In this chapter, Kankurou sneezes after Shikamaru says something about him. In Japan, sneezing after someone talks about you is the same as ears burning in America.
I didn't have to do much with this one but there's a flashback or two added. Please enjoy.
Chapter 11: Konoha arrives! Tides of Sand Turn
Shikamaru wiped a mix of sweat and blood from his brow. There were few wolves in the city, yet still it seemed awkward to him. He knelt down to examine one of the dead wolves. It was indeed much larger than any wolf he had seen.
He sighed and sat back on his haunches in exhaustion. He idly wondered where his wife was. It was very early in her pregnancy but no matter how he tried to convince her that she shouldn't fight, she demanded that she had to. A troublesome woman but the way she took out five of the wolves while yelling at him to stay out of her business made him smile.
His mind wandered over to his daughter. He hoped that she had escaped all right. The black dairou he faced was formidable but his face still lingered in his mind. Kurotsuki. He was probably one of the strongest that he had faced so far. Shikamaru fell back to lie on the rooftop he was on and look up at the sky. It was a clean slate of blue. Not a cloud.
"NARA! SHIKAMARUUUUU!" called a familiar voice. "OI! DAD, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!"
He jumped to his feet and peered over the edge of the building. Why were his daughter and Mokumaru running down the street and where was Aiki? He cursed under his breath and jumped between walls to land in front of them.
"What's happened? Why aren't you in the shelter?" he barked.
She hugged him tightly, tears on her cheeks. "Dad, it's not over! Those weren't really the demons!"
"What?"
Mokumaru looked around. "Where's the Kazekage? We have to warn him."
"Hey, can some one explain-"
"Aiki said that those weren't really demons," she cried. "They were just normal wolves infused with real demon chakra to make them stronger. This was only the first wave. He said they're coming now!"
Shikamaru almost choked. Why didn't he realize it before? Kurotsuki was a real dairou, all of the ones he faced after him were cheap imitations. The sandstorm was just a cover to weaken the village, the first wave of wolves were cripple it completely before the main army. "DAMMIT! Fumi get out of here. Where is Aiki?"
"That's the problem! After we got out of the tunnel he just ran off!"
Mokumaru dusted himself off and looked around. They were standing in the storeroom of a the biggest weapon shop in Sunagakure no Sato. He opened the door and poked his head out. They store was completely abandoned.
"Come on, it's all clear," he ordered. They all filed out of the storeroom and into the store. Fumi's eyes lit up at all of the shiny metal objects, twinkling around her like stars.
She hugged her small cousin from behind. "Oh aren't they beautiful? Do you think daddy will buy me some if I'm a good girl and I kill a lot of demons?" she sung. Aiki forced her off of him causing the two older cousins to stop.
"Don't you get it! This isn't even the real fight!" he screamed.
"Aiki…"
He doubled over and gripped his head. "Only a few of the demons now in this village are real. You can't tell because you're just humans but I can smell it! Those wolves are just enhanced with dairou chakra..." He looked at them desperately. "There just imitations!"
The two stared at him with disbelief on their faces. If what he said was true then… The boy transformed and crashed through a window, running away from them. Mokumaru and Fumi tried to follow him but he was no where to be seen.
Fumi fell to her knees, overcome with a rush of emotions, none of them good. But there was an intense feeling of hopelessness and all she wanted to do was find her father and find hope.
Shikamaru growled and sank to the ground in front of his daughter. "I'll get you to the shelter first-"
"Can't," Mokumaru stated. "Tunnel to the Great Cavern is caved in somehow. So people have to take the tunnels to escape the city. That's why we came back."
"Another trap?…Dammit. What's happening! What is she trying to do?" Shikamaru's brain began to mill through all of the possibilities. "Okay, you guys come with me. We have to find Kankurou and Gaara." He sped off and the children followed.
Kankurou was standing at the front gates getting a damage assessment from one of his jounin. The news was bad but not terrible. Most of the citizens had escaped it seemed. No words from the jounin that helped with the evacuation but the city was pretty much cleared of all the attacking wolves. Still the report sat in Kankurou's heart uneasily. Kirae hadn't shown up at all. The attack seemed too organized to be random and too weak to be complete.
"I want everyone on alert. This isn't over. Find the evacuees and make sure they have supplies and doctors. Take them to the nearest village." The shinobi nodded and walked away. Gaara approached. The look in his eyes told Kankurou that they were feeling the same thing. "Find Aiki?" He shook his head.
Temari walked up with a grin and wiped her brow. "What's with the long faces? Didn't we just win?"
"Seemed a little easy, didn't it?" Kankurou crossed his arms. Temari frowned and considered this. "I say we keep on our toes. You guys might want to leave Sunagakure in case this gets to be too violent. You are pregnant, Temari." Gaara nodded in agreement.
"Oh, come on! You sound like my husband. I'm fine. I won't push myself too far and this is my home too, you know!" She gritted her teeth. "How can you ask me to abandon my hometown and my family?"
Kankurou sighed. "We're just thinking about your well being. Besides, I think I saw Shikamaru getting grey hairs. Might want to try not to worry him so much."
"Fat chance of that happening," came Shikamaru's voice. Mokumaru and Fumi were behind him. Temari's expression changed from shock to anger.
"FUMI!"
"I have an excuse!" the little girl defended. "Tell 'em, Dad."
"It's not over. The next wave is coming. Soon. Those weren't really oni. They were just infused with demon chakra to make them larger and stronger. Look." He pointed to a dead wolf. It was much larger than any normal wolf, as it lied there, chakra was coming off of it and the second tail that it possessed was beginning to disintegrate into the earth. There was stunned silence. "Aiki sensed it. He knew all along but I guess he was too afraid to say anything. The sandstorm wasn't real. It was caused by the wind powers of the Dairou but since we were all inside we couldn't sense the chakra in the wind. And the wolves that attacked right afterwards were just lucky? Unlikely. Another thing… the wolves we fought had one pair of eyes…not three.
"Kirae collapsed the tunnel to the Great Cavern so no one could escape there because she wanted the humans all in one place. They'll be easier to kill this way. Even realizing that, we'll have to split the forces- some to protect this village and other to protect the evacuees, further weakening our chances."
Kankurou clenched his fist. "She's making a fool out of us… Why didn't we see this before?"
"No one had any idea that she was this powerful," Shikamaru sighed. "Even Kiba. He knew but I don't think he imagined this or he wouldn't have left. He'll be kicking himself for this one."
"I should have known," Gaara said in a whisper. "But…Why was Dairouchimimaru collecting human warriors if he had so many wolves?" No one said anything. No one knew what to say. "Wait…Aiki? Where is he?"
Fumi looked ashamed. "He… he ran off and we couldn't catch him."
Gaara took off in a dead run but a heavy wind nearly pushed him off of his feet. Riding the currents was the sound of hundreds of howls. The second attack had come and there was Kirae, in full demon form, a towering wolf on the horizon.
"SIR! It's a demon! Oh my god….is that the Nine-tails?" called a sentry from his tower.
"No…" Kankurou whispered. "STOP HER! Don't let her near the city! Gaara!"
Gaara turned back to Kankurou. "…If I transform then the city will be in too much danger. It's too close! We have to drive her back!"
"We can't! We don't have enough manpower for that… We…"
Shikamaru cracked his neck. "We have to do the best that we can." Temari spread her fan. "Ready, dear?"
"Always. I expect to be spoiled rotten after this is all over. Not many men can say that they have such a fantastic wife."
Shikarmaru smiled. "I'll serve you hand and foot forever if we make it out of this alive." He looked at her.
"Silly, Nara. Don't go making promises you can't keep. I'll hold you too them, you know."
Kankurou looked back at his son. Mokumaru was facing the oncoming wolves. "I guess you're not going to run are you?" The boy shook his head. "Look, you can't die here. You've got too much of a life ahead of you."
"Shut up," Mokumaru replied like his dad. "Don't go saying stupid things. Protecting this village is the most important thing in my life. I won't die if you don't die either." He looked up. "Let's show them why you're the Kazekage, Dad." He flung his yo-yo down a few times.
"Yeah. I'll show 'em. And it will be the last thing they ever see. Brace yourself, people!"
Gaara ran ahead of the front line of sand ninja. "Get ready. I'm going to even these odds." He braced himself. He stretched his arms out in front of him. The veins bulged under the skin as he strained and the ground rumbled. A large wave of sand rocketed into the sky and curled towards the oncoming swarm. The wave cast a shadow over some of the ninja as it towered above them. Finally, Gaara made a motion as if he were pushing the wave over and the wall of sand crashed down with a loud swoosh. The back wave of air deafened the Sand ninja, who all turned away to shield themselves for the after effect of the awesome attack.
There was a cry of joy when things settled that soon faded into disappointment. Kirae and the power of the wind wolves had protected a good deal of their forces. Gaara's attack would have been devastating had not Kirae been in her demon form. Things looked grim once again.
The large demon raised her head and gave a deep and horrifying howl. The wolves beneath her rushed forward, the sounds of their bracelets jingling like armor. Kirae herself had more adornments than when Gaara had last seen her. And possibly more than Dairouchimimaru wore.
The village of Sand braced itself for the greatest attack it had seen in a long time.
Sabaku no Aiki sat in a dark alley, panting. Everywhere there was chaos. Every turned seemed to be marked with violence. The smell of blood filled the air. It excited something inside of him and that fact made him feel ill. He curled up and pressed his body against the cold adobe wall of a now empty business. When he heard the sound of his mother's howl, all hope was lost.
It seemed that every time someone tried to save him from her, she only returned more powerful than before. He badly wanted to find his father and find comfort in his arms but his legs wouldn't move, so he sought the concealing shadows instead. He could hear the battle when it hit the outer walls of the city. In a few hours, it was in the streets.
He covered his head and cowered whenever he heard the pounding of feet or the cries of someone or something dying. It was chaos all over again only this time the winner would take all. It was all his fault, he reasoned. He wished he had never saved Temari from the bad man. He wished he had never met Fumi and Mokumaru. And most of all, he wished he had never met his father.
"They're all going to die because of me," he whimpered. "It's…it's my fault." He dashed out of the alley, gripping his head. His vision was blurred but he saw before him a large silver dairou. "COME AND KILL ME! END THIS NOW!" He crouched down and covered his head. "I'm what you want. Just kill me and go away!" He could hear the feet galloping toward him.
"Tsuuga!" There was a thud, a whimper and a crash. Standing like a wild giant in front of him was Inuzuka Kiba. "I know you're not dead! Get up and fight, demon!"
The dairou rose to his feet and spit blood and a tooth away. "I can't believe I couldn't smell your foul stench, Inuzuka. I will enjoy killing you more than any of these weak humans."
"You're all talk. I'm going to make a new jacket out of your fur. Or maybe a rug for my dog to sleep on. How does that sound?"
The wolf simply growled and ran forward. He tried to bite Kiba in the face. On his hind legs, he managed to somehow be taller than the already lofty Kiba. The scarred muscles in the Konoha ninja's arms rippled as he tried to keep the large mouth from gripping down on his head.
"Kiba…Kiba-sama, run away! It's me that they want!" Aiki screamed standing up.
Kiba strained as he turned his head slightly to see Aiki. "Don't be stupid, kid. And I don't run away…..EVER!" He pushed the wolf back by kicking it in the ribs.
"This is the end, Inuzukaaaa!" The dairou was ready to attack again but a white flash dashed across the street and clamped down on the demon neck. Blood spurted from the demon's mouth as the white dog's canines found its mark. The demon flailed to dislodge his assailant but only caused more damage. He fell to his knees and opened his mouth to curse but fell dead before he could.
"Akamaru," Kiba called out jovially. "You late as usual."
The dog shook and trotted over to his friend and master. "Late? You couldn't handle that guy on you own? Maybe you need to train some more, Kiba." The human simply laughed and gave him a gentle punch in the head.
Aiki watched in confusion and awe. "I…I don't understand? Why did you come back? Didn't you know that they were coming? You ran!"
Kiba stood up and walked over to him, arms crossed. "I told ya. I don't run for nothing. Ever. I knew they were coming and I knew that Sand would be no match for Kirae on their own. So, Akamaru went to Konoha to tell Naruto and I rounded up a few wayward Inuzuka. This fight was a long time coming."
"I don't get it…"
Akamaru stared at Aiki intently. "In other words, it's not your fault, Gaara's little one. This fight isn't even about you. It's about us."
"And it's about time we settled this war once and for all," Kiba agreed.
"It's not about me?" Aiki asked. There was more howling but it was not the same. Aiki turned as over a dozen ninjas with dogs ran past him. One seemed similar to Kiba and she exchanged glances and a wave with him. As if in a formation they all moved in unison and dispersed in opposite directions at the same time.
"Oh get over yourself, kid. You and your dad were just tools to Kirae. She had this planned from day one."
Akamaru nudged Aiki and got him to stand. "Kirae new she couldn't take Konoha since that was the center of power for most of the Inuzuka but she assumed that taking Wind would be easy if she tread carefully. Take out the ninja village and rest of the nation would fall. Only thing stopping her was Gaara."
"Daddy…"
Kiba nodded and took over the narration. "Yeah. Everyone knows that Gaara is one of the only things keeping anyone for seriously attacking Sand. He's a death sentence waiting to happen. Kirae probably only wanted to make him fall in love with her but Gaara wasn't interested so she needed something else to hook him. And that something was supposed to be you." Aiki blinked.
"But you heart was too strong and too pure, Aiki," Akamaru said with a smile. "You should have been her weapon against Gaara. He would have been unable to kill you and he would have been rendered useless. But probably the bits of the Shukaku that got stuck in you made you drawn to find you father. Killing you would have been the worse thing we could have done." He glared over at Kiba. "Right, Kiba?"
"Hey! I was just trying to stop this whole thing from happening!" he yelled defensively. "Geez. So anyway… you don't have to worry about anything. Konoha's here to save Suna. I bet you feel pretty good about now. None of this is your fault." He shrugged.
Aiki blinked. "So… she really didn't love me. She just… And made me kill all of those people just to hurt Daddy?" Akamaru whimper a little in sympathy. "What should I do…I've done so many things wrong, Uncle Kiba…" The sorrow and frustration was evident on his face and in his voice. Tears were amassing in his eyes to make a run down his round face.
"Keep hiding. We have to end this fight. Akamaru, let's go." He sprinted ahead.
Akamaru turned to follow but hesitated. "You know Aiki… I think you're pretty strong. If I were you, I wouldn't let your Dad fight alone."
"But Uncle Kiba…"
"Uncle Kiba also drinks out of the toilet," he added with a doggy grin. Aiki looked surprised. Akamaru followed his master leaving the little boy to his own devices again.
Thoughts flashed in his mind, his mother's cruelty, Fumi and Mokumaru's unbreakable faith in their familial bond, the friends he had made, and most of all, his father. Everything that ended up hurting them was his mother's fault. She had made him the effective tool against both Sungakure and Konohagakure. The boy balled up his fist and growled. "I won't let you do this, Momma. I won't let you hurt anyone anymore. I'm going to kill you!" Yellow chakra swirled around him as he changed his forms into a large half-wolf. All three of his eyes opened.
Blood dripped out of Kuroari as Karasu impaled the wolf inside. Kankurou panted heavily, fighting was becoming difficult. He looked behind him. Shinji was protecting his back but his old friend was showing signs of fatigue. In a battle this decisive, one mistake could mean the end.
Kankurou pressed his back against Shinj's as back as the current pack of wolves closed in around them. "We have no where to retreat to…the city is overrun. I can't let this be the end!"
"Well, old friend," Shinji began. "If this is the end, I'm glad to be dying with my Kazekage covered in the blood of our enemies."
"Shut up! I made a promise not to die and I won't, so just shut up will you," Kankurou hissed.
"GATSUUGA!" came an unfamiliar battle cry. Suddenly, two swirling cyclones surrounded the Kazekage and his ally. The cyclones knocked aside the dairou with ease like striking snakes. When they seemed to be approaching the two, Shinji tried to protect Kankurou but the cyclones stopped and there were two grinning Kibas standing there.
"Long time no see. Thought I'd pay you back for saving my ass when we were 'brats'," Kiba said with a chuckle.
Kankurou's expression of surprise was replaced with a smile. "Crazy bastard. But you've come back too late. There's no way we can win this alone."
"You're not alone. The whole Inuzuka clan is here." He saw Kankurou about to speak and held up a hand. "We don't have time to talk. I'll tell you after we win."
Gaara stood before Kirae. The giant wolf looked down on him head inclined slightly. A small grin was stretched across her oversized mouth. No words were spoken between the two but much was said. His black rimmed eyes glared at her evil countenance. "Kirae…"
The ground beneath Gaara rumbled, he tried to keep his balance but that was the least of his worries as the earth shot up in front of him and encompassed him like a prison. "KIRAE!" He tried to used sand to pierce the wall of earth but it barely had any effect. He couldn't help but notice the walls were closing in on him and it wasn't an illusion. "KIRAE!"
Mokumaru was up to three yo-yo's, Fumi's fan was fully opened. "This is why I like deer. They quiet and they don't try to kill you!" She opened a scroll and tossed it in the air. Shurikens began to pour out but she swung her fan creating a gust of chakra-infused wind. "Shuriken Kaze no Jutsu!" The flurry of bladed stars imbedded themselves in everything around the two included the multitude of wolves.
"Time to walk the dogs," Mokun said with a grin. He flung the three yo-yos forward and they wrapped around the necks of three wolves. The dogs strained against the make-shift collars, dragging the small boy forward. "Don't think so!" He attached the chakra strings to the pillar of a building and quickly threw several explosion tags onto the base. Immediately the tags exploded and the pillar tipped over like a falling tree, and like a catapult, the moment pillar flipped over, the taught string flung the wolves up and overhead. Mokumaru grinned. "I lose more yo-yo's that way," he intoned non-chalantly with a shrugged.
"Mo-kun!" Fumi screamed at him. He turned around just in time to see the open jaws of a dairou descending on him. He closed his eyes and winced waiting for the attack but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw an older man with silver hair holding the wolf by the scruff of its neck. The wolf looked confused as well and allowed itself to dangle like an admonished puppy.
The man had a scar over his left eye, which was red. He had a lazy look to him but Mokumaru could tell that this was no ordinary shinobi. He had an orange book in his hand entitled "Icha Icha Shiken".
"Ah?… Who…"
Fumi ran over. "UNCLE KAKASHI!"
Mokumaru almost jumped out of his skin. "Kakashi! Hatake Kakashi! The Copy Ninja Kakashi? The Man That Knows Over 1,000 jutsu Kakashi?" He saluted like a soldier and stood stock still before the legendary shinobi.
The man put the wolf down and patted it on the head. "Don't forget handsome. Everyone always forgets that one," he drawled reading his book. "So what are you kids doing out here?"
"We wanted to help fight. We're doing pretty good but-" Fumi looked at the bewildered Dairou. The wolf looked at her and made a move to pounce on her but Kakashi sat down on his back forcing him to the ground.
"Well, you can take a break. Konoha's here to help." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a leather collar. With one hand, he swung it around the oni's neck and clamped it tight. "Looks like I got a new dog. Well…I better get back to fighting. Come on, Pochi." He stood up and started off, his hand in his pocket. The poor dairou didn't know what to do and continued to lie on the ground in a daze. Did that human just put a collar on him?
Kakashi turned and looked at the dog. "Mm, not as smart as I thought it'd be." Nudged he wolf with his toe coaxing it to stand. The wolf stood and began to follow Kakashi. "See you kids later."
Mokumaru stared at Kakashi in a starry-eyed mist. "He…is…so..cool. He's cooler than uncle Gaara! My new mission is to become as cool as that guy."
"Well, you can do that after we get out of here. Let's go find Aiki."
Gaara's sand struggled against the walls of dirt now crushing in on him. Sweat poured down his face as he strained against the push from outside. Already the walls were almost less than a foot away from him but he refused to give up. Suddenly there was the sound of cracking behind Gaara. He turned just as a fist came through. Without hesitating the sand took advantage of the new hole and quickly tore down the earth prison. Gaara panted and looked up.
Rock Lee was standing there, cracking his knuckles. "Gaara-kun, it's been a while."
"Lee?" The older jounin smiled and nodded. Gaara was never happier to see his bushy eyebrows. He could certainly count on Lee whenever things got tough. "…Lee, if you're here?"
"CHOUJI!" Shikamaru called up to the giant man. Chouji looked down and smiled, squashing several wolves in his fist and stomping on other. "How's it looking up there?"
"Good! Hey, how's the food here in Suna?"
"Decent. Want to have dinner after this is all over?"
"Who's treating?"
"My brother-in-law. He owes us."
Somewhere else Kankurou sneezed violently. Shinji looked over at him. "Allergic to dogs?" Kankurou shrugged.
Ino jumped down from a rooftop and landed near Shikamaru. "So were back together again."
"Seems like it." He said with a smile.
Kirae watched the humans swarm over the village of Sand and send her fellow oni back. Her plans were crumbling before her. In an attempt to sway the battle she began to thrash her tails. The wind generated picked up the sand and threatened to create another violent sandstorm, one that would bury Sunagakure and wipe it off the map.
"GAARA!" Lee crossed his arms in front of his face to protect it from the flying sand. Kirae began to howl as the ground rumbled. Her eyes were crazed. "GAARA! We have…..we have to-"The jounin found his feet being picked up off the ground and getting caught up in the wind. Gaara stood his ground, staring up at Kirae.
Sasuke and Neji stopped in the middle of their battle with the wolves getting blasted with sand and wind. Neji's byakugan could see that the wolves had a layer of air around them that made them impervious to the storm. "Sasuke! We've lost the advantage."
"I know! Where is this storm coming from?" A white blur passed between them. "Naruto?"
The Hokage stopped and turned. He was wearing a white jacket similar to the Yondaime's. His expression was hurried. "It's Aiki's mom! She's attacking. I have to help Gaara fight her!"
"That's nuts! Even with Gamabunta!"
Naruto pulled his cloak up to cover his eyes. "That's doesn't matter! I'm not letting him do this alone! We came here to help so that's what we have to do. Gaara would do the same for us, you know he would!" Neither Sasuke nor Neji could argue with this fact. Naruto turned and ran off.
"Sasuke, leave the wolves to me. You go with Naruto." Neji turned to the oni. Sasuke nodded and chased after his friend.
Aiki was again in his child form and running through the streets at a mad dash. The storm meant that his mother was attacking. The sand stung his delicate skin and made breathing hard but he was determined to find her. He was forced to stop, though, when a dairou jumped out in front of him snarling.
The young boy raised his hands. "Chikyuu Kyu!" The stone street liquefied and encased the shocked dairou. "I'm not concerned with you. Where is my mother!"
"TRAITOR! You are serving the humans."
"Where is she!"
"She's killing the one called Gaara of the Desert."
Aiki's heart skipped a beat. "No… No, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" He performed a few hand seals. "Ochikomiana!" The sand liquefied a second time, swirling like whirl pool, pulling the dairou down into the depression. Aiki ran past him, the wolf struggling to escape but inevitably find his death beneath the earth. "Daddy, don't die. Don't die. Don't die!"
Kankurou and Kiba finally cleared part of the town but the battle was still waging elsewhere. The sand was already filling the streets and pumping system wasn't working. In a matter of hours, the Village of sand would succumb to the dunes.
"We have to leave the village…" he murmered into the wind. "We can't win. DAMMIT!"
Kiba punched a wall. "We're not leaving! We need time. We can stop this but it will take at least an hour to get in position!"
"We don't have that time!" Kankurou released the strings on his puppets, now uselessly filled with sand. "Kiba, I understand your feelings but we're at the disadvantage."
"NO! I didn't come here to fail! I came here to stop her!"
"KIBA!" Akamaru was looking into the distance. "It's Aiki!" The boy was battling against the wind and finally collapsed to his knees. The dog ran over and blocked the wind with his body. "Hey. Kid, are you okay?"
Aiki coughed and rubbed his eyes. "I gotta go help Dad. I'm sorry, Uncle Akamaru."
"Quiet. Come on, we'll go together." Aiki climbed on his back and the large white dog carried him over to the others. "Where's Gaara?"
"Probably fighting Kirae. She's still outside the village!" Kankurou answered.
Kiba watched his dog run off. "Ever since that day, he's felt guilty about this whole situation. He vowed to end it."
The wind became more and more unbearable the closer they got to the large wolf demon. Naruto almost tripped on Rock Lee's half unconscious body, buried to his neck in sand. He knelt down and shook the taijutsu specialist. "Fuzzy Eyebrows! Hey! Wake up!"
Lee opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, pushing the heavy layer of sand off his body. "Gaara! He's still there…fighting." He yelled. Naruto nodded.
"We gotta help him. Can you stand?" Lee jumped to his feet, re-invigorated.
Sasuke joined them. "We can't see anything in this storm. I wish Neji had come along."
Naruto continued headlong into the storm driven by his desire to save his friend. He almost ran into the red-haired jounin. It looked as though he was in the Tanuki Neiri no jutsu but he wasn't the Shukaku. Naruto heard him chanting and saw his hands. Instantly, he came to the realization what Gaara was doing.
"No! Gaara, that jutsu-!" Gaara was already well into the jutsu and the damage would be done. Naruto thought to his father and to the Third. "No, I'm not losing you too!"
Hinata walked in on Naruto sleeping in the scroll room. He was surrounded by research materials and notes he had made. She paused when she stepped on one describing the Shinigami. "Naruto… this is…"
"Never again" he whispered with a smile. His eyes were barely open as he looked at her.
"Is this what you've been studying all week? You've barely slept over this?" She shook her head with concern. "This jutsu…"
He held out his hand to her. From his point it eclipsed her almost entirely. "I lost precious people to this jutsu. So I thought…what if I could counter it? What if I could trick death itself?"
"Naruto!"
He smirked. "Using power from your own soul, you can seal someone or something. But the cost is your life… Hinata… I'll never use that jutsu… but I refuse to lose someone again because of it." He closed his eyes and let his hand drop. "I'll counter no matter what…"
Naruto closed his eyes and began to rapidly perform handseals. His hands were a blur as went from one seal to the next, trying to catch up with Gaara. The counter relied on him synchronizing with the user.
There was a large howl that resonated all over the village, stopping all living things in their tracks. Hinata was treating some shinobi with Sakura. The howl chilled her to the bone. She looked at Sakura and the pink-haired medical ninja nodded. Hinata took off in a dead run in the direction of the howl.
The sandstorm suddenly stopped. Sasuke and Lee ran in the direction that Naruto had head and stopped. Kirae's demon body was shaking. Gaara stood before her, an old iron kettle between them. Naruto was behind Gaara on his knees. Kirae fell down and her body began to disintegrate into earth.
There was a distinct bark behind them. Akamaru, Kankurou, and Kiba were heading their way. Gaara fell to his knees numbly, eyes staring blankly into the distance, seeing nothing.
Sasuke reached a hand out. "Gaara!"
Aiki seeing his father fall jumped off of Akamaru's back and stumbled as he tried to run across the shifting sands. "Daddy!" Naruto stood up and stopped the boy before he could reach his father.
"Aiki…" he said in a wavering voice. "He can't hear you." Naruto had tears streaming down his face.
"What do you mean? Does he have sand in his ears? I'll yell louder. DADDY!"
Naruto knelt down and gripped the little boys arms. "He can't….He…"
Aiki titled his head in confusion. "Don't worry, Uncle Naruto. If I hug him, I know it'll be okay. Because he loves me and he says that can heal anything." Lee clenched his fists at his side. Kankurou simply stared at the motionless body of Gaara.
"Ai…" They all turned. Aiki cheered up. Slowly and mechanically, Gaara turned his head. He had a small smile. He looked at his son, remembering his laugh, his smile, and knowing the misery his sacrifice would cause him and fell forward.
"GAARA!" Kankurou ran forward and shook his younger brother on the back. "No…you can't die like this!"
Aiki's eyes widened. "Daddy?…Daddy… DADDY!" He struggled to escape Naruto's hold and eventually Naruto let him go, arms weakly falling to his sides.
Soon Leaf and Sand ninja's were circled around. Temari pushed her way through and looked down to see her baby brother, pale and cold on the hot desert sands. She backed away from the scene and put her hand over her mouth to hide her scream. Shikamaru hugged her from behind tightly. Mokumaru and Fumi appeared between their legs.
"Dad? What's going on?" inquired Mokumaru. "What's wrong with Uncle Gaara?" No one spoke. "Dad….No way…"
Aiki gripped his father chest, sobbing. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you! I couldn't save you!"
Hinata arrived and immediately went over to Gaara. "What happened!"
"I wasn't fast enough," Naruto moaned looking the hands that had failed him. "I should have stopped him from summoning the Shinigami but I didn't perform the counter right…" He clenched his fist and clenched his teet. "I broke my promise…I said never again!"
Everyone watched Hinata with a heavy heart. She wanted to save Gaara as much as everyone else but especially so that she could help Naruto's promise. She began checking his vital signs. "He still alive….barely…he might not make it." She spoke strongly and firmly. Her mission was clear: Save Gaara at all costs. "I need to get him to a hospital. Everyone move out of the way!"
Aiki backed away and wiped the tears from his eyes. Sand medics came and put Gaara on a stretcher. Hinata stayed at his side as they carried him away. Naruto punched the ground. "Gaara….don't die. Don't die. Don't die! No one believed in us. We have to keep living to protect those we love. Don't die because you still have someone to protect!" Naruto looked at the little brown-haired boy before him.
Wolves appeared on the horizon slowly. Naruto stood up, kyuubi chakra burning all around him. "You better get out of here. I'm freaking pissed off and I'm waiting to take it out on something."
"Wait, human," a large white dairou cautiously approached. "You have slain our leader and we are not here to fight. We originally did not agree with Kirae no Mikoto's desire to subjugate you."
"You violated are sacred pact, dogs!" Tsume Inuzuka spat. "Give us one reason not to kick your ass!"
"We are aware of this and we apologize but what is done is done. The boy will become our new leader as Kirae no Mikoto's only and first born."
Kiba's breath caught. "No! You can't! The power is too strong! You might kill him!"
The white oni shook his head. "It's too late. The transfer of power is already beginning. It is the will of nature that he should rule and there is nothing we can do to stop it."
Aiki's eyes went wide and he scrambled to get away from the wolf. "No. I don't want-"He stopped and looked at his arms. Gold bracelets were appearing on his wrists, as were rings.
Kiba grabbed the Dairou by his scruff. "Make it stop!"
"You know that we can't do that! It's the way it is done. Kirae is still victorious in the end. The boy will become the new leader. Her legacy has been passed."
Fumi ran over to Aiki but he pushed her away. His eyes were yellow and swirling like the Shukaku. "Stay….back." He gripped his head shaking. Wolfen ears grew from his head. His canines grew. He was clearly struggling to control the power now surging in his body. A gold collar was forming around his neck.
Naruto gritted his teeth. Blue fire burned at his fingertips. "Gogyoufuuin!" He rushed over and pressed his hand against Aiki's stomach. The wind knocked out of him the boy fell over unconscious. The skin on his stomach hissed from chakra burn as a seal was placed over his stomach.
Temari ran over to him. "Aiki! Naruto, what have you done!"
"He's fine….Whatever power is left…it's sealed. He'll just have to learn to deal with his current strength like I did…I'm sorry, Gaara. It's all I could do."
Kiba turned to the Dairou. "It's time to make a new treaty…" The white wolf nodded.