A few seconds later...
"Oh, Yami! Giddy-up! Come on move it! Father could be in grave danger!" Jessica cried to the brown horse who was eating some fruit from the Ryukyu Flying Foxes (which are actually bats). Then she had an idea.
"Summoning Jutsu!" She commanded. Jessica shielded her eyes from the smoke. She leaned forward anticipating to see what she had summoned. The smoke cleared away to reveal a small black thing with red and black clothing.
"Yo Jess!" The heartless greeted.
"Jiji, I need you two to lead me to Sasori who seems to be missing, got it?"
"Affirmative," the dog turned to Hinata and asked, "Do you have anything of his with you?" She nodded and gave him a locket that was in her pocket. He sniffed it and a second afterward he said, "Get on his back." He nodded his head towards a white horse. She did so and they ran off. An hour or so passed by until they breached the opened gated of a gigantic castle.
"What is this place?" Jessica thought aloud. Jiji and the horse became nervous.
"Konbonwa, Jessica-san!" said Jiji, and with that they dismissed themselves in a poof of smoke. She entered the gateway and saw her father's head protecter on the ground.
"Father..." she whispered. From inside the castle was a clock and candlestick bickering about the past turn of series of unfortunate events.
"Couldn't keep quiet, could we. We just had to invite him in to stay, didn't we? Serve him tea, sit in the master's chair, pet the pooch..." rambled the vexed Deiara. Kankuro looked guiltily at the ground and would have scuffled a foot around if he had any.
"I was just trying to be hospitable." Kankuro said in an apologizing manner. The large entrance doors creaked open by Jessica.
"Hello? Is anyone here? I'm sorry for intruding. Hello, Father, are you here?" Jessica said with a bunch of other things like that. She walked up the grand staircase that split into three paths. One leading up to the right and another symmetrical to it at the left and one straight on in the center.
"Sister!" Matsuri exclaimed from the kitchen, "There's a girl in the castle!"
"Now now, Matsuri. I'm not going to let you make up such wild stories." Temari said as she poured hot water into the tub.
"But really, sister, I saw her!" the girl insinuated. Temari rolled her purple eyes.
"Enough, not another word. Into the tub." she scolded. The teapot pushed the chipped cup into the tub of hot water and soap. A feather-duster swept into the room.
"Hey! There's a lady in the castle!" said the feather-duster with a feminine voice. Matsuri poked her head out of the water.
"See! Even Anko-chan says so!"
Back to Deiara and Kankuro, "You irresponsible dobe, baka, moronic-!" Deiara was lecturing the young man of a candle when he heard something else.
"Father?" came Jessica's soft voice. They turned around to look at the new arrival.
"Did you see that?" Kankuro excitedly whispered in disbelief. Running to the door, he and Deiara poked their heads around the corner. "It's a girl!"
"Yes, I see that." She replied. Kankuro looked at Deiara with his happy purple eyes and explained,
"Don't you see? She's the one. The girl that we've been waiting for! She has come to break the spell!" With that he chased after Jessica.
"Hey! W-wait a minute!" Deiara yelled to the candlestick. Jessica walked down a narrow hallway, unaware that a candlestick and clock were trailing her. The house-hold objects went to a door that she had skipped by and pushed it open. Jessica heard the creaking of it and looked back to find the source of it. Noticing the open door she went through it.
"Father? Father?" she called to nothing. Deiara hid behind the door as Kankuro rushed off as fast as a candlestick could.
"Hello? Is someone here? Please, wait! I'm looking for my father!" she called out. Jessica ascended the stairs not realizing Kankuro was watching her from a stand-still position.
"That's strange, I'm sure there was someone...i-i-is anybody here?" A voice other than her own was echoing throught the grey room.
"Jessica-chan?" said Sasori's voice. Jessica rushed up the remainder of the stairs to see Sasori in a cell.
"Oh, Father!" she rejoiced.
"How did you find me?" he asked, stroking his hands through her purple locks of hair.
"I summoned my heartless! Oh, your hands are like ice. We have to get you out of here!" she said.
"Jessica, I want you to leave this place." Sasori told her.
"Who's done this to you?" the heir demanded.
"No time to explain! You must go...now!" he yelped.
"I won't leave you!" she cried. All of a sudden a sand colored paw gripped her shoulder and whipped her around. Jessica dropped the torch she was carrying into a puddle. The room went dark.
"What are you doing here?" the raspy voice barked. Sasori looked from his daughter to Shukaku.
"Jessica-chan, run!" he yelled to her.
"Who's there? Who are you?" The girl inquired.
"The master of this castle." it replied.
"I've come for my father. Please let him out! Can’t you see he's sick?" She told it in a determined voice. Fear lurked in her heart.
"Then he shouldn't have trespassed here." he growled.
"But he could die!" Jessica begged, "I'll do anything!"
"There's nothing you can do. He's my prisoner." snarled the raccoon-dog.
"Oh, there must be some way I can...wait! Take me instead!" She cried.
'As if I haven't heard that line before' he thought. "You! You would take his place?" Sasori's black eyes bugged out.
"Jessica-chan, no! You don't know what you're doing!" Sasori yelled. Jessica ignored him.
"If I did, would you let him go?" She asked.
"Yes, but you must promise me to stay here forever." Shukaku said in a somewhat nicer voice. Jessica pondered the tight situation and then realizes that she couldn't see the captor.
"Come into the light." She said in a steady voice. He hesitated before dragging his legs, then his whole entire body into the moonlight from a window. Jessica's blue eyes grew smaller (well you know how anime eyes look when the character is scared) until she couldn't stand it anymore. She fell back to her father.
"No, Jessica-chan," Sasori comforted, "I won't let you do this!" She ignored him like she and Shukaku had from the start of when Shukaku came into the chapter. The girl in red and white stood up and regained her posture, she stepped into the light and gave him a determined look.
"You have my word. I promise." she stated.
"Done!" Shukaku quickly said.
