Black - the Alphabet Challenge.
26 paragraphs, starting with each letter of the alphabet, in order.
*SPOILERS CHAPTER 278* Set after being captured by the Akatsuki: Gaara's experience as he dies.
'Afraid?' Shukaku taunted in Gaara's mind, the rasping voice smooth and deadly. Gaara didn't respond.
Black was all Gaara could see. The world was open, but at the same time he felt like he was being suffocated by an unknown force. He was nothing but a mere soul in an abyss of darkness.
'Could this be death?' he asked the demon, communicating through the means of his own mind.
'Death is a funny thing. You could spill every ounce of blood in a man's body, and he could still live. You're not dead. Not yet at least.' It was then that Gaara heard it. A faint tap, tap, of fingers prodding a sand wall. Gaara turned his head towards the sound.
"Evening, Kazekage," a voice spoke. Even if he could, Gaara didn't need to see to know that the voice belonged to Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki. Gaara resisted the urge to snarl.
"For how long do you plan on keeping me in this world before you kill me?" Gaara asked firmly, with no waver in his voice. He was not afraid. Why would he be afraid?
"Gaara-sama, you are unfit to be a kage if you are as unobservant as you are. Look around you." Gaara kept a level head as Pein insulted his qualifications and looked into the blackness once more as directed.
He saw nothing but a never-ending sea of night. He squinted his eyes, searching deeper through the black as if he was trying to see through thick fog.
"I see nothing in this blackness," Gaara stated. "How could I, when you make it so difficult for me?"
"Just making sure you are completely trapped in the jutsu," Pein replied coolly. "Shukaku, I do hope you are not afraid of your own extraction," Pein stated to the demon, who then momentarily took over Gaara's body in the jinchuriki's weak state. The whites of Gaara's eyes turned black while his pupils became beady and yellow with black slits for irises, unlike Gaara's usual wide jade eyes.
"Ka ka ka," Shukaku chuckled sadistically, using Gaara's vessel to communicate with Pein. "I care for nothing except my freedom to kill whomever I lust for," Shukaku rasped.
"Lust – one of the seven deadly sins, a trait present in all human beings. Overcome that lust and you will become unstoppable," Pein preached.
"Man – that is your true identity. You possess all the seven sins. Silence this 'God' act, foolish human," Shukaku boomed.
"Nonsense," Pein stated, his face void of emotion. Pein's chilling aura then vanished, signaling Pein's departure from the world Gaara was trapped in. Shukaku snarled at Pein's stubbornness and allowed for Gaara to regain control of his body.
Opening his eyes, now jade once more, Gaara stood silently in the darkness.
'Pein. Where is he? What happened?' he demanded, speaking to Shukaku mentally.
'Quarrelling with me wasn't as fun as he thought it would be,' Shukaku stated simply.
Right as Gaara was about to question Shukaku once more, Gaara felt suddenly weak and doubled over onto the ground, his hand grasping the floor. All he felt was sand. Gaara's eyes widened.
'Sand?!' While Gaara's mind knew that he couldn't use chakra to manipulate the sand in this world, his heart refused to accept defeat. He reached out into the sand before he felt a grain drop on the back of his neck.
'Tap, tap.' Gaara remembered how Pein had tapped the tube Gaara was locked in.
Understanding Pein's warning, Gaara felt his way to the edge of the sand structure, just as he began to hear sand trickle from above him and onto the ground.
Visibility suddenly overcame Gaara and he found himself staring at a stream of sand quickly filling up the oddly shaped tube he was trapped in.
"W-what is this?" Gaara spoke aloud, horrified. He refused accept the answer, even though he knew it. He refused to be killed by his own weapon.
Xenon was an unnecessary anesthetic; Gaara could already feel himself lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen in the gourd.
'Young Kazekage, I believe it is time. Farewell,' Shukaku whispered chillingly in Gaara's mind. Gaara cried out as he felt a strong presence forcefully leave his body. The sand now reached Gaara's neck and was quickly reaching his mouth. Gaara gasped for air, but there was little in the gourd.
Zillions of spots clouded Gaara's vision as his ragged breaths became unheard to even himself and he was overcome by the blackness.
Well, that was my first Naruto one-shot. What do you think? :P Reviews are appreciated, preferably with constructive criticism if any criticism is present. Thank you for reading! :D