Hey this is my third chapter! Thanks for making it this far.
Okay I want to thank my two reviewers Dark Calamity of Princess and Blondmutt7. THANKS SO MUCH! COOKIES TO YOU BOTH!
Dark Calamity of Princess also brought up a valid point. Apparently my writing is to much like a novel and the words I use are too hard for those out there with English as a second language. So this chapter is pretty much like my old ones (Sorry Dark Calamity I don't know how to write any different) but if you want me to really try I will if I get enough people requesting it. Also if the swearing bothers you tell me.
Anyway sorry for the long rant, half of you prolly didn't even read it. XD
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO -insert witty joke about ownership here-
ENJOY and review if you do or if you can't be bothered just read my next chapter! and show me that way! 3
Chapter 3 Bloodshed and Bruises
Naruto stared at the bruised eyes for a few seconds, taking in how beautiful they were. There was no emotion on the teal-eyed boy's face but Naruto could tell from his eyes that he was confused. Which he was.
The teen was blinded by the bright colours that swam in his vision. In the first moments of his conscious state he had no idea what was going on. He had crawled down into the darkness to die only to find that when he woke up he was surrounded by bright blue and golden yellow. His first thought was that he was in heaven and that Naruto was an angel. However after he thought a second longer he realized how impossible that was. He was a monster. Heaven would never allow such a thing inside its gates. That left only two questions for the red-haired monster.
Who was this golden child, and why was he holding a monster such as himself?
"Hey," Naruto whispered down to his conscious friend, "my name's Naruto. What's yours?"
"Oh great, bonding time..." groaned Sasuke. He was really sick of Naruto giving all of his attention to that Jinchuuriki.
"Shut it Teme!" Naruto snapped before turning back down to teal eyes. "So... what's your name?" Naruto tried softer and slower. The red head obviously had other ideas as he pushed away from Naruto, jabbing his elbow in Naruto's ribs along the way.
Naruto groaned from the pain this movement caused him, perhaps he really had broken two ribs? The other Jinchuuriki simply crouched, holding onto his wound with his other arm as fresh blood began to trickle out. He was looking at the group and just figuring out what was going on.
"Hey dude! Be careful with Naruto he's hurt." Warned Kiba, his voice full of the promised of punishment and pain. At the same time Sasuke took a few promising steps, his gun held out, pointing towards the teal-eyed teen.
"No!" Wheezed Naruto, "I' am fine, really! He didn't mean it." Naruto turned to the offender. "Right?"
The red head didn't answer, instead starring out, eyes focused on nothing and slightly glazed. He couldn't hear nor see them. His mind was on fire, reaching out trying to find something close. He could feel the approaching Demon and his instincts told him nothing but to find and destroy it. His consciousness was fading to something red and destructive.
"Fucking hell," growled Sasuke, "Naruto is talking to you don't just ignore him!" Sasuke kicked out and struck the Jinchuuriki's stomach. The red head didn't react, his face staying the same stoic expression his body swaying slightly from the pressure.
"SASUKE! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Yelled Naruto, glaring at Sasuke and crawling towards the red head to check the damage. Naruto hadn't even noticed that Sasuke had used his real name instead of Dobe.
"He obliviously thinks he's better than us. He won't even talk to you." Sasuke snapped out angrily. Sometimes his friend could be such a block head.
Kakashi stepped forward and looked at the silent red head.
"Kiba, how close was that Demon?" asked Kakashi quietly, shaking his hand in front of the stoic red head.
"What does that got to do with anything?" Naruto asked, reaching out to touch the red-haired teen but keeping eye contact with Kakashi. Kakashi looked over the empty teal eyes once more before grabbing Naruto and pulling him back.
"Hey! Let go!" He cried angrily, flailing against the older man. He heard Kiba and Sasuke laugh.
"Naruto, even though you're a Jinchuuriki you're the first I've met that's so unique." Kakashi commented while fighting to hold the angry blonde. "You're the only one that doesn't react to Demons. Most enter a mental phase that allows them to fight and kill. They feel no pain or fear, they fell nothing at all. People have taken to calling it the Rage lately."
"What?" asked the surprised blonde, no longer fighting. He had never heard of the Rage and it had never happened to him. Was this what was happening. Naruto looked down at the red head and saw no emotion in his eyes like before. "Is that what is happening now?" He whispered to Kakashi. They weren't the same after all and Naruto was once again different from everyone else.
"Yes," answered Kakashi before continuing, "When a Jinchuuriki gets too close to a Demon a survival instinct kicks in. In this mind frame they could kill their own family and not care."
"That's twisted... they're twisted." Said Kiba quietly, earning a grunt of approval from Sasuke.
"We should leave now." Shino told everyone calmly.
"Yes." Everyone answered except Naruto.
"We're not going to leave him here are we?" The blonde asked.
"Oh of course not Dobe!" answered a very sarcastic Sasuke, "We'll just drag his murderous ass home so he can kill us all. Tsunade would looove that." Sasuke turned away from the two Jinchuuriki. "I'm leaving without that thing, so hurry up! I won't come back and rescue you when your new friend kills you." He expected a smart comment back or an angry burst of curse words but what he got surprised him.
"Are they meant to do that?" Naruto asked, cold sweat running down his neck.
"Do what?" Many voices said at once, some more worried than others. Naruto heard Kakashi swear and he knew it wasn't a good sign.
Naruto stared at the red haired Jinchuuriki, who was climbing to his feet. Naruto had been referring to his eyes before because they had changed. What had been empty teal now matched his hair, a cold crimson.
The red-haired, red-eyed Jinchuuriki was now on his feet. He stared Naruto and Naruto barely heard Kiba swear. The dead look the Jinchuuriki was giving Naruto truly scared him. He knew there was no uncertainty or any other emotion inside those blood orbs, only the will to survive and destroy.
"Naruto... step back slowly and don't, under any circumstances, make a sudden movement." Kakashi warned steadily. Naruto definitely wasn't making any sudden movements, he wasn't making any movements at all. Fear held him in place.
The group watched in cold silence, waiting to see what would happen. Everyone was tense and scared, none more so than Naruto. Sasuke and Kiba swore when the red-eyed monster pulled a small serrated knife. Naruto thought that knife was going to find its way inside of him but it wasn't aimed at him.
The armed Jinchuuriki turned away from the group and began walking into the darkness, towards the stairs. Everyone held their breathes as he climbed the stairs just in case the monster returned.
"HOLY FUCK!" Swore Kiba, falling to his knees and letting out loud breathes.
"I guess we'll just stay down here and let him take care of it." Said Sasuke, sitting down on the floor and crossing his legs, trying to hide how shaken he was. He still held onto his gun as it stopped his hands from shaking.
"Wait, he's going to go fight the Demon?" Cried Naruto, everyone surprised he was still ignorant after everything they'd told him.
"Jeez..." Whispered Kiba, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Shino stepped forward.
"Naruto, what you just saw was the Rage consuming him. The red-eyes are a sign that he has lost control." Shino explained in a level and understanding tone, the kind that helps children.
"So before when his eyes were normal but he wasn't reacting, what was that?" Naruto questioned, worried for someone who could've just killed him.
"He was most likely fighting it." Kakashi said from behind his book. When had he pulled that out?
"Well he can't go up there and fight! He's injured!" Naruto cried angrily. Honestly he was hoping that people would jump up and go help the injured red head.
Naruto looked at them, each getting comfortable in some way. Sasuke was already sitting on the floor, Kakashi was reading and Shino was playing red hands with a smirking Kiba. It irked Naruto to think they wouldn't do anything. He wasn't like that anymore and he was going to do something about this.
"I've decided!" Naruto yelled, stealing the smoldering torch and running towards the stairs, "I'AM GOING TO SAVE HIM!" He heard yells to stop and to bring back the torch but he didn't listen. He needed it if he was going to catch up to the other teen and not kill himself going up the steps.
He threw himself up the stairs three or four at a time. The other had been walking quite slowly so Naruto thought he had a good chance of catching up.
He pushed out into the broken room and heard a weird scream from outside. It didn't sound human, instead a high pitched scream. Higher than he'd ever heard Sakura scream so it mustn't be human.
He stopped for only a moment, fear gripping at him. He told himself he couldn't be afraid, he had to move forward and protect someone because he was stronger.
He willed his feet to begin again and his lungs to start breathing again as he moved towards the door they had entered in through. He put out the torch and threw it down before opening and exiting.
Naruto's eyes nearly exploded when he pushed open the broken door. The sunlight streamed in and he was caught momentarily blind, spots dancing across his vision. After a few seconds shapes appeared and soon he could see again, though he almost wished he hadn't.
Standing in front of him was his new acquaintance, armed with the knife he had earlier and covered in blood. Also standing before him stood the Demon, hideous and one of the largest Naruto had ever seen.
The Demon's body was similar to a deformed spider, several metres tall, missing a leg and dark grey-green in colour. In the place where a spider's head should have been was a lump of flesh shaped similarly to a male torso. It wasn't shaped accurately but instead looked like it had been stitched together, each lump of flesh a slightly different shade of grey or sickly green. The head was shaped in the same way as a bald, human head. It had no facial expressions, eyes or nose. The flesh covering the face was melted, like acid had been poured over it. All of its body was similar and the skin was mottled and ugly. It had a mouth on the deformed face. Stretched wide in a silent scream, strips of flesh extended across, blocking most of the open hole. Its remaining legs where long and covered in fine blades.
The missing leg lay several feet away from Naruto, cut free, a bloody mess. From this he was able to guess why the red head was covered in blood and why he'd heard the scream, at least that's what he hoped.
The bloody Jinchuuriki rolled his head back and forth slowly, running his knife along the palm of his hand, creating long and dirty cuts. Nothing went through his mind as he waited for the Demon to move and catch his attention again.
Naruto rushed forward, catching the attention of the two. He reached out and grabbed the red head's wrist, stopping him from continuing the cuts.
"Don't worry, I'll help you." Naruto whispered, pulling out his gun. "I know you're injured, so I'll kill this thing for you." He stared at the crimson eyes and shuddered. There really wasn't anything in there, nothing human anyway.
The Demon let out some loud screams and clicks, causing Naruto to jump and look at it. It had moved closer and the remains of its missing leg were spilling deep crimson onto the earth around it, causing the soil to turn red.
Naruto lifted his gun, his hand shaking quietly against the cold metal. He steadied himself and pulled the trigger quite a few times, gasping from the recoil. The Demon screamed as blood ran from holes in its torso. Naruto scrunched up his eyes trying to block out the sight, the smell of iron making his stomach flip and curl. He didn't want to hear the sounds of screaming and hearing the small splashing of blood hitting the earth made him retch and cough.
The red head starred at the gun and the blonde holding it, for a moment nothing in particular running through his head. He pulled his hand free from Naruto's and lifted the knife up and cut deep into the blonde's arm causing him to drop his gun and cry out in pain, eyes shooting open.
Naruto watched in horror as blood welled up and spilt down his arm, soaking into his shirt and dripping from his elbow to the ground. He cried out, clutching at the wound. It was deep and bleeding freely, causing Naruto to whimper. He was a little more then surprised and the wound hurt a lot.
The red-eyed Jinchuuriki wiped the blood from his knife using his tongue. He grabbed a hold of whimpering blonde and watched as the blue eyes grew large with fear. Feeling nothing he threw Naruto against the building of the water facility, creating a large space between the blonde and the angry Demon.
Naruto looked up, holding onto his arm and now his chest. He choked on his first set of words, eyes large and fearful. He swallowed and tried again, trying his hardest to warn the red head.
"BEHIND YOU!" He yelled but knew it was too late.
One swift movement from the Demon and it was right behind the red head, not that he showed any fear or surprise. It raised one of its legs and drove it through the Jinchuuriki's shoulder, driving him to the ground and pinning him like a broken butterfly. The demon leaned forward, ignoring Naruto gunshots and cries to piss off. Saliva dripped from the monster's mouth, running through red locks and down a pale neck.
Naruto climbed to his feet, furiously upset at the demon. He watched as blood appeared around the pinned Jinchuuriki's body. If he wasn't quick the Demon would do more damage.
As the blonde moved forward the red head moved under the Demon's gaze. He pulled his arms up and pushed himself up, impaling himself further onto the Demon's razor sharp leg.
"HEY BE CAREFUL! DON'T WORRY I'M COMING! SO DON'T MOVE" Naruto yelled ready to rush forward before being pulled back by several pairs of arms. "Eh!" Naruto looked back and saw the group holding him in place. He hadn't noticed them coming and luckily none of them took hold of his injured arm. Everyone looked worried and very mad.
"Do you know how hard it is to find your way out of there without a torch?" Whispered Kakashi dangerously, his hands holding Naruto's neck not his arm and chest like everyone else.
"Heh..." Naruto laughed nervously before turning back to the Demon. "I sorry, but please help me help him!" He cried, pulling away from everyone. "He'll die if we leave him alone!" Sasuke mumbled something crude but Naruto was too upset to notice.
"I don't think he needs your help Naruto, see for your self." Kakashi said pointing to the scene in front of them.
Naruto looked at the Jinchuuriki and noticed he was now standing. Holding onto the Demon's protruding leg he brought forward the knife and cut through it, causing the Demon to scream and pull back. Giving the Jinchuuriki enough time to free himself and turn around. The gaping wound in his shoulder bleeding freely. He wasn't deterred by the hole in his shoulder because he felt nothing.
His eyes were shining with pleasure as the Demon screamed and both of their bloods mixed on the floor at their feet. His body shook slightly but the red-haired, red-eyed monster took no notice of it. He reached forward and grabbed a hold of the creature's neck, squeezing hard and cutting off its air supply, relishing as it struggled at his finger tips.
Naruto gagged as he watched a grin creep onto the other Jinchuuriki's face. It was the only emotion he'd seen on the stoic face and he'd didn't like it, twisted and ugly, a mirror into a monster's soul.
"See Dobe, Do you want to save that thing now?" Sasuke asked bitterly. Naruto was now seeing something Sasuke had seen before. The horrible core of a Jinchuuriki who's removed his mask and showed the world.
"Yes…" Whispered Naruto as tears ran down his face. He couldn't look away but he wanted it to stop badly. He wanted to see a real emotion on the Jinchuuriki's face. He didn't want him to enjoy killing something so much. He couldn't explain why he felt so determined but he knew he wanted to help him. This Jinchuuriki was like him before he found a place of his own and no one deserved to feel that way. Someone who had no one, nothing. Just like Naruto had lived and Naruto couldn't let someone else go through that pain.
Sasuke stared at the blonde, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why was Naruto trying so hard for such an existence? He didn't deserve Naruto's friendship and attention. Sasuke couldn't help but feel jealous towards the ungrateful moster.
Naruto ran forward towards the Demon and the Jinchuuriki, much to Sasuke's horror and disgust. He wrapped his arms around the red head, burying his face in dirty hair.
"STOP IT!" Naruto yelled, "JUST FINISH IT ALREADY! PLEASE!..." Naruto could hear his sobs and he lifted his head to take deep breaths. He looked at the red head but he hadn't changed.
The red head stared at the blonde who had embraced him. 'Stop...' he thought. 'Why' his enraged mind thought again as he tighten his grip on the Demon's throat.
Why should he?
Who would both caring?
"Please! For me... I care about you... so... SO JUST STOP IT!" Naruto cried out, staring deep into the redhead's eyes, trying to find something human to hold onto. "YOU DON'T NEED TO BE LIKE THIS."
"NARUTO! COME BACK, HE'LL KILL YOU!" Screamed Kiba.
"Don't try to reason with him Naruto, he can't hear you." Added Shino.
"Naruto!" Came a stern command from Kakashi.
"PLEASE DOBE. COME BACK AND... I'LL.. I'll.... GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!" Sasuke yelled, desperate to save the closest person he had. " Please Naruto, PLEASE!"
Naruto looked back at Sasuke. Was he crying? Nah… Sasuke didn't cry, especially for someone as stupid as himself Naruto thought smiling.
"Teme." He whispered before turning back to look at dead red eyes. He couldn't give up because those eyes reminded him of the cold blue eyes he'd once seen reflected in glass. "Please, just stop now…" He whispered watching as the Jinchuuriki lifted up his knife, still holding the Demon by the neck. Naruto closed his eyes as the red haired teen brought the knife down towards the blonde's chest.
He wasn't afraid this time. He had decided that he would believe in the red head to the end. He wouldn't be like other people and leave him alone like others had done to him. He would help heal him. He knew he wouldn't be hurt this time. He had faith in the unnamed person.
He heard a scream as warm liquid splashed onto his face. He opened his eyes and saw that the red head had stabbed the Demon and torn open its chest. Naruto watched its heart's last beat and knelt down and vomited, empty his stomach's contents onto the ground. That sight had been so sicken he retch and heaved until his stomach was completely empty.
Naruto waited until he felt his stomach settle however the image he just saw was burned deep and eternal inside his mind.
He could see the Demon's body lying on the ground, bleeding from the many wounds the two Jinchuuriki had caused. It was obviously it was dead which made Naruto happy. He worried about what had happened to the red head now the Demon was dead.
He looked up into teal eyes and tried his best to smile. It seemed that with the Demon dead the red head had found himself again. He got no expression from the now teal-eyed teen but the look in his eyes made Naruto's heart flutter. He knew they had bonded in a weird way. Maybe they were real friends now.
Naruto got to his feet and reached out to give his new friend some support but the red head pulled away, stumbling back a little before passing out completely. Naruto, with his out stretched hands, caught the Jinchuuriki, falling to the ground with the awkward weight.
"What?" Naruto asked, sitting up and pulling the other into his lap. "Hey! Wake up! You haven't even told me your name, you can't die!" Naruto was so panicked he didn't notice everyone coming up behind him.
"Naruto he's passed out from the blood loss and pain." Kakashi said placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto turned around and looked at everyone. Everyone's faces were sad or slightly worried.
"Kakashi..." Naruto mumbled, thick tears rolling down his cheeks. "He'll make it though, if we take him to Tsunade he'll make it. Right?"
"Maybe..."
"WHAT KAKASHI?" Yelled Sasuke and Kiba at the same time.
"What do you mean? We can't take him back! He'd kill us when he woke up." Sasuke said slightly upset and frustrated.
"Yeah what Sasuke said!" Added Kiba while glaring at the once again unconscious red head.
"Please Kakashi, can we? Please!" Naruto pleaded to his elder. "He'll die if we leave him here."
"All the better!" snapped Sasuke viciously.
"Sasuke!" Growled Naruto.
"What Dobe? Your siding with a monster what am I meant to say?"
"How 'bout you just shut up Teme!" Naruto snarled, tired and sore.
"We'll take him," added Kakashi happily at the end of Naruto sentence.
"WHAT!" Yelled Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba. One happy and others not so much.
"On four conditions..." added Kakashi.
"ANYTHING!" chirped a very happy blonde.
"One: We're carrying the water so you'll have to carry him the whole way."
"RIGHT I CAN DO THAT!"
"Two: He's seriously injured so there'll be no stopping and resting, we'll walk through the night."
"WHAT," Yelled Kiba angrily, "that sucks." He sulked, cuddling up to Akamaru.
"Okay Kakashi, I can do that too!" Naruto yelled throwing his hands in the air to prove himself. He winced and Sasuke noticed. He reached out and grabbed his arm, making Naruto cry out in pain.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?" he asked, pulling Naruto's sleeve up, showing off the deep cut that had started puckering and bleeding again.
"Dude..." Whispered Kiba looking at it, trying to squash the urge to touch it.
"Yes Naruto how did this happen?" Kakashi asked, once again deadly serious.
Naruto couldn't tell them what had really happened or they might leave the red head here to die. All he could do was lie.
"It was the Demon. It knocked the gun out of my hand after I shot it. This was the cut it gave me." Naruto lied, wincing so they would give him some sympathy. Luckily they believed him and let it go, though Kakashi contemplated something.
"Naruto, even with that arm you still want to carry him?" Kakashi asked.
"YES!" Naruto answered desperately and Sasuke groaned at his enthusiasm.
"Very well...I'll continue, Three: If he hurts any one or he survives and wants to leave, he goes."
"I understand," said Naruto sadly, "but that won't happen. I'm sure of it."
"It doesn't matter what you think, only whether or not you both follow the rules." Kakashi added soberly.
"Okay... So what's the forth thing?" The blonde asked, looking at Kakashi seriously.
"Ahh... well this one is really more about you." The silver haired male answered.
Naruto grew worried about what it was. What if Kakashi had found something really serious like, you can't come with us next time or we want you to leave with your new friend. Naruto gulped and waited.
"What is it?" Asked Kiba curiously, Naruto wanted to hit him for prolonging his wait.
"From now on," Kakashi pointed at Naruto dramatically, "YOU MUST CALL ME KAKASHI SENSEI!"
Silence followed before everyone realized what he had said.
"WHAT!" Everyone, including Shino, yelled, sweat dropping.
"I'm sick of getting no respect from you Naruto." Answered a smirking Kakashi. "So from now on you'll call me Sensei. Understand?"
"What... but... that's not fair Kakashi...!" Naruto complained.
"Kakashi Sensei to you!" Laughed Kakashi, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
"Yeah Naruto, its Kakashi Sensei to you." Kiba prodded, laughing so hard he snorted once.
"FINE KAKASHI SENSEI, LET'S JUST GO!" Naruto yelled remember how hurt the Jinchuuriki on his lap was. "He's started bleeding again." Naruto said standing up and picking up the bleeding teen.
"Very well, we brought the water up with us before so we can leave straight away." Kakashi answered, walking inside and coming back out with three large water containers. "Everyone grab a few containers, okay?"
"NO WAY, YOU'RE NOT REALLY LETTING HIM COME BACK ARE YOU?" Sasuke yelled, throwing down a foot. "HE'LL KILL US!"
"TE..." Naruto began but Kakashi interrupted.
"Sasuke SHUT UP! Naruto has made his decision. Let him take the responsibility for it." Naruto and Sasuke stood in shock. Kakashi didn't often put his foot down like that.
"Hn." Sasuke grumbled storming inside to get his water.
Naruto stared down at the other Jinchuuriki, admiring the peaceful expression on his face.
"Don't worry, I'll get you home and fixed up in no time." Naruto whispered to the red head. "I promise I won't let you down." He said, grabbing his gun and beginning the trudge down the hill. He knew everyone would catch up and he needed the extra time because of the way he felt.
Sakura stared out at the sunrise. It had been three days since the group had left and she was starting to get worried. The usual trip only took two days at the longest so something must have held them up but she didn't what to think what that was. The thought that a Demon had arrived or that maybe even Naruto had killed them made Sakura feel sick. It would all her fault if so.
She was sitting outside on the watchtower. They had made it almost four years ago when Tsunade took control. It was made out of rocks, old building material and anything else they could find. Each person had their own shifts to watch over so they were always prepared to fight or flee when trouble arrived.
It wasn't Sakura shift right now but she wanted to watch for the guys. She felt so responsible for Naruto she couldn't help but wait. Every time she heard a noise or saw something move she imagined it was them coming home but it was only an illusion never the reality.
Tsunade hadn't talked to Hinata or Sakura since they'd confessed. It had gotten worse as time had passed. She'd even started locking herself in her office to avoid everyone. It was easy to tell she was worried about Naruto and the rest. In fact everyone was worried and the mood at meal times was sour and quiet.
Sakura looked up at the sky. It was dawn but she could still see a few stars. Stars were a constant company for her these days. At night she could see them and tell them her dreams and secrets. During the day, even though she couldn't see them, she knew they watched over everyone. They were her silent guardians and she hoped they were watching over Sasuke and Naruto now.
A shooting star streaked across the sky. Beautiful but unreachable and holding a wish for the person who first saw it. Sakura smiled, she knew what to wish for. It was simple. The only thing she wanted right now was for everyone one to return safely and happy.
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Thanks for reading! Please review!
P.S Not having Gaara's name through all of that killed me, honestly it has to come in next time or I'll die. Anyway I'm off to play Eternal Sonata at 12 at night so...
See Ya
-Falling into Colours-