Desert Flower

Big Little Brother

  Chasing Sora into the woods, I jumped and tackled the boy to the ground. Leaning back when he swung those metal claws, he twisted to strike again. Pinning his wrists to the ground by his head, I gave a low warning growl.

  "Get off me!"

  "Shut up and listen." I could feel Sora tense beneath me as I was still on his back. "I'm going to be blunt and honest with you. For the past few days, I've been following you. And, yes, I was ordered to kill you but only as a last resort. Do you understand what that means?"

  "That Konoha really does want me dead!" Sora bucked to get me off, however, I didn't even budge and tightened my grip on his wrists.

  "No, that death is only as a means to keep everyone else safe if you don't stop. Sora, what Asuma-sensei told you about your father dying for his beliefs- Do you even know what his beliefs were?" The boy went quiet before snarling.

  "My father was a good man! He's not what you people keep-"

  "Your father was the traitor, not Asuma-sensei. He tried to make you into a weapon, Sora. That arm you have? Your chakra? It comes from the Nine-Tails. Your father sealed some of the Kyuubi's chakra in you-"

  "You're lying!"

  "I'm not. And I'll prove it to you, but you have to actually listen to me. I have a beast sealed inside of me that feeds on chakra. I can smell it like prey, and whenever your arm gets monstrous, you reek of the Kyuubi. That bite on your shoulder? That was me subduing you when you went after Asuma-sensei. I could have killed you, but I didn't. I can kill you right now....but I won't. Now, I'm going to show you proof, and I'm going to need you to be still. Do you understand?"

  Sora was still very pissed and upset, but I knew he wanted to see the proof I spoke of. He was too much like Naruto to not want to know.

  "....Show me." His voice was quiet, and I took in a deep breath. I could hear the battle going on back in the village, however, keeping this boy from rampaging was my priority. He may not be the real Nine-Tails jinchuriki, but he possessed some of the fox's power, and it was devastating enough.

  Building up chakra, I saw the boy watch as claws grew on my fingertips. The night became brighter as Kami-sama's eyes showed through, and I felt my fangs lengthen even more until the top ones were hanging over my bottom lip. Once I was to a point that showed the beast within but I was still in control, I leaned forward, dropping my head beside Sora's.

  He jolted when his eyes locked with mine.

  "I was only assigned the mission to follow you because I can safely subdue you simply by feeding on your chakra. All you'd get is a bite that can be healed with medical ninjutsu. Tsunade didn't give me the mission with the purpose of killing you, but to keep Konoha and you safe. And everything else I told you, I found out from files and Monk Chiriku or from putting the pieces together when I found out about the Kyuubi chakra you have." I paused as the boy was still staring at me wide-eyed.

  "But....jinchuriki are....they're ostracized. How do you...."

  "I was as a kid. Then I met Naruto. And you want to know what else? Naruto is the jinchuriki of the actual Nine-Tails. He's proof you can have people around you that care about you. But you need to accept that you've idolized a man you didn't actually know." Pain flashed across his face, and I knew he so badly wanted to defend his father, but he instead bit his bottom lip.

  Sora looked close to crying.

  "Can I trust you to not lash out if I let you go?" Sora didn't respond, and I furrowed my brows. "Don't make me have to kill you." Leaning back, I slowly got up and lifted my hands off the boy. He scrambled away, spinning around to look at me as his back hit a tree. "Yeah, don't exactly look like a pretty picture." I scoffed while running my hand through my hair while placing the other hand on my hip.