I'm wondering if I'll be able to finish this before Monday. Thank god Thanksgiving is this week so I'll have more time to upload chapters.
Gaara's POV
The minute the sand had moved, Gaara's hopes went upwards. His chances of surviving were high again. He was going to go back to his village. The sand went directly through the hollow hole that made the birds eyes and began to coat the ceiling. It pushed upwards, stretching the clay. Gaara could barely make out Deidara's voice.
"What the hell?" He said.
Gaara smiled just as the sand broke the top of the bird off carrying Deidara with it. The bird stopped flapping its wings and soared in the air for a couple of seconds. In that seconds he could he Deidara cry out and scream as he fell through the air. Gaara had nothing to hold onto as he was separated from clay bird that fell faster than him. But Gaara's control over the sand had improved over the years. It moved quickly to stop him from falling and meeting a gruesome death. It formed a platform that Gaara could easily move on. He gathered the leftover sand and recreated his gourd completely filled with sand.
Gaara watched as the bottom portion of the clay bird fell to the ground and exploded as it hit the ground. Gaara let out the breath he had been holding and sat up on the sand. He didn't bother looking down, he didn't want to know if Deidara was alive or not. He felt the strong need to crush the monster into several pieces and make sure he never came back but he needed to have control, blood would only bring out the inner demon, Shukaku.
"Did you really think you could get away? Hm?" He heard a familiar voice say. He turned and saw Deidara sitting on a clay eagle. His mouth was drawn into a grin and blonde hair moved back and forth due to the strong winds from Suna. Gaara could see on his left eye that it was mechanical and most likely used for locating enemies.
"I probably should have killed you the first time we had met." Gaara confessed.
"I should've blown your arms and legs off. " Deidara mumbled.
Gaara took some sand from his gourd and willed it to go after Deidara while his guard was down. Deidara came back to reality and the eagle descended, avoiding the wave of sand.
"I'm going to kill you!" Deidara shouted. He threw an onslaught of clay birds at Gaara which he guarded against using a sand shield. Gaara formed sand kunai and sand shuriken which he threw back at Deidara.
Deidara's bird moved again, this time beginning to circle Gaara strategically as if he were prey. Deidara had his hands out, feeling the air. Gaara noticed with curiosity that tongues were sticking out from his hands.
He makes clay using mouths on his hands? They obviously have chakra, but what makes them detonate? Gaara wondered. But still this was odd. Deidara wasn't making any clay figures to attack Gaara.
"Shit! I'm out of chakra." Deidara cursed. He reached into his back pouch and through shuriken at Gaara.
Gaara remembered one of the instructions that Bake had told him about when training him for the Kazekage's position.
"In any case, there's going to be an enemy that wants to get you away from the village for several reasons. It could be that they want you for money or to lower the morale of the shinobi in this village," Baki had explained. "But in any case you need to know when you're about to walk right into a trap, diversions are one of the many tools a ninja can use."
Gaara realized what was going on just as the shuriken hit the wall of sand behind him. It was just a diversion. Deidara was making something to kill Gaara for sure. He remembered the tiny little clay figurines that had made their way into Gaara's sand without him noticing and looked at Deidara. On his face was the same grin he had started with.
Gaara got up onto his feet and let himself balance on the edge of the sand. This is crazy, literally crazy, but the sand will prevent me from dying. It has to. Gaara thought. There were bombs in the air. There could be bombs all around him for all Gaara knew. But he could no longer be airborne.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fell through the sky.
Yagura's POV
Yagura was well aware of the beast inside him and what power it held. He knew that much. In fact when it came to his past, Three-Tails was the only thing that he could guarantee to exist. But Yagura never expected that so much strength could come out of this monster.
But Yagura couldn't speak, he couldn't say a word. All he could do was make a loud screeching sound whenever he tried to say anything. He guessed the hunter ninja was more than shocked by this transformation.
"You...you monster..." The hunter said as he began to make signs in a hurry.
Yagura moved in a flash. He jumped and curled his four legs around the hunter's body. He heard several cracks and snaps of bones breaking. The loudest sound was the hunter's own cries. Yagura then moved his head so that he was facing the hunter. He blasted him point blank with a beam of chakra so that the mask came flying off. The hunter hit the ground and looked up at Yagura.
Yagura moved over to him and grabbed his legs, first lifting him up then slamming him back down on the ground. The man was barely alive. His skin was burnt in some places but was purple and white in others. Signs of frostbite. Yagura knew it wasn't that cold. What he felt was a cold touch on his "skin" that made him shiver a little. It was like the air touched him and then withdrew for a while.
But Yagura couldn't imagine what this man was truly feeling. His eyes didn't show the slightest bit of fear. He had accepted death. He knew he was going to die.
Yagura then moved. Yagura tried to stop himself but he moved, he was no longer in control of himself. All he could do was watch through his own eyes as his claws dug into the man's chest. He watched as ice seemed to spread from his hands and completely cover the man's chest.
He watched as his hands pierced the hunter's heart and ripped it out for him to see.
Fu's POV
Fu sat at the dinner table. The evening sun was about to set, casting an orange glow that seeped through the giant tree. She loved when the sun went down and the fireflies came out for her to see. Their glow was bright but it never lasted forever. It came in flashes.
But the fireflies never came out in this godforsaken village.
Her father sat at the head of the table next to her mother. Fu had explained what she had done although she left the part out about Chomei going on a rampage and her mother had cried the whole time. In the end her mother had asked her why she left in the first place. Fu couldn't answer. She feared if she told her mother the truth, she could never look her in the eye and say, I love you again.
But Fu had more important things to worry about. She had no idea where Han was. Most likely he was being interrogated underneath the city where the water from the waterfall was cleansed but she had no idea how to locate him. She knew she couldn't really find a way to escape this place without finding Han. She brought him here in the first place. There was just so many things she didn't know if she could do. Parting with her mother was one thing, but was it worth it if she had freedom?
Fu sighed and rubbed her head with her hands. Until she had a plan, there was no way she could even attempt to find Han. Her father was cold and calculating. He always considered every factor before he made a decision. He would have guards around the palace 24/7 and people watching Fu while she slept. Fu had tried to run away before just for the sake of finding her old home. After he father had gotten her back, he had blocked off her door and windows with wood and posted guards in front of her door.
But she knew she could figure out a way to escape. She'd been through worse. The worst is yet to come, she thought as four men walked through the door. Behind them was a woman. Her father had told Fu that four very important people were coming for a dinner to discuss political things and he specified that if Fu acted out that her "little friend" wouldn't live to see the sun rise. So she obeyed.
The four men sit down. They all looked official with their long kimono's that hid their hands. Their features all differed, one had short brown hair and a round chubby face. Another one looked fierce and dangerous with their spiky black hair and their pointy nose and chin. She realized it was the hunter leader from before. He smiled kindly at her but Fu didn't bother to smile back. She felt like cutting off that stupid grin from his face and kicking him out of Takigakure.
The other two were noticeable. One man looked old and he had his hair spiked upwards to give himself a stern look. The other man with his fair hair looked cautious. The woman on the other hand looked elegant and dainty. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail revealing silver hoop earrings. She had a dress with a floral pattern on it that reached down to the ground.
Fu remained quiet as they relaxed and asked the servants for tea and other appetizers.
"Sejio! How are things going in Takigakure?" One of the men asked.
"Good, Suien. How are things in the Land of Lakes?"
"Good enough, although it could be better. Kurikazo isn't very happy though." Suien said with a chuckle.
The man that appeared to be Kurikazo, the hunter leader, was smiling and his eyes were locked on Fu. She suddenly felt very aware of his gaze on her and began to poke the steak on her plate.
"Kurikazo?" Suien said, shaking the man. He blinked and looked at the others.
"Sorry, I was just a bit in a dazed. Your daughter is quite captivating. Her chakra is quite large."
"A bit too large if you asked me." The woman said.
Fu had several words she felt like saying to the woman at that moment. But improper language wouldn't do good for Han would it?
"Oh, Fu...Yuma...allow me to introduce everyone to you." Fu's father said. He pointed to Kurikazo and Suien, "You know these two. Suien is the village head in the Land of Lakes, Kurikazo is the leader of my own hunter ninja."
He waved his hand at the chubby and fair-haired one, "This is Bakaro and Doeji. Both of them lead the Land of Rivers."
"The beautiful lady over there is Sirukre, she's Suien's wife." Fu's father said again. Fu caught a feeling in his voice. Normally he acted politely and was flawless no matter what he did. This time, she heard admiration and maybe something more for Sirukre.
"It's a pleasure to be here Sejio," Sirukre said. "After all, the Land of Lakes rarely has a chance to meet with you over here in the village. How is your wife and daughter?"
She spoke as if Fu and her mother didn't even exist. Looks like Fu had another person to add to her list of soon-to-be-dead-people.
"Well, my wife is doing fine. Better than I expected. After all, my daughter has returned to me like I expected." He answered.
"Ah, I am a bit disappointed about the Land of Streams. They've burnt down and almost nothing is left but a wasteland." Suien commented looking at Fu with anger.
"I'm sorry, forgive my daughter. Jinchuuriki are the hardest to control." Fu's father apologized.
"At least Konohagakure was kind enough to give us Chomei. Not that it helped our relationship. But still you want your daughter and mother to be in on a war conference?" Suien said.
"This is about Fu after all isn't it?" Her father pointed out.
"Speaking of Konohagakure, what shall we do about the coming war? They can't possibly expect us to participate. Risking our lives...so what? The Akatsuki can go kill off the shinobi of today. We will thrive." Doeji said.
"That is to be determined. After all, Kurikazo has gathered some information on the Akatsuki and the summit." Her father said. He looked at Kurikazo. "Would you like to explain, Kurikazo?"
"Well, as you have stated before, this is all about Fu. The Akatsuki want in their possession all nine of the bijuu. All of them are sealed within humans from the Shinobi nations." Kurikazo explained. "Two from Kumo, one from Konoha, one from Suna, two from Iwa, and two from Kiri. All of them have either gone rogue or are treated as equals among their respected nations. But in our possession is one of the strongest jinchuuriki. Seven-Tails. That gives us time if they're working their way up."
"But the question is, what shall we do about her?" Suien intervened.
"We could lock her up and keep her away from the Akatsuki." Bakaro suggested.
"Are you an idiot? A little jail cell won't stop the Akatsuki from hunting the girl." Sirukre criticized.
Fu couldn't even think straight. All that was going through her head was that they were treating her like an object. A weapon that they could utilize or destroy. It's as if she was only a burden to them. Maybe the Akatsuki should take me away. Being dead is better than this. Fu thought with regret. Even still there was a part of her that wished it were true. That she was truly dead. She wouldn't have to look her mother in the eye and pretend she loved her life just for her. She wouldn't have to put up with her father. She wouldn't have to deal with any of this.
She didn't choose this life. They chose it for her. From the beginning she'd had no control over her destiny. Even now Fu could do nothing.
And she hated everyone and everything for it.
"They'll destroy this tree, they'll destroy the Land of Lakes, the Land of Rivers, everything! Just to get this girl!" Sirukre shouted.
"Well what do you propose we do?" Suien asked.
Sirukre smiled, "Easy. We make a deal with those bastards. If we give them Fu, they have to leave us alone during the war."H He