Summary: Shukaku is gone…Gaara's dying but he's alive…What's happening? He's gone but Gaara's body and mind are changing being corrupted by something deep within his blood…
Pairings: narugaa shikatem and whoever else you guys want me to pair up
Warning: blood violence swearing
"speaking"thinking as well as normal stuff
Demons speaking or real intense things
The first chapter and maybe the second takes place in the rescue Gaara arc
Disclaimer: I do not own naruto or any of his characters though I wish I did
Chapter 1
Stay low
Soft, dark, and dreamless
Far beneath my nightmares and loneliness
I hate me
For breathing without you
I don't want to feel
Anymore for you
Sakura Haruno inhaled deeply, letting her eyes close. Her blazing green eyes opened at the same time she parted her lips letting out her silent exhale. She stood taught on the water's surface, her fist clenched and glowing slightly as the howling wind fluttered her short pink hair. The sun was overhead, and seemed to be beneath the powerful kunoichi's feet as well, a mirror reflection casting off the clear liquid. Tree limbs danced their leaves that clutched to their branches like parasites or hair fluttered in the breeze behind her.
Kakashi Hatake, the copy cat ninja who used to be the girls sensei was in front of her, his hand gripping the paper on the rock. He was kneeling on the stone, his chakra keeping him there, horizontal to the water, his reflection twitching in the water's soft movements. His silver spiky hair seemed to completely ignore the law of science and evade gravity, as well as the wind.
Elder Chiyo was to her left, her suna robes fluttering as her wrinkled face scrunched in on itself in determination. Her dark eyes were fixed on the large boulder, her old hands clenched into tight fists. No doubt the older woman was thinking on just how to prepare herself for the meeting with her grandson, Sasori of the Red Sands. The same grandson that she had not seen for thirty years.
Across from the elder and on the right side of Sakura was a jinchurriki. Blond hair glowing in the sun, enveloping his head in such a way it made it look like a halo was Naruto Uzumaki. Like Sakura he too, was an old pupil of Kakashi but, had left the leaf village for two years to train with his new sensei, Jiraya. The pupils in those deep blue eyes were reduced to slits, his teeth clenched and bared as he downright glared at the obtrusive boulder. Unlike the others his fists were shaking, his chakra thrumming beneath his flesh like distant thunder. He was preparing himself, for the battle that would most definitely take place in only a few minutes time.
Sakura could sense the onslaught of emotions emanating from his still form in waves. The anger, positively boiling rage from the situation they were in. The distressed, unabashed fear coming from the same dire situation. They were mixing and pooling within him, these emotions, causing his chakra to be pulled back to its tightest point, like the drawback of the birth of an extremely powerful tsunami that promises to go further than any has had before.
Team Gai, which consisted of the two handsome, happy go lucky, youthful, handsome green beasts of Konoha, Might Gai and Rock Lee. The controlled, nicer and not so fate rested Neji Hyuga and the walking, living arsenal of weapons Tenten. They had left, no more than five minutes ago for the other four tags that held the barrier between them and Gaara strong.
Grieving for you
I'm not grieving for you
Nothing that real love can't undo
And though I may have lost my way
All paths lead straight to you
Gaara of the Desert.
That name could cause shivers and tremors to break and contort even of the strongest of shinobi's bodies. The boy whose name means demon that loves only itself, and the name in which people had come to correlate it directly to blood and death. The boy whose red hair was as deep and bright as the very life source of blood that ran through their veins. Green eyes that held onto so much hate, able to stay into such a piercing glare that it made even the cocky and rather frightening Neji back down. The fifteen year old boy who had believed for the first twelve years of his life that his purpose was to kill everyone that got in his path. The child who was possessed while he was still a fetus and was host to the Ichibi, the one tailed Shukaku, the demon that prevented him from sleeping his entire life. The boy who had only resently found out that there is more to life than killing others and had even become the Kazekage, the leader of the village hidden in the sand.
It was almost impossible to comprehend that such a child could be in fatal trouble. The demon was being extracted and according to Chiyo, would distribute to his death. This is what scared and angered Naruto. The two of them had an incredibly strong bond, even though they spend very little time together and only see each other on missions. They were two of a kind, each of them being able to understand each other better than anyone else could. They knew each other's pain, both being sought by Ataksuki purely because they had demons place within their bodies. And those bastards had sunk their deadly, vicious claws into Gaara, who's so emotionally withdrawn he could be considered to be even shyer than Hinata Hyuga, Neji's cousin who stutters when she speaks and nearly faints every time Naruto looks her way. They had to save him.
There was a slight blaring sound and Kakashi tightened his hold on the tag. No doubt Gai and the others had found theirs and were getting ready to tear them off, erasing the five sealed barrier that required each of the tags to be removed at the same exact time. Considering the usual team only had four ninja it was incredibly wise of Tsunade, the lady Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves to send two teams. The copy cat ninja lifted his other hand and pointed his index finger at Sakura, telling her in that gesture to get ready, the young woman nodded and fixed her intimidating gaze on the section of the rock that lay at eye level. That would be where she would strike. The chakra glowed brighter than ever around her raised fist and the muscles in her thighs and shins tightened, getting ready to spring forward.
Naruto and Chiyo braced themselves, getting ready to jump into the cave and fight for Gaara. Kakashi swung his hand down at the same time he tore the tag from the rock. Sakura roared as she ran, raising her fist, Kakashi threw himself off of the boulder at the same time her fist connected with it. Her chakra threaded through the rock, tearing through the hard earth, making it shred and crumble with 'ker-klacking' sounds.
As the debris and dust cleared the two male ninja and the two kunoichi jumped into the air, landing in the darkness of the cave. Sunlight streamed into the cave, the little light casting shadows on the walls and water logged floors. There were continuous splashes as bits of the rock landed in the water behind them. In the center of the room, facing them was two Ataksuki members. One was extremely round, looking wooden and fake, the other had long blond hair thrown into a ponytail, half of it hanging in front of what looked to be a mechanical eye. The sleeve of his black, red clouded cloak of his left arm was bloody, the limb looking crushed, proving that Gaara hadn't gone down without a fight. A smug look was in his blue eye and a disgustingly pleased and smug smirk graced his thin lips.
I long to be like you
Lie cold in the ground like you
Naruto froze, sucking in a shaky breath, his eyes widening to the size of plants and shining with pure animalistic panic. The blond…he was…sitting on the Kazekage's chest, Gaara who was lying completely still. Naruto's canines grew as he looked at the still form of his friend, not foreign feelings twisting his gut as a powerful stinging took up behind his eyes. Those black lids were closed, giving everyone who didn't know him the false pretense of sleep.
The blond Ataksuki member chuckled before snidely remarking to his companion, "I wonder which is the jinchurriki, yeah."
Kakashi closed his visible eye as dread and foreboding filled his heart. So, we were too late.
Chiyo kept her eyes locked upon those of her grandson's, who in turn seemed to want to contribute all he had into their staring contest. He didn't even say anything to the idiotic blond beside him.
Grandma Chiyo…
Sasori…
"You bastards…"
The words were whispered, barely spoken and yet everyone in the room shivered from them. They could all feel it now, the intense tsunami pulling back, rearing its hood like a giant cobra getting ready to strike.
"You bastards! I'll kill you!"
Chakra was practically bleeding from the boy who held the nine tailed fox, pure fury in its greatest form was laced within these five words and the walls of the cave shook from the massive power, the water rippling. Sakura watched in helpless fear and shock as she saw her childhood friend's blue eyes bleed crimson, the whiskers on his cheeks growing thicker and extremely jagged. The boy flexed his fingers, nails lengthening to strong incredibly sharp claws. He snapped his fangs together producing a clicking sound. Kakashi watched with his eye narrowed, wondering if Naruto would at least attempt to hold himself back, the blond Ataksuki members smirk widened to a wicked and sadistic grin.
"He's the jinchurriki, yeah."
Sasori grunted in agreement, only glancing at the enraged child for a moment before going back to stare at his grandmother. He twitched in his protective puppet at her unyielding, disappointed gaze.
"Gaara!" Naruto kept his eyes on the red head, unable to tear his gaze from the unresponsive Kazekage. "Oi Gaara, what are you doing sleeping at a time like this?!" Fear, Kami so much fear was entering his body he felt that he was going to shatter at any moment. "Are you listening? Gaara! Stand up! Wake up already! Fucking stop it already! It isn't funny!"
There still wasn't a fucking response! No movement! Nothing!
Halo
Blinding wall between us
Melt away and leave us all alone again
Humming, haunted somewhere out there
I believe our love can
See us through in death
Sakura watched as he took the smallest of steps forward and stretched out his hand, looking like a lost, frightened child reaching out for a parent or friend, trying to make them stay. She already knew what was wrong, why Gaara wasn't responding, and she knew that Naruto did as well deep down, but knowing him she knew that he refused to acknowledge it. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and she stretched out her own hand towards her friend, her heart aching for him.
"Get up! Gaara! Stop this!" Oh Kami, his voice was breaking, cracking and raising in pitch. He took another step forward but Kakashi's voice prevented him from taking another.
"You should know already Naruto." His compassion and sorrow was showing through his voice, and he wished that there was something that he could do.
The older blond replied with a chuckle in his voice. "Yeah, you know it already," he reached out his right hand towards Gaara's face, watchingNaruto for a reaction the whole time. "He's been dead for awhile now, yeah." With that said he tapped the back of his hand against Gaara's cheek, each tap with more force than the one before it to push emphasis into the fact.
Naruto froze, and the Kyuubi's chakra started to flow into his own. The sand…the sand isn't…it isn't stopping him… "Give him back," his voice was raspier now, breaking through with the promise to inflict pain. Red eyes flashed as he shouted at the beaming blond, "Give Gaara back! You bastards!"
He ran forward but stopped when there was a blur and Kakashi's body was in front of his own, preventing his raging self from going further. The grin on the blond Ataksuki members face slightly dimmed. "You have to hold yourself back Naruto! These guys infiltrated the sand and single handedly defeated the Kazekage! If you rush into things you'll get us all killed!"
"He's definitely the jinchurriki. 'He'll be the first to scream and charge at you', Itatchi actually described quite accurately yeah." He glanced at Sasori and his grin widened before throwing out his hand. There was a loud poof and then the squack of a bird of prey, before a large, white, clay bird displayed itself when the smoke cleared. Standing he cleared his throat and drawled, "Well, Sasori Donna, even though I know it'll piss you off rather thoroughly I think I'll take the Kazekage. Heh, it seems as if the jinchurriki wants his friend back yeah."
The bird swooped down and to Naruto's horror ate Gaara!
I long to be like you
Lie cold in the ground like you
There's room inside for two
And I'm grieving for you
I'm coming for you
Sasori growled, "Deidara, you could barely hold your own against that one!" he jerked his head towards the bird to indicate Gaara. "Besides its only one jinchurriki for each of us."
Deidara shrugged his shoulders and leapt onto the bird that immediately flapped at the air producing the sound of sails snapping, barely missing the ferocious attack of Sasori's tail. Ignoring the glare Deidara flew out of the cave, his eyes on the blond demon vessel who in turn was watching him. You better follow me jinchurriki.
Naruto followed at a run, forcing Kakashi to follow, leaving the two kunoichi's and puppet master.
(the fights are over they were too long and basically if everyone's seen shippuden then you know what happened.)
Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Neji and Tenten were all panting, Kakashi just barely managing to push Deidara's last attack into another dimension. Gai place a comforting hand on his rival's shoulder and Lee's voice drew their attention. "Ano…where are Naruto kun? And Sakura san?"
Kakashi closed his eyes tiredly and pushed his head band back over his sharingan. "Sakura and Elder Chiyo haven't come back yet. Naruto…" he trailed off and looked into the tree directly above him.
Suddenly there was a blur and in front of them was Naruto and a clone. Between them, each of the Naruto's supporting an arm was the limp form of the Kazekage. The group seemed unable to talk, and they didn't even attempt a conversation with Naruto, not with that far off look in his eyes.
There was another blur and Lee shouted enthusiastically, "Sakura san!" The pink haired kunoichi was huffing heavily and at their questioning glances she shook her head and held back tears. "Chiyo…she didn't make it…and she didn't want me to move her."
You're not alone
No matter what they told you
You're not alone
I'll be right beside you forevermore
Everyone was silent, taking in the news understanding that Chiyo would want to be with her grandson, but Naruto broke it. He looked hopefully at his childhood crush. "Sakura…" Looking at his desperate, crestfallen face and then to the body between the original and the clone she nodded.
The group left the forest going to a wide field where there was nothing but endless grass. The clone vanished after Naruto had placed Gaara gently on the ground belly up. Sakura probed lightly at his chest and neck, her face scrunched in concentration.
She looked down at the boys face. She had never seen him look so pieceful, and death should never be the cause of that piece. She had always been afraid of this misunderstood boy, never knowing if he was going to snap and start his homicidal spree again but, even he didn't deserve this. Looking at the ai tattoo on his forehead she wondered if that was what helped cause his demise, maybe if the villagers of the sand village loved him more they would have helped him out a bit more. Maybe he was shown true love when he was a child he would have never gone on the line of insanity and hatred.
She looked up at Naruto, knowing that he was going to be simply heartbroken because she couldn't save him. Naruto and Gaara, they were so similar. If Iruka, herself, and everyone else hadn't shown him love and affection, positive attention…would he have tried to kill people to prove his own existence as well? She looked down at the Kazekage, at his swollen black eyes. Would Naruto one day meet this very same end? Would he too, die at the hands of Ataksuki? The extraction of his demon? Tears falling down her face she stood and shook her head and backed off.
Naruto gulped, tears streaming thick down his face as he fell to his knees besides his friend. It wasn't fair, Gaara always faced things on his own, he had just broken through the dark place and now he was subjected to death. Why? Why couldn't he save the people he cared for the most? He was downright sobbing now, bawling for all he was worth as he clutched the cold bony hand.
There was a change in the wind, and the group felt as if they were about to have a very upsetting confrontation with Temari and Kankuro.
There was a sudden thrum and a pulse. Blood and black chakra flowed through veins and networks that were no longer supposed to work.
I long to be like you
Lie cold in the ground like you
There's room inside for two
And I'm not grieving for you
And as we lay in silent bliss
I know you remember me
I long to be like you
Lie cold in the ground like you
There's room inside for two
And I'm not grieving for you
I'm coming for you
Awe, I almost cried while writing this, though I did cry when I saw the shippuden episodes. The song was called 'Like You' by Evanescence and I will try to put a song in every chapter that I write. Please press that little button and review and I will try to update as soon as I can.
Ja ne