Naruto: Alliance of the Ninjas

Chapter 21: Monsters

"Gaara…"

Ayame looked briefly at the blonde ninja beside her—glaring at him in a way that meant 'stay here or else'—before she leapt down from her perch so she was on a branch directly in front of the redhead Sand genin. She looked at him with a sad expression on her face as Gaara tensed, his tail swishing back and forth and growling lowly. "You must leave!" Gaara ordered, growling viciously at the girl in front of him. His attempt at scaring Ayame away didn't work and it only angered him more. "I said go! This isn't your concern!"

"I'm not going to leave you Gaara," Ayame said softly as she walked slowly towards him, the other genin—and dog—in the area merely watching in fear for the girl. "This is my concern because you're hurting. And I'm not scared of you."

"You have no idea what I truly am!" Gaara hissed back at her, using his tail to rise up threateningly as it pointed itself at the girl. Ayame shook her head and smiled sadly.

"I've always known what you are."

Gaara froze, his eyes widening in shock. There was no possible way she could be telling the truth. No one who truly knew what he was ever acted kind towards him. No one he'd ever encountered has ever acted as kind as the Rain kunoichi in front of him. There was absolutely no way she knew. If she did know… if she knew what he was… no… it was impossible. "I've known about the demon inside of you," Ayame continued, still taking slow and deliberate steps, careful not to anger or threaten Gaara in anyway. She could tell his demon was taking over and if she did something to make him snap she might not be able to bring him back to his senses. "I've known about this power you possess. I've known from the moment I met you."

"You're lying!" Gaara roared, shaking his head. It wasn't possible. It just couldn't be. "If you had known you would've run away screaming! That night you saw me you would've ran in the opposite direction! You would've run like everyone else did! You would've run like they always do!"

"How old were you when the people you thought cared turned on you?" Ayame asked sadly, catching the Sand genin off guard. Ayame smiled sadly. She shook her head before she looked at Gaara. "I was three."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion as he watched the back of the redhead Rain ninja. What is she talking about? I heard from both her and Kakashi that she's the Princess of a kingdom by the Rain Village. No way would her own people turn on her; she's royalty. Either there's something she hasn't told us or… Sasuke's eyes widened in realization before he smirked slightly. I've got to say, I'm impressed. Coming up with a way to make Gaara feel like they're the same and on the spot too… she's the best actress I've seen to date.

"What are you talking about?" Gaara growled in confusion.

"People who I thought cared... people that acted like they loved me, turned on me when I was five… how old were you?" Ayame asked more clearly, getting a shocked reaction from the Sand genin and all those—except Sasuke—who were watching. She saw Gaara's eyes widen and she continued. "You were probably just as young as I was, weren't you?" When he didn't respond she kept going, stopping just in front of Gaara to where she could reach out and touch him if she wanted. "You're wrong when you say I would've run in the opposite direction screaming. I sensed what was inside of you… and that's the reason I didn't run. That's the reason I asked you for help. That's the reason I wanted to become your friend. I know what it's like to be cast out… to be so alone. You were judged and discarded because of what you have inside of you, and I've been shunned because of the things that I've done… the things that I am. And I knew you could understand that."

"We are not the same!" Gaara roared, snapping his teeth threateningly at the girl. "I'm a monster! How are you anything like me?!"

"That's where you're wrong, Gaara. You're not a monster," Ayame said with a smile on her face. She reached a hand up and placed it on Gaara's left cheek—the cheek that was still human—and smiled softly, seeing the red color and feeling the heat spreading under her hand. "This is who you are. You're a boy with a horrible past and who's been the victim of circumstances for nearly his entire life. You're a boy who has been alone for so long, you've forgotten what it's like to have someone care about you. You're a strong person, a strong ninja, and someone who I'm happy to call my friend." Gaara's face continued to blush a darker shade of red as he stared at the girl in shock, looking oddly like a child at that very moment. Ayame put her hand on the other side of his face, where it had been morphed, causing him to flinch slightly. "But this isn't you. This is the demon inside of you trying to take control and you can't let him win. You're stronger than he is, I know you are. You can't just give in, you have to fight back. Please Gaara, you have to fight back or else you run the risk of losing yourself and… I don't want to lose you…"

Gaara's eyes widened and his heart beat wildly, causing him to grab the area over his heart with his normal hand. His heart was hurting, his face was burning and it felt like those damn butterflies were back in his stomach again! What was happening to him? Why was this happening to him? Why was Ayame so kind? Why didn't she want to lose him? What did she mean when she said her village turned on her? So many questions rattled through his brain and he couldn't begin to answer any of them! Why? Why? Why couldn't he find an answer?! He tried so desperately to find an answer, any answer to explain what was happening to him. And as he searched his mind a familiar voice… a horrifying voice spoke up in his mind.

Kill her…

Gaara's eyes closed as his head started to hurt once again. He grabbed his head, curling his fingers around his hair in a vain attempt to get the voice to stop. "N-No…"

"Gaara you have to fight it!" Ayame shouted, once she saw Gaara was in pain once again and murmuring to himself. The demon was trying to take over. "Gaara, you can fight him!"

Kill her…

"N-No… I can't."

"Don't give up Gaara; you're stronger than he is!"

Kill her… she's a nuisance.

"S-She's so kind to us, we can let her live."

"Gaara, please you can do this!"

Kill her… she wants to stop us!

"S-She's… she's my… my friend!"

"Gaara!"

KILL HER NOW!

"NO!" Gaara screamed loudly, letting loose a large wave of chakra that caused Ayame to pull out a kunai and stab it into the branch to prevent herself from flying backwards. Sakura grabbed onto Sasuke and Pakkun and covered them with her body while Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face and dug his heels into the ground as he crouched in front of his friends. Temari pulled Kankuro with her behind a tree as the wave of chakra flowed through the forest. Once the chakra died down Ayame stood up once again, looking at Gaara in slight worry. Gaara's lips curled upwards slightly, causing Ayame to smile. Before either of them could say anything more three kunai with paper bombs attached to them were sent Gaara's way, courtesy of Naruto. Gaara grabbed Ayame and morphed his sand skin around her and him into a ball as some sort of protection. The kunai hit the shield and caused a large explosion and smoke to fill the area.

"You idiot!" Sasuke hissed as he looked at the blonde ninja.

Naruto looked at the Uchiha in confusion. "What are you talking about? Ayame got me an opening!"

"It's not an opening when she's directly in the path of the attack!" Sakura retorted before Sasuke even had a chance to say anything else.

Pakkun growled at him. "She'd just managed to calm down a lion and you go back to poking at it!"

Naruto blinked in realization that she hadn't been trying to distract Gaara, but she had honestly thought she could calm him down to a point where he'd stop fighting. He winced. He had made a huge mistake. Looking back towards where the two redheads had been. The dust cleared and Team 7 saw that Gaara's sand shield had a large hole in it and he was screaming in pain. When he retracted his shield so it was back to being his tail and his arm they saw Ayame lying at his feet, a large gash under her eyebrow, bleeding into her eye and a little blood tricking down the side of her mouth. The four cuts that had been on her arm were bleeding more and there was a small burn on her wrist. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't unconscious, evident in the way that she kept squeezing her eyes tighter and moving her hand around slightly. Gaara looked down and saw the Rain kunoichi lying on the ground in pain and something in him snapped. His chakra grew darker and stronger and his eyes far more malicious and bloodthirsty than they had been when he had just been fighting Sasuke. He used his morphed left hand to lift Ayame up and place her on a sturdy looking branch nearby, but well out of the way. When he looked back at Team 7 he snarled and tensed, ready to lunge.

Despite the trouble they were in, Sakura and Sasuke shared a look before they glared at Naruto. The blonde ninja grinned sheepishly at his two teammates. "Oops?"

Gaara lunged at them and Naruto—seeing that it was mostly his fault that Gaara was even more pissed off—lunged at him with a kunai in hand, hoping he could get the drop on him. He tossed the kunai and then started to make Shadow Clones but he was surprised when Gaara just hit the kunai and him out of the way, sending him into a tree and crashing to a stop. Gaara never stopped his charge and started to head towards Sasuke, Sakura, and Pakkun. Pakkun immediately jumped out of the way and Sasuke shoved Sakura aside, resigning himself to the fact that he may very well die. Gaara was nearly within striking range when Sasuke's vision was obscured by the familiar back of the only kunoichi of the team. Sakura had jumped in front of him with a kunai raised, intent on defending Sasuke if he couldn't defend himself. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. "Sakura move! Get out of the way!" When she didn't move, everything else melted away. The only thing he could hear was his heartbeat, his voice, and Sakura's nervous breathing. "Sakura! Don't protect me! Save yourself!"

"No! I'm going to defend you no matter what!"

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, hoping she would move in time. His heart thundered in his chest and everything slowed. One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbeats. And then everything sped up again as he saw Gaara attack Sakura with his claw, extending it and sending her colliding into a tree. The claw didn't drop her however and instead secured itself around the tree, squeezing the pink haired kunoichi until she passed out. Sasuke's heart stopped. "SAKURA!" Sasuke tried to push himself up, but his body collapsed once again, betraying him in the moment he needed his body to work the most. He looked to the face of the unconscious kunoichi and he was overwhelmed by the emotions he was feeling. He was consumed with hatred, anger, and fear. Hatred and anger, he was well aware of the cause. He hated Gaara for what he did—and was continuing to do—to Sakura and he was angry with himself that he couldn't do anything to help.

But the fear he was feeling surprised him. He felt an overwhelming sense of fear of the redhead monster in front of him. He felt fear for Naruto who was essentially their only line of defense what with himself still unable to get up and Ayame out of it for who knows how long. But the biggest fear came for Sakura. He was fearful of what Gaara would do to her and he was fearful of her being hurt or worse. He cursed as he tried to get his body to move again, knowing that Sakura's life was at stake. He needed to start moving. He had to.

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Naruto spoke up, catching the attention of the Uchiha. He looked up and saw Naruto looking back at him seriously. "I'll protect you guys, I swear."

"Shit… they just keep coming!" Chiaki shouted in annoyance as she hurled two more kunai at the Sand Shinobi that had started flooding in through the door of the medical bay. She and Neji had been holed up in the small room, fighting what seemed to be a flood of Sound and Sand ninja that had continued to enter the room. The Hyuga had resorted to hand-to-hand and using his various weapons, since he wasn't sure if he would be able to use his 64 Palms as effectively when he wasn't fully recovered. And since the boy was unable to use his main technique—and Chiaki was forbidden from using any technique—she had been using her weapons and slipping in some strength as she tried to keep the Shinobi at bay.

"Chiaki, duck!"

Chiaki didn't hesitate to drop into a crouch as Neji tossed three shuriken over her head, striking two Sounds and a Sand in the neck, dropping them to the ground. Chiaki quickly rolled backwards so she was in line with Neji and pulled out shuriken and held them in her hands tensing as she waited for the next wave of shinobi. She breathed deeply and tensed when she heard the stomping of footsteps in the hallway.

"Get ready," Neji spoke up, tensing.

The two genin prepared to throw their weapons just as Kiba, Shino, and Yumi ran through the hallway. Neji and Chiaki immediately lowered their arms and looked at their friends in confusion. "What are you guys doing down here?" Neji asked in surprise.

Kiba skidded to a stop and looked at the large pile of corpses blocking the doorway. He whistled and looked up at them with a grin. "You two got busy, huh? I think you took out more than even we did!"

"You didn't answer his question," Chiaki retorted with a quirked eyebrow. Under different circumstances, Chiaki would be the first one to boast and cheer about how she and Neji took down the most enemy ninja. But these weren't normal circumstances, and Ayame was currently with the Sasuke and the Sand siblings, probably getting into shitload of trouble.

"Emiko-sensei sent us down here," Shino spoke up. "The jounin are taking care of the enemy ninja in the arena and they want us to clear out all of the inner rooms of the arena to start moving some of the civilians to safety."

"Asuma-sensei just came back with Shikamaru, and he can use some rest," Yumi alerted as she quickly made a hand sign and created two shadow clones. Her two clones grabbed two bodies each and started dragging them down the hall, while the original looked towards Chiaki. "Shikamaru said that Sasuke and Ayame should've caught up with the Sand genin by now."

"Shit… this isn't good," Chiaki muttered as she too made Shadow clones and helped grab some of the bodies. Neji, Shino, and Kiba quickly moved to help out and within minutes the entire area blocking the door was clear, but the hallway was full of bodies. "What do we do with the stiffs?" Chiaki asked after their tasks were done.

"I'll take care of that."

The five genin all turned to see Kakashi entering the hallway, with Asuma behind him, carrying a weary looking Shikamaru. The Copy Cat ninja gestured for the genin to move to the side so he could step past them. He quickly made hand signs before he brought his fingers up to his lips. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi breathed out fire towards the bodies, immediately burning them and turning them to ash. "Alright, everyone in the room."

No one argued with him and they immediately filed into the room. Asuma walked in after them and deposited Shikamaru on one of the beds before he quickly excused himself and disappeared from the room. "What's going on up there?" Neji asked Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at the genin briefly before checking the hallway. "The Sound have the Hokage trapped. Asuma and Kurenai will be moving the genin and civilians in here. Your job is to clear out more rooms down here to create space to accommodate everyone."

"What about Emiko-sensei?" Yumi asked in concern.

"Emiko and Guy are taking on some of the enemy ninja. I'm going back to assist them."

"Wait," Chiaki called out before Kakashi completely walked out of the room. He turned and gave her his attention. "Have you heard anything about Ayame or the others?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. Naruto, Sakura, and Pakkun should be with them. Ayame will be fine." With that the Copy Cat Ninja disappeared, leaving the six genin.

Chiaki and Yumi immediately shared a look and then turned to the boys. They looked at Shikamaru, who was breathing heavily as he tried to push himself off the bed to get ready to help, before Yumi walked forward and pushed him back down. "You're in no condition to help right now. Shino, stay with Shikamaru while Kiba, Neji, Chiaki and I go clear out some of the other rooms."

"Got it," Shino agreed. He pulled out a kunai and moved to stand by Shikamaru who grumbled and lowered himself back down.

The other four genin quickly ran out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. "Alright, where do we go?" Kiba asked, petting Akamaru who was back inside of his jacket.

Chiaki gestured to the hall behind the boys. "You two go that way. Me and Yumi will check out this way," Chiaki announced, gesturing behind her.

"Do you think those are good pairs?" Kiba asked with a frown on his face. "I mean you girls—"

"Have worked together for over a year and will be fine," Yumi assured, giving him a smile. Kiba and Neji shared a look before they nodded and took off in the opposite direction while Chiaki and Yumi ran the other way. They waited until they were far enough away before they skidded to a stop and faced each other in the hallway. "What are we going to do?" Yumi asked desperately.

Chiaki shook her head. "Hell if I know. Pray for the best?"

"This is serious," Yumi reminded, a worried expression gracing her features. "Ayame's out there without us to back her up and we need to meet up with the others tomorrow in the afternoon. If we're not there—"

"I know, I know. I'm as fucking worried as you are. We just need to hope that everything turns out okay. If we don't show up tomorrow on time, they'll come looking for us. And if we do show up and Ayame's in less than perfect condition, this entire village is fucked depending on who comes to get us."