InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing the Kitsune ❯ To Be Free... ( Chapter 14 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

~ Ch. 14 - To Be Free... ~

“Gaara, let her go. She’s with me.” Naruto stepped into the light and made himself known.

“Naruto?” Kagome asked in disbelief as she tried to look over her shoulder. It was difficult with the sand holding her in place.

“Naruto Uzumaki.” Gaara greeted in his usual flat tone.

Kagome would have hit her self in the head if she could. “That’s why you were so familiar. Naruto told me about a fight he had with you a long time ago.” She said happily, finally figuring out her little puzzle.

Gaara gave her a distasteful look then turned his attention back to Naruto. “This...” The sand shifted and held Kagome upside down by one foot. “ belongs to you?”

“Hey! Put me down!”

Naruto snickered. “ Now that’s not nice Gaara. Go easy on her. She’s my new team mate.”

Gaara glanced at her and suddenly the sand dissipated and Kagome nearly fell on her head.

“Grrr...”

“Her skills are lacking at best. Why keep someone of her... standard with you?”

“Hmm... That’s a good question.” Naruto teased, over exaggerating the thinking man look.

“Naruto!” Kagome said exasperated.

“I’m just kidding Kagome.” He focused back on Gaara. “I guess I’d have to answer that by saying... She’s like the desert. There’s more to her than meets the eye.”

Gaara just stared at him with no emotion for a moment before speaking. “You spend to much time with your female companions.” And he sat down, acting uninterested in the whole situation now.

Kankuro spoke next to clear the awkward silence. “What brings you and your comrades to our land.”

“Just a run of the mill mission.”

Temari through a thumb in Kagome’s direction. “So your friend here got a name.”

Kagome answered for him. “Kagome, my name is Kagome...” She threw a contemptuous look in Gaara’s direction. “And I do not like being referred to as an object thank you very much.”
Gaara focused on her through slanted eyes and Naruto intervened before the tension rose anymore. “ Kagome, I think it’s time I got you back to camp.” Having to break up a fight between Gaara and Kagome was not his idea of a good time. “Maybe we should let them fight. It could prove to be very... entertaining.” ‘Do you want her to get herself killed?’

Kagome fixed Naruo with a stubborn look now. “But I haven’t even learned the other’s names yet.”

“Kagome this is Temari and Kankuro. Now we better get going.” He said hurriedly.

Garra was still staring down Kagome with cold eyes. “But you’ve only just arrived.”

Naruto started pushing Kagome in the direction of their camp. “Naruto cut that out.” She didn’t like being herded like this.

Naruto ignored her protests. “So I guess we’ll be seeing you guys around. Have a nice night.” He never stopped moving Kagome farther away as he spoke.

Temari went back to mending part of her fan that had been damaged in their latest mission. “Well she has spunk, I’ll give her that.”

Gaara never stopped gazing at the spot where the two leaf ninja disappeared into the night. “She... is a demon.”

The other two froze and looked at him with unbelieving, surprise in their eyes. “You’re only kidding, right Gaara?” Temari asked.

“No.”

Kankuro spoke up. “Come on Gaara. You can’t expect us to believe that girl was a demon like... well you know.” He motioned toward Gaara meaning the sand demon that resided in him.

Garra didn’t answer him. He had already answered the question and they should no better than to question him. He had felt the desire of Shukaku to defeat another demon when he sensed her watching them. Unlike Naruto, Gaara did not like to talk to his other half. He would literally drive him crazy. But try as he might, he could not block Shukaku’s feelings. Those came through loud and clear.

Naruto stopped dragging Kagome as they neared their camp when she planted her feet firmly to the ground and refused to go any further. “Why did you do that?”

“Are you kidding me? What’s wrong with you? Weren’t you listening when I told you how powerful he was when I faced him way back when? How powerful do you think he is now?” Kagome still stared at him stubbornly and all he could do was sigh. “I just didn’t want you getting into a needless fight and getting hurt.”

Kagome folded her arms. “Who said I would have been the one hurt. And besides, what were you doing following me?!”

“I’ve been following you every time you left during this trip.” When he could tell Kagome was about to get even angrier he spoke before she could yell at him. “Well what did you want me to do Kagome! There are people out there that want to hurt you, possibly kill you! I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen. I’ve already lost one teammate. Do you think I want to go through that again?”

Kagome calmed down and looked somewhat guilty. “I’m sorry Naruto. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was just so bored and I couldn’t sleep.” She explained.

“Well if that’s the case then wake me and I’ll keep you company. Just stop wondering off.” He pleaded gently. “Ok?”

“I guess.” Her tone didn’t sound to convincing, but their discussion would have to be put on hold for now.

Kakashi flashed a light their way and from a distance he yelled. “If you two aren’t going to sleep tonight I could find something for you to do.”

Fearing what was brewing in their sensei’s mind they headed for the camp right away. “We’re going to bed right now Kakashi sensei.”

Kakashi smiled to himself and laid back down.

The next morning the group was on the move by sunrise. They were trying to beat the heat of the day by getting an early start. While heat might be a welcome relief from the cold of their land, but after half a day of walking through it, it wasn’t quite so welcome anymore. They managed to make it to the village just as the sun was peaking at it’s hottest. As they walked to this village’s equivalent to the Hokage tower Kagome looked around the village and thought to herself how depressing the place looked with it’s lack of color. There were the occasional cacti here and there, but their dusty green didn’t help much. ‘I don’t think I can take much more of the muted tones of this place.’ She spread her aura out and connected with the scattered flora of the vicinity. She smiled to herself as she release a small amount of her energy. ‘You just have to know where to look, right?’ Beautiful flowers of deep purples and vibrant pink filled the area. They were just the natural blossoms of the plants so not much effort was needed to manipulate a blooming.

She smiled even wider as a random child tugged at his mothers sleeve and said “wow mommy, wook at the pwitty fwowers.” The adults of the area just looked on in surprise and awe. When Kagome looked back at Kakashi he shook his head as if to say, ‘don’t messing around here.’ The smile slid from her face and she tried to look more serious.

When they reached their destination Kakashi turned to the others. “I’m the only one required in here so why don’t you three go find somewhere for us to get some thing to eat spend the night.” He turned away and walked into the building leaving the others outside.

“Does anyone know where to go?” Kagome asked the others.

“I do.” Answered Naruto. I’ve been here before. It’s been a while, but things don’t looked like they’ve changed much. Naruto lead the way and the others fallowed. As they walked away they passed Gaara and his siblings walking toward them, but they passed by Naruto, Sakura and Kagome like they weren’t even there.

“Well he’s certainly overflowing with manners.” Kagome said with sarcasm.

“That’s just the way he is.” Naruto explained to her.

“Yeah, I knew someone like him before, but that doesn’t mean I like being ignored.”

Sakura was getting confused. “Uh, did I miss something here.”

“Only that Kagome here tried to start a fight with Gaara last night.”

“I did not! He started it.”

Sakura was even more confused. “Wait a second. What?...”

“Kagome wondered off and stumbled across Gaara and them. I was following her and it’s a good thing I did because Gaara had her in his sand.” He explained with a hint of laughter in his voice, goading Kagome on.

“What!” Sakura exclaimed.

“I had everything under control.” she said stubbornly.

Naruto smiled, “Sure sure.”

“Kagome, your lucky you didn’t get hurt. Gaara’s more than dangerous.” Sakura tried to tell her.

“So I’ve heard.” She grumbled.

They made their way through a market street of cart vendors and down a couple more streets. When they came to a stop they were in front of what looked to be expensive hotel. The building was reminiscent of a small Arabian palace. There were people in richly colored desert garb walking to and fro. Sakura had stars in her eyes. “Wow, is this where we’re staying?”

“Psh, yeah right. Like we could afford this place on our income.” He answered.

“Aw, ok so where are we staying then?”

“There.” He pointed a couple buildings over to a run down looking motel like building. Sakura hung her head and moaned. Naruto poked her in the side with his elbow. “Hey don’t worry. They have their own little eatery and the food is great.” He smiled widely and walked for the door.

Kagome smiled sympathetically. “Hey, it’s better than the desert floor.”

Sakura’s head was still hung as she started walking. “Barely.” She said weakly. Kagome just shook her head and followed them in.

The rooms weren’t much to look at, but they had comfy futon beds and the building seemed to be built to shield the heat of the sun outside. Naruto had ordered two rooms for the group. One for the women and the other for himself and Kakashi. Seeing her opportunity Kagome decided to slip away for a bit. “Hey Sakura?”

Sakura was laying down on a futon enjoying the coolness of the building. She cracked an eye open to look at Kagome. “Yeah?”

“I think I’m going to go out for a bit.”

“With Naruto?” she asked.

“No, by myself. Apparently he’s afraid I’ll get jumped or something cause he’s been sticking to me like a fly to you know what since we started this mission.”

“You think he’ll get mad?”

“I don’t care. I don’t like feeling like I’m being babysat. I just need to get out on my own.”

“Well if I come with you, do you think he wouldn’t be as upset. I wouldn’t be babysitting or anything. I was just thinking of buying some of the exotic clothes and it would be fun to have a shopping partner.” The Hokage had made it clear that Kagome was not to be left unattended when outside of the village, but she couldn’t let Kagome know she’d been told that. Besides, she was kind of telling the truth. She did want to go shopping.

“I guess that sounds like fun... Alright. You ready to go?” She said going for the door.

“What? Now?”

“No time like the present.”

“Aww, but we just got here.” She whined.

“Suit yourself. I’m going though.”

“Alright.” She sighed. “I’m coming.” She said grabbing her desert cover. She noticed Kagome still didn’t get her’s out. “How come you don’t where your cover.” she tugged on her own as she asked. “Don’t you get hot from the sun... or sun burnt?”

Kagome shrugged. “The sun dose get a little annoying, but nothing to bad. Let’s just say it’s another perk of being... like me.” She said so that only Sakura would get her drift. They took a path that didn’t lead past Naruto’s room incase he was still in there, but to Kagome’s dismay he was sitting in the little café down stairs. She jumped back behind the cornner of a wall when she saw him. “Darn.”

“What?”

“NarutoR 17;s out there.”

“What do you want to do?” Sakura asked quietly.

“He’s faceing the food counter in the other direction, so if we’re quiet we should be able to slip out with out him noticing.” The two quietly walked along the far wall.

They had almost made it to the door when the chef looked up at them and asked, “Would you ladies care for some late lunch?”

Kagome and Sakura’s eye’s grew big and they dashed out the door in a hurry just as Naruto turned his head in their direction. When he didn’t see anyone. He gave the man a strange look. “Maybe you should go take a brake bud. You shouldn’t work so hard.” and he went back to eating his food. The chef just sweat dropped rather largely.

“Few, that was close. So do you know where we’re going Sakura?”

“Not a clue, but we’ll find it together.” The girls giggled and made their way to what they hoped was the market.

When they finally found their way to the wide alley of cart vendors, Sakura made a b-line for one with fine clothes of many beautiful fabrics and just about squealed with delight.

Kagome laughed at her friend. “You sure do like shopping.”

“I love it.” She held up an outfit and felt the fabric. “It feels alot softer than it looks.”

Kagome reached out and felt it. Even though it looked heavy and itchy it was actually light and soft. Like it had already been wore in. “Maybe, I’ll get something to wear while I’m here too. This stuff feels great.”

The large man running the cart smiled jovially at the foreign women, aka potential big money. “Ladies, I see you’ve taken an interest in my humble work.”

“Yes sir... It’s lovely. How do you make such a durable fabric feel so light and soft?” Sakura asked as she picked out an outfit and held it up to herself.
“If I told you that then I would be giving away the secret that makes my clothes so special, but I can see why you would want to know. My clothing is sought after far and wide.” He boasted with an exaggerated hand motion. “Why my unique outfits are fit for royalty. If you find anything you like just let me know. I am happy to be of any service.” He winked at them and turned to another new customer.

“He’s certainly a character.” Sakura stated quietly.

“Yeah, but people like him make the world that much more interesting.” She said with a smile. Kagome sighed as she picked up another out fit. “I was trying to save up money for a nice bow and arrow you know. Your not helping my cause.”

Sakura giggled. “But these are awesome outfits.”

A while later the girls were walking back to the hotel. Kagome was holing a couple of small folded squares. They were soft baggy white pants with a matching tunic like top. There was also a silky over lay she bought separately. It was thicker than the other material so it held more of it’s shape. It was kind of like a long narrow poncho that tied around the waist and hung down almost to her feet with a hood attached. There were subtle inlays of emerald designs along the seems. Last but not least she had picked up a long flowing, white scarf.

Sakura on the other hand had a plethora of outfits stacked in her arms. Kagome saw her eyeing another stand and intervened. “You realized you have to carry all this back to our village right?”

Sakura grimaced. “Guess I forgot about that part. Heh. Think they’ll all fit in my pack?”

“Yeah... if your know how to magically shrink all of it.” She joked as they turned a corner.

Sakura ran smack into someone and clothes went everywhere. “Oh no.” She cried. “They’re all dirty now.”

“There you two are.” Naruto had been the someone. “I’ve been looking for you two. Let me know next time you guys leave.”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Yes father.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh nothing, just that you need to stop worrying so much.” She walked up to him and gently poked him in the chest. “You can’t protect me from the world you know. Now hold this.” She handed Naruto the folded clothes and helped Sakura collect her fallen purchases.

Naruto noticed just how many there were and raised an eyebrow. “Are those all your’s Sakura.”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, you should really have someone hold your money for you.”

“A little late with that advice Naruto. Better luck nest time.” She said sarcastically.

“Not my fault you have a shopping addiction.” After the girls had picked everything up Naruto started walking. “Lets hurry up. Kakashi wants to talk with Kagome.”

*Later that evening

Kagome quietly slipped into her new outfit so as not to wake her roommate. She had spoken with Kakashi and as it turns out their mission had actually been to bring Kagome to this sand box of a city. Kakashi had been speaking with the Kazekage about using their expert on demons. He was the one that had helped Gaara’s father bind Shukaku with his son and he may be able to help with Kagome’s cursed seal. It had obviously been designed for a demons power and was probably going to be used on Naruto, but Kagome had the awesome luck of showing up at just the right time to take his place. Jiraiya had been the one to mention hearing of this so called expert. She was going to meet with him tomorrow and as fun as that sounded, it wasn’t exciting enough to quell Kagome’s boredom. She was filled with unexpended energy and she needed to get away from the watch dogs for a while. ‘What could happen to me in a big city like this anyway?’ She thought as she took off her head band and threw her tail over her shoulder. Going to a dingy cracked mirror in the corner of the room, she was caught off guard by the sight that met her. ‘Can we say Sesshomaru anyone?’ She smiled and pulled the shear scarf up over her nose and the hood over her ears.

She made it outside and paused for a moment as a cool night breeze brushed against her face. “Ah, freedom.” She didn’t really know where she was going, only that she was finally and really alone. Even when she traveled with Inuyasha she had gotten time to herself when she traveled back to her time. As she wondered around aimlessly for a while came across a familiar scent. She smirked deviously and followed her nose to it’s owner.

Not to far away she came to an isolated playground like area. ‘Well I guess these kids don’t need a sand box, the whole thing is a sand box.’ She turned her gaze upwards and found her ill-mannered friend. From this angle he looked to be sitting directly in front of the crescent moon on a high fence. Sand danced around him absently.

He didn’t turn to look at her, but spoke non the less. “Why are you following me woman.”

“I have a name you know. It’s not this, that, woman or anything of the like. It’s Ka-go-...”

He interrupted her with an uninterested tone. “Is there a point to your rambling.”

“You have a real problems with manners, you know that?” she scalded.

In the blink of an eye he was in her face, looking down his nose at her. She was startled and she tried to hide it, but he saw her flinch and knew his move of intimidation had worked, if only slightly. “You must have a death wish...” He walked past her as if she were no longer worth his gaze and stared off into the distance. “You know who I am and yet you try and provoke me.”

“Hey, I’m not trying to provoke anyone. I just have a problem with rude behavior.” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down even though he wasn’t looking in her direction. She really didn’t know why she had followed him here, but it probably had something to do with the fact everyone thought she couldn’t hold her own against him and needed to prove that she wasn’t scared of him.

He felt the heat of her gaze on his back, but continued to avert his eyes. “Weren’t you the one spying on me? Wouldn’t you consider that, rude behavior or are you just a hypocrite.”

“Grrr... Your so infuriating. If I had a necklace of subjugation with me I’d sit you from here to next week.” She commented more to herself than him.

This comment did cause him to turn a sideways glance to ward her. “Demon, I do believe you’re insane.”

“What! My name is Kagome and your starting to get on my nerves, you...”

Again he interrupted her as he turned towards her fully. A wicked smile in place. “Then attack me if you dare... or are you scared.”

“I don’t want to fight you, you battle crazed weirdo.” She huffed.

“As I thought. Pathetic.”

He started to turn away from her again, but she wasn’t about to be ignored again. ‘Why that...’ She took out one of the many seeds she had stashed in her pants pockets, taken from her vest, and flicked it at his forehead.

He caught it just before it hit him and frowned. ‘What a waste of my time. Shukaku was wrong to want to fight her.’ he was about to toss the seed aside when he saw her smirk. She held out her hand and as it started to glow red so did the seed. Suddenly she clenched her fist vines shot forth intent on wrapping around him. Sand quickly slid between the plant and his body, enveloping him. After a second of struggle the sand burst the vines and the broken vegetation flew past Kagome’s face. ‘I may have been wrong.’ He cast a deadly smile in her direction. “Take care not to excite me, I have trouble... controlling myself when I’m excited.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IVX: Ohhhh... cliffy. Hehe. This should be fun to watch. It’s kind of like death vs life, destruction vs creation... yeah that sounds good. Any who, hope you liked it. Oh and for the betta offer, no thanks. I try to give everything a once over and I might miss some mistakes, but I’m fine with an occasional misspelled word. Sometimes I just feel like posting right away and don’t take enough time... heh. Just get to excited I guess. Until next time... ^_~