23 Shukaku

His eyes gained black contours akin to my own and Rasa raised his arms, driving a tide of gold dust their way. Kakuzu and Denki pulled away from each other and escaped the incoming wave of golden sand. Sirens started roaring, and crowds made their way to the shelter in droves... Civilians and Ninja under the age of fifty were to remain and fight if required.

Before jumping away, Kakuzu grabbed my shirt and dragged me along with him. I glanced over at Rasa and watched his expression turning somber when he noticed this. Raising his arm once more, the gold dust appeared to look alive as it approached me and Kakuzu.

Kakuzu's face scrunched up in irritation as he regrouped with his hair-monsters. He looked at Denki, who was a reasonable distance away and roared at the top of his lungs.

"This is all your fault! We're expected to remain under the radar!"

"Shut up, you retard! If you had just listened to me instead of getting all high and mighty, we would have earned great rewards!"

Kakuzu clicked his tongue and peered at me right in the eyes.

"Sorry boy, things have gotten out of hand. You're coming with me."

With those words, Kakuzu performed a seal with his left hand and I started blacking out. My eyes started closing, and my body went limp. No... It can't end this way... Why are the Akatsuki here so early... Were they never caught in the original timeline? I don't want to die...

Blackout.

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An unknown amount of time later, the darkness waned, and my reflection greeted me. Looking down, I could see my infant-like body and the bizarre red hair that I gained after reincarnating. Looking at myself, I recalled all that happened so far... From being tortured in the womb to being captured by the Akatsuki.

Is it all going to end here?

"Brat! We finally meet! My esteemed self has been expecting you!"

As I was losing myself in thought, A high-pitched, obnoxious voice assaulted my ears. Turning my head, I noticed a massive Tanuki, whose body was covered in blue markings. These stretched along with its immense tail; Seeing his eyes, I couldn't help but feel my scalp tingle, for they reminded me of all of those sleepless nights. This was Shukaku.

While Shukaku inspected me as I swallowed my fear and walked over to him. Looking up, I made eye-contact with the creature and grinned.

"Are you Shukaku?"

"Bingo! I'm lord Shukaku of the sand! Now fear me and cower before my unmatched power and presence if you don't wish for me to eat you whole!"

Damn, he's as flamboyant as depicted in the series... In fact, he might be a slight bit more prideful than I would've thought... I presume he thinks I'm a typical five-year-old child, and is trying to scare the crap out of me to feel better about himself... Considering that he's bent on killing everything in sight, he's pretty childish.

"Wow, you're so much cooler than I thought you'd be! You're a real Tanuki! I've never seen one before!"

Letting my mind run on nerd autopilot, I started flattering the sh*t out of Shukaku while walking around him in circles and admiring him in all his glory. Although this is all for show and to get on his good side, about ninety percent is just me being overwhelmed by the awesomeness of seeing a tailed beast for the first time.

"Wha- Are you not afraid?"

In response to his question, I continued flattering by saying that he must be super strong among other compliments. As I watched his expression grow increasingly confused, I felt like it was time to finish him off. That said, I opened my mouth and smiled at him.

"Can we be friends? I've never really had a real friend, but I'm sure that you and I can get along if we try!"

Sukaku opened his mouth but ended up closing it... His expression showed that he was in deep thought as he looked at the kid that was standing in front of him. Could it really be that he isn't scared of me? I'm pretty sure that he must've been living very uncomfortably because of my esteemed self...

"Brat. How could my esteemed self become friends with a shrimp like you... I'm the one that has been influencing your sleep, and I'm the one who has caused you to be shunned and called a monster by other people. Do you not resent me?"

"Well, I can tell that you aren't bad inside. You see, I have grown to hate most humans... Because they're all just disgustingly horrible self-important beings inside. Even so, I believe that there are nice people, people that can be trusted in the world. You just have to look really hard to find them."

At my words, Shukaku kept silent. Sometimes he nodded, while other times he shook his head in denial. Well, at least he's listening to me. If I can show him that I mean no harm and that I would like to be his friend, he might just open up.

After a while, Shukaku finally opened his big mouth once again. This time, maniacal laughter filled the entire space that we were currently in.

"You're funny! I like you, brat! For entertaining me so much, I'll do you a favor!"

"Does that mean we're friends?"

"Hell no! A small, scrawny little wimp like you wants to be friends with the great me? In your dreams! I'm merely going to give you a reward for entertaining me today."

Smiling devilishly, Shukaku touched the water under him with a finger, and red chakra started to bubble up. It quickly made it'sway to me and enveloped my whole body.

"If you die, I die too... And I don't want to wait until I reappear again. So I'll help you this one time, now give my esteemed self a good show! MUHAHAHA!"

While he was laughing, I blacked out once again.

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AN: If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, please point them out. You'd be doing me a great favor.