Chương 15: Winner of the Free for All
Shukaku's arm raced toward the unmoving bodies Kohara and Temari ready to kill them. I threw my left arm behind me and put my hand on the seal. Using the last bit of my strength I tried to close it on Shukaku but I couldn't with my current strength. I tried again and threw all my anger, fear, and worry into it hoping that it would shut it. I felt the seal shift a little and Shukaku's arm stopped mere inches from Temari and Kohara. Slowly but surely I was closing the door on him but I definitely wasn't going to be able to close it all the way. I simply didn't have the chakra to do so because Shukaku had sucked it away from me to partially transform me.
"Why do you interfere human? I am helping you but you don't want my help?" Shukaku was angry and I could feel the seal stop closing as his rage flowed into me. All I could do was hope that I could talk Shukaku down and get him to willingly release his hold. Otherwise, he would take over my body and kill both of the girls and whoever else he could find.
"Shukaku we have won the fight, please stop what your doing. We don't have to harm them any further."
"There is no victory until your enemies are dead at your feet, has no one taught you this?" Shukaku wasn't just exuding anger he was now coursing his bloodlust straight into me. My head felt like it was splitting in two from him trying to gain back control.
"They are my friends not my enemies we were simply competing and it got out of hand okay? I'll make you a deal if you stop right now Shukaku.' What I had in mind was definitely going to come back to bite me but right now I needed to save Kohara and Temari. I'd live with the consequences when the time came for me to uphold the deal.
"What kind of deal human?" Luck was on my side today it seems because Shukaku was actually interested in what I had to say. I felt his grip over me ease up a bit which was a good sign.
"At the upcoming chunin exams, I'm sure I will have trouble with one of my matches. Who knows maybe there will be some other trouble I will need help with. I'll surrender control to you no matter what happens at least once during the exams. How does that sound Shukaku?" This deal was beyond risky it was completely reckless and insane. It was all I could offer him at the moment so it was the only way.
"How do I know you will follow through with the deal? You could be tricking me." I sighed a bit in relief that he was interested in the proposition.
"Trust me Shukaku I doubt I could stop you if you wanted to take me over at the chunin exams." If I buttered him up a little and let it go to his head then he might just take the bait.
"Hmm I guess your right human, no one can resist my power," chuckled Shukaku. That was way easier to do than I thought it would be, I didn't even have to have to say another word. Shukaku released his hold on my body and his arm retracted back inside of my arm. My right eye then returned back to its normal vision and the ear that had partially formed on my head fell apart. I stood shakily in the arena with total silence. Nothing moved or made a sound except for my ragged breathing. Then there was an explosion of noise as medical ninja flooded the floor and Baki rushed towards me from the balcony.
"Lord Gaara are you okay? Does Shukaku still have control over you," asked Baki from a distance. The medical ninjas that weren't treating the girls also stood at the same distance, reluctant to go and treat me after what they just saw. Baki also had an expression of fear on his face after seeing me partially transform into Shukaku. I didn't blame him since he probably had nightmares still about the rampages that I had gone on in the past.
"No," was all I could manage to say before I crumbled to my knees and then fell onto my side. The medical ninjas immediately rushed to me and began healing my numerous injuries. I could see Baki standing over me with a concerned look, I must look really bad if he was worried about me. I flickered in and out of consciousness a few times but woke up to being carried out on a stretcher. Surprisingly I felt much better now even though much time hadn't passed. I was only now being carried out of the arena which meant I had only been out for a few minutes. I sat up and threw myself off the stretcher which surprised the medical ninja. Pain throbbed from my back where the papaer bomb explosion had hit me but other than being a little sore I was fine.
"I lent you some of my chakra, less than a drop but it was enough to restore your chakra levels to a healthy level. I didn't want to sit and watch you recuperate in that stuffy room until you got your chakra replenished." Shukaku and I seemed to both share a distaste for hospital wards, finally something we could agree on. I guess since my chakra had been refilled I wasn't tired anymore. There really was a big connection between health and chakra, hence why everyone always had to be careful with chakra use. It was what had put me in a coma for several days last time I'd overdone it.
"Thanks," I said will real appreciation. Maybe I actually was making some headway with Shukaku's attitude.
"Lord Gaara you should get back on the stretcher. Your injuries on your back still must be thoroughly treated," said Baki as he tried to get me back onto the stretcher. Several medical ninjas also attempted to get me to go to the infirmary but I refused. I popped several food pills into my mouth which frustrated the medical ninjas. They then left after they realized no matter what they did I wasn't going with them.
"Looks like I'm the winner Baki," I said with a grin. I began cleaning up my iron sand along with all the other sand that need to be put back on their scrolls. I then went and got my katana from the ground and put it back in its sheathe.
"It does Lord Gaara I am sure you will be a great representative for the Hidden Sand," he said with a sigh. Baki had been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for the last few minutes because of me. Then I had simply jumped up and said I was fine so I could understand his annoyance.
"I'm sorry for worrying you Baki but it looks like I was still stunned from the paper bomb explosion. I will definitely have to work on making my iron sand tougher, that explosion would not have worked if I could make it denser." Baki smiled at my rambles about my sand shell just as any teacher would who was proud of their student.
"Now that your representative you will have to attend several meetings with the other Hidden Villages' representatives. There will also be several dinners held that are meant to promote peace along with prosperity." Baki definitely said the prosperity part with sarcasm. Even I had to admit that having dinners with the other representatives sounded a little ridiculous. Hopefully, I could skip them so I could explore the Hidden Leaf. I wanted to check out the Jutsu that the Hidden Leaf had in their libraries even if it meant I had to break in.
"Do you know who the other representatives are," I asked curiously. Would it be Sasuke or Neiji? They were the two strongest genin from the Hidden Leaf though they had never actually fought each other. I didn't know any of the other Hidden Villages genin so I couldn't really make assumptions about them. The Hidden Rain, Waterfall, Sound, Artisans, and Grass were all wildcards in my book. I guess Dosu would be the representative from the Hidden Sound and Shigure who Gaara killed in the original anime would be the representative for the Hidden Rain.
"I don't know who will be the representatives from the other villages since it is announced at the first meeting. I imagine the Hidden Leaf will have one of the surviving Uchiha as their representatives," said Baki offhandedly. I froze when what Baki said registered in my mind. One of the surviving Uchiha means Sasuke wasn't the only one. A monumental change compared to the original anime. The whole storyline could be altered now that there was more than one Uchiha survivor.
"How many surviving Uchiha are there?" I asked this while trying my best not to sound over-curious about it. I didn't want Baki thinking something was off because I had a sudden interest in the Uchiha.
"Three genin who are about the same age and then a jonin. The one to watch out for I hear is Sasuke Uchiha. His team took down Zabuza the Demon on a mission is the rumor," Baki said with doubt in his voice. Baki sounded like he didn't believe that Zabuza could be taken down by a bunch of genin. If only he knew the truth, that Team 7 had utterly defeated Zabuza and his accomplice Haku. The real news that shocked me was that not only three young Uchiha had survived the Uchiha Massacre but that there was a jonin. I was already worried about just Sasuke before, one Uchiha genin was enough to deal with but now there were two more genin and a jonin? I'd have to be on guard at the exams since this would change everything. I also needed to find out more about their weaknesses because I would most likely end up fighting one of them.
"Sasuke is an Uchiha so it wouldn't surprise me if they took down Zabuza," I told Baki. Baki still didn't look very convinced which was logical on his part.
"Go round up your things Lord Gaara we will be leaving early tomorrow morning." Baki then walked away to probably go discuss the free for all with the other jonin. I wondered if he would do a little gloating too while he was at it.
"Looks like your happy with the way things went human," said Shukaku from within my head. He certainly was getting more talkative lately so perhaps he was warming up to me now. We hadn't exactly talked like this before I loosened the seal. Mainly it had been him breaking through the seal whenever I didn't have the strengths to resist him or he got enough power to breakthrough. Ever since the seal was strengthened that was impossible for him to do without me being almost dead or willingly letting him out. Shukaku had to play by my rules, something he was slowly getting better at.
"I am happy with the current standing of things right now Shukaku. Thank you for sparing my sister and my friend." Giving him compliments along with appreciation was still a good idea even if I was in control.
"Your welcome human, I can't wait to be in control during these little exams you have. It'll be so much fun," he said with joy dripping from his voice. Regret was already forming in my mind about making that deal but it was over with now. I couldn't back out or Shukaku would never trust me again. It was still a bind though to have such a loose deal with Shukaku who could change his mind anytime.
"I'm sure there with be some troublemakers for you to squash Shukaku," I said with a little unease. Saying that was still pretty hard even though I knew it was what Shukaku wanted to hear from me. I heard him cackle a little bit before retreating further into my mind. I exhaled in relief that I had finally been left alone by Shukaku. After his little stunt, I needed to watch him vigilant so it wouldn't happen again. Every moment he wasn't right there watching me was a period of sweet peace.
"You're looking better already Gaara."
I turned and found Kankuro standing there with a smile. Why did he seem so happy? He had lost the free for all and had been taken out by me for the third time.
"What's with the big grin?" When I asked that Kankuro's smile got even bigger than before.
"The alterations I made to Crow gave me a huge edge. I already have many more improvements in mind. It's all thanks to our battle and those books you told me to look at, said Kankuro with his eyes looking at his Crow puppet. He had a light in his eyes and the tone of his voice made me smile. Kankuro always got excited when talking about puppets but even this was more than usual.
"I'm glad you're happy about how the battle turned out Kankuro. I am sorry you didn't win," I told him. Kankuro let out a slight chuckle which furthered my confusion even more.
"It wasn't really about winning the battle for me, I didn't want that boring representative position anyway. It's much more fitting that you got it with how strong you've gotten." I was shocked that I had read Kankuro's intentions so wrong. I truly had thought that Kankuro wanted the position but in reality, he simply wanted to test his puppet out.
"Good for you then," I said slowly. Kankuro was a little off when it came to certain things. His puppets were his biggest devotion so I guess I understood his attitude towards the fight.
"That Rasho guy was the perfect test subject. I hear you are partly to thank for getting him all fired up before the fight. Thanks for making it easy," Kankuro said with another laugh. Even I had to smile at that, Rashi truly was funny to mess with. He probably would be enraged that he lost to me embarrassingly quickly. Rasho's lack of smarts had been put on full display as well by his fiery charge. He may have potential but until he got rid of his short fuse he would lose most fights.
"You ready for the chunin exams," I asked. I wondered how Kankuro would respond. Would he simply want to test out more puppet features or would he care about becoming a chunin?
"I'm nervous to have so many people watch me fight. I also am worried about how we will be tested during the exams with it being shrouded in secrecy. What I do know is that I'm ready to show what I can do," said Kankuro with confidence. Interesting, he really wanted to showcase the Hidden Sand's abilities as well as his own. Most genin probably get this way about the chunin exams. The leaders of the villages certainly got this way, the better their genin performed the more respect they would receive.
"I intend to do the same and win the chunin exams for the Hidden Sand." Kankuro looked me over and realized I was serious. He showed an expression of surprise but also support at the edges of it.
"If anyone is going to win it, it'll be you Gaara," he said what a pat on my shoulder. I didn't remember the last time he'd physically expressed his support. That was probably the reason I felt so shocked by his actions.
"Cheer up Gaara, you look like you've seen a ghost," Kankuro said with a clueless chuckle. He had no idea how such a small gesture made me feel. It had been so long since someone had given me a reassuring pat. It was kinda sad that I thought this was such a big deal but I didn't care. Kankuro then walked away to go get his Crow puppet. I took a moment to compose myself before heading out. I needed to visit the infirmary and apologize for what I did to Temari and Kohara. Hopefully, they would accept my forgiveness, I didn't want to be back to square one with both of them.
I walked down several surprisingly busy hallways to get to the infirmary. Many of the people were medical ninjas rushing to the infirmary which made me frown. Who had been injured that badly? Was it Kohara or Temari that needed so much assistance? Fear running through my veins I turned my walk into a sprint. At a sprint, it only took me a few minutes to reach the doors to the infirmary. I could hear a big bustle from behind the doors, only making my anxiety worse. I burst through the doors to find all the medical ninjas bustling into the one operation room the infirmary held. I went to go find out who was in the operation room when a hand grabbed my arm. I paused and looked to see who had grabbed suddenly grabbed me.
"Quit looking so worried Gaara, I already asked one of the medical ninjas what's going on. Apparently, Rasho wasn't careful with his flames like he was supposed to be and severely burned someone on Hirosano's team," said Kohara. She definitely looked far worse for wear than I hoped she would.
"Kohara are you doing alright? You look to be in pretty bad shape," I said with concern. Looking all around the room I found Temari unconscious along with Hirosano, Hirosano's other teammate, and Rasho. Mizuni was awake and gave me a polite wave which was odd considering that I was the one that put her in the infirmary. She was certainly an odd girl that gave me a headache when I tried to figure her out.
"I'm fine, you need to stop getting so worried when we get hurt. We all knew what it meant to go into a fight like that. We all still did it so it's what we deserve." Kohara looked very adamant about what she was saying. I was starting to expect this of her, little bursts of confidence and power that made me realize how much of a force she was.
"Alright Kohara you've got me there but I still care about my friends," I told unwaveringly. I wasn't gonna be some stone-cold demon like the old Gaara had been. This was my body and my name now, I made the decisions. Kohara gave a kind smile to my response which was infectious, I soon matched her grin with a slight smile of my own.
"Quit smiling like idiots, Kohara may be fine with you beating her to a pulp but I'm not. You still need to apologize to me," said an aggravated voice. Temari had apparently woken up and her temper was as scary as usual. Just like Kohara, she wasn't in very good condition. I could see the pain written on her face from talking. The guilt that had plagued me moments ago came back in a gut-wrenching feeling. I hurried over to Temari to observe her condition further. From just a look I wasn't even sure if she would be able to go to the exams with the condition she was in. Bandages covered a lot of her body, specifically her stomach where Shukaku's hand had hit her.
"Will you be okay?" With a weak smile, she shifted her weight and sat up.
"Don't worry little brother, they've dedicated some of the best medical ninjas to us. This does happen every year so we will all be in tip-top shape by the time we leave. I hear you got that monster inside of you under control after we got knocked out, you've made quite the progress lately. You seem so much different than what you were," said Temari with a distant look in her eye. She must be thinking about all my horrible incidents in the past.
"I know I have done awful things in the past, but I have changed now. Just wait and see, I'll show everyone just how strong the Hidden Sand is at the chunin exams." Temari's distant look vanished and became one of pride. I felt a little embarrassed about how she was looking at me but I would never show it. Looking back at Kohara, both of them had the same expression of support on their faces. Closing my eyes, I thought about how much everyone had changed so quickly because of my new attitude. Baki, Kankuro, Temari, Kohara, and even Shukaku a little bit. Except for Shukaku, they were all expecting great things out of me that I promised them I would do. I couldn't let them down, not now when they had so much faith in me.
"I won't let you down Temari, you too Kohara. I will win the chunin exams no matter what they throw my way. Not even an Uchiha will stop my power."
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