirt flew up her scummy thighs. Kakashi shoved her backwards, forcing her to stand on her own.
"Again,"
Gaara liked the sun. He enjoyed the way it shown through the window and poured like milk over the faded pastel bedspread. Gaara thought maybe he would like to be like sunlight and fade and disappear when things became dark and grey. They felt that way now.
The little boy pressed his face between Snookums's ears. His head folded in in traditional stuffed animal style. First Jezebel, then Yashamaru, now Temari. His family disappeared on him, which was ok as long as Snookums never left.
"It's hard to understand," he said. Snookums nodded. "Our family went places. I want them to come back,"
"Me too," said Snookums.
"I need to ask Yashamaru about-,"
"Pain?" said Snookums.
"No," said Gaara. "Jezebel. Why did she leave?... She talks about pain all the time, like it's special," He hugged the bear hard against him. Snookums's button eyes bulged.
The two boys reclined in their mother's room watching sunlight filter through dust. One sat cross-legged on the bed, while the other occupied his lap. Next to them Gaara piled mounds of gauze and a pair of scissors.
"Hold still," ordered Gaara. "This won't hurt a bit,"
"Ok," said Snookums. "You're the doctor," Gaara cut a short piece of the coarse white material.
"What hurts?"
"My neck," said Snookums. "Oh, ow! It huuurrrts!"
"Hold still!" Gaara wrapped the white linen around the little bear's neck. "Is it to tight? What does it feel like?"
"Not to tight. It's a little itchy. Dr. Gaara I'm cured!" Snookums danced around to demonstrate how good he felt and bumped into the night table.
"Be careful!" Too late! A large book slid off and thudded to the floor, creating a mushroom cloud of dust. Gaara sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Snookums!" He rolled onto his stomach and hung his head off the bed, (his hair stood on end from static electricity) looking for Snookums. "Are you ok?" he asked when he found the floppy bear.
"I'm ok Dr. Gaara. Look what I found," Gaara took the massive book from Snookums and set it on his lap, where it covered his legs completely. Tiny gold stars smattered over the sepia brown cover. The book It had no title scrawled across the front. Gaara pulled the cover open.
Jezebel squeezed her eyes shut tight. Nausea filled her stomach and bile rose to the back of her throat. She swallowed it. Her eyes itched uncontrollably, throat so constricted her breathes came in gasps. The sensations horrified her almost as much as the thoughts that came with them. Worse than Watcher slamming his staff into her side, more agonizing than Yashamaru's fingers on her stomach, and far more painful even, then Watcher's fingers circling her neck.
"There is always someone stronger." Jezebel never even stopped to consider these words. She marched headlong into a trap. Had she stopped to think she would have noticed, but she never did. It just wasn't possible that Watcher would be waiting. After all, he brought her to Sand Village.
But it was possible. Jezebel raised a hand to her heart, which expanded against her chest. She wanted to scream but her throat closed up tight. Then she gasped and water ran down her face. She tasted it on her lips and tongue. Salt water poured nonstop onto the front of the shirt that was not hers and mixed with the saliva dribbling through her lips and the crimson mucus flowing free from her nose. With another gasp her voice broke free. She choked and hiccupped until it hurt to breath. The feeling of utter defeat dissipated. It left her head hallow.
And then Jezebel got angry.
Malice burbled like vomit from her toes to her head. Exquisite pain and pleasure in a rolling orgasm of power. She saw each pearl of sweat roll down Iruka's brow and Kakashi, now she could witness his strikes. He appeared next to her and she dodged. He swished harmlessly by. Jezebel heard the wind. She heard PS snoring, Iruka's breathing and she smelled stagnant water, sharp sweat, and tiny fresh flowers. Raw chakra slid through her system like acid, with nowhere to go.
Screaming, inside her head. Thousands of voices cried for attention, each one inarticulate and demanding. Jezebel clutched her splitting head in her arms and sunk to the sand. The shrieks intensified to an avalanche-like roar. And then the voices no longer yelled.
Human voices, singing- sharp, dull, alto, seductive, mezzo, bass, off pitch- thousands and thousands of them, each uttering a different song. Her head filled with voices that threatened to crack her skull and burst out of her cranium like a dropped watermelon. The thousand singers blended in perfect sync with each other, as if they had planned this from the beginning, this… melody. It was an ancient lullaby with neither a name, nor words, sung on a neutral syllable. The kind that has existed since the beginning of time and will persist until there is but one mother left humming to her child- the end.
Jezebel could see nothing and hear nothing but the voices that glutted her ears. The sublime melody reached out and called to her.
It welled through her fallowing ready made paths, escaped down her arms and burst from her fingertips like water from floodgates thrown open. And there, among the torrent was her voice. Jezebel listened to her own rasp struggling to blend with the majesty of perfection, grasping at straws.
The song shifted again as other voices joined it, harsh in comparison, even to hers. There was yelling and then a burst of pain. Lights flashing before Jezebel's eyes from a distance. And then everything froze. Dead stopped. The music. Gone. It left her head echoing. Her body tingled as if the limbs had fallen asleep. She realized at some point, that she was standing and now, every muscle bordered on falling from her bones. Her breath rattled in her chest and liquidy knees buckled.
Warmth enveloped Jezzy. She looked up at the sky pin wheeling above, so far away, and closed her eyes on the dizzying sky. Warm, touching her cheek, like… a spider. Hot air near her ears, murmuring… something… sleep…
"Why did you try so hard when you can't even understand why?"
THANK YOUS! holds out muffin tray Pick one.
A muffin for Sky Spade because she/he reviewed!
Ester- Thank you very much. I realize my feelings were completely unwarranted, and not only that, I used a public venue to vent them (which is a BIG no-no). So please take this as an apology. Thank you. Also, the bit about the OC character, I know that some people don't like OC's, that was a risk I took when I started writing the story. I figured I would just make my OC good enough so people would like her. Thanks for reading on past chapter one. I did cheer up : p
Answers to crazy-antman's questions:
Jezzy is the byproduct of a human and a dragon demigod. At least, that was my original plan. However, I started this story several months ago and then left it hanging. My plans have changed a bit. Also, each bondee has two people bonded to them. Jezzy's mother had two, but the other is not important right now. Does this help? Thanks for your thoughts!
Jan-chan- Thanks so much. Pick a muffin! You'll have an e-mail coming right atcha!
If you want a story Lisa, all you have to do is ask. What do you want it about? E-mail me: p. I think I will keep writing, thank you. Muffin?
REVIEW PLEASE I love to hear your thoughts and I take constructive feedback seriously.
"Why did you try so hard when you can't even understand why?"
