Hello. I'm DarkNutDestroyer and here's a new chapter for my story. I'd like to thank everyone supporting this fanfiction and I hope you appreciate and will continue to read it! I am extremely sorry for the long wait and I hope you can forgive me. Now, let's end this introduction and start the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Soul Eater or any other references mentioned in this story
Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night
Why?
That one word has been the center of Gaara's life. The never-ending question about his existence was repeated each day. Why did they hate him? Why did his father burdened him with a demon? Why did nobody love him? He finally realized that all of those questions were futile since he was going to die tonight.
Those bastards had taken him by surprise, managing to land a critical hit on his abdomen, making him lose blood rapidly. He already felt dizzy and light-headed. It won't be long until he blacked out. He then saw one of the ninjas throw a kunai at him. Widening his eyes, he felt like time slowed down. He saw the deadly knife approaching his torso. He knew the blow will be fatal. His sand wasn't quick enough to block it.
Then, a flash blinded all the surrounding people. When his vision came back, he saw something that made his eyes widen. A white-haired man has caught the weapon in his hand. He wore a brown traveling coat that concealed his body. However, the head was partially exposed and showed that the man had white hair and red eyes. He had three whisker-like marks on each cheek. His palm and fingers were bleeding, but the stranger didn't seem to notice it.
He then reached at his back and slowly unsheathed his sword. He then waved it around and pointed it at the man.
"The moment you attacked him," the stranger said in a threatening voice. "You forfeited your lives."
The attackers, clearly not scared of him, shouted a battle cry and charged the albino.
Sighing, he dodged the kunais they threw by tilting his head. He then ran and met the first enemy head-on. He grabbed his outstretched arm and used their combined speed to throw him at a wall. The man hit the wall violently and slid off, unconscious.
The cloaked figure continued his assault, dashing towards the charging men. He was obviously less experienced than the ninjas. He didn't use powerful attacks or elaborate techniques, instead using his speed and agility to dodge attacks and hit them with precise strikes.
One of the ninjas tried to slice him with a wind blade, expecting to cut throught his body without any resistance, but was surprised when the stranger's sword blocked it. His face quickly met a gloved hand that broke his nose and made him fall into unconsciousness.
The white-haired teen then blocked a kunai that was about to pierce into the back of his head and broke the man's wrist that was holding it. The ninja's scream was quickly silenced when the teen plunged his blade into the man's chest, destroying his heart. The ninja died before even touching the floor.
The stranger got rid of two of them by blocking and sending back their shuriken. The deadly blades entered their bodies like knives through butter.
The final opponent was clearly stronger and heavier than all the previous ones. He was carrying a war hammer and used it quickly and with deadly accuracy. Luckily for the man, he was much more agile and gracefully dodged all of his attacks. Gaara watched, amazed that this man was able to fight back such a powerful enemy. Finally, the ninja was starting to get tired; his attacks were becoming sloppy and slower. When he brought it over his head to crush the annoying pest's head, he made a fatal mistake. The boy used the opening to his advantage by slicing horizontally his abdomen. Blood splashed out on the ground and the man fell screaming and clutching the wound. The mysterious person turned on himself and hit him at the back of the head, making him black out.
The cloaked man was the last one standing. Holding his bloodied sword, he gazed impassively at the fallen men. He turned to Gaara and walked towards him. Scared by the stranger's power, he backed out until his back touched the wall. Seeing that he had nowhere to run, he closed his eyes, preparing for the pain that was coming…
…and felt a hand petting his hair. Looking up, he saw the white-haired man warmly smiling at him. It was the first time somebody smiled at him so he didn't know how to react.
"Calm down, everything is going to be fine," said the man. "Can you stand up?"
Gaara nodded. He picked himself up and saw that his savior was almost as tall as him.
"I am grateful for what you did, but who are you?" asked politely the red-head.
The white-head noticed that he was still wearing the cloak and took the hood off.
"Hello. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It is a pleasure to meet you." Naruto introduced himself.
Gaara was surprised to see that the one he thought as a man was in fact a young boy that was only slightly older than him. Quirking up an eyebrow, he crossed his arms and asked: "I don't want to be rude, Naruto-san, but why did you save me? I'm a demon! No one loves me! All I bring to those around me is death and despair!"
Naruto gazed worriedly at the boy. He sensed that the red-head was suffered an internal turmoil inside of him. Of course, he knew how he was thinking since he was demon container like him.
"And it seems like he has a Kishin egg in him." said Excalibur.
"What? But he looks like a human! You said that Kishins looked like demons!" asked Naruto through their telepathic link.
"Indeed. In my original world, the Kishins are human that had lost their humanity and became demons and monsters. However, Kishin eggs are different. They are someone's soul that is in the process of becoming a complete Kishin. When I came to this world, it seems like the souls of the people who had died before becoming a Kishin and weren't "harvested" by the Shinigami's agents were sucked in the portal with me. When they came to this world, they were extremely weakened and should've disappeared completely, but it seemed like they attached themselves to the soul of certain people, feeding themselves from their host's life force. This boy seems to have a Kishin egg attached to his soul, slowly breaking his sanity. You must quickly purify him or the parasite will take control of him."
"How do you do that?"
"Simply put your hand on his seal since it's a direct route to the boy's mindscape." Excalibur said before breaking the link.
"Gaara," At that, the child looked at him questionably, surprised that his savior didn't flee from him. "I cannot hate you since I'm the same as you. Before, I also had a demon inside of me. This doesn't make you a demon, you are simply misunderstood. If you want, I can be your friend." Naruto finished his statement by presenting his hand.
Gaara was shocked that Naruto was the same as him and accepted him. He felt like he wasn't the only one in the world. He met a person that passed through the same trials as him. He wiped his tears and took the offering hand. That day, a powerful friendship was born.
"Gaara, I want you to trust me. There is an evil spirit inside of you that isn't a Tailed Beast and I have the power to remove it." Naruto said with a serious face.
After he saved him from death, Gaara trusted Naruto more than anyone in the world. He nodded and asked: "What do I have to do?"
"Simply pull up your shirt to expose your seal and I'll take over the rest.
Gaara pulled his shirt and showed the seal. It was at that moment that Naruto planted his palm in the boy's stomach. Naruto felt Excalibur holy energy course through his arm into the redhead's body before finally arriving into his mindscape.
In Gaara's mindscape
Gaara's mindscape was a desert that seemed to stretch indefinitely. A tear suddenly appeared in the air and opened to let a white cloud enter the wasteland. The energy seemed to condense before forming into a humanoid shape. The witness of the event was the Kishin Egg that was in the process of slowly absorbing Shukaku. The gigantic raccoon looked considerably weaker. He was smaller and the symbols that usually covered his skin had disappeared. His skin tone was also paler. The Kishin, who looked like a grotesque mosquito covered with black fur and equipped with metal claws on its multiple legs, looked curiously at the phenomenon until his eyes filled with hunger when he saw it was Naruto. The monster detached himself from the Tailed Beast and slowly spread his legs to stand up to its full glory. Its black wings started to buzz before moving so fast that it was only a blur. Naruto examined his opponent.
"This Kishin Egg seems to have mutated after absorbing the demonic power of Shukaku,"said Excalibur to Naruto. "It looks like he was going to turn into a full Kishin if we didn't intervene. He's still extremely powerful. We'll have to use madness."
Excalibur is one of the Great Old Ones, ancient powerful beings that could control madness. The fact that Excalibur could control the madness of wrath doesn't mean he was evil. You see, madness isn't good or bad. It is simply the loss of control over your soul.
The Kishin was currently salivating, wondering how much power he could suck out from this human when he collapsed, crushed under an inhuman amount of power. Sweating from the murderous intent he felt in the air, he barely managed to tilt his head upwards to see the young boy. He noticed some changes. His usual white hair became black and his crimson eyes changed into cerulean sapphire pools that screamed power. His whiskers had thickened, giving him a more feral look. He lift up effortlessly a titanic sword above his head. The sword was huge; it was easily the size of a 10-story building!
The monstrous bug saw his death come at him from above. Gathering his energy in one powerful burst, he managed to lift himself up and dodge the massive strike. When he turned back, his nonexistent jaw fell. The attack had actually cut the desert in half! Where he once stood was now a gaping ravine that separated the landscape in half.
Sweating profusely, the mutated bug slowly backed back, readying his wings. The hunter had suddenly become the hunted. He jumped up, unfolding his wings and flew away, desperately trying to escape to the demonic boy that suddenly became a threat.
The Kishin Egg, judging that he had reached a high enough altitude; he calmed himself and started to elaborate a plan… before his world erupted in pain.
His wings! His beautiful wings! Gone! Unable to fly, the corrupted soul fell towards the ground. While he was starting his long descent, he managed to catch a glimpse through his half-lidded eyes a vision of a god. Naruto, now equipped with wings of light, was flying, holding his titanic sword in his hand. Power swirled around the ebony-haired boy and the sun shined behind him, blinding the monster. The last thing he saw was a crescent wave of energy heading towards him, silencing him for eternity.
The crash shook the Earth, the impact of the demon's body caused waves of sand that turned the surrounding dunes into a flat surface of sand. Naruto landed gracefully, his sword morphing back into its original size and his traits changed to their usual appearance.
Naruto looked over his sword, remembering what Excalibur told him.
Excalibur is one of the Great Old Ones, ancient powerful beings that could control madness. The fact that Excalibur could control the madness of wrath doesn't mean he was evil. You see, madness isn't good or bad. It is simply the loss of control over your soul.
Madness is extremely powerful, because it makes you ignore the limits of your body, making you able to accomplish incredible feats. The consequences are costly though, your body and mind cannot stay intact after a prolonged dip in madness. Excalibur could use madness without any drawbacks, because he was a physical representation of it. Excalibur, to avoid turning everyone around him insane, sealed his powers but they were so great that some of it managed to seep through his barrier. When in battle, Excalibur would unseal some of his power and use it to increase his power tremendously. However, when partnered with a meister in his original universe, his holy aura would disrupt their natural balance and cause its soul to reject him.
Such a pity.
The young boy then approached the crash site. The crater was surprisingly big and covered a vast area. The Kishin Egg was barely breathing and looked like he was about to kick the bucket any moment now. Naruto then sliced in two the bug then watched as the creature shinned brightly before it exploded. When the smoke cleared out, it revealed the monster's soul.
"Go on," said Ecalibur. "Eat it. It's your prize."
Carefully approaching his hand, he touched it with his fingers, noticing how bouncy it felt, before completely grabbing it. He then took a bite. His eyes widened. He felt suddenly more powerful and
"I think I found something even better than ramen. The fullness, the smooth texture, the delicious taste and smell… It is true perfection!" he shouted to the heavens.
Excalibur sweat-dropped at his wielder's antics. He was now taking a ridiculous pose while pointing at the sky. The imp quickly bonked him behind the head to remind him of the task in hand.
Naruto then turned to the Tailed Beast. Shukaku had fallen unconscious. The boy approached it consciously… then pocked him with a stick.
"Oi, Tanuki-baka! Are you awake?" asked the curious boy.
Noticing that the weakened beast had fallen asleep, he took out a black marker and started to doodle on its face. When he finished, he stepped back and admired his work.
Excalibur observed his possessor's handiwork. It was a chibi version of his weilder giving a peace sign with the words "I'm awesome!" and "Sasuke sucks!"
"Why did you do this?" he asked.
"Because it was funny?" sheepishly replied Naruto while scratching the back of his head. He then heard a sound and turned towards it. It seemed like the overgrown tanuki was waking up.
Groaning, Shukaku woke up, lifting himself up from the ground and shaking his head to remove any remaining sand. He saw his savior standing below him. He crouched to get a better view of the mysterious individual.
"Thank you for saving me. May I ask the name of my savior?"
Naruto barely managed to hold his laugh and said: "Hello Shukaku. It is nice to see you. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and the sword I have at my back is Excalibur, the Holy Sword. As you can see, I had eliminated the evil that was corrupting your container's soul and absorbing your energy. However, I still need to repair the seal that contains you. May I ask your collaboration?
"That depends. Do you want to modify it to make it impossible for me to be freed?"
"No, I simply want to repair the seal to prevent your corrupting energy to get out uncontrollably from the mindscape. It makes the situation with Gaara quite difficult you know?"
Shukaku took a guilty look, feeling responsible for Gaara's miserable life.
"Don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. You now have a chance to redeem yourself. Just point to me the seal that cages you."
Shukaku then lead them through the desert before stopping at a seemingly random place. He used his tail to dig through the sand, revealing a stone pedestal that had a seal engraved into it.
Naruto then felt Excalibur morphing into his humanoid form. The imp walked to the border of it before saying: "This seal is shit."
Both Naruto and Shukaku face-planted on the ground.
"This seal is poorly made compared to yours, Naruto. I am surprised that Gaara's mind didn't break under the strain."
"Is it salvageable?" asked Naruto.
"I think. The symbols are poorly made and badly positioned. However, I think that if I modify it a bit, it would become good enough to control effectively the Tailed Beast's chakra."
"Where did you get that knowledge?"
"When I absorbed Kyubi, I didn't just take its power, I also took its knowledge. It seems like one of her previous jinchūrikis was a seal master and the fox watched her actions and memorized them."
"WAIT A SECOND! Kyubi is dead? Did you kill him?" roared indignantly Shukaku.
Excalibur barely gave him a glance, preferring to examine the seal more closely. "Kyubi isn't actually dead. He has indeed been absorbed into Naruto's soul, but his consciousness is simply dormant. When Naruto will die, he will be released from his soul and regain his lost power before reforming into his previous form."
Shukaku calmed down, but now held fear for that miniscule imp that was able to defeat one of the world's most powerful beings. The fact that Kyubi was imprisoned in the teen's soul didn't really bother him since they were immortal beings and time was insignificant to them.
Excalibur, after finishing his explanation, used his cane to modify some of the symbols there and there.
Naruto bent down to reach his level and asked him: "I thought you told me that the fox was dead."
"I thought so too, but I felt his presence a week ago. He was well hidden, because he was camouflaged by his own energy. I didn't tell you, because I was unsure, but I got the conformation when I compared the nature of Kyubi and Ichibi."
Finally, Excalibur finished his work and turned towards Naruto.
"I finished. We can get out now."
Naruto nodded to Excalibur and turned to Ichibi.
"Well, looks like we are going out. We'll see you later!"
Shukaku waved them goodby and went back to take a nap to regain his stolen energy. Excalibur then used his cane to create a portal to the outside world. The unusual pair then crossed through it to reunite with Gaara.
Chapter end!
Author's notes
As you can see, Naruto and Excalibur helped Gaara. He will no longer be unable to sleep and won't have that blood-thirst. I plan on separating Naruto's training to each country he visits. He will train his skills as he travels and will meet new people. You can propose suggestions to the story if you want.
Like it? Hate it? Please review!
