Yeah, I'm back again. Does anyone get annoyed with how much I'm posting?
I'm neglecting my hmwk. I'm going to be in sooooo much trouble, but I don't
care. I love this story so much so I'm going to keep on going.
WAI!! GWFasc actually knew what was going on. I'm so proud!!
Chapter Title: 27. Locked In
Naruto winced, flailing his arms wildly in the darkness. He couldn't see and he was badly injured, but he wouldn't give up. A haunting laugh floated to him from the infinite blackness which served to chill him to the bone. He staggered on his feet, wanting nothing more than to allow the darkness to swallow him whole, but he'd never been one to back away from any kind of challenge without giving it everything he had. He wasn't going to let the Kyuubi win this time. He'd fought so hard to earn some ounce of respect in the village, and he would be damned if he'd let some demon ruin his dreams.
"Stop hiding in the darkness, coward!!" He yelled, not knowing what direction the Kitsune was coming from. From every direction came the soft sound of padded footfalls, circling the spot in which he stood. It unnerved him to no end and he heard his echoing voice falter. "I know how it feels to be caged, but you deserved it for what you did to all those villagers. I can't let you get free." Though he sympathised with the fox, he knew it would be the end of his home if he let that sympathy control him. From the corner of his eye he caught the flash of claws, but he didn't have enough time to move and cried out feeling them sink into his cheek. Stumbling to his knees, he lifted his hands to the angry red line that tore its way down his face and under his clothing and choked back a sob at the blood that pooled in his palms.
"If you kill me you kill my body, baka!" He snarled, but still the beast circled.
***
Staggering back to the boy's room, the first thing she noticed was the absence of the Anbu guards. Frowning, she pulled off the note on the door and read it to herself. It said that their shift had ended twenty minutes ago and the new guards would be there shortly. Muttering curses under her breath, she pushed the door open and peeked in warily. Some of the cuts had sealed back up, but no one had listened to her calls for help. Getting angry with the way people still treated her friend, she marched her way over to the nearest nurse.
"Excuse me." She spat with all the sarcasm she could muster. The woman looked up from her clipboard and sighed, irritating Sakura even more.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to go and get the Hokage right this instant." Sakura exclaimed, glaring viciously at the woman.
"Doushite?"
"It's an emergency, don't ask questions." The nurse looked highly offended that a teenager would be ordering her around, but she saw the look on her supervisor's face and nodded curtly.
Turning around quickly, Sakura brushed past the man and back into the room, intending to get past her slight unease with the blood and try to stem some of it on her own. She couldn't believe that some people would despise Naruto so much that they would deny him treatment. Looking around the room, she spotted a roll of bandages she could use to cover the wounds.
"Naruto, you stupid idiot, don't you dare give up on me!" She yelled, when she'd finished tying the last one. They were quickly turning red from the excess blood, but there was nothing more she could do until Tsunade got back.
***
Sasuke was walking slowly back to the room when he heard Sakura's frantic yelling. At first he was startled, but fear flooded him and he ran the rest of the way back to the hospital room.
"What's going on?" He demanded, throwing open the door. Sakura was sitting pale in his seat, looking slightly dazed. The blankets were pulled up tight around Naruto's body. She looked up and sighed, reaching over to pull back the blankets. He gasped seeing his friend covered in so much blood. Growling under his breath, he stalked to the bed and grabbed the boy by his shoulders.
"Wake up, Dobe!" his voice was tight, betraying his panic but his face was blank.
"Sasuke!" Sakura reprimanded, pulling his hands back slowly. "Let him rest. Just be thankful that what ever was causing those marks has seemed to stop for the time being."
He muttered under his breath but stepped away from the bed. The pink-haired genin sighed deeply, watching her crush, and furrowed her brow. Seeing his reaction to Naruto reminded her that there was little to no chance that he'd get that upset if she was ever in the same situation. These thoughts depressed her greatly.
They waited patiently for some time, both keeping their gazes on the pale boy in the bed, watching as cuts healed and opened. Even though Sakura kept her attention on Naruto, she couldn't help but notice the way Sasuke's frame seemed to flinch involuntarily every time he spotted another cut opening. She tore her eyes from Naruto's figure and glared at her hands, trying to keep back the tears that had started to blur her vision.
'Why can't he feel this way for me?' She thought sadly, clenching and unclenching her fists.
***
Naruto collapsed to the floor panting and gasping for breath. The Kitsune had stepped into the small amount of light and began slashing at the poor boy. He was horrified to see that for every gash he received, the demon was hurt as well. The only problem with that was, while he lay in a pool of his own blood, the Kitsune's wounds healed almost instantaneously. The Kitsune laughed mockingly at him a number of times, but Naruto still refused to give in. He stood up stubbornly and looked around for something he could use to help himself. It was his mind after all. He found nothing.
But just as he was starting to lose faith, he spotted something gleaming gold just beyond the fox's menacing form. Smirking, he began running for the object, keenly aware that the Kitsune was following close behind; nipping angrily at his heels. When he finally reached the gate, he ran through and slammed the door shut. Heaving all his weight against the door, he braced for the Kitsune's impact on the door, looking around frantically for the lock that kept the Kyuubi sealed. A mean laugh echoed through his head and he looked up to find himself drowning in the glowing red eyes of the monster everyone feared or hated.
"Did you really think you could keep me sealed? Where's your lock? Or did you forget that the seal is the lock." It mocked him, snapping its teeth through the bars, just barely missing his head. "You're too weak to keep me sealed forever. You will go down with your stupid optimism, dobe." Its voice took on a more violent tone, taunting Naruto the way Sasuke used to when they were younger. The blond winced and slid down the bars to bury his face in his knees. He was starting to lose his hope and quickly.
***
Tsunade burst into the room and, offering no explanation pulled back the covers on top of Naruto's sleeping body. Both Sakura and Sasuke were startled by her intrusion, but they didn't have any time to voice their objections. She'd known exactly what was wrong the moment the nurse stepped into her office and she rushed over immediately. If she didn't get there fast enough there wouldn't be a boy left there to save.
The older woman quickly scanned the boy's navel and found the faint outline of the seal. Taking a closer look, she confirmed her guess. The two elephant seals had been smudged when Ebisu's seal has worn off, giving the fox demon even more power over Naruto's body. Closing her eyes, Tsunade formed the intricate hand seals and placed both of her palms on Naruto's stomach.
The seal didn't require any words, just the right amount of chakra to reaffirm the already existing seal. Her only hope was that she sealed the right soul on the right side of the gate. Things wouldn't bode too well if both were sealed or if Naruto was sealed away.
"Wake up now, Naruto-kun!" She yelled, removing her hands. Nothing happened.
***
Naruto was shocked when the old familiar lock snapped into place on the gate. Letting out a howl of disbelief, the demon continued to slam into the gate, trying to free itself, but got nowhere. A small smile crept on the blonde's face and he stuck his tongue out at the beast.
"What were you saying about stupid optimism?" He taunted, jumping back from the claws that came swiping down on him.
***
After a couple of minutes panicking, Tsunade and his team mates were relieved to find Naruto shift under the covers and slowly wake up. He blinked a couple of times and sat up, wincing in pain at the movement. Looking down he found that most of his wounds were healing underneath the multitude of bandages. Before he could examine his body too much he was enveloped in a tight bear hug.
"Itai!!" He yelped and the woman backed down. He was shocked to find Tsunade had tears running down her cheeks and a smile playing with her lips.
"Do you know how hard it is to keep you alive?" She scolded. He laughed nervously in response. "First your heart nearly stops and I'm forced to heal you. Then I take a sword to the side for you from Orochimaru, and now this!" Though her tone was reprimanding, her eyes were happy. "You won't live long enough to become Hokage." Naruto smiled, too tired to retort, and turned to the side to find Sasuke and Sakura watching over him.
The dark-haired genin seemed to be angry beyond words to learn that this wasn't the first time Naruto had only barely escaped death, and the young kunoichi was rubbing away tears of joy just to see him safe again. He put on a bright smile for them, glad to know they'd been right by his side.
"The seal had worn off, Naruto." Tsunade said, poking him in the stomach. He looked down to see that with the completed seal it was fading away fast.
"Arigatou, Tsunade-baba." She rolled her eyes at him and ruffled his hair playfully.
"I guess that's all I'm needed for here." She stood up and turned to the other two. "Take care of this brat for me?" They nodded and she left the room to head back to her office.
When she'd disappeared from sight Sakura stepped forward and smacked Naruto in the back of the head.
"Itai, Sakura-chan!!" He cried out, rubbing the spot she'd whacked. "What was that for?"
"For scaring me half to death and making me worry!! I thought you were going to die!!"
"Ne, ne! Daijoubu!" He grinned. "But since you were so worried, how about when I get out of here, you and me go out on a date! It'll make up for you all missing my birthday last month!" Sakura hesitated, glancing at Sasuke who had moved to the back of the room, near the door and had his gaze fixed on the blond boy beneath the sheets. Frowning, she realised it would take a miracle for him to notice her and she didn't know if she could wait for him her entire life. She was already sixteen after all. Looking back to Naruto she saw a sparkle in his eyes that she'd always longed for from darker ones. Sighing softly, she nodded her head.
"Hai, Naruto-kun, I'll go out on a date with you." Apparently Naruto had been expecting any answer except that one, for he froze up, stunned.
"Honto ne?" He asked, his voice small. She smiled, gaining courage and nodded again. His face brightened even more and he leaned forward to give her a big hug. In his head he was singing. It was his very first girlfriend. Who knew, maybe she'd even be his very first kiss. His thoughts came to a sudden stop when he remembered 'that' incident. He frowned and shot Sasuke a glare.
"Baka, Sasuke." He muttered under his breath, secretly despising the boy for stealing his very first kiss. He wasn't at all surprised that the Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the feeble attempt. He was shocked, though, to see that Sasuke seemed to know what he was thinking and instead of a glare, sent Naruto a satisfied smirk.
~~~~~~~
Heh heh... can you believe how fast these are coming out? Whee! So Sasuke's no longer horrified by the thought of their first kiss, and Naruto's gone and gotten himself a girlfriend. Is this the end of my yaoi streak? I think not. Either way, Sakura's relationship with Naruto is sure to spice things up a bit between the two boys.
Oh and I'm surprised no one noticed it, though a couple of you thought you knew what I was talking about. In the previous chapter I was setting it up so that Sakura would be able to accept Naruto's request for a date. Sure she still likes him but everyone goes through a couple of people before settling down with their true loves. Or at least that's how she sees it. Plus she's trying to play the jealousy card. Hoping Sasuke will start fighting with Naruto over her... heh heh... Course I'm not one to make things simple. Yes there will be fighting... but the instigator is someone you'd least expect, and the reason is even weirder.
Anywho... about my previous comments about Sakura-bashing... while there are fics where I love to hate her, I honestly don't despise her too much. She's actually a nice person, even though she's not much of a fighter. Even Ino's got a specialized attack. But in this story (coming up very soon in fact) there will be circumstances that will make people wish she were dead. I'm not kidding and I'm definitely not exaggerating. Whether you love her or hate her you will think her choices are quite foolish esp. since her crush on Sasuke persists.
Right... I'm sure you've all stopped reading by now so... onto the next one!
WAI!! GWFasc actually knew what was going on. I'm so proud!!
Chapter Title: 27. Locked In
Naruto winced, flailing his arms wildly in the darkness. He couldn't see and he was badly injured, but he wouldn't give up. A haunting laugh floated to him from the infinite blackness which served to chill him to the bone. He staggered on his feet, wanting nothing more than to allow the darkness to swallow him whole, but he'd never been one to back away from any kind of challenge without giving it everything he had. He wasn't going to let the Kyuubi win this time. He'd fought so hard to earn some ounce of respect in the village, and he would be damned if he'd let some demon ruin his dreams.
"Stop hiding in the darkness, coward!!" He yelled, not knowing what direction the Kitsune was coming from. From every direction came the soft sound of padded footfalls, circling the spot in which he stood. It unnerved him to no end and he heard his echoing voice falter. "I know how it feels to be caged, but you deserved it for what you did to all those villagers. I can't let you get free." Though he sympathised with the fox, he knew it would be the end of his home if he let that sympathy control him. From the corner of his eye he caught the flash of claws, but he didn't have enough time to move and cried out feeling them sink into his cheek. Stumbling to his knees, he lifted his hands to the angry red line that tore its way down his face and under his clothing and choked back a sob at the blood that pooled in his palms.
"If you kill me you kill my body, baka!" He snarled, but still the beast circled.
***
Staggering back to the boy's room, the first thing she noticed was the absence of the Anbu guards. Frowning, she pulled off the note on the door and read it to herself. It said that their shift had ended twenty minutes ago and the new guards would be there shortly. Muttering curses under her breath, she pushed the door open and peeked in warily. Some of the cuts had sealed back up, but no one had listened to her calls for help. Getting angry with the way people still treated her friend, she marched her way over to the nearest nurse.
"Excuse me." She spat with all the sarcasm she could muster. The woman looked up from her clipboard and sighed, irritating Sakura even more.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to go and get the Hokage right this instant." Sakura exclaimed, glaring viciously at the woman.
"Doushite?"
"It's an emergency, don't ask questions." The nurse looked highly offended that a teenager would be ordering her around, but she saw the look on her supervisor's face and nodded curtly.
Turning around quickly, Sakura brushed past the man and back into the room, intending to get past her slight unease with the blood and try to stem some of it on her own. She couldn't believe that some people would despise Naruto so much that they would deny him treatment. Looking around the room, she spotted a roll of bandages she could use to cover the wounds.
"Naruto, you stupid idiot, don't you dare give up on me!" She yelled, when she'd finished tying the last one. They were quickly turning red from the excess blood, but there was nothing more she could do until Tsunade got back.
***
Sasuke was walking slowly back to the room when he heard Sakura's frantic yelling. At first he was startled, but fear flooded him and he ran the rest of the way back to the hospital room.
"What's going on?" He demanded, throwing open the door. Sakura was sitting pale in his seat, looking slightly dazed. The blankets were pulled up tight around Naruto's body. She looked up and sighed, reaching over to pull back the blankets. He gasped seeing his friend covered in so much blood. Growling under his breath, he stalked to the bed and grabbed the boy by his shoulders.
"Wake up, Dobe!" his voice was tight, betraying his panic but his face was blank.
"Sasuke!" Sakura reprimanded, pulling his hands back slowly. "Let him rest. Just be thankful that what ever was causing those marks has seemed to stop for the time being."
He muttered under his breath but stepped away from the bed. The pink-haired genin sighed deeply, watching her crush, and furrowed her brow. Seeing his reaction to Naruto reminded her that there was little to no chance that he'd get that upset if she was ever in the same situation. These thoughts depressed her greatly.
They waited patiently for some time, both keeping their gazes on the pale boy in the bed, watching as cuts healed and opened. Even though Sakura kept her attention on Naruto, she couldn't help but notice the way Sasuke's frame seemed to flinch involuntarily every time he spotted another cut opening. She tore her eyes from Naruto's figure and glared at her hands, trying to keep back the tears that had started to blur her vision.
'Why can't he feel this way for me?' She thought sadly, clenching and unclenching her fists.
***
Naruto collapsed to the floor panting and gasping for breath. The Kitsune had stepped into the small amount of light and began slashing at the poor boy. He was horrified to see that for every gash he received, the demon was hurt as well. The only problem with that was, while he lay in a pool of his own blood, the Kitsune's wounds healed almost instantaneously. The Kitsune laughed mockingly at him a number of times, but Naruto still refused to give in. He stood up stubbornly and looked around for something he could use to help himself. It was his mind after all. He found nothing.
But just as he was starting to lose faith, he spotted something gleaming gold just beyond the fox's menacing form. Smirking, he began running for the object, keenly aware that the Kitsune was following close behind; nipping angrily at his heels. When he finally reached the gate, he ran through and slammed the door shut. Heaving all his weight against the door, he braced for the Kitsune's impact on the door, looking around frantically for the lock that kept the Kyuubi sealed. A mean laugh echoed through his head and he looked up to find himself drowning in the glowing red eyes of the monster everyone feared or hated.
"Did you really think you could keep me sealed? Where's your lock? Or did you forget that the seal is the lock." It mocked him, snapping its teeth through the bars, just barely missing his head. "You're too weak to keep me sealed forever. You will go down with your stupid optimism, dobe." Its voice took on a more violent tone, taunting Naruto the way Sasuke used to when they were younger. The blond winced and slid down the bars to bury his face in his knees. He was starting to lose his hope and quickly.
***
Tsunade burst into the room and, offering no explanation pulled back the covers on top of Naruto's sleeping body. Both Sakura and Sasuke were startled by her intrusion, but they didn't have any time to voice their objections. She'd known exactly what was wrong the moment the nurse stepped into her office and she rushed over immediately. If she didn't get there fast enough there wouldn't be a boy left there to save.
The older woman quickly scanned the boy's navel and found the faint outline of the seal. Taking a closer look, she confirmed her guess. The two elephant seals had been smudged when Ebisu's seal has worn off, giving the fox demon even more power over Naruto's body. Closing her eyes, Tsunade formed the intricate hand seals and placed both of her palms on Naruto's stomach.
The seal didn't require any words, just the right amount of chakra to reaffirm the already existing seal. Her only hope was that she sealed the right soul on the right side of the gate. Things wouldn't bode too well if both were sealed or if Naruto was sealed away.
"Wake up now, Naruto-kun!" She yelled, removing her hands. Nothing happened.
***
Naruto was shocked when the old familiar lock snapped into place on the gate. Letting out a howl of disbelief, the demon continued to slam into the gate, trying to free itself, but got nowhere. A small smile crept on the blonde's face and he stuck his tongue out at the beast.
"What were you saying about stupid optimism?" He taunted, jumping back from the claws that came swiping down on him.
***
After a couple of minutes panicking, Tsunade and his team mates were relieved to find Naruto shift under the covers and slowly wake up. He blinked a couple of times and sat up, wincing in pain at the movement. Looking down he found that most of his wounds were healing underneath the multitude of bandages. Before he could examine his body too much he was enveloped in a tight bear hug.
"Itai!!" He yelped and the woman backed down. He was shocked to find Tsunade had tears running down her cheeks and a smile playing with her lips.
"Do you know how hard it is to keep you alive?" She scolded. He laughed nervously in response. "First your heart nearly stops and I'm forced to heal you. Then I take a sword to the side for you from Orochimaru, and now this!" Though her tone was reprimanding, her eyes were happy. "You won't live long enough to become Hokage." Naruto smiled, too tired to retort, and turned to the side to find Sasuke and Sakura watching over him.
The dark-haired genin seemed to be angry beyond words to learn that this wasn't the first time Naruto had only barely escaped death, and the young kunoichi was rubbing away tears of joy just to see him safe again. He put on a bright smile for them, glad to know they'd been right by his side.
"The seal had worn off, Naruto." Tsunade said, poking him in the stomach. He looked down to see that with the completed seal it was fading away fast.
"Arigatou, Tsunade-baba." She rolled her eyes at him and ruffled his hair playfully.
"I guess that's all I'm needed for here." She stood up and turned to the other two. "Take care of this brat for me?" They nodded and she left the room to head back to her office.
When she'd disappeared from sight Sakura stepped forward and smacked Naruto in the back of the head.
"Itai, Sakura-chan!!" He cried out, rubbing the spot she'd whacked. "What was that for?"
"For scaring me half to death and making me worry!! I thought you were going to die!!"
"Ne, ne! Daijoubu!" He grinned. "But since you were so worried, how about when I get out of here, you and me go out on a date! It'll make up for you all missing my birthday last month!" Sakura hesitated, glancing at Sasuke who had moved to the back of the room, near the door and had his gaze fixed on the blond boy beneath the sheets. Frowning, she realised it would take a miracle for him to notice her and she didn't know if she could wait for him her entire life. She was already sixteen after all. Looking back to Naruto she saw a sparkle in his eyes that she'd always longed for from darker ones. Sighing softly, she nodded her head.
"Hai, Naruto-kun, I'll go out on a date with you." Apparently Naruto had been expecting any answer except that one, for he froze up, stunned.
"Honto ne?" He asked, his voice small. She smiled, gaining courage and nodded again. His face brightened even more and he leaned forward to give her a big hug. In his head he was singing. It was his very first girlfriend. Who knew, maybe she'd even be his very first kiss. His thoughts came to a sudden stop when he remembered 'that' incident. He frowned and shot Sasuke a glare.
"Baka, Sasuke." He muttered under his breath, secretly despising the boy for stealing his very first kiss. He wasn't at all surprised that the Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the feeble attempt. He was shocked, though, to see that Sasuke seemed to know what he was thinking and instead of a glare, sent Naruto a satisfied smirk.
~~~~~~~
Heh heh... can you believe how fast these are coming out? Whee! So Sasuke's no longer horrified by the thought of their first kiss, and Naruto's gone and gotten himself a girlfriend. Is this the end of my yaoi streak? I think not. Either way, Sakura's relationship with Naruto is sure to spice things up a bit between the two boys.
Oh and I'm surprised no one noticed it, though a couple of you thought you knew what I was talking about. In the previous chapter I was setting it up so that Sakura would be able to accept Naruto's request for a date. Sure she still likes him but everyone goes through a couple of people before settling down with their true loves. Or at least that's how she sees it. Plus she's trying to play the jealousy card. Hoping Sasuke will start fighting with Naruto over her... heh heh... Course I'm not one to make things simple. Yes there will be fighting... but the instigator is someone you'd least expect, and the reason is even weirder.
Anywho... about my previous comments about Sakura-bashing... while there are fics where I love to hate her, I honestly don't despise her too much. She's actually a nice person, even though she's not much of a fighter. Even Ino's got a specialized attack. But in this story (coming up very soon in fact) there will be circumstances that will make people wish she were dead. I'm not kidding and I'm definitely not exaggerating. Whether you love her or hate her you will think her choices are quite foolish esp. since her crush on Sasuke persists.
Right... I'm sure you've all stopped reading by now so... onto the next one!