Chapter 31: More Answers and Info
Gaara's sand gushed out of its gourd and started to flood the dance floor. Seiriyu's guards ran straight for the group, but were easily thrown back into the nearby walls by Gaara's sand.
"Stop having all the fun Gaara!" whined Temari as she held out her fan. "I want to have a little fun too."
She swung her fan and created a large gust of wind that blew some of the guards right into some of the dinner tables, scaring away some of the banquet patrons from the scene.
"Leave some for me sis!" exclaimed Kankuro as he released a blast of kunai from one of Sasori's many compartments. The kunai landed a direct hit on a few other guards injuring them instantly.
"Hey Ryu, let's take this battle to the skies shall we?" asked Daisuke as he looked at the dragon.
"I thought you'd never ask." said Ryu. She quickly grew to her actual form and started to float into the air. Daisuke quickly jumped onto the dragon's back. The two of them then proceeded to fight the guards that were swarming the balconies.
Seiriyu took the ongoing carnage as his opportunity to leave the hall. He swiftly made his way to the door.
"He's trying to leave unnoticed. If he gets outside, then our sand will be useless." exclaimed Sandeya/Izuka as she pointed to the fleeing teenager.
"He's not going to get far! Let's go Sandeya." commanded Gaara as he ran after the dictator.
"Yes sir!" responded Izuka as she ran after the redhead.
Seiriyu ran out of the hall and into a nearby staircase. Izuka and Gaara kept pace with him and followed after him step by step.
"Why don't you just give up!" yelled Seiriyu as he threw a few kunai that were connected to paper bombs at the two.
Izuka and Gaara both raised their hands. Their sand moved with the movement of their hands and blocked the paper bombs before they detonated above them. The smoke cleared to reveal that the staircase was heavily damaged and that Seiriyu was no longer in the staircase.
"Where did he go?" asked Gaara in agitation as he looked around the damaged stairwell.
Izuka used her acute sense of smell and sniffed the air.
"The smoke is definitely masking his scent, but I can still track him. Follow me." said Izuka as she ran up the wall where part of the staircase used to be.
Gaara followed her lead and ran up the stairs after her. They never stopped until they reached the 45th floor of the tower. They ran out the staircase and into a darkened hallway littered with dead guards.
"Sandeya?" questioned Gaara as he looked at Izuka as she crouched down to the nearest dead guard.
"Judging by the smell of their blood and the fact the wounds are fresh, I can only guess that Seiriyu killed his own men just a few minutes ago." said Izuka as she stood back up.
"Why in the world would he do that?" asked Gaara as he looked down into the dark hallway. The sound of lightning from outside the building signaled that the rain had started up again.
"Who knows, but I'm guessing we're going to find out soon enough." said Izuka as she started to run down the hallway. Gaara followed right after her.
The two ran down the darkened hallway, passing more dead guards as they went, until they ran into a large dark room that appeared to be Seiriyu's personal training grounds.
"His scent ends here." said Izuka as she turned to face the redhead.
"And this is the end of the road for you Gaara-san." said Seiriyu as he walked out of the shadows. He clapped his hands to turn on the lights, revealing that the room was indeed a kind of gym.
"Just give up Seiriyu. Things don't have to be this way." said Gaara in a stern voice as he stared down the dictator.
"Of course it does after what your father did to my clan. I'm not letting their deaths be in vain." cried Seiriyu as he revealed his black katana.
"You are letting painful memories of your past cloud your judgment. If you keep doing this to yourself, you're just going to live a life of suffering." said Izuka as she looked at Seiriyu with stern eyes.
"Why should you speak like that Lady Sage? Because of the fact you are a jinchuriki and Gaara here used to be one, you both lived lives of pain and suffering, yet you still don't understand." cried Seiriyu with a grimace.
"But we do. We just haven't let it continue to cloud our judgment and control our lives." said Gaara as he crossed his arms.
"It may not continue to control your life Gaara, but I bet Izuka still has those painful thoughts linger in her mind to this day. Especially the one where her two teammates were killed during her relocation to Suna." said Seiriyu with a smirk.
Gaara's eyes instantly went to Izuka, whose back stiffened at the mere mention of her teammates.
"How the hell do you know about that?" asked Izuka slowly through clenched teeth as she looked at the ground.
"I was visited by your old sensei just a few weeks ago. Don't bother looking for the man here in the Rain country because he's probably long gone by now." said Seiriyu with a smirk as he crossed his arms.
"Why was he here?" asked Gaara a tad curiously as he looked at the dictator.
"He wanted to seek asylum here in the Rain Nation. I told him that he was just a wanted man here as he is in the Five Great Shinobi Nations. I let him stay here hidden in my tower for a week in order to rest and get supplies and during that time we talked." said Seiriyu with a shrug.
"If he's a wanted man here just like he is in the Five Great Shinobi Nations, then why did you let him stay here in your tower instead of having him arrested?" asked Gaara in a slightly commanding tone.
"He told me that he used to be Izuka-san's sensei and from there I was hooked. He told me everything about her that I wanted to know about and in return I told him all about what happened to her during the war." answered Seiriyu as he twirled his katana between his fingers.
"Why do you sound like you've had an interest in me for a long time?" asked Izuka as she looked at the dictator.
"Cause I have had an interest in you for a long time now. You see, before my clan was killed by Suna ANBU, my family collected and kept their own files on their old village and their certain "interests"." said Seiriyu with a smirk.
"Interests?" asked Izuka with uncertainty laced throughout her voice.
"Indeed. You were relocated to Sunagakure as part of the treaty between Suna and Konohagakure, but after looking through the old files one night, I discovered that Gaara's father had a very big interest in you." said Seiriyu as he pointed his katana at Izuka.
"He only had an interest in her because she is a jinchuriki like I used to be." said Gaara through slightly clenched teeth.
Izuka turned to Gaara with a slightly mixed expression before turning to Seiriyu.
"The most powerful one there is. The 10 tailed bat-dragon Ryuna is very picky when it comes to her hosts. Before you Izuka-san, there was only one other 10 tailed jinchuriki in shinobi history, and she was a very big target during her time. People have been sent out as offerings to the dragon after her first host passed on, but Ryuna never could be sealed within any of them. Apparently, you need to possess a very specific gene in order to be the 10 tailed jinchuriki, and when the Yondaime Kazekage found out that Ryuna accepted you as her new host, he wanted to find out why." explained Seiriyu as he cocked his head to the side.
"I have a special gene?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow at the dictator.
"Indeed; I believe the Yondaime Kazekage wanted to capture you in order to cultivate the gene for the sake of his village, but alas, he never got a chance to since he was killed by Orochimaru before he could accomplish his goal." said Seiriyu with a sigh. "Well at least one good thing happened to you in midst of this plan, you met your future boyfriend."
"Gaara, is this true?" asked Izuka as she looked at the redhead. He looked her straight in the eyes before answering.
"When my father told my siblings and I the details of our mission to Konoha three years ago to infiltrate the Chunnin Exams as part of the foiled Suna Invasion, he told us that one of our main objectives in the mission was to capture you. He told us that you were a jinchuriki and that you would serve a specific purpose for the sake of Suna once we captured you. I never knew that my father's reason for wanting to capture you was for your DNA." said Gaara as he looked at the dictator with disgust in his eyes.
"I believe he was going to cultivate the gene to see if your DNA was the key to being the jinchuriki for other tailed beasts at the same time. And what do you know? His hypothesis came true and we have a new Sage of the Sixth Paths here with us today in present day, the second in history." said Seiriyu as he moved his arms with emphasis.
"He was planning to create an ultimate host who would be able to hold all the tailed beasts at one time." Izuka concluded as she crossed her arms.
"Exactly Lady Sage, but what was the point? There is already one naturally ultimate host in the world today and that my dear is you." said Seiriyu as he pointed at Izuka with his katana again. "And after tonight, you will come back into my possession."
"Like hell I'm going to let you do that!" said Gaara in seething anger as he took a step forward.
"Why do you bother Gaara? I already have absorbed some of your chakra, giving me the advantage of knowing your abilities. All I need to do now is absorb the Lady Sage's chakra. That way the seal that holds the tailed beasts within you will weaken and I would be able to free them, causing utter chaos around the shinobi lands." cackled Seiriyu in menacing laughter.
"And how do you think you will be able to control them?" asked Izuka with a scowl. "I've actually created some friendly relationships with most of them and one thing is for sure, they will not serve you willingly."
"That my dear, I will keep top secret. Now get ready. It's time to fight!" exclaimed Seiriyu as his katana shone in the light.
"Ready Sandeya?" asked Gaara as he looked at his girlfriend with slight concern evident in his eyes.
"Definitely!" exclaimed Izuka as her face went into a neutral expression that was borderline unreadable.
Gaara nodded and turned towards the dictator.
The calm was over. Here comes the storm.
End of chapter 31
A/N: Please review
Birthday Reminders
February 15: Tayuya's Birthday (Naruto)
February 17: Cyan Sun Sung's Birthday (Bleach)
February 18: Suigetsu's birthday (Naruto)