Authors Notes: I wasn't so sure I would really write chapter 2, but then an angel called Animestar001 descended from the heavens in front of me a few hours after i had posted chapter 1 and said that she would like me to keep writing and that she loved my story and that she loved my character, and with that giving me the power to continue to write this story. So with no further a do I give you chapter 2.
The old medics name Chikaho which means wisdom in Japanese I haven't given her a last name yet. I name Umi Yasuo means ocean (Umi – last name) tranquil and calm (Yasuo – first name) in Japanese, he is introduced in this chapter, but not really that important in the story, yet.
Oh look, I rambling again (I really should stop doing that) . . . . hehe . . . . on with the story.
Disclaimor: I don't own Naruto, but i do own the characters Kohana, Chikaho and Umi Yasuo
"Characters © Wright hahahhaha . . . . ."
"Thoughts"
"Shukaku"
"Normal"
Since Then, Until Forever
By RikuOfTheDesert
Chapter 2: Looking The Demon In The Eye
"The throbbing is back," was the only thought to pass though Kohana's head as pain surged though her scull like electricity. Images here and there flashed though her mind one after the other. Only when an image of red hair and black rimmed jade eyes stared at her, did Kohana remember what happened.
Her waking up, seeing four people around her bed in a hospital, the dark aura around the red haired standing by the window, her running though the hospital, the fighting in the waiting room, the pain in her neck then darkness. In a panic, Kohana's eyes snapped open and she moved to sit up, to find that she was tied to the white sheeted hospital bed with leather belted straps.
"Ah, I see you have woken up again, deary," said a kind motherly voice. Looking to her right Kohana was faced with the medic from before, the one with the voice full of wisdom. Glaring, Kohana moved a little under the straps, wordlessly asking about the need for them.
"You gave us quite a fright the other day, so we had to then tie you down so you could heal probably," explained the medic as she busied herself with checking Kohana's health, as Kohana groaned.
The next few weeks, Kohana became to know the medic that took care of her as Chikaho; she was a kind loving women that kind of reminded her of her mothers love. Chikaho was slow and patient with her and always took care of her with gentleness, Kohana had never felt before. However, Kohana never spoke a word to her, yet Chikaho took this in step, believing Kohana to be mute.
Chikaho stop anyone from coming in to see her until she was able to move around with out activating her curse mark. She explained to Kohana about the mark the bastard had place upon her and the dangers of using it, yet Chikaho said she didn't know how to seal a mark as powerful as Kohana's up.
However the day came that Baki marched into Kohana's hospital room to talk to Kohana about the killings in the clearing of the dead.
"Young lady, it's time you told us want happened. The information you hold could be of great concern or benefit to Suna, so we need to know why you were ambushed?" said Baki as he lent over Kohana as he continued his interrogation.
"Baki-san, you can't just come in here and question my patients," said a shocked Chikaho, staring a Baki in disbelief.
"The Kazekage has waited long enough, for her to heal, and I believe she is back to full health now, so we must now question her before something happens to Suna," shot back Baki, sternly staring at Chikaho.
"The Kazekage can't wait to interrogate her or you can't wait to interrogate her, Baki-san?" snapped Chikaho glaring back at the elite shinobi that had just march right into her hospital and disturbed her patient, "even is she is fully healed she can't answer any of your questions, no matter what you think,"
"Are you trying to telling me you are going to stop the Kazekage from getting the answers he needs," growled Baki dangerously, as he pulled a scroll out of his green vest and handed it to Chikaho with a smirk. "These are orders from the Kazekage himself to question the girl until she gives us what we want, even if we have to torture her to get them."
Chikaho eyes widen as she read the information on the scroll. "Torture! They would torture a defenceless little girl," thought Chikaho as the event that had happen the first time the girl had awoken skipped her mind. Sighing, the old medic turned back to Baki shaking her head. "I'm not sorry to say this, but she still can't not tell you the answers you that are looking for,"
Frowning, Baki as he studied the medic in front of him, not sure he understood why the raven haired girl could not answer him, "and why is that,"
Chikaho let a small sad smile pass across her face, "She is a mute, Baki-san. She is unable to talk. I have looked at her throat for damage, and there seems to be none, but she has not said a word. If what you told me about her being a thief is true and at such a young age it could be that she has never learnt to or needed to talk to someone. And the best way to survive the life of a thief is to be quick and silent, is it not."
"Can't you teach her then? If she has never learnt, then teach her now," said Baki, losing a little of his composure.
"It's not as easy as that," snapped Chikaho, "I have to teach her to use her voice box and then how to pronouns the vowels and sounds and then I can teach her words, but there is many words in the dictionary, Baki-san. She won't be able to tell you anything for maybe a year's or longer, with how easy she is able to pick up the ability to speck."
"That's not good enough," hissed Baki, "the Kazekage wants her to work for the good of Suna and if she can't talk how she going to do that?"
"He plans to send this child out and do shinobi work," whispered Chikaho as the colour drained from her face.
"There a shinobi her age doing that type of work," said Baki matter-a-fact-ly.
"Yes, but they are genin and have gone to the academy, this is a girl who was a common thief. I'm sure she could do a D-rank mission, but something tells me you plan to send her on B- rank and god for bid A-rank missions," said Chikaho in hysterics.
"You seem to have forgotten what happen first time she woke up," sneered Baki, "You saw her skills in combat, she has the ability to become a great asset to Suna,"
"Asset," sniffed Chikaho in a different tone, "I believe you're thinking more of her as being a great weapon to Suna. May I remind you Baki-san about the last time Suna try to make a great weapon, we ended up with a blood thirsty monster, and I will not let you turn this girl in something like,"
"Gaara was a faulty experiment and is still a weapon to Suna and –,' started Baki.
"I don't care what you plan for this girl, I won't let you, now leave before I have to make you," challenged Chikaho drawing herself up to her full height, which wasn't even up to Baki's shoulder, glaring daringly at him.
"Fine, but this is not over," said Baki turning on his hells and walked out the door, stopping in the doorway throwing a look at Kohana only to see a smug smirk on her face, before he marched off down the hall.
"Sucker, I don't plan to be here that long," thought Kohana as her eyes turned to the window and the endless sea of sand she could see over Suna large protective wall.
"I know this is not over Baki-san, I know," whispered Chikaho, to herself as she went back to looking though Kohana files, pulling Kohana back to what was going on around her.
"It looks like everything is fine now and you can leave," said Chikaho, her eyes not leaving the files.
Kohana jumped off the bed and was about to run though the door when someone came though them.
"Hello Chikaho-san, how are you? How is she doing?" asked a blonde haired Temari as she stepped into the room.
"It looks like she's fine to me," said the painted face of Kankuro looking over Temari's shoulder at Kohana.
"Damn, what do they want now," thought Kohana as she mentally curse what ever god was doing this to her.
"She can now leave the hospital," said Chikaho cheerily as if she had not just had a heated fight with an elite ten minutes ago.
"Go, because dad's decided she will be living with us," said Temari happily, "I've always wanted a little sister,"
"Live with you?" said Chikaho, the smile slipping from her face, as she the idea of this being Baki's doing, before quickly being put back on. "I don't know . . . . ,"
"Awww, come on please," whined Temari, "I really want a little sister, and I promise I won't let Kankuro do anything perverted to her,"
"Hey, I wouldn't do something like that," said Kankuro, as Temari smirked at him.
"Yeah right,"
"HEY!"
Chikaho looked at Kohana has the siblings continued to argue between themselves, and saw the frown on Kohana's face as she looked at the siblings with. "Maybe it would do her some good to be with children her own age. It would help with her lessons in speech, and she's probably never had a friend before," thought Chikaho as a small smile, "Yes it may help her, and I can still stop Baki-san from doing anything that will hurt her even if she lives with the siblings, yes" Chikaho smiled, as the idea warmed up to her.
"Okay, I think it is a good idea," said Chikaho, making Kohan turn around and give her a horrified look, "Come now it will be good for you to be with kids close to your age and it will help with your lessons," Chikaho patted Kohana on the head fondly as if she was her own.
"Yeah," said Temari as she through her arms around Kohana, "I now have the sister I've always wanted," letting Kohana go, Temari exclaimed in a happy voice, So what's your name then?"
Kohana just looked at her blankly.
"She can't speak, I will be teaching her though. She will have to come and see me every day for an hour and you will have to speak to her as if she is a normal person, it will help her to learn," said Chikaho to temari.
"Oh you poor thing you can't speak," said Temari pouting and drawing Kohana in fro another bone crashing hug, "Don't worry I will help teach you,"
"Yeah she speaks enough for two people anyway, ouch," said Kankuro making Temari punched him.
"What do this people think, I'm a child. Talking to me like that. Please oh some high being which god did I piss off," pleaded Kohana looking out side to the sky as if it might answer her.
The day continued with Temari and Kankuro showing her around Suna and telling her about places and who some people were. By the end Kohana really wanted to just up and leave.
"And over there, that's Umi Yasuo, he owns 'Umi sea food' company which owns a lot if not all of the sea food exports and imports into and out of Suna. What do you think?" asked Temari smiling cheerfully.
"She can't talk remember," stated Kankuro deadpanned.
"So? Chikaho-san said to talk to her as is she was," shot back Temari, frowning.
"Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, BREATH! You can deal with these idiots. You have dealt with worst, just breath," Kohana mentally chanted in her head over and over again, trying to ignore the on going talking of the two siblings.
"And there's the market place and that street there sells clothes, we are going to have to go there to get you some clothes. We can't have you running around in those rags –,"
"Breath, breath, breath. Remember your not going to be here that long, anyway. You're just going to get a decent meal into you, grab whatever money you can get and high tail it out of there," stressed Kohana, breathing deeply as she did.
At the end on the day Temari and Kankuro took her back to their house. It looked a lot like every other building in Suna, a great mountain of brown rocks and sand. It however was bigger then all the other houses.
"This is our house, it's also the Kazekage manor, we live here because our dad is the Kazekage," said Kankuro as if Kohana should think it was a big thing, and she supposed it was, she just didn't care.
"So their father is this Kazekage that wanted information from me and would have tortured me for it and he wants me to do shinobi work for the village. Hm, now I know why their father said I could live with them he's the Kazekage." Thought Kohana as pieces of the puzzle that had been following her all day fell into place. "Well, Kazekage-baka, you'll have to do a lot better then that if you want anything out of me," vowed Kohana as a smirk crossed her face, unseen be the to siblings next to her, but not by the one watching her walk towards the house though a window, as a mischievous look accompanied it.
"It's that raven haired girl again," thought Gaara from his spot at the window, as the boyish looking girl followed his worthless siblings into the house.
"Yes, and it looks like she will be living here, a perfect chance to kill her, hahahahahah," answered the Shukaku in glee at the thought of all her blood being ripped from her body as it flowed though his sand. "She is a worthy opponent and her blood will make us stronger."
"Yes, it will," agreed Gaara as he turned from the window and melted into the darkness of the room.
"This is home sweet home. What do you think?" asked Temari excitedly, looking to Kohana for her response.
Kohana just raised her eye brow as her eyes sweeping over her surroundings. It wasn't too different to a commoners place and did not look as if it belonged to a powerful Kage, it was . . . . . . home-y.
"What's with just a raised eye brow, it's better then anywhere you would have lived I'm sure," snorted Kankuro.
"Kankuro!" exclaimed Temari in shock, before hitting him over the head.
"OUCH! What was that for?"
"For being insensitive,"
Kohana left the two, yet again, arguing siblings and ventured on down the hall. She found the dinning hall, the kitchen and the lounge room quick enough and also stairs leading up to the next level. The second floor was nothing more then a long hall with doors coming off on each side.
Behind the first door was a bedroom with weapons and jutsu scrolls lining the walls and dirty and clean clothes littering the floor. It was . . . . girl-y in taste and Kohana had to guess that it had o belong to Temari.
The second was another bedroom. This one was littered with dirty clothes, dummy parts, tools, screws, bolts, rotting food scraps, and what looked like porn magazines all around the room. This one had to belong to Kankuro.
Kohana continued down the hall, looking behind one door after another, finding a drawing room, an office belonging to the Kazekage, the Kazekage's matser bedroom and two dust covered guestrooms.
Closing the last door she had opened, which held a storage room, Kohana turned to the last door in the hall to find it opened and a pair of cold, hateful jade eyes staring back at her.
"Don't go into my room or I'll kill you,"
Kohana took a step back, taking up a defensive stance, hands twitching a little as they got ready to grab the two katana's tied to her back.
"On second thought, I'll just kill you now," said the red head as tentacles of sand came rushing out of the dark room behind him.
Ducking and flipping down the hall, Kohana slide to a stop, quickly grabbing the blades as more sand attacks followed her. Crashing though one of the doors; Kohana quickly made for the window and jumped out.
"What the hell is this guy's problem? What did I ever do to him," though Kohana as she pushed charka into her feet and ran up the wall onto the roof. A scene of her slashing at the red head in a hospital waiting room flashed in her mind. "Oh, right. I take one swing at the guy and now his going to kill me. GREAT!"
"You're not trying to run now are you?" echoed a creepy psycho voice.
"God this guy needs to find some help. There's something not right about him," murmured Kohana under her breath.
"There you are!" said the red head as he appeared on the roof in front of Kohana, but his voice had changed and his face had become deformed with sand.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY!" screamed Kohana in her head.
"GAARA!"
Temari and Kankuro appeared on either side of Kohana looking at what use to be the read head. They each pulled their weapons from their backs.
"Gaara, you have to stop this. You can't cause more trouble for the village. If you stop now no one else will have to be dragged into this," said Kankuro, tying to talk sense into the younger boy, but the terrified look on his face did not help one bit.
"I'll kill you too, if you don't get out of the way!" roared the creature called Gaara.
"Kankuro, go get Baki-sensei and dad," said Temari, her voice wavering a little from fear.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll try and talk some sense into him. Just go."
Kankuro turned and took off in the direction of the Kage tower, while Temari turned to Kohana. "Get out of here, his dangerous when his like this,"
Kohana raised an eye brow in response to this, "So this is not the first time his been like this, but what is he? What's with the sand?"
"What's the matter? Do I scare you? Well, little girl? Do I?" laughed the deformed monster.
Kohana just smirked before she flicked out of sight just to reappear next to the half human, half sand creature. Striking out at him with perfect skill, just for a shield of sand stopped the blade at the last second.
"Damn, that sand shield again," thought Kohana disgruntled, "How is he doing that? What is he? Is the sand following his command or dose it protect him on its own?"
Flicking out of sight; Kohana swang at him again, before disappearing just as fast to just reappear again with another attack. This continued on as Kohana analysed his movements and attacks to deceiver what his style of jutsu was.
Suddenly, Kohana was ripped from her thoughts as sand rapped around her ankle, throwing her off the roof and down the street.
"Gaara stop!" yelled Temari, as she run to follow Gaara as he turned to jump of the roof on to the street.
"I said stay out of this!"
A tentacle of sand in the shape of a tail swang out, hitting Temari off the roof.
"Temari!" yelled Kankuro as he dove to catch is sister before she hit the ground.
"Kankuro, where Baki-sensei and dad?" asked Temari weakly.
"Here," answered the stern voice of Baki as he appeared standing next to Kankuro, soon followed by the figure of the Kazekage and a group of twenty elite shinobi.
"What happened here?" asked the Kazekage in a commanding voice.
"We were showing the new girl around the house when we lost her, next minute we hear crashing and Gaara's half transformed and trying to kill her," said Kankuro as eyes turned to the monster that was his brother.
"Right, men you know what to do," snapped the Kazekage signalling the shinobi into action.
However, their plan was cut short when Kohana jumped back up and the fight continued. Blades swinging, sand striking, blokes, dodging, attacks continued as the shinobi were left to watch.
"Who is that?"
"Look at that ability, that skill. They are better then most chunins,"
"Chunin! That guys good enough to be a jonin!"
"How can that guy go up against Gaara like that?"
"His got to be no more then twelve, what's he playing at?"
"Is that kid mad?"
Murmurs rushed though the shinobi as the two fighting children continued no sign of one having the upper hand.
"How can she fight against Gaara like that? And his half transformed too, on one would stand a chance, how can she?" whispered Baki in awe as one of her swings nearly slit Gaara's throat if he had not jumped back. Her attacks were now moving to fast for his sand to keep up with.
"Orders, Kazekage-sama," asked a nervous shinobi, eyes wearily watching the monstrous Gaara.
"Get ready for action, chance you get, do it," order the Kazekage, eyes never leaving the fighting Kohana.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," chorused the group of shinobi.
"You are a worthy opponent, girl, but I will soon make your blood run dry with my sand," said Gaara in a creepy voice as he quickly lashed out at Kohana making her jump back and flip onto a roof top two houses away.
"NOW!" called the voice of Baki signalling the shinobi's that had surrounded Gaara, as they went though a series of hand signs before placing their hands on the ground. A bright blue line of charka flowed from their hands across the ground to rap around the sand creature.
"NO!!" roared Gaara as the sand around his face and body fell away to reveal the red head underneath before he clasped on the ground gasping for air.
The twenty elite shinobi follow him soon after, each struggling to stand and breath, after the complex jutsu they had just performed.
"Kankuro, get Gaara back into the house. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere," order the Kazekage.
"Yes, father," said Kankuro as his father's figure flickered away, then turned to his brother, who just pushed him away.
"I don't need help from worthless idiots like you," was his only response before Gaara marched into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Kohana jumped down from the roof top into the street next to Temari as Kankuro walked back.
"Look, it's probably a good idea if you stay away from Gaara for a while, okay," said Kankuro rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Just try to stay out of his sight and eventually he'll warm up to the idea of you being around," agreed Temari with a forced smile on her face.
"Somehow I really don't think is had anything to do with me intruding into his house," thought Kohana with a blank look on her face, not showing everything of what she was thinking. "It seemed more like he just wanted to kill me. And what was he? Looking at the way you people reacted, I think you know, but I don't think you're going to tell me right now,"
Nodding, Kohana turned and took off across the roof tops, ignoring the cries of the siblings to come back and that leaving had not been what they had meant.
"Go back?" asked Kohana mockingly in her head, "I don't think so. This little vacation here has made me use more of my skills then anywhere else, why don't I go all out and use the rest. I think it's time I broke in to this Kage tower and had a look at some of their scrolls and documents and find out just what this Gaara guy really is."
Set in her mind, Kohana just seem to melt into the shadows as she bounded off towards the Kage tower.
It was dark in the halls of the tower, all was quite, but if someone was to walk into the files room they would find a small boyish looking girl looking though confidential files, eyes spinning as they analysed everything they looked at.
"You would think they would put more guards up around this tower," thought Kohana, picking up another file, "I mean these are the file showing Suna's protection lay out and the secrets of Suna. I could just take it and I know many countries that would pay big for these things. It's good think I'm not interested in them, it's that Gaara boy that interests me."
Putting down the file of Suna's protection lay out, Kohana turned to some medical files that belonged to the greater shinobi of Suna. Medical files that the Kazekage didn't want getting into the wrong hands, so enemy shinobi would know how to take them out.
"The wrong hands like mine," thought Kohana with an evil grin. Pausing in her search, Kohana's eyes landed on a rather large medical file. It was at least ten time bigger then any of there others. "Hello, look-y what we have here?"
Pulling the file out, the first words Kohana's eyes sort was Sabaku no Gaara, printed on the front.
"Looks like I hit the jack pot," laughed Kohana in her head. Opening the file, it didn't take her long to find out what Gaara really was.
Demon. He was a demon vessel, and not just any demon vessel, Shukaku's vessel. Vessels to the Shukaku were known to have insomnia which in turn made the vessel state of mind unstable and they are known to have been mad and blood thirsty.
Looking though the file, Kohana saw many times that he had gone on a killing spree and a large number of times where he just killed one person for no reason at all.
"What the hell, this guy is mad," thought Kohana in disbelief. Then the time in the hospital floated to the surface of her mind. The sadness and loneliness in his eyes. All the hurt and emotional pain she had seen in his eyes. "He never asked to have the Shukaku put inside his body, and his hurting on the inside because of it. He didn't have any friends because of the demon and from what I saw even his siblings are afraid of him."
Looking up, Kohana's eyes fell onto her sad looking reflection in the window. "And I know from experience that if you don't have a purpose in life you can't live. I not think Gaara had one so then the Shukaku gave him one and it was to kill,"
Eyes turning back to the file, Kohana then came across a document for the order to put the Shukaku in Gaara signed by the Kazekge himself. Then a signed scroll for missions of assassination of Gaara; also signed by the Kazekage himself. Shocked Kohana could not bring herself to understand what was written on the scroll.
"The Kazekage sentenced his own son to holding the burden of the Shukaku and then decided he was too dangerous for the village and tried to have him killed. And the first assassination mission, Gaara would have been six and the killing sprees didn't start until he was six turning seven. That means that what made him the monster he is today was his father. And to try and assassinate ones own child, even with the Shukaku, that's just wrong."
Angrily Kohana shaved the file back where it came from. "The assassination missions, it was just the Kazekage running away from his mistake. This village is just using Gaara as their personal weapon. If he was to kill everyone in the village I would not mourn for even one person here, they would deserve it for put a little boy though something like that by himself,"
Sneaking out of the Kage tower, Kohana took off in to the night, "No I would not judge him if he did kill everyone here,"
Unknown to Kohana, dark eye followed her as she jumped across the roof tops of the Suna citizen homes.
"You survived our last encounter very well, little flower, but that was only the beginning," said the shadow figure as his eyes flashed yellow as they followed the jumping girl until she was no longer in sight.
Turning the shadow walked off, melting into the darkness of the night, the last thing of him to disappear was his eyes. The eyes of a predator; hidden behind a white cloth and Kage hat.
TO BE CONTINUEDThank you for the reviews
Animestar001 – You are an angel sent from heaven thank you and I'm glad you liked my character Kohana, but she is yet to do anything out standing
Artemis J. Kalk – Thank you I'm glad you think this looks like a good story
Thats the end of chapter 2, please review