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Shy Fox Chronicles
Chapter 20: Gentle Breeze of the Future
Bolded Italicized is used for descriptive actions.
Italicized is used for internal thoughts/flashbacks.
Bold is for emphasis.
"Underlined Bold" is for dialogue/internal thoughts concerning otherworldly beings.
Two great doors opened up to reveal a large room before Killer Bee and his charges. Mats were laid upon the cold stone floors and toys were strewn about in a haphazard fashion. Annoyance stretched across Killer Bee's face at this level of sloppy haste. However, as he tried to set things up in a more proper fashion, he was nearly run over by the mass of children behind him. To the kids, it was clear that merely having toys and a place to play was enough.
"Alright, guys. What should we do?" Naruto asked, frantically looking around the room.
"I vote we have a tea party…" Hinata piped up a bit louder than usual.
"Right, you don't get to vote, Hinata." Sasuke rudely cut her off.
"Hey! You can't talk to Hinata like that, Duck Butt!" Naruto snapped out.
"Yeah! Only I get to talk to Hinata like that!" Enten called up.
"Shut it whiskers, or I'm gonna quack all over your butt!" Sasuke shot back.
A redheaded boy with dark circles around his eyes clad in Hidden Sand Village attire, a bit nervous, looked at the other children. "Are they always like this…?" He shyly asked them.
"No. Usually, they're tumbling around. This is an improvement." Chōji answered.
"I'll make you eat those words, Duck Boy!" Naruto roared before leaping upon Sasuke like a wild animal while the Hidden Sand Trio looked on in shock.
"... This is an improvement?" A sandy blonde-haired girl, the only girl amongst the Hidden Sand trio, asked in disbelief.
"... Never mind." Chōji sighed.
"Huh. Thirty seconds. New record. It usually takes them a minute." Seikoku said with a grin.
"... Maybe they should try taking longer?" Shinkoku asked his brother in disbelief.
"Nah. This is pretty fun." the dark brown-haired boy among the Hidden Sand trio chuckled.
"Sweet New Years! Kids, don't fight! My brother's wrath gives me a fright!" Killer Bee yelled, rushing to break the fight up.
Swiftly Killer Bee grabbed the two by the back of their shirts and forced them apart. Yet even this sudden use of force was not enough to stop them. Both boys fought against their restraints, trying to get back to grips with the other.
"Fight, Fight, Fight!" Enten and the dark brown-haired boy chanted in unison.
"Oh, for the love of…" the sandy blonde-haired girl groaned out before walking over as Bee set them down, trying to keep the boys separated.
Walking over with fists clenched, the girl then slammed her fists into the boys' thick skulls. A thunderous crack rippled through the massive room. The two hit the floor mats hard, landing directly on their faces. Leaving everyone stunned after such a blunt act of violence.
"A-Are t-they dead…?" Hinata nervously asked.
"Argh… that hurt…" Sasuke groaned, holding the back of his head.
"Are you two going to behave now?" the sandy blonde growled.
"Yes…" Naruto and Sasuke groaned, nursing their new lumps.
"Good. My name is Temari, by the way. The kid with the dark brown hair is my little brother Kankuro…" the now identified Temari said, introducing herself and one of the two boys.
"It's only by a year and you know it, Temari!" Kankuro piped up indignantly.
"Did I ask?" Temari asked pointedly.
"Stupid older sisters…" Kankuro grumbled.
"And the redhead over there is Gaara, our little brother. Say hi, Gaara." Temari continued, motioning over said redhead.
"H-Hi, Gaara…" the now indicated Gaara said nervously, hiding behind Kankuro.
"By the gods, they're multiplying…" Enten groaned.
"Not bad, little girl. Being an adult, I couldn't give that a whirl." Bee told Temari, giving her a thumbs up.
"Don't give her that. Her head's big enough as is." Kankuro grumbled.
"What was that, Kankuro?" Temari pointedly asked.
"Nothing!" Kankuro answered rather quickly.
"Good. Now Gaara, step out from behind Kankuro and say hi." Temari told her little brother.
A soft gulp left the boy as he stepped from behind his brother, "H-hello," he said, holding his left arm, rubbing it nervously.
"I'm Naruto. Nice to meetcha, Gaara." Naruto told the redheaded boy from the Hidden Sand, a small smile on his face in an attempt to try to reassure him.
Before Gaara could speak, the low creek of the doors opening shut the awkward boy up. Several Leaf shinobi walked in carrying Kumori, who immediately got extremely excited at seeing his friends. However, his strange appearance soon caught the Sand Trio's eye as Naruto rushed over to get him.
"Hey there, Kumori. How was the meeting?" Naruto asked the baby.
"Nah! Nah!" Kumori excitedly said, trying to say Naruto's name.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Looks like he had fun." he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Why does the baby have horns?" Kankuro bluntly asked.
"He's what's known as a nytha… nytharal…" Naruto started to say before stumbling over the still unfamiliar word.
"N-Nythralian, Naruto-kun…" Hinata reminded him.
"Yeah, that. Thanks, Hinata." Naruto said before giving his shy friend a smile.
"Bring him closer, Naruto!" Enten said enthusiastically.
Naruto swiftly walked back to the group with Kumori in tow. Swiftly, Kumori became cagier upon seeing the Sand Trio and Killer Bee. This got Sasuke and the triplets nervous as Seikoku produced a bell to distract him.
"Please don't be scared, little tyke. It's the man himself, Killer Bee, on the mic." Bee said to the baby after kneeling down to introduce himself.
"He doesn't like microphones." Shinkoku replied nervously.
"Or loud noises." Seikoku added.
"My bad, little man. I'll stay as quiet as I can." Bee reassured, before gently patting Kumori on the head.
Kumori stares back at the large man with a wide-eyed stare. Then after a few claps of his hands, he finally responded.
"Ah Ah." Kumori said chipperly.
As if he understood what the baby was saying, Bee shook his head. "Sorry, tyke, but that's my brother. I'm Bee and none other." he told the little guy.
"Try Bee, Kumori. Bee." Naruto instructed.
"Beh Beh." Kumori answered.
"Close enough. You're a baby, so it's still tough." Bee said with a smile, gently patting Kumori's head.
"It's just a letter." Sasuke said with a shrug.
"Not quite, ya' little camel. It's B-E-E, like the animal." Bee explained.
"... Why'd you call him a camel?" Kei asked, confused.
Bee just shrugged. "Closest rhyme I had at the time." he replied simply.
"Can we play now or something?" Kankuro groaned impatiently.
"Sure! But where should we start?" Naruto piped up.
"I got an idea that won't make you bawk. To decide, play some scissors, paper, and rock." Bee told the kids.
"Okay, now you're just forcing it." Temari told Bee.
"But that is a good idea." Kankuro noted with a smile.
Kumori giggled and clapped his hands at the idea. Yet, to the surprise of everyone, Gaara began to walk up to the baby to prepare for Rock, Paper, Scissors.
"He's a baby, Gaara. He can't do Rock, Paper, Scissors." Temari said, breaking the news to the redhead.
"Oh…" Gaara said dejectedly.
"I'll play it with you, Gaara. My name's Naruto, by the way." Naruto told the redhead with a smile.
A shaky smile made its way onto the boy's face. "T-thank you. H-how do we play?"
"Oh, that's easy. You call out 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' at the same time, then put your hand out together in either a closed fist for Rock, a spread open hand for Paper, or two fingers out for Scissors." Naruto explained before showing Gaara the hand positions. "Rock beats Scissors because it crushes Scissors, Scissors beats Paper because Scissors cut Paper, and Paper beats Rock because Paper covers Rock."
"Rah. Pah. Ah." Kumori said, copying Naruto's hand motions.
Gaara didn't say anything, instead blinking and standing still in silence.
"... Maybe we should show him how to do it. Ready, Sasuke?" Naruto replied before looking at his Uchiha friend.
"Sure. I'm always up for kicking your butt." Sasuke replied with a small smirk.
With that, the two pulled back their hands, one cupped over the other. "Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot!" the two said, both accidentally picking Rock. "Tie, go again!" they said before going again, this time getting Paper. "Tie, go again!" Scissors this time. "Tie, go again!" Paper.
".. So, this is how you play." Gaara said smiling. A loud cry of "Pah!" caused him to glance at Kumori. Shrugging his shoulders, Gaara walked over to the baby and timidly called out "R-rock, Paper, Scissors," only for both of their hands to land on "rock."
"Tie, go again." Gaara said with a small smile.
Kumori gurgled as they went again. Both of them ended up using rock again. The following round, however, was drastically different. Kumori played rock while Gaara played paper. However, as Gaara opened his hand to play paper, he smacked Kumori in the nose. Slowly Kumori began to cry from that, which made many present begin to panic.
"O-oh no, don't cry!" Gaara said frantically, trying not to cry himself.
"Where are the keys!?" Seikoku cried out, frantically running about looking for them.
"Why do you need keys?" Kankuro asked with a raised eyebrow.
The young sand boy's answer soon came. High above them, the screws on one of the light fixtures began to give way. Soon, they could no longer hold on and the fixture plummeted down onto Kankuro's head. Temari and Killer Bee rushed to get it off the boy as Kankuro rubbed his now very sore head.
"Oh… that's why… ow…" he groaned.
Soon, however, everyone heard Kumori sniffle before he started giggling up a storm at Kankuro's misery. To the Sand boy's shock, as soon as Kumori began giggling, the pain began to go away. Temari, however, turned her attention to Gaara.
"Gaara. What have we told you about hitting people?" Temari sternly asked.
"I'm sorry! I thought it was part of the game." Gaara answered his sister.
"At least he stopped crying." Sasuke sighed in relief.
"Guys! I found some keys!" Seikoku yelled, rushing up to them and began shaking them in front of Kumori.
"Goooo…" Kumori gurgled, enthralled by the sights and sounds.
"Oooooh…" Gaara and Naruto said in awe as they stared at the keys too.
"... Why didn't we think of that? Would've really helped calm Gaara down a lot sooner." Kankuro sighed in frustration.
"Because we have self-dignity. They clearly don't." Temari replied.
"Who needs self-dignity when we have a calm little brother?" Kankuro asked.
"Why do you need to keep him calm?" Hinata asked.
"Seems calm to me." Enten chipped in, looking at the now heavily distracted Gaara.
"It's a long story. One we really don't wanna talk about." Temari told the Hyūga twins.
"Hey, Sei. Stop jingling the keys long enough so we can teach Gaara how to hold the baby." Kei ordered.
"Okay, Kei." Seikoku told his brother, stopping the jingling.
"Awww, I… I liked the keys," Gaara said sadly.
"Me too, Gaara… me too…" Naruto replied just as sadly.
"We can jingle the keys more for you guys later. Gaara, it's time to learn to hold a baby." Kei said before taking Kumori into his arms and walking over with him.
Gaara gently took the offered baby, biting his lip nervously, an unsure expression on his face. Seeing this, Kei gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Gaara. It's easy. Just do what I tell you to, okay?" he explained to the red-haired boy.
Gaara did not say anything, instead he just stood completely still, his eyes alight with curiosity as Kei began to explain what to do.
"First make your arms into a cradle under Kumori." Kei explained, gently making his arm into a cradle shape as Gaara followed his instructions. "Good, now put one hand under his head to support him."
"... The baby needs money?" Gaara asked in confusion.
Seikoku chuckled. "No, he means support his head. Like hold it up gently." he told the redheaded boy as Kei nodded and did the position, Gaara following his movements.
Gaara smiled softly as he held the baby. "Oh!" he cried before a look of concentration took form on his face and, as it did, small puffs of sand started to float above both of them. Temari and Kankuro looked on nervously before sighing in relief as the sand started making shapes above them as the baby looked on. First a circle, then a triangle, then a square. All as Bee and the kids from the Hidden Leaf looked on in awe.
"Whoaaaaaaa! How did Gaara do that!?" Naruto asked in awe.
"He… takes after our dad…" Kankuro nervously said.
"Your dad can wobble sand!?" Naruto yelled in shock.
"... Never heard it like that before. But yes." Temari answered.
"And I thought Gaara wasn't bright." Kankuro mumbled before being bonked by Temari. "OW!"
Kumori giggled and tried to grab the sand. Soon, he managed to grab enough and put it in his mouth. However, he made a face and quickly spat it out as the now wet sand floated up to join the rest of it. "Icky!" baby Kumori said in disgust.
"Okay. Who's got the bottle?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.
"I'll go look." Naruto said.
"We will too." Enten said, grabbing Hinata by her sleeve.
"R-Right." Hinata answered with a nod.
As the trio rushed off to find Kumori's bottle, the doors opened again. This time several Sand Shinobi walked in, before the Kazekage Rasa walked in. Next to him stood a turban wearing blonde shinobi with soft facial features. The two men were shocked to see Gaara using his sand to make shapes for Kumori.
"What is going on here?" Rasa asked concernedly.
Gaara flinched and stopped making shapes, the sand falling to the ground as he looked at Rasa. "F… father…" he nervously uttered as Kumori teared up.
"N-Nothing! Gaara was just using his sand to make shapes for the baby!" Temari told him, coming to her little brother's defense.
"Eh. Eh." Kumori grumbled, confused where the pretty sand shapes went.
"Lord Gaara was… making shapes? He was controlling his sand without hurting anyone…?" the soft-faced man asked in surprise.
"Hey, Gaara. You might want to start doing the shapes again before Kumori starts crying." Sasuke said.
"R-Right…" Gaara said before starting to use his sand to make shapes again, much to Kumori's joy as he began to giggle.
"I don't believe it…" Rasa said in disbelief as he watched on.
Meanwhile, the soft-featured man smiled as he walked over and looked at the redheaded sand wielder. "You're doing wonderfully, Gaara-sama." He told the boy with pride in his voice.
Gaara looked up at the man and smiled shyly but proudly. "Th-thank you, Yashamaru…"
"Did uncle just compliment Gaara?" Kankuro whispered to Temari.
"I think he did. This'll be good for Gaara…" Temari said with a smile.
As Gaara continued to entertain Kumori, Rasa stood there observing it. A smile began to slowly stretch across his lips seeing his son so elegantly and calmly wield the sand. It was rare to see someone be so talented with it so young. Talent that should not go to waste…
To Be Continued…
Uzumaki Ricky: And, with that, chapter 20 is in the history books. Here's hoping you all enjoyed it. Now a word from one of my co-writers.
Monsterhuntergod: Ah, the wonders of youth. Truly a wonderful thing. At least babies don't have the power to cause that much chaos in real life. After a miserable week, this was a nice relief. And I thank everyone for enjoying this story. Don't worry, the real fun is about to begin.
Uzumaki Ricky: Thanks, man. And, with that, we bid you all adieu, aloha, and good night for now. Until next time, readers.