Silently, I moved across the rooftop without him noticing me. When I was close enough I casually sat next to him. My sudden movement must have startled him and his hand quickly rose with sand following his movements. My hand grabbed his wrist and the sand settled. "It's just me. Sorry for startling you."
His face showed confusion. "What are you doing up here?"
"It was the only place I could think of where I wouldn't accidentally wake someone up." I let go of his wrist and he retracted his arm. "Are you okay? Your chakra isn't stable right now."
"During a full moon Shukaku is harder to control." he looked up to the moon and continued, "His need to kill on sight is stronger than it would normally be. It's difficult to resist him."
"I'll keep you company to get your mind off of his desires." I suggested. My ankles crossed as they hung over the side of the building and I leaned back on my palms. It was then that I noticed the skirt of my dress was shorter than it was when I was standing up and it barely covered anything. I tried to pull it down some more, but didn't have any luck and left it alone to take up my position again. "Is it true that Shukaku could take over your body if you slept?"
"Shukaku once told me that if I ever fell asleep he would use that as an opening to break through his imprisonment within my body. I don't know if it's true, but I would rather not find out if there is any truth to it." he said. Gaara was quiet for a moment before he said anything else. "He's managed to free himself while I was awake a few times because I wasn't strong enough. My father was the one to stop him each time."
"He must have been strong to be able to ward off the one tails." I tried to think of other people who showed the same strength. I think I read something about the first Hokage Hashirama Senju being able to control tailed beasts without himself having to be one. Members of the Karatachi family have been known to possess great power, great enough to monitor the jinchuuriki in their family.
"He used gold dust instead of sand." Gaara said.
"Gold dust?" I wondered. "So the material he used was greater than the sand of Shukaku and that was how he was able to tame it?"
"I've never thought about it, but that could be true." he said. "It looks like he wasn't really all that strong after all."
"Just because he died at the hands of Orochimaru doesn't mean that he wasn't strong." I said. "It just means he was outsmarted and taken advantage of through his naivety to think he could trust an international criminal."
"I'm not sure what he was thinking about at the time. He might have had his own reasons."
"I guess I shouldn't talk." I said. "My brother became an international criminal when he tried to kill our uncle and honestly, I still trusted him." I thought of some of the things Zabuza did in the past, but when it comes down to it Zabuza never gave me a reason to not trust him.
"Trusted?" Gaara asked. "So he's truly dead."
"He is, about two months ago I was told that he was killed in the land of Waves." I said. "He took on a job from a man named Gatō to stop a bridge from being made. He wasn't able to finish that mission though. Apparently, he ended up killing Gatō because the boy who was traveling with him lost his life and Zabuza blamed Gatō for it. As it turns out Haku was precious to him."
I could feel my brows furrow slightly, I wish Zabuza would have shown that he cared about me in someway before he died. Now, I'll just remember him as being nonchalant towards me while still trying to read more into his actions. I mean there was that one time Zabuza had the other six swordsmen of the Mist help find me after I disappeared the night I made my first kill, but I can't think of anything else.
"Wouldn't you also be precious to him?"
"Not necessarily." I said. "I mean I could have been, but I wouldn't know. Are Temari and Kankuro precious to you?"
"No, I may have blood ties to them, but I don't care about them." he said.
"Well, now they are the only family you have left." I said. "Loneliness is depressing and it crushes your soul. I'll admit that in this world you have two options. Either bond with the family you have or create your own family, because no one deserves to be alone forever."
"What about you? Which one applies to you?" he wondered. I could feel him gazing at me but I didn't look to him.
"I wish I could say that I have strong bonds with my family, but Zabuza's dead and with uncle Yagura being Mizukage it's hard to be able to connect with him." I stopped talking for a moment to think. "I guess you could say that I created my own family. On our journey here while we were still in the land of Fire we were attacked by two men and I was separated from the rest of you, remember that?"
"We faced Itachi Uchiha, a missing ninja from the Leaf." he said.
"The man I faced was Kisame Hoshigaki, a missing ninja from my village." I said. "He was more of a brother to me than Zabuza was. I look up to him, even now as a defected ninja I still see him as my brother."
"But he attacked you and you still feel that way?" Gaara seemed a bit confused.
"I once told you that I was used to people attempting to take my life and I meant it." I said. "When Kisame attacked me the other day it wasn't necessarily to kill me. I don't know how to explain it really, he was checking in on me and testing my capabilities to protect myself. That's the difference between a friend or foe attempting to take my life. When it's a foe they allow their emotions to interfere with their performance and they truly intend on taking my life. When a friend attempts to take my life it really is to test my abilities."
"How can you tell the difference? If someone tries to kill you they should automatically be considered an enemy."
"It's all about the emotion that's put into it." I said. "The other day Kisame didn't have malicious intent towards me. He was playful. The time you tried to kill me was similar, your heart wasn't in it. You didn't have a reason to kill me. It was like you didn't care to kill me, but something possessed you to do it anyway. That's why I forgave you for that."
"I see." he said. "I only kill to feel, to give myself a purpose in life."
"Instead you could protect those that are precious to you." I suggested. "Friends, family members, as long as you have strong emotions for someone then they can be your special someone to protect."
"Someone precious to you?" Gaara questioned. "Uncle Yashamaru said something like that once. He was talking about wounds to the heart and that the only way they can be healed is by another persons love." he clutched the fabric of his shirt with a fist. "That is why he said it was important to have someone precious to you. Do you have anyone that is precious to you?"
I could feel him looking at me again. I turned and met his light blue-green eyes and answered, "Uncle Yagura, but something tells me I won't be able to see him for quite some time. Even if I had a wound to the heart he wouldn't be able to heal me. As a Mist ninja we get rid of all emotion. Though, there are some who still feel strongly, they are considered weak as ninja." I remembered our goodbye and the feel of his lips on my forehead as he kissed me goodbye. I still wonder what he could have been guilty about or even the loss that I also saw in his eyes, what was that about? Could it have been about something that he planned on doing? Something that he thought I wouldn't like? He shouldn't worry so much, I'll do anything for him. "It seems that in the Leaf village they consider their friends to be precious to them, so Gaara, you are precious to me. The same with Temari, Kankuro and Naruto. I've slowly been feeling bonds of attachment with each of you."
"How were you able to create those bonds in such a short amount of time?" he wondered.
"With Naruto it was easy." I started, I looked out to the moon and the view of the village before continuing, "He was an orphan from the day he was born. The people of his village treated him like an outcast. He was always alone, never good enough, always a burden. It was the same for me. I was an orphan the day I was born and was placed under the guardianship of someone who didn't have the time to raise me. I was always treated differently even as a young child, whispers of Demon of the Mist circulated when I was young. I wasn't always alone, I always had someone to train me, but they never cared about me so I might as well have been alone. I always felt as if I needed at get stronger to protect uncle Yagura and the village that hated me. I still feel that way. Naruto and I are alike, that's why it was easiest to bond with him. I also admire that despite all he has gone through he still has a smile on his face."
"So if I find something in common with someone else it would be easier to create a bond with them?" he seemed to be thinking about it more.
"Yeah, people form bonds through what they share in common all the time." I said. "What do you feel about me? We should share a lot in common too. You may have a demon residing within your body, but I'm just as demonic. My chakra is sealed away because of the demonic feel it has and I'm feared by most people in Kirigakure."
"Your eyes reflect the same loneliness that I'm sure are reflected in my own." he said. "I admit that I feel connected to you knowing that you've gone through some of the same experiences as me, but the feeling of caring for another is still foreign to me."
"You don't have to care for me." I said. "A friendship is just a state of mutual trust and support between allied nations or people. Or at least that's my understanding of it." That's what I've always thought of friends. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist supported me in getting stronger and by default we shared a certain level of trust between us, but it never went beyond that. "Do you trust me?"
"I do." he said. "I don't care for them much, but you saved Kankuro from death and you comforted Temari when Kankuro and I didn't know how to. You escorted us safely back home and you continue to support our village while we search for my father."
We were silent for the rest of the night, we enjoyed each others presence and didn't feel the need to say anymore. Gaara seemed to be more at peace then when I first joined him out here. As we talked, I noticed that Shukaku's presence diminished, not completely but I didn't worry as much about him coming out. I was a bit surprised that I didn't have to use my chakra to settle the one tails, I thought I would have to step in at some point.
I tried not to think about uncle Yagura's strange behavior and instead I thought about Kushimaru and Jinpachi. Whether I wanted to or not, I would be seeing them soon enough. Would I be able to kill them? I don't have any emotional attachments to them, but I still trust them. To some extent anyway, and despite blowing me up all the time I trust Jinpachi more than I trusted Kushimaru even if he did kill his own brother. At least Jinpachi was forward about his need to blow things up, I always knew I would accidentally set off a paper bomb because his training was that straightforward. I never knew if Kushimaru would pierce me with his blade or if he would go for something else beyond me. It was significantly harder to trust him, but still, I had respect for the two of them. What if there was a reason the two of them defected from the village that I don't know about? Would there ever actually be a good enough reason to defect from your village? Why did I even think that, of course it's never okay to defect from your village. It marks you as a traitor, someone who should never again be trusted.
How would I even be able to kill them? I could always use my Kukushibyo and they'll slowly die from the poison, but I respect them too much and I think they deserve to die in a more honorable way. If I used the Executioner's blade I think I would be able to hold my own against them. I would be more confident in my abilities if I was only going up against them one at a time even if they would only look out for their own well being. I once saw Kushimaru impale Jinpachi through the stomach to get to one of his opponents, but still, facing the two of them together would be a challenge. If I tried to separate them to battle one on one they would be able to figure it out. I can already imagine their taunting.
I could use their own techniques against them. It might be difficult still, they were the ones to teach me their techniques. As informal as it was the two of them were considered my sensei's. I wonder if my abilities exceeded theirs? I doubt it, how could I gauge that if they've been gone for years? I would just have to be smart about each of my moves. I need to strategize and stick to whatever I decide. I know I can rely on both Jinpachi and Kushimaru being driven by their bloodlust, they wouldn't think too much about our battle. Their blades probably aide in their craving for blood to be shed. I know that's what it's like for Kisame, or that's what he told me once. I haven't experienced the same thing with the Executioner's blade, or maybe I have and I couldn't feel it through my own need to shed blood.
I'll have to remember the techniques particular to their swords. Both swords are able to be utilized from long distances while the Executioner's blade is more for close combat. Shibuki's Blastsword Technique: Blasting Bridle Repeating Death might be troublesome. I saw Jinpachi use it once, a long length of his scroll unwinds and it sends many explosive tags towards your opponent in a circular motion. It's hard to escape the blast zone on short notice because it covers such a large range. I'm sure I could survive that kind of trap, but it would be annoying. I would lose time waiting for the dust to settle during which time Kushimaru could fling Nuibari at me and string me up in a tree with his Longsword Ninja Art: Wire Crucifixion . My shell like skin has developed more since I trained with them, would Nuibari still be able to pierce my skin? Either way he'll be able to disable me and bind me. I believe I'll be fast enough or evade both attacks, but if Kushimaru uses Earth Spider Sewing I don't know if I'll be able to get out of it. The only way to not fall into that trap is to manage to stand on top of the wire used to make the web, but it's hard to locate sometimes.
Maybe I can use the Heartless Pair against each other. It would be an underhanded way of killing one of them, but I'm sure they'll show me the same courtesy. Like I said, Kushimaru has pierced Jinpachi before, if I keep Jinpachi in between me and Kushimaru then he's more likely to be Kushimaru's target than I would be. I can imagine that it would weigh heavy on my conscious though I'm sure I'll get over it. I know they wouldn't think anything of it. If I manage to fail and they both still live, I know that they'll continue on like they did before. They wouldn't give it a thought that their partner betrayed them. Hopefully, I manage to pull this off.
I pulled my thoughts away from the two swordsmen and gazed at the village below us. Everything was the color of sand and in some places it was difficult to distinguish between the different buildings. I was still curious about the landscape, but I didn't care enough to ask. It's most likely a manmade canyon to protect the village from sand storms and outside attacks.
When the sun started to rise I noticed that it was brighter than the one I've seen in the Leaf village. In Kirigakure there are some days when you question if the sun even rose for the day. I need to enjoy more little things like this when I can.
I moved away from the edge of the roof and stood up. I stretched my arms over my head on each side before reaching down to my toes. Then, I turned to walk away. "Where are you going?" Gaara asked.
"Now that the sun is rising I should get back before Temari wakes up." I said. "If she accidentally tells Mitsuru or Jiro that I stayed up again tonight I'll never hear the end of it. I'll see you later." I gave him a slight wave and started to walk down the side of the building by concentrating the chakra in my feet the same way as I did when I came up.
I scaled down the side of the Kazekage building easily, I was careful when climbing back in the window so that I didn't accidentally alert Temari. It was still relatively dark in the room, I moved back to the bed and climbed under the blankets. I was sure not to jostle the bed and laid in the same position Temari last saw me in. The bed was comfortable and I was able to relax enough to think about going into a light doze but I decided against it.
I'm not sure how long I ended up waiting before Temari started to wake up. She sat up in bed and yawned. That was when I rolled over to show that I was awake too. "Good morning Ketto." Temari said through another yawn. Her hand covered her mouth as she yawned and then moved to her hair to ruffle it up a bit. I didn't notice her take her hair out of her pigtails last night. Her hair was a little bit passed her shoulders and looked kind of ragged. It didn't look too bad, it was just about as messy as Kushimaru's hair.
"Good morning." I pushed myself up too. "Do you think you can bring me to my team? I should check their progress with the search."
"They insisted on being put in rooms close to us so that they could be near you." she said. She flopped back on the bed with no energy to get out of the bed. Her arm rose and she pointed in a direction. "Three doors down that way."
"Hn, I'll be back then." I moved the blankets aside and got out of the bed. When I left the room I made sure to go left and knock on the first door mentioned. I didn't have to wait long before Shozouki opened the door.
"Good morning Lady Ketto." he greeted. He was already dressed for the day and looked refreshed, he might have been up for awhile.
"I was wondering how the search for the Kazekage went yesterday, any luck?" I wondered.
"No, no luck at all." he said. "This is the desert, do you know how long it will take to find him? With all the sand storms that pass through this area I doubt his body is out in the open. He's probably buried already. How did the meeting with the council go yesterday?"
"Most of them believe the Kazekage is still alive and they refuse to start negotiations until they know for certain." I said. "They are allowing us to stay in the village to help locate him, but after his body is found you, Mitsuru, and Jiro will have to return to Kirigakure."
"That could take some time." Shozouki frowned, the corners of his lavender eyes crinkled as he narrowed his eyes. "They're really believing the Kazekage is alive?"
"Yes, it's a foolish thought I know." I sighed slightly, "But for the Kazekage to disappear for weeks without a trace? I might believe he was still alive if Orochimaru was holding him captive somewhere, but then how would Orochimaru get him out of the desert?"
"They have hope, we shouldn't judge them for it." Shozouki said. "Will you be joining us in the search today?"
"I don't know yet." I said. "If I help in the search we might be able to cover more ground, but I feel like I should spend another day training with Kankuro to help him with his chakra before we leave."
"Train with Kankuro." Shozouki suggested. "We'll be able to handle the search on our own, either way it will take days, but your time with Kankuro is limited before we have to leave."
"You're right, who knows when or if I'll be sent back here." I decided that Kankuro and I would do some training today, but what would we focus on? Water style jutsu wouldn't translate well to the desert, so it will be hard to tell if Kankuro gained any of my other abilities. "We should wake the other two up so you can head out soon."
"I'll get Mitsuru." Shozouki said. He moved to the room next to his. "Jiro is in the next room over." he let himself into Mitsuru's room without knocking. I walked to Jiro's room and did the same.
When I opened the door, I heard loud snoring. I entered the room to find a human shaped lump in the center of the bed partially covered with blankets. Jiro wasn't wearing a shirt and his torso was left untouched by the blankets. His chest rose and fell with each breath. I crept closer to him and tried shaking his shoulder to wake him up. "Jiro, it's time to get up." I shook him again when he wouldn't move, but he didn't budge. I grabbed the rest of his blankets thinking that the displaced blankets would wake him up, only that didn't seem to work either. I looked around the room and couldn't find anything to wake him up with, so I snatched the pillow from under his head, which only fell to the mattress with a plop. He didn't seem the least bit bothered and I wondered if it was always this difficult to wake him up or if he was just that exhausted.
I guess it couldn't be helped. I moved to stand at the end of Jiro's bed facing his body. I did some hand signs and water jetted out of my mouth to soak Jiro. He jolted up sputtering once the stream of water stopped. "What the hell?!" he coughed a bit and rubbed water out of his eyes while sitting up. He pushed his dark brown bangs up on his forehead out of his eyes. "C-cold, why did you do that for?!"
"I was having difficulties waking you up." I said.
"Oh! Lady Ketto, I'm sorry, I'm kind of a heavy sleeper." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Wait, what are you wearing? That's too short." he blushed a deep red, "Way too short."
"It's what Temari gave me to wear." I said. I looked down at the dress taking note of the shortness of it that Jiro pointed out and he isn't wrong, it's hardly appropriate to wear. "It's all I have right now so I'll just have to deal with it until we get back to Kirigakure. Now get dressed, we need to use our time efficiently."
"Can we eat first, I'm hungry." Jiro put one leg after the other over the side of the bed and got off of the wet mattress.
"I'll leave to let you change, then we can see about eating." I said. I left him in his room and waited in the hallway with Shozouki and Mitsuru who was also awake and dressed for the day.
"What did you do?" Mitsuru asked curiously. He had a brow raised and waited for me to reply.
"I used a water jutsu to wake him up." I shrugged my shoulder.
"Without a water source?" he seemed surprised.
"It's very similar to pulling water out of something, only this time I used my chakra." I answered. I was actually able to do this before I could take water from something else, it's like I was doing everything the hard way on purpose. It's pretty much the same as when I make my black coral, only I'm using water release and chakra instead of just chakra.
Before Jiro could make it into the hallway Temari joined us. "Waiting for Jiro again?" she asked. She was now dressed for the day and her hair was pulled back into its pigtails.
"Yes, but this time it's my fault. I used a water jutsu to wake him up." I said.
"That's kind of funny." she chuckled a bit. "I can get you some breakfast before you head out today."
"That would be nice. Jiro was already complaining about how he was hungry." I said.
"He's always complaining about something." Mitsuru looked to Jiro's room. "Which water jutsu did you use?"
"The basic Raging Waves."
"In close quarters that would have hurt." Mitsuru said.
"I didn't use much chakra, I just wanted to get him wet." I didn't want Jiro's body to be strained after so I only used what was necessary to make the jutsu.
"Still, that's a lot of water." Shozouki mentioned.
Jiro exited his room in his standard ninja attire. His brown hair was still wet, but now he had his forehead protector on to help keep his hair out of his eyes. He also had his katana holstered I'm not sure he'll need it but it's better that he has it.
Temari started to walk down the hallway. "Come on, I'll make you something to eat before you head out."
We followed her to an open space that contained a kitchen attached to a dining area. A living room seemed to be through another archway. Kankuro was already seated at the table with a bowl of cereal. He looked up to us when we entered showing his face clean of any paint before giving his breakfast his full attention. He was wearing a black tank top with black ninja pants, probably what he wears as pajamas.
There weren't enough chairs to sit down, so I chose to stand against the wall but Jiro grabbed my arm and directed me into the chair next to Kankuro before he followed after Temari. I was a bit confused, what would Jiro have to do in the kitchen? I thought he couldn't cook.
I curiously watched Jiro talk with Temari before my attention was pulled back to the people closest to me when Kankuro spoke, "What do you plan on doing today? Are you going home?"
"No, the council refuses to negotiate until your father is found, so we might be stuck here for awhile." I said.
"Of course they said that." he muttered. He shoved another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Those geezers always have to make things difficult, but at least you get to stay longer. Could you show me another jutsu like you did with the walking on water?"
"I can try, there are a few things I want to check out first though."
His brow furrowed, "Like what?"
"I wanted to see if you were able to do anything else that I can do with your new chakra." I said. I was curious to see if he could also create coral from his chakra, it's unlikely, but if he was able to use an ability of mine that I didn't know about then it's possible that he could do this too. I was also curious to see if my black coral was still poisonous to him or if he could wield the Executioner's blade though wielding that blade isn't a particular trait of mine, and he might not fulfill the particular set of requirements needed to wield that blade. Who knows what they could really be.
"You think I will?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, it's possible."
A bowl was set down in front of me filled with oatmeal with some slices of banana. Before I could say anything, Jiro grabbed my hand and adjusted my grip to hold a spoon. "This should be light on your stomach. Whatever you don't finish I will for you, but you need to try and eat."
I sighed, but didn't try and complain. I used the spoon to put a little bit of the oatmeal. "I thought you didn't know how to cook?"
"I asked Temari to help me." Jiro said. "She agreed to show me how to cook so that I can make sure you eat. I believe you don't feel hunger because your body is used to starving and not realizing it. If you keep going on like this it will reflect in your physique, your muscles will fade away and you won't be able to use as much chakra. We'll start you off with foods that are light on the stomach and work up from there." Jiro went back to Temari. This time I saw Temari giving him instructions on how to do things a certain way.
Kankuro snorted and started to cough uncontrollably.
"Knock it off, I'm not starving." I lifted my arms into the air in a flexed position. "Does it look like I'm malnourished to you?" Even with the bandages on my arms you could see some of the definition to my biceps. I wouldn't be able to carry either of my swords if I was truly malnourished.
"It's just something that concerns him." Mitsuru said from across the table. "We both want to share the responsibility of looking after you. When we were in the Leaf village I made sure you ate, and now Jiro wants to try. Neither of us are good at cooking so this will take some time for us to adapt to."
"You should just save yourselves the trouble." I mumbled. I ate the small bit of oatmeal on my spoon and right away I knew it wasn't going to agree with me. As soon as I tasted the oatmeal on my tongue I felt like spitting it out, but I promised to eat so I swallowed it. I could feel the lump travel down my throat and weigh heavily in my stomach. That soup Temari made last night must have filled me up more than I thought it did.
I could feel myself grimace at the feeling of overeating. I'll never hear the end of it if I stop eating now, so I got myself another small spoonful and tried again. This time the feeling was worse. I felt like I had to puke to make room for more, or at least puke to make this feeling go away.
When I went for my third spoon of oatmeal Mitsuru stopped me. "Please stop, just eat your banana slices and leave the rest." his voice was soft as he spoke.
I was grateful that I wasn't expected to eat anymore of the oatmeal. Now, I just have to eat the banana slices. I plucked the five slices off of the top of the oatmeal and shoved them all in my mouth at the same time to get it over with. Then, I pushed the bowl away. I struggled to chew because all I wanted to do was spit it out, but eventually I managed to swallow. The banana didn't feel as heavy in my stomach as the oatmeal did, still, I know that this will be a lingering feeling for the rest of the day.
"Are you okay?" Kankuro asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said. I'll probably forget all about his feeling of fullness when we start our training, hopefully. Either that or the feeling will dull. "I can normally handle one meal a day and I usually have that later in the day. I won't be able to eat now but I will later." Maybe, this might have just messed with that.
Jiro came back to the table with two plates of eggs and bacon, he placed one in front of Mitsuru and the other in front of Shozouki. He glanced to my bowl and didn't say anything as he picked it up and started eating it.
"I'm going to get dressed." Kankuro said. He got up from his spot and carried his bowl to the sink before turning back. "Do you need to grab anything before we go?"
"Yes, I'll come with you." I got up from my spot and addressed my team. "I'll be helping Kankuro adjust to his chakra some more. I'll see you tonight."
"See you." Shozouki gave me a little wave before I followed Kankuro.
"I'll never get used to that." I said.
"What?" Kankuro looked to me as we walked.
"People caring about me." I said. "I've mostly been alone alone. Emon, one of the anbu that serves my uncle would make sure I was taken care of when I was younger, but that's it. "
"I can see how it would be awkward for you to have them act like that." he said. We walked down the hallway towards Temari's room. Kankuro stopped in front of a door a few feet down from Temari's room. "I'll be quick."
"Alright, I just need to get something from Temari's room, I'll see you in a bit." I went to Temari's room and put on my sword belt before attaching my swords. Then I waited in the hall for Kankuro to be ready to head out. I didn't have to wait for too long before we were exiting the Kazekage building. "Where would we train? I didn't see a big enough space within the village."
"We don't train in the village. We go to the sand seas right outside of the village, but I have a special spot." he said. "Come on, I'll show you."
He started to run and I ran after him. We ran through the streets of Suna and out of the gates. No one stopped us or gave us a second glance as we went. I continued to follow Kankuro. We traveled a distance out into the sand sea he was talking about. I was surprised when big jagged rocks were protruding from the sand. It made me believe that at some point long ago this desert might have been a sea. The rocks didn't seem like they belonged, but what would I know about the desert? I've lived on an island my whole life, I wouldn't know anything about the geography of a desert.
Kankuro stopped running suddenly and turned to me. My feet slid in the sand as I tried to stop running. I bet my feet will be filthy after today with all of this sand.
"This is it." he said gesturing around. "Most people don't come this far out, but at least I know I'm alone."
"I go out of my way for a training spot too." I said. I would always disappear to the South Sea so that I wouldn't have to worry about other people interfering with my training.
"What was it that you wanted to test out?" he wondered.
"There were a few things actually." I detached the Executioner's blade and stuck it upright in the sand before reaching for my Kukoshibyo. "Being that my chakra makes up some of your chakra composition now I was wondering if you would now be immune to my black coral."
"Uh, should we really test that out here? What if I'm not immune to it?" he wondered.
"I have a feeling that it won't affect you anymore." I shifted the sword in front of me and held it with one hand as I pointed it at him. "My chakra was used in creating this blade, while you may have been poisoned before the chakra in my blood saved you and now your chakra is a mixture of the two. With all that your body has been through I think it's safe to say that it's very enriched with my chakra. If you want I could fight you, all it takes is a scratch."
"W-what, no, I don't want to go through that again!" he took his puppet off of his back and it unwrapped to show his Crow. Blades ejected from all four of its wrists and Kankuro used his chakra strings to place Crow in a defensive position. "It's not something that we need the answer to."
"It would be good to know for future training sessions." I said. "I need to know how far I can push you before your body won't be able to take the abuse anymore."
"Why would you say that?! It makes you seem like a slave driver!" he shouted.
"You'll learn better through experience." I could feel a wicked grin pass over my face. That was the philosophy I followed when I was younger. I was thrown into situations a child my age shouldn't have been, like fighting on the front lines during the war between Water and Lightning. Or participating in the kekkei genkai massacre, but I'll admit that it shaped me into the fighter I am today. "You're more likely to retain information this way."
I leaped towards him with my sword raised. My blade was much bigger than the blades protruding from Crows wrists so the puppet held all four of its wrists together so that I wouldn't shatter the blades from the force of my blow. Kankuro tried to use Crow to push me back, but quickly noticed he couldn't get me to budge. Despite fighting in the sand I managed to get a feel for the loose terrain quickly. I was able to push Crow back a foot or two before Kankuro tried to distance both himself and Crow from me.
"You're strong." he said. He pulled on the chakra strings again and this time had Crow charge at me. "But are you fast?" Crow moved better than the other day when Kankuro was trying to get a feel for everything again. Each blade moved to strike fast. I blocked the first strike before moving effortlessly into my next block. Crow was able to move from one attack to the next faster than I could with my Kukoshibyo, probably due to the blades versatility and the fact that there were more of them. I'll admit that my Kukushibyo was much bigger and heavier, it was harder to deliver as many blows as Crow could or if I was using Nuibari or Kiba. But, I still have an advantage. I may not be as fast when it comes to swinging Kukoshibyo as Crow is, which doesn't matter when I can move my body faster.
The next attack Crow sent my way I timed perfectly. I managed to grab one of the blades between my fingers and hold it in place. When Crows other arms swung at me I moved slightly to dodge the hit and brought up my other arm with Kukushibyo to cut through Crows arms in one arc of my blade. The arms fell into the sand leaving an annoyed Kankuro. "You couldn't have cut them off at the joints? It's going to take me forever to remake those arms."
"It'll give you something to do." I said. I relaxed my stance a little bit. "It looks like you can't use Crow anymore. Sorry about that." I gave him a sheepish smile while I rubbed the back of my head.
"Crow isn't down yet." Kankuro said. I looked to see Crows mouth open wide enough for its head to tip back all of the way. Another blade came out.
"You should stop while you're ahead. You're going to have to create a whole new puppet after we're finished." I said.
"I told you that I didn't want to risk my life on some thought you had. This is poison we're talking about, we have to be sure." he ground out.
"Just a small scratch. That's all it takes to know." I tried moving closer to him only for Crow to copy my actions. "How are you so sure that you didn't inhale some of my coral dust?"
"Y-you didn't!" he yelled. "Did you?"
"Maybe." I was casual about it. Messing with him is fun. "But, I didn't." I lifted my blade and sliced off the head of Crow when he was distracted. "Are you finished now? If you're now immune to my black coral you'll be fine, and if you're not then I have the antidote here with me." I moved to show him that there might be something up my sleeve, but didn't actually show him. I didn't actually have anything there. While his fears are normal, I still strongly think he'll be fine.
"Why didn't you tell me you had the antidote on you this whole time?!" he argued. "It could have saved me time later and I wouldn't have to repair Crow."
"You mean if I told you that I had the antidote from the beginning you would have let me cut you without the fuss?" I wondered. I'll have to remember that in the future. In order to test something dangerous first convince them that you have a safety measure that is sure to guarantee their safety, even if it is false.
"Well yeah, if I knew that you had the antidote then if something went wrong I would have still been fine." he said. He sighed and walked towards me holding his arm out. "Just a cut right? Make it quick."
I lifted my sword and used the tip to cut the skin on the palm of Kankuro's hand. Blood welled up, but I didn't see a color change happen. When someone is poisoned by my black coral the blood in their veins turns black and it spreads to the rest of their body. There wasn't a change in Kankuro's blood or anywhere else in the cut.
"That's a relief." I muttered.
"What do you mean? You said you had the antidote." Kankuro snapped back.
"That was a lie." I said. Kankuro paled, but I had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with the cut and everything to do with the fact that I lied to him. "I already knew that you would be fine, I just needed to confirm it."
"Don't ever do something like that again." he ground out.
"Fine, I won't." I stuck Kukoshibyo into the sand. "This next thing I wanted to test out will not put you in danger at all."
"What is it?" he looked to me skeptically, not that I really blame him.
"I was wondering if you had the ability to create coral too." I started. "It's an ability unique to my family, but with recent events I think there might be a chance that you can do it too."
"I doubt it, I'm not the greatest at using ninjutsu." he said. "My whole life I've wanted to be a part of the Puppet Brigade so I've focused solely on my puppets."
"Just give it a try." I pressed. "It make not work on the first try so you might have to try several times."
"Alright, what do I need to do?" he wiped the blood from his hand onto the side of his black jumpsuit.
I held my hand out palm up. "You need to focus your condensed chakra into on spot and then mold it into any shape you want." as I was talking black coral dust appeared and swirled in the palm of my hand before forming and solidifying into a Kirigakure standard kunai.
"You make it look easy." he mumbled. I thought he was going to give up before he even gave it a try, so I was a bit surprised when he lifted his hand and gave it a try. He closed his eyes and focused. At first, I didn't see anything, but then I saw it. It wasn't black like mine was, that's why I missed it at first. It was purple. Kankuro wasn't able to create anything and when he opened his eyes to look he lost his focus so he didn't see anything. "Nothing."
"Try again." I urged. He sighed, but tried again with his eyes closed. "Keep your eyes open and focus on the palm of your hand."
This time it didn't take him as long to make the purple coral dust. As soon as he saw it he lost concentration and dropped his hands. "I can do that? How?"
"It shouldn't be that big of a shock to you." I said. "Now, I'm not sure what your purple coral can do. My black coral is highly poisonous and uncle Yagura has white coral, which is harmless. Either way you should be careful with it." I noticed Kankuro was staring wide eyed at his hands still. "Are you okay?"
He stopped staring and shook himself to focus his attention again. "I'm still a bit shocked at all of this I guess."
"Are you going to tell people you can produce coral from your fingertips?" I wondered. "This isn't something you have to keep a secret so you can tell whoever."
"I don't think I'll tell anyone." he said. "At least not until I have a better feel for it and can actually make something. Until then, I'm just going to keep this to myself."
"I see, it's probably better that way. Then people will be more likely to believe you." I said.
"What else is there to test?" Kankuro asked.
"This next one is easy, you just have to pick up the Executioner's blade." I said while gesturing over to the sword.
Kankuro's eyes nearly bugged out of his eye sockets. "That thing? What makes you think I can hold it. Isn't it a special sword or something?"
"I guess you could say it's special." I said. "Only select few can wield it. Everyone else's chakra is rejected by the blade. It's not known what requirements the blade has for a wielder, but it is known that the blade chooses its wielder."
"Are you saying that this sword is somehow alive?" he looked at the Executioner's blade with a ridiculous look on his face.
"In a way, yes. All of the seven ninja swords of the Mist have their own chakra. If the Executioner's blade is ever damaged it uses its own chakra and the blood of its enemies to repair itself."
"That is both cool and creepy." he said. As Kankuro reached a hand out to the handle of the sword he stopped. "If it rejects me will it hurt?"
I didn't answer right away and I'll admit that it wasn't really convincing when I said, "No." I wouldn't have believed it either.
"That's not very reassuring!" he shouted.
I sighed, "The truth is, I'm not really sure what would happen. Is that a better answer?"
"Not really." he mumbled. He sighed deeply before fully gripping the handle of the sword and lifting it out of the sand with a bit of difficulty. "This is heavier than I thought it would be. You swing this thing around easily, so I assumed it would be lighter."
"I've already told you that I had vigorous strength training."
"Yeah, but it's still a bit shocking that a girl like you could lift this much and not break a sweat." I could see the strain on his face as he tried to wave the Executioner's blade around only to have it fall into the sand right away. "I don't think I'm compatible." he ground out.
"Why do you say that?" I wondered. He seemed fine when he first grabbed hold of the Executioner's blade.
"I can feel it eating away at my chakra. It's not enough to completely wipe me out, but it could be troublesome really fast." he said.
"Hn." I gripped my chin in between my fingers to think about this. Kankuro hasn't fully been rejected by the Executioner's blade, so there might be a possibility that if he got stronger he could also wield it. It's strange to think that someone from another nation could be able to wield one of the Mist's seven ninja swords. "You can put it down now."
Kankuro let go of the sword and it tipped over in the sand. "How can you handle that thing taking your chakra like that?"
"Honestly, I don't feel it taking my chakra." I said. It's never occured to me that I might have felt the sword taking some of my chakra. I always thought that if the sword accepted you as its wielder then you were given its power, I didn't think I would have to give it anything in return, but I suppose that makes sense. It's why only select few can wield the blades, they have to have an exceptionally strong chakra. "I think in the future you might be able to wield it as effortlessly as I can."
"You think so?" he asked. His breathing was slightly uneven and he looked like he may need to rest for a bit, but this is our chance. When I was growing up one thing that I learned was that you can only excel in your training once your have pushed your body beyond its limits. Or at least that's how you can develop larger stores of chakra, I'm not sure if you could actually improve your fighting abilities that way, but it must be true. It's essentially the same as fighting in a war.
"I do, it may take years, but it's possible for you to be able to use the Executioner's blade effectively." I said. My hand fell from my face and I walked over to the felled blade. I picked it up and lodged it in the sand like it was earlier. "You should be proud, not many people are compatible with any of the blades. People from my own nation are usually unlikely to achieve such a fate. I've been told that the graduation exam was a way to ensure there was at least one generation of swordsmen at all times even though there have only been two generations, now three if you count me and Chojuro."
"There's only two of you?" he asked.
"Yes, the other blades have been taken away from the village by their wielders who have defected. Once the blades are returned to the village the process of searching for compatible wielders will commence. As a swordsmen of the Mist, Chojuro and I are expected to now train students at the kenjutsu academy. Whoever we deem worthy may be tested with a blade, but like I said, compatibility is nearly impossible within my nation. Even more so now that the graduation exam has been outlawed." How am I supposed to be able to pass the Executioner's blade on? Would I ever be able to find someone who isn't Kankuro and is from my own nation? I don't plan on giving up my blade anytime soon, but I will still need to pass it on at some point.
"That kind of reminds me of myself." he said. I looked to him wondering what he meant. "All my life, I've wanted to be a member of our nations Puppet Brigade. Only, that division doesn't exist anymore. I planned on trying to resurrect it, but the former leader of the division refuses to train me. Then again, Granny Chiyo is known to be stubborn." he finished in a mutter.
"I don't know much about puppeteers, but I can try and help you." I suggested.
"How would you do that?" he questioned.
"You could train with me as your puppet." I offered. It was the only thing I could think of to help him with his training. "If you could control something like a human being with your chakra strings then I don't know what you wouldn't be able to control."
"That's a high level skill in puppeteering." he said. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to do it."
"Don't sell yourself short, I'm sure you can." I stepped closer to him and spread my arms out to each side. "Go ahead, you'll never know you can do it if you don't try and you'll never get stronger if you don't train. Being that I can't show you ways that I know how to control chakra or any other water jutsu out here we will have to do training your way, as a puppeteer."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "To be treated like a puppet is very insulting for anyone. Would you really be fine with it?"
"You need to learn and expand your limits now that your chakra has been rewritten. Despite what you or anyone else may think, it's still my fault that happened to you. I would like to help you become the best ninja you can be because I still take responsibility. The fact that you are a ninja from another nation doesn't matter. If I have to offer my body as a puppet for training, then so be it." I said.
"Alright, if you're sure." he still didn't seem sure.
"Whenever you're ready."
I waited for him to compose himself, still with my arms raised. When he was ready he created chakra strings that attached to various parts of my body. I allowed my arms to drop so that it wouldn't seem like I was resisting. Kankuro took time moving each of the chakra strings and getting used to the movements that followed. It was slow going at first, but I was patient while he got used to controlling a human. I'm sure that I was heavier than any puppet he's used before and that's why most of my movements seemed sluggish.
Kankuro progressed to basic yet more mobile movements than before. He had me walking around in the sand, and doing small jumps before he had me move on to more complicated moves like dive rolls and flips. I could tell that he was really pushing himself by the way his breathing seemed shallow and the sweat that beaded on his forehead.
"You're tiring out, keep pushing yourself. Right now is when your body will progress beyond what it can handle and make you stronger." I said.
"I wasn't planning on giving up yet." he said. "I won't stop until my chakra stores are completely drained."
"Maybe you shouldn't go that far. You don't want to over do it." I suggested. I really shouldn't be one to talk, he probably trains just as I do which is until I pass out. I'm being hypocritical. "Nevermind, do as you like."
He moved me to stand next to the Executioner's blade and had me reach my hand out. I wrapped my fingers around the handle while Kankuro moved me into a position with the blade raised in front of me. He had me swing it around, blocking and parrying with an invisible foe the best he could with his knowledge of swordsmanship. He may have been skilled with a blade if it wasn't as big as the Executioner's blade and he knew the movements of his enemy. I doubt I was moving the way he wanted me too. I felt as if his hold on me wasn't that strong yet and that there may be a delay in the movements he has me do.
With my sword, Kankuro had me ascend one of the jagged rocks rising out of the sand sea. He ran with me as he had me jump from one jagged rock to another. The first few jumps were sloppy and I thought I was going to fall, but with an extra tug on the chakra strings I made it each time. We continued to run, I was getting used to the movements and didn't realize that the chakra strings disappeared after I made a jump. The next rock was significantly farther away from all of the previous rocks and it looked like it was a deeper dip in between the sand dunes that were intermingled with the rocks.
I held the Executioner's blade close to my chest and attempted to roll onto my back midair. I used a little to much force when trying to turn so I kept spinning and I couldn't control my landing. Instead of struggling to find a good enough position to land, I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.
When I hit the sand my upper body jolted upwards before falling back down to the sand. I laid there for a moment with my eyes closed. How could I have been so stupid! I should have known earlier that Kankuro's chakra strings failed. Was it before or after I jumped? Whatever, there was no harm to my body so we can pretend that it never happened.
"Ketto!?" Kankuro yelled to me. He sounded shocked when he should have sounded worried. I opened my eyes to look up at him. He was sliding down the side of the sand dune towards me, but the look on his face didn't sit right with me. I've never seen him look so troubled before. "Look at where you are!"
That confused me, yet I did as he said. I looked to my right only to be met with a familiar item though the symbol on it was different. It was the white and emerald veil of the Kazekage. I pushed the Executioner's blade to the other side to sit myself up and heard a thud against clothing. I looked in that direction confused until I saw another body. I looked around some more and noticed one more body on the other side of the Kazekage. Kankuro and I just accidentally found the bodies of the fourth Kazekage Rasa and his bodyguards.
"Kankuro, you need to go back to the village to notify someone." I said. I continued to sit there looking over the bodies. They were partially covered in sand, I wanted to pull away the Kazekage's veil but decided against it because Kankuro was here. The smell finally hit me, it was the smell of decaying flesh amplified by the heat. "Go, I'll stay here."
"R-right." I watched Kankuro slowly run back up the sand dune and disappear over the top. When I felt that he was far enough away I moved closer to Rasa's body. First, I moved the veil to the side and then I rolled his body over so that I could see his face. He definitely looked like the Rasa that I was introduced to. His dark auburn hair lost its luster, his skin was paler and felt as if it was rubbery. His eyes were open in surprise, yet his dark grey eyes were dull.
I sighed, it was such a pity that this happened but if it happened then Rasa simply wasn't strong enough. Slowly, I moved my fingers over his eyes to close them. Then, I placed his hands over to top of each other on his chest. I got up and moved to do the same with the bodies of the bodyguards before standing at the foot of the Kazekage. I took a knee and placed a hand over my heart as I bowed my head. "Rasa and others, I hope you rest in peace. I vow to re-establish ties with the sand and I promise that as long as we are allies something like this will never happen again. As for your children, don't worry about them. They are strong and I know that they will only continue to get stronger without you here. I'll ensure it happens. The Mist will help protect the Sand until a new Kazekage is selected."
I stayed in that position with my head bowed not out of mourning but respect, I was taught that much. Someone with a high position such as the Kazekage deserves respect whether or not he planned on betraying us anyway. I understand that what he did was all for his nation, or at least he believed it was for his nation. I had learned that many years ago, before I was born the feudal lord here had defunded Sunagakure. It reminds me of the courage of water, those who possess the strength in the face of extreme pain or grief to continue to do what must be done in the name of our nation. I don't know what they call that here in the Sand, but in the Leaf village I believe they believe in the will of fire, which isn't the same as the courage of water, but the two are similar.
This is how Kankuro and the anbu he gathered found me. I didn't say a word as I rose and grabbed my Executioner's blade. I walked passed them on my way back to Suna intending to go by myself. I made sure to return for my Kukushibyo before I got to far. Otherwise, I ran through the sand back to the village to find my team.
