DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Naruto" and am in no way associated with it's writers or producers.
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It was still storming in the forest. Naruto's body kneeled over they dying wounded Hinata, frozen like a motionless statue; not moving; not speaking; not doing anything.
"Naruto?!" Hinata desperalty cried out to him. "What are you……..what's going..……say something Naruto!"
But Naruto didn't.
Sakura appeared up in the blackness of Naruto's mind with her psychotic smile, giving off an evil giggle, looking down at Hinata.
Suddenly, Naruto began smiling at Hinata……….. and not in a good way. Naruto began giggling
"Naruto?" Hinata gasped.
Suddenly Naruto's giggling grew louder. His smile grew darker. His eyebrows went down. He suddenly began lifting his hands off Hinata's wound.
"hehehehehehe………" Naruto giggled.
"Na……Naruto!" Hinata cried to him. "What are you…...?!"
"Hinata…….. I change my mind!" Naruto gave an evil grin down to Hinata.
Lightning flashed. Hinata shrieked. All the sudden, Naruto slowly began reaching behind his back and pulled out a kunai blade.
"What?!" Hinata yelled in complete fear. "Naruto, what are you doing?"
Naruto just kept smiling that strange bizarre evil smile.
"You know Hinata….…." Naruto began whispering. "Sakura's right……. I do love her. Sakura's my one true love. Not you. You're not worth rescuing, Hinata!"
But just then, Naruto's smile vanished; he grunted and shook his head.
Hinata shocked curiously looked up at him.
Then he smiled again. "It's time for us to finish what Sakura wanted all along. It's time for you to die, and for me to go back with her, hehehehe…..!"
But as he talked, Hinata realized his voice was changing…….. his voice was becoming gargled…… more high-pitched……. more demented. And that's when Hinata gasped and realized……….
.....that wasn't Naruto's voice at all.......... it was Sakura's!
"What?!" Hinata glared in Naruto's eyes. "……Sa……..Sakura…?"
"Hehehehehehehehe!" Sakura laughed making Naruto smile.
After being blasted by Naruto's rasengan, Sakura flew thru the forest crashing off the trees like a pinball and then landing in a bush on the ground. Yet somehow she survived. She had taken a huge beating and fractured a couple bones. Her body was out of commission…….but she wasn't.
Hiding in the bush she fell in, Sakura had seen Naruto lay Hinata down to try and help her stop bleeding. That's when she attacked Naruto with the only possible trick she had left up her sleeve……. Just like her friend Ino, Sakura used a Mind Transfer jutsu to take over Naruto's body.
"It's you, isn't Sakura!" Hinata yelled.
"Hehehehe. I guess you caught me!" Sakura's voice said from Naruto's mouth.
Still lying in grave pain, Hinata activated the Byakugan, and spotted Sakura's real body collapsed only a few yards from them, and in plain sight.
"So that's your game now!" Hinata said to her. "You've taken control of Naruto's body using the mind transfer jutsu."
"That's right!" Sakura said with her demented smile. "Naruto put my body out of commission when he sent me crashing thru the forest…….. so I decided if I can't kill you using my body…..… I'll just have to use Naruto's!"
But her (Naruto's) head shook some more and Sakura's voice began grunting. She pressed her (Naruto's) hand up against the side of her head.
"Huh?" Hinata whispered in shock.
Naruto's head shook a little more. 'Sakura' Naruto's voice echoed thru his head.
"It's useless, Naruto" Sakura's said up in Naruto's mind.
"Naruto?!" Hinata shouted.
But the evil smile and green eyes reappeared.
"Naruto's not here!" Sakura yelled.
"No!" Hinata shouted. "I don't believe you!"
"Hehehehehe!" Sakura giggled. "…as Naruto would say………. Believe it! ......No one's here to rescue you this time, Hinata. It's just you and me again."
Lightning flashed again while the rain kept pouring on them. Naruto just kept grinning down at Hinata at Sakura's will. They were silent. Hinata clinched her stomach again, her dying pain and the poison beginning to sink in even more, slowly killing her. Sakura's voice giggled from Naruto's face.
"Now I'm gonna finish what I should've done a long time ago!" Sakura growled. Naruto's arm slowly lifted the kunai up.
Hinata gasped. "No! Please!" she cried scared. "Don't do it!"
With all her pain, a frightened Hinata desperately tried to crawl back away. Sakura immediately grabbed her ankle and yanked her back to her. She was helpless; Hinata cried and whimpered scared.
"It's over for you Hinata." Sakura whispered, making Naruto frown.
With both his hands, Sakura held the blade high up ready to stab her. However, she began growling and shaking her head again. Pressing one of her (Naruto's) hands against his head again, Sakura tried to shake him off. Both Sakura and Naruto's voices growled from his face.
"No." Naruto's voice grunted thru his mouth. "Get……. Out…….of….. my…….head……….Sakura……..!"
"Rrrrrggaahhh!" his head shook back, Sakura shouted. "It's useless Naruto! You're body's all mine! And soon, you and you're body will be all mine in more ways than one!" she yelled thru his head.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted trying to call out to him.
Naruto's body stopped shaking. Still holding his head with one hand and the kunai high up with the other, Naruto was calming down. A calming sigh let out of his mouth…….. but it was Sakura's voice. Sakura, taking control of Naruto's body again stopped the shaking and laughed.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted again. "I love you! Don't do it?!"
But in a sudden burst of anger and determination, Sakura grabbed the kunai with both hands. The psychotic frown pouring out of Naruto's face.
"Chaaaaaaa!" Sakura shouted "Naruto loves ME! It's over! You're DEAD, Hinata!"
Finally without hesitating, Sakura immediately began shooting her arms down to stab her! Hinata shouted and cried out loud one last time. It looked like this was it for Hinata………Sakura was gonna stab her to death in the heart…… she was done for.
And a jolt shot thru Naruto's arms.
The tip of the blade suddenly froze. Just centimeters away from Hinata's chest.
His arms jiggled furiously. Naruto and Sakura's voices grunted and shouted outloud from his head. Naruto suddenly dropped the blade on Hinata's chest and clutched his head with both his hands. Hinata shrieked and gasped, knowing she was that close to being killed.
'This doesn't make any sense' Sakura yelled inside Naruto's mind. 'There's no WAY he can resist my mind control!'
Naruto was struggling as hard as he could to regain control…….. before Sakura could kill Hinata. They both grunted fighting for control. Naruto's anger, his heartbreak, his frustuation was growing even more.
'How could yooooooooou!' Naruto screamed in his mind.
Inside the blackness of Naruto's mind, Sakura was still struggling with her psychotic frown to hold control. She began hearing a loud echo race in his head.
"Huh?" she said.
A giant wave of heat began arising and surrounding Sakura. That's when she finally looked down, in Naruto's head, to where she was standing……… her feet were standing in a puddle of water. She gasped in shock.
She began hearing a loud, ominous growl roaring everywhere. She noticed there were walls around her. Metal walls. Dark yellowish brown walls.
Then Sakura began looking around in fear. There was a massive cloud of orange red fog, filling the room and surrounding her. The loud ominous growl was growing even louder. Wondering where she was Sakura began sweating and shaking, freezing in fear.
Finally Sakura slowly turned her head around, to see what was going on.
She looked up in shock. There in front of her were the giant metal bars of a cage. Nothing but blackness on the other side. The orange fog and the monstrous growl coming out of it.
"Wha……..what…….what in the world…..?" Sakura whispered shaking.
"You've been a thorn in my side for far too long little girl."
A giant pair of red eyes shot open from the blackness. Sakura gasped out loud seeing him.
"RRRRRR…….To think that a little annoying runt like you could cause this much pain and trouble. I'm surprised we've put up with you this far!"
She was frozen in utter fear. Sakura never knew it yet, but no doubt it; it was the demon, the Nine-Tailed Fox living inside Naruto.
'Huh…' she gasped.
"Any enemy of Naruto……… IS AN ENEMY OF ME!"
With that the Nine-Tailed Fox's entire face appeared from the blackness in the cage. The red chakra began pouring out of the cage in front of her. "What the?!" Sakura shrieked. The water in the ground was bubbling, steam rising up. She saw Naruto's blurry face in the water reflection. The red chakra converged together, forming the giant shape and form of the fox's head, starring down demonic angrily in Sakura's eyes.
Immediately, he opened his jaw wide open! He roared out loud in her face, shouting a shattering loud ominous roar shooting the entire room. Sakura screamed as loud as she could in fright! The roar blowing wind at her, shattering her eardrums! The fox's chakra mouth came down and ate Sakura, chewing her some. And in a violent roar, he spit her back out!
---
Thunder crashed outside.
Naruto was shouting outloud, holding his shaking head. As he yelled, Sakura's mind spirit came flying out of his head……… screaming in terror, flying back into her own body.
Sakura reawakened, collapsed on the forest ground. Her eyes shaking in fear, jaw-dropped by what she had witnessed.
But she lifted her head back up to a sight that made her shirek in even greater terror.
The red chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox had exploded, engulfing Naruto and surging thru his entire body! Having regained control of his body, Naruto's eyes were red. The surging chakra lighting up the storming forest.
"Na……Naruto….." Sakura whispered in utter shock and fear.
With her body still horribly broken and beaten, Sakura did everything she could to rise to her feet.
Naruto had a huge frown on his face. The fox's teeth in his jaw. He glared at Sakura with eyes full of hate!.......... full of vengeance ……… full of even greater anger and sorrow.
Below him, Hinata looked up at Naruto, equally as shocked and scared. Naruto looked down at her with his monstrous frown.
"Naruto?!" Hinata yelled.
"Don't worry Hinata!" Naruto shouted. "I won't let ANYTHING happen to you ANYMORE!"
Looking back at Sakura in the distance, Naruto finally let the fox take him over. Letting his rage, his hatred, his pain and sorrow, his vengeful anger towards Sakura blinding and engulfing him. He screamed out loud, clinching his fists, starring to her.
Sakura just looked back, eyes wide open in fright. Trembling with tears coming out of her eyes.
"Naruto………. What have I done?!" she cried.
Naruto had had it. Thunder roared, and he immediately charged after Sakura at lightning speed; he punched Sakura in the chin as hard and fast as he could; the speed and intensity of the punch blasted Sakura and sent her flying several yards thru the forest.
She crashed hard and fast, back-first into a tree and shouted in pain, bouncing off like a pinball. She began falling, but in a flash, Naruto was right back at her, punching Sakura in the chest, making her gasp for air.
Screaming, he lifted his arm, uppercutting Sakura in the chest which sent her flying up in mid-air.
With Sakura hanging in the air, Naruto shot up the treeside, and lashed out at her again with a fierce punch. Then shot right back again with a deadly kick.
Sakura was flying thru the forest in grave pain from Naruto's devastating blows. Still in the air, immediately, Naruto shot down his feet down in Sakura's stomach; ontop of her, he stomped and smashed her back-first back into the forest ground! The impact put a small crater in the muddy ground and nearly shattered Sakura's spine!
Still raging with the anger and the red chakra, Naruto grabbed and yanked Sakura up by the shirt.
"I'm not anywhere NEAR finished with you yet!" Naruto screamed in her face.
Naruto held out his fist, wanting to beat Sakura into a pulp. She was already a bloody broken mess.
"Naruto, please…." Sakura begged crying.
Naruto just punched Sakura in the heart again, shooting her body back up in the air. Sakura yelled gasping in sheer pain, feeling her bones break.
Overflowing with rage and hatred, Naruto ran back up the tree side. The rain in no signs of stopping. Once he got to her, Naruto shot of the tree at Sakura. He punched her again…….. then bounced back off another tree back at her and smashed her again….. and again…… and again…… and again……..! At intense speed in sudden flashes, Naruto bounced back and forth off the trees, nailing one devastating blow, after blow, after blow, again and again beating a tearful bloody Sakura in mid-air.
Naruto let out a loud roar that blew a heavy wind at Sakura, sending her body flying over and across the forest trees, spinning and whirling uncontrollably. She soon found herself flying over the raging river in the forest.
Lightning struck again.
In an instant, Naruto was hanging over her, screaming and roaring, shooting one last deadly kick into Sakura's heart that sent her flying downward. Sakura immediately splashed into the raging river, then crashed back first into the rocks six feet below the water.
The impact of the deadly crash sent a wave of water into the air.
Thunder roared again, as the Nine-Tailed Naruto was still hanging in the air, looking down in the river.
At last, Sakura floated up to the surface of the water. Battered, broken, out of commission. Blood coming from her mouth; covered bruises and bloodstains; bones broken in her body. Somehow, Sakura was still alive.
Feeling the rain and the river flow thru her, Sakura glared up at Naruto in the air, tears rolling out her battered eyes. She couldn't believe what all she had done……… to bring out a monster in Naruto like this……… when all she wanted was his love.
Up above, all Naruto could think about was Sakura's trying to kill Hinata and his bottled up rage overflowing.
"You think you can just push people around like this Sakura?!" Naruto yelled.
Lightning flashed again.
"You wanted to kill Hinata, all because she made you mad?!........ You want to toy with our emotions like this?!......... you wanted to treat me like dirt after all this time Sakura?!" Naruto kept shouting his emotional vengeful rant.
Sakura didn't have the strength to move her mouth or speak.
'What have I done?' she cried to herself. 'I love him, and I made monster out of him.'
"And now…… you want to take Hinata away from me once and for all……… and try and force me to take you back………" he yelled.
Naruto prepared himself to launch down at Sakura for one final attack. Overflowing with blinding rage and the fox, Naruto was ready to kill Sakura.
Sakura only wished Naruto could hear what she was thinking.
'I'm sorry, Naruto' Sakura cried to herself. 'I never meant for any of this to happen………. Please, Naruto…….'
Up above, Naruto held out his hand, making a claw from the fox.
"I'll never let you hurt anyone again, Sakura !........... I'll never let you live again to do this to Hinata…………to do this to ME !.............. If I have to kill you, so be it!.............. DIE!" Naruto screamed.
With that, Naruto immediately began plummeting down towards Sakura floating in the river.
Sakura realized this was it. She gasped crying, bracing herself.
'I'm so sorry Naruto………'
"Rrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Naruto screamed for the kill.
'Forgive me………….. I love you!.........' Sakura screamed in her head.
There was no stopping for Naruto. He starred the bloody beaten Sakura with his red eyes.
Sakura braced herself, preparing to die.
Naruto braced himself, prepared to finish her. Naruto was only feet away from killing Sakura. Blinded by the fox; by his anger.
Lighting flashed.
Thunder crashed.
The lightning didn't come from the sky.
From the corner of his eye, Naruto looked and shrieked.
Without warning, lightning shot up from the ground, striking and blasting Naruto in the stomach! The lightning shot Naruto away……. Away from Sakura, and shot him into the forest. Naruto crashed into the ground, rolling several times before finally crashing and burning into a tree stump.
Naruto fell over onto his stomach. He gasped for air, jaw-dropped, racing in pain from the sudden lightning strike…… whatever it was.
The red chakra finally disappeared. Naruto was breathing hard calming down. His red eyes turning blue again.
He was fading fast. His vision growing blurry.
---
In the forest, the pain was catching up with Hinata. No one there for her. Her eyes fading to. Hinata began fading. Her head laid down looking in the forest.
"Naruto……" Hinata faded. Her dying eyes slowly shut.
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In the river, Sakura's body slowly began sinking. Crying, she held her hand out. The blood flowing in the river. The pain taking over. Sakura's hand sunk into the water.
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Against the tree, Naruto was clutching his wounded stomach. His body weakening…… shutting down.
"No" he gasped.
He collapsed. The rain still falling. His vision fading. His eyes shutting. With all hope seemingly lost.
"No………… Sakura…………..Hinata……………" Naruto gasped.
And his eyes shut, black. He faded, unconscious.
---
The rain was still pouring just like it had been.
Naruto's eyes began opening back up. His vision still blurry, slowing coming back.
Above him, Naruto saw Kakashi sensei looming over him, knelt down beside Naruto.
"You're finally coming back, huh?" Kakashi said.
Naruto's eyes began looking around, frantic. Kakashi was there. There were two medical ninja behind him. And third was holding his hand over Naruto's stomach, treating his wound. He finished and went away.
"Wha……Kakashi….?" Naruto whispered.
Just then, Naruto finally remembered……… Hinata! She was dying.
"Oh no! Hinata!" Naruto shouted. "I've gotta….."
Naruto tried to lift himself up, but was shot back down by the pain in his stomach.
"Naruto! Stop!" Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder holding him down. "You need to relax, Naruto. You're still in a great deal of pain after I blasted you with my lightning blade."
Naruto tried to calm down, but his eyes shot open. Kakashi stopped me,
"I had no choice, but to blast you before you could kill Sakura" Kakashi said. "It's a miracle she wasn't already dead, before we got to her and saved her."
Naruto realized. Does Kakashi think I tried to kill her because I'm crazy, Naruto freaked.
"Kakashi please!" Naruto frantically shouted. "You don't understand! Hinata. She's gonna……."
"It's okay Naruto" Kakashi said. "We already know."
"Wha…….what?" Naruto gasped.
"We know everything." Kakashi said. "The other medical ninja found Hinata and saved her to. They've already taken her back. She's gonna be alright."
Naruto looked up to him full of shock.
"You don't have to worry anymore." Kakashi explained. "We know everything. Shino and Kiba told us what happened. We know Sakura was the one who poisoned Hinata and tried to kill her. We know you were only trying to stop Sakura to save Hinata's life. It's okay now. The other medical ninja are here and saved Hinata and Sakura…….…… and trust me, Sakura's gonna pay for what all she tried to do."
Naruto couldn't believe it. Kakashi's words had calmed him down. Hinata was gonna live, Naruto realized. Naruto poured his head down, wanting to shed his tears.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi sensei"
Kakashi sighed with sorrow in his face.
"None of this was your fault, Naruto. You don't need to be sorry." Kakashi said.
All was silent for a short while. Letting everything sink in. The rain still coming down.
"I should've seen this coming myself." Kakashi was saying with depression and sorrow in his eye. "To see how much you used to like Sakura, and to see how much Hinata loved you……… and after everything with Sasuke, I should've known this would happen, Naruto."
Naruto curiously looked up at him.
"You guys have always been too much of a handful." Kakashi said. "Too many uncontrollable emotions towards each other. Knowing how emotionally challenged Sakura was, I should've known she'd go insane……….. that she go jealous and in love with you and Hinata………. And for that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry this had to happen to you three."
Naruto was crying now. Thinking about their time. They had fallen apart. Sasuke leaving; Sakura going insane; trying to kill them. All because they all once loved one another…….. And it had all come to this.
"I don't know what to say Kakashi" Naruto whispered crying. "I never imagined this would happen at all. To either of us four."
Kakashi was looking all around the dark storming forest. "Yeah, I know"
All was silent for a short moment. Nothing could be said to either Naruto or Kakashi to try and comfort them anymore now.
"Come on. Let's get you back to the village" Kakashi said in a depressing tone.
With that, he lifted Naruto on his back and shoulders. Along with the rest of the medical team, they finally left the forest.
---
In her hospital bed, Hinata finally began waking up. Slowly lifting her eyes open, her vision coming back. She had been out almost three hours since passing out in the muddy forest. Glazing around, wondering what'd happened to her…..
TO BE CONTINUED