Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Naruto in any way whatsoever. Since summer's almost over, and you have to go back to school soon, this should ease the pain of the coming fall for all of you. Let us return to the story in progress...
Kyubi Unleashed
By DigiScanner-Shonen
Chapter 8: Showdown at Sunup
Everything's so dark, a form thought as he slumbered, but why? Why am I here in the dark?
A voice called out the name that belonged to the person in the dark. It seemed worried about him.
Someone worried about me? But who? I can't see them in this dark. Come to think of it, I can't see me in this dark. I can't tell if my eyes are closed or open. Maybe if I open them...
The form opened his eyes and was met with the sight of a ceiling with a couple light fixtures and three figures standing over him, two of them were his age while the third was older. A boy with sunglasses, a girl with shy white eyes and a woman in a robe.
"Kiba-kun! You're awake!" Hyuga Hinata squealed, "I t-thought you were..."
"We all did, Hinata," Yuuhi Kurenai said as she put a hand on Hinata's shoulder to steady her, "Good to have you back, Kiba."
"I don't know, it might've been nice to keep him that way for a while..." the boy with sunglasses said.
"Shino-kun, don't say that!" Hinata said, "We're happy that Kiba-kun's awake."
"Oooh...my head..." Inuzuka Kiba groaned as he began to sit up and hold his head with his left hand, "Any one get the number of the truck?"
"There was no truck, Kiba," Shino told his teammate.
"Then what?"
"You've just come out of a coma-like state," his sensei told him.
"What happened?"
"You were hit by a technique that induced mental stress and pain severely on you just a few hours ago."
"What technique was it?" Kiba asked as he scratched his head.
"It w-was a..." Hinata began, but seemed to hesitate and then remained silent.
"It was a what, Hinata?"
"It was a Sharingan technique," Shino finished for Hinata, "You were screaming pretty loud."
"Sh-Sharingan?" Kiba wondered aloud. A Sharingan technique hit him? But who would use that kind of attack on Kiba?
Then he remembered.
"Sasuke!! It was Sasuke who did this!" Kiba yelled and started to try and move out of the bed, but was held back by his teammates, "When I get my hands on that baka, he's gonna..."
"Kiba! Calm down and keep quiet! This is a hospital!" Shino said as he tried to restrain him.
"Kiba-kun, p-please be quiet! You s-still need to rest!" Hinata added.
"You're not getting out of that bed yet, Inuzuka," Kurenai said as she pushed him back down onto the bed, "That's an order from your sensei."
"Grrrr...." Kiba growled, but then remembered who else was hit by Sasuke's attack, "Wait! Akamaru! Where's Akamaru?"
"Akamaru-kun's resting beside you, Kiba-kun," Hinata pointed to the left of the bed and Kiba leaned over and saw his friend calmly sleeping in a basket.
"That's one of the reasons we wanted you to keep quiet, Kiba. Akamaru's resting," Shino said, "He's come out of Sasuke's attack, but he still needs some rest."
"Akamaru..." Kiba said as he stared at his resting companion and clenched his fist, "Sasuke's gonna pay for this..."
"With the power Uchiha has now, I doubt you'll survive against him again."
"Cram it, Shino! I was just caught off guard, that's all!"
"I'm just trying to save your life, Kiba. But, then again, if you want to go back into that coma and not possibly come out of it ever again, be my guest."
"Enough, Shino. Try not to make Kiba feel worse. What we really need to focus on is Sasuke. I've never seen this technique before except maybe when..." Kurenai thought.
"W-when what?" Hinata asked her sensei.
"Uchiha's brother, Itachi, used that same technique on Hatake Kakashi, the leader of Team 7."
"That's the c-cell with Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan and N-Naruto-kun, right?"
"Right, Hinata. Sasuke was the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre a couple years ago. The Uchiha's were supposed to harbour the technique of the Sharingan Eye. The Sharingan is supposed to be very powerful. Not only can it copy jutsus, but also expel jutsus as well. Sasuke may have used one of the Sharingan techniques on Kiba and Akamaru. The trouble is I don't really know just what happened when Sasuke used the attack.
"That's where you come in, Kiba," Shino said, "You've got to fill us in on what happened to you. What did Sasuke do to you when he entered your head?"
"What did he do?" Kiba wondered, thinking back to what happened. He didn't really remember much of it, but he did remember some of it. He then shuddered at what he remembered, "I don't want to talk about it..."
"Kiba, you have to tell us."
"I don't want to, Shino..." Kiba said as he turned his face away from the others.
"Kiba, you don't have a choice. You have to tell us."
"I said I don't want to, Shino..."
"Kiba, this isn't about you and your vendetta against Sasuke anymore. We need to know how powerful and dangerous Sasuke could be now. He could possibly be a danger to everyone in Konohagakure," Kurenai told him.
"Especially Naruto-kun..." Hinata put in.
"Hmm? Why Naruto?"
"Sasuke came into the ramen bar looking for Naruto, remember?" Shino said, "We all know Sasuke and Naruto don't get along. I bet that Sasuke plans to use his new Sharingan powers on Naruto. Think of what could happen to the blonde idiot!"
"So? Naruto can take care of himself," Kiba said indifferently, with a bit of anger in his tone.
"Kiba-kun! Please! You have to tell us so we can help Naruto-kun!" Hinata begged, "I don't want anything bad to happen to him!"
"Don't push me, Hinata. You don't know what happened to me..."
"Kiba-kun! You once told me you wanted to help people and be a hero! Well now you have a chance to be one! Naruto-kun needs help if Sasuke-kun gets to him! Please! Please tell us..." Hinata begged desperately with tears in her eyes.
"Hinata..." Kiba began, "Fine, I'll tell you. But it's painful. Sasuke did something to me. He tortured me in my own mind. I begged for him to stop, but he didn't! He laughed at me! He enjoyed seeing me in pain! He tore my memory to pieces, then reassembled them and destroyed them again. Over and over and over! You could never know the pain and torture that was! He fractured my very soul. Just thinking and talking about it makes me feel like its happening all over again."
"Did Sasuke say anything while this was happening?" Kurenai asked her pupil.
"Yeah...yeah, he did..."
"What did he say?"
"He just said...that he was using the technique as a test..."
"A test?" Shino questioned.
"Yeah...and that the level of chakra he was using to execute it..." Kiba said and then turned to his teammates and said something that left them in shock.
"...was really low..."
"Fight? What now?" Uzumaki Naruto asked the boy in the doorway, blocking his exit from his girlfriend's house, "Sasuke, I don't want to fight now."
"I don't really think you have a choice in the matter, Naruto-kun."
"'Naruto-kun?' Sasuke, you're off your rocker!"
"Why do you have to fight Naruto-kun now, Sasuke-kun?" Haruno Sakura asked her teammate.
"Because now I believe I can finally beat him in battle," Sasuke said simply.
"You? Beat me? Yeah, like that'll happen," Naruto snorted.
"It will happen," Sasuke said to his rival's face, then he glanced to the others behind him, two former Sand shinobi, "Your friends over there will be watching it as I humiliate you and then crush you beneath my feet. Then they'll be next."
"Somehow I doubt that," Gaara said coolly.
Sasuke smirked and then looked back at Naruto and Sakura, "In fact, let's make this interesting. I'll take both you and the spook behind you at the same time."
"Sasuke-kun, that's suicide!" Sakura said, "Don't do this! Naruto-kun, don't accept the challenge."
"...I accept, Sasuke. And I'm gonna make you eat those words," Naruto smiled and looked back at the other boy in this conversation, "That is...if you're up for this, too."
"..." Gaara paused to think it over. He came to a conclusion, "Fine by me."
"Time and place, Sasuke?" Naruto asked and all Sakura could do was watch.
"Sunrise, the practice field where we became Team 7. I look forward to it, Naruto-kun..." Sasuke said as he turned and left the others.
"Same here, idiot," Naruto said to Sasuke's retreating back.
"Naruto-kun, do you realise what you've just done? What both you and Gaara have done?" Sakura asked him, "Sasuke'll crush you! I couldn't bear it if you got hurt!"
"Sakura-chan...stay out of the fight this time..." Naruto said quietly.
"But Naruto-kun..." Sakura started but then felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face Temari, who had also witnessed the challenge issue.
"Leave them be, Sakura. This is something they have to do," Temari said.
"But Temari, I can't let them destroy each other! And Gaara's also in the fight! Aren't you worried about him?"
"Gaara can take care of himself, so I'm not worried. This is just something the boys have to settle. We can only watch and hope, Sakura."
"Temari...I can't let Naruto-kun..."
"We'd better be going," Temari said, "We've wasted enough time here and Naruto and Gaara need some rest before sunrise."
"Right, let's go..." Gaara said as he stepped out into the street and Temari followed. Naruto was just about to join them in when he felt Sakura's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her.
"Naruto-kun, please...Don't fight Sasuke tomorrow..."
"Sakura-chan...I told you before...don't interfere this time..."
"But..."
"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan. Besides, Sasuke's been asking for this for a long time now. It'll just be a fracture to his ego for a while."
"Naruto-kun...don't..." Sakura begged with pleading eyes as she tugged at him. Naruto brushed her hand off of him and stepped into the street.
"Come on, guys. I'll show you my place, but you'll have to keep up!" Naruto said as he leapt off into the shadows with Gaara and Temari following suit.
She couldn't believe Naruto was going to go through with the fight tomorrow. And she couldn't do a thing about it. Sakura closed the door and told her parents she was going up to her room. She flopped down onto her bed and wondered about what was going to happen tomorrow between Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke.
And she would be helpless to stop it.
Tsunade woke with a start, gasping for air. She had a nightmare about what would happen if Kyubi was separated from Naruto and decided to turn against the ninjas. It would destroy everyone in Konohagakure and possibly the ninja world. All those dead bodies, all the blood and violence...
And it would be her fault for all of it.
"Tsunade! Are you all right?" Takeshi asked as he came over to Tsunade to see what was wrong with the ruler of his village.
"I'm...I'm fine, Takeshi..." Tsunade said in between gasps, "It was just a bad dream. What time is it?"
"It's four in the morning."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Oh..." Tsunade said. Maybe she could go back to sleep after that nightmare, but wasn't sure she could.
"Was the dream that horrible?"
"Yes...all of it..." the Hokage told her bodyguard, "I'm starting to think this was all a bad idea. Why'd I have to suggest unleashing Kyubi?"
"You did what you thought was right for everyone by suggesting it to the Kage Council. I thought it was a wise decision."
"Sure, you do. But the other Kages were very hesitant about it before giving me the go ahead. There's a big chance this could backfire and we'll all be in the afterlife before the day is done."
"The best we can all do is give it a shot and if it fails...well, there's no one I had more pleasure serving under," Takeshi told his superior.
"That still doesn't reassure me about this."
"Maybe talking about the dream will help?"
"Perhaps..."
"What happened in the dream, Tsunade?"
"Well, it starts with me breaking the seal on Naruto-kun. Naturally, Kyubi comes out in all its fearsome glory and we all cower in fear. I step forward and try to ask it to help us fight the monster that heading for Konohagakure. But it refuses and starts to destroy everything with its tails. There's all this destruction and the village is destroyed. Then it meets up with this monster and they agree to work together to destroy the entire world. There are bodies everywhere, blood spilled, homes decimated..." Tsunade told him while fighting back tears.
"Is that all?"
"No, there's a little more. All these voices then start chanting that its all my fault that this has happened. Everything will be destroyed and the world end. And it'll be all my fault. It'll be all my fault, Takeshi..." Tsunade said as she cried openly.
"Hokage-sama...I told you before, we'll follow you to whatever end," Takeshi said as he put a comforting hand on the Hokage's shoulder, "Whether its right or wrong, we'll go with you. You have to take a chance once in a while. We can only take a chance on this and hope it'll work. If it doesn't, well at least we tried."
Tsunade turned to look at Takeshi and wiped her face of her tears. "You're right. I can only take a chance on something like this and hope it works. And besides, I'm the Hokage. I'm supposed to be strong and be sure of everything. I can't cry."
"Crying and uncertainty is human. Just because you're Hokage doesn't mean you can't be human once in a while."
"Thanks, Takeshi," Tsunade said as she got up off her bed, "Thanks again for reassuring me."
"It's what I'm here for, Hokage-sama. To serve," Takeshi said, "But now I can't get back to sleep."
"I don't think I can get back to sleep either. Since we're up, we might as well make an early start to get back home. Go wake the others. We'll leave as soon as I'm ready."
"Right," Takeshi said as he went to wake his fellow bodyguards as Tsunade went into the bathroom to get ready to continue the journey home. She splashed some water onto her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Takeshi was right, they had to take a chance. But one thing was for sure.
She didn't look her best at four in the morning.
Uzumaki Naruto barely slept last night. He was still excited about what would happen today. He'd face off against Uchiha Sasuke, his rival and they'd at last see who was more powerful. Plus, he was now living with Gaara and Temari, and soon Kankuro when he returned from the Sand Country. It did get pretty lonely living by yourself for a long time. He was glad he could at last live with someone who also knew the pain of being an outsider and understand what it was to live with a monster inside you.
He wasn't only excited, but he was also a bit sad. He didn't want to push Sakura off, but he had to. It would be to keep her out of harm's way when the fight started. Even though she had pleaded to him to not fight Sasuke in fear that they would both get hurt and she could to nothing to stop it. She wouldn't understand what was happening between him and Sasuke. This was something he had to do.
Naruto went to the window beside his bed and looked out it, but he found that he wasn't alone. Beside him was Gaara, wide awake and staring straight out across the village.
"You can't sleep either?" Naruto asked.
"I can't for two reasons."
"And they would be...?"
"Firstly, Shusaku will come out if I ever sleep and destroy everything. I'm surprised you forgot that from our last battle?"
"Oh, yeah..." Naruto said sheepishly. He did kind of forget the long battle he and Gaara had during the attack the evil Orochimaru composed on the village all those months ago. It left both of them exhausted, beaten and on level ground with each other. "And the other reason being?"
"I'm looking forward to the fight with Uchiha as well..."
"You excited, too?"
"I wouldn't say excited, but...anxious."
"Why?"
"Our fight in the Chuunin Tournament never reached a conclusion so we finished it during the attack. I had sensed that Uchiha had darkness in his heart and soul as well as I do. I wanted to test his against mine. I left him bruised and I had won the fight. I was going to finish him, until you...stepped in."
"Right, I remember..."
"Since our fight, Naruto, I've changed. The darkness inside me has lifted a bit and I can see some light. And because of that, I feel stronger with the light than the dark. But Uchiha..."
"He still has some of the darkness, doesn't he?" Naruto finished for Gaara.
"Yes. I wish to test my new strength against him in this fight. Perhaps we can lift the veil of darkness within Uchiha and make him see the truth..."
"Personally, I just want to give Sasuke the butt-whooping I always wanted to give to him," Naruto said as he looked at Gaara, still serious and calm, "Don't you ever lighten up?"
"Lighten up?"
"Yeah, you know. Stop being serious and have some fun and be normal. Everything has to be a melodrama with you, doesn't it? Why don't you have some fun for once? You were a kid before, weren't you? Didn't you have fun?"
"...I...I was the outsider...I never knew the meaning of fun..."
"Not even a smidget?"
"Before I met you, Naruto...I thought destroying my enemies, testing my strength to theirs, taking their lives...I thought that was...fun..."
"Dude, you seriously need to loosen up," Naruto told the boy next to him, "In fact, after the fight, I'll teach you the very definition of fun. It'll be great, Gaara! You just wait and see!"
"Really...You'd do that for me?"
"Well, yeah! I didn't just offer you my place to stay just so I could have a roommate. I figure you need to have some fun badly. You're stiff as a board! Look at you! The eternally unhappy face, the 'woe is me, I had a tragic childhood' attitude, the firm as stone body language. You, my friend, are in desperate need of a giant dose of extra fun."
"..." Gaara thought this all over as he continued to stare out the window.
"And stop it with the silence act! You give a person the impression that you're always thinking! You need to stop thinking once in a while! Let your impulses guide you! Well, that and your heart too, I guess..."
"Like you?"
"Heck yeah! Look at me! I follow the things inside me and I barely think at all! And check me out today!" Naruto said as he began to strike a bunch of poses.
"...you're a real role model."
"I sure am! I'm the definition of role model!" Naruto said as he struck another pose that made him look like a hero flying through the skies. Unfortunately, gravity took its toll and he fell over onto the floor and hit his head. "YEOW!!" Naruto yelled as he held his throbbing head. As Naruto looked up at Gaara, he saw something he didn't think he'd ever see Gaara do.
Gaara was laughing.
Not a laugh of evil, a laugh of hesitance or even a laugh of sympathy. It was a regular, having fun laugh.
"See? That's the kind of thing I'm talking about! I made you laugh! You're having fun already!" Naruto said as he dusted himself off and got up. Then Naruto started laughing too.
This moment between the two boys didn't last too long as something shot through the blinds that covered Naruto's window. It was the first rays of sunlight. The two both turned towards the rising sun and all laughter ceased. Now it was time to be serious again.
"Go wake up Temari," Gaara told Naruto and Naruto conceded with the request. In less than a minute, Temari was up and already dressed. Another minute and Naruto was dressed in his usual attire and the three stared out the window.
Naruto had been waiting for this. It was the beginning of dawn, the time of Sasuke's challenge. He couldn't wait for the fight.
"And so comes the dawn..." Gaara said as they all looked out the window towards the sunrise, remaining silent for a moment, contemplating what was about to happen. They then moved across Naruto's floor to the other side of the room and reached for the door. Temari opened it and they all exited Naruto's home. Naruto locked the door and soon they were off leaping across Konohagakure towards the place where Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke became Team 7.
All right, Sasuke, Naruto thought, It's time to finish the fight we started earlier. And this time, they'll be no interruptions. I've waited for this day for a long time.
I hope you're ready for a world of hurt.
Uchiha Sasuke stood in the middle of the field, waiting patiently for his opponents to arrive as the sun continued to rise upwards. While he waited, he was mentally preparing himself for the fight. He stood there, his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest, thinking about all the moves the others could make against him and how he could deflect them.
He was also thinking about all the power he now had thanks to that scroll he found. He didn't know who wrote it, or even if he was destined to find it, but he was glad he did. Thanks to that scroll, he had more power flowing through him than he had ever had before. Someday, he'd have to track down the author and thank him personally for helping him defeat Uzumaki Naruto, his rival.
This battle would be twice as sweet. Not only would he beat Naruto, but also Gaara of the Sand Village, whom he failed to beat during Orochimaru's attack. Killing two birds with one stone. Or rather, two ninjas with one overflowing power.
This would be a day long remembered for Uchiha Sasuke, prodigy of the Uchiha clan.
"Hmmm...so you've come," Sasuke said aloud with his eyes still closed.
"Yeah, we're here," came the voice of the blonde teammate of Sasuke's who had just landed a few feet away from him.
"Didn't think you'd come at all knowing you, dunce," Sasuke said as he opened his eyes and turned to face Naruto, Gaara and Temari, "Those two must've woken you up so they could get here and watch me wipe the floor with your ass."
"Just shut up, Sasuke and let's fight," Naruto said as he reached for a kunai from his hip-holster.
"Not just yet, dead last, I'm waiting for someone else..."
"What?! Who else did you tell about the fight?!"
"Ah, here they come now..."
"Huh?" Naruto turned and saw Sakura come running towards them, with a bit of relief on her face that they hadn't started fighting. He also saw his new mentor, Jiraiya of the Legendary Leaf Ninjas, also running towards them, but with not as much care as to get there too soon.
"What are they doing here, Sasuke? This was between you and me strictly!"
"And me..." Gaara noted to the others.
"Why not? The more, the merrier..." Sasuke said coldly, "And the more mourners for you. Besides, I thought you said you didn't have anyone...? I thought I might as well give you a chance to feel loved by others...for a change..."
"Sasuke..." Naruto growled.
"Naruto-kun! Don't!" came Sakura's voice as she joined the others, "Please! You can still walk away from this!"
"Yes, yes, idiot. Walk away from this chance now. This opportunity to beat me once and for all, to see who's the better of us. You even have a handicap, two against one. Walk away, dead last, walk away from this chance for us to finish the fight we started earlier. I think you should heed Sakura's words of wisdom, Naruto-kun."
"Sasuke! Stop it!" Sakura yelled at her comrade, "Naruto doesn't have to fight you!"
"Sakura-chan, stay out of this..." Naruto told her.
"But Naruto-kun, I couldn't stand to see the both of you hurt each other! So don't and we can all walk away from this, guilt-free of the stuff you may have done to each other! Please, Naruto-kun!!"
"Yeah, Naruto-kun, walk away guilt-free. Retreat, dead last," Sasuke taunted, "Go ahead. Heed Sakura's words and we'll find out who of us is really the stronger one. You never really could hold a candle up to me, Naruto-kun. You were dead last in the classes and you're dead last now...scaredy cat."
"Say that again..." Naruto growled.
"Scaredy cat. Scaredy cat, scaredy cat, scaredy cat," Sasuke repeated over and over.
"Sasuke!! Don't!" Sakura pleaded, "Naruto-kun! Don't fight!!"
"...I'm a scaredy cat, eh?" Naruto asked while he looked at Gaara who also signalled with his eyes that he was ready to fight, "I'm not so sure about the 'scaredy' part of it. Okay, maybe I've been afraid a couple of times in my life, but I always overcame it. And the 'cat' part..."
"Naruto-kun...please..."
"I'm not so sure about that either. In fact, I don't think your insult is accurate about me. More like it's about you, scaredy cat. Who saved you from Orochimaru's snake in the Chuunin Exam? You were shaking like a cat in the rain then..."
"Don't...please..."
"Who wasn't afraid to be open with others and as a result, made a bunch of new friends? You stood by yourself, all alone all that time. And who refused to give in to others, even against all odds? You were ready to quit, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight. Your insult, Sasuke...is more about you."
Sasuke snorted indifferently.
"In fact, I don't think you know what animal to call me when you want to insult me. I'm not a cat, for one. And let me guess you're next insult, 'dumb as a moose?' I don't think so, I'm not a moose either. To tell you the truth, Sasuke, I'm a different kind of animal..."
"Naruto-kun, don't do this..." Sakura cried, then felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face Jiraiya, Naruto's mentor.
"Let them be. It'll be good to get it out of their systems. Plus, I'd like to evaluate Naruto on how strong he's become..." Jiraiya said.
"How strong?"
"Yes. You may not know it from the look of him, but he's more powerful than he looks, Sakura. Not only can he dish out what he says, he backs it up 110%."
"Naruto-kun..." Sakura said as she looked back at Naruto who was just finishing what he was saying.
"They all said it at one point or another about me. I'll give you a hint about what I really am..." Naruto smirked.
"A pathetic excuse for a ninja?" Sasuke asked.
"No...I'm crazy..."
"?! Crazy? What kind of animal has that trait?"
"Crazy...LIKE A FOX!!!" Naruto yelled as he leapt towards Sasuke with Gaara in close pursuit. This was it. The long awaited battle between the rivals. Uzumaki Naruto, with Gaara, versus Uchiha Sasuke.
But none of them even suspected that another foe was coming, ever closer, to Konohagakure...
TO BE CONTINUED!
Gasp! Shock! Another cliffhanger! This one to one of the highlights of the story! Naruto and Gaara Vs. Sasuke!! Of course, to find out what will happen, there's only one way and hopefully you'll know what that is...reviews!