Greetings to you all my lovely readers! I encourage you to keep staring at your screen :D
I want to apologize to you all, I have been very slow with this chapter, and I am very nervous to hear what you think. It was very tricky writing about the summit :P
I will attempt to update weekly from here on, as I don't have as much time as I used to.. :(
Anyways, I have noticed some new faces following my story! So a big thank you to Moon's Envoy, YellowMittens, Amandla123 an uzu!
As always my review replies are on the bottom, and I am still doing the happy dances and giggling like a maniac whenever I get them :D
For this chapter, you have my preferred playlist:
Shiva in Exile – Manju
Shiva in Exile – Ha'nadi
Beats Antique – Egyptic
Vanilla Mood – Haku
And without any more of my boring talk, I give you Chapter five:
In which Gaara gets a challenge…
There is one thing I learned about spirits while travelling between worlds. The more human they look, the more dangerous they are.
Spirits… They certainly are a mysterious existence. Some say that they are made out of the souls of the dead. Some believe that they come from dreams. Others think that they are brought to life by believing in different legends. No one really knows. Some even believe that they don't exist.
I call them spirits, like the rest of my people, and I believe in them, because I can see them.
Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. But mostly they are indifferent. Sometimes they allow you to touch them. And sometimes they can touch you, but you can't touch them.
The badly drawn door opened into the tower and Kan stiffened. The inside wasn't small, narrow or round like the outside. From the opening in the stone voices, music and yellow light spilled. But what caused Kan's distress was the size. It was a humongous room. Chaizen stepped inside like it was completely normal, his people following him. Lim waved Gaara over, getting a nod from the redhead. However, the Kage didn't move. Kan could notice the tension in their mission leader's posture. He, too, was cautious.
They entered behind Chaizen's clan, but before Jin and his camels. The room silenced suddenly. Kan noticed Toru pushing himself as close to their Kage as possible. Shura on the other hand straightened, making herself look taller and more ominous than she really was. The air around the Kage had changed, the steady leak of chakra had increased a bit, showing that he was on his guard and alert, but his face revealed nothing. Kan noticed that the gourd was missing its' cap.
The War veteran scouted his surroundings quickly, looking for all exits and high ground. The room was made of stone, lighted by torches on the walls. The light was yellow and orange, giving the tan faces and dark eyes that were watching them carefully a more threatening look. Kan noticed that not all Wanderers shared the same features. Some weren't as tan as the desert dwellers they had arrived with. Some had lighter hair, but not as light as Lim and Sul. He surveyed the tables full of food that were pushed against the walls, creating room for pillows, carpets and tiny tables, just like Chaizen had in his huge tent. The people were sitting in circles, looking at them. Kan's ears started buzzing from the dead silence.
He didn't detect any exits except the one they had come through.
They were still moving towards the far end of the room. There wasn't anything big there, just a normal circle of pillows with some people sitting and dining. Then she stood up. Kan felt his breath leave his lungs. This was easily the most beautiful woman he had seen in his entire life. She was tall and thin, but not overly, with paler skin than the rest of the Wanderers. Her hair was long, black and silky looking, in complicated braids attached in different ways in an up do. Various jewels decorated her black locks and jingled as she moved up with impossible grace. Her dress was a pure white, of almost see-through material that flowed around her as she moved. She raised her head, showing an angel's face decorated with oriental make up. There were dots underneath her eyes, signaling her years of study in the Sense. This was the Grand Priestess.
The woman's voice rang out, welcoming Chaizen and his clan in their language. It was like the gentle murmur of the mountain springs as they rushed down to become huge rivers. Her unnaturally pale eyes then turned to the shinobi in the room. She looked over each of them, taking in their posture, appearance and aura. Then she gave them a small smile.
"Welcome to the Summit of the Clans, shinobi and kunoichi." Silence ensued. Kan could practically feel the tension.
"I'm here, too, yer Grace." Jin's small accented voice grabbed everyone's attention. The heavy air slowly dispersed at the kid's rude words. The Grand Priestess laughed. Kan thought he had gone to heaven. This woman was trouble.
"I did not forget you, Jin. Welcome, Devil's Merchant." The child gave her a happy grin. "You will dine with me tonight, there are no enemies when the door is open." There was an air of finality in her statement. She motioned with her hand for one of the boys sitting next to her to take care of Jin's animals.
"We thank you for your hospitality, Grand Priestess." The Kazekage's voice rang through the not so silent room, causing the whispering Wanderers to go quiet once again. The redhead's tone was heavy with power, but still a monotone, betraying nothing.
Chaizen's clan took the sacks and boxes that they had brought with them towards the tables, setting up the food. Gaara gave a nod of permission and Shura, Kan and Toru joined the Wanderers. By now Kan was familiar with the food and could set it in a correct way. He noticed Kara close to him. She looked proud of his skills. Lim, though, was helping Shura and Toru arrange a plate of some kind of lizard with vegetables. The shinobi were obviously lost as to how to set up the dish.
After the work was done, the shinobi and kunoichi rejoined their Kage and walked towards the circle where the Grand Priestess was. The woman had motioned for some more pillows to accommodate the newcomers. They sat down, Gaara first, and then the rest of them. Toru took the Kage's right once again, Shura his left, to be able to translate, and finally, Kan sat next to her. Jin was already next to the Grand Priestess, having a conversation with the beautiful woman in an unknown language.
They dined, without much talking. The Kage was on guard, making his team a bit tense. Shura was eating, but not in the usual quantity. Kan didn't even think about getting recipes. Toru was trembling slightly on the redhead's right, occasionally munching on some meat. The relaxed atmosphere of Chaizen's tribe was gone. The room was filled with sounds. People eating, talking, someone was playing a drum and a voice was singing, but the shinobi felt like they were in a vacuum. The noise was just in the background and they were on high alert.
The Grand Priestess slowly stood up. The room quieted. Every head turned to their leader. The children that were running about sat with their parents. Shura caught Lim's eye and the youth winked at her. The kunoichi felt a bit calmer after that. The voice of the Priestess rang out once again through the room.
"She is addressing the clans, welcoming them to the summit and thanking the Gods for their gifts during these years." The kunoichi translated in a low voice. "She is saying that the leaders will meet tomorrow and discuss clan matters together and that tonight is for celebration. She has officially opened the Celestial Summit now."
The pale eyes of the Priestess turned to Gaara. Shura noted that her eyes were even paler than Chaizen's, which were already unusual. The elder took a moment to look at the Kage. She gave him a small smile then, even though his face stayed impassive.
"We should move to a more private location, shinobi." She finally spoke. "Then we may discuss the matters at hand."
After Gaara gave her a nod she stood up, a couple of boys and girls rising with her. They were dressed differently, the Kage noted. The Priestess led them away from the pillows and food and towards the back of the room. Jin gave them a small wave, unaffected by the tension, and continued stuffing his face. The Priestess moved one of the drapes that hung on the far wall, revealing a spiral staircase. She climbed it gracefully, the shinobi following her. The boys and girls that had risen with her went last, closing the cloth after them.
"The boys and the girls with the Grand Priestess are children from the clans who have the Sense." Shura discreetly leaned towards the Kage and explained. "They come to the current Priestess and are trained in the art of Door Opening. I am not very familiar with their religious rites, but I know that they study history, writing, dance, art and rituals while they are trainees. Their education can last from a year to their whole life and they gain permission to put a red dot for each year. Those are mostly drawn underneath their eyes."
The Kage nodded to the kunoichi softly, thanking her for the information. Soon they entered a circular stone room, lit by pale blue light. There wasn't much in it. A couple of pillows, a small table in the middle and some vines with flowers growing from the walls. The beautiful woman took a seat, motioning for all of them to join her. One of the strangely dressed boys set up and put a pipe on the small table. After their peace was shown, the woman spoke again.
"It is unusual for shinobi to come to our summit." She regarded the redhead with unreadable eyes. "What is your purpose here?"
"It has come to my attention that there have been several misunderstandings between your people and mine." Gaara began. "I came here with the intention to deal with any future problems." One of the boys from the circle laughed without humor. The Kage counted four red dots on his face.
"And why didn't you send your leader? Instead you shinobi send us an arrogant boy, an old man, a gluttonous woman and a coward? I call that rude!"
"It seems you need some more training Komachi." One of the girls in the room interrupted. She had three dots on her cheek. "This is their leader." Silence took the room.
"My name is Sabaku no Gaara, Suna's Kazekage. These are my associates Kan Shinya, Shura Takeuchi and Toru Minami."
The Grand Priestess was smiling softly at the redhead as he spoke. Kan couldn't tell what she was thinking but she seemed amused. Maybe it was the fact that the inexperienced girl embarrassed a senior trainee? Maybe it was because the Priestess could read minds? What if she could read minds? Then she probably knew about Kan looking for exits! Maybe she had gotten them to this private room to 'deal' with them. These boys and girls may be assassins. Child assassins weren't too uncommon these days. Shinobi were assassins, too. He wouldn't let this happen to their Kage. Kan would act first if something suspicious happened.
"I am Chun'yan, the Grand Priestess. These are my trainees Komachi, Eileen, Ari and Zed."
There was a moment of utter silence. Gaara and the Priestess were having a stare down. Shura fidgeted on her pillow. She was worried. Until now, she was almost certain that their Kage didn't mean ill towards the Wanderers. However, after the reception they got from the clans, she wasn't sure. Chaizen's wasn't the only clan in the desert, and she couldn't vouch for all of them. Maybe Gaara was going to unleash the Biju and destroy the threat? All Shura could sense from him now was a steady leak of chakra. He was ready to attack at any moment.
"I understand your reasons for coming here, Kazekage. However, I do not believe it is in your power to act in any way against us." The Priestess spoke in a low voice. "We are, after all, residents of the Wind Country and have bowed down to the Wind Daimyo."
"Sunagakure is one of the damaged parties in this little misunderstanding. As I am its' leader it is in my power to take action to prevent further accidents." The redhead's face betrayed nothing as he spoke. "I think that we are all residents of the same Nation and should be able to make a deal as two independent parties."
The Priestess now smirked and then laughed out loud. Toru was attempting to speak but no words came out of his flapping mouth. Shura smiled to herself, glad that Gaara's intentions weren't murderous. Kan released his kunai. The trainees across them had similar reactions of shock and bewilderment. The leader of the shinobi village, one of the five great Kages had just come to them, by sandboat no less, and asked them to make a deal with him as a free city?
"I never expected the shinobi to have someone like you, Sabaku no Gaara." The Priestess managed to get out through her laughter. She looked at him in the eyes then, calming her giggles. "I am interested in hearing what you had in mind. What would be the conditions of this deal that we would hypothetically make?"
Gaara's aura shifted, the steady chakra leak lessening. "It would cover the issue of provisions in the dry season and the storm season and of course anything else needed would be discussed, rather than making more misunderstandings, like we had up until now."
Gaara was well taught in politics. He had addressed all the necessary issues. The lack of provisions that the Wanderers received because of their nomad ways. The thefts that were bothering the cities in the desert. The further cooperation of Wanderers and Sunagakure. He was good.
"I see our situation with the Daimyo isn't a secret." The Grand Priestess sighed. "It's troublesome and difficult, but we do manage somehow." She smiled deviously then. "And what would the Wanderer tribes bring to the deal?"
"That is negotiable. Mostly what they want to trade, including items that residents of Sunagakure can't obtain or valuable information." The Kazekage explained. There was silence in the room. The trainees exchanged glances. The Priestess looked deep in thought. Then she once again locked gazes with the Kage and gave him a mysterious smile.
"You know that the Grand Priestess or Priest is chosen by their level of skill in the Sense, yes?" She didn't wait for a reply and continued. "Any laws that I may pass have to be approved by the majority of the clan leaders. Therefore, I am willing to make a suggestion about this deal to the clans at the Summit tomorrow on one condition." She gave the Kage yet another smile. He nodded to her, urging her to go on.
"You must pass my test."
The boy sitting next to her jumped up suddenly, his face twisted in rage. All the trainees looked quite distraught by this suggestion, but he, Komachi, looked murderous. The kid glared at all the shinobi in the room, as if trying to make them drop dead with the intensity of his stare. The girl that had corrected him earlier, Eileen, attempted to pull him back down onto the pillow, but he tore his hand from hers. Angry words spilled from his mouth in the Wanderer language. The small girl, Ari, put her hands on her ears and closed her eyes in fear. Kan, Shura and Toru grabbed their weapon of choice. Neither Gaara nor Chun'yan reacted to the disturbance. The tall lad, Zed, stood up then and grabbed Komachi's arm. He murmured something in the Wanderer language to the enraged boy.
"What will this test include?" Gaara ignored the commotion in the room.
"Nothing difficult I assure you." The Grand Priestess spoke calmly. "It will not be unlike your shinobi missions. I want you to bring me the Spirit Water." Shura gasped. Gaara looked at the kunoichi from the corner of his eye. She looked surprised and a tad amazed. He nodded to her, signaling that they would talk later.
"May I take my team along with me?" The Kazekage didn't want to leave his comrades in the care of Wanderers. Until the deal was sealed, he wanted them close, where he could make sure that they all came out of this little expedition alive. The Grand Priestess looked to each member of the Kage's team.
"You may bring them, if they wish to follow you." She smiled then. "I will even give you a willing guide through the door. One of my trainees should be able to spare some time and guide you through." The woman gracefully stood.
"Now, why don't we all go back to the festivities? This is, after all, a once in five years summit." She extended her hand to the small girl, Ari, who was still sitting. The little thing accepted and followed the beautiful woman back down the spiral staircase.
"When you get tired, just ask one of us to lead you to your quarters, they are ready for you." The other girl, Eileen, said to them before leaving the room with the other trainees. Kan remembered asking himself how they knew that the shinobi were coming and to prepare rooms for them, before entering the loud room full of people and food again.
~~~~~~~Page break~~~~~~
Eileen stumbled through the corridors towards her room. She was exhausted to say the least. The summit opening celebrations were slowly dying down and she had completed her duty, finally, by leading the shinobi group to their rooms.
They were staying at the circular room with smaller rooms connected to it that had been dug out that day by Eileen and her friends. To say that the space was transformed by some kind of magic would be more accurate than saying those kids worked themselves to the bone to make it beautiful.
All the rubble was gone, except the occasional stone that acted as a nightstand. The rooms were washed and dusted and then set. In the bigger, circular space was a table surrounded by a dozen comfortable, colorful pillows. There were also small plants near the walls that glowed in a pale blue light during the night.
In each of the rooms there was a bed, made from soft furs and handcrafted rugs and then set with silk-like materials as bedding, and a small nightstand. On those there was a glowing plant and a bowl of clear water, along with a towel.
Eileen was proud of their work. The rooms looked like they had been regularly used and not dug out that morning. The shinobi were surprised at the level of their hospitality, she could tell. The short haired woman had thanked her in the language of Wanderers and had asked her a few questions, such as about the breakfast, bathing and such. Their leader had been quiet through the whole walk to the rooms and the conversation between her and the woman. He had been watching them like a hawk. Eileen could still feel his eyes on her. She was glad that they weren't enemies. Of the other two men, the trainee preferred the older one. He had smiled at her and generally didn't creep her out like the other one. The smaller, trembling and terrified looking male in the group just had a bad vibe somehow. Well, all in all, Eileen found that she didn't mind the shinobi as much as she thought she would. She kept reminding herself that they were killers and not good people.
Eileen had talked to her clan that night. She saw her aunt and uncle and their children. The eldest sister was getting married soon. They had asked her when she was going to be done with her training for a priestess. She didn't have the heart to tell them that she had a black void inside of her that her living with the clan could never fill. When she was wandering with them, she felt like an outcast. True, all of them had a part to play in their caravan, but hers was minor. Anyone could clean and do laundry. And not everyone could cross between worlds. There, amongst warriors, she felt like an outsider and here, with the other trainees, she was important. She was on the inside. She was irreplaceable. So she told her family what she always did, that she would be back soon.
Eileen opened the door to her room and walked to the bed. Not even bothering to get undressed she plopped down onto the mattress.
"Hi." Came a voice somewhere above her head. She tilted it up, only to see Kisara's grinning face.
"Hello to you too." Eileen grumbled moodily. The younger girl sitting on the bed began to untangle decorations from the tired trainee's hair. She worked in silence, waiting for her friend to relax and be in a better mood. When she was finished, they both crawled further onto the mattress, lying side by side on the furs.
"Are you going to tell me?" Kisa's face was like a child's when seeing a present. The younger girl took her friend's hand and intertwined their fingers. Eileen smiled to herself softly.
"There are four of them. The-"
"I saw that! Tell me the interesting bits! C'mon!" Kisa's head rose from the mattress to look at her friend's face.
"Will you be quiet so I can talk or not?" The talkative girl plopped back down onto the bed. Silence. "Alright then. There are four of them. Their leader is the youngest one. He is the definition of mysterious. But I do like him." Kisa's face twisted in a thinking expression. "He is honorable and just and above all cares for his people. I can admire that, even in a shinobi."
"That's the redhead, with the weird thing on his back, right?"
"Yes." Eileen gave her friend a small glare. Kisa laughed nervously and went quiet yet again. "The woman seems rather nice. She is well mannered and speaks our language quite well. She also knows a bit about our traditions." Eileen gave a short dramatic pause and then continued.
"The other two men, the older one I quite like, while the younger one gives me the creeps. I don't think he likes the Wanderers very much." Kisa waited patiently this time, but Eileen didn't continue.
"That's it?"
"The two men didn't speak much."
"No, I mean what happened at the private meeting? What did they want?" The dark haired girl rose from her position and sat cross-legged, watching her tired friend carefully. Eileen had a tendency to get very annoyed when sleepy, but, Kisara was too excited to care at this point.
"Their leader suggested some kind of a deal. Cooperation he says." Eileen snorted. "They got cleaned out by one of the clans on the way to the summit." Kisara laughed.
"I bet they weren't too happy about that."
"Not at all." There was a moment of silence. Kisara was waiting for Eileen to tell her more, and the older girl was hoping that her friend would leave and let her sleep. She was exhausted. "The Priestess said she was going to test him." The young trainee finally caved.
"By the Spirits!" Kisara jumped off the bed excited. "This is the first time in centuries that an outsider will take the test!" Eileen sighed.
"I know. Don't cuss. And get out. I need rest." The trainee snapped at the dark haired girl. The excited youth stopped pacing and gave her friend a big grin. She then threw herself back on the bed and kissed the other girl's cheek. Eileen's eyes shot open just in time to see Kisara exiting her room.
"They are killers, Kisa, remember that." Eileen whispered, but the black haired girl caught it.
"I know, Eilee." Kisara said, her cheek on the door. Her eyes were sad somehow. She was a bit lost and didn't know what to think. These people didn't seem too bad to her. Kisara flashed a smile at her tired friend.
"Thanks for the info!" The troublemaker yelled while running down the hall.
Kisara practically flew down the stairs, high on adrenaline. Those were the people! She wanted to talk to those people. The shinobi probably had stories that she couldn't even imagine. They had been out of the desert. They had missions that took them all over the world. Travelling with the nomads only took you so far, and Kisa had never left the desert in her life. She was ready for an adventure of her own. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the Priestess until she could control her Sense properly. And that wasn't coming along according to plan.
The dark haired girl opened her door and shed the outer layer of her trainee garb. She slowly started untangling flowers and gems from her hair. Her hair was dark, almost pitch black. She wanted a lighter shade, like Eileen. Eileen was beautiful. Her fellow trainee was fairer then most of them. She had unusually blondish hair and a paler complexion then most of them, but not as much as the Priestess. That woman looked ethereal. Eileen however, came close to their leader's beauty and Kisara was envious of that. Eileen even had blue eyes, while Kisa had plain dark ones. She was a Wanderer of her clan through and through.
She sometimes wondered why she didn't have white hair like some of her clan members. Her brother had the pale locks, but that gene had skipped her. Needless to say, it was very unusual for a child to be either short or pale among the Wanderers. Those who were, they were either Spirit touched or outcasts. She was glad that her brother was considered Spirit touched and had shown that talent in his life already.
Kisara removed her make-up next, erasing the two dots beneath her left eye gently. She had seen her family at the banquet. Her brother had grown. He was taller than her and he carried a sword now. He had told her all about the shinobi that they had brought and how great all of them were. At first, Kisa thought that someone was bewitching her little sibling, but then she thought differently. No one in her clan seemed to mind the strangers. They even said that all of them helped during the journey. Kisara was a bit doubtful, they all looked like pretty and high class people who didn't get off their behind to actually do something. Besides, Eileen said that they were all killers. If they had their trade, why would they need to know everyday chores? Kisara was confused by the subject of shinobi. She was cautious of them, yes, but she didn't harbor the hatred that some of the clans did. She wanted to judge them on her own, without prejudice.
The young girl threw all of her clothes off and plopped onto her comfortable bed. She would see tomorrow what the shinobi are made of. If they were going to take the test, like Eileen said, much more than their capabilities as warriors would be tested. She wanted them to succeed, for the sake of her brother, of course. He had told her that he was friends with the strangers. She would wish them well, because her brother's friends weren't her enemies.
With those thoughts Kisa let her mind slowly slip into the world of dreams.
Ladies and gentlemen, that's all from me!
Now there are a whole bunch of OCs, and there are only a couple more major ones coming, but don't worry, I will make them as weird as possible, and you will be able to tell them apart! At least I will try… Hehehehe~
Onto the reviews!
The Kazekage of Suna: I see.. I will go over it and see what I can maybe edit, but I'm not sure I will. I tried to make it as short as possible, since it's just a prologue xD But I do love the input! Critics make me all tingly with happiness!
Thank you for your compliments. I will do my best to improve further :D Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
uzu: I am so curious as to how you chose your username.. It's awesome! Wait, back on track me. Thank you very much for the review, I hope you like the rest of the story!
Yep, Kan is a right crazy veteran with his ideas, I can't help it, I love him.
Thank you for your compliments! I am aware that fanficion is a site open to all ages, and my story is rated T (at the moment) so I do try to use a more casual way of writing, easy to follow for both people whose first language is English and the ones whose it isn't. I am not a native speaker myself, and I get very confused with how to write something at times. Thank you for the tip about mistakes, must've missed some, I still haven't managed to tie down a beta to my computer :(
I am so glad I am getting more input on my version of Gaara! He is… damn. I love him, but Gods, I have no idea what he would do at times hahahaha I will continue to struggle, and hopefully I will win!
This is an extra long chapter here, but I have no idea how long the next one will be xD I have sooooo much to put in there… I thought I was going to be done with the summit by chapter five but noooo brain went into overdrive and got all of these ideas out there… I mean Zed, Ari and Komachi were definitely NOT in my plan, but they kind of popped out… And they became so cute and useable… I had to keep them!
Ok I'm done now, for real. Your review made me soooo happy! I look forward to hearing from you more :D