Kaze no koibitō

23

Temari finished up the story with a flourish, pointing her finger into the air.

"And that's what all has happened, Kira-san. The story ends with us trying to find you."

Kira nodded his head resolutely, his glasses bobbing slightly as he leaned back against the boulder.

"You still haven't told me what exactly this 'alliance' you want with me is."

Temari took a deep breath, praying that he wouldn't break into any more bad rhymes, and coughed to get his attention.

"We want you to help us take out Akatsuki. We're not sure what their true goal is, only the superficial ones. We need you to help us so that those goals don't become reality."

Kira snorted and put his arms behind his head.

"I dunno. Sounds like a marriage of convenience to me. What do I get out of this?"

Naruto's voice grew serious as he took a half step forward.

"Your life."

Kira's eyes snapped over to the other jinchuuriki.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a fact. Akatsuki will kill you and then leave your soulless husk to rot. At least if we're together, then we have a chance to survive."

"I've survived so far. I doubt they even know where to look for me."

Temari blinked and her lips curled into a tiny sneer.

"We knew how to find you. All it takes is the right person gathering information. If we can find you, they can find you."

Kira grinned and sat upright on the boulder.

"There's a profound difference between me and other hosts though, missy. Other hosts fight the demon. I didn't. I accepted it as part of me."

Temari and Naruto were at a loss for words and Kira took that for disbelief.

"Don't you understand? I'm in perfect harmony with my bijuu. I don't fight it, I don't insult it, I don't ignore it. I made peace with it. There is no host. There is no demon. There is only Hachi Kira. I am the Hachibi!"

Naruto leaned forward, awed by this.

"So you mean...you can control your beast?"

"In a manner of speaking. It's more like we coexist, just to exist. Without one cog pushing the other, the clock doesn't work. We both need to turn in rhythm to keep going."

Temari put a finger to her chin.

'Explains his love of rap and rhythm.'

"I don't need a group to protect me. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

Naruto frowned and shook his head.

"Let me share a little information with you."

Kira leaned forward, his hands on his knees.

"There is a certain spider living in Suna, and the rest of the world, known as the Grand Daddy Long Legs. It is a very small, unassuming spider that children play with and laugh at. It is the most poisonous spider in the world and yet, it cannot harm those bigger than it, because its mouth is too small to bite the person holding it. So, one of the most dangerous beasts in the world is helpless against those who would be victims to its mighty poison."

He cast his gaze upon Kira and glared.

"We jinchuuriki are like this. The strong can be toppled by the weak. Humans have no natural poison, no natural defense, except for our minds. We can make conscious decisions that go beyond the natural norm. Most of the time it actually clouds our judgment, but this is one time where it shouldn't. We're the spider, Kira, and the Akatsuki are the mean children who would pull off our legs. Seperately, we can accomplish little, but if two of us were to band together, we could take them. After all, we hold the strongest of the bijuu."