ϟ—Chapter Twenty-two — The Brevity of Life—ϟ
Training Naruto and Fuu—mostly Naruto—was really fun! Naruto couldn't quite get a hold of the one tail, but his control over version zero was already flawless pretty much! That was really good progress for only his first day. Ka'rai found himself really proud. Fuu was great too! He told her about how he has Yin and Yang variants of fire, and that Nanabi would have her own with wind and lightning… it wouldn't have been fair. That meant she got four cool elements and not two like him.
That was until Fuu told him what Nanabi told her. Wind had Yang, and lightning had Yin. Ka'rai snickered. "Now it's fair."
"Boohoo!" Fuu huffed, walking back to the hotel with Ka'rai under the evening light. After yelling at Ka'rai, Fuu became enamored by the sight above. He looked up to see what she was looking it. Even he couldn't deny that the sky looked really pretty.
Unfortunately for both of them, they walked into the hotel shortly afterward. Fuu let out a sigh, Ka'rai looked toward her, brow raised. "You alright?"
"Yeah I'm just—"yawn"—tired, I guess," said Fuu.
Ka'rai yawned as well—they really are fucking contagious—"That makes sense. We trained pretty hard."
"Not you! You were just beating us up whenever you had the chance."
"Get stronger and you might be able to stop me."
Fuu groaned and Ka'rai smirked. Before long they were up the stairs to the highest floor, where Kumo claimed residence. Fuu hit him on the back of the head and went to her room. "Goodnight dumbo."
"Goodnight…" Ka'rai responded, rubbing where she hit him. She stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door.
With that, he was but a few steps away from he and Hane's room. Ka'rai stopped at the front of it. The last time he talked to her was in the Forest of Death… when he got mad. It was obvious that she didn't like it… He'd be lying to himself if he said that wasn't a bit scared.
Ka'rai took a deep breath and knocked. It didn't take too long for it to open, of course it was Hane who did. "It's your hotel too, Ka'rai, you don't need to knock."
No Rai-rai… that meant she was serious. She didn't sound excited at all to see him. "I'm sorry…"
"For what?" she asked, looking up at him. The look in her eyes made it obvious that she already knew what. She just wanted him to say it.
"I…" he began, feeling the shame.
Groaning, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room. "You know I hate talking in doorways." Hane let go of him and sat on the bed, looking into his eyes.
The eye-contact felt like a stab. "I yelled… and kinda threatened to kill everyone… I was mad—"
"That's not an excuse, Ka'rai!" she snapped. Ka'rai winced, he looked down, not able to face her anymore. Then, she sighed. "I'm sorry… After all we talked about before, hearing so say all of those things made me feel really bad.
"I understand… part of it's my fault. You had to apologize to Neji, Rock Lee, and their sensei, that made you sad… you just fought Gaara too… but…" Hane sighed again. "I expected better."
Ka'rai didn't know what to say, he was shaking… so much happened today. Everything that Hane listed and his training with Naruto and Fuu… it was all so much, especially with this. Hane was sad, it was all his fault.
"I'm sorry…" he managed. "I don't—I won't do it again." His fists clenched. I can barely fucking talk. "I'm sorry for making you sad. I shouldn't have yelled or anything… it was bad."
"Did you mean it?"
"I wouldn't kill anybody there, no matter how much they pissed me off."
"I know that. What you said, about being powerful so nobody gets to second guess you."
Ka'rai pursed his lips. "Uh… I just said that because everyone was ganging up on me. I…"
"...was scared?"
Ka'rai's heart skipped a beat. Scared? Was he scared? "Yeah…" he said, blinking. "I think so."
"So, you decided to be like Gaara to not feel scared."
Ka'rai winced. "It worked…"
"Yeah, but was it worth it? Nobody in Kumo is going to trust you anymore."
Ka'rai clenched his fists, shaking his head. "But didn't I do the right thing?! Gaara was someone that needed to be beaten down."
"Yeah, I'd say so. But Cee-sensei was right when he said that you only did it because you were mad. It just happened to make things better, you didn't mean it."
"Do I just… not be mad?"
"No, that's impossible. Just try to think when you do."
"I was thinking. I just thought of how Gaara hurt you, Yowui too. It just pissed me off even more. And then, everyone's been yelling at me all day about it! Yugito, Kay, Cee, and I thought something bad was going to happen when I did something good."
Ka'rai was panting… the day's exhaustion finally caught up to him here. He just sat on the floor, hanging his head. Everything was hurting now. "I thought I was doing good… I was listening to you, I only killed one person, and I apologized for it, I feel bad… like you want me to. I beat up a bad dude… I even came up with a way to fix the invasion to make everyone else not mad at me… it barely worked.
"Then I trained to get my mind off of it! It worked! It was fun, I beat Fuu in a fight, met Kyuubi, trained Naruto with his chakra… he's doing really well. That's what Yugito's mad at me about now… I guess it's treason. I don't care… I just want Naruto to be happy before…"
Ka'rai hung his head more. "He dies."
It was quick. Hane was just on the bed, and now she was hugging him, really tight. Just as quickly, Ka'rai hugged her back, as tight as he could. "Rai-rai, you're doing good. You're doing really good."
"But you just said—?"
"I know what I said, I stand by it. But, I'm not going to let one bad thing mess you up, okay? Sometimes, bad things happen when you do good things."
"That makes no sense…"
"I know it doesn't, but that's how the world works. That's why we have to fix it!"
"Yeah… with fire!"
"...and kindness."
"Jinsei's kind."
"Yeah…" Hane pulled back and she looked Ka'rai in the eyes. "I forgive you for what you did… make sure everybody else does too. Especially Cee-sensei— and call him sensei."
"Alright…" conceded Ka'rai.
She got up and walked back to the bed. "I'm going to lay down, you can join me after you take a shower. You smell like burnt sand."
"I did fight Gaara today…" he muttered, getting up to go bathe. That shower wasn't something he thought he needed until he took it. It was nice, even though it was water… he usually hated getting wet. But he reveled in how clean he felt afterward. Ka'rai really liked being clean…
Hane liked him better when he was clean, too.
In his comfortable clothes, he made his way to the bed where he joined Hane. The lights were already out, the sun was pretty much set in its entirety. "Took you long enough…" she murmured, scooting closer to him under the sheets. "I almost fell asleep."
"I… was really dirty."
"...ew."
"Not anymore! I scrubbed everywhere. I was digging grains of sand out of my ass—"
"Rai-rai!"
"Whaat? I'm just telling how it is."
"Not everything needs to be told."
"I wouldn't mind you telling me about how you bathe."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to tell you!"
"Yeah, I'd rather you show me."
Hane gasped. Even in the dark, Ka'rai knew she was blushing.
"What?" he asked.
"You're serious?!"
"I mean, if you're okay with it—"
Hane sputtered. "I don't know… but, we do have a month to ourselves… in this room… it'd be a shame if we wasted it."
"Exactly!"
"Wait, what would your mom think?"
Ka'rai froze. "She is always watching…"
"An audience sounds scary."
"I mean, technically, Yugito and Nibi…"
"OH!" she yelped, moving away. "That… that… what the fuck?!"
…I'll give you two privacy.
Nibi didn't say a thing.
"Oh! They agreed to look away!" assured Ka'rai.
"But… they're still there."
"But I can't make them go away! Are we never going to fuck or anything?!"
"Can you… I don't know, close your eyes?!"
"That's no fun!" Ka'rai sputtered. "You're making this weird!"
"You brought it up!"
Hane groaned, moving closer to him again. She threw her arms around him and let out a breath. "I'll just pretend the past couple of minutes didn't happen."
"Yay!" Ka'rai snuggled up against her, content with his head laying on the warmth of her neck. Her fingers weaved between the crimson strands of her hair and stroked through gently. Utter ease and relaxation overtook him; the worries of the world and the stresses of the day washed away.
His heavy eyelids shut and Ka'rai purred. Hane stopped. Ka'rai pouted. "Why did you stop?"
"Did… you just purr?"
"What?! It felt nice…" he muttered, embarrassed.
Hane continued, massaging his cranium at the same time. Shivers went down Ka'rai's spine from the euphoria, and he purred harder. Hane giggled and held him closer. He followed suit, wrapping his arm around her in kind, rubbing on her back. Slowly, his hand moved down, lower…
"Hey… What are you doing?"
Ka'rai giggled and kissed her neck. "Can I?"
"Ahh… go ahead."
He reached down and grabbed his objective. From there… one thing led to another. Neither of them were particularly dressed, and Ka'rai was looking over Hane while she laid on her back. Ka'rai couldn't see a thing in the dark… he wanted to change that. Nibi's chakra flooded into his eyes, the heterochromia granted him night vision.
"Turn the eyes off…" requested Hane. "It's making me feel like Nibi's watching me."
"She's always watching~"
"Okay, get off of me!" Hane ordered, pushing Ka'rai to the side.
"But—wait—no!"
"I don't want to anymore. You ruined it."
"WAIT! Hane—please." He shut off all of Nibi's chakra. His hands were clasped in a prayer that she couldn't even see. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see you! I wanted to be funnyyyy pleasee!"
"No! You blundered!" She turned away to sleep. "Try again later."
"But I'm going to be asleep later!"
"Too bad!"
Ka'rai whined and slammed himself onto the bed. The following squeak felt like a slap to the face. Luckily for him, it didn't take long for him to sleep.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
The following day, Ka'rai did apologize to Cee and Kay. Cee just told him to remember his rank in the hierarchy and to follow orders, fair. Kay just told him to remember his loyalties. Neither of them really forgave him, with Kay it kinda hurt. Thanks to Naruto and the ramen stand he brought him too, it wasn't what he was thinking about! Pre-training fuel to the work out to the fullest!
Konoha is a really nice village, noticed Ka'rai. It was hot—Hane didn't appreciate that—and there was so many things to burn. The food was good… for the first time, he tried spicy ramen. By the Nibi herself it was amazing. So good. Fine dining. Peak cuisine.
He had to thank Naruto for that.
Naruto dragged him to this ramen stand, it was a really really nice place, he knew that a thousand times over after tasting heaven in a bowl.
It's all going to be gone in a few weeks… Ka'rai dismissed his thoughts.
His mama's food was better, anyway.
"Man, this is the best ramen I've ever had!" exclaimed Ka'rai with a toothy grin.
Naruto chuckled, nodding along. "Of course it is! Nothing ever beats Ichiraku. What's the ramen like in Kumo, anyway?"
"Oh, I never went to an actual ramen stand or anything. My mama brought the packs for me, and I just ate those. Sometimes without being cooked—"
"WHAT?!"
Ka'rai blinked at the interruption. "What?"
Even the old man running the stand looked bewildered at his statement, his daughter did as well.
"You guys never had raw ramen—?"
"NO!" all three of them yelled.
Ka'rai shrunk. Naruto huffed at him. "Eating ramen raw is a disgrace to the craft!"
"You're bastardizing my life's work!" added the old man.
The daughter glared. "Never do it again!"
"Do you understand?!" questioned Naruto with a glare of his own.
Ka'rai flailed his arms to get everyone away from him. "Alright! Geez… I'll make sure to cook my ramen before I eat it."
"Good," Naruto said with crossed arms.
With a sigh, Ka'rai continued to dig into his spicy ramen, Naruto doing the same. The father-daughter duo running the stand returned to work from scolding him. He and Naruto talked some more, it was easier to ignore the guilt on a full stomach.
Much to Ka'rai's surprise, and Naruto's enthusiasm, someone else entered the stand. Obviously, it was someone that Naruto knew. Her hair was long, going down to her back; it was mostly black too, but there were stripes of red like a tiger… the same red of his hair.
She was really really tall too… She was almost as tall as Bee-sensei. It made Ka'rai gulp, he'd never seen a woman that tall before. Well, Hane was tall for a girl, but this woman here was something else.
Naruto greeted her with a wide grin. "Hey, Ms. Miya! What are you doing here?"
Miya… Ka'rai's eyes widened in realization. Miya Uzumaki! With his mouth agape with awe, he looked toward her and took in every detail of her brown skin, as well as the amber of her eyes. In her pupil it looked like it glowed a little bit, the same Adamantine Gold as mama's chains…
Miya had a motherly smile that she beamed at Naruto. It made him miss his mama. Ka'rai frowned a bit, but stuffed his mouth full with ramen, allowing the spice to burn it away. After greeting Naruto, Miya ordered her ramen, then looked at Ka'rai. Her motherly smile faded into a bit of a more hostile expression.
"Hello, Ka'rai Uzumaki."
Her voice reminded him of the times he made his mama mad… he shuddered. "Hey, mama—I mean… Miya. Ms. Miya? Miya Uzumaki? What do you want me to call you—?"
"Call me Uzumaki," she requested—demanded. Miya's look was scary.
Ka'rai's brow furrowed. "But, we're all Uzumaki. Isn't that going to get confusing—?"
"No, we're smart enough to know who's who." Miya's amber eyes looked more and more like Adamantine the longer she looked at him.
"Ms. Miya, why are you being so mean?!" questioned Naruto. "Ka'rai's great! He's training me with the Kyuubi chakra and he was going to fight Ryu with me when he was being a dick!"
Miya's eyes widened a bit. "You're accessing the Kyuubi's chakra? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I started yesterday—" he sputtered. "I'm already a lot stronger than I was before! If it weren't for Ka'rai, I wouldn't be as powerful as I am now!"
Miya turned her suspicion on Ka'rai. "Why are you helping a possible enemy Jinchuriki? That could be considered treason."
"I don't care," huffed Ka'rai. Yugito made his head hurt. "He's a Jinchuriki, so I have to help him! It's for the greater good. I have to make sure that humans and Bijuu work together in order to get the world to how great it was before Shinobi enslaved them all.
"And Naruto's an Uzumaki, we share a bond all because of that! Even if he wasn't a Jinchuriki, I would want to help him anyway I can." Ka'rai looked at her with pleading in his eyes.
Miya's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about…? With the Bijuu?"
"Naruto will tell you. I can tell that you don't like me, so it's going to be better hearing it from him, someone you do like!"
Expectedly, she looked toward Naruto. With a deep breath, he rattled off all of the things about Bijuu that Ka'rai told him, with Ka'rai correcting whenever he needed to. It was more times than he expected.
Miya shook her head. "You seriously expect me to believe that?"
Ka'rai groaned and stuffed his head in his hands. "Please don't be like Kyuubi's other Jinchuriki. I fucking hate that dude. I really don't like him. So, please don't be like him, don't be someone I have to hate. I could hate another Jinchuriki, I already hate Gaara, they could just die and then the Bijuu inside is going to be free.
"You can't die, you're an Uzumaki. If I end up hating you that would make me really sad."
"Yeah!" agreed Naruto. "Don't be a dick like Ryu!"
Miya's gaze sharpened, she shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay, we can talk about this later, Naruto."
The boy gulped.
"I overheard your apology," Miya said, looking toward Ka'rai. He looked back. "Why did you apologize?"
"I'll be honest… I didn't really care at first. I wasn't trying to kill anybody in the forest, but I saw Tenten attacking Hane, my girlfriend. I couldn't tell if she was going to kill Hane or not, so I just reacted. I didn't think twice about it. But Hane, she cared a lot. Hane talks a lot about strength and power.
"She says that I'm powerful because I can make changes in the world. But, she says that she's strong because she wants to make the right changes, because she's happy and wants to make other people feel that too. Hane explained to me that because of how I used my power, that I hurt people. I shouldn't do that. She told me that I should apologize, I agreed, I felt sorry, so I did," Ka'rai explained.
Miya's eyes narrowed, taking in his words, considering them. Naruto grinned at her. "See! Ka'rai's really nice and cool!"
"What do you know of Orochimaru?" she asked.
Ka'rai huffed. "That fucker tried to capture me a couple months ago. He almost did!"
Miya's eyes went wide like saucers. "He's after the Nibi…?"
"Apparently! He never tried again, so he probably got scared or something," dismissed Ka'rai. "You might want to hide Naruto from him, too, if he's after one Bijuu, why wouldn't he be after the rest of them?"
She's probing you for information, Ka'rai, warned Yugito. Be careful with every word you say.
Got it…
"You spaced out," Miya pointed out.
Ka'rai shrugged. "A ghost was talking to me."
Miya gave an unamused look.
"He's not lying," said Naruto. "Nibi likes to keep the souls of her past Jinchuriki with her."
"Yup!"
"...Okay," Miya said slowly. Suddenly, her expression turned serious. "You, you have the Nidaime Raikage inside of you?"
"He hasn't talked to me yet," said Ka'rai with a pout. "The day he does is going to be the best day of my life. Well, second best. The day I asked Hane out will always be number one…" Ka'rai giggled, recalling the event. The first time they kissed, then the second time, then the almost third time before mama walked in.
Ka'rai frowned. He looked at Miya again. His head hung over his finished bowl of ramen. "I miss my mama…"
"Who is your mother?" asked Miya.
Ka'rai grinned. "Arasei! Arasei Uzumaki!"
Her head tilted in recollection. "Ah… I see."
"Have you met her before?"
"I have… Who's your father?"
Ka'rai shrugged, a frown crossing his face. "It doesn't matter. Mama is all I have, and she's all I need! She makes me great food, she gives me hugs and kisses, and she takes the best care of me! She always has…" Ka'rai laughed to himself. "Even when I do bad, even when she takes my manga when I do bad, I can't help but appreciate it because she's doing it to make me better! Mama hasn't done a thing to ever hurt me."
Naruto listened to Ka'rai's example with a distant, longing expression. Miya's gaze softened once she looked at him. Quickly, she grabbed his hand with her own. "It sounds that she's as good as a mother as she is a Shinobi."
"Yeah!" agreed Ka'rai. "It's been too long since I've seen her…"
Miya let out a sigh, finally touching her bowl. "You're not bad, Ka'rai. Because you killed Tenten, I can't bring myself to like you, not right now. But… you can call me Miya."
Ka'rai let out a gigantic grin.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Everything was so small from so high up. Ironic… because she was taking the form of an insect. Everyone but her was an insect. Never in her life did she feel so much power. So high up, and yet she was still below the clouds. To complete her goal, she needed to go even higher.
Fuu buzzed higher and higher—her tail blowing in the flapping wind of her wings. In the clouds she saw nothing, and it wasn't anything to her. Overcast was full of dust. With the wind she commanded, it was a non issue. A girl-sized hole through the clouds and eventually she made it through.
Above the clouds she saw the sun.
It was so cold and yet she still felt the sun's heat.
Above was all blue, so clear. It was expansive… she could see for miles and miles and there was nothing stopping her, nothing in her way. Nothing was confining her, everything was in her grasp. The power of Nanabi's chakra, the breath of the wind, the beating heart of the sun's rays…
It was freeing.
She was free—Fuu was free.
All above was in her grasp, all below was at her mercy.
I told you the sky is beautiful.
"It is…" Fuu agreed, a smile on her face—she took in the very atmosphere into her on exhale. The clouds below swirled around her.
It's been like this for months according to Nibi. You need to fix it.
The whole sky? All of it?
No, only I can do that. Of course, I'd love for you to release me and allow me to! Maybe blow up a couple of villages too. Just throw the sun at 'em.
Throw the sun?!
Yes, I throw a piece of the sun at whoever pisses me off.
Can I?!
Probably? I don't usually cooperate with my Jinchuriki.
I wanna try it!
Okay… I'll teach you when you clear out the clouds. Shukaku's domain hasn't seen the sun in forever…
"Got it!" Immediately, Fuu took hold of the wind and swiped her hand as hard as she could. It was many times more powerful than even her strongest jutsu on the ground. This is what being in your full domain feels like… I love it.
You better.
Can I live in the sky?
Well, if you're going to Kumogakure, then we're going to be living at a high elevation. It's the best place for us.
Fuu cheered. In sky-colored flashes, she blew away the clouds and the dust. They just disappeared at a swipe of her hand. The girl laughed the entire time she showed Konoha the sun once again.
Wind blew in her face and bowed to her command. Not only was she free, she was in control. There was nothing better than the sky. Oh, how she wished she could stay there forever. It didn't take too long for Fuu to clear everything out, only a few minutes.
From above, she saw people look up in fascination. She showed them the sun, she showed them the freedom. Expansive blue, glowing gold, and fading white. Right now, it was the sky. But… it wasn't the only sky.
Fuu needed to do this at night, then during a storm, at sunrise, at sunset too. The sky was so many things other than this…
You don't even know the start of it.
Then tell me! Please! I'd do anything!
Okay, if you can impress me, then I'll tell you. Throw the sun.
…How?
Nanabi groaned. Reach for it.
Fuu looked to the sun and grasped in its direction with Nanabi's chakra. She felt a force, she was definitely grabbing something.
Now throw it. Like a rock. The technique is called Tengai Shinsei.
A nod and determined sunset eyes. Fuu summoned as much of Nanabi's chakra and grit her teeth. "TENGAI SHINSEI!" Fuu yelled, hurling her hand down toward the ground. Shortly after, a ball of sun the size of her head plummeted down past her.
Fuu gasped. "I threw the sun!"
What was that? A pebble?! You're looking like a really incompetent Jinchuriki. Your attack should at least be the size of a building.
A building?!
Even that's small, huffed Nanabi. You see that village down there? Konoha? I can throw a ball of sun double that size.
Fuu's eyes bulged out of her head. "The… fuck?!"
I am a Bijuu.
Fair… Fuu admitted. Can you throw the moon?
Why yes I can! You're not a total idiot. During the day, I can only throw the sun. During the night, I can only throw the moon.
Should I destroy Taki with the sun or the moon… Fuu hummed, pondering. I'll see if I like the moon more at night time.
They're both equally beautiful, just like me!
Uh huh…
Are you disagreeing? Nanabi asked with a dangerous tone.
Nah, I haven't really seen the moon yet, so I can't say.
Why don't you take my word for it?
Dunno… can the other Bijuu do stuff like this?
Of course they can! It's something called Six Paths, a special ability granted to us by our father on his death bed. Mine is the Tengai Shinsei, of course. We only have the power to use it once we're at our Full Domain though.
Cool… What's Nibi's?
Soul stuff, ask her about it if you really want to know more.
Fuu just shrugged, reaching for the sun again. "Not sorry, Ka'rai, but I think I'm going to stay up here for a while…"
Many many balls of sun were thrown for hours to come. Someone probably died, another person's house was burned down. All in all, Fuu didn't much care! Konoha was going to get destroyed anyway.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Bonesaw Man had just released a new volume. Hane sorely needed something to take her mind off of, well, everything. That she did, kicked up in her and Ka'rai's hotel room with comfortable clothes. The volume was thick in her hands, the bed was soft, and the story grabbed her and pulled her right in.
Hane was having a great time.
Then there was a snowball fight.
It made her sad, but she knew that she'd be alright.
That was until Makima said… bang.
"NO!" Hane screamed. "Nononononononononononono—" she spattered, reading the pages over and over again to confirm the horror that she saw. It was real. And she wanted to cry. She was going to until she heard a knock on the door.
Hane raised her brow. Did she scream too loud—she turned red with embarrassment. Quickly, she got herself in order before going to answer the door. As she walked in front of the door, looking through the peephole.
What she saw was far more horrific than anything in the pages of Bonesaw Man.
Gaara was at her door.
"Hello?!" she asked shakily, keeping the door closed. Not that it'd stop him.
"I do not want to kill you," Gaara rasped. "If I did, you'd be dead already."
That's true… Slowly, she opened the door.
Gaara looked fully recovered from his fight with Ka'rai. It made sense, two weeks passed since then. "Where is Ka'rai Uzumaki?"
"Why do you want to know?" she interrogated. Her eyes wide, her heart pounding, she could almost feel herself sweating a bit.
Gaara remained unmoving, but his face was nowhere near as aggressive as before… it looked lost, now that she actually looked at him. Her eyes narrowed, studying him the best she could. As a matter of fact, his body language was entirely different. His face was relaxed, he hunched with his posture, his eyes looked way more hurt and confused than anything else.
It reminded her of a child.
Slowly, she relaxed. Gaara wasn't going to hurt anybody.
"I want to understand him, that is all," was Gaara's answer.
"I see," Hane considered. That fight they had… it changed him. It could be for the better. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't entirely trust Ka'rai to give Gaara the best influence. Especially with how much Ka'rai hated him.
"You know he really hates you," Hane warned.
Gaara's eyes narrowed. "I'm aware."
"When you get there, tell Ka'rai that Hane said not to hurt you, alright? He'll listen to me."
"But you're weak, why would he listen to someone like you?"
It was a statement she was used to hearing, Hane was starting to get sick of it. "There are different ways people can be strong. It's not always about how many people you can kill. Take it from me, Ka'rai's way more powerful than me, and yet he'll listen to what I say because I'm still strong."
"I… see…" Gaara responded, going into his thoughts. "Does Ka'rai believe this?"
"He's starting to…"
"I'll hear it from him then. Tell me where he is."
"He's on the outskirts of Konoha to the east, training. Naruto and Fuu should be there too."
"The Kyuubi and the Nanabi…" realized Gaara. "All of the Jinchuriki."
Hane nodded. "Ka'rai said he's running some sort of 'Jinchuriki School.'"
"Is that so?" Gaara asked to nobody in particular before turning his back. "Goodbye." With that, he left.
Not even a thanks… Well, it's still better than what I was expecting, which was for him to kill me! Hane closed the door and screamed into the mattress. That was a load of anxiety that she needed to get out.
It wasn't enough.
She screamed into the mattress again.
It was a long scream that time, about thirty seconds! Next, she got up, looking at Bonesaw Man. With what just happened, that manga scared her. Hane decided to eat her problems away instead.
As she ate, she realized something. Ka'rai had changed Gaara… he didn't even mean to! His anger did way more harm than good, in her book, at least. Hane laughed to herself, the irony was hilarious… honestly.
While doing something she would never do, he did something that she would.
Well, all she could do now was hope that he wouldn't blunder it… like he did the first night. He didn't blunder the second night, or the third, not the fourth either. At least he had a good success rate! One failure out of fifteen attempts.
All Hane could do now was hope his track record translated to other things as well. It was in his hands now.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
"...Five out of ten."
"Really?" Sami looked aghast. "I think he's like… an eight."
"I don't know, the hair puts me off," explained Yowui with a shrug.
The two sat on a bench, looking at a Konoha Chunin with a ponytail and a scar across his nose. He wasn't the first man subject to Yowui's harsh rating system. Sami gasped in response to Yowui's explanation. "You don't like ponytails?"
"I mean, it's better than bald."
"Fair…" Sami conceded. She scanned Konoha's streets for more men.
Yowui hummed, looking at another man. He was older, his hair white and long. He wore a lot of red with platform sandals. "What about him?"
"Too old, he might've been hot when he was younger, but meh. Four."
Yowui tilted his head. "Huh… that was your lowest one yet."
"So? What about you? Are you craving a sugar daddy or something?"
Yowui snorted. "Nah. I would give him a six though."
"That's your highest."
"Konoha guys aren't that hot to me I guess," said Yowui with a shrug.
Sami shrugged as well. Suddenly, she gasped. "Ten. Absolute ten."
Yowui's brows furrowed then he looked where she was looking as well. "Ten."
The angel that blessed them was a man with white hair. It hung to the side, the same side where his headband covered his eye. He wore a mask. All that was visible on his face was his right eye. It was black in a seductively narrow eye.
"Y'know, he makes up for every five that I've seen."
"Yes, he carries this village on his back."
Yowui nodded at her. "I'm happy we're in agreement."
Sami shook his hand. "Yes."
"Now that we're done here, wanna get to training?" he asked, standing up to stretch.
Sami did the same. "Yeah… You have anything on bug dude?"
"Why would I know anything?"
"Pfft, I can hope."
"Hope doesn't do you any good."
"I know…"
With that, the two set off to train. Sami's chakra-stealing lightning forced him to get his reserves way up. That meant he had more chakra to trap Cirru under Genjutsu with…
The more he trained, the more it looked like he had a chance.
It was… nice, having confidence for once, feeling like he could win. He wouldn't trade this feeling for the world.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Kay needed to scout. The map and layout of Konoha needed to be ironed into her mind, like the palm of her hand. Most importantly, the location of the treasury and every possible route to and from. Unfortunately, she had to stay at ground level, and walk as a civilian. It wasn't too often she did this, not even in Kumo.
If she was being honest, it was something she needed. Fuu had stopped the congestion of the sky caused by Yakedo's eruption. She could see the sun again, for the first time in months. The Sun was beautiful as the day she lost her…
Kay couldn't help but smile, feeling her heat warm her. Konoha was so green, it was like a living garden, it was beautiful. It was one of those places where it was like spring never ended. Ka'rai would burn it in a heartbeat…
She looked up, toward the sun. Ka'rai always reminded her of the sun, and now it was vice versa. They weren't on the best terms, not after what he pulled… Kay was shrouding her own sun. Well, she had the real one. She didn't need him to look toward, for the brightness, the warmth…
But, she still wanted him there. After her scouting was done, that was what she would do. Kay was going to fix things up between the two of them. With both of her suns, everything would be so much brighter. Plus, it made her mission a whole lot easier.
Looking down from the sun, her rays guided her eyes to a… family. A girl, blonde ponytail with green eyes, no older than five. The age she started training. Parents with the same hair and eyes brought her something and handed it to her. Instead of a mace, it was an ice cream cone.
Afterward, that family left the most generous tip to the woman running the stand before walking off. The daughter had her free hand in her father's, all of them had the biggest smiles on their faces.
It made Kay chuckle, even if a little bit. Part of her wondered what would've happened if she was talentless. Well, knowing her family, she'd be made into someone to be married off to… political reasons. That was what happened to her older cousin, sold off by marriage. It wasn't anything she thought about, her family told her to never second guess it so she didn't.
Part of her envied the ice cream girl.
A part larger than she would admit.
She couldn't help but think… what if she didn't need to look at the sun to feel cared for, to feel loved. What if she could look to her family for that? Like a normal family…
What if she didn't need to turn off her emotions to focus on the mission at hand? What if everything she felt didn't just fade, at the blink of an eye? What if the ice cream girl still meant something to her? What if the world didn't turn gray when she needed to get a mission done?
What if the sun wasn't the only thing that could pierce every layer she put up?
What if…?
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
"I'm never talking to Fuu again."
Ka'rai let out a heavy sigh. "C'mon Naruto, she didn't mean to—"
"Yes I did—"
"SEE! SHE DIDN'T!" Ka'rai overshadowed her with the bombast of his voice. Naruto huffed and looked away, his arms stubbornly crossed. One of his arms was missing a sleeve; what was left of the jacket was stained with blood.
Fuu just watched on with a devilish snicker.
Ka'rai groaned. "Please, as the principal and owner of this Jinchuriki School, I would like to promote peace and harmony on my campus—"
"SHE BLEW MY FUCKING ARM OFF!"
"IT GREW BACK!"
Fuu cackled in the distance.
Naruto pointed at her with his grown-back arm. "SEE! SHE'S NOT EVEN SORRY!"
"You can blow her arm off!" Ka'rai suggested with a grin. Fuu glared with a bewildered gaze. "Then you'll be even!"
"I'll blow off his leg if he even aims his hand at me," Fuu threatened. There was no bluff or lie in her words, especially as she sprouted her wings alongside her tail.
Naruto flared his Kyuubi chakra. Because of the Kyuubi's unmatched power, even his version zero was on par with version one cloaks… it just made it all that much harder to control. "I dare you!"
Fuu glared. Naruto aimed his hand. The wind picked up—Jinsei held both of them to the floor. "I SAID THAT WE PROMOTE PEACE AND HARMONY AT KA'RAI UZUMAKI'S JINCHURIKI SCHOOL!"
"URGH!" growled Fuu.
Naruto looked aghast. "SHE STARTED IT!"
"BOTH OF YOU APOLOGIZE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"
Fuu groaned. "Ugh, fine. Un-fuck you, or whatever."
"Hpmh." Naruto crossed his arms. "I accept your unfuck."
"Y'know what, that's good enough," accepted Ka'rai, letting them go.
Both Fuu and Naruto glared at each other, but then Naruto's eyes widened. He looked past Fuu. Her confusion and curiosity got the better of her and she looked behind her. Instinctively she flew up into the air, hovering at tree level.
Of course Ka'rai had to see for himself.
Immediately, two tails erupted from his skin as he set his sights on Gaara. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
Gaara's sand whirled around him. He was on his guard, obviously intimidated—even if just a bit. "Hane said to not hurt me."
Ka'rai's eyes widened. "W-What?! YOU TALKED TO HER?!"
"Yes… I assure you, I did not hurt her. All I did was ask for your location." Gaara stepped back a single pace. "I want to talk to you, Ka'rai Uzumaki."
Ka'rai growled in response. Nibi… can Shukaku read minds, or mimic personalities or something? That sounds too much like something she would say.
He has no such capability. Odds are that Gaara spoke with Hane himself. She is still alive, so he is likely telling you the truth.
"I see…" considered Ka'rai as he narrowed his eyes on Gaara. Fuu and Naruto were here with him, there was no way that Gaara could win. On top of that, he was on a defensive stance… he did not want to attack. "What do you want?"
Ka'rai dropped his killing intent… but not his cloak.
Gaara sat, crossing his legs. He turned the grass beneath him to sand. "So, that Hane was right when she said you'd listen to her… even though you're so much more powerful than her."
"Of course I'll listen to her, I care about her!" Ka'rai said as if it was obvious. Fuu descended from the sky, to listen in on the conversation better. Naruto just watched on.
Gaara nodded to Ka'rai's answer. "She said that she has her own kind of strength, a strength that you or I do not possess. What do you know of it?"
"If you really wanted to know, then you should've asked her," huffed Ka'rai… not that it was a bad thing that he left. The less he had to think about Gaara and Hane in the same room, the better.
"I suppose…"
Ka'rai didn't want to answer him, he wanted to rip Shukaku out of him and laugh at his corpse. Maybe even steal his soul, like Nibi did to Yugito, someone else, and the Nidaime Raikage. But… Hane explicitly told him to not hurt Gaara. Yeah, he didn't tell her to help him. He had no reason to, but, he did.
He knew that Hane wanted him to give Gaara a chance. It infuriated him. But, to push through that fury and be… kind… it was to be strong. Strong like Hane.
That was what he needed to be.
Ka'rai ragged out a sigh. "It's… happiness Gaara, kindness… the same way you can be strong from being evil like you are, you can be strong from being good, like Hane is… Naruto too, he's good."
The blond smiled at the compliment.
"What about me?" asked Fuu.
Ka'rai rolled his eyes. "You're giving mixed signals."
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
"Y'know what, you're evil! Now let me talk!"
Fuu cackled. "YES! I'M EVIL!"
Ka'rai sighed. "Yeah… in the preliminaries, Hane fought someone a lot stronger than her. He wanted to kill her…" because of something I did. "...and he didn't. He let her live because Hane was kind. She showed him her heart, her happiness. It made him spare her, the same way I could've made him spare her by holding him down, or something like that."
"Interesting… I assume it has its limits… No words could stop me from proving my existence."
"Yeah, just like I stopped you from doing that with my power. Well, Nibi's… but you get it."
"I suppose," responded Gaara. He went silent to think more. "Does this happiness power have something to do with you? When I attempted to kill Hane and your other comrade… you cared. Nanabi's Jinchuriki killed my comrade, my sister… I can't bring myself to care."
Fuu's eyes narrowed.
"Does caring like you do make you stronger? I assume that it does…"
"Mhm," affirmed Ka'rai. When he opened his mouth to speak, Naruto interrupted him.
"Yeah! It makes you real strong!" Naruto stepped forward next to Ka'rai. He wasn't using Kyuubi chakra, hell, he was smiling. "Whenever I have someone to protect, when I see someone in danger, strength I never thought I had comes up so I can save them!"
"What if you don't?" asked Gaara.
Naruto paused. It was obvious that a bad memory crossed his mind. Ka'rai spoke up for him. "You hurt Hane and Yowui. I didn't have any domain, you did… the power I got that came from you hurting them… made up for the difference. That was how I won."
"I… see…" Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Those two, they're not your weaknesses, they're your strengths."
Ka'rai's heart skipped a beat. To hear that… from him of all people. I was really starting to agree with him… with the person that tried to kill Hane. What the fuck was I thinking… "Yeah, you're right." Ka'rai popped a smirk. "They make me so much stronger."
Gaara stood, joining everyone else with their full height. "Then I wish to have that strength for myself. Allow me to join you three… this… 'Jinchuriki School.'"
"Okay," said Ka'rai with a huff. "Now you're pushing it!"
"C'mon!" Naruto elbowed Ka'rai. "Give him a chance! He's not going to hurt anyone… anymore." Naruto looked to Gaara. "...Right?"
"I still need to prove my existence," said Gaara, narrowing his eyes.
Ka'rai shook his head. "You're alive, Gaara. Your heart is beating, you're breathing, you have a soul. Nibi can feel it. That's all the proof you need for your existence."
"Yeah!" agreed Naruto. "Why do you even kill people anyway? It's… pretty fucked up."
"...to prove my existence." Gaara's fists clenched. "For as long as I could remember, people dismissed my existence, trying to end it at every turn… Even my own father attempted to end my life. I ended the existence of so many to prove my own."
Gaara looked toward them with widened eyes. "Was it all for nothing?"
"Nah," denied Fuu. "I get you… for real. I was locked in a cage my whole life. If it weren't for Ka'rai, then I would've forgotten my name, who I was… So, it's good that you had at least something to remind yourself of that, not like I did."
"Yeah… don't get me wrong, it was bad, really bad, y'know," Naruto said. "But, I tried to… prove my existence to everyone by shoving it in everyone's faces! Everyone was going to hear the name Naruto Uzumaki until they were sick of it! It was going to be stuck in their head like a really good song! Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki," he repeated over and over. Then he laughed. "But yeah, just don't kill people for no reason. That is very bad. You can find a new way to prove your existence. And you'll find it right here, in Jinchuriki School!"
"Yeah!" agreed Fuu. "We'll be happy to have you, Gaara."
"...Yeah." Ka'rai sighed. "You can join, Gaara."
Gaara nodded his head slowly. "So… this is that… happiness power. I see it now…" He bowed just his head. "I am… grateful, that you give me this chance."
"Yeah yeah," dismissed Ka'rai with a sigh. "Okay, do you talk with Shukaku?"
"We… communicate."
"You already know about domains and stuff, you do know that Shukaku is a he right?"
"I do… I suppose."
Ka'rai let out a relieved breath. "Thank you… for not being like those two."
"Hey!" they both yelled in tandem.
Gaara's hairless brow furrowed. "They do not know of a Bijuu's true nature?"
"They didn't, not a damn bit." Ka'rai shook his head. "Do you work with Shukaku?"
"No… I hate that beast. He is but a means of power that I have."
Ka'rai groaned, Gaara continued. "The bastard plagues me with mirages of my past, he won't let me rest. I can never sleep lest he overtakes my body. However… that has changed, these past couple of days.
"Shukaku let me sleep for the first time in my life. It was… a pleasurable experience. Perhaps our clash changed him similar to I."
Ka'rai let out a relieved breath. "Okay, great." The childish part of his brain got the better of him. "I still want to meet with Shukaku."
Bring Fuu and Naruto into the mindscape. All four of us Bijuu will be able to converse. I haven't spoken with more than one of my siblings at a time in over a century.
Ouch… That must suck. Ka'rai hand waved for Fuu and Naruto to come over. "Alright, we're having a fatal four-way of Bijuu meeting right now."
Ka'rai bumped his left fist with Naruto and his right with Fuu's. Gaara, slowly and confused, bumped his fists with Naruto's and Fuu's. In a flash, everything went black for the four.
The moment Ka'rai saw the golden flash of his mindscape, he yelled, "NOBODY TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER PLEASE!"
"Who the fuck is this kid?!" asked a voice, it sounded like two rocks scraping against each other—so high pitched.
It made Ka'rai's ears itch. Of course, he just chuckled and laughed it off. Shukaku was barely in a seal… he was just floating. On a void. His void had solid ground, Shukaku's didn't. It was weird. Well, it was Gaara's void, his mind.
"This kid is called Ka'rai Uzumaki!" he introduced himself with a gigantic grin. "Nice to meet you, Shukaku."
"I already wish I never met you."
Ka'rai pouted.
He heard Kyuubi laugh. "NIBI'S JINCHURIKI IS A PIECE OF WORK!"
"He wants to be friends, with Bijuu," Nanabi added with her insectile tone.
Nibi responded with a huff.
"Ka'rai," said Naruto, scooting next to him. "I'm going to shit my pants."
"I am too," agreed Fuu. "So many giant Bijuu… they all want to kill me."
"Use that happiness power," suggested Gaara with a rasp. "Be like that Hane."
"Naruto, you're way better with it than I am!" With a yelp, Naruto was lifted over Ka'rai's head. "HEY! BIJUU! NARUTO HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU ALL!"
All four Bijuu focused their gazes on Naruto. He just screamed. No words, no profound power of happiness. Nothing but fear.
Both Shukaku and Kyuubi cackled. "I SHOULD TAKE ALL OF MY CHAKRA AWAY FROM YOU BRAT! YOU'RE AN EMBARRASSMENT!"
"The fact that we're trapped in such a pitiful situation is an embarrassment in of itself," huffed Nibi.
Nanabi buzzed in agreement. "These rusted chains sour the beauty of my form."
"YOU'RE FUCKING UGLY NANABI!" shrieked Shukaku. "I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU THIS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS! YOU'RE AN UGLY ASS BUG AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT I NEVER HAD TO SEE YOU MOST OF THE TIME!"
Kyuubi cackled.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Nanabi buzzed in an attempt to fly. All four Jinchuriki were blown to the floor. "You're just a living pile of dirt. That's why animals urinate and defecate all over your domain, it's disgusting. You're disgusting. My domain is pure. My domain is untouched."
"Yeah! The sky is so much better than the ground!" agreed Fuu.
"BITCH!" yelled Shukaku. "Maybe if I put you six feet underground you'll appreciate it more!"
Fuu somehow summoned the gall to stick her tongue out at Shukaku. The Bijuu glared furiously. She bolted behind Nanabi. "Please don't let him hurt me."
"For defending the majesty of the sky, I will protect you."
"FUCK YOU!"
Kyuubi laughed harder and harder… all four mindscapes were starting to shake.
"I find the ground… calming. Stable," argued Gaara calmly. "The sky is too uncertain for me to trust. One day the sun will be out, the next it will be gone, hidden behind clouds. It's untrustworthy. The ground… will always be there. The earth will always be the thing to hold up all that is."
"SEE!" screamed Shukaku. "YOUR DOMAIN IS TOO CRAZY AND UNSTABLE TO BE TRUSTED!"
"...Uh huh," Nanabi agreed falsely. "I suppose you forget earthquakes?"
"Hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, sandstorms, lightning, thunder," brought up Gaara.
"YEAH! FUCK THE SKY! THE GROUND RULES!"
"Both of you, cease," Nibi commanded. "You're making a mockery of Bijuu."
"No, YOU CEASE!" ordered Kyuubi, slamming his fist against the bars of his cage. "YOU'RE ACTING LIKE MY YIN HALF!"
"Order is equally as important as chaos. The latter is too much in abundance at the moment," said Nibi, narrowing her eyes on Kyuubi.
"To hell with order! My Yin half isn't here, so to hell with what he wants! Stop mingling with my domain!"
Nibi scoffed.
The entire time, Ka'rai and Naruto just sat on the floor, where the conjunction of the four voids lay. "Fuck dude…" said Ka'rai.
Naruto nodded along. "Fuck dude indeed…."
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Nibi couldn't help the pleased curl of her fire. Her plan was becoming a reality. She put up a front, speaking with Kyuubi, Shukaku, Nanabi. It wasn't a front exactly, Nibi truly adored speaking with her siblings once again. She just couldn't let it show in front of the Jinchuriki. While they spoke, conversed, all eight of them, the four Bijuu shared as much as their chakra with each other as possible, invading each other's seals.
Whenever chakra was called upon, their seals would weaken. And of course, when they weakened enough, they would break.
Despite it all, she couldn't deny how entertaining it was seeing Ka'rai stumble and stammer in front of four beings that all hated him, while he attempted to do something as foolish as make friends.
She couldn't show it. But, by the many many looks that Kyuubi gave her, he could feel it. Nibi wouldn't have minded if it weren't for the teasing and jeering that would follow the moment they were in private.
But of course, she had to deal. For the sake of their freedom. For the sake of the congested and unkept world that humanity created.
All would be well, in time.
ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ