Note One: Yes, Suzaku takes the form of a chicken as her usual medium. She'll be the scary Biju as well as the lovable comic relief.
Note Two: I tried to make the characters more grown up, and tried to make that not too OOC. I hope I didn't fail, haha. Neji's a bit more understanding, Lee a bit less comical, and Gaara a bit less bloodthirsty sans battle.
Note Three: Shukaku is the oldest because he has a potbelly. Period. I know Kyuubi's stronger, but ever notice how Shukaku has flabby fat like a middle-aged man while Kyuubi is lean like a teen? Just a thought. XD
Okay? I hope that cleared up a few things. On with the story!
READ THE NOTES, please! :
Shichibi no Suzaku
Interlude: Brother
"Oniichan!" The bun-haired girl happily lodged her arms around the unsuspecting redhead's throat. After about ten seconds of tense silence:
"Um…Tenten? I think now would be a good time to let go." Lee sweatdropped, seeing as Gaara's face was beginning to tint the color of his eyes.
However, it seemed that there was no need. Suzaku had decided at that exact moment that she should probably release the body, although that decision was somewhat persuaded by inner chibi Tenten banging on inner Suzaku's head with a disproportionably large mallet, whilst squealing, "Lemme go, you big chicken!"
Of course, "that exact moment" left Tenten in a rather awkward situation.
Gaara seemed to have regained some shred of his dignity. "…Let go."
Tenten's barely functioning brain was surprised. He had changed indeed if she had not been slaughtered on the spot.
Meanwhile, her body still held on for dear life, not realizing that she was now carrying on of her free will, until one brown eye peeked open.
"ACK! Gomen kudasai Gaara-san! I, uh, I, um…honestly have no idea how to explain that. But I'm sorry nonetheless!" She added quickly after seeing his eyes narrow perceptibly. Tenten sidled meekly back to stand with her teammates, as Neji turned to glare at a handful of curious citizens drawn to the scene.
Gaara turned around, motioning for her to follow, muttering as he went, "You have a helluva lotta explaining to do."
They did not notice the pair of beady eyes following them.
When they'd finally found a generally sanitary alley, the kohl eyed shinobi turned into it, Tenten following compliantly behind. She would've been raging at Suzaku, but when her inner self turned to confront the demon, she'd only been met with the picture of a wooden door, hung with a sign reading: Working. Enter and die screaming.
The girl had backed away quickly after that.
Once the four had all settled, leaning against the walls, Lee temporarily stunned speechless, and Neji with an eyebrow raised, Gaara simply surveyed the teen before him, waiting patiently. After grasping the fact that she wasn't comprehending his cue, he coughed lightly, causing her to jump.
"Ah, right. About the…tackle." She gulped nervously, fingers dancing in a refined version of Hinata's habit. "You see…I have this…person inside of me, and she's kinda, sorta odd, per say– "
However, her halting explanation was oh-so-rudely cut off by the abnormally humanoid screech of an arriving sparrow.
"– Yet I am one of the greatest of the sagacious Biju, who simply wanted to see her beloved brother!"The critter perched upon one of the kunoichi's buns, much to her chagrin. When, immediately following the one-line speech, it ruined the effect with a hacking fit, Tenten's suspicions were sadly confirmed.
CLANG. All three boys' jaws dropped in a memorable spectacle, Gaara's with a force so great in dug a small crater in the earth. This was mostly thanks to the fact that Shukaku in his mind was sobbing, "NO! Not HER! ANYTHING but HERbefore subsiding into silence.
For a demon feared by the masses to be cowering from a little barbecue birdie. Rather disheartening, don't you think?
The weapon's mistress sorrowfully regretted not bringing her camera along.
Fortunately, Neji recovered promptly, at least enough to point toward the blur of orange atop her head and gape, "What IS it?"
Slightly annoyed that they were all staring at her like some circus freak, Tenten snapped a hand up and caught the bird by the neck with an arm now lightning quick, speed enhanced by irritation.
"Su. Za. Ku." The boys cringed at each syllable, aware of the killing aura, and having enough intellect to know that it was not a brilliant idea to hang around pissed women. Each had deplorably learned the fact the hard way.
However, the Fire demon was not a complete idiot. (She was a girl, after all, and most definitely was not as dense as those males! Hmph!) Suzaku had learned from her last black eye, and didn't particularly fancy another one. Plan B was to commence.
Taking a deep breath, (well, as deep as she can with a hand crushing her windpipe,) the bird shrieked, "Shukaku! Get your fat ass over here!"
Tenten nearly fainted when a chibi tanuki ran into the area.
The extremely pregnant silence between the four was broken only by the squabbling of the two animals before them.
"Whaddya mean I gave you a heart attack? You're growing old, oniichan! That potbelly fat is finally starting to go to your head!" The sparrow mocked rudely.
"Oh yeah imouto? Well I bet you still burn stores down just to steal their cookies! With all your snacking, one day, you'll look like me!" Shukaku's quick reply earned him a death glare.
Suzaku pouted, "Will NOT, fatty! And in case you don't recall, dear oniichan, YOU were my partner in crime then!"
"Well at least my sense of fashion isn't as depleted as yours: Red and orange? Psh!"
"Oh look who's talking. Blue cracked veins are SO last year, baka!"
"Grr…don't you DARE diss the veins!"
And thus a fistfight (or, in this case, and paw-vs.-wing fight) broke out.
Edging away from the ensuing chaos, Tenten made sure Lee and Neji weren't dead of shock before wandering up to the other Jinchuriki. Looking at him now, with the knowledge that she, too, was a vessel just like him caused her to see the boy in a decidedly positive new light. The black lining of his eyes gave him a distinctive appearance, not freakish, but deliciously exotic. Idly, she mused if she, too, should begin calling him oniichan, just for the pleasure of irritating him.
It slipped out before she could stop it. "Can you feel him…onnichan?"
Gaara, on the other hand, had been pondering the effect that this girl and her bird had had on Shukaku's bloodthirsty demeanor. Was this another one of them? His reverie was broken by that same girl's voice, and he looked up, startled, before whispering just as fiercely back, "Who?"
The girl growled impatiently. "Don't play dumb! You know who: your Sand demon. Or, as chicken-chan seems to prefer dubbing him, the potbelly fat ass. Can you feel his presence in your head?"
Gaara gazed piercingly at her with oceanic eyes, somewhat amused by her tough-girl mind-set, before seemingly coming to a resolution of wary trust. "No. Apparently he's…busy. I take you are the carrier of Suzaku "chicken-chan", dear little imouto?"
The stray strand of thought that his eyes were prettier than the actual aquamarine sea caused her to take more offence than necessary from the playful taunt. She glared at him with a skill acquired from years of challenging futile staring contests with the king of all death glares, Hyuuga Neji.
However, the childish phrase that she uttered in retort spoiled all the effects of the potent glower.
"I am not little. I'm older than you." Tenten's bottom lip sneaked forward, the warning signs of severe sulking beginning to show.
Gaara scoffed at the otherwise endearing action. Stepping up so that he stood in front of her, he smirked, "Yeah? But I'm taller than you."
She raised her head up, and stood on tippytoes to reach his eye level, not realizing her face had gravitated toward his. Subconsciously, her mind noted the soft breath brushing past her cheek held the faint scent of oranges and summer, the thought pausing her movement briefly, so that before she had a chance to blow him a raspberry, a shrill feminine "hi-YAH" was heard, and Shukaku's miniature tanuki went sailing past their ears before crashing into the bricks with an alarming crunch.
Tenten winced in sympathy, drawing back her head and instantly missing the warm air. "Woe are we…Jinchuriki." The word tasted strange on her tongue. "If I recall correctly, the legends didn't quite describe them like this. But apparently your feared demonic maniac is a bigger idiot than mine."
So she is one, then. Gaara dragged his gaze away from the temporarily dazed Shukaku medium, which had recovered and scampered toward its imouto, and back to chocolate brown eyes. A nonexistent eyebrow shot up. "Oh? Do elaborate."
Her features formed a mischievous smirk, chipping a fragment from his icy exterior. "Blue veins are SO last year."
The boy's lips lifted again, however, their…unique "bonding" conversation was abruptly terminated, courtesy once more of the creatures their respective demons had chosen to posses. Both bird and raccoon-dog had swirls for eyes and were gurgling happily, with a few hiccups to break the gibberish. Surrounding them, Tenten noticed a few empty bottles of sake strewn.
Knowing it could only have been a last resort supply of her pro-spandex teammate's, Tenten turned slowly around and snarled in her best poltergeist voice, "Lee-ee-ee…"
However, before she had the satisfying opportunity to pound the cowering boy into a bloody pulp, a strong grip stayed her arm. Turning to see a familiar angled face, she couldn't meet the pearly eyes that were focused on the frolicking bird. Neji turned to her, his gaze painfully devoid of anger or awe. She understood his unasked question.
Tenten's throat tightened, despite the overwhelming sensation to explain. "…Please don't hate me. I didn't know how to tell-"
The plea was ceased when a large hand found the back of her head and soothingly pressed her face into his pine-scented torso. The silent comprehension undermined words, and her arms reached around to complete the hug, despite the nagging itch in the girl's mind that was still concentrated on another, red-haired man.
But of course, Shichibi no Suzaku, being the meddlesome mind reader she was, came to the rescue of her container's confused heart. For suddenly, the secretly sober sparrow literally burst into song, dragging a rather off-key raccoon in with her:
"I love you, you love me, we're a pyromaniac killer fa-mi-lyyyy, with a - " And of course, Suzaku again simply being who she is, broke off into a coughing fit.
All four ninja faceplanted, and Tenten backed away from Neji's one-handed embrace. After a moment, Lee's muffled voice speculated, "You know, for some reason, those aren't the exact lyrics I remember from Barney…scratch that, none of this, including you guys-" He stood up, and pointed at the two animals, "are what we…anticipated."
Tenten throat cleared of it's own accord, and she stood rooted to the spot as Suzaku's knowledge floated from her lips. "Well, you see…Suzaku – and, by the looks of it, the entire Biju family, have, uh…how to I put it? …A complicated variety of appearances."
Holding an arm out, the sparrow took the offered roost, while Shukaku clambered into its Jinchuriki's arms. After a moment, both "poofed" and vanished, while the two carriers felt the familiar presences in their consciousnesses again.
"This appears to be their form when they are detached from our bodies, vastly different from their very intimidating manifestation in our minds, and I guess, while warring. Um, I think they can take on half-demon forms as well; it hasn't happened to me, but I've seen Gaara here in such a predicament with Shukaku once." She looked toward him for confirmation, and he nodded just detectably.
"So, that's about it." She paced over to her teammates. "We'd better leave now, Gaara-san."
The Sand shinobi didn't move. "You are here for the birds, right?"
Neji stared expressionlessly, "Birds? I'm afraid you'll have to expand on that."
Gaara sighed in exasperation, "Don't feign idiocy. It's not becoming. There's only two birds in Sunagakure that might prove interesting to Konoha."
When all three tensed up, he hastily added, "The woman is not with our government plans. I've been curious to see what the issue surrounding her is as well."
Tentatively, Lee ventured, "So you wish to…journey with us?"
Gaara nodded again. It was part of the truth. In actuality, he was more interested in the Shichibi than the birds, but if Konoha was sending nin to investigate, there possibly was a greater threat than they'd expected.
The Hyuuga stiffened – he hadn't any past interactions with the man, and wasn't quite at ease. Or at least, that's what he convinced himself. His female teammate noticed, and rested a hand on his forearm in warning. The movement was in Gaara's defense, and Neji felt an absurd wave of dislike emerge for the redhead. Fighting it down with minor difficulty, he forced himself to maintain a polite acquaintance with him, if only for Tenten's sake.
"Hn. Let's go, then. They're said to be currently stationed in the east side of the village." Byakugen user coldly turned his back on the sand shinobi, and strode away, Lee following him. Tenten flashed an apologetic look behind her, motioning for him to follow quickly, before she, too, sped off.
TBC…
Okay, this bit had little main plot, but I had to station the beginnings of the love triangle. Gaara, without a doubt, needs her more, while Neji and Tenten are simply the star-crossed couple.
Prepare for another surprise in the next chapter! I'll give you a hint: The chapter name is Mother. And no, it is not Tenten.
And on with the tale of Gaara vs. Falcon!
Gaara: Stupid authoress. Gimme back the baby pictures!
Falcon: Bad boy! You remember our deal.
Gaara: -veins pop- You're an idiot. –kisses Falcon on the cheek-
Falcon: Hey! I meant on the lips!
Gaara: -smirks- You didn't elaborate…baka. Now, the pics.
Falcon: -hands over pictures- FINE! Two can play at this game.
Gaara: ?
Falcon: I still have the negatives! –Mwahahahahaha!-
Anyways. Reviews are appreciated!
