Kage of the Graves:
Intermission(Part 2): Feeding the Faux Fire
Alone again, Gaara returned to his room where he could meditate. After a time, he eventually found his center, and from there, he called to the remnants of the greatest of the tailed Demons.
'Are you there, Lord Kyuubi no Kitsune?'
'I am here, Gaara of the Sands, brother in spirit to my former container.'
'We have much to discuss, and as promised, I have returned to speak you again. What is it you wish of me?'
'As I said upon my arrival, I believe Naruto's death is not yet a sure thing. Through the pieces of me that still cling to him in death, I have become aware of the fact that he is not yet passed on. His spirit is still between worlds - a fact that gives me hope.'
'You mean he is… a ghost - I believe that's the term, yes?'
'Yes, little one - ghost is an appropriate term. I believe, though I am not sure because I only receive random pieces of information - making it hard to form a better picture - that he was not supposed to have died. It seems that there is something much larger afoot that he was supposed to take part in, and his death means that he cannot.'
'So I ask again - if this is true - what is it you wish of me?'
'You and I must go to Konoha. Appoint one of your most trusted and powerful subordinates to be the Kazekage-elect in your absence and bring a small compliment of your best personal guard, assassins, and warriors. If what I have picked up is as grave as it sounds, then they may be needed. For your cooperation, you shall be rewarded, I shall see to it!'
'That is not necessary, Lord Kyuubi no Kitsune, for I shall do as you wish without incentive - however, I appreciate the sentiments immensely. It pleases me that the greatest of the tailed demons would seek to reward me at all.'
'I have spent long enough around your spirit brother to learn appreciation for humans, even though you all disgust me to no end.' There was some amusement in the Fox's voice as he said this, and Gaara guessed, rightly so that it was also a dismissal.
When his eyes opened a moment later, he immediately set to making preparations to leave - pausing only long enough to send a forewarning to the Hokage via the same messenger bird that had delivered the painful message of Naruto's death.
(AN: Alright, I know this chapter's length seems to be a throwback to earlier times, but I've always thought of Gaara as a man of few words, and even if I'm giving him a bit of a ncier portrayal in this, Kyuubi never seemed all that willing to deign speek to a mortal creature - especially a human. SO I didn't think that they would mince words. We'll be heading back to Konoha soon for an angst filled chapter. I'm fixing an earlier mistake - so to speak - by expanding upon two peoples reactions. Tune in for the next Foxy Installment.. maybe even in a few hours. But first... PIZZA and BOOBS! -goes to eat DiGiorno and watch bootleg anime actiion/adventure hentai-)
Dirtwater.
