The Curse Of Hatred ~Book 2~

Chapter 17: Shukaku

The morning finally arrived in the Village Hidden in the Sand. Yuzuki rolled back and forth all night in bed waiting for the hot desert sun to finally shine threw the sand storm. Kakashi was rolled over snoring lightly and an arm handing over the bed.

Yuzuki quietly slipped out of the warm comfort of the bed and dressed. She left her weapons behind and set out to search for the little boy. She turned back to look at Kakashi who was soundly asleep and felt guilty knowing he'd wake up and find she wasn't there. Ah, he'll be fine. She shook it off. She'll be back soon.

The question was, where would she even begin to look. Yuzuki gazed around at the few dwellers that shuffled about the streets and sweeping away piles of sand left behind by the storm. She began to walk unknowingly and ignoring the wary looks from the residents as she passed.

Why was she so drawn to finding the boy. It kept her mind up and running all night. She barely slept properly, meanwhile Kakashi was out like a light within the hour.

"Excuse me." Yuzuki approached a lady sweeping her front steps. The lady stopped sweeping to glare at the foreigner. "Would you know where I could find a little red headed boy. The Kazekage's son?"

"Here to finally kill him? You won't succeed."

"I'm not here to kill him actually. I just wanted to talk to him."

The lady scoffed. "You can usually find him at the Kazekage's residents." she pointed in a general direction. Yuzuki bided the lady thanks and headed out to follow her directions. If everyone was assuming she, who was a foreigner, was here to kill Gaara then the Village must have a bad reputation regarding the poor boy.

Every house here looked the same. All with the same bland architect. How anyone could navigate this village, she'll never know. Yuzuki stopped to look around and peered up to the leaning buildings blocking the warm morning desert sun. Finding this boy was hopeless. There wasn't even that dreadful feeling that roused when he was near.

The sand stirred at her feet in a swirling motion. Yuzuki tilted her head curiously. There was no wind to make the sand do that. The sand gathered in a mass and formed a wave over her. Yuzuki's sharingan activated in an instance and she leaped out of the way as the wave of sand crashed down. Yuzuki stood on the rooftop searching for the culprit.

"Who are you?" a familiar soft voice said. A sharp throb made her entire chest thump with shivers running up her spine. There was that dreadful feeling she was waiting for. And behind her was the boy she was searching for.

"Are you here to kill me?" he asked with seething anger clear in his pale eyes. Yuzuki held up her hands to show she was not a threat. But the demons that dwelled within them thought otherwise, each one raved trying to crawl their way up their vessels throats to duel each other. Yuzuki had to swallow the bile rising in her throat.

"No. I'm not here to kill you." her eyes turned back to black. "Did you do that?" she motioned down to the sand. Gaara nodded hesitantly. "That's amazing."

"Why are you here? Anyone who's here is always trying to kill me."

Jurun's voice grumbled deep within the dark chasm he lingered in. She could feel his long body slithering in the darkness like a snake hiding in the bush. His clawed feet scratched at the chains that restrained him to the void and his beady red eyes glowed when he gazed up.

Yuzuki pursed her lips sadly and slowly bent her knees to crouch. "No, I'm not here to hurt you. I promise. My names Yuzuki Uchiha. I'm here with my boyfriend. We came to deliver a package and got stuck in the storm last night." she explained. "You're Gaara, right?"

The boy was still hesitant and on guard. His own demon was trying to break free in the presence of a much larger and more powerful demon that was in this lady. She was a threat the tailed beast had to eliminate. Who could blame him. As far as he was concerned she was lying and just trying to find an opening to kill him.

Gaara's sand is impenetrable, nothing could hurt him even if she tried. "What are you?" he emphasised curiously watching her.

"I'm what you call an Akuma Yoki. I carry a demon that's not my own. Just like you."

"You're different."

"In some ways. I have a Hibiki demon, you however, you have a Tailed Beast. You're a Jinchuuriki. So really, we're alike."

They're alike. He thought numb to the fact that there are others like him out in the vast wide world he was yet to be familiar with. Jurun and Shukaku were ancient demon, and both alike, who are more than familiar with each other. This was the reason for the strange stirrings.

Gaara looked away in realisation and said, "You're not going to kill me." his eyes came back up to met her dark orbs.

Yuzuki nodded her head with a kind smile. "No. I just wanted to speak with you... How do you control the sand like that?"

"Shukaku."

"Your beast."

"That's why no ones been able to kill me. The sand is impenetrable."

"You know some bigs words for a boy your age. Wanna know a secret?" she motioned her finger for him to come forward. Gaara looked from her hand and back up to her. He remained unmoving. Gaining his trust was hard. Yuzuki chuckled. "I was trained by the Fourth Hokage, the fastest ninja to ever live. I bet I could get past your sand."

Gaara shook his head. "You can't. It'll kill you."

"Well, I left my weapons behind, so right now, you could. The most I could do is evade you. But that's not the reason I wanted to talk to you. Your father did ask me to kill you." Immediately, Gaara took several step back. "No, no! I refused him." Gaara stopped reversing. "What your father is doing is wrong. Sending assassins after you is wrong. I just wanted to let you know I wasn't here to kill you. Not at all. There are others like you out there. Hibiki or Jinchuuriki. "

Gaara's pale eyes fell to the floor. Yuzuki rose to her feet startling him and he stumbled back again. She held out her hands in defence. "I have to leave now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Gaara." Yuzuki stepped back off the roof and disappeared from Gaara's sight. He ran forward to peer over the roof and up and down the street. The Leaf ninja was gone. It made him think, maybe not everyone was so bad after all.