Wow. Longest chapter yet. BTW, i know nothing about romance, i am completely clueless about what i'm doing here... ah well, if i screw up, i'll just wallow in self pity for a couple of days.
Disclaimer: Now that i think about it, if i owned naruto, it would probably suck. Woo self esteem!
She really is
Gaara stared at the woman in front of him. Her blue hair shone in the pale light from outside, the paper flower adding an air of elegance. She glided across the floor towards them, like the angel she claimed to be. She too wore the black cloak with red clouds like Kisame. Although on her it revealed grace. The piercing below her lip was very tasteful. But it was none of these that caught Gaara's attention. It was her brilliant eyes.
"Those eyes…" he thought "She is the same as me."
Konan bowed.
"I am sorry." she said, angelically, "But leader-sama does not wish for his identity to be known yet, so I shall be the one to give you the introduction of the Akatsuki."
"That is fine."
Gaara snapped his head to his left. He had forgotten that Itachi was here.
"What is going on?" Gaara thought, turning to Konan, "Why are you confusing my mind?"
"Why does Madara-sensei wish to hide?" Gaara asked, very aware of his dry throat.
Konan looked shocked.
"If they both know of Madara, then there is no sense in holding up false pretences." came a voice from the shadows.
Konan whipped her head around as a man appeared behind her. He had dark, orange, spiky hair & grey skin, like a corpse. He was also wearing a cloak, like Konan's, but his wasn't quite so…
He also had piercings on his face, but a lot more than Konan did. He had six piercing on his nose, or three straight through it. Two spikes through his lower lip, six piercing around each ear & a vertical bar through both. He was also wearing a slashed Ame headband.
"Those eyes…" Itachi whispered. Gaara understood.
His eyes were different. Around the pupil were circles, like ripples in a pond. The only colour in the eyes was grey, a darker shade than his skin. It was obviously a dōjutsu style kekkei genkai.
"The rest of the Akatsuki believe me to be the leader." the man said, "Apart from one other, the only people who know of Madara are in this room, so while in the presence of other Akatsuki members you will address me as "Leader". Understood?"
Itachi nodded. Gaara just glared at the man.
"Otherwise, you may call me "Pein" or "God". However that shouldn't be necessary as I doubt there will be many occasions were we will be apart from the others."
Pein turned to Gaara.
"I am to understand that you are his apprentice?" he asked, Gaara nodded.
"Very well. Konan, take him into the other room & fill him in."
"Yes Pein." Konan said, bowing slightly, before leading Gaara into a side room.
Closing the door behind her, Konan gestured towards the table in the middle of the room. Gaara removed his gourd & took a seat. Konan sat opposite him.
Gaara found himself unable to take his eyes off hers.
"What is this feeling?" he thought, "Why can't I divert my attention from you?"
"If Madara has taken you as his apprentice then clearly, he has high hopes for you. Tell me about yourself."
Gaara leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He closed his right eye and placed two fingers on it, like he often did in these situations.
"My name is Gaara. I was born in Sunagakure of the Yondaime Kazekage & his wife. Both of them died the day I was born. When I was four years old, the demon Shukaku awakened inside of me & gave me his knowledge & power over the sand. I then started killing people. The council was aware of this. When I killed a chunin, they sent a messenger who delivered to me the standard equipment of a Suna shinobi & told me I was to approach the council. So I killed him & met with the council. They made me into a genin, hoping I would become their strongest weapon. By then, they realized I had… emotional problems. They could not control me. They instead sent me on missions were it didn't matter who I killed. Then, after receiving a mission to escort a caravan here, Madara-sensei approached me & told me to bring Itachi-san to you."
Konan was silent until he had finished talking. When he had she spoke up.
"Your information is wrong. You do not possess the Shukaku, we do."
Gaara stared at her, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I should start by telling you that we, the Akatsuki, are an organization that seeks to control the nine tailed beasts. Seven years ago, Madara-san brought forward a tea kettle containing the Ichibi no Shukaku. Whatever power you have is probably through his doing."
"I see." Gaara said, resolving to ask his sensei about this matter later.
Konan then went on to explain more about the Akatsuki. She told him about there intentions to make a monopoly on war & to get rid of all the hidden villages. Gaara sat there with his arms crossed.
"You are an interesting person." he thought.
"Do you have any questions?" asked Konan.
Gaara nodded slowly, & pointed to the paper flower in her hair.
"You like origami?" he asked.
Konan was taken aback. She hadn't expected such a personal question.
"I… yes, I do." she said, smiling lightly.
Gaara cupped his hands together, and the cork popped out of the gourd as sand flowed out of it. The sand gathered in the air around Gaara's hands and spiralled inwards. The sand started forming a bud, which bloomed into a rose identical to the one in Konan's hair.
It floated through the air slowly, landing softly into Konan's open hands.
She was gaping slightly as she stared at the rose. It looked so delicate. Yet as she brushed her finger across it, it didn't break. It felt as soft as it looked, almost like a real rose.
She placed it carefully back on the table.
"It's very pretty." she said, smiling again.
Gaara leaned forward.
"Can I tell you something?" he asked.
Konan nodded, leaning forward too.
"Your smile is prettier."
Konan sat back, blushing lightly. She looked like she was about to say something when the door opened.
Pein was standing in the door way. Konan looked back at the table, but the rose was gone & Gaara was securing the cork back on his gourd.
"Are you done?" Pein asked.
Gaara noticed that Konan had stopped smiling & was now expressionless again.
"Yes Pein. We are done here." she replied.
She got up and left the room, with Gaara following her, his gourd now back on his back.
Konan stood by Pein's side and Gaara returned to standing next to Itachi, who was now wearing the Akatsuki cloak.
"Alright." said Pein, "Itachi-san, meet Kisame-san at the entrance. He will lead you to the current base."
"Hai, leader-sama." Itachi replied, leaving.
"Itachi." Gaara called out.
Itachi glanced back at Gaara.
"How old is Sasuke?"
Itachi frowned, "He's seven."
"He is taking the path of the shinobi, right?"
"Yes… why do you ask?"
"Your eyes reveal more than power. I intend to take the chunin exams in a few years time, maybe I will see him there?"
"I know what you are. If you betray my masters clan, your brother will die." Gaara thought.
Itachi seemed to realize this as his eyes narrowed.
"Make sure you say hello to him for me." he replied.
"There is no need for threats." was what Gaara gathered, as Itachi left.
When he was gone, Pein turned to Konan.
"I want you to spend the rest of the day with Gaara-san. Madara informed me that he will be arriving here tomorrow and wishes to speak to all three of us. In the meantime, you are to assess Gaara's skills both as a shinobi and a person in general, understood?"
"Yes." Konan replied.
Pein left through the door. Konan turned back to Gaara.
"Alright, lets get the assessment of your skills as a shinobi over with. First, tell me about how you convinced Itachi-san to come with you."
"I told him to come with me, but he refused. So I subdued him."
Konan looked shocked.
"Itachi was to be one of our strongest members, but you defeated him?!"
"One of your strongest? He was a weakling with a large weapon. Nothing he threw at me had any effect & then he used his eyes to invade my mind. It was there that I defeated him. He wasn't even worth killing."
Konan still looked shocked. It took her a few seconds to recover.
"Ok, I guess that proves that your strong. How would you classify yourself?"
"Genin rank. No taijutsu, moderate genjutsu, strong ninjutsu. I'm a mid-range fighter. I use the sand as my weapon. The sand will protect me from any damage, I cannot control this. As long as I have sand, I can do anything."
Konan thought about his words for a moment.
"I see…" she said, "One more question. Would you say your passive, or aggressive?"
Gaara thought it over.
"I will avoid conflict unless I feel the need to prove my existence. In which case someone will die."
"Great, another Kakuzu." Konan muttered, before saying aloud "Alright, that's all I need to know for now. Pein told me to assess your skills as a person, so… what do you want to do?"
Gaara blinked.
"When I'm not on a mission, I would be training or killing." he said, "But this environment makes this impossible. I guess I'll just follow you."
It was Konan's turn to blink.
"You'll follow me? I mean, it's been a while since I've had time to do what I want, are you sure?"
Gaara nodded.
"Well… ok!" she said brightly, "Lets go!"
* * * * *
They reached the ground floor of the building & were standing in the doorway. Konan sighed.
"Well, here we go." she said & stepped out into the rain.
It never came.
She looked up, surprised to see a dome of sand above her head. She looked back at Gaara, who was looking straight back. She smiled in thanks and kept walking.
They walked through the streets, the rain falling around them. Gaara looked at the buildings.
"This village is…" Gaara began.
"Ugly? Hideous? It's ok, you can say it. The architects that built this place clearly had no idea what they were doing."
Gaara didn't reply to this.
"So tell me Gaara, what's it like in Sunagakure? I've never been there before." Konan asked.
"It's everything this village is not. It almost never rains and all the buildings are small and open. The place pretty much looks like a bunch of sand castles."
"I see. Do you have any friends there, or family?"
"I have no friends. I love only myself." Gaara wondered why he felt strange saying that.
"But you have family?"
Gaara nodded, "My elder siblings, Temari & Kankuro, are on their way here on a mission to escort a caravan."
"Right! I heard there was one coming! So your siblings are coming?"
"Yes. If Madara-sensei hadn't given me orders to bring Itachi-san here then I would still be with them."
"Who's the leader of your squad?"
"I am."
Konan sighed, "I guess I should have figured. To be honest, I'm getting a little bored with you surprising me." she said with a small smile.
"I'm sorry." Gaara said.
Konan's eyes widened, "Oh no, I don't mean it like that! I just mean you keep surpassing my expectations!"
They walked along quietly for a while. The rain was getting lighter & people were coming out with umbrellas. Gaara noticed that they looked at Konan with either respect, awe or hatred.
"Why do they look at you like that you like that?" Gaara asked.
Konan's face became hard.
"Pein is leading a rebellion against the leader of this village. He has half the village under his control, but Sanshōuo no Hanzō owns the rest. While many of the civilians support Pein, many do not."
"I see." Gaara muttered, creating a small opening in the dome of sand so some of the rain hit the back of her neck.
"Aah!" Konan gasped whipping her head towards Gaara.
"Don't act emotionless." he ordered.
Konan laughed lightly, and the rain suddenly stopped. Gaara & Konan both looked up at this.
"Your laughter surprised the sky." Gaara stated, earning another small giggle.
"It's funny how you can say such things with such a stoic attitude." Konan said, smiling.
The sun shone faintly through the clouds, causing small rainbows to appear all over the place. By now they had reached the outskirts of Amegakure & were walking along a coastal path. They found a bench &, after Gaara coated it with sand to get rid of the water, they sat on it, looking out to the sea.
"One thing Suna doesn't have, is views like these." Gaara said, leaning forward.
"No?"
He shook his head, "If you see anything like this in the desert, then you are severely dehydrated & are probably going to die."
Konan laughed again and looked down at the ground. She gasped.
"What is it, a scorpion?" Gaara exclaimed, getting to his feet.
It wasn't a scorpion.
"I don't have this one!" Konan exclaimed, gently picking a small, blue flower out of the ground.
Gaara looked at her.
"I… press flowers. It's sorta a hobby." she mumbled apologetically.
Gaara stared for a second longer before returning to his seat.
Konan carefully turned the small flower in her fingers, stroking the petals. Gaara watched as she did this.
They sat there for another hour before it became dark. Neither of them had much to say. Konan didn't know what to say & Gaara was content with watching her, many thoughts flying through his mind.
"We should head back." Konan said, "We have a room for you back there, you must be tired."
Gaara shook his head.
"I don't sleep." he stated.
"What never?" Konan asked.
"I never have. I used to think it was because of the Shukaku, but apparently he isn't inside of me."
"Right…"
The rain began again so Gaara formed the dome over their heads. They walked back to the building in relative silence. When they had returned, Konan led Gaara to his room.
"Well… I guess I'll see you tomorrow." she said, "Bye."
Konan turned, gave a small wave, a small smile & walked away. Gaara waited until she was out of site before entering his room. As he reached the living room, he found he couldn't suppress it anymore. He sat down & allowed the sand to surround him.
"What do you want?" Gaara asked, with none of the kindness he had shown Konan.
"What do you think you are doing boy?!" the voice demanded.
"I am speaking with a voice inside my head which apparently has been misleading me. Who are you?"
"RAAGH! I am the great Shukaku! Don't forget that! Now what were you doing with that whore?!"
"Don't you dare call her that." Gaara growled, "You who under your own pretences believe yourself to be a Bijū?"
"I am a Bijū, boy!"
"Apparently not. Now shut up & leave me be."
The sand fell around him. Gaara got up & looked out his window, cheek pressed against the glass. In the distance he could see the main gates & past them shone the light of a caravan. Gaara smirked to himself as he spied two figures shivering in the rain. He opened the window & leapt out.
In no time he had reached the gates, where guards were thoroughly inspecting the caravan. Gaara walked towards them. Neither of his siblings had seen him, they had their backs to him.
"So you're finally here." he said, rain running down his hair.
Temari and Kankuro spun round.
"Thanks for deserting us!" Kankuro yelled.
"Shut up Kankuro." Gaara said, glaring at his older brother.
"Why did you leave?" Temari asked.
Gaara looked at Temari. Her pigtails were drooping in the rain.
"I had some business to take care of. Check into a hotel, we leave tomorrow."
Temari looked like she was going to ask something, but decided against it.
"Ok. We'll be with you in a minute." she said, but Gaara shook his head.
"I'm still in the middle of my mission. I won't be staying with you."
Temari blinked.
"Mission, you got another mission? What is it?" she asked.
"It's none of your business." Gaara said, leaving.
* * * * *
Knock, knock.
Gaara opened the door. An Ame kunoichi stood before him.
"Leader-sama requests your presence upstairs." She said, "He said "It's time"."
Gaara nodded and left the room, heading upstairs. When he reached the top floor, he didn't bother knocking as he entered.
Pein was holding on to the window, looking outside. Konan stood beside him, looking up at Gaara as he entered. In the corner, slightly obscured by the shadows, stood Madara.
"Madara-sensei." Gaara said, bowing on one knee. Madara gestured for him to stand.
"Gaara-kun, I'm glad you're here. Do you remember when we last met, that question you asked me?"
Gaara nodded.
"Well, I'm afraid you mustn't take the next chunin exams, we need you to wait."
Gaara didn't like the sound of that.
"Why?" he asked, barely concealing his anger. Pein answered.
"One of my subordinates, Orochimaru, has betrayed us. He attacked Itachi-san early this morning, attempting to take his body for his own. He failed, however, & was forced to flee. It would seem that he wishes to obtain the Sharingan. He failed to take Itachi so we believe he will go after his younger brother instead."
Madara took over.
"He won't go after him immediately. The boy is much too weak right now. It is most likely that Orochimaru will go after Sasuke when he enters the second stage of the chunin exams. That way he can make his move without anyone strong getting in his way. Basically, we want you to train for the point when Sasuke-kun takes part in the chunin exams. Then it will be your mission to make sure Orochimaru fails to take him. No matter what, understand?"
Gaara nodded, "No matter what."
Konan smiled approvingly, "If you succeed, then you will be gladly accepted among us."
Gaara's expression hardened, "Orochimaru will not have the Sharingan."
Madara walked over to Gaara & put a hand on his shoulder.
"Not only will you be accepted among us, I will live up to my title as "Sensei" & will personally train you."
Not even Gaara's best efforts could hide the twinkle in his eyes as he heard these words.
"That is all. I will send word to you when Sasuke-kun signs up for the chunin exams." Madara said.
Gaara bowed, "Hai, Madara-sensei." he turned to leave.
"Gaara."
He turned to face Konan. She gestured with her head towards Madara, who was frowning at her.
"Ah, thank you Konan-hime." Gaara said, noticing her shy smile at the suffix, "Madara-sensei, there's something I would like to ask you."
Madara figured out what he was going to ask, "I take it you now know the Shukaku isn't really inside you." Gaara nodded, "Well, I suppose you should know, while you aren't the Jinchūriki for Shukaku, you still possess him inside you."
Pein stood up straight at this, Konan looked surprised & Gaara's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?" they said in unison.
Madara grinned at the three of them, before becoming serious again.
"When you were born, your father, the Yondaime Kazekage, had arranged to seal the Ichibi no Shukaku inside of you. He intended to use your mother as a sacrifice for the process. However, before they could seal him, I intervened & took the Shukaku."
"I see…" Gaara said. So it was Madara who killed his parents. He wasn't surprised to find he didn't care.
"Some time after that, I encountered a man by the name of Kazuma, who had conducted research on Remnant Chakra. He learned that it was possible to take chakra that a Bijū leaves behind. Not only that, but the chakra could then be fused into someone, creating something that isn't a Jinchūriki, but at the same time isn't normal either, because the chakra wasn't sealed, it was bonded at a cellular level. He called it a Pseudo-Jinchūriki. His test subject had the chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune bonded to his right arm. But I had him do something different to you. He bonded some of the Shukaku's chakra, siphoned from the kettle he was stored in, and he bonded it with your brain. Not the whole thing, just the part that controls your instincts. This is why whenever you are attacked, the Remnant Chakra notices it & immediately protects you."
Pein stepped forward.
"Is this why we have not sealed the Ichibi yet? So you could conduct this experiment?" He demanded.
"Yes. And now look at him. He effortlessly defeated Itachi-kun, who was using the powers of his Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Gaara nodded, "However, that doesn't explain how the Shukaku has been able to communicate with me."
It was Madara's turn to nod.
"Yes, that was an unforeseen complication. You see, the chakra Kazuma used was what the Kyuubi left behind when he was sealed. The chakra we used on you, however, was drawn straight from the Shukaku. It would seem that because of this, he has managed to manifest a version of himself inside of you."
Pein was getting frustrated, "So is he the Jinchūriki or isn't he?!"
Madara shook his head, "Yes & no. The Ichibi is still inside his container. The entity within Gaara is simply a piece of chakra taken from him, that has adapted and evolved past expectations. What we have is a second Ichibi."
Everyone was surprised by this.
"Gaara, with your permission, I would like to bond more of the Ichibi's chakra to you. Your body has adapted to it so you should be able to take more."
Gaara thought it over. With more of the Ichibi's chakra, he could become more powerful. He could have even more control over the sand.
"I do not think that would be a good idea, Madara-sensei. As the Ichibi's chakra increases, so will it's influence."
"Ah, but this would be different. Instead of bonding the chakra to your brain, we would bond it to your body. That way you would not be influenced by the extra chakra."
Gaara thought further. He reached a decision.
"Ok." he said.
"Very well." Madara-sensei said, smiling to himself, "It takes quite some time to prepare for this procedure. You will not get the enhancement soon. We will try to get it done before you participate in the chunin exams. Until then train to increase your power."
Gaara bowed, "Hai Madara sensei."
He turned around & left.
"Madara-san." Pein said, "Does the boy really need to be more powerful? He was already strong enough to defeat Itachi-san."
Madara was still looking at the door Gaara left through.
"That was a luck of a miraculous scale. If I hadn't had the chakra bonded to him, if the chakra hadn't evolved, if Itachi-kun hadn't resorted to the Tsukuyomi, if any one of these hadn't happened, Gaara-kun would definitely have lost. I need him to become much stronger. I plan for him to become not just a member of Akatsuki, but one of us."
* * * * *
An hour had passed. Pein & Madara were gone. Konan was leaning against the window, looking into the streets. She was thinking about the boy that had managed to make her smile, laugh & blush, all in the same day, even though they had only just met. She couldn't keep her mind off of him. He just felt so… familiar. So much of him had reminded her of her old life. She could tell that without the Shukaku fragment, he would have been as shy & gentle as Nagato used to be. But the beast had made him hard, like Pein. But there was something else. She could have sworn she had seen a spark of Yahiko inside of him.
"One day." she thought, "One day you will change things. I would like to be there when you do."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
* * * * *
Gaara walked through the streets. It was time to leave. He thought about what lay ahead of him.
"Power, a place in my master's clan."
He turned and looked up at the building. A faint speck of blue warmed his heart.
"And you. The angel of Akatsuki."
He turned and walked to the gates, where his siblings were waiting.
"She really is."