Welcome, my dear friends!
I would like to thank some new followers! and bishojosenshi, welcome!
Also, I have some new story favs! Ooooh I'm so happy! So thank you , KT-Desu, 8, bishojosenshi and lady kae :D You guys made my day~
And I was very surprised by an author alert and fav from bishojosenshi, thank you very much!
I have done some drawings of my OCs, just sketches and stuff, I'm working on getting them on deviant soon, hopefully they will be on my profile before the next chapter is up :D
And here is my preferred music for this chapter:
Beats Antique – Crush
Oshima Hiroyuki - Accelerated World
Grimes – Genesis
Beats Antique – Revival
Beats Antique – Dragon's Eye
And this is Chapter seven:
In which Gaara discovers about Toru…
I am not sure what to say about the shinobi. I am not sure I understand them. How can one not know about adventures?
Then again, I read and listen and question much more than any of my peers. I like to hear about heroes and damsels in distress and the battlefield. I like to hear about different places, about the unknown and its magic. I like to hear about different lives and different people. I like to hear about things that I am not familiar with.
I wonder If I will ever have an adventure of my own?
At some point, Gaara realized that their trip down the hill was taking far too long. No matter how much they went down the narrow, unused path, the distance between them and the bottom was the same. Almost like a genjutsu. The Kage had dismissed that idea earlier. He would've been able to identify the threat earlier, if there were any.
Gaara stopped and looked around once more. The group behind him halted, Shura giving Kan a questioning glance. The War veteran shrugged, trusting their Kage on this one. Toru had pushed himself in the middle, between Gaara and Kan, feeling the safest there.
"There's something wrong." The redhead said unexpectedly. Shura looked at him in worry.
"What do you mean, Gaara-san?"
"We are walking, but not getting any closer." The Kage seemed annoyed with the situation, rather than worried.
"Maybe we should choose a different route?" The War veteran asked.
"And maybe we should let Kazekage-sama decide." Toru snapped over his shoulder at the older shinobi. Kan frowned, but didn't retaliate.
"Don't trust what you see, was it?" Gaara asked no one in particular and then did something very unexpected. He jumped straight into the canyon and vanished into thin air. Kan, Shura and Toru exchanged looks, from shock, worry to complete terror. The more experienced shinobi grabbed the young noble and jumped straight down after their leader, the trapped man screaming his lungs out on the way down. They landed onto some kinds of vines that snapped under their weight and then their feet were once again safely on solid ground. After inspecting their surroundings, they realized that they were at the bottom of the canyon. It looked much different than expected.
The rocks were pale, but had a variety of minerals in them, making them different colors. The river was somehow giving off a glow. The droplets looking like tiny stars jumping around. They weren't falling down under gravity, but shooting off ways down the river, leaving small silver trails after them. They couldn't see where the river began, but it seemed to flow from the tall mountain behind them, which seemed to touch the sky with its top.
Gaara was waiting for them, inspecting the water on his own. The river wasn't too wide, but it was quite fast in this region. There was some space around the rushing water where they could walk along the bank all the way to the valley. The Kage motioned for them to follow him again and started walking at a fast pace. He didn't want to waste his time because of the deadline, and if there were more tricks like these, he needed those minutes. Hurrying up to match the Kage's pace, Shura felt her side sting in protest. The jump down the cliff didn't agree with the still healing cut.
The group soon left the rocky canyon behind them and continued following the river. Gaara looked around. They needed to cross the water to get to the cave. Here no physical laws applied. The river went up and down hills, flowing normally. It created a medium sized basin where the entrance to the cave was, making it difficult for them to get across and into the opening. Gaara didn't want to risk entering the water. Who knows what kinds of secrets it held?
"Should we try walking across, Kazekage-sama?" Kan realized the same things as Gaara, there was no bridge. The Kage frowned, but decided to risk it.
"I will go." He was aware of Toru protesting in the background and Shura looking at him worriedly, but the Kage still stepped forward with determination. Instead of staying on top of the water, with all the chakra pushed to his feet, Gaara fell into the river with a big splash and a very surprised face. He was vaguely aware of Kan pulling him out as he spluttered and spit most of the, surprisingly tasty, water out of his lungs and mouth. The first rational thought that made its way into his brain was that he needed to dry his sand. His armor was useless now.
"Kazekage-sama!" Suddenly Toru was next to him fretting. The worried voice faded out and all Gaara could hear was the pleasant song of the birds from the magical forest before, then some kind of chanting and then he tasted his favorite foods and he was suddenly back in his office, with Naruto sitting opposite of him.
"Hey Gaara." The blonde said, grinning at the shocked Kage.
~~~~~PB~~~~~
Toru ended up, surprised, but in his rooms back home. He looked around for a second, the Kazekage and the War veteran were gone. The young shinobi left his quarters and entered the silent hall of their noble estate. The family that he was from was one of the wealthiest families in Suna. They owned many buildings, including the main hospital and the library, and their estate was huge. The buildings were, however, mostly empty, as not many members were left, and even the still alive ones weren't at home often. Toru grew up without friends, alone in these huge halls, scared of his own shadow.
The shinobi walked down the corridor, ignoring the shifting shadows and the crackling of the sand against the windows outside. He headed to the main room, looking for people. Anyone would do now. He needed to know what was going on.
The young shinobi entered the main room and froze. There was blood everywhere. The metallic scent was sickening. There were body parts all over the walls. His eyes swept the room looking for survivors, but he only saw more mutilated bodies. The clan elders were sitting in their high thrones at the end of the room, their guts spilled in front of their feet and their eyes gauged out. On further inspection, the shinobi saw their mouths were sown shut, too. They wouldn't be turning a blind eye, spilling lies or betraying anyone anymore. He couldn't help but feel a slight happiness arise inside of him. Those elders wouldn't harm him anymore. He was free.
A soft gurgling sound came from Toru's left. He turned, seeing blood sprout from a torn up body. He walked carefully, slipping on the red liquid on the floor, and crouched next to the barely alive person. They were missing a leg, and their arms looked badly broken. The face was beaten beyond recognition. Familiar blue eyes stared up at him.
"Toru..." The person rasped. "Why?" Toru looked down at his caretaker in horror. Had he done this? Maybe the mission with the Kazekage was just an illusion? Maybe he had finally snapped and lost his mind. Toru focused chakra in his hands, pressing them to his friend's bleeding leg. He wouldn't let this man die.
~~~~~~PB~~~~~~
Shura watched as her comrades fell to the ground. She was beside them in a flash, checking their breathing and heartbeat. They all seemed asleep. She figured that the water had something to do with this. The first one to fall was Gaara, and he was also the first to touch the substance. Kan and Toru, who touched him, also fell. She needed to find a way to snap them out of it, without touching the thing herself. Then she felt something behind her. The kunoichi whirled around and her eyes met with huge bug-like ones.
A fly was staring at her. The problem was, the fly was ten times bigger than her. She stared in horror as it buzzed its' wings and headed for her knocked out comrades. Shura focused her chakra in her hands, using one of her basic jutsus, throwing series of chakra infused air balls at the insect with high speed. The problem was, the balls, which were supposed to be the size of a basketball and fast, were as big as marbles and travelled at a snail's pace.
The kunoichi watched as the defective jutsu hit the giant insect, making it switch targets and focus on her. She figured that the Spirit World was interfering with her chakra usage. She had felt it before, too, but she had thought that the amount of energy in the air wouldn't affect hers. She was wrong. The insect hit her with its head while she was distracted, sending the kunoichi flying back.
The young woman scrambled to her feet, evading the next few charges with success. She took out a couple of kunai, throwing them at the giant wings. If she could hit the membrane, she could make the creature immobile. That would give her the advantage. Even without her jutsus she still had a chance. Shura inspected her pouch with explosives while evading the fly's clumsy attacks. She felt four explosive tags. She could guess that she probably had three more kunai and some shuriken. She could do this. The kunoichi smirked, ignoring the pain in her side. Time to lay her trap.
~~~~PB~~~~
Kan blinked once, twice. He had no idea what was going on. One minute he was pulling the soaked Kage out of the starry river, and the next he was back home, in Suna. He was sitting at the kitchen table, alone. There was clanking in the kitchen. Upon further inspection, he saw her standing there, cooking with a wide smile. Kan knew that this was impossible. He knew that she was gone. He would never be able to experience something like this again. But her smile, the scent of her food and the soft humming did him in. He could leave it to his fellow shinobi this time. He wanted to live in this illusion for a moment longer. Kan took a spare spatula and tried the heavenly food that the woman was cooking, getting a familiar slap on the wrist. He smiled at her lovingly, his gut twisting and throat clenching. How he missed this.
~~~~PB~~~~~
"Uzumaki Naruto." The redheaded Kage greeted his friend slowly. He didn't like this one bit. There was something wrong. He had been doing something. Something important. Why was Naruto here?
"That's my name." The blonde was lounging comfortably in the guest chair in front of Gaara's stone desk. He looked up at the young Kage, his wide grin ever present. "You better remember the name of the future Hokage."
It was strange, seeing his Konoha friend again. Naruto was the same as Gaara remembered, even though the redhead himself had aged. He even had those same orange clothes that he loved. But, he didn't seem as immature as Gaara remembered. Wait. How did the blonde get here? He isn't supposed to be in Suna. He is supposed to be with that Jiraiya person, training. Training with a Sannin would do him some good.
"You are here?" Gaara's tone was questioning, alert, but betraying nothing. Naruto waved his hand in dismissal.
"You worry too much, Gaara." The future Hokage jumped up from his chair. "Let's go get some ramen! There is ramen in Suna, right?" Naruto headed for the door, arms locking behind his head in a relaxed manner as he walked. Gaara stood, following his friend. He nodded, but then answered as Naruto couldn't see him.
"Yes. There is a stand that I know of." The blonde moved to the side, allowing the Kage to exit first. Gaara put his hand on the knob and turned it. A tanned, strong hand suddenly gripped his, making the door close once again.
"Naruto?" Gaara looked to his friend with surprise. But Naruto wasn't looking back. There was something wrong. The blonde's features were twisted in pain, like his hand was being forced. Gaara then noticed small golden trails around them. They were floating and whipping around, making Naruto's hand move. Gaara felt a searing pain come from the doorknob and let it go with a gasp. His whole arm was burning in pain, and not the flesh wound kind. He felt like someone had taken his bones and twisted them inside, without anything happening on the outside.
Naruto, too, looked in pain, as he stumbled back, the golden dust trails pushing him away from Gaara. Their eyes met. Gaara looked surprised and Naruto looked enraged.
"Gaara! Why?!" The blonde yelled, startling his friend a bit. But Gaara wouldn't be tricked anymore. This Naruto was an illusion. All of this was an illusion. He pulled his sleeve back to find the source of the pain in his arm. What he saw surprised him.
The tattoo Lim had drawn on his arm was slowly, painfully, peeling off and attacking the Naruto illusion. The rest of the thing came off and hurled itself onto the door, making it completely invisible. The golden paint was protecting Gaara, Lim's new friend. The Kage felt his alertness and the twisting in his gut, like before a battle, fade slightly. He felt much calmer.
Looking up, he saw the Naruto illusion gone. The golden dust was still swishing around, covering the door and inspecting the office for other threats. Obviously the door wasn't the way out of this illusion. Well, only one more thing to try, Gaara figured.
"How do I get out of here?" He felt ridiculous, asking golden dust for a way out. Then the paint reacted to his voice, coming closer to him, and swaying away gently. Now he truly felt ridiculous. He had asked paint for a way out. How the mighty had fallen. Gaara sighed, hand going to rub his temple, an action he had gained as a habit in recent months.
There was a sound to his left, and the redhead turned, on alert. The golden dust was moving a small bookshelf. Gaara went there, pushing the wood out of the way. Now there was an empty wall in front of him. He stared at it, expecting something magical, but nothing happened. The wall kept being a wall. The gold dust gathered then and formed a door frame. Some more of it became a painted picture of a doorknob. Then everything in the room settled.
Gaara was all alone in his office. The dust like golden paint had returned to being just paint. The Kage inspected the drawn door and then remembered the way Chaizen had entered the underground city. Gaara placed his hand on the drawing, and hoping that it would work, he pushed forward.
~~~~~PB~~~~~
Shura panted, running away from the fly once again. The insect wasn't too smart. It attacked her relentlessly, but without any strategy. Shura figured that it fed on all things that fell victim to the starry river. She needed to keep her sleeping comrades safe. By any means necessary.
The kunoichi jumped towards the fly suddenly, using her momentum to land on its back. Once there the slammed an explosive tag on the creatures back, praying that it would stick and jumped off the mutated fly. The force of the explosion sent Shura flying, and disoriented, she failed to land on her feet, rough rocks scraping her hands and knees. The woman got up quickly, ignoring the protest of her body, and stood protectively in front of her subordinates. The insect headed towards her again, only angered further by the kunoichi's attacks.
Then, Shura felt something warm and sticky all over her. She realized that she had blinked. The kunoichi was covered in some kind of blue substance. She searched for the fly, thinking this was an attack of some sort. All she saw were insect parts lying in front of her. The creature had been ripped apart by something. Maybe an explosion from her tag? But she didn't hear one? Then she saw it.
A humanoid creature was walking calmly towards the starry river. It was distinctly male, dressed in vibrant colored loose pants. It had a mane and a tail of a lion, but pale wings of a bat on its back. It ignored her as it passed. Its face was almost white, with two large, round eyes and seemingly no mouth. Shura saw two ears rising from the thing's head. What surprised her the most, and terrified her, was the skull-like mask that decorated the side of the creature's head. This was a humanoid spirit, she figured.
The thing had a presence Shura couldn't describe. It was like being deep underwater, head pounding and heart pumping in fear of death. Death was a natural occurrence here. Eat or be eaten. Power is everything. The spirit bent and then flapped its wings, crossing the river easily. Its presence lessened when it entered the blue cave. It wasn't there for more than a minute, and then it came out and headed East, away from the group. They weren't interesting to the powerful creature.
When it left, Shura felt herself sliding to the floor. Her legs had turned to jelly, and she could feel her heart skipping irregularly. She had thought that she was ready to die. She had thought that she wasn't afraid of death, like all shinobi. But in the end, she was terrified. She was terrified of death in this world. Death on the battlefield or during a mission was an honor, but this, being dead only in spirit, was horrible. The thought of leaving behind only her body in a vegetable state quickly rooted itself as one of her worst fears and she felt like she was going to puke.
The kunoichi sat on the ground of the Spirit World, thanking whoever was listening for her luck and life. She didn't know when her body started trembling. That spirit, it had saved her just because it wanted to pass there. Shura was a bug that it didn't even notice. She didn't know how long she just sat there.
~~~~~PB~~~~~
He needed to get back to the reality. Toru wasn't a good shinobi, nor a very good person, but there were two things he was good at and one of them was illusions. He was well aware that this wasn't the real world, no matter how similar it was.
Toru snapped out of his illusion by force. He knew that it was just an illusion. He knew that it was fake. So he did the only logical thing. He stabbed his friend as hard as he could, killing the source of the illusion. Like he thought, the images of bloody body parts in the familiar room faded, along with his caretaker's corpse. The man stood, clearly shaken. He checked the Kazekage and Kan. They both seemed to be doing alright, even under the charm of the water. The young shinobi looked around, not seeing the kunoichi.
He jumped up to his feet, and began his search. He saw all the weapons and signs of battle. He saw Shura's blood. Panic gripped him, twisting his gut. In the beginning of their mission he hadn't been too fond of the woman. During their impromptu trip, he had found himself relaxing around her, and feeling comfortable with her.
She acted motherly towards him, even shielding him when he was in danger, something that he wasn't used to. His clan took pride in their political power, or death in battle. Toru failed at both. But this group, even the Kage, they didn't seem to care about that. They made Toru doubt the principles on which he had been brought up on. The young shinobi had realized that being a noble didn't make you any different than a normal shinobi. Even the Kazekage had been in regular troops before getting his honorable position. He had, by now, separated two people, the Kazekage, as a figure, from Gaara, the shinobi. The Kazekage was a serious leader, who wasn't afraid to protect his people even at the cost of his own life. He made deals and decisions, he was stoic and frightening, but kind to his people. Gaara on the other hand, he was still a teenager. He was kind and caring, he was emotional, even if he didn't show it much and he had a very mischievous side, that not many got to see.
The young shinobi heard mumbling and crying. He soon spotted their fellow kunoichi sitting on the ground, covered in some kind of blue slime, shaking and crying. Toru slowly came closer to her, inspecting the woman for wounds without startling or touching her. She was clearly in shock.
"Shura?" He called out to the woman, his voice low and gentle. She whirled around, eyes wide and frightened. She didn't seem to even recognize him for a moment, but then, she launched herself on him. The only thing he could hear was her repeating his name. He carefully hugged the woman back, watching out for some of the injuries he had seen earlier. She didn't seem in a lucid state, and Toru didn't want to be away from the group for too long, so he compromised. Making up his mind, cursing himself in his head, the noble picked up the kunoichi gently and carried her back to their comrades.
~~~~~PB~~~~~
Jin sat comfortably on one of the heavenly pillows. He was drinking Fruit Water and smoking one of the water pipes with Sweet Grass in it, enjoying life. The Grand Priestess had invited him here, into her private quarters. The woman in question was still absent however, so he was free to enjoy himself.
The room was as he remembered from his last visit, high above the ground, but still it wasn't hot from the desert sun. Jin was sure that the room was in between worlds, like the majority of the City. It was a round space, on top of a tower, with tall, gothic styled windows, the only way in a spiral ladder. The room was decorated with various pictures on the walls, books all over the place, and soft white silks, creating a serene tent. There was a desk and a bed on one end, and some pillows and a low coffee table in the middle of the room. It wasn't too personal, or too full, but it was just like Chun'yan. She even had wild vines coming in through her windows, blooming flowers making the room smell magically.
The floor door opened, the Grand Priestess entering. She climbed up with her usual grace, the long dress not hindering her movements. She walked over to Jin and sat opposite of the child. The woman placed some of the goods she had brought onto the table, revealing a teapot and some treats in the bundle of cloth. Jin laughed at her inventive way of smuggling from the kitchens and waited for her to pour their tea.
"Jin, my dear friend," The woman began, her tone was sad somehow. "What news from the West?" She asked, finally looking at the strange child.
"Meeeh, nothin' much, Chun'yan." The child took a cookie from the bundle on the table and settled back into the pillow. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were cold and calculating. "I sold some of 'em fabrics ya' gave me last time. An' i almost got eaten by 'em cannibals at that tribe down South. Ya' know those troublesom' peeps down 'ere."
"Again?" The Priestess asked through giggles. Jin was famous for his trade. He went everywhere, which meant he even went to the shady parts of the land.
"Ye'." He confirmed, his mouth full because of the cookies. Jin gulped down some tea, admiring the quality. "But Chun'yan, I heard some rumors." The child leant forward, lowering his voice slightly. "They say that Jegan is finally making his move. Even Tamask is with him."
The Priestess sighed. She lowered her cup onto the table, rubbing her temple. Jegan was beginning to worry her. The man had broken one of their laws, and then, in his banishment, he had started preaching his own religion. He based it on the same as she did, but he spun the story his way, making the Priestess an imposter, a liar and a nemesis. In the eyes of his believers, she was the evil who didn't allow them their free will and religion. She was the one enslaving their people. She was the evil who kept the worlds apart and needed to be destroyed.
At first, Jegan wasn't a big threat. He had a few loyal people, who listened to his preaching. But now, he was recruiting as many as possible. Jegan had been a great Priest, he had potential to succeed Chun'yan's mother, but he had gotten exiled before that. Chun'yan couldn't hold a candle to him. He was a true genius when it came to doors, circles and politics. But in the end, he didn't get the position, not only because of his exile, but because of his temperament.
Jegan had always been an angry man. He was angry at everything. Chun'yan could remember him almost breaking her arm, because she had taken his pencil once. He was always yelling, hating and disagreeing. And that is why he had never been stable enough to let a spirit cross into the Material World. All of his spirits had been either only partially here, or out of control rampaging.
And Tamask. Someone like him joining Jegan. Chun'yan had never expected that. Tamask had been a leader of a clan. A mighty warrior. He was believed to be KIA for years. But, when discovered alive, courtesy of Jin, Chun'yan had gone to see the man, asked him to come back, live and heal with them. But what she found wasn't her old friend, it was a shell of that man. It was a broken glass figurine, barely holding itself together. For Tamask to join Jegan's believers, something had broken him completely.
"It doesn't matter. Tamask is free to do as he wishes." The Priestess said sadly. "He is no longer a member of my tribes."
"Chun'yan." Jin moved closer to the woman across from him. He placed a comforting hand on hers. "He was your friend. It's alright to be sad." The child looked so much older then, his unusual accent gone, emotion thick in his tone.
"He was, Jin. He was." At that moment she looked so old. Too old for the ethereal being she was every day. She looked so small and broken and vulnerable. Not at all the perfect Grand Priestess she was moments ago. She looked so human, reminding Jin that she actually was, in fact, human. He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand.
"Now, ya' wanna hear what 'em peeps from Water Country asked me ta' deliver this time?" The child smiled and leaned back again. The Priestess looked up, giving him a small thankful smile.
"It wasn't a fish aquarium this time?" She asked, wiping a stray tear from her eye.
"Na', their spoiled brat found 'imself somethin' even more ridiculous to send 'is girlfriend!" Jin started rambling again, making the woman across from him forget about the storm that was brewing. She needed to forget about it, just for a moment.
~~~~~PB~~~~~
Gaara found himself in some sort of limbo. Everything was so bright, yellow, all around him. The golden dust door had taken him somewhere. He had no idea where, but it was better than the illusion about his friend. The first thing he did was pull up his sleeve, searching for Lim's tattoo. He felt a pit of loss and sadness in his stomach when he didn't find the complicated, beautiful design in its place. The golden paint had saved him, but it was gone. He wondered what Lim was going to say.
Gaara felt something crawling up his leg. He looked down, only to spot a small spider. It was innocently hurrying up his body. He briefly considered crushing it with his sand, but the idea was dismissed soon. The little thing was harmless, probably as lost as he was. On further inspection, Gaara realized that the spider was familiar to him. It was that same spider from the night he had met Kisara. He had brought it with him to the Spirit World by accident. He had thought that the little thing had left the rooms, apparently it had attached itself to him at some point.
The Kage sighed and intercepted the wandering creature before it got into his clothing, and took it in his hand. The arachnoid thing stopped still, terrified, focusing its many eyes on the redhead. Gaara stared back, nothing else to do here anyway. The scenery around the spider slowly changed, the yellow, bright light fading. Gaara was back where he started, beside the starry river. The spider from his hand was gone.
Looking around him, Gaara saw Kan on the ground, out cold. He was breathing. Then, the redhead saw something that definitely wasn't there before he fell into the illusion. There was a spider, two times bigger that Gaara himself, staring at the Kage with its many eyes. The redhead focused chakra into his sand, ready to defend, but the creature didn't have any hostile air around it. It was just watching him with curiosity.
"Kazekage-sama! Look out!" Came Toru's voice somewhere behind the redhead. He turned to see the noble carrying Shura on wobbly legs. He was looking wide eyed at the giant spider.
"It is fine, Toru." The Kage calmed him. "This one means no harm."
The shinobi seemed to settle down, but still looked at the creature warily. He placed the terrified kunoichi down, slowly untangling her arms from around him. The Kage was beside them in a heartbeat, inspecting his comrade.
"What happened?" Gaara's tone was stern and demanding.
"She was like this when I found her, Kazekage-sama." The young shinobi clarified. "I will heal her external injuries, but I'm afraid that she will have to overcome the mental trauma on her own."
"I wasn't aware that you were a medic." The Kage was confused by the lack of information in Toru's file. Suna was in great need of medics, having one more meant saving more lives, healing more wounds and making more teams with a medic in them. It also allowed the redhead to make the medic teach his skill while not on missions. Medics were a rare treasure in Suna.
"Forgive me, Kazekage-sama." Toru started working on Shura's injuries, his hands shaking as the adrenaline wore off. "It is not honorable in my clan to practice this skill. I tend to keep my knowledge to myself." He locked eyes with his leader then, unusual determination in them surprising Gaara. "I hope that you will too, Gaara-sama."
"I understand." The Kage left his side, going to try to wake up Kan. The sun was already low in the horizon. "We will discuss this further upon our return to Suna." Toru nodded, focusing on the slime covered woman in front of him.
Gaara inspected Kan, deciding to leave the topic of Toru being a medic for later. The War veteran was breathing shallowly, but breathing. The redhead gathered his chakra, and attempted to dispel the illusion like a genjutsu. Nothing happened. Molding chakra felt like moving humongous rocks. He felt exhausted just by one small seal. What surprised him, was that there wasn't a tug from inside, that he was well used to suppressing by now. Shukaku was unusually silent.
"Kazekage-sama." Toru caught his attention. "We should get going, the sun is low." The cowardly noble continued to surprise Gaara. Indeed the sun was almost all the way down, the beautiful, dangerous Spirit World basking in red and orange hues.
"Stay here. Guard them." The Kazekage gave his orders, and Toru almost shivered. This was a direct order from his leader. He felt panic creep up in the back of his mind. He was no fighter. He couldn't save his own life when attacked, much less his comrades' lives. But the redhead didn't wait for a response, nor did he expect one, he was already walking towards the river, determination evident on his face.
Toru realized that his hands were trembling while healing the kunoichi. He stopped the steady flow of chakra. He had done the best he could at this time. Her recent wounds were almost completely gone, the only one left was the wound in her side. The gash was deep, probably open before departing for the mission. Toru thought that this woman must be insane to accept another trip in this condition. The wound was inflamed and probably infected. It showed signs of treatment, but it wasn't professional. It was just a patch-job. He would have to consult with a healer, if the Wanderers had any. He needed more supplies to fix this.
In the meantime, Gaara had gotten to the water. He stared at the tiny shooting stars in distaste. He quickly abandoned the idea of walking on the surface, the last attempt was a complete failure, and he didn't fancy another dip in an illusion. There was also an option of a sand platform or bridge, but considering the amount of energy in the air, he doubted that he would be able to summon enough chakra without it being cancelled out by the Strange World.
Gaara saw, out of the corner of his eye, the giant spider moving. He had been wary of the creature, alert, even though it seemed to wish them no harm. The long legs of the spirit spread across the river, and it stood still there, almost like a bridge. Gaara tossed a wary look at Toru, but the youth looked about ready to die from terror at the mere sight of the spider, so the redhead dismissed any kind of support from the noble quickly. The young shinobi had reversed back to his cowardly ways in seconds, making the Kage wonder where that confident medic from before had vanished off to.
Since the giant creature didn't show any signs of moving, Gaara cautiously stepped forward. He pushed as much chakra as he could into his feet, ready to jump from the spider at the smallest threat. He stepped onto the hairy leg and walked upwards, on high alert. The creature stayed still, waiting. Gaara deemed it safe, but paid attention to the flow of the spirit's aura. At the slightest killing intent, he would destroy the threat.
The Kage was soon across the river. Tossing one more glace back at his team, which hadn't moved, he headed uphill towards the easily visible Blue Cave. Glancing once more at the sun, the Kage sped up and entering the Cave in a flash.
As soon as he stepped through the entrance, Gaara found himself in a different dimension once again. It was a room of stone, water walling from the ceiling everywhere, never touching the people who had just entered. It was much bigger than it looked like from the outside. There were pools collecting the sparkling streams of water, sending them into the earth bellow. In the center there was a circular basin full of clear, almost white water. It seemed to sparkle. On further inspection, Gaara saw tiny specks of something silver, like the stars in the river from before, in the water. The water from the spring seemed to be alive, as if singing with an unheard voice. The Kage felt at peace next to it. This was the Spirit Water, he simply knew it.
There were brown skins and ceramic bowls at the foot of the circular basin. Gaara carefully scooped water into a couple of skins, not letting the water touch him. He didn't have time for another illusion. When he extended his arm, his sleeve rode up. The redhead felt a wave of loss, not finding the golden design on his hand. He had hoped that it had vanished only in the illusion. Banishing those thoughts, Gaara gathered the full skins and hurried back to his team.
The spider was standing still, just like the Kage left him. And his team was in the same position as he left them, Toru looking ecstatic when the redhead stepped down and onto the ground from the creature's body. To say that Gaara was surprised at the flurry of movement behind him was an understatement. The spider, which he had deemed partially safe by this moment, moved much faster than the Kage expected it to. Two long, hairy legs grabbed a water skin from the startled redhead and ripped it open. The strange Spirit Water sprayed everywhere, the grass, the shinobi, the rocks, the spider. The giant creature dipped its head, ignoring the two shinobi ready to attack it, and drank from one of the newly formed puddles.
What happened next was one of the most amazing things that both Gaara and Toru had ever seen. The huge spider, mighty and ugly, slowly transformed. The gangly legs retreated into its body, the hair from it vanishing. The dark, frightening colors and designs fading from it, soft blue and white swirls taking their place. Its head had changed its shape, too, multiple eyes vanishing, only two taking their place. In a few moments, in front of the in awe shinobi, was a gentle fish, still humongous, but less threatening than the spider.
The energy in the air had shifted with the creature's transformation. Gaara felt calm and power fill him, like having his chakra replenished with natural rest. Shura's trembles died down completely, leaving her staring into space, but much more calm-looking. Toru sat on the ground beside his comrades, gaping at the sight in wonder. Kan remained in his fantasy, but even in his sleep, he seemed peaceful. Another powerful discharge hit the two aware shinobi head on and the beautiful creature in front of them fell upwards. Gaara raised his head, following the trail of the sparkling body. It flew into the ocean above their heads with a splash and swam away happily into the dark depths. Dark depths? Gaara looked to the horizon, seeing the dying, bleeding sun. They had only minutes to return to the Priestess. The Kage still had a few more skins, their prize was with them.
"Toru!" There was urgency in the redhead's voice as he bent down, grabbing Kan's still body. The addressed shinobi followed through, picking up Shura, who was looking much better. She seemed to be taking in her surroundings, but still hadn't spoken. The walk upstream was more of a run, the Kazekage set his pace mercilessly, making Toru wonder about their leader's physical strength. Gaara never seemed to do any work, except with his sand. The young noble had thought their Kage to be more dependent on his element, but the shinobi seemed fine. The redhead was carrying the taller and more muscular Kan with unexpected ease.
In a few moments rocks started blocking their way more. Then they came at a dead end. A rock solid dead end. And the wide river? It was appearing out of the ground, almost as if from nowhere. Gaara frowned. They needed to get up to the top of the hill, and then back to that forest where Kisara was. They needed to go up, to the place where they had jumped from, and Gaara had no idea how. And their time was running out.
He didn't know how he made the decision, but he did. He was very conflicted about it, even after the moment had passed. He had promised not to rely on Shukaku, but only on himself. He had promised to be strong on his own. He had promised himself. And yet there he was, thinking about breaking down that solid wall and tugging on the huge amount of chakra that his Biju held. As brief as the thought was, it made him feel disgusted with himself. He had almost given in to the temptation of power. He felt like the Spirit World was calling out to him, struggling to pull him into the eternal game of power. A few years back, and Gaara would've let go and freely rampaged in the unknown. But now, he was no beast. He was no monster. He was Gaara. He was the Fifth Kazekage.
Toru was surprised when their leader stopped and evened out his breathing. The Kazekage seemed to calm down drastically. Toru, too, felt reassured with the redhead's inner peace returning. Sand shot out of the gourd, surprising the young noble and then they were flying on a solid platform. They went up swiftly. Toru felt like his head broke through the water surface at one point, and that's when the scenery around them changed. They were back at the tree made doorway, safely on top of the hill. The Kage didn't let his sand drop, but used it to speed their exit from the dangerous dimension. The shinobi group crossed the border into the forest, Kisara's wide eyes waiting for them, excited.
And this is all folks! A really long chapter (almost 7k), as I have no idea when the next one is coming :(
I have been watching One Piece recently… But I swear that I am not giving up on this :D
All the best to all of you! I would love to hear what you think, as always, come visit me in the review section :D