This one is a little faster paced but not much happens. But there is another major plot event (although I doubt you'll realize what). Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
Sitting in a small, enclosed room was not something I was comfortable doing for long. In all honesty, I found doing so unnerving, as though as I was trapped. To ease myself, I slipped out of the building and to the streets below, taking nine-tailed fox form. I moved with ease around curious bystanders. To them, I was just a strange creature. There was nothing to be afraid of.
I walked out of Suna, wanting to find my staff before it was buried in the sand forever. I followed my own scent to where I had left it and began to dig. The sand hadn't completely engulfed it so it was relatively easy to find. Then I took human form again so I might explore the Village Hidden in the Sand in peace.
The buildings were curious structures to set your eyes upon. They were made of some sort of clay. What truly caught my attention, on the other hand, was the market. Things were set about in an orderly fashion. First, there were meats, then dairy and egg products. Next, fruits and vegetables. Last of all were breads and noodles. After the food section, there were various stores for clothing, furniture, decoration, and trinkets.
"May I ask what this is used for?" I asked a vendor softly, pointing to a golden object. It was small and made of two prongs, one folded over the other. The man looked at me in surprise.
"It's a hair pin," he replied. I furrowed my eyebrows together. A small ribbon was enough to contain my hair for it was rather thin but I couldn't imagine anyone having so little hair that such a small object could contain it.
"How is it used?" I continued. The vendor shook his head and a toothy grin took over his features.
"You don't go to markets very often, do you, girl?" I shook my head. "Kio, come here!" the man called. A boy who was probably just older than me appeared.
"Yes, Father?" the boy said.
"Why don't you show this girl around the market? Bring her back for dinner when you're done. And here," the man tossed his son a small pouch. "Spending money," he explained. Kio's eyes widened in surprise.
"Thank you, Father," the boy said. "Will you come with me, my lady?" I stared at the strange boy with an expression of shock.
"My lady?" I echoed. "I'm no lady, sir. I'm just a girl." He glanced at my headband and then back up at me in confusion. Then I heard his thoughts ever so clearly but I couldn't believe them at all. I thought all nine-tailed ninja were lords and ladies, he said to himself. I guess not… He also knew, quite surprisingly, that I could read minds. "How did you attain such information," I demanded in a low whisper.
"Our ancestors used to live in the Village of the Nine-Tailed Fox before we set out to become merchants," the older man explained. "Have you not encountered others from the village? How is the village?" I shook my head.
"The village is in ruins. By the looks of it, it had been abandoned since before I was born. I haven't met anyone who has even heard of it besides the late Hokage." The man looked grave.
"A shame. I had been hoping to return there in my lifetime. There so much my grandfather didn't tell us," Kio added. "But are you truly not a lady?"
"Considering the village is no more, I don't have anything to be lady of. Not to mention, I wasn't raised under such formal conditions. Additionally, I'd rather not go sporting around such information. Please, just call me Nari." Kio nodded his head.
"Come, Nari. Suna has much to offer," he said, extending his hand. I took it hesitantly and we walked off. His father smiled at our backs, praying we'd become friends. After two hours of exploring all the market had to offer, Kio took me back to his home. "You could spend all day there and not satisfy your curiosity," Kio claimed as we walked out of the shopping area.
"Probably," I agreed. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring up ahead. I followed his line of sight. There stood Gaara, his face completely washed of emotion. "Hello, Gaara," I greeted him while coming closer. When Kio did not follow me, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward. Nari, he's… Images of destruction flashed through Kio's mind.
"Temari wishes to speak with you," Gaara muttered, glancing at Kio and my hand on him. "Kankuro and Baki, too, would like an audience." She knows all four of them? Kio's mind screamed.
"Right now?" I said instead of answering the silent query. The jinchuriki nodded. I frowned slightly. I had been hoping to sit with Kio and his father for a meal. It'd be nice to speak with someone who truly understood me. "Well, if it can't be helped… I'm sorry, Kio. Tell your father that I greatly appreciate the offer for dinner but I'm required elsewhere."
"Be safe, Nari," he replied.
"Don't worry about me," I reassured him. "I'm plenty strong enough to handle myself." He smiled a little, then nodded and scampered off. "Come on," I mumbled to Gaara as I headed in the direction of the round building. The Kazekage's building, as Kio had been so kind to point out earlier.
"Who was he?" Gaara asked, following beside me. I turned to look at him. If his curiosity was as insatiable as mine, I might be able to get a full conversation out of him.
"Is," I corrected him. "Who is he? Anyway, his name is Kio. His family came here from my village a while back. He was showing me around the market and explaining the objects there. Did you know that there are devices, now, to check the time?" Gaara nodded and wouldn't say anymore not matter what I tried. I puffed at my bangs but didn't complain. At least he wasn't upset any longer.
Slipping into the Kazekage's building was rather simple, frighteningly so. The one thing I dreaded the most was the possibility of walking across him and being recognized. That wouldn't be very good for anyone. I still had a promise to fulfill.
Gaara led me to a small dining area where his brethren already sat. Baki was at the head of the table, Temari and Kankuro on either side. Gaara sat next to Kankuro and I was told to sit next to Temari. Three sets of eyes landed upon me, their minds all demanding the revelation of my identity and intentions.
It was awkward, sitting with them. The food they had already set at the table looked unappetizing. I didn't want to eat. "Who are you?" Baki started. I saw that this was going to be more of an interrogation than a dinner. They were all too concerned about the safety of their village and family.
"My name is Nari Ninetails. I'm the only existing clan member. My village of origin is destroyed. I was raised by rogue ninja since no hidden village would accept me. About a month and a half ago, I was made a genin of the Hidden Leaf Village. My teammates died during the invasion and because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding their deaths, I've been omitted from their ranks until the newest Hokage is selected. He will punish me as he sees fit. My intentions here are peaceful and scholarly. I'm not a threat to the village, nor am I a spy." There, that about sums it up, I thought to myself.
"The Nightmare of the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Baki breathed in recognition. He, too, had heard stories of my power.
"I prefer the Demon Child of Fire, but I've been called that before."
"Is she like Gaara?" Kankuro asked his sensei, not expecting me to know what that meant.
"No," I answered for him. "I don't have another being sealed within me."
"Then why I are you considered a demon child," Temari contributed.
"That wasn't a transformation jutsu you saw earlier," I explained. "I'm a demon that happens to be a child. Of course, I'd rather keep that knowledge contained within this room. I'm not particularly fond of people being dead afraid of me. I prefer being unnoticed." The two elder sand siblings glared at me with disbelief.
"You're not a demon," Kankuro scoffed, analyzing me. In his opinion, I was too soft looking. My eyes were creepy, but I was puny and not a frightening figure. In his mind, demons were supposed to strike fear in the hearts of those around them instantaneously.
"My favorite food is bone marrow. I prefer raw over cooked meat. I am carnivorous by nature and detest fruits, vegetables, and grains of any kind. Every day I am forced to tamp down my craving for human flesh. Part of me craves to destroy everything I come in contact with. I kill ruthlessly without any concern of the pain or suffering of those around me. I'm also very hot tempered. I'm weak for a demon, and have a surprising amount of self-control. But I am a demon, nonetheless." Things just got a whole lot scarier, Kankuro thought, putting a little more distance in between him and I. He secretly wished he had brought his puppet to dinner with him. Only Gaara and I were armed.
"And yet we have nothing to fear from you?" Baki reassured himself.
"The people of Suna are innocent. Why would I want to destroy them? Besides, I don't want to go on a suicide mission. I know my limits." I also wouldn't want to draw attention to myself. There's the Kazekage and whoever becomes the new Hokage to worry about.
"Then we'll keep your presence here a secret," Baki assured me. I was surprised by that.
"Aren't you, at least, going to tell your Kazekage? I wouldn't deny you of that." I cold silence settled around the table. I saw it in their minds. He was dead. "Snakes are not to be trusted," I said softly. None of them found my conclusion to be out of the blue. That was my prey, Orochimaru, I growled inwardly. Not yours to take. Suddenly, a word popped into Temari's head that I had not been expecting; father.
"Might I make a suggestion then?" I began again. This pulled them out of their reclusive moment. "I'm not a political person nor do I have any idea of such issues, but I did make a promise to someone that I'd try to restore peace between the villages. The attack on Konoha could be seen as a provocation to war. But neither village has the means to endure such a thing. In fact, if the Kazekage was desperate enough to accept Orochimaru's offer, then there's no way Suna could undergo a war without support. Why not, then, establish peace once again?" Baki glared at me, along with the two, elder sand siblings. In their eyes, I had no right to speak such things.
"She's right," Gaara said before anyone could protest. We all turned towards him. He just sat in silence, eating. Temari sighed.
"I never did agree with the idea to invade Konoha. I understand why the decision was made, but it didn't appeal to me. There were our allies, after all," she stated. Kankuro nodded in agreement. Baki glanced between the genin before him.
"I'll mention it to the elders," he muttered. I noticed that he didn't vouch to argue for it. The others began to eat in silence. I just sat there, waiting patiently to be dismissed. Gaara glanced up at me and then stood randomly, and left. He returned a few moments later and put two bones down in front of me before returning to his seat. He waited, eyes trained on me.
"Your curiosity is almost as bad as mine," I told him, as I placed one bone on top of the other and split it in half. "But I appreciate it." The normal humans peered between us with shocked expressions. I placed the non-cracked bone on top of half of the first and broke it too. The bones weren't completely cleaned, but there wasn't any raw meat on them. I'd be alright if I ate the hidden meal trapped inside.
She's not, seriously, going to eat the bone marrow, Temari told herself. I lifted one of the bone fragments to my mouth and set away at devouring the inside, holding Gaara's gaze all the while. A crack resounded around the room as my now chakra infused teeth split the bone even further.
That's just sick, Kankuro declared, turning away. I hope Gaara doesn't start doing that. I laughed inwardly at the image. I doubted that would happen. It took a certain craving… "Is that even healthy?" Temari asked aloud. I couldn't help the small snort that left me.
"Healthier than what you're eating," I replied. "Bone marrow contains certain nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. It's not good for your teeth but I don't have that issue."
"It's a strange habit," she continued. Out of all of them, excluding Gaara, she was the most receptive to my unusual tastes.
"It's the only way to indulge my demonic side without causing harm to myself or others."
"So you fight against it?" I shook my head.
"It's more like self-control than anything else. It's not like I'm fighting against anything. I simply choose not to do things. It would be like you deciding to leave your enemy instead of outright killing him," I explained, setting down the first piece and picking up the next. No one else said anything, and, finally, I was excused from the meal. I thanked them for their hospitality and left.
I wasn't far from the dining room when a gruff voice called me back. "I want you to stay in the building," Baki ordered. He didn't trust me enough to permit to wander around the village. At least, not without an escort. "Follow me to your room." I nodded, compliantly. I understood their hesitance to trust me.
"If you allow me to hunt the jack rabbits by the cliffs, you won't have to feed me. I wouldn't mind having someone tag along." Baki nodded, saying he'd order one of the siblings to accompany me on any trips out of the building. He was planning to assign me permanently to Temari's company but I convinced him against it. I'd much rather be lobbed between the three.
Baki pointed out that my room was set next to Temari's and directly across the hall from Gaara's. I imagined he didn't use it often. My room was small and had a porthole on the far wall. The bed lay just under the hole so that the sleeper might have a good view of the stars. A dresser was on the right wall and a door that I assumed led to a bathroom was on the left. The wall with access to the hallway was bare aside from a map of the shinobi world.
"Thank you," I told Baki sweetly as I stepped in, tapping the walls with my staff to determine their thickness. They were thick enough that only a loud ruckus outside would disturb me. I found that pleasing. Of course, any thoughts about me were sure to disturb me as well. But that couldn't be helped.
Baki left me then, his thoughts taking other worries. For now, I was not a concern. I walked over to the bed, leaning my staff on it. It was just as soft as the bed at Sakura's house, if not softer. I was tired but I wanted to satiate some of my curiosity first. I had never been in a bathroom before. Usually I just did my business in the wilderness and bathed in rivers or streams.
"You're like a child," a cold voice commented as I studied a strange bowl/seat.
"Instead of criticizing me, why not tell me what this is?" Gaara approached further until he was standing right behind me. We were so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. My heart fluttered at the realization. I shook my head and stamped down the unfamiliar emotion. I hadn't experience such a thing before.
"Toilet," Gaara responded.
"And this?" I pointed to bowl/counter.
"Sink." Then I pointed to a closed off section of the bathroom. The floor was raised slightly and a sliding glass door separated it from the rest of the room. The door didn't reach to the ceiling though, which I found perplexing. "Shower."
"Like a rain shower? Does the water fall from the ceiling?" Gaara pushed aside the glass door and pointed to a strange object that protruded from the wall. It had little holes on the bottom of it and was high enough that I could stand beneath it. I peered at the knobs below it. "Is that how you turn it on?" He nodded.
I leaned forward and twisted one of the knobs to the left. I jumped back suddenly when water spurted from the showerhead. I fell right into Gaara, who caught and steadied me. "Thanks," I breathed as a blush crept up my cheeks. He dropped his arms but I felt the lingering phantom of his touch. I leaned forward and turned the now steaming water off. I wasn't bothered by the scalding heat. I had had worst burns before.
The red-headed figure strolled out of the bathroom, expecting me to follow. I did. He stood by my bed, arms crossed. "Yes?" I asked sweetly.
"What's your real purpose in Suna?" he demanded.
"To study you," I answered honestly. He studied me as I took a step forward. "I want to know what's going to happen now." His eyes narrowed but his expression soon returned to being impassive. I took another step, seeing how far he'd let me go now that we weren't in the crowded bathroom. He stepped back with my next move. I repressed the urge to frown. Close enough, I thought. I moved swiftly, jumping over him and landing behind, producing a kunai from my pack. I pressed it close to this throat. I felt him freeze, his heartbeat stopping for a moment. "Dead," I hissed triumphantly.
Surprised, ice blue eyes turned to look at me. He couldn't move much without me noticing. My right hand held the kunai and the other was wrapped around his left wrist. I could feel his blood pulsing through his body, my flat chest pressing against his back so that I might sense the ripple of his muscles. Suddenly, sand began to push the kunai away from his throat. I tried to fight it, wondering how he managed to control the sand without any hand signs. His right hand lay limp by his side.
"How…?" I whined as the kunai was wrenched from my grasp. Sand began to circle around my arm. I pulled away from him sharply only to hit the dresser behind me. I released his left arm and tried to move away before the sand encased my entire limb. It didn't do me any good. I was trapped in a corner.
"The sand moves of its own accord," he reminded me. I growled in frustration.
"You would've been dead had I wished to kill you," I pointed out. He nodded, accepting the fact stoically. I glanced at my now over-weighted arm. It made the limb cumbersome to use. I could barely lift it. "Can I have my arm back?" I said in an aggravated tone, not showing that I knew full and well that he could crush it at will.
Gaara lifted his hand and all but a ring of sand around my wrist receded. He held his hand open, pointed at my wrist. I waited, knowing nothing I did would stop whatever he planned to do. He closed his hand into a fist. I turned away, closing my eyes and prepared myself for the crushing agony. I peaked out my right eye when it didn't occur and looked at the wrist in question.
A rock hard bracelet encircled it. The kanji for fear was engraved on the top side. I flipped it over and saw the kanji for love. I glanced up at Gaara in confusion as sand wrapped around my left wrist and formed a second bracelet. On the top of that one was the kanji for isolation and on the bottom, the kanji for happiness.
"Um…," I mumbled, lost. The jinchuriki said nothing. He turned away from me and left without any form of explanation. After awhile, I shut off the lights and retired to my bed. I stared at the starry night, the moon hidden from view, until troublesome dreams pulled me under.
Hmm... I wonder why he put those there. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review.