Mixing of Snow and Sand

Chapter 6: One Month

After the exams were finished we were told that a month from then was when the finals were going to take place and that we should all prepare. I was allowed to stay in the village during that time period so I took the time to rest up and think of a way to win against my opponent for the finals: Temari. She used Wind Jutsu and I knew what kind of power it held. I would have to be careful not to get careless.

Do you really think she is going to be that challenging? Apollo asked as we went into the forest for the third day in a row.

"If she comes from the same village as Gaara, yes." I stated. I stopped by the river and allowed Apollo and Artemis to drink before we started training.

You should be happy she wants to train, Apollo. You always were one for a good fight. Artemis chuckled.

You aren't wrong.

"We need to get started, we're wasting daylight."

Since when has the sun ever stopped us from training?

"Don't be stupid, Apollo. You know he gets more active at night."

I understand...

"So same as yesterday, we focus on long range combat but only as a back up. She is a long ranged attacker, therefore if we want the upper hand then we have to be close ranged." I explained.

After taking a deep breath I nodded to Apollo to begin. He vanished without making a sound and I trained my ears to search for his presence. I set icicle shards at the tree he was hiding in. He immediately jumped out.

Good, but you need to be quicker.

He vanished once more and I trained once more to sense his presence. This time it was in the bushes nearby. I chucked more ice shards, earning an approved nod as response.

Good. Keep that up and no one will be able to hit you from long range.

I sensed her before she even appeared.

"What's this? A girl and her pets." Temari mocked as she landed on the ground beside a tree nearby.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know how you know my brother." My heart pounded slightly.

"Why does it concern you?" I kept the facade up.

"Gaara has never stopped when asked to by anyone other than my brother and I. So I want to know what makes you so special that he would completely give up on killing someone for you." She demanded.

"I never said I was special. He was a friend from when we were kids. Before my village got destroyed." I muttered.

"Friends? You have to be kidding me, Gaara has never had any friends." She chuckled. I felt the tears before I could stop them. I turned and looked at her, nothing showing in my eyes other than the water that now flowed from them.

"Whether you believe me or not it happened. Your father brought him to my village when he was younger and we became friends. He stopped coming a short time before my village was attacked. Leaving me as the sole survivor." She stood frozen in her spot.

"You would cry over our brother?" She asked finally.

"Maybe its the past that makes me feel that way, but the Gaara I saw in the arena was not the Gaara I knew. He's changed into something sinister. Maybe it was Shukaku's doing." She froze once more when I mentioned the demon that resided inside of Gaara.

"How do you know about that?" Her voice was quivering now.

"He told me when we were kids. The One-Tail demon, Shukaku. The sacrifice of his mother was the only way to seal it inside of him." I continued.

"No one should know about that..."

"Well I do."

"You can't live then." She pulled out her fan.

"Do you think Gaara was the only one with something sealed inside of them?" I questioned. She stopped mid-swing as I smirked. The bloodlust was coming. I could sense Shei inside, craving the blood.

"Don't tell me, you have one too..." She muttered.

"I do. But Gaara doesn't know that, because unlike him I wasn't born with this inside of me. It was forcefully placed inside my body when my village was destroyed. Shei, the demonic wolf. I would leave if I were you, I can't completely control him and he's getting on edge. The fight with Dosu didn't satisfy his hunger." My hands started shifting into claws, she took a step back. The canines grew in the place of where normal teeth once were. I could see the sweat drop from her face. Shei was going to be free soon and if I didn't do something Temari was going to die where she stood.

"That's enough." I turned my head and saw Gaara appear from the shadows just as he had done in the Forest of Death.

"Gaara..." Temari sounded surprised.

"Temari, we're leaving." He said without even looking in my direction.

"What's the matter, Gaara? Scared to see your old friend being devoured by the same demons that devoured you?" Shei spoke out of my mouth. Gaara finally looked at me.

"I couldn't care less what happens to her." He turned and started to walk away. I could feel everything inside of me breaking. I felt sick as the bloodlust fully came through.

"That's strange, because for some reason she cares about what happens to you. She's fighting with everything she has to hold me back from killing you." Shei continued. He looked back at me, but nothing from the old Gaara came to me. Shei laughed at the nothingness in his eyes.

"Mia, why care for this boy? He's been consumed by the demon inside of him, there is nothing left of the boy you once knew." He continued to laugh as Gaara turned away once more.

"That's....not true!" I yelled out and forced Shei away. Gaara stopped but didn't look back at me. "The Gaara I knew is still in there somewhere and I am not going to give up on him!" I spat out. Temari looked at me amazed.

You still show your resistance of me. Soon you will realize that it is futile. I will break free and there will be nothing you can do about it, Mia.

"We'll see about that, Shei..." I whispered, watching Gaara and Temari disappear. My body, exhausted from the strain collapsed to the ground.

Mia!

~

"Shei, the demonic wolf?" I whispered as Apollo and Artemis explained it to me.

Yes, Shei is the ruler of wolves. Somehow he was sealed away into your body by Orochimaru. If left to his own he will break free from you and use you as a vessel of destruction. Orochimaru's true goal I'm sure.

"But why me?"

We're not sure, but we believe its because of your connection to both the Village Hidden in the Snow and the Village Hidden in the Sand.

"But why not go for someone like my mother, she was strong, brave...everything I'm not."

Exactly. Apollo spat out.

Apollo, she's just a little girl!

She will learn that she needs to become strong if she is to hold Shei back. If she doesn't then there will be nothing left for us to save.

"I...I understand..." I quivered.

We won't let you go through this alone, Mia. We're going to train you and help you to seal Shei properly, so he can't break free. Artemis whispered as I looked down at the snow. I was freezing but it wasn't because of the cold, it was because I knew he was there watching and listening the whole time. He knew I would never be strong enough to completely seal him away, but I could hold him back.