There was knocking on the wall as we tried to work out our escape plan.
"Yo! Are those little kids I hear over there?" A voice said. I went to open my mouth when Sasuke covered it. I looked at him and he shook his head. I nodded and he let me go.
"Yes, we are children." Gaara spoke. Sasuke glared, his big black eyes narrowing. The voice spoke again.
"Why don't I come over there, fools, little fools." The voice sung as the wall cracked a bit and then pushed open. A boy, in his teens, was standing with his arms crossed, his sun glasses shone in the dim light and he smiled. "Looks like I wasn't the only one who got, got." He said, smiling at us three. His shirt had the number eight on it.
"The eight tails?" I asked.
"The one and only! I never thought the number nine would be so puny." He chuckled. I crossed my arms and pouted. "So! Fools, little fools, why don't I join you in your plan of escape?" He asked.
"Shh! Geez, you're so loud." Sasuke growled.
"What's going on down here?" There was a voice and some footsteps.
"The guard." Sasuke said, pushing Gaara back into his cell. The eight tails jumped back to his cell.
"Gaa-chan!" I hissed, he nodded and walls of sand replaced the broken holes that connected the three cells. Sasuke pushed me back onto the bed.
"Shh! Don't move, they still think you're sick." He muttered. I nodded and closed my eyes.
I could feel Sasuke beside me, Gaara's sand floating around my hand and the teen in the next room was snoring.
"What's all this ruckus." The guard snapped.
"Me trying to get the heck out of here." Sasuke grumbled. The guard let out an amused snort. There was some silence.
"Hey! One tails." I tensed when Gaara let his sand fall from my hand. "You're next on the list." I heard the guard open Gaara's cell. Sasuke remained motionless. I heard heavy footsteps. "Oh, vicious, aren't we?" That told me Gaara tried to defend himself.
"Unhand me." Gaara's unchanging voice was louder, he was closer, then it was fading. I shot up.
"Don't!" Sasuke warned me, but I slammed myself through the sand wall and out the open cell.
"Gaa-chan!" I shouted, my tiny legs running down the hall. The man turned around, he was blue with blue hair and a black robe with red clouds.
"The Nine Tails." He smirked. I stopped, ready to fight. "Oh? Is this your friend?" He laughed, holding out Gaara, who now had chakra concealing hand cuffs
"Let him go!" I demanded.
"Or what?"
"Or... or!" I felt tears welling up, I didn't know what to do, I had spent my whole life, protected by the safety of the Hokage's tower. Protected by my father and mother. I didn't know how to make it on my own.
"Or, what?" The blue man asked. I fell to my knees.
"Or... nothing..." I bowed. "Take me instead. Just leave Gaa-chan." I asked.
Silence, then,
"Is that so..." there was a thud. I looked and Gaara was lying weakly on the ground. I felt something cold around my neck. I felt it, my chakra started to fade. I fell forward.
"Naruko..." Gaara was facing me.
"I'll be fine." I smiled at my best friend. Then I glanced back, Sasuke was peeking out of the bars, a look of conflict on his face. I smiled at him. "I'll be alright." I said, a bit louder. Then the blue man picked me up and I felt him carry me up the stairs, away from Gaara away from Sasuke and away from the eight tails. To my inevitable death.
The light was blinding. We were in a cave and light was pouring in from the entrance. There were people standing around a large statue, among them I saw Itachi, his eyes met mine.
"I thought the Nine Tails was last." He said in a calm voice.
"Well get this, the brat practically begged me to take her in place of her friend!" He laughed, I glared at the ground.
"Very well then. We already have the seven tails, the six tails, the five tails, the four tails, the three tails and the two tails. Might as well get one of the stronger out of the way before we finish." A dark figure spoke. All of them... all of the Jinchuriki... was that why there was no other noise? Was that why there were only four of us left in the cells when I woke up? I yelped as I was thrown forward, skidding on the ground in front of the people. I looked up at Itachi, who was coming down to put me in place. He picked me up and muttered something.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"It's fine, you tried to help me escape. That night, I'll remember it for the rest of my life." I said, knowing my life was going to end short now, but I would never forget it. He tensed. Then whispered again.
"I'm going to unlock your neck brace, you need to summon the Nine tails some how..." I nodded, it was still a while as we climbed the stairs. I concentrated.
I felt as if I was floating in a lake.
"Nine Tails." I thought, but it came out of my mouth. I opened my eyes and I was floating in about an inch of water, I pushed myself up, I wasn't wet at all. I shook my head and walked down the hall I was in. "Nine tails?" I asked, poking my blonde head around a corner. I was met with a red paw. It scratched at my legs, I screeched and jumped back. I fell and looked forward to see a small fox with nine tails. It looked no older than that small white dog I saw that one time.
"Back off!" The little muzzle snarled. I stood, the fox came up to my knee, it growled at me. I reached forward a bit and it snapped at my hand.
"Are... are you the nine tails?" I asked, I had pictured him bigger...
"I am!" He said, trying to stand tall.
"But you're so tiny!" I said.
"So are you!" The fox huffed.
"But I'm only six. I have to be small." I explained.
"I'm only 106. That's 6 in your human years. I AM bigger, it's just... complicated." The nine tails explained in a high pitched voice.
"Wow... well, I need your help!" I said. The nine tails paced around, looking at me every now and then. I took this opportunity to look around. There was a large stake in the middle of the room, it had a large chain that led to a collar around the nine tail's neck. The collar said- 'Kyuubi' on it.
"What?" Kyuubi asked when he saw me staring.
"Nothing... you'll help me right?" I asked. Kyuubi sat and scratched at his ear with his back leg.
"I guess so..." He muttered. "Come here, girl." I walked over to him and he pounced up and bit my arm.
"Ow!" I screeched.
"Relax." Kyuubi forced past his teeth. I sat still and felt power coursing through my veins. "I guess you're not so bad. That's a bit of power. Use it wisely, you may come anytime. It's rather lonely in here." He said, then his voice faded as I felt consciousness pouring back into me.
I opened my eyes, I was strapped down now. I looked below me and the people from earlier were getting into their places. I felt my neck brace loosely hanging, but not so anyone would notice. I shook it off and pulled at the shackles.
"Quickly!" Someone demanded as I felt Kyuubi's power pouring back to me. I ripped at the shackles again, bringing my arms together as the statue behind me cracked and broke with my new found strength, I found an animal like snarl rising up and out as I growled at the people who tried to approach me. The shackles around my wrists and legs connected to large rocks that were holding my tiny body back a bit. My vision was tinted red, my whiskers like scars now actual whiskers and my teeth and nails were pointed into sharp edges. "Get her! Start the extraction!" the voice from before demanded. Everyone did a hand sign and I felt my power draining again. Only it was painful. I screamed and fell to my knees, writhing in pain as I felt something being pulled away.
I kicked and screamed before an explosion came up from where the stairs were.
"Naruko!" I felt the pulling stop. I breathed heavily and looked to the side. Sasuke was standing there with Gaara and the eight tails. I coughed up some blood, still feeling weak. Sasuke looked angry at the pain I was in. His eyes flashed and then turned into a swirling red and black. The eight tails was sitting on octopus like tentacles and Gaara was surrounded with sand.
"I'll hold them off! Get outta here! Fools! Little fools!" The eight tails yelled. I felt sand lift me up and pull me to the three as the eight tails jumped in front of us.
"I'm Killer Bee, by the way." He smirked.
"Thank you." I smiled. Sasuke tugged on Gaara's shirt.
"Let's get going." He said. Gaara nodded and they ran, I was floating on a could of sand behind them.
Itachi was at the entrance, waiting. He stared at us and Sasuke stepped up. He was glaring daggers at Itachi.
"I can handle this!" Sasuke boasted.
"Sasuke..." I muttered. Itachi looked around.
"Go." He said.
"W-what?" Sasuke and I stuttered.
"He said go. So let's go." Gaara stated, running past Itachi with a hesitant Sasuke on his heels. My cloud was pulled behind them.
"Thank you." I smiled at Itachi before I was carried away. He nodded and rushed back to fight or help out Bee.
We made it a little ways into the forest when we heard an explosion. We turned and saw a fire coming from the cave we had escaped.
"Bee!" I yelled, jumping down from the cloud of sand. I stopped at a tree and a piece of fabric floated into my face. I pulled it off and looked at it. My eyes filling with tears.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
"Naruko?" Gaara muttered. I turned and held it out, showing my friends the ripped and charred '#8" from Bee's shirt.
