Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Twenty-Three~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
"What?" Gaara cried out in alarm, still staring at Rin with shock.
Her hand still covering her mouth, Rin shook her head violently. She looked pale, yet there was some bright red to her cheeks. She kept shaking her head, now scooting a little ways from Gaara, who still stared at her with shock. Finally after a moment, she lowered her hand to her chin, still looking horrified for her slip up. "I was not suppose to say that! You didn't hear me say it!" She yelped.
Gaara just still stared at her with wide eyes. "The Fourth Hokage? He's Naruto's...!" He was saying but he was cut off when Rin thrust out a hand and covered his mouth.
"Don't! Don't ever, ever say anything to him, Gaara! Please!" Rin begged, her face twisted in pain. She shook her head vigorously when Gaara pried her hand off of his mouth so he could say something. "Gaara, I was not suppose to say that! Only very, very few people knew that Minato did that to his own son! Not even the Leaf Elders knew that it was Minato-senpai's son that he sealed the Nine Tails in! If they ever found out, that would cause so much trouble for your friend!"
Frowning almost angrily but still stunned, Gaara shook his head as he remained staring at her with wide eyes. "He's already in trouble, Rin! He's being hunted down by the Akatsuki! And the Nine Tails is always attempting to break out of him! What do you mean that I can't tell him? He has the right to know that his own father...!" He was saying angrily, sand now starting to swirl around him by his rage.
Rin shook her head, a pained look on her face. "Yes! I know! He does have a right to know, Gaara! I so agree with you on that!" She lowered her head and sighed heavily. She curled her knees up to her chest again and tucked her arms between them. "But it's not my place, or yours to tell him." She told him sadly.
"Then who's right is it?" Gaara demanded.
Rin sank a little lower, almost burying her face into her knees now as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "It's Naruto's God-father's decision to make. Master Jiraiya's." She looked up at him when a sharp intake escaped from Gaara. "Gaara, please. You can't tell Naruto. I know how you feel about wanting to tell him about this. I want to do it myself. But..." Her eyes suddenly grew stern. "You told me that you met the Leaf Elder, Danzo, right? Well, as it is, I have it under strict confidentiality that Danzo has always wanted to use Naruto as a weapon of war. But if he were to ever find out that Naruto was Minato-sempai's son, things will get so bad for him. Danzo will find the reason to lock Naruto up in that godforsaken ANBU Root Department of his and he will do so many terrible things to Naruto, trying to shape him into the perfect tool."
"How do you know that?" Gaara asked, his voice still laced with anger but he was slowly cooling down.
"I know because it was because of Danzo that I had to pretend that I've been dead all of these years." Rin tried to explain in a very serious tone. She nodded only once when Gaara had a dark curious look on his face. "The night of the Nine Tail Fox's sealing in Naruto, when I faked my own death, I saw something that I was not suppose to see. And Danzo knew that."
"What?" Gaara asked, his eyes narrowing a little.
Rin shook her head as she dipped it low into her neck, looking seriously into his eyes. She looked very cautious about this but she didn't look like she was going to hold back. "I saw him plotting to assassinate Minato-Senpai, for if he would have survived after sealing the Nine Tails into Naruto." Her face darkened almost just as dark as Gaara's had just gotten and she merely nodded her head. "He was planning on making sure that Minato-senpai stayed dead. He's got so many dark secrets, Gaara. And in truth, it's his fault that the Great Shinobi War even took place." She told him, her voice very low.
Gaara narrowed his eyes to slits as his head gave a little tilt. "Explain." He said, though making it sound more like a question.
Again, Rin shook her head as she leaned a little closer to Gaara. "I can't. I don't know all of the details. But Danzo did something very bad to someone. Someone very, very powerful. And it triggered to all of the Shinobi Nations. That night, I had been helping all of the Konoha Ninja fighting the Nine Tails, trying not to get killed when I stumbled upon Danzo actually talking to Orochimaru, himself. I overheard some very bad things, Gaara. One, he was plotting to kill Minato-senpai. Two, he was going to kill the other Leaf Elders. Three, he plotted to kill the entire Uchiha Clan." She nodded once when Gaara's mouth parted in silent surprise. "He also said something about getting a hold of a special boy that he was going to train to become an emotionless killer. The boy was going to be his tool of destroying the entire Leaf Village and rebuilding it from the roots, which is why his ANBU department is called Root."
Now, Gaara frowned as the keyword, emotionless caught his attention. Just hearing that word, that certain pale face flashed into his mind. 'Sai.' He frowned even deeper and narrowed his eyes. It did bring up some questions that was for sure. But even so, a thought occurred to him.
"Rin." The young Kazekage said carefully, now looking away. "Do you have a picture of Sen and her twin brother?"
It was Rin's turn to frown with confusion. She lightly shrugged before digging into her pocket and pulling out a photo of the family of four and handing it to him. "Why do you need to see it?" She asked, cautiously.
Gaara didn't exactly answer as he looked down at the two baby twins, staring intensively at the boy, Sei. He was trying to imagine what the boy would have looked like about his age. He couldn't really see it. But there...there did seem to be...
'You don't think that pasty ass, Sai might be this kid, do you?' Shukaku rumbled within his head.
'I don't know. There seems to be few similarities between them. But it's very hard to tell for right now. We don't know a thing about Sai's past. We don't even know where he is from, how long he's been with Danzo as his subordinate or if he's even a Leaf Ninja. I doubt it that this may be Sai. Sai's specialty is Ink manipulation. Not shadows like the Shadoai.' Gaara told the demon. 'But...just may be...' He looked at Rin, who was staring at him very carefully. "Rin, the special boy that Danzo possesses. Do you have any clue who he is or where he came from?" He asked her.
Rin shook her head as she tilted her head to the side. "No. Danzo never said anything about that. He just said that he had a special boy in his possession that he was going to use. Why?" She asked.
Gaara handed back the picture to her, shaking his head. "I mentioned to you about the new team mate, Sai, correct?" He received a now bright eyed nod. "He's Danzo's direct subordinate. He answers directly to the old man. So I believe that Sai is the boy you're talking about." He told her.
"And...why did you need to look at Sen and Sei's picture?" Rin asked, no doubt trying to fight how excited she was starting to hear.
Again, Gaara shook his head. "We don't know anything about Sai. We don't know where he has come from. I don't even think he knows. He has some similarities to the boy in the picture, but I doubt they are the same. I was just trying to double check." He told her.
Still, Rin did have a little excited look in her eyes as she stared down at the picture of the twins before putting it away. She sat there for a very long time, thinking hard about it. She was no doubt somewhat liking the idea that Sai might have been Sei. They're names were almost similar. "Gaara, when we are finished dealing with the Third Tail, will you object to me, Chiro and Sen tagging along with you and Kankuro back to the Leaf Village?" She asked quietly.
Gaara rose a very transparent eyebrow at her but his mouth quirked up at the same. "Are you sure you want to go back to Konoha? You've been considered dead for years now." He told her.
A soft look in Rin's eyes rolled over her as she looked gently away from him. She looked like she was in a peaceful state. "I owe it to Kakashi. He must have been wondering what has happened to me after all of this time." She looked serious again, her eyes snapping up to Gaara. "Yes. I think it's time I returned to my home village and we can throw the Shadoai alliance with Konoha. And the Sand Village, seeing that you are in charge of it. It's about time that the Shadow Village came out of the shadows and made them known." She told him, firmly.
"Very well then." Gaara stated as he pushed himself off the tree and brushed himself off. He offered his hand to Rin to help her up, which she took with a grateful look. "We should probably return then."
Together, the two headed back towards the Onsen, none of them speaking for a little while. They had many thoughts running into their heads to speak at the moment. But then Rin turned back to Gaara, giving him a little troubled look. "Gaara, about Naruto. You won't tell him..." She was saying.
"He has to know, Rin." Gaara interrupted, his eyes narrowing a little as they remained forward. But then he looked back at her, his face somewhat softening. "But I won't say anything for now. I will leave it up to Jiraiya to say it. But if he doesn't, then I will tell him. He's like my brother. We've been there for one another for years now. He's done so much for me that I don't think I could ever do in return."
Rin merely nodded, a little satisfied. "Thank you. That's fair enough." She said before she threw an arm around his shoulders, startling him. She ignored it though as she just walked back with him.
Later that night, it was decided that Sen, Rin and Chiro joined Gaara and Kankuro for dinner, that way they could get to know one another a lot better. They had figured they should see if they could discuss a plan of action for if they did find out where the Third Tail would be. Gaara knew very well that the Shadoai and the former Leaf Shinobi should know what they would be up against.
And after telling them about what kind of demon Sanbi was, they had to figure out a way of how to deal with it.
"Shukaku has stated that Sanbi is water based. As it is, if I was to engage with the Third Tail in battle," Gaara explained. "My sand won't be entirely useful against it. When my sand gets wet, it's rendered useless until it dries. I've had experiences with that sort of thing before. When I was teamed up with Team Seven and we had a mission in Wave Country, we ended facing Zabuza Momochi, which I've already told you about."
"Yet, you knew that your sand would be useless when wet and you still came after the Third Tail." Chiro said, shaking his head. "Forgive me if I offend you, Gaara, but I think it very reckless of you for doing such a thing when you're not properly prepared."
Gaara merely glanced at him, feeling only slightly irritated but he knew that the Shadoai had a point. So he would let it slide.
"What about you, Kankuro? Would your puppets be any use against water?" Rin asked, tilting her head to the side.
Kankuro's face scrunched up with his own irritation but he sighed heavily and shook his head. He was going to feel very embarrassed about this but it was better to just answer the question and get it over with. "Nope. I guess you might have a point. We really stepped into a big puddle of mud this time." He grumbled.
Chiro and Rin both sighed at the same time, while Sen crinkled her nose and folded her arms. "Well, we really are in a bind. None of our techniques are equalized to water base Jutsu. I've never done Shadow Puppets with water before so I guess I could give it a try." She said, sourly. She then looked over at Chiro, frowning. "Chiro, do you think that your techniques might be able to bypass water?"
Gaara and Kankuro glanced at one another before they turned their eyes back onto the large Shadoai. "What techniques do you do have, Chiro?" The Puppet Master asked, scrunching up his brow.
'Uh-oh.' Shukaku grunted in Gaara's head but he was ignored.
For a moment, Chiro gave Kankuro a look and looked like he was going to completely keep his mouth shut. He did not want to reveal his techniques to anyone. But then Rin reached over and slapped his brawny shoulder. "Chiro, this is not the time for your stubborn pride. They need to know what to expect from you." She scolded him.
"Rin, if I choose not to reveal my techniques, then I don't see the reason why I should. If they want to see my skills, they have to see it in battle." Chiro grumbled.
"Chiro, how will you expect them to work with us if they don't know how to work with you?" Rin argued.
'Uh! Gaara!' Shukaku said but he was ignored again.
Sen frowned at her big guardian, sticking out her lip. "Chiro, just tell them about your Bloodline limit already." She told him.
Gaara's eyes lit up a little but he began to raise his hand to protest. He was curious about Chiro's techniques but he did not want the three to be arguing each other. If the Shadoai wanted to let them know, then he should tell them on his own time. Still, it might be in his best interest to actually find out about them. It would give him a clearer picture...
'Gaara! She's coming! RUUUUUN!' Shukaku bellowed loudly in his head, causing the young Kazekage to wince at the high pitch of the Tanuki's voice.
But now that he was paying attention, his eyes snapped wide open when he picked up a rather familiar but very, very ticked off signature coming towards his and Kankuro's position. And rather face her, he quickly used his Sand teleportation to get somewhere out of view.
"Huh?" Kankuro asked dumbly before looking around for where Gaara went, ignoring the surprised looks of the three Shadoai. "Hey, where did Gaara...?"
Suddenly, there was a very loud crash from somewhere in the Onsen, causing all of them to jump and tense up as they grabbed kunai, or in Chiro's case, his scimitar. It sounded like someone had just burst into the lobby and probably broke down the door, startling whoever was in the lobby.
"WHERE ARE THEY? YOU HAVE TWO GUYS HERE! A TALL DUMB LOOKING IDIOT DRESSED AS A RIDICULOUS FREAK WEARING MAKE-UP AND A RED HEAD CARRYING A HUGE GOURD! I KNOW THEY'RE HERE! WHERE ARE THEY?" A screech from outside the room tore through the door.
Kankuro's face completely went white and his eyes must have gone as big as saucers. Even his mouth completely hit his chest before he let out an unattractive squeal before diving towards one of the futon beds within the room. "AHH! Thanks a lot for the warning, Gaara!" He bellowed. "We're not here! Don't let her find us!" He begged the three completely stunned Shadoai.
"Huh? Wha-?" Sen started to ask.
And it was right at that moment, there was a loud crash as someone kicked the door in, sending it flying across the room until it crashed against the wall on the other side of the room, narrowly missing Sen as she dived into Chiro's arms and clutched onto him. But she was soon dumped onto the floor as the large Shadoai was on his feet, leaping over Rin to defend both of them.
Soon enough, Rin and Sen were quickly at his side, holding up their kunai and glaring at the intruder.
The intruder, however, happened to be a very red faced, pissed off looking blonde woman just a little older than Sen, holding a very big fan and looking ready to murder someone. Or someone with a plural.
Temari.
The Sand Kunoichi glared around the room, completely over looking the three ninja already in the room before she saw the quaking futon. Her eyes turned into very deadly slits before she stomped into the room, continuing to ignore the glaring three. "KANKURO! GAARA! GET OUT HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT AND YOU BETTER EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE THINKING? WHAT HAPPENED TO QUOI?" She screeched, making even the three Shadoai wince at the high pitch of her voice.
When Kankuro did not come out from beneath the futon, Temari swung her fan and sent a powerful whirlwind across the room, nearly blowing Sen right off her feet. The whirlwind overturned the table full of food, sending it crashing against the wall and shattering the window, while some of the wind slammed into the futon. The impact lifted the bed high until it went crashing through the wall it was next to, causing quite the damage.
"AHHH!" Kankuro screamed, though sounding very much like a girl as he quickly scooted across the floor and found himself trapped against the wall.
Temari glared even harder at him as she stomped over to the Puppet Master, looming over him like a shadow of death. All the while Chiro, Rin and Sen were still looking ready to move. And they would have if not for some sand coming out of somewhere and holding them back. "Kankuro! Where is Gaara?" She demanded.
"Te-Te-Te-Temari!" Kankuro yelped as he tried to press himself harder against the wall, looking terrified out of his wits. "Wh-wh-what are yo-you doing he-he-here?"
"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?" Sen demanded as she appeared right between Temari and Kankuro. She surprised the Puppet Master by nearly coming out of the shadows in the room, itself. She was holding up the kunai as a threat to Temari, who shot her a very icy look. "What do you think you're doing attacking him?"
Kankuro reached over with a shaky hand and gripped her shoulder, trying to pull her back. "Se-Sen, you do not want to..." He tried to warn her.
"I am a very pissed off older sister! Now, who the hell are you? And get out of my way! Kankuro! Where is Gaara?" Temari snapped, her eyes turning into deadlier looking slits.
A sigh suddenly escaped Gaara as he teleported back into the room from the roof where he had taken to hiding on. He knew better than to try and hide from his older sister. With her mood being out of control like this, she was going to do more than just destroy this room. It would be more than likely she destroyed the entire Onsen looking for him and Kankuro. "Over here." He said quietly.
Whirling around, Temari turned her glare onto him instead before she stomped over to him. And unlike Kankuro, he did not back off but allowed her to loom over him, looking very threatening. "Gaara! What the hell do you think you are doing sending me an eagle from Konoha and telling me that you were not going to return to the Sand Village and leaving me trying to come up with excuses to those old bastards while you were off doing what ever you wanted?" She demanded in a very loud voice. "And what the hell did your message mean that Quoi almost gotten killed because of the mission to getting that idiot, Sasuke back? What the hell did you mean that he had been captured by that sadistic creep, Orochim...!"
But sand quickly covered her mouth, cutting her off, while Gaara sighed again and shook his head. He merely glanced at the three highly alert Shadoai, freezing when he saw quite a few blades actually hovering in the air all around Chiro. All of the kunai and tanto, as well as a few spinning shruiken were almost glowing with Chakra and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Chiro's doing.
"Well," Gaara said calmly with a smirk. "I think I figured out what kind of techniques you have, Chiro." He then motioned to Temari with one hand while waving the other for all of them to stand down. "Allow me to introduce you to my oldest sibling, Temari. Temari, these are our new allies, the Shadoai."
Unfortunately for all of them, not only did Gaara and Kankuro have to pay for all of the damages dealt to the room as well as the lobby, as well as they had been kicked out of the Onsen; all three Shadoai were fired from the Onsen, obliterating their covert operation as workers there. And they were banned from ever stepping foot in the Humble Marsh Onsen again.
"Jeez, you would think they would be happy by all of the money we gave them." Kankuro grumbled. "We sure gave them a lot to cover it all."
"Kankuro, Temari destroyed the room we were staying in and she scared the hell out of the other Onsen patrons. I don't think I blame them for it." Gaara said very dryly as they walked away from the onsen with three very unhappy Shadoai trailing behind them and a very glaring sister on his side.
Temari shot her youngest brother a nasty look before she lashed out and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, forcing him to face her. "Gaara, enough of that! What the hell is going on here? Why wouldn't you come back to the Sand Village?" She demanded.
Dryly, Gaara began to explain to her what he and Kankuro were up to. Though, he started with what happened when they even arrived at Konoha, explaining to her what exactly happened.
And, boy, was she pissed by hearing of what kind of danger Quoi had put himself into.
The three Sand Shinobi and the three Shadoai eventually made camp and they began to fill Temari in with everything. It was easy to say that Sen and Temari really did not like each other because they hadn't stopped giving each other dirty looks. It was growing tiresome on Gaara having to pause to see them glaring at one another every ten minutes. He continued to explain to his older sister that he had met Yukimaru and learned that he was not the Third Tail Jinchuriki as they thought he had been but he knew where to find it. The only problem was, they didn't know where to even look. Gaara even asked Shukaku if he could pick up the scent of the Third Tail but the Sand Tanuki couldn't.
'He's been under water too long that his scent has diminished. The only time I can pick it up again is if he comes out.' Shukaku told his young host.
Gaara merely sighed and continued to try and think of a plan. He figured the only way they would be able to find the Third Tail is if Sen's wolf summon pulled through and located it for them. But for now, he would have to deal with a very angry Temari.
Looking over at the still steaming blonde, the youngest of the siblings sighed and leaned against the tree they decided to camp under. "Temari, I'm sorry we couldn't give you a warning that we were going after the Third Tail. But it would make me feel better if we found him and talked to him about Orochimaru." He told her in his raspy voice.
Temari gave him a sour look. She was clearly not so forgiving so much. "Yeah, yeah. I understand, Gaara. But did you seriously have to tell me to stay at the Village and leave me to those vultures we call Elders? They were frantic when you left with Kankuro and Quoi and they freaked when we got the eagle message about what happened the past week! They are not happy at all, Gaara, with your decision! It had to be Baki who calmed their asses down! I tried but they wouldn't stop yelling!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "It only took my assurance that I would go find you and talk some sense into you that shut them up!"
"..." Gaara's only answer was.
Kankuro frowned as he folded his arms behind his head and laid back against his scrolls, using them as a pillow. "Heh, well, they can deal with it for right now, Tem. This is more important than anything right now. If Orochimaru really does have a Tailed Bijuu with him, then that's a real big problem." He grumbled.
Temari shot him a look before shaking her head. She turned to look at the three Shadoai who were keeping a wary watch on the three siblings. She frowned a little before letting her eyes fall onto Rin. "So...Gaara said that you were Kakashi Hatake's friend." She said, though sounding only a little suspicious.
Rin smiled a friendly smile before nodding. "Yes. A long time ago. We grew up together for a short time before the Kyuubi attacked the Leaf Village." She simply said.
"And you left your village after that? Why?" Temari asked, still quite suspicious. She had not been alerted by Gaara about the conversation he had with Rin. He had figured that it was best to keep that between himself and Rin.
Smiling a little more sadly, Rin shook her head as she folded her hands together in her lap. Her eyes even dropped a little to the ground as she sat up a little straighter. "A lot of things happened and there were too many painful memories within the Leaf Village. I couldn't stand it any longer. So after the Fourth Hokage defeated Kyuubi, I mixed myself within the MIA list and decided to leave." She shook her head again as she lift her eyes and met Temari's. "Of course, Kakashi must have seen me because he did come after me to find out what was going on. I told him that I needed some closure for a little while. I needed time to think and I asked him to cover up my death. He didn't like it and took some time to convince him but he eventually let me go. He's the only one that knows that I'm still alive out here. Apart from you." She explained.
Gaara merely nodded as he watched the former Leaf Ninja for a moment before turning his head towards the night sky. He understood in a way but there was some that he didn't understand. Knowing Kakashi, he wouldn't have let him go if he defected from the village. He knew that he wouldn't have let them go at all. He would have fought for them to stay.
But why let go of Rin? Why did he let her run away from the village? How much did he really care about her?
Those were the questions that he had constantly going through his head right at the moment. He would definitely have to talk to Kakashi when he got back to the Village. He knew for sure that there was going to be a big reaction when he took Rin back to Konoha. He just hoped for her own sake that it wasn't going to be a bad reaction. She had pretended to be dead all of these years and that could have easily been turned into an act of treason. The only thing he was more worried about was how it was going to effect Kakashi for keeping a secret like that quiet for so long. He had lied to a lot of people, saying that Rin Hayashi was dead. He just hoped that Kakashi wouldn't get into serious trouble.
But then again, Rin did have some information that could protect her. If what she said was true about Danzo, she had a real good reason for pretending to be dead. Especially when it dealt with Danzo plotting the total destruction of Konohagakure and rebuilding it from the ashes he created.
Gaara's eyes only narrowed at the very thought. The plot was getting very thick when dealing with that old man. He swore that if what Rin said was true about the old man, he would be there to face him and possibly take him down. Or at least, helped Tsunade take him down. He would definitely have to report to her about that.
Suddenly, a crack of a twig sent all of them on alert. The three Sand Shinobi and the three Shadoai leapt to their feet with their weapons and Gaara's sand ready to attack whatever was approaching; all glaring into the dark trees.
And a moment later, they were relaxing because it was the large wolf belonging to Sen. The large animal stepped out of the darkness as if emerging from the shadows, himself. It growled a little as its eyes swept over Gaara but it stopped as it looked right at Sen, who was already moving forward with a hand. Its muzzle met her outstretched hand and it allowed her to run her fingers through its thick fur.
For a moment, Sen stared into the wolf's moon like eyes before she whirled away from it and looked directly at Gaara. She looked very serious as if she learned something that might have been too life altering. "Siri has found the Third Tail. He followed Yukimaru and Guren to a lake only five miles away from here. They met someone along the way, someone I've only seen once but not recently." She explained in a serious tone. "Some gray haired guy with glasses."
Gaara, Kankuro and Temari frowned grimly at each other, meeting one another's eyes before looking back at the three. And then all three said the very same thing. "Kabuto."