Notes: Oh my goodness! This chapter suddenly became insanely long, and the story isn't done! Look at that! "Welcome Home" isn't over just yet! I hope you enjoy this chapter, though! And sorry it's so long!

Ice blue flames sprung up around him, rising high, brushing against the ceiling of the chamber. Uchiha Sasuke stood in their center, extending his arms and tilting his head back, opening himself willingly to the Kyuubi. The fire meshed together and formed a sold mass that shaped an angular face, a curved, sinewy body, and nine massive tails. The blue-flame-fox rose high above the man in the center of the room, howling its victory.

"NO!" Uzumaki Naruto's shriek was overpowered by the Kyuubi Kitsune's pleased roar. The demon fox swept low in a crouch and then sprang up quickly in an arc, diving down toward Sasuke. It transformed back into blue flames just before it struck him dead center of his chest, and he winced, the burning cold fire seeping rapidly, hungrily into his body. Naruto watched in awed horror as all of the fire swirled around the black-haired Anbu, and abruptly snuffed out as if it had been sucked into his body. There was a long, silent pause. Then, Naruto's gut twisted unpleasantly and he suddenly felt as if he were being jerked forward, through the bars. Blinking, he looked around and saw he was out--on the other side of the gate. He turned back to look and saw Sasuke standing there in his place, half-concealed by the darkness.

"Hurry, Naruto," he spoke softly, carefully. "I don't know how long I can stall the transformation. You have to go back and kill me before I change."

"That was your plan?" the blond shouted angrily.

"It was the only thing I could do," he said helplessly, giving a slight shrug. "Go on, get out of here, dobe."

"Shut up!" he snapped. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"You don't have a choice." Sasuke raised a hand, creating the path in which Naruto could escape. "Go. Get Sakura to help you. But Naruto, do it quickly; like I said, I don't know how long I can stop the transformation."

"Don't you get it? I'm not leaving here without you!"

"…I love you too," he smirked, "usuraktonkachi."

"…you…"

'…we did it.'

'Yeah… Now get back down here so we can go home.'

A blue aura encircled him, lifting him off the ground.

'I can't do that.'

'What! What's going on?'

'I can't go with you, Sasuke. I have to stay behind for a little while longer, until you're safe outside my body. I have to hold the Kyuubi in while you escape.'

"Remember, Naruto: you have to kill me. Please… I don't want to hurt you or anyone else."

'You…will come back… Right?'

'Maybe…'

"No, please! Stop! Don't make me go! Let me stay with you! Let me--"

'I love you, Sasuke.'

"SASUKE!"

The swirling flames around the two men froze, crystallized, and they continued to stay locked in that dangerous kiss. Sakura blinked, then used the wall to push herself to her feet. Slowly, she stumbled over to them, lifting one hand to try to touch the still fire.

"Naruto…?" she called uncertainly. "Sasuke…?"

The crystal pillar abruptly turned ice blue and began to unwind into eight flowing fox-like aura tails. They suddenly came back to life and lashed about the room, pressing against the confining walls and one of them knocked into Sakura, toppling her to the floor. She watched in a daze as the pillar snapped in half and became the ninth, final tail. Coarse black fur began to sprout from every pore of Sasuke's pale, sweaty flesh. It extended up along the chakra tails and they physically manifested themselves, beginning to knock over furniture and bash wildly against the living room walls, leaving craters in the cement and plaster. The fur rushed up his straining neck, overtook his cheekbones, chin, and nose, as his arms and legs disfigured horribly with sickening ripping, cracking sounds and refitted themselves, becoming elongated, animal-like, fox-like.

"Oh god no," she whispered hoarsely, her voice caught breathlessly in her throat as the animal-figure--the demon--rose in the center of the room, pulling away from an unconscious Naruto. It loomed threateningly, glaring down at her with malicious eyes the color of dried blood. A deep, rumbling growl swelled low in its throat. Slowly, it raised a wickedly-clawed paw and swiped at her and she screamed, but in a flash of orange and black, someone was standing over her, their arms crossed over and blood pattering on the floor as the claws twitched in the meat of their forearm.

"Leave her out of this!" Naruto pushed back against the claw and made the demon stumble on its hind feet. It thudded back down to all fours and roared.

"Naruto!" she cried, both worried and relieved.

"Sakura, go get Tsunande-baachan," he ordered quickly, crouching into a fighting stance. "Tell her that the Kyuubi's gotten into Sasuke somehow."

"Into--?" she staggered to her feet and looked upon the horrifying, black-furred demon. "But, Naruto, I don't understand--"

"Go get her!" he yelled and the creature sprang forward with a roar. Naruto lunged out of the way, rolled, and got up into a half-crouch. The demon turned, saw the pink-haired woman standing helplessly nearby, and dove for her. The blond tackled it and they slammed into the wall, the picture frames mounted on it shaking violently and crashing to the floor. The nine black tails flailed violently and slammed into Naruto's chest, throwing him to the opposite wall. He crashed through the window and Sakura shrieked, running from the house. Outside, she darted over to Naruto, who was on his hands and knees, hacking up a mouthful of blood.

"Naruto!" she threw herself down beside him and placed her hands on his arm, sending the green healing chakra directly to the center of his body. Instantly, the bones and flesh mended themselves and he gave her a thin smile.

"Thanks," he stood and helped her up.

"Naruto, what's going on?" she asked wearily.

"Sasuke…" he frowned and she blinked.

"You remembered!"

"He made an offer to the Kyuubi--all of my memories in exchange for him."

"Then, Sasuke really is--"

The wall exploded outward, and the black demon fox shook the plaster dust and fragments off itself, snarling softly.

"Go," Naruto pushed her away. "Go get Tsunande and Jiraiya. Hurry!"

The demon lunged and Naruto jumped to meet it, slamming into its chest and falling on top of it with a heavy thud. Sakura turned to run for the inner village, but then heard Naruto yelp in pain as elongated claws tore down his arm as the two bodies rolled in the dirt together.

"No!" she changed her mind quickly, rushing back to the squabble and concentrating a great deal of chakra into her right foot. "Get off him!" She swung her leg into the tangle of limbs and her foot connected with the muscled stomach of the black demon. It made a thick choking noise and sprawled over, shuddering on the ground from the force of the blow. She helped Naruto to his feet. The blond stared down at the writhing demon, then up at his friend.

"You know, I forgot that you could hit like that…"

She cracked her knuckles and gave him a humorless grin: "We'll get Sasuke back together, Naruto."

He blinked. Then grinned back. "Together," he nodded in agreement.

"We have to move him away from the village as much as possible," Sakura threw a worried glance over her shoulder.

"I know the perfect place," Naruto grimaced, held his bleeding arm wound closed with the opposite hand, and turned toward the trees encircling the Hidden Leaf Valley.

"Here," Sakura reached over and placed her hands on the bleeding gashes lining the blonde's arm. Her green chakra flared up around the wounds and the skin mended itself.

"Thanks," he breathed, giving her a tired smile.

"Naruto…are you sure it was a good move to leave him back there like that?" she turned her gaze briefly toward the direction they had come.

"Yeah," Naruto stood, brushing the dirt and grass off the seat of his pants and shoving his hands into his pockets, beginning to pace. "That fox definitely wants me dead. He'll make Sasuke come after me." He swallowed back a lump in his throat.

"Sasuke…" Sakura repeated his name, sounding sad. Then she rose as well and crossed her arms, watching him pace. "Do you have a plan, Naruto?"

"Something like that," he cocked his head slightly to one side, thinking. "It's not all intricate and mapped out, but, I think it'll do."

"What do I do?" she asked, and before he could open his mouth, she shut him up with a glare: "And don't say 'nothing', because I'm going to help whether you like it or not."

"Fine," he sighed. "I was thinking of summoning Gamabunta. You know, fight something big with something bigger."

Sakura made a face at him, but then considered the idea herself. "Maybe…Gamabunta could pin him down, and we could…I don't know, try to reach him?"

"My guess is, we have to weaken the Kyuubi's hold on him first," he avoided her eyes.

"…I suppose you mean by attacking him?"

"Yeah."

"Mm," she nodded, looking upset but determined. So be it. A heavy roar parted the winds and reverberated through the waterfall valley; the underbrush crashed wildly as something tore rabidly through it. Naruto crouched, Sakura lifted her fists.

"Now!" the blond leapt into the air. Sakura raised a fist above her head, her eyebrows drawn together in concentration as the Sasuke-demon burst onto the riverbank and she slammed her fist down in the dirt, the powerful buildup of chakra making a long, wide rift in the ground. The demon jumped into the air to avoid it.

"Kage bunshin no jitsu!" Naruto yelled from above, and thirteen orange and black-clad figures pounced on the unsuspecting creature, lashing at it with punches and kicks. It swung three of its tails outward and seven of the bunshin cried out and disappeared in wisps of smoke. The others landed and the demon landed on all four legs before them, snarling its displeasure. Then, abruptly, its red eyes flickered and the growl faltered. The remaining Narutos dove forward and tackled it into the grasses by the river, pummeling away at it. Sakura gathered more chakra for her next attack and waited, not wanting to jump into the fray and risk hurting the real Naruto. More tails swung out in self-defense. All the Narutos were thrown back, and only the real one stood, wiping a slight trail of blood from his mouth.

"I think it worked."

"What worked?" Sakura asked but kept her eyes on the demon that was righting itself cautiously, almost reluctantly.

"This place…it's where Sasuke and I fought before he left to be with Orochimaru."

She blinked: "I get it! Sasuke's still in there, so, when he saw this place, he remembered what happened!"

"If that worked, then…" Naruto pulled back a hand, and a bright sphere of chakra physically manifested itself into his palm. "Hey, Sasuke! Remember this?"

The blue and white Rasengan spun into larger proportions, evicting a low snarl from the creature. Its nine waving tails suddenly stilled, then swung out toward them both. Nine silvery-white crackles of electrified chakra raced across the ground toward the two of them.

"Shit!" Naruto's concentration faltered and the energy sphere vanished. Moving quickly, Sakura stepped in front of him and slapped the ground before them open-palmed. A split-second later, the ground beneath them rumbled and a jagged crack formed a few feet in front of them. Naruto ran up and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning and ducking at the same time as the nine Chidoris struck the fissure and stopped, exploding in a blinding flash of white. They huddled together as the explosion passed, and then stood quickly, whirling back around to face the demon. Its tails were waving again, and it was somehow contorting its ugly snout into a malicious grin.

"Bastard," Naruto spoke up, both about the Kyuubi and about the man being possessed by said demon. "He never does like being shown up." His hands flew into several complicated-looking seals, then he raised his thumb to his mouth and bit down hard at the pad, hissing at the slight pain, then dropping to one knee and slapping his hand on the ground: "Kuchiyose ni Jitsu!" The black and red spiral runes and seals bled out around him rapidly, and from the ground came a deep rumble. Suddenly, Naruto and Sakura were lifted high into the air, leaving their opponent behind.

"What--" Sakura blinked, then lost her balance and fell back onto what was not part of the ground, but the moist, pebbly flesh of a toad. A huge toad. With a red vest and purple-black rosary beads around its neck. And a pipe.

"Thanks for coming, Gamabunta," Naruto patted its head affectionately.

"Hmph," came a loud, gruff voice from directly below them. "There'd better be a damn good reason for calling me out like this."

"Naruto…" Sakura lifted one hand to her head, looking dazed, "are we on the head of a toad? And is it talking to us?"

"Yeah," he answered with a grin.

"And who the hell's this?"

"Ah, sorry. Gamabunta, this is my good friend Sakura. Sakura, this is Gamabunta, king of the toad summons."

"Um…hi?"

"Impressive, aren't I?" came the gloating response.

"Hey, before that starts Gama," Naruto pointed down, "I need your help."

"You always need my help, you brat."

Naruto tried to be patient: "Well, you see, there's a problem--"

"Hence needing help."

"If you'd just look down…"

The toad's head tilted, and Sakura yelped, holing on. Naruto just sat, used to the abrupt movements by now. The three didn't have to look down for more than a second anyway. Large blue flames roared into the sky and the black-haired Sasuke/Kyuubi roared triumphantly, growing in size to rival the king of toad's. The red eyes could now glare at them again, huge and angry-looking, Naruto's reflection caught in one eye and Sakura's in the other.

"Oh," said Gamabunta.

"Yeah," said the blond.

"Right," the toad nodded, pulling another surprised yelp from the pink-haired woman as she held on for fear of falling into the suddenly tiny river below. "Tell her to hang on."

"Sakura," Naruto turned his head to look at her, "you might want to hold onto me." He rose, planting his feet on the large, flat head, directly between its bulging eyes. Sakura crawled over to him, grabbed his waist and hoisted herself up, clinging for dear life. "Don't look down," he added as an afterthought. "Ready, Gama?"

"This definitely reminds me of something," the red and tan animal didn't answer him directly, but sprung up attentively. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and held on as Naruto started more complicated-looking hand seals.

"Gama Yuendan Katon no Jitsu!" he clasped his hands into the final seal (the dragon) and touched the rough surface of Gamabunta's head between his feet. The giant toad reared up, pulling in a long, huge breath and Naruto did the same, lifting three fingers to his mouth--pointer and middle fingers curling and touching the thumb. They exhaled at the same time, a long stream of fire spilling from Naruto's lips and another from Gama's, joining together and slamming into the fox's chest. It was engulfed from snout to tail-tip in fire and it howled, stumbling backwards. A huge back paw landed in the river and steam rose in thick rolls, the hissing sound resembling that of a huge snakes'. The two continued their attack for as long as humanly possible (for Naruto, anyway), then stopped and the onslaught of flames ceased. The demon stumbled, roaring its displeasure. Naruto gasped for air and looked up in time to see that with a swish of a few of its tails, the fire feasting on its fur dispelled.

"Well shit," Gamabunta huffed. "This is one tough fox."

"Didn't you fight the Kyuubi before, Gama?" Naruto called down. "With the Yondaime! What did you two do?"

It was the demon's turn; before the toad could answer him, it lashed out with every one of its tails, creating an enormous typhoon of air and water that descended on them in a heartbeat and all three screamed in surprise. Gamabunta's weight kept him on the ground, but Naruto had to drop to his knees and cling to the summon's back tightly. Sakura's grip was slipping.

"Naruto!" she wailed, and he tried to hold onto her but nearly flew off himself. Her hands unclasped from around his stomach and slid from his hips, and his friend was wrenched away, screaming.

"SAKURA!" he yelled. "Gama! Help her!"

The huge toad crouched and sprung away from the attack, hopping across the Valley of the End to the rock ledge that the waterfall poured down from. Naruto ran down his back, leapt up onto the wall, scampered up, and hooked an arm out, and Sakura landed hard against him. His arm pulled badly and he winced, but held her close and jumped back down, landing on Gama's back.

"Nice catch," he commented, sinking low to the water's surface as the large black demon circled toward them, shoulders and hips rising and falling in sway with its movements.

"We're…trapped," Sakura panted, putting a hand to her head and looking extremely dizzy.

"That we are."

"Any ideas?" Naruto frowned.

"Not a one."

Sakura suddenly reached up and touched his arm. His pulled--and probably dislocated--shoulder healed itself. He blinked back at her.

"How did you know…?"

"Even if you try and hide your pain," she smiled tiredly at him, "you and I--and Sasuke too--we're connected. I just know it."

"Connected…"

'That's okay,' he smiled. 'As long as you remember what we've been through. The good as well as the bad. All of our memories, the ones we share, bind us together forever. And no matter where we go or whatever happens to either of us, that will keep us connected…'

He stood. Sakura looked up at him. "Naruto…?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm going to make that bastard wake up if it's the last thing I do," he swore softly. Then he broke into a run, pumping his arms and gaining momentum as he raced up the toad's vest-covered back and bounded onto its head, running still. "Take care of her, Gama!"

"Oi, kid--!" Gamabunta started and Sakura screamed after him.

"Naruto! Don't do anything stupid!"

He ignored her: "SASUKE!" he leapt off the huge toad's head and created a bunshin beneath him that slapped its palms to his feet and pushed him higher into the air. That one dispelled and another one appeared again at his feet, throwing him up even higher. Gama, Sakura, and even the demon watched him rise into the sphere of setting sun and they were momentarily blinded. Then, he fell--he dove--toward the fox creature, one hand drawn back in a huge, brightly-swirling Rasengan sphere. Sasuke/Kyuubi roared and lifted all nine tails again, the silvery-white Chidori forming at each tip and then congealing into one sold mass of blinding chakra. Wordlessly, Naruto screamed and threw his hand down toward the black demon. It let out a deafening, ear-piercing, shrieking roar and flung the Chidori upward, toward the blond.

"Holy hell, that's gonna explode!" Gamabunta turned and bounded away from the cliff, leaving Naruto and the demon alone in front of the waterfall, the blond on the right and the creature on the left, the Rasengan and Chidori swirling together, glowing brighter and brighter, spiraling into a vortex between the two figures.

"NARUTO! SASUKE!" Sakura lifted her head and screamed to the dying sky. The chakra exploded, and everything went white.