Okay, so here's the better chapter 31. This is mostly a filler chapter but it includes one thing that I thought really needed to happen. Enjoy!
"There's no need to worry about us," Kankuro assured me, putting a hand on my head. "The only reason why Temari and I are going at all is because the agreement was that each Kage brings two guards. Gaara doesn't need our protection." I stared up at the puppet master with wide eyes.
"You don't think that maybe it's a trap?"
"If it were, I'm sure Gaara would rather take you than me. I trust his instincts. You're instincts tell you that something's going to happen, but his tell him that we'll all be alright. You might be part animal, Nari, but Gaara has earned my absolute trust."
"Yes. I understand. Please be careful, Kankuro."
"Of course. We'll bring him back in one piece." Part of me considered sending a clone with them but I knew better. It'd be hard enough for Gaara to make the other Kage take him seriously with how young he was. We wouldn't want him to appear dishonest on top of that. In the end, I just nodded and said goodbye to Kankuro. I already told Gaara and Temari to be careful before they went outside. They both knew how I hated crowds.
A little while after, Baki came into the office I had been given to do my part as the Head of Defense. "Lady Nari, they've departed."
"Please, just call me Nari, Baki. I'm not your superior."
"That may be true, but you deserve the title. I've seen what you've done to fix our aerial problem. It's quite impressive." He was referring to my positioning of different guards to watch the skies. He had no idea that I was also commanding a team of hawks to alert me whenever something seemed amiss. While I trusted Baki, I still hadn't told him, nor the rest of the council, about my kekkei genkai.
"Thank you. Today, I plan on reassessing the situation regarding the watchmen on the walls. It's difficult, with the desert, to put people in one place and expect them to see a solid area. Even though the last plan did seem quite splendid in its own way, I believe it needs to be readjusted. Not to mention, there should also be an overlap of views between the guards. That way, if something were to happen to one set of watchmen, another set would be alerted and be able to send a signal to the Kazekage and the others guarding our walls."
"You've put a lot of thought into this."
"Though I may not have been here at the time, I will not have the village caught by surprise again. We should always be alerted to what's entering and exiting the village."
"If I remember correctly, you've done that quite a few times."
"Exactly. That's the problem. I shouldn't be able to do that. No one should." I stared back at the map of the village. While the inside was up to date, the outside was not. The sand dunes had shifted and changed over the years. Most in the Council didn't find it to be anything to worry about, but I knew differently. Shinobi were capable of many things and it'd be no difficult task for one to use these dunes to their advantage and slip into the village from somewhere other than the main entrance. The ease they could do it was frightening, at least to me.
"Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much? You tell everyone else not to worry, yet that seems to be all that you do." I paused, mulling this over.
"I suppose you're right. Still…"
"Lady Nari, I don't pretend to know what you've been through in your life, but I'd like to give you a word of advice. Whether you wish to admit it or not, you're a child and have yet to experience a great many things. Not to mention, while you are smart, you can't expect to make every decision by yourself. Allow the other council members to review and revise your plans. You never know what ideas they may have when it comes to protecting the village." Baki, himself, didn't have any, but he knew of other officials who did. He wanted me to take that inconsideration. "Besides, you're new at this. You don't have half the experience they do when it comes to leading the village. That's all. Goodbye, Lady Nari."
"Baki, wait." It's time, I deemed. "I'm not sure if you've noticed this about me or not, but I hate it when people judge by age." He had noticed that, especially when it came to myself and Gaara. "There's a reason for that."
"Lady Nari, I know you're wise beyond your years. I didn't mean to suggest…," he interrupted me.
"That's not what I meant," I cut him off in turn. "I have a specific reason why I hate being judged by age. It's because I have a special kekkei genkai that makes me different from everybody else. What I'm about to tell you is something I expect to be kept confidential between you and myself. Gaara and his siblings know about it, of course, but, excluding them, you'll be the third person to learn of it. The other two were the Third and Fifth Hokage." His eyes opened wide, surprised by this.
"A kekkei genkai other than your ability to change forms?" I nodded.
"It's the ability to enter another's mind. Originally, it was simply the ability to read the thoughts and memories of those around me, but my powers have been advancing at an alarming rate ever since Shukaku was removed from Gaara. I can make suggestions into the minds of others, alter memories, and even project my voice into an outside mind. I can partially control animals and even paralyze an opponent. While the mind reading itself is not taxing, the other jutsu related to it drain my chakra, unless it is with a mind I'm exceedingly familiar with. For example, Gaara and I can have full conversations with our thoughts alone but even one sentence into Temari's mind and I physically feel the fatigue. Not to mention, it's harder to do.
"I've had the simplest form of this ability since I was six-years-old. Then, I could only hear the thoughts of those thinking about me and even now, I cannot block those thoughts as I can block others. What this means is, I've been collecting years of experience from others since I was a child. While I've never participated in it, I know a lot about the horrors of war. Even now, I can see what you've seen of it. My gift also means that I can pull ideas out of other people's heads and use them. No, I haven't talked to the council members directly, but I know what thoughts they've had about how to position the village guards. That is why I get upset when people judge by age. It doesn't really apply to me."
Baki stood there, frozen by surprise. If she can put suggestions into other's minds, is it possible, then, that she helped with the decision to make Gaara Kazekage after all?
"Yes, I did. He was the best candidate. Even the bias members of the Council could see that. They just needed a nudge in the right direction. Of course, these suggestions were made by me pulling up previous good memories they had of him. Not the actual suggestions that I'm capable of now."
"It's horrifying to think that you have so much power."
"Hence why, ever since I became a true shinobi, I've been under the constant watch of one Kage or another. Gaara knew me to be a threat even before the Sand invaded the Leaf. He originally formed these cuffs so that he might have some control over me." I held up my wrists. "Now that he trusts me, they serve a different purpose. But, still, he keeps an eye on me. I've been removed from active duty to ensure that I don't have the chance to meet enemy ninja and be swayed to a different side. He put me as the Head of Defense because he knows, so long as I am busy with something, I won't go adventuring without permission. Both he and Lady Tsunade have been extremely cautious when dealing with me."
"I can't imagine you betraying us," the elder ninja admitted.
"Neither can Gaara, but he wants to be sure. He knows that I'm only loyal to the village because I have people who are dear to me in it. If ever they were to betray, I'd just as soon leave. The Sand isn't really better than any other village. At least, not the way I see it." Baki crossed his arms and stared into space. I had managed to give him an image of how unstable my loyalty was. He finally realized why I didn't ever address Gaara in a formal manner. It was because I saw the redhead to be my friend, not my leader. I did as he wished because I could understand his requests, not because they were orders. The man found it to be a very precarious relationship.
"You've opened my eyes to just how formidable of an enemy you are." I frowned a little, my eyes softening.
"This wasn't supposed to come out as a threat. In fact, it's more of an example of my trust that I'd share so much with you. I'm not sure Temari and Kankuro are fully aware of the situation at hand. I just want you to understand me and how I think. I want you to trust me in return."
"You have my full faith, Lady Nari," he assured me. "Please, continue serving our village how you see fit."
"As you wish," I replied. Then, with a deep look of concern etched into his features, Baki left me to my plans.
Was it short? Yes. Was it better than the original chapter 31? Definitely! Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!