Chapter 35:The Ending Scene
"Do you really think we were going to let ourselves get beat by a bunch of bratty teenagers who look like they're more suited to be in a weird cult than actually leading a village?" asked Zabu as he slowly dusted himself off, wincing as he did. "You two have another thing coming."
"We can obviously tell that the attack did quite a lot of damage to you," said Izuka as she shook her head. "With the way you're moving now, it will be foolish for you to continue in this battle."
"Foolish huh?!" asked Zabu as he shook his head. "I wouldn't call it being foolish. I would call it being daring, to be more precise."
"Foolish, daring . . . it would still be unwise for you to continue to fight us," said Gaara as he took a glance at the other rogue ninja. "It's foolish, especially since you're partner is now out of commission."
"Hmm . . ." said Zabu as he turned to Sika, who was still lying on the ground, her eyes completely blank as she lay completely still. Curious, Zabu kneeled beside her body and pressed his fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. . . He didn't find one. "Oh yeah . . . she's dead alright."
"It's two against one now, and with you in that condition, it's not going to end well if you continue," said Gaara as he shook his head. "Zabu, there are only two ways out for you now. You can either surrender, or you can lose your life. It's your choice."
"It is my choice indeed . . ." said Zabu as he shook his head. "I can choose to surrender, or I can choose to lose my life. . . Either choice doesn't sound too good if you ask me. You've put me in a tight spot."
"I think he's stalling . . ." mumbled Izuka in a low tone as she placed a hand on her hip. "He's waiting for something to happen."
"I think that too . . ." said Gaara as he too spoke in a low tone. "But what could he be stalling for?"
"Hmm . . . I never thought I would actually be getting my ass handed to me by two teenagers in a fight," mumbled Zabu as a thoughtful look came across his face. "This certainly puts a dent in my pride."
As he said that, he slowly brought a hand to his chin, using his other arm to help prop it up, but as he did that he moved two of his fingers downward a few times. Izuka and Gaara instantly recognized it as a signal. They sensed the sudden surge of chakra before seeing the attack itself, which allowed Gaara to use his sand to push both himself and his girlfriend out of the way before a bolt of lightning could strike either of them from behind. The trajectory of the bolt made the attack go straight to Zabu as well, and seeing that, the bandit leader tried to jump out of the way. He wasn't quick enough, and ended up getting the brunt of the attack, collapsing to the ground as he convulsed in pain from the huge electric shock he received.
"The blast must have come from the building over there," said Izuka as she pointed to a tall tower that stood meters away from the Kazekage building. "The tower's too tall for the assassin to shoot from the very top of it. He or she must have done it from one of the middle floors."
"Send a clone to investigate it . . ." said Gaara as he turned his attention back to the fallen bandit. "We still have to finish our business here."
"What business?" mumbled Zabu as he watched as Izuka created a shadow clone of herself before sending it on her way. "I'm too wounded to continue . . . You win."
"Well that was quick . . ." mumbled Izuka as she and Gaara walked over to the injured rogue. "Just five minutes ago, you were still undecided on whether to continue fighting or surrendering. . . . What changed?"
"Being struck by a huge bolt lightning can change a person . . ." said Zabu as he let out a coarse chuckle. "You out of all people should know that Lady Sage."
"You will pay for what you have done to this village Zabu," said Gaara as he crossed his arms as he looked down at him. "The crimes you and your allies have committed will surely call on a permanent punishment."
"Hmm . . . the only permanent punishments I can think of are either life in prison or death," said Zabu as he managed to shake his head. "Sorry, I said I would surrender . . . I never said I was going to let you put me through the justice system."
"What?" said Gaara, who suddenly pulled back by the back of his collar by Izuka as she moved them away from Zabu as quickly as she could. Even though Gaara was stunned by Izuka's sudden action, he looked at Zabu to see a sinister smile come across his face, which he knew only led to more trouble. Gaara quickly commanded his sand to shroud the bandit before anything could happen. As soon as Izuka had gotten them a safe distance away from the criminal, a large BOOM could be heard from the sand that was covering him, raising it about a foot before it finally settled down.
"Should have known he wouldn't comply to being arrested so easily . . ." mumbled Izuka as she finally let go of Gaara's collar. "As soon as I heard the hiss of an exploding tag, I knew it wasn't going to end pretty. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine . . ." said Gaara as he turned to her. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be alright" said Izuka as she shook her head. "I'm just glad the worst of this bandit mess is behind us now."
"Yes . . . however, there may still be some out there who'll manage to escape," said Gaara as he looked out into the village. "They may continue to follow Zabu's ideology and will try to take us out."
"Or . . . they could desert his ideology and try to escape the village," suggested Izuka as she shrugged her shoulders. "Either way, they will get caught eventually."
"GAARA! IZUKA!"
The two teens turned around to see their siblings and friends running up to them from the roof entrance, relief on all of their faces as they reached the two.
"You guys are alright!" said Temari as she let out a sigh of relief. "What happened up here? Did you encounter Zabu?"
"Yeah . . . we encountered him," said Izuka as she turned to the pile of sand that was a few yards away from them. "His body, or what's left of it, is under that pile of sand over there."
"Oh, so Gaara crushed him with his Sand Coffin?" asked Naruto as he turned to the redhead.
"No . . . he blew himself up," said Gaara as he shook his head. "It turns out he rather die than live out his life knowing that he got beat by teenagers."
"What a silly prideful man. . ."said Matsuri as she shook her head. "Well, all the important buildings that were targeted by the bandits had been cleared of any bombs and all the remaining bandits should be rounded up by morning . . . With the bandit crisis almost completely over now, we can focus on other things now."
"We can finally focus on the festival again . . ." said Naruto as a big grin came across his face.
"It would be nice to get back a sense of normalcy around here," said Shikamaru as he put his hands in his pockets. "Although I think I shouldn't have said that considering we still have a few more days of people going around the place in costumes and disguises and what not."
"Oh yeah . . . I haven't even planned out what tomorrow's costumes will be," said Temari as her eyes widened in realization. "I'm so far behind in the costume planning . . . Eh, I think we're going to put the ensemble costumes on hiatus for now. Everyone's free to where what they want for now."
"I think sis is happy to hear that, if only she was awake to hear it," said Randy as he turned to Izuka, whose eyes were closed as she let out a soft snore. "She fell asleep where she stood."
"Ryuna works in mysterious ways . . ." said Ryu as she perched herself on Hinata's shoulders. "Who wants to carry her home?"
"Let's leave the boyfriend to do it," said Shikamau as he began to walk back to the entrance. "I'm too tired to do it."
"Well aren't you troublesome." said Temari as she followed after him.
"Don't use my phrase against me." was all Shikamaru said as he walked inside, followed closely by Temari and the others. Last in the group was Gaara, who already had Izuka in his arms. Once he reached the doorway, he turned back to look at his village.
"The bandit threat is gone. You're safe now Suna." said Gaara as he let the smallest of smirks come across his face before he went inside, ready to put this night behind him.
The End!
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