Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Nineteen~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
For nearly two days the two brothers traveled through the forests of the Fire Country and until they arrived at the border lines of Otogakure. It was there did Gaara and Kankuro stopped to take a breather while they waited for Shukaku to figure out where the hell the Three Tail was hiding. They had decided to make up the camp for the night while they came up with a plan of what they would do when they did find the kid, Yukimaru.
And for a long time, Gaara stared off into the slowly darkening sky, thinking about what plan of action they should follow. He, of course, confided in Shukaku to learn more about the Three Tail, which the Tanuki explained to him to be called Sanbi. And he happened to be a huge sea turtle from the Land of Water.
'Sanbi is the only one that the First Hokage couldn't control and he was the only one who managed to escape from the clutches of any Shinobi Village.' Shukaku explained to his Jinchuriki host. 'He's not very easy to work with, to be honest. I haven't seen or heard from him for ages now so I don't know how strong he's become. But I know this, he's been in the wild for a very long time now. So it's more than likely he doesn't have a Jinchuriki Host any more or he has taken complete control of his host and whoever he's been living in is lost in his own thoughts.'
Gaara frowned as he thought about that. He didn't think he liked the idea of having to face the Three Tail, itself without talking to his Jinchuriki first. The one question he had to wonder was who was this Yukimaru person? What connection did he have with the Three Tails, Sanbi?
"Gaara," Kankuro yawned out as he leaned against his puppet scrolls and tried to get comfortable. "What are we going to do with the Yukimaru kid?"
The young Kazekage merely glanced at him and shook his head as he folded his hands together and leaned against his knees. "I don't know, Kankuro. As I have told you from Shukaku, the Three Tails, Sanbi, may be very difficult talking to. Being in the wild, away from civilization so long may have done something to him. Him and his Jinchuriki. I am hoping that Yukimaru will have some answers for us about Sanbi."
Kankuro snorted as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against the scrolls. "Heh. And let's hope he's not obsessed with working with old Snake-face. It'll be a problem if he's working with Orochimaru on his own free will." He announced.
Gaara only had to nod. 'Shukaku, where exactly is the Three Tails hiding?' He thought to his demon.
There was a pause as Gaara felt Shukaku actually sent out some of his power, trying to search for the Three Tails' location. 'It's going to be very hard, Gaara. Like I said, Sanbi isn't easy to work with. He's not even easy to find. Especially if he's under water. I'm picking some of his scent. He should only be a day away now, but his scent is very faint. So I'm guessing he's hiding in some river or lake or on the other side of the Country, in the Gulf. It's going to be difficult tracking him but we should find him by tomorrow.'
"Good." Gaara muttered before looking over at his already dozing brother. His lips quirked up only a little before he shook his head and looked back up into the sky.
'Heeeey. That's weird.'
Gaara turned his head, frowning as if he was looking at Shukaku within his head. He wondered exactly what Shukaku was getting a little antsy about. 'What? What is it?' He asked the Tanuki.
'I don't know. I just felt a distant power boost. It feels like there's another Bijuu somewhere.' Shukaku muttered before spreading out some of his Chakra, trying to catch the scent. 'It's way too far away but it feels like that damn Two Tailed Cat. Heh, heh. Looks like another one got away from the Akatsuki. I always thought Nekomata got caught. But I sure feel her somewhere.'
Of course, Gaara's attention was wide open now. He was getting more interested by the minute. 'The Two Tailed Cat? Can you figure out where it's at?' He asked his demon.
He felt Shukaku shaking his head within his head. 'Nope. She's too far away. The only reason why I felt her boost is because she's probably fighting someone. It might be the Akatsuki, but it doesn't feel like she's using all of her power. So it might be that someone annoyed the hell out of her. Still, that might attract attention and if she's smart, which we all know that cats are not, she'll knock it off before the Akatsuki gets wind of her.'
'Shukaku,' Gaara asked the One Tail with a deep but curious frown. Now he was getting very intrigued. 'Tell me about all of the Legendary Nine Tailed Beasts. I already know about you and the Nine Tails, Kyuubi. But, what about the others? What are they and how strong are they?'
So throughout the entire night, Shukaku told Gaara everything about the other Tailed Beasts. He told them that each of them were different varieties of their own. They were different species of beasts and they possessed their own variety of abilities. He explained to Gaara which Tailed Beast was which.
The Fourth Tail had been a giant Ape.
The Fifth had been a Horse with the face of a dolphin.
The Sixth had been some kind of slug with extreme power over ice and glass
The Seventh had been some kind of insect, mostly presenting a beetle mixed with a dragonfly.
As for the last, the Eight Tail who Shukaku did not get along with at all along with the Nine Tailed Fox, it had been some kind of ushi-oni. A demonic ox with the many arms of an octopus.
Of course, when Shukaku even mentioned the Two Tailed Cat, Nekomata, Gaara could have sworn that the Tanuki was sounding a little too pleased to talk about her. It sounded like he might have admired her and it made him wonder. He learned from the One Tail that Nekomata had control over fire and additional control over the dead. He didn't like the sound of that at all. But, according to Shukaku, she would be a very powerful ally.
And according to Shukaku, all of them were full of power that could wipe out the entire Shinobi Nations if they worked together. That was probably what the Akatsuki was up to. With the Nine most powerful beings in the entire world in their hands, the mysterious members of the Akatsuki could destroy everything that the Shinobi Nations stood for. It was something that scared Gaara plenty. And being that there seemed to be three, or at least four Bijuu that still lived and free from the Akatsuki, Gaara really saw no reason but to locate all of the remaining Bijuu and getting them together. If there were any more, he would need to get a hold of them as well and stop at nothing but to protect them.
By the next morning, Gaara and Kankuro were ready to move on. The young Kazekage even explained to his older brother what he and Shukaku had been talking about all night; just to fill him in. Kankuro did not like the sound of the Two Tailed Cat at all but he figured that it would be in their best interest to find her after they finished with the Three Tail.
The travel over the border of Fire and what looked like the Land of Swamps didn't take too long. It was truth be told that Gaara and Kankuro didn't know anything about this land. It wasn't exactly aligned with the Five Great Shinobi Countries, more like a little isolated between the Land of Earth and the Land of Sound.
How they knew it was the Land of Swamps because it was full of marshy swamps.
Still, there wasn't much Gaara and Kankuro knew about these lands and they knew they needed to tread carefully. They did not want to run into any trouble whatsoever and have things become complicated. Especially when it was Gaara being the Kazekage. He knew that he couldn't do much in these lands without complications arising. So he would have to be very careful while dealing with situations in this land.
So far, they hadn't seen any people or run into any trouble or anything.
"How long do you think it's going to be now, Gaara?" Kankuro grumbled beside his younger brother. He was getting tired and irritated by stepping into swampy mud and it kind of smelled.
Gaara didn't like it any more than him. He didn't like getting wet and he especially hated all of the mud all around them. The smell was the worst. It was murky, smelled like strange and it was bugging Shukaku, even though it was him who was leading him and Kankuro in the first place. "Shukaku says we should arrive to the Third Tails' whereabouts very soon. Within two hours or so." He explained to the Puppet Master.
Kankuro only growled a sigh as he kept up the pace, grimacing as his foot nearly sank in some of the swampy path. "I don't know about you, bro. But I can't wait till we get out of this place. This mud is going to be a serious problem." he grumbled.
Gaara only silently agreed.
What came as a surprise to the brothers was after a little while of traveling, they found a small onsen along the road they had been on. It was the only place they had seen so far and the clouds were starting to darken so they decided to stop for a while just in case it was going to rain. The minute Gaara and Kankuro entered, however, they were noticed immediately. There were not very many people in the lobby but there were a few. Most of them were dressed in robes, as if they were arranging time in one of the hot springs and some were the faculty of the onsen.
Still, quite a few eyes flickered over to the two as soon as they entered and most of them stopped what they were doing. It was no doubt they recognized the two as Shinobi. There didn't even seem to be any Shinobi there, themselves. So Gaara and Kankuro might have been the only ones in the facility.
A woman dressed in a rosy red kimono with gold and silver sparrows sprang to action and moved to where the brothers were standing. She was a pretty woman with rich black hair tied up in a bun on top of her head. She was rather young, almost the same age as Gaara might have been. She was, however, frowning as she looked the two over before her eyes stopped on the mud of their feet.
Gaara, instantly, realized that she was frowning at the mud they had managed to track into the lobby. He quickly glanced down before grabbing Kankuro's arm and making him step back outside. "I am sorry for the mess we just made. I can compensate if you need." He said in his low and raspy voice.
The girl blinked a few times before she met his eyes of sea-foam with her sparkling blue ones before she shook her head quickly and waved a hand at him. "Oh, no! No, it's all right. It's just mud and easy to clean up. I'm sorry if I offended you. I was just observing your very persons. You must have come through the marsh path, which is why your shoes are caked in mud." She grimaced with a smile before pressing her hands together and bowing at the waist. "I'm sorry. Forgive me."
"No. It's quite all right. You did not offend us." Gaara quickly said with a hand raised.
"Oh, no you didn't offend us at all." Kankuro said grinning as he looked the girl over, appreciatively.
The young girl frowned at him, raising an eyebrow before her mouth quirked up into an amused smile and she folded her arms across her stomach, shifting her weight. "Watch it, big guy. I'm on duty." She said, in dry humor before she smiled more openly and looked between the brothers. She ignored the fact that Kankuro started chuckling. "Welcome to the Humble Marsh Onsen. I am Sen. How may I help you in any way?" She asked more politely.
Gaara did not return the smile but looked softly at her as he straightened up. "We're just travelers looking for a little shelter and maybe some food." He told her.
The young girl, Sen nodded before she motioning to a small fountain just a few feet away from where they had been standing. It was a simple little fountain with running water spilling out of a drain and then running out through a pipe in the wall. "I'll show you to a dining area. But first, if you don't mind. Wash your feet in the fountain. We're actually a little used to travelers coming in with muddy shoes." She told them.
Both brothers nodded and went over to the fountain, stepping into it where a small current in the fountain did all of the rest. Gaara, however, caught a glimpse of the girl's face, noting that she was glancing at them, looking very cautious. He didn't have much of a choice but look back at her.
"Something wrong?" He asked quietly.
Sen blinked for a moment before meeting his eyes. She had actually caught a glimpse of Gaara's and Kankuro's headbands, though it wasn't even very hard with Kankuro's being around his head. "So you are Sand Shinobi. That's actually the real reason I was caught off guard earlier and stared at you. We don't get very many Shinobi passing through here. I'm curious to know what brings you all the way out here?" She asked them.
Gaara and Kankuro merely glanced at one another before they shook their heads at the young hostess. "We're just passing through. We're looking for someone actually." The Puppet Master was the one to reply.
Again, Sen blinked as she paused in her footsteps before continuing towards a room, sliding a door open to a small dining area. "Hmm. Who is it you're looking for? Maybe I know this person. I have been working here for some time. So maybe I can help you?" She offered with a light smile.
With a slight frown, Gaara shook his head. "Thank you for your help but it's quite all right. We can probably find this person on our own." He told her.
Sen frowned right back before looking at him with a rather guarded look. She looked as if she was going to ask something but then decided against it. Instead, she smiled and motioned them inside. "Very well. Can't say I tried. Please, make yourselves at home. I will bring you some tea. Any preferences?" She asked.
Both brothers shook their heads as they stepped into the room and moved towards a small table in the center of the room where they would dine. "Thank you. Just bring us anything. Maybe some green tea." Gaara stated before un-shouldering his sand gourde and setting it off to the side.
Sen merely nodded before she bowed herself out of the room, sliding the door shut with a small click.
For a moment, Gaara and Kankuro just stood there, staring at the door before they went over and sat down on the soft cushions around the table. They didn't say anything but stared at the door. "What do you think, Gaara?"
Gaara shook his head as he tore his eyes away from the door and looked at his older brother with a frown. "The girl or who we're looking for?" He asked, carefully. He was getting the impression that the girl, Sen was still rather close by, probably trying to eavesdrop on them. He could sense her near the door.
"Both." Kankuro admitted. "The girl's hot. I think I like her."
The young Kazekage shook his head again as he glanced at the door with a deeper frown, feeling her moving away finally. "She's hiding something. I think we better be very careful around her. She may be one of Orochimaru's underlings. Or the Akatsuki's. She seems to know who we are. So she may try to attempt to warn Orochimaru or the Akatsuki." He said quietly.
Kankuro merely nodded before setting his scrolls down beside him and folding his hands together. "And the kid we're looking for?" He asked under his breath.
"We still don't even know who he is or where he is." Gaara answered. "I think we should merely suggest to the girl, Sen that we're looking for him. If there's any reaction at all, then we should make our move. We won't harm her but if she has any information we may need, we'll need to seek it out."
It was not long before their hostess returned with a steamy pot of water and some tea bags on a large tray. There was another hostess, a little older, right behind her. She was carrying a tray full of pork buns, smoked carp, sushi, and ramen.
Together they carried the trays to the table and set it down in the middle.
From only a glance, Gaara caught sight of Kankuro eyeing the girl, Sen and rolled his eyes at the very thought that his brother was interested in the girl, Sen. He didn't feel the need to trust her. There was something she was hiding and he didn't like it. So to think that his brother might have liked her, it was a little discontenting.
"There you go." Sen said still smiling at them as she poured their hot water into two tea cups. She glanced at the other woman, who met her glance before she bowed to Gaara and Kankuro and then left, leaving the two young Shinobi with their hostess. Sen turned back to the two, still smiling as she reached into her kimono sleeve, ignoring the fact that Gaara tensed but he relaxed when he saw a small wooden flute in her hand. "Gentlemen, would you like some entertainment? I can take requests if you would like." She simply said.
"Yes..." Kankuro was saying with a grin as he spared her a wink.
"No." Gaara cut him off, giving the Puppet Master a look before frowning sternly at Sen. "Thank you for the offer but we would like to be left alone until we need something. So please leave until further notice."
Sen's smile faded for only a moment before it came back onto her face as she tucked the flute away again. She did not look offended at all as she bowed to the two before moving towards the door. She paused long enough to motion to a cord hanging near the door. "Very well. If you need anything, just pull that cord. I come immediately to help you with your needs." She told them before she left the room and closed the door behind her.
For a very long moment, Gaara merely stared hard at the door, keeping his senses locked on her presence. He did not want her to be eavesdropping at all. But once he felt her gone, he looked back at Kankuro, who was already enjoying some of the pork buns and drinking his tea. The young Kazekage merely grimaced seeing his brother stuffing his face before he dipped his tea bag into the hot water and waited for it to finish.
"You know, Gaara." Kankuro said, with a slightly full mouth before he swallowed. "You've might have learned a few social skills with Naruto and Sakura but you still have a ways to go. Sen's just a hostess. So why you so tense around her?"
Gaara made a face at his brother before stirring his tea with a spoon. "I don't trust her. Like I said, she's hiding something and I tend to find out what it is. You should be more careful, Kankuro, of who you choose to like."
Kankuro grinned as he swallowed another pork bun before downing it with the rest of his tea. He was already beginning to grab the hot kettle and pouring him some more. "Oh, come on, bro! Give me some credit! She's hot and I haven't even asked her out yet. At least that's some self restraint, right?" He asked before grabbing another pork bun and taking a bite out of it. "Man, Gaara! You've got to try some of these. They're so...so...whoa." Kankuro said as he got wide eyes and started swaying.
Immediately, Gaara was alert. He had been picking up his tea to take a drink but had stopped when Shukaku starting growling within his head. He had learned a long time go that when his demon started growling, it was best to listen to him and stop doing whatever it was that he was doing. "Kankuro?" He asked, very concerned as he watched his brother.
The Puppeteer shook his head as he raised an unsteady hand and pressed it against his head, still swaying. "Whoa...totally vertigo, Bro. I'm seeing two of you." He groaned before he fell over side wards, his arm accidentally knocking some of the food off the table and spilled the hot water all over.
"Kankuro!" Gaara rasped before dropping his own tea cup and diving around the table to check on him. He frowned as he moved close, beginning to examine him. So far, Kankuro's vitals were a little normal. He just seemed to have fallen asleep. With a deeper frown, Gaara grabbed Kankuro's cup and sniffed it for anything unseal. He couldn't smell anything, himself. But for a demon..."Shukaku?" He asked quietly glancing to the side for the demon.
'It smells like poison. Not the fatal kind.' Shukaku growled, a sandstorm starting to swirl within Gaara. 'Sleep poison. Seems to me that someone wants you to be asleep. And you know very well what would have happened if you took a drink of your tea. You'd be out like a light and I would have taken over. We might have a better understanding, kid, but it's still in my right. I wouldn't have hurt anyone, cause you don't want me to. But I would have gotten a hold of whoever was responsible.'
Gaara merely nodded as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. He didn't like this at all. Someone had just attempted to poison him, and succeeded with Kankuro. He couldn't tell how dangerous it would be but his brother seemed fine. But still, someone was after them. It was time to find out why their hostess, Sen had just tried to knock them out.
Oh, yes. Gaara of the Sand and Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village was not a very happy person. And that tend to be a very dangerous situation for the girl, Sen.