I stayed awake all night holding Gaara in my arms. Shukaku didn't stir at all so I must have used Isobu's chakra correctly. I've never thought about it before, but it is calming. Maybe that's why I stay relatively calm all the time?
The door to my room creaked open a bit and Temari peeked in. A look of confusion crossed her face, "He's actually asleep. I don't remember the last time he's ever done that."
"Is everyone else waking up?" I asked. "I can wake him up?"
"He looks so peaceful, I almost don't want to wake him." she said. A caring look crossed her face as she looked to Gaara. "He's never been this relaxed before."
Gaara moved a bit in my arms and his breathing slightly changed, he was waking up. Temari stayed quiet as if she was afraid of alerting Gaara to her presence and destroying the peaceful atmosphere. Gaara slowly became more awake so I slowly let go of him. Temari smirked as she looked at Gaara, which I didn't understand until I remembered the position we were in.
He sat up and yawned softly. "Did you sleep well?" I questioned.
"I did, I even had peaceful dreams." he said.
I moved from behind him and got off of the bed. I was stuck in that position all night and I really needed to stretch out. My fingers touched my toes then I lifted my arms to stretch them over my head. When I was done I said, "I'm going to go see what everyone else is up to." I moved towards Temari by the door and passed her.
Before I could walk too far away I heard her say, "Gaara, are you blushing?"
I walked to the kitchen to see Mitsuru making food like the other morning. Baki and Jiro were sitting by the table. Shozouki only just walked in behind me. While Kankuro wasn't present at all, he must have still been asleep.
"Lady Ketto, are you hungry?" Mitsuru asked.
"No, I'm not that hungry." I said.
Mitsuru turned from the counter and handed me a piece of buttered toast. "Here, have that."
"I just said I wasn't hungry." I was about to place the toast on Jiro's plate when Mitsuru spoke again, this time he didn't turn to face me.
"Eat it, last night you barely touched your food and the day before you hardly ate anything either. Have the toast and a little bit of juice and I won't pester you."
I sighed, I guess the least I could do is eat the toast. I really didn't feel like eating though, hopefully this won't weigh me down all day, it's just toast. Jiro silently handed me his cup full of juice causing me to hold back another sigh. It's orange juice, this will most definitely feel acidic in my stomach.
I started to eat the toast as I continued to stand by Jiro, there weren't many available chairs left so I decided to leave them for Temari and Gaara. Shozouki also remained standing, but he moved himself over towards Mitsuru by the counter and helped himself to some bread for toast. I ate my toast quickly, hoping that I could get it all down before my stomach could realize I ate something when I wasn't hungry and start to ache. The juice Jiro handed to me was downed just as quickly when the toast was gone. When I set the cup on the table near Jiro, he spoke, "We already know that you don't sleep when you're on missions, but Mitsuru and I were talking about it and we think that you don't eat either. When we were in the forest of death and you wouldn't eat the food I found we thought you just didn't trust us but it's more than that. You just don't eat while on missions either do you?"
He's right, they all probably think of that as a weakness. "It's customary for a Mist ninja to take their own life if they are captured by an enemy, but with my skin being so hard by the time I would be able to administer a killing blow to myself I would already be detained by the enemy. So, for a long time I've been adapting my body to harsh conditions that I would most likely endure while being held captive. I can't expect the enemy to feed me and I would stay awake to monitor their movements. That way by the time I've regained enough chakra I could fight my way out."
My teammates were quiet, surprisingly the one to say anything was Baki. "It's quite impressive that you thought of that on your own. How long can you last?"
"Up to ten days, the eleventh day was when my whole body felt heavy, but I was also a bit dehydrated. I think that if I had some water I would have lasted an extra day or two." I said. "Even then I couldn't feel the hunger. I just have to figure out a way to keep my body fully functioning after several days without sleep."
Jiro looked thoughtful. "That actually doesn't sound too crazy."
"I suppose if you have a strong enough will you can make anything happen." Mitsuru said. He was still cooking and didn't bother to turn around. "It would have been nice to know that sooner."
"I guess it just never came up." I said.
Mitsuru put some of the eggs and bacon he was making on a plate with an added piece of toast before setting it in front of Baki without a word. Baki looked confused, he probably wasn't expecting food, but he didn't say anything about it either.
"Is Kankuro still sleeping?" I asked, I suspected that he was but I would still like to know. Is he usually a late riser? Or is he still having trouble adjusting to my chakra?
"Yeah, he hasn't even moved in his sleep last night." Jiro said. "He's still pretty wiped out."
"I see, I can stay with him today. Maybe I can help him adjust." I suggested.
"Lady Ketto, I'm not sure if you would be able to help in anyway." Shozouki said. "It's not like you can teach him how to use your chakra, he still has his own too."
"I know, but I think being that his current condition is my fault I should be the one to help him through the transition." I said. Normally, I don't think I would care, but Isobu really thinks that allies and friends are important so no matter how much I disliked Kankuro in the past I'm going to have to accept that for now we are allies. I could start showing that support by helping him get accustomed to his new chakra. It will probably take some time, but as long as he has someone to help get him through this it might be a bit easier on him.
"Alright, I understand how you feel." he said. "The rest of us will help rebuild the village once we're done eating. We'll be back late again I'm sure."
Gaara and Temari joined us. Temari had a big smile on her face. "There's breakfast, I'm starving." she sat down by Jiro while Gaara sat next to Baki.
Mitsuru made another plate and set it in front of Temari. "I hope you like eggs and bacon."
"Yeah, that's fine." Temari picked up a piece of bacon and took a nibble before shrugging her shoulders and taking a bigger bite. "So are we doing the same thing today as yesterday?"
"Well, hopefully more rebuilding than cleaning." Jiro said. "It's kind of boring to do nothing but clean. I would rather help rebuild those buildings, in a way I would be helping in the development of a village."
"I guess I never thought of it like that." she said.
"I don't think it's something many people care to think about." Jiro said. He played around with his food on his plate a bit. "But I want to make a difference to my village, Mitsuru does too. It's part of the reason why we agreed to become a part of this team. We were asked specifically by the Mizukage to be a part of Ketto's team. We may or may not be a team after we return from Suna, but this is still an opportunity for us. Mitsuru and I will be remembered for being on the same team as the Demon of the Mist if our team dissolves, however we could be remembered as something more than that if we continue to work together."
"You seem to have thought alot about this." Temari said. "I've never given something that much thought before. At least not that far into the future." she glanced to Gaara and then turned back to her food. "How do you know that's what you want to do?"
"Have you ever had a dream? I'm trying to make my dream a reality." Jiro said. "I will be remembered and I will be known as one of the strongest ninja Kirigakure has. People will respect me instead of thinking I'm some weak idiot."
"You are an idiot." Mitsuru muttered. He turned with another plate of food and placed it in front of Gaara.
Jiro glared at Mitsuru. "Stop saying that." he ground out. "Are you still mad about the first exam? I told you, I'm not good with genjutsu, it was an accident. Besides, lady Ketto really hit me hard for that, it should be enough of a punishment."
"Whatever," Mitsuru said. He looked back to Gaara who didn't move to eat. "What's wrong, go on, eat."
Temari now looked to Gaara, "Come on Gaara, you need to eat something. We'll need our strength today." It took a moment, but Gaara picked up a fork and started to eat. Temari smiled softly at him but didn't say anything else.
Everyone finished eating their food before they went to get ready for today. Being that Mitsuru made the food, I washed the dishes and Jiro dried them and put them away.
"Lady Ketto, can I ask you a question?" Jiro said suddenly.
It was just the two of us so I thought it couldn't hurt to answer. "Hmm?"
"I was wondering, do you think we will still be a team after we all come back from Suna?" he asked. He didn't turn to me, he just kept drying the plates I would hand to him. "The three of us, alone with Shozouki, haven't been together long enough to really be considered a team, but I like that we're together. I like getting up and seeing all of us together everyday, it's like we now belong in a team together."
"I'm not sure if uncle Yagura would have a need for us to be in a team anymore. Remember, we only needed a team to participate in the chunin exams." I said.
"I know that, but do you still want to be a part of the team?" he wondered.
I stopped scrubbing the cup I had in hand. Would I want to still be a part of a team? The answer is obvious, I could hardly care if I'm a part of a team. I would prefer not being in a team, but even I understand the advantages of being in one. I started to scrub the cup again and rinsed it before giving it to Jiro. "I don't think I would mind too much if I was."
"Really?!" he exclaimed. "Why don't we do it then? You and Shozouki can teach me and Mitsuru more about our chakra natures. We could all get stronger together!"
"Please stop yelling." I said. Jiro quieted down, but he still had a large smile stretched across this face. "Aren't you a little bit worried about being on a team with me? What will the other Mist ninja think?"
"Who cares about what they think." he scoffed. "None of them have ever done me any favors."
"Your mom?" I pressed. Surely she would have an issue with it.
"No, I don't really care what she thinks." he said. "My whole life I've known that she has never loved me as much as Shiro, and when he died it was painfully obvious that she only cared about him. It's because I've never had someone to care about me that I care so much about others and show empathy. Whatever my mom may think doesn't matter to me."
"I see." Jiro doesn't care about what anyone thinks. He wants to be on a team with me whether or not it would be inconvenient for him.
"Misturo is the same way." Jiro said. "He thinks that by having a connection to you he would be more likely to be placed in a position of power later on in his ninja career."
"How does he figure that?" I wondered.
"The Mizukage respects you, if Mitsuru was on a team with you and you showed enough trust and respect towards him to be on a team with him then the Mizukage may also recognize him." Jiro continued drying the glasses and putting them in the cupboard. "Or something like that, honestly, I don't remember exactly what he said."
Jiro and I finished the dishes by the time everyone was ready to leave. They all met in the entryway of the apartment while I went to my room. Before I disappeared into my room I heard Temari ask about me, "Where's Ketto?"
"It was decided that she would stay here with Kankuro." Shozouki replied. "Let's go, we have a lot to do today."
I heard the door open and if the diminishing chakra signatures were anything to go by, I would say that they all left. Kankuro probably won't wake up for awhile yet, so I should find something to do. I went to the adjoining bathroom when I remembered that I still had bloody clothes in the shower. I could try to see if the blood would be more likely to come out after having soaked for a few days. I turned the water in the bathtub on and waited for it to heat up. While waiting for the water to heat I decided to take a look at the executioner's blade when I remembered that I forgot to clean the blood off of it that night.
In my room, I was surprised to see the blade was already cleaned. My fingertips ran across the blade as I remembered that it was a unique ability the sword had. If anything happens to it like say the blade shatters or cracks, it just needs some blood from its enemies and it will be able to repair itself. That's also how it collects chakra. Maybe that's why I didn't care as much about cleaning the blade, deep down I must have remembered.
Back in the bathroom, I knelt on my knees over the side of the bathtub. Grabbing a bar of soap I started to scrub my clothes. First, I worked on my leggings being that they were a lighter color than my shirt and underwear even though they were still a dark olive color. I made sure to get soap everywhere and to use my nails to scrub. Once I was finished with them, I threw them under the running water and moved on to the rest. My shirt and underwear were black, so I didn't spend as much time scrubbing them, no one would be able to tell if I missed a spot. When I finished with those I swapped them out for my leggings again. Despite my best efforts there was still some blood stained into them. I've had enough experiences with blood to know that it won't come out no matter how hard I scrub. I wrung the water out of them and tossed them into the trash, if I need to I'm sure Jiro will let me borrow some pants again. I turned the water off and wrung out the rest of my clothes before draping them over the rail for the shower curtain to dry.
With my hands dried on a towel I walked back out to the main lounge area of the apartment. I thought I could settle down and relax for a bit on the couch. Though I did feel a bit anxious, I felt as if I was supposed to be doing something but I can't really do anything until Kankuro wakes up. I leaned over my lap and rested my elbows on my knees and my chin resting on top of my hands.
Other than just being there and giving Kankuro my support what could I do to help him with his transition? Chakra control exercises? Or would that be too soon? I'm not sure if he's fully restored his chakra. He should have already, but it took him so long to wake up after the poison was purged from his blood.
I sighed, I should probably start with a formal apology. That would be a good start, I guess, otherwise he might not want me anywhere near him. Would he be afraid of me now? The thought never occurred to me until now, maybe we shouldn't be alone together. I'm not good with predicting what someone else would feel. With Konohamaru the other night it was much easier, I knew what it was like to lose someone close to you. I may not have expressed the appropriate emotions to that loss, but I did have a basic understanding of how to comfort someone else. Now with Kankuro, I'm the source of his grief. The only solution I can think of is to leave him to himself, maybe I shouldn't have stayed behind with him. Then again, he seemed more or less fine at the Hokage tower last night. Maybe he's not actually all that concerned about what I did to him? Who am I kidding? Of course he cares, who wouldn't?
"Where is everybody?" I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Kankuro had emerged from his room wearing his ninja outfit with the hood left down. He looked better than last night, but he must not have been feeling one hundred percent because he didn't bother with his face paint. I wonder why he wears it? He looks better without, I feel like I can take him more seriously this way.
"They all left to help out in the village, I volunteered to stay back with you." I said. I lifted my head out of my hands and stood up from the couch. "Are you hungry? Mitsuru left a plate of food for you."
"I'm starving." he said.
I walked him to the kitchen and got the plate of food I mentioned. Kankuro sat himself at the table while I set the plate down and got him a cup of juice. Then I took a seat in the chair across from him. We didn't talk to each other, Kankuro was too busy eating and I was trying to figure out how to start conversation. Do I apologize for almost killing him first or should I wait for him to bring that bit of information up? I suck at social interactions. I've never actually had to spend time with someone and build a bond through conversation before. I guess I did have sort of a master and student bond with all of the members of the seven ninja swordsmen, and there's Utakata, but that seems different. Utakata was never much for talking, he also had a traumatic experience with his own master when he was a child and has said that he would never have a student because he didn't want to let them down like his master did. He would never admit it but we had a relationship similar to that when we were assigned to be partners in the anbu, he had seniority over me and was the leader of our duo. Also, because of my isolation from other people I didn't realize I acted in an uncivilized way, he sometimes corrected my behavior. The seven ninja swordsmen didn't care about creating strong bonds with anyone, not even their partners, so I hardly think that kind of relationship would help me right now with Kankuro. The point is to apologize and sort of become friends. Actually, I don't care much about being his friend, he can be an acquaintance for all I care. Just as long as we are able to work together with a basic level of understanding of each other and don't try to kill each other again then that should do. But, I think I'm expected to start with an apology.
As I opened my mouth to start, I was stopped when Kankuro put down his fork and suddenly spoke. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" I asked. I was supposed to be the one to apologize, right? So why did he?
"When we first met, I called you a weak little brat." he said. "I was so certain that you didn't have any chakra and that you just wanted to start trouble by interfering, but it wasn't like that was it. You actually had the ability to do something. How are you able to suppress your chakra? It feels so," Kakuro placed a hand on his chest and continued, "untamable. It makes me feel untouchable, like I'm unstoppable, but it also doesn't feel complete."
"You probably don't feel complete because your body hasn't fully transitioned yet." I said. It almost sounded like bloodlust, but that isn't something that can be transferred to another, at least I don't think so. "As for concealing it, I'll admit that I'm not able to fully conceal it myself. My uncle thought it would be best if he placed the Karatachi family seal on me to fully conceal it. I wouldn't have been much use to him if I couldn't stay hidden while on missions."
"Would I have to have my chakra sealed too?" he asked.
"You shouldn't have to, but we'll see when you've fully recovered." I said. He nodded and picked up his fork to resume eating. "I'm sorry too." he looked to me questioningly, "For poisoning and almost killing you."
"You don't have to apologize." he said. "In that moment we were enemies, you were just doing what you could to help your allies. Either way it all worked out, well mostly, so we're good." he shoved his last forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Are we going to meet up with everyone else?"
"No, I thought we could do some chakra control training." I said. "Have you tried to use your chakra since you woke up?"
"Nah, I didn't feel like I had enough chakra to use any. Even right now I still feel a bit drained, but I'm way better than yesterday." he finished the juice I poured for him and set the cup down. "It should be another day and I'll be good as new."
"Good, we're leaving tomorrow after the funeral." I took his plate and glass from him and quickly washed them and then dried them to put them away.
"You know, I was wondering, did Gaara actually sleep last night?" Kankuro asked.
"He did." I replied.
"The whole night, how?" he wondered. "He hasn't slept since, well I don't remember him ever actually sleeping."
"I used my chakra to calm his chakra network. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep." I said. I wasn't going to reveal any more than that. I would rather Kankuro didn't know that I held Gaara while he slept. I understand to some extent that it isn't proper for a girl to share a bed with a boy who isn't her brother, and for that very reason I won't tell Kankuro because he'll make it a big deal. Honestly, I'm surprised that Temari didn't say anything about it this morning. She seemed more relieved that Gaara slept. "We should get going, we can go to one of the training grounds so that you can practice with your chakra."
"Are you sure that we shouldn't go and help everyone else?" Kankuro asked.
"I think they'll be fine without us. They were probably willing to give you the day off to restore more of your chakra." I said. "Get whatever you need to, we'll go do some training."
"Yeah, alright." he said. "Give me a minute." he went and disappeared into his shared room. I went to my room to get the executioner's blade just incase if he wanted to spar. I put my belt on first and then attached the executioner's blade to it.
As I was walking out of my room, I put my hair up in its high ponytail. Though I paused when I saw that Kankuro had on his face paint. I resumed putting my hair up as I asked, "Why do you paint your face?"
He looked at me a bit confused as if I should know. "Puppeteers' usually dress like this and paint their faces so that they can blend in with their surroundings and their puppets get more attention. You didn't know?"
"No, you are the first puppeteer I've ever met." I said. "So, do they all wear purple face paint?"
"Nah, only the ones from nobility." he said.
"Oh, because you're the Kazekage's son." I realized. He must take his appearance seriously if he put his face paint on and he's still recovering. Other than his face paint, I noticed that he now had his hood pulled up and his puppet on his back. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, lets go." he said. I led the two of us out of the apartment and down to the street. "You know a place to train here?"
"I saw it the other night." I found a more hidden training ground area when I was looking for Konohamaru. "No one should be there so you can practice with your chakra and we won't be bothered."
"Hn." he seemed to be okay with it. I'm sure he would have said something otherwise.
There were more people out today than there were the last couple of days. They would give me and Kankuro looks of confusion, but they didn't move to engage us. Some people even ignored us all together, they didn't seem to mind us much. We were able to pass through the village at a leisurely pace and without any detours.
The training ground I found was in the forest surrounded by trees. It didn't look like it was used much, so I'm hoping no one would bother us out here, especially if Kankuro has difficulty using his chakra. I'm sure he wouldn't want anyone to see him like that, if the first time we met says anything about his character, I would say that he's prideful of his abilities.
"No one should bother us here." I said. I walked over to one of the stumps sticking out of the ground and sat on top of it. "You can start with whatever you want."
Kankuro removed the puppet from his back and set it down. I watched as he tried to make chakra strings, but everytime they would get close to connecting with his puppet they would just stop. It was as if he didn't have enough energy to make his chakra stretch farther than that. I didn't say anything after he failed a few times, because I didn't think it would help. Kankuro didn't say anything either, but I could see that his body was tense and his teeth were clenched at his frustration.
He tried a few more times without success before I got up and moved his puppet closer to him. He grunted, and that's all he said about it.
"Try again." I said. Kankuro tried again and this time his chakra strings attached to the puppet. "See, it looks like you will have to build up your strength again. It's not the same as it used to be."
"That's what it looks like." he ground out. He tried moving the puppet, but it looked like he could only move it a little bit. "I didn't think it would be this hard. I thought everything would be normal and that I would just have to recover my chakra. It looks like it isn't fully recovered though." he dropped his hold on the puppet causing it to fall to the ground.
"In the hospital did anyone tell you about the changes in your chakra?" I asked. Kankuro was talking as if he didn't know that his chakra is different. If he thought he could do the same things as before then maybe he also didn't know how the change would affect him.
"Just that it wouldn't be the same. They didn't have much time to explain before they took me to the Hokage tower." he said. "How am I alive right now? I thought I was going to die."
"As it turns out, my blood is the cure to the poison I used." I started, "But the chakra in my blood started to consume your chakra. Yours is adapting to mine, but I have no idea why that happened in the first place."
"I've never heard of that happening either." Kankuro said. "Then again, I don't spend much time talking with the medics. Still, I think I would have heard of it. So my chakra is sorta mine but sorta yours?"
"Essentially, yeah." I agreed. "If you think about it, it's still yours. You just have to work on adapting it to you."
He groaned, "That'll take forever. I can hardly control it now." Kankuro slid to the ground on his knees "I really am sorry for calling you weak. I didn't realize at the time that your chakra was this different."
"It doesn't matter, you didn't know. Not many people, if any at all, seal away the presence of their chakra." I said. "You should get up. Keep trying to use your chakra. I bet you'll improve the more you use it."
"Or I'll just exhaust myself faster." he said. He pushed himself off of the ground and stood across from his puppet again.
I moved back to my place on top of the stump and watched. For hours I watched Kankuro struggle to use his chakra strings. He was doing better at moving his puppet, but from the angry grunts he would make I could tell that he still wasn't able to move the puppet exactly as he wanted too. At first, I just quietly watched him. Then after some time I offered him some words of encouragement, he seemed to try just a little bit harder at that. So, I continued to randomly say encouraging things every once in awhile. I thought it was the least I could do considering Kankuro's predicament is all my fault. I even made sure to project the sincerity in my voice, so he wouldn't think I was being nonchalant about his struggle.
"Hey, what are the two of you doing out here?" Naruto came walking out from the tree line. I guess this training area did get used, I was so certain that it was abandoned too.
"We're training." I said. I was hoping Naruto would leave us alone, I didn't want to explain why Kankuro was having difficulty or why we were separated from our teams. It would just be easier that way.
"Like when you taught me how to walk on water?" Naruto wondered.
"Uh, yeah." it's not really like that, but Kankuro is training and I am just observing him, so I suppose it's close enough.
"Can I join you too?!" a smile broke out on Naruto's face. I would love to say yes, but I don't think Kankuro would be up for that.
I was just about to apologize and tell Naruto that he couldn't train with us when Kankuro replied instead, "Sure, I should try some training with someone now. Before, I was just going through the motions."
"Alright, if you're sure." Naruto made some hand signs and yelled, "Shadow clone jutsu!"
Three clones of Naruto appeared and together all four of them charged towards Kankuro who used his chakra strings to pick up his puppet and sent it to attack the nearest Naruto. I almost didn't want to watch, earlier Kankuro was struggling, I can't believe he thought he was ready to fight someone. I was almost certain that he would wait until he fully recovered his chakra, or at least until he could fully utilize it. He still hasn't been able to move his puppet the way he wanted to.
The puppet had a blade appear from under each of its four wrists as it attacked the closest Naruto. That Naruto disappeared in a poof of smoke as the blade pierced its flesh. Kankuro also used chakra strings to trip another Naruto that face planted and also disappeared in a cloud of smoke. This left two Narutos, one coming at Kankuro from the left and the other from the right. Kankuro wasn't fast enough to move his puppet to protect himself and the two Narutos punched him at the same time, which sent him flying backwards.
"Ugh." Kankuro groaned as he laid on the ground. "Maybe I wasn't ready for this. I'm still kind of wiped out."
"Don't worry about it." the Naruto that I suspected of being the real one stepped forward and offered Kankuro a hand up. Kankuro looked at Naruto's hand wondering if he should take it before he finally reached out and accepted Naruto's help. They clasped hands and Naruto pulled Kankuro up, he started to wince the longer he held onto Kankuro's hand. Naruto's face fell into a frown as Kankuro managed to get the energy to pull himself up the rest of the way without the help of Naruto. "What was that?" Naruto questioned. "Are you able to take someone's chakra like Jiro can? No, that's not it, I would have been able to see your chakra take mine."
"I don't know what happened, I just touched you." Kankuro said. What's happening? There wasn't a physical exchange of chakra, but that's what Naruto described it as. Can it be something else? What the hell is happening? Kankuro should be fine now, a little drained from losing all of his chakra and nearly dying from poison but he should be mostly fine. "Ketto, do you know what's happening?"
Kankuro inspected the hand that touched Naruto. "Sorry, but I have no idea what just happened." I said. I may not have known what was happening, but I did know who had answers. Shozouki and that medic seemed to know something, yet it was something forbidden to talk about by the order of the Mizukage. If either of us want any answers then Kankuro and I will have to go straight to uncle Yagura for them. He did mention that he may be in a meeting with the feudal lords from the land of Fire to talk about the new Hokage and I didn't really want to interrupt, but I think it will be okay. If uncle Yagura is the one that banned talk about this or whatever Shozouki knows then it would be best to go straight to him about it. "I know someone who would know though, my uncle might know something. Just out of curiosity though, do you feel any different?"
"Huh?" Kankuro's attention was pulled away from his hand. "Well, now that you say that, yeah. I feel the best I have all day."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto grumbled. "Well, I feel completely drained like that one day I was finally able to summon the chief toad for the first time."
"I didn't do it on purpose." Kankuro defended himself.
I got off my stump and walked over to Naruto and Kankuro. "Sorry Naruto, but Kankuro and I are going to go now. We'll see you later."
"Alright, I hope you figure this out." he said. Naruto waved to us and walked away.
"Before we go, give me your hand." I said to Kankuro.
"Uh, why?" he asked. "What if the same thing happens again?"
"Don't worry about it." I grabbed his hand not worrying about what would happen. Kankuro tried pulling his hand away, but I held on to it. "Just wait." I didn't feel anything yet. When Naruto touched him it wasn't instantaneous either, so I held on to his hand a little longer before I felt anything.
What I felt was similar to losing chakra, but it was different too. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I kind of felt a depletion of chakra, yet there was also something else. It was like my energy itself was being taken away. I didn't seem to be affected as much as Naruto was, but I could feel the change.
"Well, do you feel anything?" Kankuro asked.
"I do." I let go of his hand. "I can't explain what it feels like though. My uncle should know what this is about. Come on."
I turned away and started leading our way to the Hokage tower. Uncle Yagura said there would be a meeting with the feudal lords of the land of Fire today, and a part of me thinks he's going to try to sit in on that meeting. I hope he'll be able to step away for a bit to help me and Kankuro out with this. Then again, he might not be able to step away. I've never witnessed a meeting to determine the next kage, but I feel like it would take forever. Picking a new kage is a big deal, that person will be known as the strongest in their village and they will be given a great responsibility to protect the people of that village.
"Do you think this has anything to do with your chakra molding with mine?" Kankuro asked.
"Probably, but I don't know anything other than that though." I said. My fists clenched at my sides, does this really have something to do with me again? Why is all of this happening? Now I know this definitely has something to do with whatever secret uncle Yagura banned everyone from talking about. What the hell could it be anyway? He tells me everything, or at least I thought he did.
"You really don't know anything?" he questioned.
"I really don't." I thought about it for a moment. This wouldn't have anything to do with Isobu would it? No, it wouldn't. No one other than uncle Yagura knows that I'm the host to the three tails, so it can't have anything to do with Isobu. Could there be something wrong with me? I would think that I would know everything there is to know about me, so how can I not know if there's something different?
At the Hokage tower we were unable to find my uncle or Emon who has been with uncle Yagura since we've come to the Leaf village. I wasn't able to find any Mist ninja either, though I knew I wouldn't be able to find any. We did run into Shikaku who I met yesterday.
"Shikaku, isn't there a meeting to determine the next Hokage going on right now?" I asked.
"Hn," Shikaku looked to me and Kankuro. "Oh, it's you." he said. "The meeting is ongoing, we decided to take a break to collect our thoughts and we'll resume in an hour."
"Have you seen the Mizukage anywhere?" I asked. "I needed to see him about something."
"The Mizukage hasn't been here since this morning." Shikaku said. "He chose not to sit in on the meeting, because he didn't want anyone to think he influenced our decision. Last I heard he was going to oversee the repairs made to the wall surrounding the village."
"I think I know the place, we were cleaning the debris in that area yesterday." I said. "Thanks for the help Shikaku, we'll go there now."
"No problem, you're Ketto right?" he asked. He looked to Kankuro next, "And you're one of those Sand ninja."
"Yeah, I'm Ketto." I said.
"Shikamaru mentioned you the other day." he said. "You were visiting the hospital with him and Naruto."
"I was, I went to check in on Lee but he was still sleeping." I said. "Shikamaru and Mitsuru were playing shogi and Jiro watched them. While Naruto and I told each other about our month of training."
"I see, it's nice to see that you don't live up to the stereotypes of other Mist ninja." Shikaku said. "I better get going, take care."
Shikaku left me and Kankuro to ourselves. "Come on, I know where my uncle will be. That's where we started our clean up yesterday."
"Hey, I was wondering about the other Mist ninja, are they really that cold hearted?" Kankuro wondered.
I directed us out of the Hokage tower and then replied, "It's true, at a young age we are taught not to feel emotion and after the graduation ceremony it's ensured that emotion is nearly completely wiped out. That's partly why we are or still are considered the Bloody Mist."
"I don't think you're that bad." Kankuro said. "I can tell that your emotion is cut off, but in a way, you do care. That's what makes you different than the others."
I didn't respond to Kankuro's claims of me being different than other Kiri ninja. I may not have been obvious in my indifference for pretty much anything, but I know I don't make an effort to show that I care. Most of the time I only care about particular things for reasons different than what should be obvious. I won't show that I care about a person because I care about them, I'll show an interest because it probably affects me. If a teammate is affected I'll care because the mission would most certainly be better to carry out with more than one person, even though I insist that I can do missions on my own, I still acknowledge that I might need some help. Still, I don't like having to rely on other people. When I was in the anbu paired with Utakata I enjoyed having him on missions with me. At the beginning it was because I was new to going on missions for my uncle. Up until that point it was just training, I was never assigned anything until I was partnered up. After I was used to going on missions I was able to go on my own. I missed the feeling of knowing someone was there to watch my back, but I've learned that it's a major risk to trust someone like that not by my own experiences but by seeing what other people have gone through.
I was taking on my own missions for long enough to understand the way things had to be. For a Kiri ninja it depends on how far we've come to becoming the perfect ninja and fully exterminating our link with our own emotions. For example, what is seem as the perfect ninja, someone without emotion to interfere with the mission, wouldn't know they were putting their partner in danger. They might know how to act when in a squad, but when it comes to acting how one should while in that squad it's different. In a way we are more militaristic than any other ninja from the other great nations.
I wonder if uncle Yagura would consider me a perfect ninja?
Kankuro followed me to the wall without saying anything else. When we got to the wall it took me a while to find uncle Yagura, but I managed to find him by his green shawl helping to construct the new section of the wall. I thought he would just oversee the construction and not help himself. I was also a bit shocked to see that all of the ninja helping him were Leaf ninja, there weren't any Mist ninja anywhere.
Instead of calling out to him, I appeared next to him while Kankuro stayed right where I was before. "Uncle, something has happened with Kankuro."
Uncle Yagura put down the hammer he was using to look over to Kankuro. "I could feel his chakra before you arrived, is that what you're talking about?"
"No." I didn't pay much attention to it earlier, but uncle Yagura is right. Kankuro's chakra is greater than this morning. "When he touched Naruto it was like Kankuro was stealing Naruto's chakra only it didn't look like Kankuro was aware of it happening."
"I see," uncle Yagura turned to a Leaf ninja near us. "I'll be leaving for a moment, keep working."
"Understood Lord Mizukage." the ninja turned back to his work.
Uncle Yagura jumped down to Kankuro while I followed him. "It would be best if we talked about this in a more secluded area."
"You mean you know what's happening?" Kankuro asked.
"I do, I was hoping this issue wouldn't present itself, but I knew there was a possibility being that your blood was able to adapt to Ketto's. Still, I need to make sure." Uncle said. He held his hand out to Kankuro to hold his hand. After a moment or two uncle Yagura spoke again, "It's not as strong but it's there."
"What is?" I wondered. "Is it something with my blood?"
"We shouldn't talk about it here." uncle Yagura said. "Let's go to the Hokage tower."
I was curious though, "Is it that thing Shozouki mentioned was banned to talk about?"
"What exactly did Shozouki say?" all of uncles attention was on me, I almost thought I said something that I shouldn't have.
"Just that when Kankuro's body was adjusting to my chakra he had an idea of what as happening, but said it was forbidden to talk about." I said. Carefully, I added, "What was he talking about?"
"Like I said, I didn't want to tell you. It was something that I wanted to keep from you because I would then have to reveal the past to you." uncle looked around, "Follow me to the Hokage tower and I'll tell you. I have to tell Kankuro now that he's been affected."
Uncle Yagura started to walk in the direction of the tower. I fell into step with him while Kankuro took a place at his other side. "Can't you tell us on the way? I want to know."
"Ketto, you're too eager." uncle said.
"You normally don't keep secrets from me." I fired back. Today, I was a bit more outspoken towards him. Usually, I do whatever he says without any argument, but it still bothers me that he kept something from me. Something from my past that I didn't know about. Did he somehow suppress my memory of what happened? Did I suppress my own memory? Why can't I remember anything that he would want me to forget?
Uncle Yagura let out a small sigh, "I thought it was best." He was quiet for awhile before he spoke again, "Ketto, the day you were born I was summoned from the Mizukage's tower to the hospital. I was told that there was unforeseeable complications with your birth and your mother, my sister, died during childbirth."
"During childbirth, I thought you said it was several hours later when she died?" I questioned. I was never told the specifics, just that there was a complication.
"I didn't want you to know the truth, so I lied to you." he said. "The moment she got to hold you something strange happened, it was like you were taking her life force. Every nurse and doctor that held you lost their life because their chakra wasn't great enough to sustain yours. You wouldn't stop crying, but when I held you it all stopped. I remember that you looked up to me and smiled. That was when I decided to raise you."
"How is it that I don't remember I can do that?" I asked.
"Until you were five, you were kept isolated from everyone, even your brother." uncle Yagura said. "I only allowed shinobi with remarkable chakra near you. That whole time I was feeding you my chakra and I tried to teach you to control it, but after your fifth birthday with no progress I decided to seal it away. The seals on your forearms are different than the ones on your biceps to suppress your chakra." I looked down at my bandaged forearm, I've never noticed that it was different than the others. I wonder if Zabuza knew this whole time, not that it would explain his actions, but still he must have known and kept it a secret all of these years. "It's the true reason why people refer to you as the Demon of the Mist."
"Now, I've been passed the ability." Kankuro said. "What are you going to do?"
"I'll have to seal it away like I did with Ketto. Your chakra has also grown, it's easy to sense. I might have to seal the presence of that away too." uncle said. "Especially if it continues to grow."
"Do you think that will happen?" Kankuro asked.
"The fact that you've developed any of her abilities shows that you have the potential to develop more. I think your chakra will only continue to grow." uncle said. "But it would be your choice to have the presence of your chakra sealed away. I only sealed away Ketto's so that she wouldn't be targeted. Or at least give everyone one less reason to target her. Everyone seems to want her dead for one thing or another."
Uncle Yagura lead us into the Hokage tower and started to walk to his room. It's probably the only place that we won't be disturbed with the meeting going on. Still, I checked the hallway for anyone while someone flicked on the light.
"Can I undo the sealing when I've gotten more used to my chakra?" Kankuro asked.
"This is a sealing technique that is unique to the Karatachi family. To perform the jutsu we use our own blood, and the blood of a Karatachi is the only thing that can undo the sealing along with the appropriate hand signs." uncle Yagura gestured to the floor where I sat last when he added the last seals to my body. "You will have to take off the top of your jumpsuit so that I can fully access your arms."
Kankuro followed instructions. He detached his puppet from his back and sat on the floor with his legs crossed. Then he pushed back his hood before unzipping his jumpsuit and pulling his arms out of it. The top of the jumpsuit fell to the floor. "So, I won't be able to undo it?"
"I think you should be able to." uncle Yagura said. He knelt in front of Kankuro before he grabbed a kunai and cut the palm of his hand. He put the kunai down and held out his hand for Kankuro's arm. "Ketto, you should perform the sealing."
I detached the executioner's blade from my belt and knelt next to him. I took hold of Kankuro's arm. "I didn't notice the difference between the two seals, can you walk me through it?"
"Of course, first we'll seal away the ability to take another's energy." uncle said. He traced a tribal marking on the floor. "Don't forget the curve here and the added tail, it's what separates the two seals. The one we'll use to suppress his chakra is the incomplete form so that he still has access to his chakra stores."
"Right, I think I've got it." I said. Uncle Yagura held out his bleeding palm to me. I dabbed my fingers into the cut and then started creating the tribal markings on Kankuro's forearms making sure to remember the particulars of the mark.
"Good, now the hand signs are Saru, Uma, Ushi, Ne." uncle said. I did the hand signs he said and I watched as the bright red blood turned black. "The seal seems to be strong. Now the next one."
I moved to Kankuro's upper arms and proceeded to mark them, remembering the more simplistic marking. This time I was able to create the symbols faster now that I was used to them. Then I performed the hand signs to active the seal. The red of the blood darkened to black once again. Kankuro was left with black tribal markings all over his arms.
"Woah," Kankuro looked at the markings in awe. "That looks pretty cool."
Uncle Yagura got off the floor and crossed the room to grab a roll of bandages from a drawer. "Next is the hard part."
"What do you mean?" Kankuro asked. "That seemed pretty easy."
"You can't tell anyone about the seals or what they do. You'll have to keep them concealed at all times. Too many questions will be asked about them, why you have them, where you got that ability, there will even be questions about your chakra. It would be best if this doesn't come back to Ketto, so I'm going to have to ask you to keep this from your siblings too." uncle said. He handed Kankuro the roll of bandages and just held them for a moment.
"It doesn't feel right, but you're right, questions will be asked." Kankuro said. He slowly started to wrap up his left forearm. "Having to explain everything would just make it complicated. I still can't figure out how all of this happened, but I understand why it would be better to keep this a secret."
"Thank you Kankuro." I said. Kankuro doesn't know all of my secrets, but it's nice to share this burden with someone. I didn't know about my ability to steal other peoples chakra, though I do now. Kankuro is going through the same thing I am right now, having to hide a dark ability and suppress our overbearing chakra signatures. I saw Kankuro struggle to wrap his other arm so I offered my help. Once I was finished he put his jumpsuit back on and lifted his hood again.
"I should get back to the wall to help with construction. I want to get as much done before we leave tomorrow." uncle said. "The two of you should go back to training, which is what I assume you were doing when you found out about that ability."
"We were." I said. I grabbed the executioner's blade and reattached it to my belt. "We'll be going now, thank you for your help. Let's go Kankuro." He swung his puppet over his shoulder and followed me.
Together, Kankuro and I walked out of the Hokage tower.
"Ketto, would you know of a way I could learn to control my chakra faster?" Kankuro asked.
I thought about it, how did I learn to control my chakra? "In my village, before you can enter the kenjutsu academy you have to have mastered walking on water. It requires you to focus your chakra into your feet and maintain a constant flow of output adjusted to the waters currents."
"That sounds complicated." he mumbled.
"In Kirigakure children have it mastered by ten." I said. "It's not that hard, you just have to concentrate on your chakra flow. Eventually, you won't even have to think about it."
He sighed, "Will you teach me how to walk on water?"
"Sure, let's go to the hot spring. Try to keep up." I started jogging to the hot springs with Kankuro hot on my tail.
"Slow down!" he yelled. "You're going too fast!"
"It'll be good exercise." I wasn't even using Isobu's speed, I was trying to run at a normal pace but it seems like I was still too fast. Then again, Kankuro hasn't completely recovered from the toxin from the black coral. I slowed my pace for him to catch up and stopped completely on the same bridge Naruto brought me to when I taught him how to walk on water. "I've already explained it to you, now I'll show you how to do it." While Kankuro was catching his breath I removed the executioner's blade and stuck it in the ground. Then I walked over to the water, focusing my chakra on my feet I prepared to walk on the water. I walked to the middle of the little stream and turned to Kankuro. "Make sure you take off your puppet, you might not get it the first try."
He pulled off his puppet and left it laying by the executioner's blade. "This is going to suck."
"Give it a try, I think this will progress your chakra control faster than it would if you struggled with trying to get your puppet to move how you want it to." I said.
Kankuro sighed, he walked to the edge of the stream to see that there wasn't a bank and that the stream was deeper than one would expect. I was kind of shocked when I first saw it too, but what did I really expect from a manmade hotspring? Kankuro braced himself for his first step and moved. His foot managed to maintain chakra control effectively enough, until he brought his other foot up to take a step. Then he lost his hold and fell face first into the water. I didn't laugh at him, I already knew he wasn't going to get it on the first try, no one ever does.
I waited for him to pull himself out of the water before I said anything. "You lost concentration when you went to take a step. You need to keep focused on what you want to happen."
Kankuro turned to me to show his skin reddened from the water, surprisingly his face paint didn't wash off. "Fine, I'll try again."
We stayed out here for hours and Kankuro never complained. I was almost certain that he would at some point, he didn't really get the hang of walking on water until we were a few hours into it. Everytime he fell, I gave him advice on how to get it right the next time. He didn't even ask for breaks. I don't think I've ever seen someone this determined to get something right before. Within a few hours Kankuro was able to stand on the water for forty-seven seconds. Usually it would take several days for someone to get that far because the lack of progress would deter them from continuing.
Slowly, the sun began to set. That was when I first suggested to Kankuro that we go back to the apartment, but he wanted to wait. While he was trying to master walking on water I stood in place. At some point I got bored and started doing sprints on the water. I even practiced some sword movements without my sword, the basic fundamentals were most important. Kankuro didn't say anything about me showing off. I think watching me effortlessly on the water is part of what pushed him into continuing.
Occasionally, I would run passed him really close on purpose to see if he would lose concentration. I thought it would be best if he got as much training in tonight as he could, I doubt there would be a big enough water source in Suna for him to continue this training. Maybe that's why he's pushing himself so hard? He wants to progress as much as he can because he knows he won't have the chance to continue.
Suddenly, I ran at Kankuro with my fist raised and aimed to punch him in the chest. He blocked with his arms crossed over his chest and was pushed back two steps, but he stayed on top of the water. "You've come far today, how about we call it a day?"
"I can do better." he said.
"No, we should go." I insisted. "The sun set an hour ago, I'm sure everyone else beat us back to the apartment and are wondering where we are."
"I won't have another chance like this again, I have to work on it some more." he argued.
I grabbed his arm and started to pull him off of the water. I made it three steps before he fell. I continued to drag him out of the water. "You have to admit that you progressed so much today. You didn't know how to walk on water, but now you can at least stand for a few minutes. Think of how that will translate to your chakra strings with your puppet?"
"I guess I didn't think about it." he looked over to his puppet that was still by the executioner's blade. That was when I recognized the look on his face.
"We are not staying so that you can try it out." I said. I let go of his arm and grabbed the executioner's blade to attach to my belt. "Come on. I bet Temari is wondering where you are, she seems to worry about all of you."
"Alright, fine, we'll go back." he grumbled. He picked himself off of the ground and grabbed his puppet. Then we left to go back to the apartment.
Before I opened the apartment door, I braced myself for my teams reaction to not being here when they got back. They all seem to be keeping an eye on me still because they think I'm going to just up and leave again, which I kind of understand. It's still annoying.
I opened the door to the apartment and saw Jiro practically fly off the couch towards us. "Lady Ketto, where have you been?!" the look on his face reflected one I would associate with worry. However, the look on his face changed to one of anger when he was standing in front of me and Kankuro. "Why does it look like you tried to kill Kankuro again?"
"What are you-" I looked to Kankuro and really looked at him. His jumpsuit was drenched, the hood pulled back to expose his face more. The purple paint that was on his face was trailing down his face, some parts were completely rubbed off. His face looked tired and his body was slouched forward in exhaustion. "I didn't do that."
"Oh yeah?" Jiro ground out. "Who did it then?" Jiro crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for a response.
"He did it to himself." even I knew that sounded ridiculous. "He really did."
Jiro lowered his voice, "Damn it Ketto, we're supposed to be friendly with them. Not beat the shit out of them."
"Wait a minute." Kankuro butt in, "I really did do this to myself. Ketto was teaching me chakra control by teaching me how to walk on water."
"What?!" Jiro exclaimed. "Lady Ketto was training with you?! I didn't even get to train with her yet!"
"Stop pouting Jiro." Mitsuru appeared from the dining area. "She doesn't have an obligation to train you so leave her alone."
"Still, it's not fair." Jiro pouted. Mitsuru hit Jiro upside the head pretty hard. "Ow! What was that for?!" Jiro clutched his head in pain.
"I heard you accuse lady Ketto of terrorizing Kankuro." Mitsuru said. "You still need to learn to trust her. I've accepted that she left us behind to go to the land of Waves. You need to remember that she didn't have any reason to inform us that she would be leaving, but we're a real team now. It won't happen again."
"Stop making me look like the bad guy. You were equally as upset." Jiro said.
"I just told you that I got over it." Mitsuru shot back. Mitsuru turned away from Jiro as if he couldn't be bothered by anything else he has to say. "Kankuro, you should go change before you get sick from the cold. That's the last thing you need right now. When you're done, Temari made food for everyone."
"Good, I'm starving." Kankuro walked off to his shared room.
"Lady Ketto, I know you haven't been eating lately because you've been trying to condition yourself to not need to eat as much, but you need to eat today." Mitsuru said. "Temari made food for everyone and she was excited for everyone to try it. You need to eat something."
"But I'm not hungry, have you ever eaten something when you were already full?" I asked.
"I guess, you feel like your going to burst." Mitsuru said. He seemed to think about it before he said, "At least drink something, tea, water, juice, I don't care. Just try not to seem disrespectful. Temari really was looking forward to sharing the food with all of us."
I let out a small sigh, maybe if I ate a little I won't upset my stomach. This morning I ate my toast fast and I was okay. The orange juice didn't even bother me and I was sure that it was going to make me feel like puking all day. I should be able to eat something for Temari. "I'll try. That's all I can promise."
Mitsuru let out a puff of air, "I guess that's better than nothing."
Shozouki walked out of the dining area. "I thought I heard you out here."
"You probably heard Jiro, he's always too loud." Mitsuru said.
"Am not!" Jiro yelled while getting in Mitsuru's face.
"I rest my case." Mitsuru mumbled.
"The two of you should stop fighting." Shozouki said. "It's getting late, you should turn in for the night. We'll be traveling to Suna tomorrow and I want you all well rested, Ketto that goes for you too." I didn't argue with him, I just nodded to agree. "Now everyone get moving."
"Yes, sir." Jiro mumbled. He walked off with Mitsuru following him into their room.
I went to my room first to put away my executioner's blade. Then, I walked towards the dining area and passed Baki on the way. He barely spared me a glance as he walked by. In the small dining area that was connected to the kitchen Temari and Gaara were both sitting at the table finishing their meal.
"Oh, hey Ketto." Temari greeted. "I take it Kankuro is back too?"
"He's changing, he'll be right out." I replied.
Temari got up from her spot. "Have a seat, I'll make you a plate of food."
"Uh, thanks." I took a chair and sat down.
"Get me some too, I'm starving." Kankuro joined us, taking the seat next to me with a smile on his face. "I've had one heck of a day."
Temari put a plate heaping with food in front of each of us. She made curry, with meat and vegetables over a serving of white rice. The sauce of the curry was very red, it was bound to be hot from all of the spices. Would spices upset my stomach?
Kankuro quickly dug into his food as if he hadn't seen anything like it in years. Temari sat in her chair again. "If it's too spicy for you then I made some extra rice. Jiro couldn't handle the curry either." Temari said.
"It's not that." I said. I picked up a spoon and picked up a bunch of the curry with a little bit of rice. I took a bite and savored the taste. It wasn't as hot as I thought it would be.
"You hardly ate anything last night. When was the last time you had a decent meal?" Temari asked.
"A few days, honestly I'm not sure my body can handle this. I apologize in advance if I can't keep it down. It really is delicious." I said. I kept shoveling spoonfuls of curry into my mouth. It really was very good, and my stomach was doing well. I think I'll be able to finish this without a problem.
"Ketto are you-" Temari looked at me shocked, "Are you starving yourself?"
"Not quite." I thought about it for a moment, "Actually, I guess I am starving myself. Though it's nothing for you to worry about." I said nonchalantly.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Kankuro demanded. "Starving yourself isn't something we can just let go."
"Wait a minute." Temari said, " We should just leave her alone. Sometimes girls fast to lose weight." she looked away as she continued, "I'll admit that I've done it once too."
"That's not it." I brushed off her confession.
"Then what is it like?!" she demanded. Her face was red from embarrassment.
"It's to condition my body to be able to function under the most extreme circumstances." I continued to eat as I explained. "I'm sure you remember from the first stage of the chunin exams that if a Kiri nin is captured by the enemy it's our responsibility to take our own life in order to preserve the villages secrets."
"I remember." Gaara said. "It intrigues me how someone could die for the sake of their village without question. I could never see myself doing something like that, my village has never done anything for me but ostracise me."
"My village hasn't done me any favors either." I said. I stopped eating for a minute. "For as long as I can remember all of the citizens of the land of Water have called me the Demon of the Mist. Still, I protect the ideals and integrity of Kirigakure not for its people but for my uncle even if he isn't the best person. I still owe him my life, and I respect him."
"What does this have to do with you not eating?" Kankuro asked.
"If I was ever in the situation where I was captured by enemy ninja there would be no way for me to take my life in the spur of the moment. My skin is too hard to make an effective killing blow." I said. "I would most likely be taken in for questioning or I might be tortured, whichever comes first. I would need to assess the situation over the course of several days, so I've been conditioning myself to go for days without any kind of re-cooperative actions."
"So it's more than just not eating." Temari stated shocked.
I nodded and continued to eat. "On the eleventh day without eating or sleeping I nearly collapsed. I'm certain I'll be able to last longer this time, Mitsuru made me eat something this morning and he guilted me into eating now. He said it would be rude of me not to." I finished the rest of my rice and curry before I pushed myself out of my seat and took my dishes to the sink. I quickly washed them and set them out to dry.
Gaara stood up from his place at the table. "Ketto, would it be okay if you did the same thing as last night?" He had a blush on his face as he asked.
"Hn, sure." I said. Gaara grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me to our room. I could hear Kankuro choking on his food behind us.
Gaara let go of my wrist once we were in the room. I took my hair out of its ponytail and kicked off my sandals before I walked over to the bed. I seated myself in the middle just like last night, Gaara placed himself in front of me again and leaned back against me. He pulled up the blankets around us before he got comfortable.
My arms wrapped around him and I started to use my chakra to lull him into a more peaceful state. We were quiet, I would have thought Gaara fell asleep already but I knew better. He was relaxed, not to a degree that he would have fallen asleep not yet anyway.
"Last night I dreamt of my mother." Gaara said. "She held me in her arms and said that she loved me. I don't know much about her, just that she loved my father and my siblings. My uncle Yashamaru always used to say that my sand protects me on its own, that it's really the love of my mother that's protecting me."
"At least you had the chance to meet her, even if it was in a dream." I said. "I've never met my mother either. Uncle Yagura says that she was his older sister and that her name was Moka. She was a hunter ninja, they are in charge of hunting down and disposing missing ninja. I don't even know if she wanted me. There are twelve years between me and my brother, I know that they weren't expecting me."
"I guess neither of us will ever know." he said. His breathing evened out and I knew he fell asleep.
I made sure to maintain a constant flow of chakra between us as I turned to my own thoughts. At a young age, I decided that I didn't care if either of my parents wanted me. I always pushed the thoughts out of my head because I didn't see the point in worrying over something that I would never truly know the answer to. It also puts a weight on your mind, one that I didn't need. Still, I found myself thinking about it. Would they have wanted me? Would they be proud of me?
I stayed awake for most of the night before I remembered what Shozouki said. The last thing I remember was slowly dozing off and wondering if I could still maintain chakra flow so that the Shukaku wouldn't awaken in the middle of the night.
