Boy, that's kinda quick… but I really got an inspiration while writing this chapter and I wanted to uploaded before Easter, so… Well, to start off, as usual thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. Hope you'll do the same with this one, it'd really make my day.
Now, to answer the things you asked in the reviews:
Will Naruto get stronger only by developing Kyuubi's power: about that you shouldn't be worrying. To tell the truth I'm not that much of "Kyuubi using" fan. Sure, the fact that the loud mouth carries the fox inside will be used, but that won't be the only path of Naruto's development. For one thing, Naraku can't help him with that… and Gaara along with the Monodane won't be his only "teachers"… but I won't say more.
Naraku is a lot like Sasuke: well, I won't argue that with some parts he is… but when you'll learn Naraku's history (and in the right time you will) you'll also see major differences between the two… I also hope that some are visible already.
What's between Yari and Gaara: well, you'll learn it in this chapter… some things are left untold for a reason and I don't really intend to explain them, coz one of the things I hate the most is a story when the reader is TOLD what he/she should think… I'll leave the judgement of things to you.
ANNOUNCEMENT: just wanted to inform you about something… well, for some time now I've being writing my original story that is influenced by manga… and I finally decided to place it on the web… you can find the link on my profile page… as for the details, it's a fantasy story with a lot of action and quite a lot of humor and drama… plus romance later on. If you feel like it, do try it out and leave a review if you can. Thanks in advance.
One last thing: PLEASE leave a review with your opinion, coz I really want to improve!
With that said, I think there's nothing left for me to do then just get on with it:
Chapter #7: Beauty and the Beast – Yari's Story
Chapter Cover: an eight-year-old Yari is making a castle from the sand along with Gaara
"Well, this sucks…" complained Naruto as he formed more seals. "I was hoping you'll teach me some of those cool jutsus you used… like Dragon Lance or Icicle Missile thingy…"
"Again, I told you that I cannot do…" reminded Naraku. "Those techniques can be mastered only with Monodane blood… you have none so there's no point in even trying… I can however help you out with other things you're lacking in… also, if I were you, I'd look for someone who could help you out with controlling your demon chakra…"
"You shouldn't be worrying about that…" replied the blonde. "I'm sure Gaara will help me out… he's experienced in that area…"
"So that redhead really is a Jinchuuriki?" the young Monodane thought to himself. "That explains some matters… at least now I understand Yari's reasons…" and with that his thoughts got disturbed as he glared at the whisker-marks: "Okay Naruto, listen up… I'm gonna show you a little trick that should help you in chakra control… once you'll get a hang of that, I'll teach you a very special technique that I've seen in Stone Country…"
---Eleven Years Ago---
"Yari, watch out!" yelled a boy with messy, blonde hair and green eyes as the ball was flying right at a certain, eight-year-old girl with long, blue hair, clipped in a ponytail. The girl just jumped back and as the ball bounced of the ground where she stood just a moment ago, she grabbed and with a wide smile toss it back at a boy that threw it. This time the ball reached its target.
"I told you already…" announced the blue-haired girl with a grin. "When it comes to dodge ball, you guys can never match me… better accept it…" and with that she picked up the ball, prepared to aim once more.
Just then she noticed a strange boy with rusty, red hair, black bags under his green eyes and a kanji symbol for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. He was sitting far away from everyone on a swing. The girl grinned and after throwing the ball right at him, she yelled: "Hey, rusty head, reflex!"
The boy merely turned his gaze her way and the girl's eyes widen as the ball got blocked by the wall of sand. "Are you insane, Yari?" yelled one of the boys as all the kids began running away: "That's Sabaku no Gaara! Run away or you're dead!"
The girl didn't answer, she just stared at her running friends and then turned around to the boy, who was slowly walking towards her, carrying the ball. A second later she felt something grabbing her leg and as she glared down, she noticed sand surrounding her ankles.
"Nice catch…" she gave the boy thumbs up, smiling. That seemed to surprise the redhead as he stopped in his tracks and his eyes widen slightly. Even the sand stopped circling around her leg. "Can you do it anytime you desire? If so, we could form a dodge ball team. With your defensive skills and my aim, we'd be invincible!" and with that her smile widen even more.
The boy kept looking at her surprised and then slowly asked: "Aren't you… afraid of me?"
"Why would I be?" replied the blue-haired girl confused. "You're just a kid like me with a really awesome ability! Can you teach me how you did that thing with the sand? Out here, in a desert, it could be really useful…"
The boy's eyes widen even more at hearing that and a moment later the sand around the girl's leg backed away. "What's with the look?" asked Yari puzzled. "You seem like you saw a ghost or something… or are you just amazed by my beauty…" at that she grinned once more.
"What… is your name?" asked the boy as he gave her the ball back.
"What ever happen to good manners? Before you ask, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
"You mean… you really do not know… who I am?"
"Well, Jin called you Sabaku no Gaara…" remembered the girl. "But that can't be your real name, coz that's the name of Kazekage-sama's youngest kid and he's suppose to be a monster… so, what's your name?" she asked, still smiling.
The boy still looked at her surprised a barely visible blush appeared on his face as he replied: "I really am Sabaku no Gaara…"
"So you really are Kazekage-sama's kid?" the girl's eyes widen. "Boy, for someone as famous as you, you sure are a pipsqueak… even I'm taller then you…" with that she laughed. "Guess you're lucky to be Yondaime's son, coz with your height, you'd be picked on a lot… I mean, come on, you're so short that you're just asking for a take-down in a nose…" and with that she tried to hit his nose softly with her finger, yet the sand instantly appeared in her way. "No fair! How in the world are we supposed to remain friends when I know that if I go into a fight with you, I won't even be able to hit you?" she joked.
"Remain… friends?" Gaara repeated confused.
"Yeah…" nodded the girl. "We already met, what's wrong with becoming friends?"
The boy just lowered his head and after a while a tiny smile appeared on his face: "I… still don't know your name…" and with that he looked up to the girl.
"It's Yari…" replied the girl with a warm smile.
---Flashback end---
"Naraku-sama still haven't returned?" asked Hinako as she walked closer to Tamao, who was looking out the window of the mansion. The former stone-nin only shook her head. "Damn, what's with you and that Hinata-girl? Can't you two be at least a little more confident?" but a second later she sighed and smiled slightly. "Guess that's part of your charm though… being cute is something I was never good at…" and with that she laughed to herself.
"Hinako-san…" began Tamao as she turned around to the girl. "Will… will Yari-san… return to sleep today?"
The green-haired girl gave her a surprised look and as she turned her gaze out the window, she answered: "I don't suppose she will… being easy out-going can be a curse at certain times too I guess… but looking back I was always wondering how is it that without even trying, she got so much… as bad as it sounds, it'll always be something that I'll be jealous of you guys…" and with that she placed her hand of Tamao's head, smiling warmly. "Lets get some rest, I promised Hinata to help her out first thing in the morning and you can tag along if you want…"
---Eleven Years Ago---
A eleven-year-old girl with long, blonde hair, clipped in four ponytail and blue eyes, carrying a huge fan on her back walked over to a boy a little younger then her. He had spiky, blonde (A/N: I assume they are blonde) hair and was wearing a black t-shirt. The boy was playing with dolls.
"Seriously, Kankuro, guys your age stopped playing dolls a long ago…" announced the girl. "If you'll keep this up you'll end up as some weirdo who'll have a split-personality, wear pink or… paint his face with some lame make-up…"
"It's none of your business, Temari…" replied the boy. "Why don't you…" but he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he noticed a certain, blue-haired girl standing in the gate that led to their household: "What do you want?"
"I…" began the girl, scratching the back of her head. "I just… I mean… I was wondering… is Gaara-kun home?" and with that she gave the siblings a wide smile.
"Is Gaara-kun home?" Temari repeated in her mind surprised. "What do you want with him?"
"Well, I was going to take a walk to the oasis on the outskirts of the village and I was just wondering if Gaara wanted to join me…" replied the blue-haired girl with a wide smile. "Wait a minute, you're his siblings, right? Temari and Can-kuro, right?"
"Kankuro!" yelled the boy as a vein started to appear on his forehead. "Wait a minute… how did she knew our names? Did she… talked to Gaara about us? And what's with 'I was wondering if Gaara wanted to join me'? Did she… became friends with him?"
"Hi, Yari-chan…" they all heard a voice a second later Gaara walked towards them with a small smile on his face. "Why are you here? I thought you were going with your friends to that oasis today…"
"Well, I was, but they backed out on me…" laughed the girl. "Seems they prefer to practice dodge ball… so I figured I can invite you… you're my friend too after all… your siblings can go as well, if they want to, that is…"
"Just why would we…" began Kankuro, but instantly received a powerful elbow from Temari. "We'd love to…" he announced, holding back his urge to kill. The trip would take most of the day, so Yari and Temari offered to make something to eat. Kankuro didn't care and Gaara didn't seemed to, so in the end the girls did as they planned.
"So you're Gaara's new friend?" Temari finally broke the silence that filled the kitchen while they were making supplies. The blue-haired girl gave her a puzzled look and after a short moment she nodded with a wide smile and replied: "Yep, I am…"
The blonde stared at her for a while as she made another sandwich and then, taking her eyes off, she asked with a little sad voice: "Why do you do this?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean…" responded Yari confused.
"You don't have to pretend… everyone knows Gaara, he's not the type to make friends… nor is he the type that others wish to hang around with… I guess you had your reasons to do so, however he's my little brother and I don't want to see him get hurt…"
The blue-haired girl looked at the older girl and then got back to slicing ham: "I guess I somewhat understand… Gaara-kun can be pretty scary… all the stuff I heard about him doesn't help… but he's not that bad…" she announce, once more smiling widely. "Coz under that cold layer…. There's another cold layer…" she joked. "But judging people just on the opinion of others is bad… people are not always as they seem at first… and I believe everyone deserves a chance! Gaara is a good guy, even though he may not show it… he may carry a monster inside, but he certainly is not one…" and with that she smiled once again.
Temari stared in shock at the girl and then returned the smile as she reached for some more bread: "Let's finish those sandwiches… we need to get going, otherwise we won't get back before it gets dark…"
They spend the rest of the day together. Kankuro kept complaining about many, different things, Temari kept scolding him for loads of stuff and Yari kept on laughing. This was one the few times the two siblings saw their little brother laughing alone with someone.
"If it wasn't for your long hair, you wouldn't fall into the water…" announced Gaara, giggling slightly at the sight of Yari's long, wet hair falling on her face when then came back. "Maybe you should consider cutting your hair? It might even make you look more attractive…"
"Don't say stupid things!" she yelled back with a smile as rubbed her head. 'Those hair are my pride and glory! Besides, a girl my age with short hair would just look like a dude… and by what you said, did you mean I'm not attractive now?" she joked and made an all-tuff face. Instantly both of them started laughing.
"Who's that?" asked the Kazekage as he looked at his son and the blue-haired girl.
"That's Yari…" replied Kankuro as he walked into the mansion. "She's a friend of Gaara's… it seems that he finally found someone who can make him smile…"
"Is she now…"
---Flashback end---
Kasumi walked through the empty halls of the Kazekage mansion. It was already later after midnight, yet most of the people still didn't came back. Accidentally she spotted Kankuro standing near the window, looking at the full moon. The former mist-nin came to the puppeteer and taking a place beside him asked: "Why are you up at this hour, Kankuro-san?"
"I could ask you the same thing…" replied the make-up boy. He stayed silent for a moment and then continued: "That moon… it brings back old memories…"
"You're talking about Yari and Gaara?" asked the kunoichi, knowing the answer. The puppeteer only nodded. "She told me about it… it won't really change anything, but if she does regret something, that is most likely it…"
"I know…" responded Kankuro. "It's hard for me to blame her… yet, at the same time, I can't seem to forgive her… how is that so?"
"For such a question… you must find your own answer…" and with that she stared at the moon as well: "Guess Yari's not the only one with such memories… when something like that happens on a bright night, the full moon never looks the same… doesn't it, Mizuho?"
---Eleven years ago---
Gaara walked beside his father to the carriage. Noticing his son lowered head, the Fourth Kazekage reminded: "You know that it's required for you to go too… the relationship with Kumo is very unstable now and we cannot allow Hidden Sand to go into another war at this moment… as a sign of good will you and your siblings should go with me…" the redhead only nodded, but didn't raised his head.
The Yondaime sighed slightly and looked at the carriage. A second later, a young girl with short, blue hair, carrying a large spear, jumped out of it. As the Shukaku vessel looked up, a tiny smile appeared on his face: "Yari-chan, what are you doing here?"
"She'll be coming with us…" announced Temari, also smiling. "Father decided that it won't hurt to bring her and Kankuro and I figure it might get you motivated to tag along…" and with that she smiled even wider as the future puppeteer only gave a small nod.
"What happened with your hair?" asked Gaara as he gave his friend another glare.
"Oh, this?" Yari rubbed her hair. "You said it might make me more attractive, so I decided to give it a shoot… so, what do you think?" she asked with a smile.
"You look… nice…" replied the redhead, lowering his head as a small blush began to appear on his face. The girl only gave him a pat on the back (A/N: which was blocked by the sand anyway) and gave him one of her smiles.
"But you changed a bit too…" she noticed. "What's with that gourd on your back?"
"Oh, that…" the redhead turned around to look behind his back. "There won't be much sand in the Hidden Cloud, so I've gathered some of it for the trip to use it… as protection…"
The trip to Hidden Cloud took few days, which the Sand siblings and the blue-haired girl spend talking and joking around, yet during that time Gaara also noticed that his friend was acting strange… different then usual.
As they entered the gates of Kumo Gakure, they were all welcomed by the Raikage, along with his thirteen-year-old son, a boy with long, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a white t-shirt with a black waistcoat on that and short, black pants.
"This is my son, Kusotare…" announced the Cloud leader. "Under your permission, he'd like to show your young companions our village, Kazekage-dono…" with that the boy bowed to the Sand leader and received a tiny nod from the Yondaime.
The kids spent the rest of the day walking through the streets of Kumo. Kusotare shown them the best food stands and Temari was itchy to visit some shops that sold clothes. She even forced Yari to tag along and try on some of the dresses, along with a black kimono with golden feathers on it, which sight gave Gaara a barely visible blush on the face as the blue-haired girl stepped out of the changing room in it.
Yari was curiously looking around as it was the first, shinobi village that she saw, except Suna. Kumo was located high in the mountains, due to which it was chilly the whole day. The tops of the highest towers were disappearing behind the white clouds, which seemed to flow just above their heads. The town itself was separated into several districts as Kusotare called them, each placed on a different mountain. The fastest way to travel between them were long, wooden bridges that led from one mountain to another. Those passages didn't seemed all that safe and if the wind was to blow really hard, the bridge would start swinging from left to right for sure.
The buildings looked quite exotic too: throughout the town Yari noticed a lot of high towers, but also multi-level dojo. Most of the higher buildings had sharp roofs. Kusotare explained that at such a height, with a chilly wind, it's easier to stand on such roof as you could always grab the spiky part. Most buildings were grey, with red or green roofs, but the blue-haired girl also noticed some golden paint here and there.
There was almost no vegetation in the village. Kusotare announced that all the farms were located bellow the town as it's hard for plants to grow on such height, thus they saw only some grass along with a strange type of bushes that Yari never saw before. However water was rather common, as every district had its own water source, mostly organized as a small lake, usually in the middle of the area.
The trip around the Hidden Cloud seemed almost as an adventure to them and before they even noticed the sun went down and they had to head back to the Raikage's mansion. Soon after they reached their destination, the night fell over the Kumo.
Yari couldn't fall asleep however, so she decided to go for a walk. The night in the Hidden Cloud turned out to be a cold one, much colder then the nights on the desert. As she got dressed and went outside, she spotted a mysterious figure sitting on a nearby rooftop. Almost instantly she recognized her friend and decided to join him: "Whatcha doin?" she asked as she sneaked behind the redhead.
"Just admiring the moon…" replied the rusty-haired boy. "In this village the clouds get in the way, so I have to use the rooftops in order to see it… it's full moon tonight…" and with that he looked at the bright circle in the sky.
The blue-haired girl sat next to her friend and glanced at the moon as well. After a short moment of silence, she declared:
When stars visit the sky and the moon is shining bright,
Everything falls asleep and day becomes night.
When darkness and light co-exist at the same time,
I stay awake, thinking what I have and what is truly mine…
Illusion or reality, who can really tell?
Everything disappears with the sound of the morning bell.
"A little… depressive…" noticed Gaara. Yari was about to answer, but just then someone joined them on the roof. It was Kusotare.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked the son of Raikage. "Isn't it pass your bedtime? You know, rusty-head, if you were to fall asleep, you could get rid of those nasty bags under your eyes. And when it comes to Yari…" with that he grabbed the girl's hand: "Maybe you'd like to go for a walk?"
"Let go…" she replied as the grip on her hand tightened. "This hurts…"
"Come on, don't be like that…" said Kusotare with a smirk. "It'll be fun…"
"Let her go!" demanded Gaara as he stood up, his face showing anger.
"Don't get too sure of yourself, brat…" replied Kusotare as he picked out his kunai. "Even though you're Kazekage's son, I won't hesitate to kill you… after all, I killed before…" and with that he tossed Yari away, making her lose balance and fall of the roof.
In an instant the redhead's rage took the best of him and before the cloud-nin even noticed his hands and legs got trapped in the sand, which started to circle around him, soon reaching his neck. The next moment Kusotare's eyes widen as he saw Yari being pulled back to the roof by the same sand that had him trapped.
The boy with bags under his eyes looked with a worried expression at the girl and a second later turned back to the cloud-nin with an urge to kill. Just then the blue-haired kunoichi noticed what was going on and only managed to yell: "Gaara-kun, stop!" before Kusotare got crushed by the Desert Coffin.
The next morning Gaara's father had an early meeting with the Hidden Cloud leader. As he left the Raikage's office, he gave his son an evil glare, making the boy lower his head. Then he threw a quick look at Yari, who turned around instantly. Temari, who was standing besides them along with Kankuro, looked at the two kids with a worried expression, but decided to say nothing.
That day became one of the longest in their lives. Neither Gaara nor Yari really felt like talking to each other and the older, Sand siblings just seemed to disappear. Kazekage treated the redhead as air and the young kunoichi didn't seemed to get better treatment either. They were suppose to leave the Kumo before the end of the day.
The sun almost completely disappeared behind the horizon when Gaara finished packing his things. The moment he did so, the doors open and Yari walked into the room. Without even turning around, the red-haired boy: "Yari-chan, about last night… I didn't… meant to… I just… I lost control… I guess now you know why everyone takes me as a monster… out of all the people, you're the one I wanted the least to think that, but… I guess I really am…" and the moment he said so, the sand rose around him and to his surprise it got cut right through. As he glanced at the thing that was aimed at his head, he instantly recognized the speared carried by his friend. "That thing… it cut through my sand… since that is so, why didn't it reach my head?" and with that he turned around to face the blue-haired girl who had her head lowered.
"Gaara-kun… I…" she began as he noticed few tears fall from her face to the floor. "It's… I'm sorry…" and with that she felt to her knees with Gaara soon following her, his eyes widen and mouth open.
A second later Temari broke into the room and lifting Yari up, she carried her outside, leaving Gaara as he was: "In the end…" he thought to himself. "I'm still alone…"
Temari carried the spear-user who kept sobbing towards the gates of Hidden Cloud: "Temari-san, I didn't meant to… your father… he…"
"There's no need for you to say anything…" replied the blonde. "I know everything… I recognized your spear the moment I saw it… our father made it so I was wondering how you got your hands on it… Kankuro investigated and the mystery got solved… so our father really did found a way to get through Gaara's sand…"
"He told me that if I don't do this, my mother…" Yari kept on sobbing. "And yet, I still couldn't… I failed everyone… now the Cloud…"
"What will be, will be…" interrupted the older girl calmly as they reached the gate where Kankuro was already waiting for them with a small bag: "Listen, Yari, you cannot come back to the Hidden Sand… at least not now… I hope you understand…" with that she placed the blue-haired girl on the ground and looked at her. A moment later the eight-year-old nodded.
"I got you some supplies…" announced the future puppeteer as he gave Yari the bag. "This should be enough for a week… there's also a map inside. If you'll go to the location I marked, you'll reached a small town… once you're there, ask for Ekiyuu… she's a good woman, I'm sure she'll take care of you…"
The girl nodded again, still trying to hold back the tears that were coming out of her eyes. Temari kneeled before her and embrace the bluehead. "Do you… want me to tell Gaara?"
The spear user's eyes widen at hearing that. She turned her gaze to the ground and after a moment of hesitation, she replied: "No… it's better… if he'd hate… me…"
None of the other two kids said anything. A second later Yari took the bag and went outside the village. Soon after she disappeared in the darkness, leaving the two sand-nins still standing at the gates.
---Flashback end---
"So… this is what… happened?" Hinata asked shyly as Yari replied with a nod. "The rest… is easy to figure out: the Cloud most likely used the fact that Gaara-san didn't got killed and the war broke out…but it's not y-your fault, Yari-san…"
"You're wrong…" replied the blue-haired girl. "Everything is my fault… not even once… was I strong enough to change it… I failed Gaara's trust… I failed my mother's trust… I failed Yondaime's trust… and in the end, I even failed my entire village in preventing the war…"
"Y-you…" began the white-eyed girl. "You couldn't do it… any other way… you j-just… wanted to protect… as many as possible… it's not your fault that… it turn out the opposite… I'm sure Gaara-san understands that… and the Cloud… would attack either way…"
"How can you tell?"
"B-because once… I too w-was… involved in their policy…"
----------
Gaara looked out the window at the full moon. There were no clouds on the sky. He slowly closed his eyes and repeated in his mind: "When stars visit the sky and the moon is shining bright, Everything falls asleep and day becomes night. When darkness and light co-exist at the same time, I stay awake, thinking what I have and what is truly mine… Illusion or reality, who can really tell? Everything disappears with the sound of the morning bell…" with the last line he opened his eyes again and looking at the moon he said into space: "Isn't that right… Yari-chan?"
And this closes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review once you're done.
Well, no jutsus this time, so I figure I can make another, character profile:
Name: Yari
Name origins: her name means simply 'spear' and that is also the weapon she uses
Age: 19 years old
Birth Date: 16th of June
Blood type: 0
Height: 149,8 cm
Weight: 40,7 kg
Rank: not specified… but when she left the village, she wasn't even a gennin
Village: Hidden Sand (Suna Gakure)
Techniques (used so far): Fuuton: Kaze Tenma no Jutsu (Wind Element: Demonic Wind Skill)
Favorite food: rice balls
Favorite color: red
Family: no, specific information
And that's really that for this time. No, before I go, I'd like to wish you all HAPPY EASTER! Hope you'll be able to use the holidays to the limit.
Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.