Chapter 333: Velitation

n. a minor dispute or contest

Disclaimer: I do not own that which belongs to another.

"Hey, you're… the ramen lady!" gasped Naruto as he watched Gaara drift off, "Is he… gonna be okay?" Concern colored his tone.

"He'll be fine, I put a seal on him to keep the demon at bay," explained Kagome as she staggered her way towards Naruto's side. Naruto watched with wide eyes as Kagome kneeled at his side and used the bottom of her shirt to firmly wipe at the blood on his face.

"You can… do that!?" panted Naruto with wide eyes. Of course, he knew that seals could keep a demon at bay, but he thought that they would have to be drawn directly onto the body, not just attached like an exploding seal!

Kagome smiled minutely, even as she took stock of his injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Her eyes tracing across his body, looking for any obvious bleeding or broken bones.

Before Naruto could respond, a black miasma drifted through the clearing. Kagome and Naruto's eyes shot towards the resting Gaara. Instead of seeing his prone figure sleeping, they saw two piercing black and gold eyes glowering directly at them.

"What are you doing to me!" roared the boy his limbs paralyzed at his side.

Naruto struggled to sit up to place himself in front of Kagome. His muscles burned and for a second his vision blurred and blacked out. Kagome helped to prop him up against her side, which Naruto guessed was better than nothing.

"Stay back Kagome-chan I'll… protect you!" wheezed Naruto as he leaned heavily into her side.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I don't think that they can move Gaara's body," deadpanned Kagome as she took in Gaara's new eye color.

The thing possessing Gaara growled low in his throat, an inhuman sound that would have rubbed Gaara's vocal cords raw.

"Who are you?" asked Kagome, arm wrapping around Naruto to prop him up so that he wouldn't fall down face first.

"Simpleton! Haven't you heard of the might and strength of the incredible Shukaku!?" roared the possessed Gaara. Kagome's face glowed with recognition and her head tilted inquisitively, blue eyes locking onto the gold and black of Gaara's.

"Shukaku-sama of the desert?" questioned Kagome. Shukaku laughed darkly in delight as he confirmed Kagome's question, and she bit her lip nervously. "Ebizō-san mentioned you."

"And what tale did this old geezer deign to tell of this mighty one?" guffawed Shukaku mockingly.

"He mentioned that Shukaku-sama was a protector and a teacher. That he protected the people and taught them about chakra," explained Kagome softly, her eyes unrelentingly locked on Gaara's possessed black and gold eyes, "what happened?"

Naruto flinched beside her, sinking further towards the ground while his hand futilely reached to grasp a weapon from the pouch on his thigh. In his experience demons were not one to simply have pleasant conversations.

"Humans happened!" cried out Shukaku his eyes narrowing, and his fingers twitched, "they locked me up, and turned me into a weapon!" Kagome gasped as she inched closer towards Gaara, her grip on Naruto loosening as her attention drifted.

"I'm sorry," whispered Kagome passionately, tears glittering in her eyes, "I'm sorry that people have mistreated you, they should not have done that. But that doesn't give you a right to torture Gaara like you are."

Shukaku roared, fingers twitching at his side, as he fought against whatever was keeping him paralyzed.

"Becoming the monster they think you are, is no way to fix the situation, it just proves them right and so they keep doing it," explained Kagome as she crawled towards Gaara, disregarding Naruto's yelp of surprise.

Tears spilled from her eyes in sorrow as they searched Shukaku's, reading a painful story in the narrowing of his golden eyes. Those eyes reminded Kagome of Inuyasha's pain and Shippo's heartbreak. Kagome's heart stung at the realization that no matter the era, there was always people that were eager to abuse those they didn't understand.

"Stay back miko!" cried out Gaara's demon in a scratchy and torn voice, desperation and fear bleeding into his tone.

"Shukaku-sama…" began Kagome, her fingers reaching out to thread through Gaara's hair, "acting like a monster isn't getting you the freedom you desire. You're going to have to switch tactics."

Kagome glanced towards Naruto, who had collapsed back to the ground now that she wasn't there to prop him up. Naruto's mouth was agape, confusion, astonishment, and uncertainty warring for the dominant emotion on his face. Kagome flashed him a small, reassuring smile before turning her attention back to Shukaku.

"Now, it's time for you to sleep," declared Kagome, fingers digging into the pocket of her green skirt. After some rummaging a crinkled paper emerged that she delicately plastered across his chest. Shukaku's eyes drifted closed, a huff of protest leaving his slumbering lips.

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