Nekomi said "You need to be healed first." She healed him.
"Now the plan."
Nekomi rolled her eyes and turned toward him "Okay, listen. I had been thinking about this since you told me about your plans yesterday and I have around two dozen people that I can contribute."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow "Contribute to what, exactly?"
Nekomi said "I'm getting to that. Now, I know what I'm about to say isn't probably what you're expecting to hear, but hear me out."
Zabuza frowned. "Come out with it already, what's your plan?"
Nekomi sighed, knowing the swordsman wouldn't like the idea, but it was the best one she could come up with. She said "I plan on creating a new village."
Zabuza's reaction was about what she had expected. He stood up with an angry look on his face "What! You're just going to run away! And build a village? With how many people? You can't just make a village, just like that. It takes years. What do we do until then?"
Nekomi held up her hands "It will not be running away. It will be creating a village that will draw people away from Mist and it will, in a few years time, become a challenge to the village and the kage."
Now Zabuza looked confused. He sat down then he scowled and said sarcastically "Oh, I see, so a village made up of a few dozen people that has just been built will be a challenge to a village that has been established for generations with a shinobi army."
Nekomi frowned. She said "It will not take more than a month to construct the village."
Zabuza looked at her disbelievingly. "That's not possible, besides,what about food? It takes a while to grow crops unless you plan on getting it all f rom another village or town. Where are you planing on building this village anyway?"
Nekomi asked "Do you know of anywhere that has natural defenses against invasion and isn't currently inhabited?"
Zabuza paused for a minute, then said "No." But Nekomi had seen he had come up with something before disregarding it.
She said "What? You thought of something."
"It wouldn't work."
"Well, what is it?"
He scowled when she repeated herself and said, louder "It wouldn't work."
"Just go ahead and tell me already." Nekomi said with a slightly raised voice, annoyed that he didn't answer the first time.
He said, also annoyed, "Fine. The only area I can think of like that is an area that is almost completely cliffs. A village couldn't be built there."
"Says who? Do you know what it looks like? Have you been there?"
"Says me. I was there a few years back when I was exploring Water."
"Can you show me?"
Zabuza frowned. He said "You mean you want to do that mindsharing thing again? You know that weirds me out." He crossed his arms.
Nekomi said "But I need to know what it looks like if I want to jump there."
"You mean use that teleportation jutsu of yours?" She nodded.
Nekomi asked "How far away is it?"
Zabuza thought for a few minutes. "200 miles, roughly."
Nekomi thought. She could do that in a couple of jumps, she reasoned. "Okay, I'll have to go check it out once you show me. It's close enough to go and come back in one day, although I think I'll wait until tomorrow."
Zabuza stressmarked "It's a cliff. You can't build a village into a cliff."
"Who says?"
Zabuza said "I do! It's not humanly possible!"
Nekomi said "It is too, with a few earth jutsus and explosion jutsus."
Zabuza frowned, surprised. Did she have people in rock country or Konoha? "Your people know earth jutsus?"
Nekomi said "I know a few and..." She made a tally in her head "4..of the people I know also know some."
Zabuza frowned. He said "A village made out of a few dozen people is not going to be a challenge to a village the size of Mist."
Nekomi said "Firstly, the Village hidden by the Sunset will only start out with around three to four dozen people. I expect it to pick up quite a few new members. Secondly, all the members of this village will be a ninja of one of three classses. There will be no civilians in Banshougakure."
Zabuza sweatdropped. 'She already named the village. The village hidden in the sunset sounds kind of cool, actually. Gah, what am I thinking? It's impossible."
Nekomi smiled "Glad to see you like the name, Zabuza."
Zabuza jumped "Gah, did you read my mind again? Don't do that!" Nekomi chuckled. Zabuza then rebmembered what she had said earlier. "How do you expect to get new members? And what about no civilians? What about the civilians I know?"
Nekomi explained "Civilians will become ninja. It will be one of the requirements to joining the village. Also, I plan to let missing nins and displaced or unsatisfied civilians become part of the village, if they are deemed worthy."
Zabuza frowned "If you let these people in, how will you keep the village a secret? You'll have to give them directions? What if they make it to the Mizukage."
Nekomi smiled "You're going to have to readjust your perspective on the possibilities of the human being, Zabuza-san."
Zabuza said "You're talking weird again, Nekomi." Nekomi chuckled.
She said "I meant that people are more capable than you give them credit for. Now, to answer your question, I will not be giving out sets of directions. I will be sending summons and self-sustaining clones to do the recruiting for me."
Zabuza frowned "Self-sustaining clones?"
Nekomi smiled "One of the jutsus I came up with. They can gather chakra from their environments and from enemies and they can last apart from me for up to a year, but I can dispell them at will and with concentration, I can see through their eyes as my chakra remains tied to theirs."
Zabuza shook his head "They can think on their own and perform jutsus?"
"Yes. They are only dispelled if they take a lot of damage. Which is unlikely, because they'll have the same capacities for stealth as I do." Upon seeing Zabuza's look, she said "They'll be able to use my teleporting technique, the invisibility technique, stuff like that."
Zabuza said "You said you'd be sending summons too." He looked at her. "What are you going to summon? Cats? Aren't cats only summoned by the Wara clan?"
Nekomi frowned "I will only be using cats of the type that are the right size to be found in nature, so they would not be automatically recognized as summons." Then she smiled "I see you accept my idea, Zabuza-san."
Zabuza jumped in surprise, then he jumped up and pointed accusingly at her "I did not think that!"
Nekomi smiled "Not directly, but you went from thinking it's impossible to that it might work. That's as close to acceptance as I'm going to get."
Zabuza frowned and grumbled. Nekomi said "Aw, what's the matter, Zabuza?" She teased.
He mumbled "Still don't think it's going to work."
Nekomi smiled "Keep thinking that, Zabuza. Now, show me the cliffs."
Zabuza grumbled "Pushy woman."
Nekomi smiled "Now, put your hands up and clear your mind like I showed you."
He sighed, but did as she asked. It was easier to go along with her. He soon felt himself sucked back into his mind and they were in a dark room. He had not gone into his memories yet. He concentrated.
Nekomi took the information as he gave it to her. She felt a slight tug, but ignored it, in favor of the information.
Zabuza finished showing her, then he cut it off like she had shown him too and they both went back to the conscious world. Zabuza then felt himself hit with a memory. It felt like he was in it, it was so realistic. He was in a clan compound. There was death all around. He seemed to be tied to a person who was looking at the scene. Suddenly he was running. The death increased as they reached a building. As they entered the first room, many grey haired people in robes were dead. "No! Toussan!"
Zabuza recognized the voice. It was Nekomi's. Was this one of her memories? He could feel the pain she was feeling. She kept running, going upstairs. She growled "How dare they attack us, my people, my family..." They she opened a door and on the floor lay a man and two boys. She ran over to them and fell to her knees beside them. "No...Dai, Ryoku, Shin! Oh God, not you too!" She picked up the body of the man laying on the floor and screamed "Dai..." He could feel wetness running down the face. Tears, he realized. She ran outside upon seeing a shadow running away. She would avenge her family. She soon came face to face with a man with long black hair and yellow eyes. She recognized him almost instantly."Oorochimaru! You did this!"
He said, with an annoyed look, "You took out my army. It's going to take me a while to replace them."
She cried "Why did you kill them?"
He said "If you survive, maybe I'll tell you." He smiled.
Nekomi growled. How dare the teme smile? She screamed "You Bastard! I'll kill you!" She fought him for a couple of minutes, winning until he performed a jutsu that was almost too fast to be registered. "Shinkei Inmetsu no Jutsu!" He felt a pain unlike anything he had felt before and he saw a new view of the ground. Then he felt like he was being stabbed over and over again, but he couldn't move, although he could see blood dripping onto the ground through blurred eyes. He was in pain everywhere, but especially in his chest, then all went black. He gasped and opened his eyes. He blinked at the brightness.
Nekomi was looking at him. She frowned, concerned "Is something wrong? It took you longer to wake up than usual." She gave him a hand up. He took it, too disoriented to refuse like he usually would.
He shook his head. That must have been a memory. He wasn't in pain anymore, but it had been so real. Were his memories this real when she got them? He said "I'm fine. Did you get what you were looking for?"
"Hai.Are you sure you're alright?"
Zabuza frowned "I'm fine, geez." Nekomi smiled, seeing him acting back to normal. Zabuza thought 'Should I tell her that I saw one of her memories? It's so private...I must have seen it by mistake. I'm sure she didn't send it to me. What if she misunderstands and thinks I took it? I don't want her to be mad at me again...I'll tell her later. He said "What now?"
Nekomi said "It will be dark soon. I'll check out the cliffs tomorrow."
Naruto and Gaara said "Me too."
Nekomi looked down at them with a slight frown. Would it be safe to take them with her? One one hand, she would be going into unkown territory. That wasn't a safe situation. Also, although Zabuza thought her plan might work, she was worried that he might do something to jepordize the plan, whether on purpose or by accident.
On the other hand, she could keep an eye on them if they were with her. She weighed the pros and cons and decided it didn't take that much more energy to carry four people with her than it did to go by herself. She'd still be able to make it there and back in the same day. She paused "I will only take someone with me if all of us go." She looked at Zabuza and Haku.
Zabuza frowned "Why do you want us to go?"
Nekomi said "You should get a look at the place where I'm planning on building the village. Also, I thought it'd be a nice change. We'll get some sunshine and we can stop by the town that's 30 miles away and get some dinner on the way back."
Zabuza sensed there was something more to it, but he let it pass. He owed her from the accident. He shrugged. "I guess. Haku's never seen the cliffs. What time do you want to go tomorrow?"
Nekomi frowned slightly at the man being so submissive to her request. It was unlike him, but she ignored it, glad that it had gone so easily. "Early. After breakfast...about 7."
"Okay." He shrugged. Nekomi was bothered more by it now. The time would cut into his training time. She had expected him to negotiate the time, but she let it slide again. She'd confront him about it later.
Soon it was dark and soon they went to bed. Nekomi was on the floor with the boys. Zabuza had tried once to offer her his bed since she got well, but she wouldn't take it and he hadn't tried after that. She had one mat that she shared with Haku, and the boys shared the other.
Gaara frowned as he watched out over his little family. He had wanted to talk to his kassan, but he didn't have the time. He had questions to ask her. He watched her sleep. He sighed.
Nekomi called softly "Is there something wrong, Gaara-chan?"
Gaara's eyes widened as he whispered back "I thought you were asleep."
"I was, then I woke up for a little while. Do you want to talk about it?"
Gaara crawled over the sleeping Naruto and was beside Nekomi. He sat. Nekomi sat up and took him inter her lap. "Now, talk to me."
He looked down and blushed. "Ano...it's not that important, kassan..."
Nekomi frowned, saddened again by how this boy had never had someone to show concern for him. She said "Gaara-kun, if you ever have anything to talk to me about, or ask me, I'm here. Don't ever think that it's not important enough to talk with me about, ok?"
Gaara nodded. He said "I..had some questions that I didn't get to ask you before."
Nekomi nodded "Ask them."
Gaara said "Why did you name the village banshougakure? Is it after the name you gave me?"
"Your new name gave me the idea, yes. That's not all that's bothering you."
Gaara looked down again. "I..."
"Yes."
Gaara looked at her with tears forming in his eyes. "I want to be able to sleep like you and ototo!"
Nekomi looked at the boy in guilt. She had promised to look at his seal, but he was so quiet, and uninsisting...She had put it off. She asked, quietly, "Do you want me to look at your seal, Gaara-chan?"
Gaara nodded. "Ever since I saw what a dream could be like...I want to have dreams too!" He had tears falling now.
Nekomi's heart clenched at his pain. 'I'm so sorry, Gaara...' She tried to smile, but she could tell she was failing. She said "I'll look at it, we'll fix the seal, okay?"
Gaara nodded. Nekomi asked "Do you remember the mind sharing technique?" He nodded again. "It will be like that. Close your eyes, clear your mind and relax for me, okay?" He nodded and closed his eyes. Nekomi waited a moment, then put one hand on his head and another on his stomach and went in.
Gaara's mind was in a turmoil, worse than Nekomi had thought. It was dark, just light enough to see and it seemed like a cave. Except it seemed as if there was a storm going on. All he had protecting him was a thin barrier that he had created since they had met. She walked around, getting battered by the wind and rain and soon came face to face with the racoon demon.
I plan on having the next chapter out fairly sooner than this one. Until then, Ja ne.