Suna no Mugetsu Re-ku
Playing the Role
The man in question drifted in and out of a delirious fever state as a shadow watched him from nearby. The mind of the man tried forgetting the horrors he saw, but every so often a flash of memory came hurtling back at him in a cacophony. The scuttling sound came to his ears making him flinch at the sound thinking the creature was nearby. His eyes opened up and the scuttling sound turned out to be the scrapping of a chair.
Some one nearby moved to his side and gazed down at him, and at first the man couldn't recognize the face. The red locks of hair appeared first making the man think of his Kazekage as the locks matched the color of the forth Kazekage. Then came the appearance of the familiar scar over the left temple as well as the soulless green eyes. A panic set in as the man's eyes darted around looking for a way to escape, and mentally the man tried to move his limbs only to find they refused to move. The one thing coming out of his lips were the words, "monster."
The next thought coursing through the man's mind was how much of a mistake calling the monster a monster was, and his breaths came in ragged breaths as the monster let his tendrils of sand move over his body. More words escaped his lips despite mentally knowing it was a mistake. "I'd rather suffer at the hands of that monster rather then you."
"Where is he?" The monster's voice rasped out, and the man's mouth clamped shut. "Where is he? The Kazekage?"
"And give him into your hands? I think not."
Out of the corner of his eye the man saw a hand reach out to touch the monsters shoulder, and a shudder ran down the man's side at the thought of touching the monster in such a manner. Anyone except for lady Temari found themselves ripped to shreds, and such a thing wasn't a delightful thought. The monster shook turned his head and the hand retreated, and then turned back towards the man. "Where is he?"
"Monster. I told you..." The man gasped for breath. "I told you I wouldn't."
"What's this other monster?"
The man felt his unhealthy body contort suddenly as mental flashes of the monster wracked his mind, and by the time his body settled he heard himself utter the words of where the Kazekage was without realizing it. "Sands of the Moonless Lake."
No protest came from his lips, nor any thoughts of having revealed such information to the monster as he faded into darkness.
…
"There's a way we could tell for sure when he wakes up."
A shiver ran down Baki's spine as he watched the young Kazekage look at him. One of the reasons the young Kazekage's father assigned him as a teacher came from Baki's knack at reading the young shinobi, and the knack hadn't left the man despite the young Kazekage's mental stability having returned. Thus the man knew the youth planned on setting himself up as bait, and Baki didn't like the thought one bit. Temari and Kankuro also weren't nearby to help him try and talk the youth out of his plan.
"He's going to get hurt again." The man watched as Gaara set up a chair near the man and sat down in a seated position. No sign of the young man being a Kazekage was present, but instead Gaara dressed in his regular clothing brought for him to change into. The young figure sat as still possible watching and waiting for the man to wake up. Baki's teeth ground together as he watched the young Kazekage. "I shouldn't be worry about him. He can very well take care of himself."
The fear though refused to abate, and Baki finally spoke up again. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Gaara turned to look at the man, and the chair the young Kazekage sat in scrapped against the floor. The man in the bed stirred, and the chair scrapped even more, but this time the legs of the chair sounded like nails across the chalk board. The young Kazekage let his tendrils of sand reach out to the man as he stood up and leaned over the man. A heavy feeling settled into Baki's gut as the man called the young Kazekage a monster.
Baki wanted to step over as the man said something about the young red head being a worse monster then something else. The young Kazekage simply asked where the previous Kazekage was, and Baki moved over to the young man's side placing a hand on Gaara's shoulder in case the young Kazekage needed his help, but the young man shook his head saying he could handle the situation. Gaara continued to play the role of the monster he used to be.
The man remained amendment about not giving into the monster, and remaining loyal to the previous Kazekage, but when the young Kazekage mentioned the other monster the man's already weakened mental state finally lost it. The description of the thing remained vague, but finally the man named a place, the Sands of Moonless Lake. The young Kazekage pulled away as the man blacked out from the panic attack. The youth remained emotionless for a short period of time before turning to Baki. "Sands of Moonless Lake?"
"Sands of Moonless Lake, that's a place out on the far side of the Land of Wind. Nobody ever travels there because there are no countries to trade with on the other side of the land."
"So nothing is known about this place?"
Baki stared at the young Kazekage thinking carefully about what to say next, and finally the words came out of his mouth. "I doubt a story meant to keep children in their beds past bed time, or to get them to behave in other manners is of any use."
Gaara stared at the Suna elder for a few minutes before speaking up again. "What is this story?"
"It's about a monster which will take children away if one doesn't obey. The Nobusuma it used to be called."
"Then why was I never taken away by this monster?"
Baki stared at the young Kazekage in disbelief wondering where the sudden comment came from. "Because it doesn't exist." The man cleared his throat. "Well, the Nobusuma doesn't exist, but the Shukaku does. Shukaku though didn't come from the Sands of Moonless Lake."
The young Kazekage stared for a few minutes more. "I do not understand this concept of telling stories to frighten children. Shukaku and I took life regardless of whether someone is misbehaving or not. Monsters simply don't care." Baki's mouth opened to protest, but a counter to the young Kazekage's comment didn't come out right away. The man instead pushed his lips together knowing the young Kazekage was thinking things through. The boy's mouth opened again. "What do you think about what he said? About the other monster?"
"Delusional?"
Gaara's lips pushed together. "Are we then delusional?" Baki knew the young Kazekage referred to the fact the man was supposed to be dead, and yet they saw him right in front of them. He remained silent not wanting to say what they were both thinking. "Is the previous Kazekage really out there?"
"I don't know. The only way we can know is if someone is sent to investigate the area."
"We don't have any information about this monster, but if it kept the previous Kazekage and his guards in that one spot don't you think this isn't something we should send just anybody to investigate."
"I take it that you're suggesting sending yourself? You do understand that you are the Kazekage?"
"That's even more reason I should be the one to go and not any of the people of Suna."
Baki stared for a few more minutes before letting out a deep sigh. He watched the young Kazekage carefully and finally added in his own input. "I'm not going to be able to convince you not to go out there am I?"
"No, you're not."
"Then I simply ask that you take me with you along with a few others. Also leave a message for your older siblings before you head out letting them know where you're going, and what we're looking into." Baki watched the young Kazekage and at first he thought the young man would argue, but then Gaara let out an affirmative. "You do know some of the council won't be happy with this situation? Are you sure we shouldn't wait for the council to meet and make a decision."
"The council would rather have the previous Kazekage back then having myself."