A/N: Alright this is probably the chapter I've been looking forward to writing for awhile now. Also, I'll list the ages of any and all major characters revealed in this chapter, and there will be a poll or two at the end of the chapter so please read that A/N. Since I revealed Sasori last chapter, I'll also be putting his age or at least what I think it is at the end of the chapter also. Alright enough of my babble, let's get chapter 5 rolling!
Disclaimer: You know what goes here!
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Chapter 5: Suna's Lonely Container
The night at the inn in Suna went pretty normal for Anko, Hinata, and Naruto, even though the purple haired kunoichi woke once from some slight pain caused by the Ten no Juin, given to her by Orochimaru, and the fox-boy woke twice due to two of his many recurring nightmares. In the morning, the group went across the street and had a small breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast; which the young blonde commented was nowhere near as good as the snake mistress's.
After eating, the three Konoha runaways wandered around the village as Anko quickly began to memorize which streets lead where, which districts connected to others, and so on. Eventually, about after an hour of walking, the group came upon a large playground, though it was more like one giant sandbox, which Hinata and Naruto quickly begged their teenage guardian if they could go play. Kneeling down to their eye level, the snake mistress said, "You two can go play while I look around to find us a decent place to live, but," her tone quickly went from cheerful to serious, "If any other kids ask you your names, don't say your last names; instead use mine and say that you're cousins ok?"
Both the blue-eyed boy and pale lavender-eyed girl nodded, and replied, "Hai!"
Just when they were about to run off, Anko stopped them and reached into the pocket of her trench coat. She pulled out a small handful of money and gave each of the kids three hundred ryo, then the purple haired teenager said, "There's probably a food stand around here somewhere; so when both of you get hungry go buy yourselves something, ok?"
The two quickly pocketed the money given to them and ran off towards the swings near the other end of the playground. A small smile crossed the snake mistress's face as she watched the two kids run off, then, turning on her heel, she started down one of the many sandy streets in search of a place for the three of them to live, as well as a dango shop.
As Naruto and Hinata neared the swings, they saw that there was no one there, except for a blood red haired boy wearing a cloak that was similar in color to Anko's eyes. He was just sitting on one of the swings, his left hand loosely gripping one of the ropes, while he held a brown teddy bear in his right arm. Seeing the lonely and very depressed look in his eyes, which had very dark rings under them, the two walked over towards the boy
As they neared, the blonde heard Kyuubi whisper something to him from the back of his mind, "Kit, this kid here, he smells familiar; I think he may be a container for a Biju, much like you." Naruto quickly took this into account as to why the boy must be all alone.
When he and Hinata were within two or three meters of the redhead, the fox-boy smiled and said, "Hello, I'm…" he paused briefly remembering that he couldn't use his real last name, so he decided to just use his first name only. "Naruto, and this is my c-cousin, Hinata; what's your name?"
To say the lonely boy was surprised that someone was actually talking to him, willingly would've been an understatement, he was practically in a state of shock. Collecting himself, the redhead said, "I'm… Gaara; it's n-nice to meet both of you."
The dark haired Hyuuga quickly noticed that the boy was very nervous, though she didn't know why. So, in order to feed her curiosity, she asked, "Why are y-you all alone, Gaara-kun?"
Gaara's eyes shot wide open at Hinata's question. He knew if he told these two people who were trying to befriend him, of the Ichibi, Suna no Shukaku, who was sealed within his body, they would probably run away in fear and avoid him like everyone else. So he decided to tell a half-truth, "I don't get along well with other people; so I stay by myself." The first part was all to true, but the second part, it wasn't that he liked to stay alone, it was that everyone in the whole village just left him alone, including his own older siblings.
While Gaara said this, Naruto could feel that the boy was lying, more or less anyway, because he knew what it was like to have a demon sealed inside of him. The blonde then knew he wanted to talk to the redhead privately, so he reached into his pocket and took out the money that Anko had given him and handed it to Hinata saying, "Hinata-chan, can you go get ice cream for me, you, and Gaara?"
The lavender eyed girl looked quizzically at her friend before nodding lightly and running over to a stand near the center of the playground where several other children were gathered.
Naruto then looked at Gaara, with a slightly serious expression and asked, "Gaara, do you…" he stopped to think which words to use before continuing, "Are you a container?"
The redhead looked at the blonde curiously for about half a second before he caught on, and his pale jade eyes opened wide. He started to shake little before saying, "Wh-why would you want to k-know?"
The fox-boy's eyes lost some of their light as he looked at the ground and said in a whisper, "Because I'm one too."
Naruto then heard Kyuubi talking to him from the back of his mind once more, "Kit, I'd like to speak to the tanuki sealed in that boy, but we'll have to do it more discreetly then when I spoke to your nee-chan and the blonde Sannin."
The blonde boy was curious as to how one sealed demon was to converse with another, especially in a discreet manner, as Kyuubi desired. So he quickly asked, "How are we going to do that, Kyuubi?"
The demon fox smirked to himself and calmly replied, "Simply shake his hand and I shall do the rest."
Nervously, Naruto held out his left hand, which Gaara only stared at curiously as he sat silently on his swing. Seeing the questioning look on his new acquaintance's face, Naruto said in a cool tone, "Shake my hand, Gaara; Kyuubi would like to talk with you and your demon."
The sand-boy's eyes widened once more, but he complied with his blue-eyed friend's request, and just before their hands met, a stream of sand appeared between them. An angered Kyuubi could be heard cursing in the back of Naruto's mind, and in response to his fellow Biju's actions, the fire red fox sent a small stream of chakra through his container's hand and blew the sand away, allowing the two small boys' hands to meet.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Naruto and Gaara quickly found themselves in a large room, with two equally large cages, one on each side of the room. In the cage behind the blonde, sat Kyuubi in all his demonic glory, while in the cage behind the redhead, was a large, tan tanuki, who had dark blue, almost violet colored swirls decorating his entire body, save his large belly. The fox smirked at his caged counterpart before saying, "It's been too long, Ichibi, or would you prefer to be called Suna no Shukaku?"
Shukaku's tiny yellow eyes narrowed, before he spat, "Call me whatever the hell ya want, kitsune, but I gotta tell ya, you're the last one I expected to see all the way out here, smack dab in the middle of this Kami forsaken desert; except Sanbi, but we both know why that is."
Kyuubi was quick to bare his fangs when the tan tanuki called him, "kitsune," which he was about to snap at him for before regaining his composure. "We haven't the time for arguing, Shukaku; our time is short seeing how the Hyuuga will be back soon. I have but one thing to ask you, and your container as well."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Hinata was standing in line for ice cream, when the lavender eyes girl remembered she hadn't asked Naruto or Gaara what flavor they wanted. She worried for a moment or two, then decided to get both of them vanilla, since she knew that everyone liked vanilla.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Anko had finally found a decent looking apartment building near the Kazekage Tower, which had only one room left for rent. Much to her surprise, she discovered it was more of a luxury suite than some basic apartment, like she had had back in Konoha. At the bargain of thirty-five thousand ryo a month, she couldn't blow the chance and went straight to the manager's office, walking there, she knew confidently that with her savings of half a million and the extra fifty thousand that Tsunade had lent her, she'd have no problem surviving with the two kids for three months, maybe even four if the blonde medic took that long. After signing a few forms, using her real name since she considered it a pain in the ass to think up a fake name, even if at random, Anko left the office happier then she had been in a very long time.
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"Well shoot then, if were so damn low on time," Shukaku said gruffly for both him and Gaara, who along with his fellow blonde container, had been listening quietly as the two demons snapped back and forth at each other from behind their cages.
"This is somewhat of a proposition," the demon fox started, "My container, along with the young Hyuuga, and a Jounin kunoichi, fled that cesspool of Konoha after enduring more than their fair share of maltreatment. You know as well as I, that our containers, no matter the village are treated the same. So here's my offer, would your container, along with anyone he may hold precious, like to join us?"
Shukaku, remained silent for what felt like several minutes, though it was for only a handful of seconds before replying, "How old's this kunoichi, anyway?"
Kyuubi huffed, sending a stream of black smoke out of his nostrils before angrily snapping, "You'll never grow out of your hentai ways will you? Her age is of no importance, what is, is whether you'll be joining this rag-tag group. I forgot to mention though, that the Kit and the Hyuuga shall be training under two of Sannin of Konohagakure."
The demon tanuki tilted his head to the right before saying, "You forget, Kyuubi, I was sealed in a fucking teapot before some old hag stuffed me in this shrimp's body four years ago! However, I do believe I've heard of one of them, he visited the village about two months ago; name was Orochimaru if I remember right."
Kyuubi's eyes shot open at this news, he then quickly narrowed them hissing, "That snake is not one of the two that will be training the Kit; he's actually the cause of the suffering of the kunoichi who's acting as the Kit and Hyuuga's guardian for the time being. But enough talk Shukaku, will you or will you not, come along?" he finished with a small snap. The tidbit of information regarding Orochimaru that the fox-boy just heard was something that he would have to remember for later.
Shukaku put one of his large hands up to his small chin, trying to put up the image that he was thinking, which didn't fool the fire-red fox. Finally, Shukaku said, "Sure, why the hell not? Though there is the problem of this shrimp's sister…"
"She's someone he holds precious I take it," was all Kyuubi said.
But instead of Shukaku responding, it was Gaara, who nervously said, "T-Temari is the only other p-person, other than Yashamaru-ojisan, who talks with me. Th-though she does it v-very little because otōsan doesn't like it." The redhead now had small tears welling up in his eyes; he slowly sat down and hugged his knees against his chest, crushing his teddy bear between them in the process.
The demon fox stared at Gaara for a few seconds with a sympathetic look present in his eyes, while Shukaku's were void of emotion. That's when Kyuubi said, "The fate of Jinchuuriki, of our containers, is to be loathed, hated, feared, and unloved throughout their lives. Though they have our powers, power cannot fill the empty void in their hearts."
The sand tanuki stared blankly at Kyuubi before he started cackling wildly, which was followed by him saying, "So the great Kyuubi no Youkou, the strongest of the nine Biju, has grown soft. You actually care for your damn container don't you? What happen to the cold hearted bastard that you used to be, did ya lock him up in that heart you grew? If Nibi was here, she'd probably-"
"That's quite enough, Shukaku," Kyuubi snapped at the hysterical demon, "How I have changed is none of your concern, especially since I remember you running with your oversized tail between your legs last time we fought."
"Whatever, kitsune," Shukaku said still laughing, though far less now after the mentioning of his defeat by the fox across from him, "Tomorrow the shrimp will drag his sister here, hopefully the kunoichi watching your container will be able to convince that blonde banshee to come along and join this band of outcasts."
Naruto, who had been quietly listening to everything that was being said, while giving Gaara light pats on the back to ease his sobs, finally stood up and looked the sand tanuki dead in his beady, yellow eyes and asked, "Shukaku, are you why Gaara has those black circles under his eyes?"
Said demon smirked, slowly forming a smile that almost literally stretched from ear to ear. He replied to the blonde, "Yea, the shrimp can't sleep or I'll eat away at his personality, eventually leaving nothing but a hollow shell for me to control like a pathetic little puppet."
"Such is the fate of anyone you possess, right, Shukaku. Though he's stable now, in a few years, this Gaara, won't be around anymore, another 'Gaara,' perhaps one as twisted as you will be in his place," Kyuubi explained grimly. He then said, "Seems like the Hyuuga is back and our time is up; though Shukaku, I'll ask you to leave you're container's mind alone and let him sleep from time to time, though of course you'd just take over his body and run amuck like the insane bastard you are, right?"
"Who are you calling a bastard?!" Shukaku shouted, just before the room dissolved around Naruto and Gaara.
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Naruto and Gaara found themselves back at the swings, and turned to see Hinata running towards them with an ice cream holder, containing three rather large, vanilla ice cream cones. When she was within about four or three meters of the two boys, the dark haired girl tripped, sending the container flying into the air and her falling towards the ground.
Subconsciously, Naruto moved from where he was standing next to Gaara, to the falling Hinata, faster than he could blink, while Gaara who desperately wanted to save the ice cream cones, unwillingly sent out a stream of sand that caught the holder, saving the ice cream, through the cones did get a little sandy in him doing so. Both boys smiled at each other and the lavender eyed girl started to giggle lightly.
For the next few hours, the three children played on the swings and with a large amount of help from Gaara, they built what one could've considered the world's most detailed and complex sand castle. After completing the sand castle, all three of them were very hungry, so Naruto got the remaining money from Hinata, five hundred ryo, and ran off towards the stand to get them some food, leaving the Hyuuga girl and the sand-boy all alone.
"G-Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked shyly.
"Yes, Hinata," was his simple reply.
"How c-can you control s-sand like you did w-with the castle?" was the lavender eyed girl's question.
Gaara feared being asked this question, or any other, that would force him to reveal the presence of Shukaku within him to anyone he met his own age that didn't know. He knew Naruto was probably the same way, seeing how he had sent her away earlier when they witnessed the exchange between the fox and tanuki demons. He nervously thought over what he could say, before he decided to tell the Hyuuga girl a half-truth like before. "It's a n-natural ability I have, though I'm the only person I know who can do it," was what he said.
Technically the whole statement was true, though controlling sand was more of a natural ability of Shukaku then of his. For Gaara, it was more or less a supernatural ability.
Hinata's eyes light up at what the redhead said, and twiddling her forefingers together, she said, "I think it's a very cool ability Gaara-kun; I wish I had an ability like that, that I was talented at." The young Hyuuga then started to blush slightly as she said, "I r-really like you G-Gaara-kun; y-you're a lot like Naruto-k-kun, but you're also v-very different. I like you're red hair and d-dark circles th-the most."
Never before could Gaara ever remember being complimented this way; though Yashamaru often said things to cheer him up, compliments were a rarity. He was blushing heavily and about to compliment her back when Naruto arrived with two bags of food. It turned out, Naruto had gotten six grilled fish, and had nothing left over as far as money.
The three talked happily as they ate, mostly about their likes and dislikes, Naruto and Hinata were careful not mention their ninja training, while Gaara avoid talking of his father's harsh training lessons in controlling Shukaku's powers. Almost right after they were done, Anko appeared in front of the trio and startled them all, causing Gaara to subconsciously make a protective dome of sand around them.
The snake mistress raised an eyebrow at this and thought, "How they hell did that kid do that?! I've never heard of sunanin being capable of manipulating sand to that extent." She then bent over and lightly knocked on the dome and said with a smile, "Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, were going now; I wanna show you where we're staying before we go out and have dinner."
Slowly, the dome of sand fell away revealing a rather happy Naruto and Hinata and a still slightly spooked Gaara. Anko quickly asked, "Who's your raccoon-eyed friend?" pointing at Gaara who was now standing up.
Naruto was quick to respond, "His name's Gaara, Anko-nee-chan; he's a lot like me, at least that's what I heard Hinata say that to him." When he said, "like me," the blonde had pointed at his where his whisker marks would be, while what he said at the end, caused the lavender eyed girl to blush a deep crimson. Anko smirked when she saw this, though she was frowning inwardly as she caught on to what Naruto was trying to tell her without telling Hinata.
"Anyway," the snake mistress started, "Let's get going to our new home, I'm sure you'll love it; you're friend can come along to if he likes." Gaara's eyes light up when Anko said this, as they had darkened when he realized his new friends would be leaving him. Despite his desire to join them, he remembered his sister, Temari, who he wanted with him when he went with Naruto's group; although he knew it would prove difficult for him to get something of the sort to happen.
Gaara then remembered that sometimes when he didn't return home, Temari would come looking for him the next day at the playground. So after going through all this in his head, the redhead nodded fiercely and said, "I'd love to come with you three." For as long as he could remember, this was probably the best day of Gaara's life.
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A/N: Alright; that took a few days but I finally got it all done. I hope you enjoyed the Kyuubi-Shukaku chat and the bit of GaaraHinata fluff I added. Oh and if you think I overdid Shukaku's cruelty towards Gaara please let me know. Now I've got another poll for everyone and there's no determined time as to when it will end! Out of any character apart from Haku, Zabuza, and Kimimaro who get killed during the NON-FILLER EPISODES I'd like you guys to choose who will eventually join the group later on. It's ONE VOTE PER PERSON!!
Introduced Character's ages
Gaara – 4
Temari – 7
Translations:
Ten no Juin: Cursed Seal of Heaven
Ojisan: Uncle
Ojiisan: Grandfather (For clarification of the above only)
Otōsan: Father
