When Darkness Turns to Light

Part-in-Parcel

Recappy from the Last Chappy: "Gaara?" she asked in a low voice. "Can you tell me what's going on? Is Aladdin safe?"

The clone of the redhead jinchuuriki looked at her. "Information isn't shared that way between clones and the original; I wouldn't know." He was regarded in disappointment; he explained. "If I am destroyed, the true Gaara will obtain any information I received, but I won't obtain new information from him unless he speaks it to me directly. There isn't really any sort of telepathy between us."

"Oh. . . ." She sank down a little and sadly looked to the side, laying a hand over her heart. Silently, she prayed, Allah, may they be safe.

Chapter Seventeen: Part-in-Parcel

Aladdin's flying carpet and Gaara's sand cloud took the group over an empty patch of desert away from the cave, where there were no Heartless in sight. Carpet was laid out, resting for a moment. Gaara was also in respite; a lot of chakra had been executed in wielding the tiger head as a weapon, since it was manufactured from sand that was not his own special, chakra-infused type kept in his gourd (the latter required much less power to wield.)

Hikari stared at Gaara as she sat between him and quartet. Her eyes were paled lavender-white, and the veins attributing to byakugan sight were clearly marked on her face. Without trouble she could see the thinned amount of chakra at his core. She could also see a phantom of a second reserve, much more abundant and sinister. The chakra of the One-tailed Shukaku, she recalled.

If prompted, he could use that chakra to continue. In the Land of Shuriken and Kunai, he had relied on it heavily, as well as other powers of the beast. When fighting Naruto, he had transformed into the beast by forcing his insomniac self to sleep. Back then, he had held no qualms about relying on that power as a jinchuuriki. Seeing as he was resting now instead of further pushing himself, he had changed his views.

She closed her eyes and deactivated the byakugan. She thought of her curse mark, and the reservations she had had when combating the Sound Four. He's definitely changed, she thought while rummaging through her kunai pouch, and for the better. As she searched for the item she meant to procure, she walked toward Gaara.

After she recovered the item, she kneeled next to him and held a small blue pouch toward him; it tightly contained a perfect sphere, about the size of a billiard ball. He looked at her curiously. "It's a food pill. Just in case. Taking one significantly replenishes chakra. These, are special, made by Sakura. She's a pretty skilled medical ninja now."

His expression remained questioning, not comprehending.

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I know you have another reserve of chakra, since you're a jinchuuriki. But since you aren't using it now, I'm assuming you want to do things by your own power, not its." She offered a smile. "I can understand wanting to wait until it's a really desperate situation and an absolute last resort. . . ."

He stared at her for a moment. Normally, he would have sustained a great abundance of chakra, despite the situation with the Cave of Wonders' Guardian, but he had given a majority of his chakra to the sand clone currently protecting Jasmine; he did not have to admit that to Hikari, though.

Politely, he replied, "I've been able to suppress Shukaku's murderous intent during my time here . . . I can use him, successfully, without lusting greatly for blood. I don't need the pill." He smiled at her. "Thank you, but you should keep it for yourself."

Awkwardly, Hikari retracted her hand. "Oh . . . uh . . . no problem. . . ."

Close by, the rest of the group sat, recovering. In order to help time pass along, Sora made conversation. "Aladdin, what're you doing out here?"