Chapter Ten: The Prank and The Monster
A/N: Chapter Ten things get even moreeee interesting! XD
Sachiko: (Sigh) So twisted…
The crippled old man stumbled on the path he strode on, decrepit hands using a cane as a guide. With his wobbly walking stick the old man continued his unsteady strides. He approached what ninjas would call a kunai in the road where as regulars would refer to it as a fork or even a chopstick in the road. As expected, the old man took the dirt path that led away from Sand Castle.
Naren and Sachiko lied in wait in the depths of the shadows as the elderly man came closer. He paused for a brief moment, sensing something wasn't quite right. He had lived 72 years in the Sand Village but for some reason he couldn't remember taking this path before in his life. Every house on the street was unfamiliar. The old man began to wonder if perhaps he was going crazy or if his memory was failing him. He began to take steps backward thinking he had gone the wrong way.
That's when the old man felt someone snatch away his cane. Whoever it was that had done so was too fast to be traced by an untrained eye. The old man rocked forward and quickly lost his balance without his trusty cane. A silver kunai was the last thing the old man saw as he plunged to his death.
The two girls ran away spiritedly, holding hands with fingers laced as if to show the strong bond that held their friendship together. Naren had thrown her head back in laughter. Her cackle pierced the night sky. Sachiko joined in the laughter, desperately wanting to get any sort of recognition from Naren.
"That was great," Naren huffed, still laughing, "Just like old times, eh kiddo?"
"Yeah," Sachiko huffed as well as they snuck back into Sand Castle's courtyard, "That was fun."
"Well look who's back," Naren grinned as the black cat Nekamoto dropped down from the roof. "What a good kitty you are," praised Naren as she scratched Nekamoto under his chin. Nekamoto purred and then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Naren stood up and took a look at the roof. It seemed to be still but she could feel someone approaching. Naren began to push Sachiko toward her room. "He's coming… hurry up!"
Sachiko began to run as fast as she could and leapt into her bed when she finally got into her room. She felt her heart racing like wild horses and cried out to her friend, "What an adrenaline rush, eh Naren-chan?"
When her friend didn't answer her, Sachiko looked up from the bed. Her eyes scanned the room in desperate search for her beloved companion. She found Naren out on the balcony gazing up at the moon.
"I love full moons," Naren murmured to Sachiko, "They make me feel… Alive."
Sachiko gave a small smile to her friend, "Me too but probably because of my de—"
"—angel. Don't look at it as a curse… Look at it as a blessing," Naren whispered without looking away form the moon, "Okay, kiddo?"
"Okay Naren-chan," Sachiko agreed, "It's a blessing."
"Good," Naren said with a yawn, "Well kiddo, it's time to get some sleep."
"Where are you going to stay," asked Sachiko with concern.
"Don't worry about me… By the looks of it I'll be hanging around with you for a while…" Naren walked Sachiko to her bed and tucked her in like a mother would. "Just promise to stop electrocuting yourself every time it's a full moon… You're going to end up killing yourself one day… Okay, kiddo?"
"Okay Naren-chan," Sachiko said sleepily as she closed her eyes, "I won't."
"Sweet dreams, kiddo…"
XXX
Sachiko woke up with a sad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt empty; like something was missing. She had been so happy last night with Naren but now that her friend was gone she felt alone again. Sachiko hated that feeling, dreaded it, and feared it. But it was a feeling that never departed from her because it had already tattooed itself deep within her heart. She knew the loneliness was something that would never leave her.
"Get up," said an intimidating voice, "I have another… responsibility to take care of this morning…"
Sachiko gave Gaara a solemn nod as she got up from her bed and began to follow him.
XXX
Sachiko grinned to herself as she and Gaara approached the lifeless corpse of an old man. Gaara noticed Sachiko's smiling countenance and wondered what the reason may be for it.
"What happened here," Gaara asked some shinobi that had been writing a report.
"This man just looks like he lost his balance and fell on his own kunai… He was probably carrying it around for protection and just tripped on it," explained the shinobi as he continued to jot things down on his case report.
"Clumsy old fool," Gaara muttered, "Better off dead… So why was I summoned if he was an idiot that fell on his own kunai?"
"A second opinion was requested because he usually walks with a cane and his cane is missing form the scene. His family wondered if it wasn't an accident," said another shinobi that was crouched low on the ground examining the dead body.
"Hn," Gaara agreed, "Maybe someone was thirsty…"
"Thirsty for what sir," asked a third shinobi that had just finished gathering statements from possible witnesses and suspects.
"Blood," Gaara growled the word out, loving its sound. A strange sickening smile crept up on his face as he spoke, "Whoever it was… they were looking to find their purpose of existence…"
The shinobi were a bit frightened but were relieved when the Kazekage appeared. "Tend to your other duties," the Kazekage instructed Gaara, "I'll take care of this."
Sachiko stared at the ground and kicked any small rock she found as she followed Gaara. She was thinking about what Gaara had told the three ninjas.
"Is that why Naren and I do those things? Is it because we want to prove our existence through bloodshed?" Sachiko thought to herself.
Sachiko had apparently stopped walking so she could think properly because Gaara had stopped as well to wait for her. He had been patient for about five seconds but after that he decided to snap at her.
"Hurry up," he barked at her," Nuisance."
"Sorry," she muttered as she swept her bangs out of her face, revealing something red on her forehead for only a moment, "I, uh, was thinking…"
"Hn…"
XXX
That night Naren came to visit Sachiko again. She had entered the room with her trademark impish grin. Naren explained to Sachiko that she had seen some kids playing outside and how she thought it would be a good idea to pull a couple of jokes on them.
"Remember when we were young and no one played with you? Well this will be like getting revenge on those worthless brats back home," Naren whispered in Sachiko's ear, breath tickling her. "Whaddya say kiddo?"
"Revenge," Sachiko repeated a bit shocked, "But those kids aren't the same as the ones that hurt me…"
"They're all the same… They're no different than the ones back home… why don't you try playing with them then? You'll see when they call you monster," Naren hissed in Sachiko's ear like the serpent had done in the Garden of Eden, "Monster, kiddo… Are you a monster?"
"No," Sachiko sobbed, "I'm not… We'll show them… Let's go…"
XXX
The moon was full and had set itself into a convenient position in the sky where it shone its silver light on a few kids playing in the dark. Their innocent laughter rang through Sachiko's ears.
"Are you sure about this, Naren," asked Sachiko as she gazed at the children from her hiding spot in a tree.
"Sachiko… look at the full moon, kiddo," said Naren with a friendly smile.
Sachiko looked up to the full moon and stared into it. It reminded her of the moon back at Cloud. She suddenly felt strange but it was a familiar feeling; in fact one she knew too well.
"It's happening," she breathed.
Naren placed a hand over Sachiko's mouth to muffle her agonized screams. Beast like claws grew from her hands first, second were saber tooth fangs, next were long whiskers, and finally a long black tail had completed the transformation.
"You're okay," Naren said soothingly, "Just embrace your gift kiddo."
"Embrace my curse you mean," Sachiko growled through clenched teeth.
"No kiddo. We already agreed that it was a gift and not a curse," Naren told her with a sour expression.
She was answered by a low hiss that a panther would use to threaten anything in its path. Naren smiled, eyes growing wide with amazement.
"Now go punish those who call you monster," Naren whispered as she pointed in the direction of the playing children, "Go punish those who call you monster!"
The creature that Sachiko had become began to bound toward the little ones. Her whiskers twitched. There were three of them; one little girl and two little boys. She crawled within the shadows, stalking her prey.
First, Sachiko took down one of the little boys. She did so in one swift movement that caused the other two children to think that he fell down and hurt himself.
"Wait here," said the remaining boy to the girl; they were brother and sister.
"I'm scared Shiro," said the girl as she shivered.
Shiro approached the darkness and saw a swishing tail. "It's a cat," he cried jovially as he reached to pull its tail.
His hand grabbed the tail and fell into the shadows. Shiro cried out for a moment. The little girl could hear a scuffle but then it was over and all was silent.
"Don't play jokes on me," she hollered with a scrunched face, "You know I get scared easily Shiro! You're so mean to me!" When no answer came the girl became frightened.
"Sh-Sh-Shiro," she spoke nervously, praying her brother would answer her back. "Are you okay?"
The little girl took hesitant steps backwards but froze in place when she heard a purring noise. "Kitty?" The girl began to walk toward the purring sound.
A panther like creature emerged from the shadows. The little girl's terrified eyes caught the image of two dead bodies. One body was her friend, the other her brother. The little girl let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The creature leapt at the girl, claws digging into her and blood gushing out like a geyser. The panther like creature circled the dead bodies for a while and then began to lick its paws.
Naren appeared from the shadows, "Hey kiddo, they're coming to see what all the fuss was about… That stupid little wretch just had to scream… Let's go."
The panther faithfully followed Naren back to Sand Castle and made a great leap onto the balcony. The cat creature rested on the bed that was in the room, purring softly as Naren pet her.
"You did good, kiddo," Naren told her, "Real good… Now go to sleep."
The panther fell asleep shortly after Naren's words and began to diminish in size. Soon the panther transformed back into a girl. Sachiko lay there snoring softly, blood covered still.
"Looks like we'll have to clean you up a bit," Naren said as she went into the bathroom.
Naren came back out with a towel and washed off all of the blood that was on Sachiko. She made sure to get every little blood stain off and did it with expert removal. Naren sat on the bed and pulled a long stick out from under the bed. It was a walking stick.
"Looks like I'll have to dispose of these…"
"I'm not a monster…"
Naren heard Sachiko murmuring things in her sleep and immediately turned to the girl. She grinned and patted the sleeping girl on her head. "Of course you're a monster you little twit…"
Sachiko was frowning and tossed and turned. She began to kick her legs and move her arms sporadically. It was a strange sight for someone who hadn't seen such things before but Naren wasn't one of those kinds of people.
"Kick and scream Monster," Naren breathed as tears ran down Sachiko's sad face.
Sachiko began to whisper something inaudible and Naren strained her ears to hear but Sachiko had stopped it for a moment.
"What are you whispering?"
"Love me… love me," Sachiko seemed to be saying.
Sachiko beat her fists against the bed and cried out in anguish, "That's all I ask for… Love me… love me…"
"You can't feel love you," Naren said coldly, "Do you wonder what it's like to touch and feel love? What should I tell you? You're a Monster…"
"Loneliness," Naren said to her, "That's your silent pain… No one can hear you and no one cares for you… You're nothing but your mother's regret…"
"Love me," Sachiko panted as her hands gripped her pillow, nails busting the fragile thing open.
"Look what you did," Naren told her as she picked up the feathers, "You made a mess… That's all you'll ever do in life, Monster…"
A/N: The last part was definitely inspired by the song "Monster" by Meg and Dia… They're one of my favorite groups… You guys should listen to the song. It really reminds me of Gaara.
Sachiko: I'm not a monster.
Author: I never said you were… But your friend did…
Naren: I was joking.
Sachiko: OH OKAY! You're still my BEST friend.
Author: Yeah… desperate… hopeless… impressionable… pathetic…
Naren: Describing yourself again?
Author: NAREN YOU ARE WORSE THAN SASUME SHUTTTT UPPPPPPPPPP!
Gaara: The next person to speak… I will kill them…
Author Thought Bubble: How am I going to tell everyone to REVIEW??
Author: Sweet I just did it!
Gaara: (glares) SAND COFFINNNN!!
Author: AIIIYEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH! (runs away frantically)