To Be Loved
Woo! Went to/ enjoyed my first Anime convention!
Oh I had an amazing time there... You haven't lived until you've seen Dante dancing with his sword at a rave, drunk off his rocker.
Anyways, thanks to Yami Mizuna and xXDark-Fallen-angel for reviewing!
Beware some language! It is rated T.
Chapter 35
As Sasuke and I ran, we met up with Shino, who must've escaped the genjutsu as well. We all ran in silence, tension rolling off our shoulders in waves. With the speed we had set, it didn't take long to catch up with the Sand siblings.
They were resting on a tree branch, trying to move Gaara into an easier position to carry.
"Give Gaara to me," I growled low, and pulled a kunai out of my pouch. Nobody was going to get in between me and my adoptive little brother.
"Sorry Tsuki, no can do. We have orders from the Kazekage himself." Kankuro stated flippantly and waved us away.
I could tell the two were nervous.
"Your Kazekage just declared war on Konoha. Our orders are to stop you," Sasuke challenged. He and Shino tensed once more beside me.
"Just give Gaara to me. Now." I spat and glared at Temari who was holding the red-head.
The two siblings exchanged looks before Temari nodded and jumped back into the trees with Gaara.
"Ah! No!" I jumped recklessly after them, dodging kankuro's half-hearted kick. A few seconds later, I sensed Sasuke coming up behind me.
"Aburame stayed behind to fight," he told me.
I ignored it. What mattered was Gaara. Shukaku's chakra was steadily growing. Soon my boy wouldn't be able to suppress it and Shukaku would appear. If I could get there before that happened, we'd all be safe. If not... well bad things would happen.
"Temari! See reason! I can seal Shukaku inside Gaara! Please!" I shouted ahead of us. She was getting weak, having not rested after the fight with Shiki.
We slowed to a stop as the two in front did the same.
Shukaku was flaring, and Gaara was being wracked with painful spasms.
"Temari, scram!" The red-head growled dangerously.
"What?" She muttered and closed in on her brother.
"Just mind your own business!" He shouted, and shoved her roughly. She fell from the branch and I jumped out to catch her which brought me closer to Gaara.
"Tsuki," Temari whimpered.
I looked down at her coldly. This was her fault. If she'd let me take Gaara earlier, all this could have been avoided.
I turned back to the power struggle going on between the two boys that meant almost as much as Naruto to me.
"I don't care what your motives are. I will stop you!" Sasuke announced valiantly. "Also I want to see your true face."
I blinked.
What?
Sasuke must have seen the confused look on my face, but he didn't acknowledge it.
Gaara panted.
"Once I have killed you, I will feel alive. I will be alive!" He shouted, a manic look in his eye. The one that could make even the most fearless shinobi shiver.
All of a sudden, Shukaku's chakra burst out in a flood.
I pinned Temari to the wall, struggling to push it back with my own. Gaara fell to his knees and veins creeped up his neck. His body warped as the demon inside him pushed it's way out.
"No!" I shouted, and jumped at him.
I placed my hands on either side of his face and pumped healing chakra into him. If it worked properly, it would hold off his transformation long enough for me to perform the seal. The demon and I battled inside Gaara's head; then mine. My subconscious wrestled the two of us back and forth. If this didn't work, then I don't know what would. I wasn't at full power and Shukaku was hysterically angry. It wanted blood.
It was too strong.
The demon was pushing it's way into the recesses of my mind, forcing me into my own head.
"Gaara! Fight it!" I screamed in frustration. If I could only perform the seal!
Then, something in me just snapped. I could feel something foreign, not me, aiding Shukaku in his fight against my chakra. Kabuto's chakra! That damned snake! I'll kill him!
Two clawed sand hands reached up and grabbed my forearms. I broke off from Gaara's mind and sagged. Only to be held up by the rapidly forming Shukaku.
It grinned up at me.
"He is mine. So are you."
Suddenly, I was out if it's grip and in Sasuke's arms. He set me on my feet and I panted.
"Temari! Come here!" I shouted. The girl instantly rushed to my side. "Stay here. I can't stop him. That fucker Kabuto did something to my chakra and it's not enough to stop him fully. If we could distract the demon, I could perform the sealing technique."
"Then the demon is truly here?" A new voice questioned.
We turned to see Kankuro next to us on the tree.
I nodded. "I hope you didn't kill Shino."
He forced a smirk and shook his head in the negative.
Before anymore words could be exchanged, Gaara lunged, sand arm up high. I grabbed the two sand siblings by their collars and jumped to a different branch.
Instead of going for Sasuke like I'd thought he would, Gaara grabbed the branch we'd been standing on and twisted so he flew back towards the three of us. I pushed both kids off either side and jumped away.
"Tsuki... Come play with me!" Gaara's new deeper voice rasped at me. "You're so strong Tsuki, I want to play!"
Sweat dripped off my face as I increased my pace, dodging sand and other debri on a mad race to escape Shukaku's crazed pursuit.
"Shukaku stop! You know I'm just going to seal you back into him. Just stop this now!" I shouted desperately. I was so tired. Last dregs of chakra and energy propelled me towards another branch, but sand wrapped around my ankle and stopped me mid-flight. The sand flung me high into the air, releasing for an instant before taking hold once more and shooting me back down to earth.
"Gak!" Blood flew from my mouth as I made contact.
"Tsuki!"
I looked up to see Gaara rushing down at me, saliva oozing from his mouth like rabies. My eyes widened in shock.
Just before he could pound another fist into me, Sasuke launched at the demon-boy and hit his sand hand with the Chidori, the lightning attack Kakashi had taught him. This pushed the boy away from us and sent him roaring with pain.
The hand reformed in less than a second as Gaara landed on a branch. He laughed crazily.
I watched from my spot in the ground.
As he laughed, the sand behind him formed the one tail of his demon. Not good.
He used the tail to throw himself at Sasuke, going faster than before.
"Sasuke! Watch out! That tail makes him stronger!" I shouted in fear for the boy.
Sasuke dodged the attack but was hit with debri. He had long since activated the Sharingan and if not for it, he'd be dead.
Gaara jumped back and held his hand out. Long tendrils of sand shot at Sasuke and I, which prompted me to leap from my spot. I flipped backwards until I was next to the Uchiha. We were both panting heavily and bleeding in places.
As another tendril shot at us, Sasuke flipped and sucked in a huge breath. He fired off his Blazing Fireball Jutsu, a huge flaming wave, that Gaara easily blocked with sand. Gaara yelled taunts at Sasuke stroking him to fire up another Chidori. My eyes widened again and I tried to stop him but he ran at Gaara again.
They clashed and landed on opposite sides with Gaara not a few steps away from me. Sasuke shook.
"Sasuke!" I shouted, running to get to him.
A sand hand zipped out and encompassed my waist before I could go more than two feet. Gaara and I watched as Sasuke's curse mark began to spread over his neck and face. It overwhelmed him with pain and he collapsed.
"Shit."
I squirmed in the sand as it traveled up and around my body. It brought me close to the demon's face.
"Come on Tsuki! Don't you love me anymore?!" It screeched and cackled insanely. The sand tightened. It brought my right arm out away from my body and Shukaku pretended to examine it. "This is the arm you would have sealed me with right?"
Before I could get an answer in, the giant hand grasped my arm and bent it all the way back.
"AHHH! I screamed in agony. The sand smothered the definetly broken arm and squeezed. i could hear all the bones breaking under my skin. "AAAHHHHH!"
"Gaara stop!" Temari finally spoke up in my defense. She and Kankuro were cowering in fear next to a tree.
The demon ignored her screams and twisted the now-useless arm around, watching in glee as I screamed in pain.
Suddenly, it was gone. Not the pain obviously, but the sand and the demon.
I looked wearily up into the furious eyes of my brother.
"Naruto, be careful," I spat out as tears made their way down my face. His whiskers were standing out even more, a sure sign that the Kyuubi would be making an appearance.
"Tsuki." He growled. The Kyuubi was just on the surface, it's chakra more controlled than Shukaku's. Must have been that training with Jiraiya.
I turned to see Sakura next to Sasuke, looking him over.
"I'll kill you!" Shukaku raged, and bared his fangs at Naruto. Naruto just glared even harder.
"Hey, you okay?" I flopped my head to the side to see one of Kakashi's familiars sitting next to me. Every so often, he'd look up at me brother.
"My arm is destroyed, and I have almost no chakra left. I didn't know Kakashi's idiocy was transferred to his familiars," I smirked at his offended look, but it was ruined as I coughed. A look at my hand confirmed that my insides were still all messed up.
"Tsuki!" Naruto yelled.
I looked up at him.
"Who the hell is that?" He asked angrily.
I chuckled.
"You dope, that's Gaara. Well, it's more of Shukaku right now."
"You're the one I failed to kill that time," Shukaku simpered, grinning at my brother.
Naruto gasped.
"Tsuki, Pakkun! Get away!" He shouted in panic.
I grunted as Pakkun gripped my collar in his mouth and jumped to the branch the rest of our team was on. I fell to the ground with a wince and a whimper of pain. Gaara swiftly changed directions and flew at us. I shoved Sakura away and limped to my feet. I pulled a kunai out and stared Gaara down defiantly as he advanced. His sand arm shot at me and I closed my eyes in anticipation of the hit but it never came.
I fell to the ground and sat up.
Sakura had pushed me out of the way and taken the attack fully. She was trapped by the sand against a tree as Gaara stood over Sasuke. He'd stopped, and gripped his head in pain.
Quick as a flash, Naruto had jumped down, gathered Sasuke, and jumped away.
The Kyuubi was fluctuating wildly, but somehow still under Naruto's control.
I cradled my arm to my side and rolled away from Gaara's vision.
Pakkun followed and layed down next to the useless limb.
"Is Kakashi coming?" I grimaced.
"He's busy at the village. It's still under attack." He answered solemnly.
"And- and Sarutobi?"
He sighed.
"Hard to tell." Was his worrying reply.
Sakura screamed.
"I can't do a whole lot more Pakkun. I'm exhausted. If it gets too out of control, I'll have to seal Shukaku AND the Kyuubi. I barely have enough chakra for one demon. Definitely not two. If I can only stop one, it will be Shukaku. It is the more unstable of the two. If I can't get the Kyuubi, I need you to go back to the village and get Yamato. I don't care what he's 's one of the only other people who know this seal."
The dog nods at me.
I struggled to my feet, leaning on the tree for support.
Gaara was almost fully transformed into Shukaku and Naruto had summoned a frog.
I stepped out and both boy's attention snapped to me.
Oh boy.
This was going to be the fight of th century, and I was going to be right in the middle of it.
End Chapter 35.
OOh! A long one (for me anyways) here!
Feel free to drop a review!
sorry for any mistakes!
Tanner Out!