Twenty-five thousand views, and Twenty-five chapters already? I guess I'm doing pretty well. What do you guys think? I certainly hope you all have been enjoying the story. I know I have had a blast writing it. I feel like I have come so far in such a short time. With the help of your reviews, and your messages, I have made huge changes to how I write. The story itself has also been impacted from your feedback. Let me say this now, I look at EVERYTHING that EVERYONE says. So please leave feedback, it really does change things!
READ: It's actually coming a lot sooner than I thought. Very soon I will be going into character development through plot that does not necessarily tie back into the main story. That is unless you leave feedback saying you would prefer me to warp a few years forward, and continue with the main story. So far, I have only had one person give feedback on this issue. That person wanted character development. I will take the path most supported, so you may want to leave your opinion!
A certain Akimichi and a Yamanaka were getting ready to walk into their team's usual BBQ restaurant, when they saw a familiar face and a blonde sand ninja.
"Hey! Shikamaru!" The Akimichi called out.
"Hey Choji. Hey Ino."
Ino took notice that Shikamaru's hands were not in their normal place. His pockets. Instead, they were occupied with nearly a dozen bags, bags from her favorite places to shop.
"What are you doing with Temari? Why do you have all those bags? Those are from girls clothing stores you know." Ino saw the grin on Temari's face, and then it dawned on her. "Wow you two are already that far in your relationship that you started buying her stuff?!"
"Aw man, what a bother! It's not like that Ino."
"Shikamaru here agreed to show me to the best places to shop, and he was too kind, and offered to pay for my things!"
Shikamaru groaned. He still felt bad about his empty wallet. The girl had no mercy on him, and she spent away an entire months worth of mission pay. What's worse, she made him go into the stores with her, and give his opinion on all the cloths she tired on. At first he would say something like, "I don't care", or "It all looks the same to me". However, that earned him a few lumps on the head, and a talk about "Don't you know how to compliment a lady?" Of course his response of, "Lady? I thought you were my slave driver." Earned him an extra large lump.
Rather then risk anything; Shikamaru just nodded his head a little in regards to her statement of his generosity. The woman was far scarier then his mother.
"Anyway, Shika and I are going to get some dango."
Choji cut in. "Really? We were just coming here for some BBQ, but they serve dango too. Wana join us?"
"We would love to!" She elbowed the Nara in the side. "Wouldn't we?"
"How troublesome."
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Shikamaru sighed. "I said, that sounds great."
"That's what I thought!" She interlocked her arm with her 'escort', and they followed Choji and Ino inside.
Shikamaru looked up at the ceiling as they made there way to their seats. 'Sure the girl is bossier then my mother… and scary as hell. But there is something about her that I seam to like.' He sighed again. 'How troublesome.'
Naruto and Gaara entered into a colorful, void-like room. It was all pink, purple, and white. They were standing on the floor, but everything seemed to flow together into one shapeless space. It was an odd feeling to have a perfectly flat surface under your feet, when that floor was so undefined, that it seemed the same as everything else around them. Had Naruto not indicated him to sit down, Gaara might have gotten dizzy from the illusion that the room gave off.
"So what do I do now Naruto?"
"This room will allow you to confront the Shukaku directly. When you close your eyes and concentrate, you will end up in your mindscape. There you will find him, and you will use the key formula I gave you to unlock his prison. I put some of my own chakra into your seal, just like what was done with my mothers. That way I can help you when it comes to the fight over its chakra."
"What happens if I lose?"
"You won't!"
Gaara closed his eyes. He was surrounded by Darkness, but that slowly faded into a lesser darkness. Now he was standing on a sand dune, but he was inside. All around him was a vast room, the floor was completely covered in sand, and there was oppressive lighting throughout. He walked forward for a while, and he happened upon a huge gate with a single piece of paper was in the middle, where a lock would normally be. On it was the symbol "Seal".
"So this must be what Naruto was talking about."
HEY KID, YOU HERE TO LET ME OUT?
Gaara pulled up his shirt, and his fingers started to glow. "How did you know?"
The Shukaku came up to the gate and gripped it with his arms of sand. Wait, you mean you really are letting me out?!
A tendril of sand shot up, and pulled the paper off the gate. He then placed his fingers against his stomach and turned them. "Of course I am. Your days of power over me end now. I am taking control of your chakra."
You can't be serious boy! It's your own funeral!
"We will see."
Gaara finished opening the seal, and the gate unlocked. The Shukaku immediately lashed out with its tail. Gaara's ultimate defense intercepted the blow, but it launched him back a ways. The sand on the floor came up, and slowed him to a stop about one hundred meters away from the beast. The One-Tail surged forward, and began hammering away at Gaara. Each blow was crushing. Every strike sent a wave of force through the surroundings, and kicked up a sandstorm. Gaara sent more tendrils up to try and restrain the movements of the monster. However, he broke through the bindings like thread.
You made a mistake kid! I'll pummel you!
"You are a fool Shukaku. This battle was over the moment you stepped into my trap."
The ground under the One-Tail began to swirl and sink. His legs were sucked into the massive pits of quicksand.
You think this will stop me! I'm going to kill you kid! Nothing is going to stop me from being free! I still have my arms and my tail don't I?
The sand storm that was kicked up around them had three vortex shaped breaks in it, and a three blonde ninjas with a familiar blue looking drills in their hands came out of them.
"NO YOU DON'T! RASENHURRICANE!" The attacks cut right though, and left the Shukaku with nothing but buried legs, a limbless torso, and a head.
DAMN IT! NOT THAT BOY AGAIN! ILL KILL ALL OF YOU!
"NOW GAARA!"
"I know!"
A spirit like form of the sand ninja shot out from his body and took hold of a similar spirit from the Shukaku. He started to pull on it, and the chakra tug of war began.
I WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT! EVEN NOW YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE!
Gaara didn't reply. Instead he focused all his power on pulling. However, it became clear quite quickly that the One-Tail was pulling harder, and Gaara felt his chakra leaving his body.
"Don't give up Gaara! Pull!"
"Naruto I can't! He is still to powerful!"
The last of his spirit was almost drug out of his body at this point.
IT'S OVER! I WIN!
"Gaara! Remember that you beat your hate. Remember your mother! Remember those who you are fighting for! Remember your friends! Remember love!" Naruto jumped forward, and smashed a devastating kick to the Shukaku's head. The blow knocked the beast onto its back. "NOW PULL!"
Gaara let out a scream as he pulled with every ounce of power in his entire body. The Shukaku's chakra was ripped from its body, and was pulled into Gaara's.
The sand body of the Shukaku began to crumble away, leaving a decrepit and maimed Tailed Beast.
YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!
He lurched forward to try and head but Gaara. He was met with a massive wave of sand that pounded into him. The wall of sand pulled the Shukaku out of the quicksand, and flung him back behind the gates. Gaara placed his hand on his stomach, and the gates closed. He turned his fingers back, and the seal closed the Shukaku in.
I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL SMASH YOU! EVERYONE YOU LOVE IS GOING TO BE DEAD! I WILL-
"Shut up." Gaara held his hand up, and sand shot out over the One-Tail's mouth. "Much better."
Gaara relaxed, and he let his mindscape fad away. His body felt different. It felt energized, it felt powerful, and it felt good. He opened his eyes again and looked down at himself. His body was covered in a layer of sand that was glowing nearly gold. Purple markings surrounded him.
"Whoa. Nice eyes Gaara."
"What is different about my eyes?"
"They look kinda like golden diamonds. Its really cool! Man I wish my Tailed Beast mode was as awesome as yours!"
Hey Naruto! I take offence to that! I am the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts! You should not take my form lightly!
"Yeah yeah, whatever Kurama. I'm just saying."
"Who are you talking to Naruto?"
"Oh, just striking up a friendly conversation with Mr. Grouchy Fox."
I hate you sometimes Naruto. Inside Naruto's own mindscape, Kurama had his paw over his face.
Naruto's face was split by a huge smile. "YOU DID IT GAARA! YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU!"
The sand ninja seemed a little taken aback by this. "You think so?"
"I KNOW SO! Come on, we so need to get back to the village and show this to your siblings!"
Konkuro was out looking for his sister who had been gone all day, when he heard "How troublesome" out of a restaurant window. He promptly turned and walked through the door, and made his way over to the table of young ninja.
"I should have known that I would find you with your new boyfriend Tamari! You've been gone all day! You could have at least told me you wouldn't be coming home! I've been sitting around this whole time bored out of my mind!"
Shikamaru was still blushing slightly from the boyfriend comment when he replied. "Look, it's not her fault that you were to much of a dumbass to get up and go do something on your own."
"Watch it shadow boy! Do you want me to stick one of Crow's poison blades into you?"
Ino had her hands up to her chin, a sly smile on her face, and spoke in a playful tone. "I don't think your sister would be to happy about you doing that to her boyfriend. She might even get violent."
Konkuro had to shutter a little, even at just the thought of his sister's temper. He may have pressed the point further, but a cloud of smoke caused him to cough, cutting him off.
When the smoke cleared, the puppet master yelled out angrily. "What the hell was that."
Choji spoke up between bites of food. "That would be Naruto and your brother."
Konkuro turned in surprise, and low and behold, there they were.
Tamari stood up and walked over to her little brother. "And where have you two been all day? You haven't been doing anything inappropriate have you now?"
Naruto's face turned red in anger. "WHAT THE HELL TAMARI! WE'RE NOT GAY!"
"It's always the ones who deny it so adamantly…"
Naruto was ready to smash his fist into the kunoichi's face. He was wondering what the heck was wrong with people. Every time something he did could be interpreted as gay, people did interpret it as gay.
"We have been training sister, not engaging in promiscuous acts." Gaara retained his composure, although he did share Naruto's sentiments over the implication that he might be gay. "We came here to show you the fruit of our labor. If you are all done with your meal, I have something to show you."
The sun was now setting, and Naruto wanted to get to the Hyuga compound as fast as he could. He was hoping that he could get Hinata to go get dinner with him. The whole situation of showing off Gaara's new control over the Shukaku had taken longer then he expected. Gaara's siblings just kept asking questions, and were so amazed. They wanted Gaara to show off a bunch of new tricks, which ended up just as much a learning process for Gaara, as it did his siblings. In truth, they had not even bothered to try anything in his One-Tail mode prior to paying his brother and sister a visit. All in all, it took longer than Naruto had wanted, and now Hinata may have already eaten dinner. The guards let Naruto pass when they saw him. The blonde should hardly have been surprised when the front door slid open, and none other than Hiashi Hyuga stepped out.
"Hello Naruto. May I ask why you have come here this evening?"
"Well Pops, you see, I kinda had a long day. I haven't eaten dinner yet, so I was hoping that Hinata would join me for some?"
Said girl stepped out from behind her father. "I would love to Naruto!"
Hiashi looked down at his daughter. 'Hmm, no stutter. This boy could do wonders for your confidence.' He nodded. "Very well, you may go with him." Now he looked to Naruto. "See to it that you do not stay out to late. I would not like unwanted rumors going around about my daughters nighttime activates."
Naruto got the hint. "You got it Pops." He grabbed onto a heavily blushing Hinata, and nearly dragged the poor girl out of the compound.
'If anyone else but you called me Pops, they would be dead.' The Hyuga mental sighed. Something about the boy put a smile to his face, and left a soft spot for him in his heart.
Author's Note: It's official, Gaara can now kick literal butt. As stated before, I WILL be moving into a character development stage for a while, rather than proceeding with main story. That is unless, enough people leave feedback saying that they want the main story instead. Whichever side gets the most support will be the side I follow. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!