--Chapter 2.8 – Not dominance, but co-existence!

As the Leaf females split ways, Jiraiya and Gaara are walking down a
hallway.
Jiraiya looks at Gaara curiously, and asks why he had such a sudden interest
in wanting to see Naruto. Gaara stops in the hallway, looks up, and says, "I
think I can help him. Maybe Uchiha Sasuke too." Jiraiya asks why he thinks
that anything can do anything that could help, and if he can, what? Gaara
states that what Naruto is probably experiencing now is probably similar to
something that happened a lot to him as a child. He said that at that time,
the Sand Demon tried often to take over him, and finally, he learned to
co-exist with the demon, instead of either trying to control the other. Gaara
says that right now, Naruto and the Demon within him are fighting for control
of the other. Jiraiya looks worried for a while, and then tells Gaara that he
trusts him to do the right thing to help, since right now he can't do anything
for Naruto, and he made a sacred vow to someone he holds dear to protect
Naruto as he was growing up. Gaara is intrigued, and asks who that was.
Jiraiya doesn't say much, but just says that he swore an oath to Naruto's
father. Gaara asks for his name, but Jiraiya remains silent with a stricken
look on his face. Gaara looks down, and then suddenly asks out loud, "Why
don't you come out of there?" Jiraiya looks puzzled at Gaara. Suddenly, the
closet door next to them opens up and supplies falls out, along with a very
surprised and shocked Hinata. Both Jiraiya and Gaara look surprised, and
Hinata, recognizing Gaara, gets fearful from being discovered and recognizing
who Gaara is. Gaara looks at the geranium she has and asks if she is going to
see someone. She meekly says yes, and he asks if it is Uzumaki Naruto. She
looks up, surprised, and answers yes. Gaara says that they (him and Jiraiya)
are also going to see Naruto, and since she is a good friend of Naruto, she
should come with them, since they are going to bring Naruto back. She is
surprised and asks what is wrong with Naruto-kun? Gaara answers that since
Sasuke tried to kill him, he has lost the will to stay in this world, and if
she came, they would have a better chance at bringing him back. With that
said, Hinata blushes and says she didn't think she could make that much of a
difference. Gaara smiles a genuine sincere smile and tells her that she can.
All the while Jiraiya is confused at the exchange of words between them. They
then all head down the hall some more.
In Naruto's head, he is dreaming that he is in a forest. It seems to be
quiet, then all of the sudden, a loud roar is heard, followed by the
calls of many people. He hurries toward the noise, and finds that the demon
fox is attacking the village. He goes to asks someone what is going on and
where is the fifth Hokage, but he then realizes that he is in a memory of the
past when everyone ignores him and run about yelling that the Demon has come
and they must wait for the Fourth to come. He guesses that he is in a memory
of the Demon Fox, trapped in his head somehow. Yet, when he sees the Demon
Fox, he gets the idea that it can see him, and that it is also trapped within
the memory. Naruto watches the men go and goes to join them. They get to
outside the village to confront the demon, and everyone but Naruto is killed
in a flash. With just him and the Demon, they face off and look at each
other, and then the Demon Fox says, "One of us". Naruto asks him what the hell he
means. The Fox explains that only one of them can dominate, so they must
fight to see whom, since that person will be able to escape the nightmare and
return to the real world. Naruto looks around and hopes that someone will
come, but he can think of nobody, since Sasuke, his best friend, had tried to
kill him. The Demon charges, and Naruto barely gets out of his way in time.
The fox turns quickly and unleashes a blast of Chakra, which sends Naruto
flying into a building in the village. He is hurt bad, but he runs and hides
in a building while the fox tries to find him. He is panting when he hears
people yelling to get the children to safety. He looks in that direction to
see the Hyuga's rushing a newborn boy to an underground shelter. Following
them is someone he takes a guess is Choji's father taking his newborn with
them. He then sees a baby with pink hair and is shocked at how upset she is.
He hears one of the people yell that the Hyuga heir is late and trapped in a
fallen building. Naruto rushes to the building and finds a newborn girl
crying in the hands of a female Hyuga. He summons a lot of chakra, makes a
rasengan, and blasts away the part of the building over them. He tells them
to leave, and the lady thanks him and leaves, while asking whom he is. Before
he can answer, she runs away screaming. He turns around and notices the Fox
has gotten in the village. He runs, wondering how that lady was able to see
him. He then notices that he is bleeding, and it hurts. He then sees a man
with spiked yellow hair talking to the elders. In his hand is a newborn with
yellow hair. Naruto is shocked to learn that it is himself. He starts to think if
this is really a dream when he hears the Hokage says that he must fight the
Demon, even if it means losing his life, since the Hokage is one the protects
all. With those words and thinking about all the people in the village, he
gains his resolve to go and confront the Demon. He goes out to a tall tree
outside the village and yells for the fox. It turns and bounds over, stopping
about 100 meters from Naruto. The fox asks if he has the resolve now, and
Naruto defiantly says he does. They launch at each other, and Naruto falls to
the ground, badly hurt, and struggles to get up. The Demon leers at him,
saying that he will dominate, and not you brat. Naruto looks back defiantly,
and thinks that there must be someway to convince the fox to co-exist, since
that would be the best way for all.
Meanwhile, Gaara, Hinata, and Jiraiya have made it to Naruto room. They
notice that his eyes are closed, but his body is thrashing around out of
control. They grab him and hold him down, while Hinata yells for Naruto-kun
to come.
In his mind, as the Fox charges at him, Naruto hears Hinata calling for
him. He is shocked at first, and then tightens his resolve, and gets a new
idea. As the Fox nears, he concentrates Charka, forms the Rasengan, and makes
it 2x bigger and slams it into the fox's face. They fly backward with the
huge explosion. Upon hitting the ground, Naruto immediately gets up and runs
at the now fallen Demon Fox. He prepares another Rasengan to finish the Fox,
but the Fox just smiles, and tells Naruto he passed the test. Naruto stops
concentrating and looks confused. The Demon Fox then turns into a younger
Naruto, and says he wants to see if they can co-exist. With that, he turns
into a red fire and it wraps itself around Naruto and vanishes. With that,
the world around him dissolves into blackness and he hears the fox telling
him to wake up.

Next time - Chapter 2.9 - My way, and reunions.
Sasuke confronts himself, and the Genins have a joyous reunion of sorts.