A/N: Sorry about the wait, I have no excuse really. I have had wicked writers block and a hard time writing this chapter. Well on with the story.
Disclaimer: I don't owns anything
Arashi followed Karura through the desert, trying to keep up with her quick little strides. "Be careful Arashi" Karura said looking back at the blond. "The desert is dangerous after sunset." She had a nostalgic gleam in her eyes as she looked at the setting sun.
"Right… would you mind explaining your attire now?" Arashi asked, motioning to Karura who was still wearing her brother's clothes.
"Oh yeah!" She looked down at her outfit "Well, my brother and I look alike, right?" Arashi nodded and Karura continued "Um… sometimes when I don't want to do something with my husband or I just want to get away… we… switch." Karura said with a shrug
"You switch?" Arashi asked confusedly
"Well, Yashamaru "becomes" me and I "become" Yashamaru." Karura shrugged again "It works because Yasha loves Kazue and I really don't love him. That makes him more willing to trade places with me. Then of course Kazue never notices because we do look so alike and we know each other so well. It's one of the perks of having a twin." The last part she said more to herself
"And that works out well for you both?" Arashi asked noting the sorrow in her eyes. When Karura shrugged he continued "So he really loves the Kazekage, huh?"
"Yeah" Karura nodded solemnly "We were good friends with Kazue's family and we had known him since we were very young. Yasha was always saying how much he liked him when we were younger. Then I… married Kazue and… he kinda broke. I mean Yasha started crying and yelling when I told him we were engaged. He said I didn't love Kazue and I was only going to marry him because I wanted my baby, Misaye, to have daddy. Kazue was the only man that I would talk to at the time so… he was my only choice. My brother still kinda resents me but he loves the nights we switch places." Karura was crying "I hate myself for doing that to my brother."
"It must be so hard for both of you. But he has forgiven you right?" Arashi asked sympathetically
"A little but it's not like I can tell him that I'm in love with a Tanuki demon. I can't tell him that my eldest child is alive and a half-demon. It would be worse than if I was in love with Kazue." Karura said with a mini sob
"I'm sorry" Arashi said. He was shoved out of the way suddenly by a flailing little body.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Misaye screamed wrapping her arms around her mother's legs. She looked up at Karura's face and noticed the tear tracks. "What's wrong mommy?" the little girl asked with concern
"Nothing baby, nothing" Karura whispered, she bent down and picked her little girl up.
"It's not nothing" Shukaku said sliding her arms around Karura's waist from behind. She placed chin on Karura's shoulder and placing a peck on her cheek. "Is it Yashamaru again?" Karura nodded
"Arashi" Kyuubi's voice came from behind Arashi "I think Karura needs to cool off a little." He turned to look at the little family again, Karura had placed Misaye down again and was sobbing into her demon's shoulder. "Misaye, come with me." The little girl looked at her parents and then ran over to Kyuubi, taking his much larger hand in her little one.
"Mommy's sad" Misaye said looking over her shoulder as they walked away.
"Yeah" Arashi said picking the little girl up as he continued to follow Kyuubi
They continued to walk and reached a small mountain range within a few minutes. "This is where Shukaku keeps her gaze. The council will be held in here, everyone has been waiting for you two to get back." Kyuubi said throwing an arm around the blond. Misaye yawned and placed her head on Kyuubi's arm, looking content in Arashi's arms.
"She really is adorable" Arashi said shifting the half-asleep child in his arms
Kyuubi looked at the girl and the way Arashi was looking at her. Arashi loved kids and Kyuubi knew that, he knew that if they had children they would be loved and cared for. The only problem Kyuubi could see with having children would be the effects on Arashi. Arashi would be shunned from the only life that he had ever known and any kits they had would probably be killed. "Yeah" Kyuubi agreed gently stroking the sleepy little girl's hair.
The little group walked into a hidden opening in the side of the mountains. They came into a room buzzing with noise and activity. There were Tanuki demons running back and forth carrying maps, paper or trays of food. At a long table sat all of the different demons and their humans. They all turned to look at the newcomers.
Arashi felt someone tap his shoulder, he turned around and was face to face with the demon he had save earlier. "Oh…hey" he said with a smile at the lithe brunette
"I wanted to thank you, sir. You saved me from those horrible people." the young demon, Shinkirou, said with her head bowed
"It was no problem." Arashi said blushing slightly
"But, it was so important to us because my baby has been gone for a month now." said an older woman who looked like Shinkirou "My family and this entire gaze want to thank you." The gaze came over bearing trays of food, trinkets and other gifts. They began trying to push them at Arashi who tried to wave them off with the arm not holding Misaye.
"No, no, it's fine I just wanted to get her out of there." He said shifting the little girl on his hip
"No they're right, you protected one of our young and you deserve thanks" the Shukaku said as she walked in, Karura cuddled into her side.
"I just- I just did what I thought was right." Arashi said looking at the Tanuki demons that were still surrounding him. They all wore the same appreciative looks as they continued to present their gifts.
"To a demon the fact you would put yourself in the line of fire to save one them is honorable." Karura said putting her arms out to take her now sleeping daughter from Arashi. "They would continue to dote on you all night if Shukaku would let them."
At that moment Shukaku seemed to remember that there was to be a meeting. She looked at Arashi, her gaze and the bijou council before she said to her gaze "We have said our thanks now back to work." The finality in her voice had her gaze moving in a few seconds, she then turned her attention back to the bijous.
"Madam may we begin this meeting please, I want to go bed." A little green haired girl said lifting her head from one of the bijou's laps.
"Fū, darling, don't interrupt." The bijou said. She was kind looking woman. She had gray blue hair with yellow green tips that fell to the top of chest. Her eyes were black with red pupils. If she were standing she would have been the same height as Bakeneko. She was a little plumper than Bakeneko and wore what looked like spiked armor shoulder pads. Her tails were fanned out behind her and to Arashi there seemed to be seven yellow green tails.
"But I'm tired Kabi" the orange eyed four year old whined
"Then go to sleep." The bijou said cradling the girl to her chest. She turned to address Shukaku "I'm sorry about Fū, we have had a long journey and she hasn't slept much."
"Don't apologize for taking care of your human Kabutomushi." Shukaku said patting her sleeping daughter's hair.
"You know you're a good mother figure to her." Karura said kissing her daughter's cheek. She then whispered to Shukaku "Could you introduce everyone please."
"Of course darling" Shukaku whispered back to her.
"Thank you" Karura murmured kissing Shukaku's cheek
She then turned her attention to the council "We shall begin the council. Now we should open with introductions for our humans." She led Karura to the head of the table as Kyuubi led Arashi to the other end of the table.
After every demon and human had taken a seat Shukaku stood. "I am Shukaku the one-tailed Tanuki demon." The blonde looked around at all of the humans and added "And since we all have humans we need to introduce then and our relationships to them." Shukaku said taking Karura's free hand. "My human is my mate Karura and our four year-old daughter Misaye." She motioned to her mate and daughter in turn. Shukaku then sat down and motioned for the next person to stand.
Bakeneko stood and said "I am Bakeneko the two-tailed Cat demon. This is my human Yugito," she said placing a hand on the blond thirteen year-old's head "and she is as good as a daughter to me." Yugito smiled warmly at Bakeneko as she sat back down.
Next to stand was the gray haired demon whose name escaped Arashi. "I am Kyodaigame the three-tailed Turtle demon."
"And I'm Zabuza!" the fanged boy with the large sword said jumping up.
Kyodaigame laughed and tousled the thirteen year-old's hair and shook his head. "This little pest is like the brother I never expected to have.
"Hey" Zabuza said batting at the hand in his hair. Kyodaigame laughed again pulled Zabuza back into his chair.
The next to stand was someone who Arashi had never noticed. He was a tad bit shorter than Kyuubi but he was bulkiest of all the demons. He had short, wild red hair and a shaggy beard. Coming out of his head were two ivory horns with black tips. He also had striking orange eyes with red pupils and four bushy red tails poking out from behind him. "I am Saru the four-tailed Monkey demon. And this is my human Rōshi." Saru said with a wave at the human sitting next to him.
The man, Rōshi, stood and nodded at the table of demons and humans. He seemed to be about Karura's age with hair and a beard identical to Saru's. The most noticeable things about him were the large headpiece and the cheek armor he wore. "Our 'relationship' is brotherly." Rōshi said looking at his feet.
"That's right, I'm friendly with someone" Saru said at the looks of shock he was receiving. Rōshi sat down and Saru followed glaring at the world in general.
Next to stand was a lean woman as tall as Kyuubi. Her pixie cut, white hair was spiked into five almost horns. She also had lovely eyes with red irises and pale blue pupils and five white tails poking out from behind her. "I am Irukauma the five-tailed Horse-Dolphin demon." She said in a twinkly voice. She pulled up an eleven year old brunette and said "This is my daughter-esque human Suzumebachi."
Irukauma began trying to put Suzumebachi's hair into a ponytail only to have her hand swatted at. "Ma stop that!" the brown eyed eleven year old said. Irukauma laughed and pulled the girl into her lap as she sat.
The next to stand was a portly man. He had white greasy looking hair that stuck to his forehead and black eyes with red pupils. He had six slimy looking tails poking out from behind him. "I am Namekuji the six-tailed Slug demon." he said in a low voice, pulling up the resistant twelve year old next to him . "And this is Utakata" he said as the boy with black emo hair plopped back into the chair. "The little brother I never expected to have." Namekuji laughed as Utakata glared at him, his violet eyes ablaze.
"Like I expected a brother like you!" Utakata shot back
"Ah, sibling rivalry" Shukaku said with a nostalgic sigh and Namekuji sat down.
The next one to stand was Kabutomushi with Fu wrapped tightly in her arms. "I am Kabutomushi the seven-tailed Horned Beetle demon and this little button is Fu." Kabutomushi said shifting the sleeping four year old.
"I thought Konu was the seven tailed demon." Rōshi asked surprising Arashi, who had the same question on the tip of his tongue.
"Well as I found out from tracking down Konu, he had become insane. The red of his eyes was a sign of insanity not a Bijou. I was also told that he had been killed by a five-tailed Fox demon." Shukaku said with a small sigh
"Seeing as I am one of five, now four, living seven-tailed demons it didn't take long for Shukaku to find me." Kabutomushi said cradling Fū "I had the seven birth mark, I had Fū with me and I had red eyes. I was the Bijou, I fit all the categories and that's why I'm here." The motherly demon said sitting down gently, so she wouldn't jostle Fū.
Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at the demon humming to the girl in her arms. Finally breaking out of the reverie Kyogyū stood.
"I am Kyogyū the eight-tailed Ox demon" Kyogyū continued gesturing at Bee "and this glowing one is my mate Bee. He is carrying our son Kyo." The demon took his seat. He was smiling with pride and love as he stared at his mate.
Kyuubi was the last of the demons to stand and introduce himself. "I am Kyuubi the nine-tailed Fox demon and this is my mate Arashi." he gestured at Arashi who waved his hand slightly and blushed. Kyuubi flopped back in his chair ignoring the other demons. 'You okay' he asked Arashi mentally, seeing his mate's flustered expression
'Yeah' Arashi answer through their mind link 'They're just watching me is all.'
'You interest them noone has ever been able to get my attention the way you did.' Kyuubi said as he turned to listen to Shukaku
"And now that we all know who's who, let's get down to business." Shukaku said putting her hands on the table to push herself up "We know that these villages we live near see us as threats, right?" she waited for everyone to nod "Well it seems that someone in Sunagakure has figured out how to seal bijous into a human host." Some of the demons gasped or made annoyed sounds. "This is why we need to take the villages down!" Shukaku finished in a yell, slamming her hands down.
"Shu, I know that this is not what you want to hear but we can't do that." Kyuubi said in a calm, rational voice
"And why not!" she yelled back with the other bijous throwing in a few 'yeah's
"You and I both know why Shu. Humans take demons down, your remember when we were children right?" Kyuubi asked
Shukaku ducked her head and asked in a quiet voice "Why?"
"You know why, remember the day my pack came into Suna?" she nodded "We stayed with your gaze for a short time. We went for a walk together one day and what did we encounter?" Kyuubi asked her
"Humans" she muttered
"That's right and what did they do?" Kyuubi continued
"Attacked us…" Shukaku said curling her hands into fists
"Yeah and they almost killed you. Humans may not seem like much but as a group they have the ability to overpower even us." Kyuubi said standing up
"We were only children then! We have grown stronger since then!" Shukaku said angrily
"You know that's not true, we also watch as they killed that six-tailed aunt of yours and my seven-tailed cousin. They were both powerful adults and they were killed! How do you expect to take on a whole village!" Kyuubi said angrily
"We have to try! I need to protect my daughter, my gaze! I can't let them be killed in my absence. I need to protect them!" Shukaku screamed, tears streaming down her face
Kyuubi walked around the table and took the shorter girl into his arms. "You're like a sister to me and I know you are only thinking of how to help your gaze and thinking of our packs to but humans try to hard. I know but your gaze can survive without you. Take your daughter and run to that house, our little hideout."
"We can take them though." Shukaku said
"But other villages will hear and send their ninjas to fight, to be the one to take down a great bijou and seal them away. We need to be careful with humans. But remember they are to cowardly to take action unless provoked anyways, so just make sure to leave them alone." Kyuubi said patting Shukaku on the back before he walked back to his seat.
"Right, well this meeting was to plan the take down of our villages but we should probably figure out back up escape plans instead." Shukaku said looking at Kyuubi, who nodded. All the other bijous remained enthralled everything being said. "There is a large house, a mansion in fact, in the eastern region between Konoha and Suna it is near a quaint little village of non-ninjas. If the villagers make to come after you, run, run to that mansion and take your human with you. Suna will not keep how to seal the bijous a secret for long. Just know the truth and take down any humans who get the way of protecting your human and yourself."
All the bijous nodded and with Kyuubi and Shukaku's help plan an escape route. After they all had an escape route to plan they said their thanks to Shukaku for the warning. "We have set aside rooms for you, if you wish to spend the night." Karura said shifting her sleeping daughter in her arms as she stood up. All the bijous decided that they would spend the night and give there humans time to rest before they left in the morning.
Each bijou and their human followed a Tanuki demon to their room for the night except Kyuubi and Arashi. "Shu, are you okay?" Kyuubi asked touching Shukaku's arm
"Yeah" Shukaku said with a nod "You guys should go get some shut-eye." Kyuubi and Arashi nodded. They started to follow Shinkirou's mother when Shukaku called out to Kyuubi.
"Go ahead, I'll find you there." Kyuubi said to Arashi, who was hesitant to leave his side.
"Kyuubi, you and I need to have a serious talk in the morning. Don't leave without talking to me first; I am too drained to talk right now but it's very important." Shukaku said hugging Kyuubi once again. She said goodnight and made her way to her room.
Kyuubi stood there watching her; she was like a sister to him. She may be blood-thirsty and have an anger problem but she was vulnerable and still needed a helping hand sometimes. She couldn't always be the great warrior she wanted to be and that made her mad. Kyuubi sighed he knew she was only trying to help all the other bijous but sometimes she didn't think things through. Kyuubi shook his head and followed Arashi's scent to their room.
Kyuubi climbed into bed next to Arashi. "Everything alright." Arashi asked cuddling into Kyuubi's warmth.
"Yeah, I'm just going to stay a little longer in the morning, Shukaku just wants to talk to me for a short time." Kyuubi said wrapping his arms around his mate.
"Alright" Arashi said falling asleep in Kyuubi's arms
Kyuubi kissed his head, as he lay awake trying to figure out what to do about the villages trying to seal them away. He held Arashi tighter as he fell into a fitful sleep.
A/N: Again I will apologize for late update, writers block is a bitch. But with my power being out and that meant no internet because of the hurricane it made me write so… well I see when the next chapter gets out. I will also apologize in advance for the next update being late, I will start school next week and I have so much to do starting my senior years, so I'm sorry in advance. Thank you all for hanging on with me though. I love you all.