Haunted

"Oh no... what should I do...?"

One-Tails Shukaku crouched in the endless desert, its huge body curled up in a ball, its two claws tightly clutching its head, as if afraid that something might suddenly pounce on it from behind.

The entire Shukaku didn't look like a Tailed Beast that had lived for thousands of years at all; it looked more like a wild cat that had been suddenly locked in a cage, with every single hair on its body standing on end.

"That brat Gaara! Why won't he listen to me?!"

Its voice echoed in the empty desert. It couldn't understand why the brat wouldn't listen when it meant well, was protecting that brat, and would have been fine if it had just thrown the thing away.

Why does that kid completely block out this topic every time it's brought up?

"Ghosts... they actually exist!"

Shukaku lowered its claws from its head, covered its face, and revealed a pair of terrified, bewildered eyes peeking through its fingers.

"What should we do?! What is that ghost's purpose?!"

Every species fears the unknown, even the most powerful creatures. When all knowledge is overturned and all experience becomes invalid, the body reacts faster than the brain.

That reaction is called fear.

Shukaku has lived for thousands of years, and it thought that nothing in this world could surprise it anymore.

The result was that it had never encountered anything so eerie before. For the first time, in its understanding, it had seen a real ghost.

This is not a metaphor, not an exaggeration, but a real, tangible ghost.

The reason stems from One-Tails Shukaku's perception of the puppet, which was clearly just a toy but was treated like a treasure by Gaara.

It was just a puppet, made of wood, with strings connecting its joints, painted with a layer of lacquer, and its eyes were two gemstone beads.

This kind of thing is everywhere in the Ninja world—an inanimate object is an inanimate object, wood is wood, and a lifeless thing is a lifeless thing.

But that puppet was different.

The puppet that Gaara and named "Naruko Uzumaki"—though it was made to look almost like a real person—was still just a toy to Shukaku, the One-Tails Shukaku. No matter how realistic a toy is, it's still just a toy.

This is also why One-Tails Shukaku, is so afraid.

That day, as usual, One-Tails Shukaku woke up in its incredibly comfortable desert. The sand was warm and the wind was just right.

Shukaku stretched and yawned, a yawn that could blow sand hundreds of meters away, and was about to go find some fun—then it glanced at Gaara in reality.

The kid must have suffered some major blow; he looked like a stray cat that had been drenched in the rain, radiating an aura of grievance.

Shukaku had intended to go up and mock Gaara mercilessly, yelling, "What a disgrace!"

Then, One-Tails Shukaku froze completely.

The words were still stuck in its throat. Its eyes were fixed on something, its pupils suddenly contracting into two thin slits. It had seen it before. It had seen something completely unfamiliar and unknown to it.

Tailed Beast possess an innate ability to sense the malice or emotions of others.

This is their instinct to distinguish friend from foe; this ability has never failed them, never. Nothing can hide its true intentions from Tailed Beast.

Until that day.

That's a puppet! That's a toy made from dead things! Wood, glue, paint—none of these materials are alive, none of them should have feelings.

There should be lines at the joints of that thing, and the area under its skin is hollow—it's hollow! It should be hollow! That's impossible!

That puppet—that puppet called "Naruko Uzumaki" —Shukaku sensed emotions on that thing that only true life possesses!

It wasn't simulated, it wasn't manipulated by Puppet Master, it wasn't an illusion.

It was a genuine, vibrant emotion. It was a gentle, tender emotion, like a blanket softly draped over you on a cold night.

The emotions I sensed from that ghost were positive, warm, and made me want to get closer to it.

But it's a ghost!

Shukaku has never seen Toy Story.

To it, inanimate objects suddenly becoming real life—isn't that what ghosts are like?

"Damn it... why won't you listen to me...?"

Shukaku muttered, its claws lowering from its face and hanging limply at its sides, "Why didn't you just throw that demon away...? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you..."

It suggested to Gaara more than once that they get rid of the puppet that was possessed by something unknown. It tried to persuade him with kind words, tried to yell and shout, and tried to throw a tantrum in its own inner world.

Each time, Gaara would simply listen quietly, then block out Shukaku's voice from his consciousness.

Shukaku's voice couldn't reach them, nor could Shukaku fear. It was trapped in this desert, watching that demon live with Gaara day after day, unable to do anything.

"Hey, you silly raccoon, long time no see! You're still alive?"

"Who?!"

A familiar figure appeared in Shukaku's sight.

It's that fox.

That damned, disgusting, awful, orange-red stinky fox.

Kurama appeared in this desert, its mouth smirking, its beastly face bearing a smug, infuriating smile that made Shukaku's blood pressure rise the moment it saw it.

However, this Kurama was different from usual. Its body was much smaller, only about the size of Shukaku's palm.

That wasn't the Kurama ' full power, just the chakra left here, merely a mental construct.

Kurama looked at Shukaku's face, which was filled with fear and wariness, and felt a little strange.

It's true that it hasn't visited this silly tanuki for a while because it's been arguing with Naruto lately, but does that mean it's become like this? How did it become so neurotic? Can't it even recognize its own voice?

Although this guy used to be stupid, at least he would jump up and curse when he heard its voice, instead of being scared stiff and turning around first.

"You stinky fox?!"

The moment Shukaku saw who it was, its eyes shifted from fear to a mixture of hatred and excitement.

"Damn it! I thought you were scared!" its voice suddenly rose, "I'm going to get my revenge this time!"

I can't beat all your chakra, but I can't beat you in your current state?!

Although... it has never defeated the Kurama, Shukaku believes that as long as it keeps fighting and trying, it will one day be able to avenge itself!

"Since you've finally delivered yourself to my doorstep, then die!"

Deep within Shukaku's throat, a massive Vacuum Sphere began to condense. The wind ball grew larger and more unstable deep within Shukaku's throat, causing the desert winds to swirl wildly and hurling sand into the sky.

However, what happened next was the same as every time before.

"Stinky raccoon."

The Nine-Tails ' voice floated down from above Shukaku's head, "I'm asking you, why do you like staying in the desert? It's so dry and hot."

It looked at the Shukaku beneath it, which it had beaten so badly that it was completely incapacitated and lay motionless on the ground.

"However... let's forget about exploring your inner thoughts. I have absolutely no interest in what's going on in your sandy-yellow head, which is full of sand."

The Nine-Tails walked around on Shukaku's huge body. After circling a few times, it found the most comfortable spot between Shukaku's shoulder blades, squatted down, and curled its body into a fluffy, orange-red little ball.

"But what's wrong with you? I haven't come to see you lately, and you seem weaker than before?"

"Even though you're incredibly weak, so weak that I'm embarrassed to tell anyone I know you. I'm afraid of losing face."

"Answer me! Are you mute? You bastard!"

Shukaku lay on the ground, trembling all over. Not from fear, not from cold, but from—anger.