Before we begin, I'd like to thank those who are reading this in 2021! This is a revamp of "The White-Tailed Beast", a Naruto fanfic I wrote way back in 2017. Due to Covid-19 and the way they have my course set out, I'll have more time on my hands than I did before. Chapters will be updated according to the days I have off and the gung-ho feeling I always carry with me to continue writing! For those who did not check the last two chapters of the old version of the story, I apologize for leaving you guys hanging for years. I will atone by giving you guys something better and juicier than the rushed version I made. Sit back and enjoy the revamped The White-Tailed Beast, " The Beast Of Light"! -Rie Marie
He walked throughout the sandy halls searching for his daughter, dragging his brother-like friend by the collar. "You had one job, Kankuro. Tell me, what was it again?" The reddish-orange haired male asked, roughly turning a corner to see the one below him hit his side on the edge. Grunting from the pain and sandy burns, the male known as Kankuro tried to heave himself up a bit. "I was supposed to watch Sakkimaru and her friend..! Argh!" He tries to explain until the male dragging him threw him against a corner.
"Ah, so you do remember what I told you to do, yet, not a single child is in your care, nor do I hear a single giggle." The man said, levitating sand from the miniature gourd on his hip. "W-wait, Gaara! I at least know where they went! Give me a chance to tell you first!" Kankuro pleaded. The man halted his assault and did nothing, letting Kankuro speak. "I heard them say they would be playing close to the bakery today! If not there, check the training grounds!" He quickly admitted before lowering his hands from his face. "Was that so hard?" The man known as Gaara asked. He turned around and started twirling two fingers as if making something then as he was about to turn the corner, looked back to see a sand tornado around Kankuro.
Near The Training Grounds
"I think I've got it done now! Watch this, watch this!" A dirty brown-haired boy took small clay pieces from a sack on his waist and rolled them into his hands. His gaze turned towards his female friend then at a log several meters away. "Hiyah!" The boy said, tossing the clay ball at the log, positioning his hands together leaving two fingers in the air and two more slightly beside but lower than the two, then exclaiming the word 'Explode'. "I'm no clay master but I think it's supposed to do something right about now." The girl beside him giggled, her white sandy hair falling in front of her face.
"Shh! You got to give it some time! It'll happen, just wait!" The boy said, trying another amount of words. "Explode! Blow up! Kaboom! Do something!!!" Yet not a single phrase worked. The girl laughed herself into a tumble and stretched then heaved herself off the ground. "You should try looking up things that'll help it go kaboom instead of just saying the words, Kamina." She told and pat his head. A sigh left his mouth as he went to retrieve his clay ball. As the girl watched him walk over, a large shadow engulfed her own and she suddenly looked up to see a familiar face.
"Dad?! What are you doing here?" She asked. Gaara ruffled the top of her head and smiled. "I wanted to walk home with you, is that okay?" He asked. Sakkimaru returned a smile to her father and hugged him. "Yeah! It's more than okay!" She said. Once Kamina made his way back to them, they told each other goodbye and went their separate ways. The sun descended rather quickly as the silence grew between the father and daughter. "Hey, Saki? Do you like living here?" Gaara asked, looking towards the Kazekage's office. "Of course! Well, I don't have many friends but Kamina, Uncle Kankuro, and you, it's still nice." She told.
"But what if I told you, you'd soon be leaving?" Gaara asked further. Sakkimaru stopped walking and stared at him with confusion on her face. "Are we going somewhere else?" The expression turned into more than just confusion but sadness which tightened around Gaara's chest. He turned around and kneeled in front of her. "You will be leaving here in a few weeks but only because the village may not be safe for you anymore. If there were more options in such a short time I would take them." He tried to explain. "Why am I leaving?! Why Isn't it safe for me but everyone else gets to stay?!"
Everything she was hearing didn't make sense, rather she didn't want it to. Is it the illness she was always warned about when she asked to play outside? "Don't tell me...my illness is getting worse..?" She asked as her heart sank into her stomach. It stayed quiet until Gaara nodded his head. "Your illness prevents you from doing certain things and it'll be hard for me to keep an eye on you so I will send you to someone I know can." He said, pulling her into a very tight hug. Sakkimaru wanted to ask so much more like, what illness was preventing her to stay with her father? But was it a good idea?
That night, Sakkimaru stayed up, looking at the ceiling, wondering what it was that was keeping her from her father. She barely knew anything about her mother and now she would soon be separated from her father and friends. One last sigh escaped her lips as she turned to her side, facing the window, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
A Few Days Later
Sakkimaru walked behind Kankuro, her eyes glued to the ground until she suddenly felt herself push onto him. "You didn't see me stop?" Kankuro asked, slightly turning his gaze downward to look at her. "Yeah, my bad." She told him and moved to the side, her eyes still on the ground. Throughout the day, Kankuro watched Sakkimaru make mistakes she wouldn't usually make and knew that what Gaara told her must be weighing down on her. "What's on your mind?" He asked while the two sat at a local bakery. "It's nothing." She told him as she bit into a red bean bun in the shape of a fish. "It's about the village swap, right?" Kankuro asked, leaning his fist against his cheek.
Sakkimaru looked at him. "You know about it too?" She asked, her voice sadder than before. "Of course I do. There is nothing to be sad about, it's not like we're leaving you there forever, Saki." Kankuro told, trying to relieve whatever doubts and thoughts were rolling into her mind. "If it makes you feel any better, you know that weird friend of yours?" He asked her. "You mean Kamina?" She said, smiling into her bean bun. "Yes, that kid! He'll get to go with you so fix your mood. Your face is making my tea bitter." He joked. Sakkimaru giggled a bit, feeling much better than before.
Nearly spilling the tea from the table, Sakkimaru got up from her seat and started running in the direction of homes. "Where ya going?!" Kankuro questioned thinking about what would happen if he didn't at least get that simple information. "I am going to see Kamina, I will be home for dinner!" She yelled back, turning a corner. Kankuro sighed heavily before downing his tea and getting up. "Children nowadays." He lipped before paying the shop owner and heading to the Kazekage's office.
One the way to see Kamina, Sakkimaru ran into a small black cat and kneeled to examine it. Its fur was dirty and it had a couple of patches of hair missing like it was burned or something, yet she leaned her hand towards it and began stroking the felines head. "Well aren't you a cute ugly thing?" She said, talking to the cat like it was a baby. The cat licked Sakkimaru's finger then rubbed on her hand. She picked up the feline and continued to make her way over to Kamina's home, not yet realizing the dark blue eyes set on her.
[TBC - Chapter Two 1/10/21]
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