10 Meeting with Rasa

Kankuro and I clashed as we met in the pool of mud. Our kunai became blurs as we attacked and parried each other over and over again. We both slipped several times, resulting in awkward struggles to regain our balance. Eventually, I got an opening and landed a punch on Kankuro's left shoulder. He stumbled and threw his kunai at me. The kunai grazed the left side of my stomach, leaving a shallow cut. Angry, I threw myself onto Kankuro and we both went down hard. We wrestled for a while, exchanging blows. It became very apparent that I was not as physically strong as Kankuro. Taijutsu was by far my weakest ability and it was clearly showing. I put my hand into the mud and forced any iron sand nearby to form around it. Kankuro charged me, throwing a long-winded haymaker. I grinned and raised my hand to block it. Unlike before though, my hand to my elbow was covered with iron sand. Kankuro didn't see it in time, his fist painful cracking as it met my iron sand sleeve. Kankuro fell to his knees, clutching his broken knuckles. I raised my right hand which was still covered with iron sand. I was about to deliver a devastating blow when Kankuro threw a lightning-quick punch. It hit me straight in the gut, causing me to keel over. He must have been faking clutching his hand so I would drop my guard.

"Quite a low blow Kankuro," I said between gasps for breath.

"Don't break my fingers then Gaara." We both stumbled onto our feet, ready for another brawl. This time I went for my shurikens in my bag. I threw three of them quickly before Kankuro could strike first. He brought out another kunai and deflected two of them with it while the third shuriken flew harmlessly past. Kankuro threw his kunai along with a few shurikens, all of which I stopped with my iron sand.

"KNOCK IT OFF YOU TWO," boomed a loud voice. Right after the voice said that I was hit hard by a wind-style attack. Kankuro and I flew off our feet and slammed into the wall we had been knocked into minutes ago. If I wasn't hurting before we were thrown against the wall, I was now. I slowly but surely managed to get up as I had before, this time using the wall as support. My chakra levels were lower than I had thought they would be but I guess I could attribute that to two back-to-back battles.

"Are you two trying to kill each other? There is a limit to training you know," criticized the voice who was now much closer. I endured the pain and looked up to find Temari. Her eyes reminded me of rageful balls of fire. I had been about to scorn whoever had hit us with that wind attack but I quickly reconsidered. I was in no shape to fight another battle, I needed a trip to the infirmary, to be honest.

"You interrupted our rematch," grumbled Kankuro. He hadn't looked up and seen Temari yet, he had no idea how big of a mistake he was making. I honestly felt bad for him as Temari started to stride toward Kankuro with a vengeance.

"Kankuro, you've made an absolute mess of the training arena, how are any of us supposed to train until this dries." With that, she hit him straight over the head. Kankuro yelped in pain before falling back down. He gripped his head where a massive bruise was forming, groaning in pain on the floor. Temari turned toward me and I gulped in fear. How was it possible that she looked like such a demon right now?

"The same goes for you Gaara, you've made quite a mess." She then stiffly walked away from both me and Kankuro. I guess she still wasn't assured that I wasn't crazy anymore, otherwise she would've hit me just like she did Kankuro. I wasn't really complaining in this situation though, it looked like a really painful punch.

"That one has quite the temper, is she always like that?" Of course, Shukaku liked Temari's demon-like attitude, why wouldn't he?

"Why must you always pop up to say such pointless things? I could've really used some help with the iron sand during the fight but you totally left me out in the cold. Yet, at a moment when I don't need your commentary your always there." I could hear Shukaku mumble and grumble at my insult. Shrugging Shukaku's behavior off, I moved to Kankuro.

"Why don't we call it a win for both of us Kankuro?" I offered him my hand as I said that, a small smile on my face. I had thoroughly enjoyed our battle, it had really pushed me. Kankuro paused for a minute, obviously not liking the idea of not getting total domination over me. He quickly accepted my hand though, it was just a training match after all.

"You could've gone easier on my puppets, they are both utterly destroyed," sighed Kankuro as he observed his now dismantled puppets.

"You are the one that destroyed that Oasis puppet, that puppet Riptide was just too powerful for me to leave it in one piece anyway." Looking at the Riptide puppet, I realized I must've tightened the chains accidentally before I was washed away. The poor puppet wasn't even recognizable, the sand chains completely crushing it. Kankuro didn't seem too happy with my assessment even when I had mentioned to him his Riptide puppet was very strong. I guess he was just upset all his hard work was now worthless junk. I quickly got out my iron sand scroll and recalled the iron sand that was now mixed in with all the mud. I then rolled the scroll back up and place it back on my sling. It was a little damp but I'm sure it would be fine.

"Let's go to the infirmary Gaara, then you've gotta get cleaned up and meet father in an hour or so." My joyous mood darkened right as Kankuro reminded me of the meeting. It had completely slipped my mind that I needed to meet with my father today. I still didn't have a solid prediction for why he wanted to talk to me. Kankuro must've noticed my change of mood because he put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, understanding my sudden anxiety. We walked side by side to the infirmary, not saying a word the whole time. Kankuro had grabbed one of the nozzles off Riptide's remains and fiddled with it the whole way there. I briefly wondered what he could be trying to do with it before going back to thinking about the meeting. We quickly got medical attention from a very old medical ninja. The old lady scolded me harshly for injuring Kohara, who had just left a bit ago. The old lady grudgingly healed my wounds after that, before shooing me out. When asked why Kankuro was staying, she informed me in a rude tone that Kankuro required more treatment than I did. She berated me for breaking his knuckles as well as fracturing his wrist. She then slammed the door in my face, leaving me alone in the hallway. I walked alone to my room where I changed into new clothes. I took the muddy clothes I had been wearing and threw them in the corner. I made sure my appearance was completely adequate for the meeting. Then, I solemnly left my room with my head down. Exiting the large building that housed the arena and my room, it was my first time outside as Gaara. The building had been specifically made for us to train and live in, separate from everyone else. It was the reason why is hardly seen anyone but my team.

It wasn't looking like too busy of a day in Sunagakure, few people were walking in the street. Many of them start whispering and pointing at me when they noticed who I was. Right now I didn't really care whether they did that or not. I couldn't go from person to person and change all of their minds about who I was. I'd just have to prove my worth to them.

"Lord Gaara," said a voice from behind me. I turned and found Baki walking toward me. He was back to his usual appearance as well as composure since the last time I had seen him. I actually felt some of the weight lift off my shoulders when I saw him, maybe he could come to the meeting with me.

"Hello Baki, what are you doing here," I asked him. It wasn't unusual to see him out and about in the village, but he was a man that moved with a purpose. Baki wasn't one to just take peaceful walks around the village or go out for a hot meal.

"I am here to escort you to your meeting with Lord Kazekage. I went to your room but found that you had already left. Temari told me about your match with Kankuro and Setsami told me how you sent a young genin to her infirmary this morning." Baki had very questioning eyes when he said that last line, obviously looking for an answer. Setsami must be that mean old medical ninja, can't believe she ratted on me to Baki. Baki fell in line beside me and we began our walk to the Kazekage's office.

"The genin's name is Kohara Ruchi, we were training with each other this morning and things got a little out of hand. As for Kankuro and me, we should have probably called the match a lot earlier." I could tell Baki was a little amused by my response, which was nice to know he thought it was funny and not disgraceful.

"It is good to see that you are making new friends Lord Gaara. I hope you will continue to thrive as you have the past few days." Baki had honestly calmed me down quite a bit. Baki being here and walking with me was reassuring, knowing that I wasn't alone. Why couldn't Rasa just leave me alone? He had already messed up most of my life and now that I was finally getting it on track he wants to meet with me. It wasn't some small meeting either, it was a direct order as Kazkeage to jinchurki that I needed to meet.

"Look out!" Someone's yell of warning pulled me from my thoughts. I turned behind me to see what was happening. The man who had yelled in alarm was on the right side of the street pointing upwards to the left. He was pointing to a large water tower that was very old, it sat on top of an apartment building. Something had caused one of the supports on the water tower to break. It was slowly but surely leaning toward the street, it was only a matter of time before it came crashing down on the busy street below. I whipped my head down and found at least half a dozen people in the direct path of the crashing water tower. Baki, a veteran of many battles, who had cat-like reflexes ran toward the people to get them out of the way. He wasn't going to make it in time though, that much was clear. I quickly raised the sand from the street and sent all the sand from my gourd to catch the tower. The sand met the water tower just as it was halfway from the ground. The people who had once been oblivious now looked on in fear as they scrambled to get out of the way. My sand took the full weight of the tower and the water inside. If someone ever asked what it would feel like to hold up a building, this is what I'd show them. The weight was immense and I knew I couldn't hold on for too long. I used more and more sand to lift it, eventually, it got easier as I put more sand to work lifting. Once I had it high enough I gently leaned it up against another building next to the apartments. When I released it, I fell to my knees in exhaustion. I had used up far too much chakra today, I was dangerously low.

"Lord Gaara, are you okay?" Baki quickly fell to his knees next to me. I weakly forced myself up and Baki helped me.

"I'll manage Baki," I told him with irregular breathing. I then noticed all the chatter from the growing crowd. Many had rushed to see what was going on and now we're being informed of what had occurred. Too many eyes were on me for my liking, I wanted to leave. I brought my chakra-infused sand back to my gourd. As I did, several people backed away in fear that the sand was coming for them. It wasn't very enjoyable to see such looks after I'd just saved several people.

"Let's keep walking Baki," I told him as I started shuffling away from the scene. I didn't wait for him or his response since I didn't care what he said. If I spent another minute with all those people looking at me like they were, I'd go crazy. I tried not to let it show just how weak I was feeling right now, low chakra could do a number on someone. Baki probably knew how much I was hurting which is why he didn't say anything.

Since we were moving at a much slower pace than before, it took quite a while to reach the Kazekage's office. Baki and I then began the long journey up the stairs to reach the actual office of my father. It was on the highest floor which provided a good view of Sunagakure. I was cursing the architects for designing it this way right now, climbing all these stairs in my condition was torture. After what felt like ages, Baki and I made it to the door that lead to my father's office. I stood there for a moment, not wanting to enter at all. Baki nudged me though and I grudgingly opened the door.

I was met with a surprising sight, my father Rasa behind his desk and talking to two men. These men were not shinobi judging from their apparel. Their clothing seemed familiar, it was unusually official and neat. It then hit me that they were from the Feudal Lord's office. I got chills down my spine from the realization. Were they here to tell my father that they would no longer be funding our village as they did in the mainline series? If that was true, then the Konoha Crush would still take place according to plan. Orochimaru would take advantage of the Hidden Sand Villages' financial position to recruit their help in the attack on the Hidden Leaf Village. Part of me didn't want that to happen but I also knew that I couldn't stop it. Orochimaru would most likely attack Konogakure no matter who he got to help him. I still wanted to help Naruto and all his other friends, I'd just have to see how it went down.

"It is good to see that this matter is finally resolved, when you inform the Feudal Lord make sure to convey my appreciation." Rasa made no move to get up or shake their hands. I assumed he thought it was beneath the Kazekage to shake hands with such low ranking attendants of the Feudal Lord. The attendants who had been waiting for exactly what Rasa wasn't going to do finally realized that. They bowed and moved to leave, heading towards me. I was still standing in the frame of the doorway so I quickly backed up and let the attendants pass. They eyed me warily, obviously knowing who I was and what dangers I could pose.

"Come in Gaara," said Rasa with a dull tone. I walked in and someone shut the down behind me, probably Baki.

"What we're those men doing here? What agreement have you and the Feudal Lord come to?" I didn't really care if Rasa thought it was strange I was asking these questions. I needed to know if the Hidden Sand would take part in the Konoha Crush. It would shape my plans and preparation for the chunin exams if we were participating.

"They were here to negotiate the terms of the Land of Wind hiring our services. That fool of called the Feudal Lord was going to start giving all of the jobs to the Hidden Lead for cheaper prices. This would severely hurt our financial standing but thankfully his advisors saw the error in this decision. We are now officially back on the old terms." I felt my whole body relax as he talked, overjoyed that I wouldn't have to attack Konogakure. With no financial crisis, there would be no reason to attack the Hidden Leaf. This would change things considerably though from the old storyline. Would Orochimaru still attack the Hidden Lead by himself? Or would he enlist another village to help him? The biggest question of course would be whether or not he would still attack during the chunin exams. I'd have to think about it later, I still had to see what my father wanted from me.

"Why have you called me here?" I purposely avoided using his title or even calling him father. I wanted him to know I didn't want to be here. It seemed to work since Rasa looked a little irritated with my informal way of talking.

"Baki and I both noticed how you've started acting lately. He has informed me that your seal has mysteriously strengthened which is very unusual." Rasa was looking at me as if he expected me to tell him why the seal had gotten stronger. I simply stared blankly at him though, even if I had reinforced the seal myself I wouldn't have admitted it to him.

"Baki also told me that you'll still be able to loosen the seal so you're an even better jinchurki than before, or so he tells me." Baki had tried to convince Rass of the positives it seemed. Of course, Rasa wasn't having it and was still unhappy that I hadn't gained total control of Shukaku.

"I can confirm that what Baki says is true, as far as I can tell," I said, verifying his statement. Rasa still looked at me coldly, not changing in any way or form.

"You did good saving those people from that water tower, I didn't think that you would bat an eyebrow much less save them. It seems you have changed then." Rasa had said it very nonchalantly as if it was just another casual thing to say. I on the other hand, was standing deathly still at what he had just said. Rasa knew about the water tower falling even though it had occurred less than twenty minutes ago.

"How do you know about that," I asked in an uncertain tone. I feared the answer I would get, hoping it wasn't what I thought it was.

"I ordered the water tower to be dropped onto the street. I wanted to see what you would do about it. I staged it for you."