Chapter 9

"Akari. Round up a team of A.N.B.U and scan the area surrounding the village." Lady Tsunade ordered.

"Yes Lady Tsunade."

Akari leapt out of the broken window. As she landed she produced three clones and sent them in separate locations. She needed to find a team and quickly. She herself, made her way to the closest gate. As she leapt from building to building she noticed the many flashing lights that were used as signals among the Leaf Ninja. It seemed that everyone was on high alert for whatever was heading their way.

"Hey Kid. Whats up?" A voice said beside her.

"Yugao." She didn't stop.

"Your clone came and found me. What do you need?" The woman ran next to her.

"I need a team. We're heading outside the village and scoping the perimeter. Anything strange is to be reported to the Hokage." Akari told her.

"Alright. Here, I managed to swipe you one on the way over."

Akari glanced at Yugao. She held a mask between them, motioning for her to take it. It wasn't her, but it would do for now. This was an A.N.B.U mission after all. She had to look the part.

"Thank you."

The two of them arrived on the walkway above the village wall. They waited patiently for the other two members. Akari grimaced as he recognized who they were. Her clones must not have been able to find anyone else in time. She had no choice but to use them.

"Torune. Fu."

"You don't seem all that happy to see us." Fu commented.

"I wasn't expecting the two of you. But no matter. We have work to do." She said.

They nodded in agreement. She didn't have a problem with these two. In fact she respected their abilities and they were certainly loyal. Only problem was that their loyalty tended to lean more towards Danzo than anyone else. Yugao even seemed a little miffed at having them along.

Akari glanced at the signals being broadcast across the village. No sign of the enemy yet. The Hokage had all the gates guarded and ready for attack.

"Alright. Everyone pick a gate. Search the area outside of it. Any place you feel could be an optimal hiding place. Leave no stone unturned."

The four of them leapt of the wall and outside the village. Each took off in the direction of a gate. South, East, West. Akari took the North. As she did she kept an eye the wall. Many ninja stood at attention looking out for anything out of place. She didn't want any of them attacking her by accident so she made sure they couldn't see her.

There was no sign of anything odd. The trees weren't hiding anyone trying to endanger the village. Seeing as how she was on her own, she activated her sharingan. Smiling she scanned the area. Still nothing. Maybe the others had found something. She glanced at the main road leading to the village. She blinked in surprise as she saw a large amount of chakra approaching. As she paid closer attention she realized it was four strangers. There was no way to tell who they were for they were well concealed under their cloaks and hats.

Akari meant to approach but another ninja beat her too it. He believed they were travelers. He walked up to them cautiously, letting them know that they needed to turn back. Akaris eyes focused on the strangers in suspicion. She saw the attack before it could connect. Gasping in shock, Akari rushed at the fellow Leaf Ninja and just barely made it in time. She knocked him out of the way as two large walls of earth slammed into each other right where he once stood. The other ninja nearby got over their initial shock and attacked the strangers. Akari pulled herself up and helped the man to his feet. Grabbing his flashlight, she signaled to the North Gate.

"Enemy attack verified!" A shout rang out.

Akari prepared herself. Katana in hand and eyes closed she let out a long sigh. Mentally, she shut herself off. There was no room for anything but her intent to kill. Though the darker side of her was itching to draw blood, but she forced herself to she hold back and watched. It was four against many and yet nothing was working. Every attack they threw at them was hopeless. Fire, water, lightening. There was no effect. The four strangers continued their approach. Even if she did made a move, she doubted it would make a difference.

"There are too many casualties. Whoever these people are, they're too much for everyone." Torune muttered.

"What should we do Kid?" Yugao wondered.

Her temporary team had made their way over to the point of attack. They now stood around her waiting for her response.

"Change of plans. Don't fight them head on. Just try and hold them back for as long as possible. Yugao and I will make sure there aren't any more casualties. We can't lose any more than we already have."

"Right!"

Akari rushed into the fray. She noticed that they were mainly using Earth Techniques but it was enough to keep them out of reach. Any chance she could, she would throw a large fire technique at the enemy. They would merely block it. She watched as the other members of the Black Ops did the same. In the process, they also defended any ninja in serious danger. This fight was leaning in the attackers favor and they all knew it. Akari's eyes seemed to twitch in anticipation. She could do it…she could use her Mangekyo. Amater…no. She couldn't risk it. There were too many witnesses.

"Pull back! Get everyone still alive back over the front gate!" She cried out.

These guys were too much. Even for her. She would have to go full out and that just wasn't possible right now.

"Look out!"

Akari cursed under her breathe. A large boulder was shooting towards her and many fallen Leaf Ninja. There was no way they could all dodge it. Needing running room, she ran up the village wall. Then, once she was at a good distance she stopped and turned around. Biting her lip, she brought her hands up in a quick motion. Ox, Rabbit, Monkey. Akari prepared herself for the large surge of chakra she would be sending down her right arm. Lighting pulsed into her hand and seemed to engulf the area surrounding her. In seconds, she sprinted back down the wall and leapt up to meet the boulder head on. The sound of birds chirping, filled her ears as she made contact. The boulder shattered around her, and she landed safely on the ground. The Four strangers stared at her and stopped their approach.

"Hey Kid, are you okay?" Fu asked.

Her team ran up beside her, weapons in hand. They had evacuated the other ninja back over the wall into the village. Now it was only four on four.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"The Chidori. Impressive." Yugao commented.

Akari nodded a thanks. Then they all focused their attention on the attackers. One of them had placed a large scroll on the ground. It looked to be a woman. She proceeded to create hand signs.

"What is she…?"

The ground rumbled. Akari gasped in surprise. Whatever this was, didn't look good. She tried to throw herself at the woman but didn't get far. Fu grabbed her around the waist and retreated over the gate. Torune and Yugao followed close behind. Fu placed her gently next to Genma who had been giving orders from the walkway at the top of the gate. Kotestu and Izumo were nearby as well.

"What the big idea!" She yelled.

The A.N.B.U merely nodded in front of them. A large temple like structure had burst form the ground where she once stood. Everyone stared at it in shock. Three more popped up around the village in front of the western, eastern, and south gate. Then a dome of some sort appeared, surrounding the village.

"Shit." She muttered.

"It's a defense barrier." Genma stated.

"That means we're…" Kotetsu

"That's right. Thanks to that barrier, we're trapped inside the village." Genma finished.

Then a bright light appeared below them. They all hopped down to face the gate from inside. Everyone stood ready to fight. A voice spoke from within the light. It spoke of how they only needed on leader. The Feudal Lord. The Hokage was not needed. Everyone's face hardened as the four attackers walked into the village. Then the larger man leaped in the air.

"Move!" Genma yelled.

She didn't need to be told twice. They all scattered to avoid the large amount of earth coming towards them. Dirt and debris filled the air. Once it cleared they all noticed a large hill like structure where they once stood. Nobody understood what was going on.

Then a hand burst from the ground, gripping Genmas ankle in place. Genma pulled back along with many others as a disturbing sight appeared before them. There were people climbing out of the dirt. Hordes of them. They all approached slowly and menacingly in their direction.

"Crap. We're surrounded." Kiba spoke beside her.

"But, what's all this?" Lee asked.

"There's so many of them." Said Choji.

"And something about them…isn't normal." Ino muttered.

Akari glanced at her comrades. The four of them had just arrived. None of them gave her a second glance. Her mask was still firmly on her face. She felt a small tap on her shoulder. Riko now stood to her left and gave her a small nod. He could always tell it was her under the mask.

"My squad is helping Konohamaru and his friends evacuate the citizens. Figured I'd come here and help." He told her.

"You're late." Genma spoke.

"Genma-san, whats going on?" Kiba asked.

"We're about to find out."

He ordered Ino to back-up the medical team, which she gladly agreed to. Everyone stared at the approaching crowd in worry. They didn't know what to make of it all.

"That's the Kohaku's Clan!" Choji cried out.

"What?"

"It's a Shinobi Clan that was massacred near the Fire Countries border. It was one of the villages that were attacked." Ino explained.

"When we went to check on the other villages, they had all already been killed." Choji added.

"So these are all of the dead? That's so messed up." Akari muttered.

"Very. To be killed and then used as a weapon." Fu shook his head.

There was no more time to talk. The revived ninja had reached them. Akari swiped at incoming attackers with her katana. They seemed to disintegrate as soon as she made contact. She kicked and punched and kicked again. Everywhere she turned there was more of them. The others seemed to have the same problem. There was just too many. Some were overwhelmed and taken down in no time.

"Shit!" Akari muttered.

"Hey! They're gone!" Torune cried out as he covered a group of attackers in his bugs.

"Who?" Rock Lee asked. One of the dead burst into nothing as he gave it a hard kick.

"Damn it! The four of them vanished!" Genma cursed.

There was nothing anybody could do. They were trapped among the dead with no way out. It was both stay and fight, or get taken out in the process of escaping.

"This is going nowhere!" Akari growled. "Fireball Jutsu!"

The Flaming sphere burned through a group of attackers. It gave them some leeway but it wasn't long before even more took their place. The others tried some of their larger attacks as well to know avail.

"At this rate the whole village is going to be covered in corpses." Genma muttered.

"Where the Hell is Shikamaru! He should be figuring out how to handle this!" Kiba growled.

"We don't have time to wait for him." Akari answered.

She stood back and prepared her Lighting Cutter. It was a more enhanced version of the Chidori and took a lot more control. Blue lightning emitted from her arm and she rushed at the corpses. She took out a whole group of them in seconds. Her breathing quickened as her body grew tired. That was twice that she had to use such a strong technique. She only had about one of those left in her. And by the look of things she would need a lot more than that.

"Alright, let's try something else." She muttered.

Bringing her hands together, she produced a clone. She took a deep breath and created yet another Lighting cutter. Her clone did the same. Then, they connected their techniques creating a chain of lightning between them.

"Lighting Transmission!" She cried as she rushed at the dead.

This time she took out an even bigger group then before. By then the others had stopped gaping at her and were back at it. Many of them were also feeling some fatigue from their many attacks.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

"Wolf Fang over Fang!"

Even Riko was having a hard time keeping up with all the corpses.

"Water style! Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Akari didn't have time to watch everyone. Out of the corner of her eye she did notice Fu and Torune managing just fine. Yugao wasn't far away either. She wasn't sure how long they could keep this up but they couldn't quit now.

"Fire Style! Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" She cried.

Everything she tried created a huge gap in the enemy but it didn't last long. More would show up and fill it back up again.

"Fire Style! Flame Bullet Jutsu!"

Not enough.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Still not enough. A noise resonated around them. Akari glanced up in time to see the barrier disappearing.

"Whoever made the barrier must have been defeated." Riko stated.

"Shikamaru!" Choji exclaimed.

Akari turned to the boy in question.

"This is just a distraction. We need to wrap things up and help the other squads." Shikamaru told them.

"Way to state the obvious! Just find a strategy for all this will ya?" Akari rolled her eyes.

"What a drag…do you guys still have some chakra saved up?"

Everyone looked around at each other and nodded. Most of them were running pretty low though. That included Akari. She didn't think she could do anything to flashy anytime soon.

"Then let's go!"

One by one ordered the others to try their biggest attacks. It was going pretty well…until.

"What…the hell?" Shikamura muttered.

The corpses began to disintegrate on their own. All of them disappeared. Then the large hill that brought them crumpled into nothing.

"The other group must've beaten the enemy right?" Kotetsu asked.

"Seems that way." Izumo answered.

"Well Shikamaru, you were a great help." Akari said sarcastically.

"I don't want to hear it Kid." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

He emphasized the word "Kid" with as much sarcasm as he could muster. It was fine when the older A.N.B.U called her that. But coming from Shikamaru, she knew he was teasing her.

"We're the same age!" She crossed her arms in annoyance.

He merely smirked at her. Shikamaru had no trouble figuring out who it was under the mask. Her friends stared back in forth between them curiously. Then there eyes lit up in recognition. Luckily it was only them who noticed who she was. The others were still oblivious to her identity as they cheered in victory.

"Don't celebrate yet. According to Shikamaru, that was all a diversion." Genma said.

"Konohamaru warned us about a technique that could burn down the village." Shikamaru told them.

"Weren't Yamato-san and Sakura sent to Asuma sensei's location?" Ino asked.

"Any word from them."

"No…" Ino muttered.

"Couldn't the resurrection jutsu disappearing be another distraction?" Genma questioned.

"We'll have to find either Sakura and Yamato, or the enemies then." Shikamaru stated.

"Right. Gather up a team and go investigate the village."

"Understood. Ino, Choji, Kiba, Rock Lee. Let's go." Shikamura ordered.

Then he looked directly at Akari.

"You too."

Akari nodded. Then she turned to her team.

"One of you needs to find Shizune and tell her what has happened so far. She will relay the message to the Hokage. The other two need to go with Riko and make sure all of the citizens have been evacuated to safety." She ordered.

"You got it Kid." Torune answered.

With that, the four of them took to the roofs.

Akari turned to her friends and followed them into the village. They stayed close and searched for their allies or the enemies. Whoever they find, will confirm whether or not Konoha was still in danger. Suddenly, she sensed something strange. Akari stopped in her tracks.

"Is that…?" She muttered.

The others noticed her hesitation and stopped. The look on her face must have startled them for they all stared at her in worry.

"Whats the matter?" Rock Lee frowned.

She could feel it. The large amount of chakra emitting a short distance from the village. It was getting stronger by the second. Slowly seeping its way out. But…it felt familiar. It reminded her of the Chunin Exams. Back when Naruto had fought Neji. The Chakra was the same back then. Only that it was coming from Naruto. This time, she could tell that it wasn't him. But whoever it was…they were using the Nine-Tails chakra.

"I…I think I know where Yamato and Sakura have gone." She whispered.

"So do I." Kiba told them.

They all turned to him. He wasn't looking at them, but at the direction the chakra was coming from.

"I can smell them. Akari is right. They are all there including Sora and Naruto. There's also someone else. Someone who isn't from the village."

"Alright. Then lead the way." Shikamura nodded.

They all ran after Kiba as he followed his nose. He took them a few leagues away from the village. As they approached the saw a large explosion from up ahead.

"What the hell was that?" Ino cried out.

Akari's face hardened. The Nine-tails Chakra was beginning to grow. They quickened their pace. It wasn't long before they burst into a clearing. A large crater had been made, and in the center of it was Sora. Naruto, Yamato, Sakura. Asuma Sensei was engaged in battle with a stranger. She didn't pay any attention to them though. Her eyes were on Sora. He was engulfed in what seemed like a cloak of chakra with a tail sticking out. A fox tail. He was ready to land a blow on Naruto.

"No. Stay back. All your words. You can't trick me. YOU WONT TRICK ME."

Akari didn't need to make a move. Sora's arm seemed to stop mid-air and she smiled.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu. Complete." Shikamaru smirked.

"Hey! It's you guys!" Naruto grinned.

"Partial Expansion Jutsu. Both hands."

Choji grabbed Sora from behind keeping him in place.

"He got him!" Ino cheered.

Naruto approached Sora along with Yamato and Sakura.

"I don't understand. If you really have the Nine-tails inside you, how could you have so many friends? You should be an outcast. Why aren't you alone? Like I've been. Like I've been all these years." Sora growled.

"It was the same with me too. Once. When I was little for the most part I was left on my own. But even then, I didn't have the time to be lonely. I was too busy getting people to notice me. And it finally worked. Yep. I made friends like these. Good friends." Naruto smiled.

"I have no friends. I have no friends at all."

Akari frowned in sympathy at Sora. She hadn't realized how rough his life had been. In fact, she hadn't realized how bad it had been for Naruto either. Not until she now. She glanced at her friend and saw him in a new light. To think that he could have ended up like Sora, or Gaara for that matter.

"You're wrong. Im…I mean…all of us are your friends." Naruto assured him.

Then Sora seemed to growl in pain. Choji let go and stared at his burning hands. Holding on to Sora had been too hot to handle.

"Ino!" Shikamaru cried out.

"Right! Ninja Art! Mind Transfer Jutsu!" The girl yelled.

Akari grabbed Ino as she fell. She held her up while watching Sora. His eyes had gone slack and he fell to his knees.

"Did she…?" She muttered.

Then a shriek escaped Inos lips. Kiba and Rock Lee stared at her in worry.

"Ino. What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"There was no human consciousness left in him." She said weakly.

At that moment the clouds covered the moon. There was no longer any shadows for Shikamaru to manipulate and his hold on Sora disappeared. The boy no longer had one tail but three. Everyone stared at him in shock.

"NO! SORA!"

Naruto rushed at the boy but it was no use. With one swipe of his hand, Naruto was blown back. He didn't land far from where they stood.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" Akari called out.

Naruto pushed himself up and face Sora once more. Sora made to swipe him once more.

"Wood Style Jutsu!"

Yamato surrounded Sora with his technique only for the boy to break free in an instant. Naruto came at him from above and was swat down by one of the tails. Akari nearly jumped in but Shikamaru gripped her arm and kept her firmly in place. She scowled at him under her mask in annoyance.

"Shadow Strangle Jutsu!"

Akari watched as strands of dark shadows slithered towards Sora and wrapped around him. Again, Sora broke free. Choji took a turn only to be thrown back like a rag doll. Everyone took a turn. Naruto, then Rock Lee, and Kiba. Yamato once again tried his wood jutsu. They were all hit hard leaving Ino and Sakaru to heal them.

Akari had yet to give it a shot. She knew better than to try and stop Sora. He was so close to the fourth tail, he was impossible to control. Kakashi had explained to her how bad it was for the fourth tail to emerge. Naruto had nearly killed Jiraiya because of it. And then, the incident on Tenchi Bridge with Sakura and Yamato. She knew there wasn't much she could do in this situation. Unless, she went for the kill. This she would not do. At least not until she had no other choice. So, she stood there and watched her friends as they attempted to break Sora free.

Then Naruto created many shadow clones, surrounding Sora. Nearly all of them were blown away. All but the original who still had a firm grip on the boy.

"SORA! Come back! I know you're in there!" Naruto growled.

Suddenly he grew a chakra cloak of his own. Just like Sora, he know surrounded in red chakra from the Nine-tails! Yamato tried to stop it from seeping out any further, but the technique he used had no effect. Sora once again attacked Naruto who now also had three tails. Naruto continued to try and knock some sense into Sora to no avail. If things went any further, Akari would have to intervene. Before she could, a bright light surrounded the two boys. Everyone retreated back as a large explosions of chakra burst from where Naruto and Sora stood.

Once everything was clear, Akari's breathe caught. Sora had progressed to the fourth tail. It looked like Naruto wasn't far from it either. She could no longer stand back.

"Damn it." She muttered.

She had already used up plenty of chakra for the day but this was urgent. Once again she sent chakra surging through her right hand.

"What…what are you doing?" Sakura stared at her in shock.

Sakura stared at her arm in confusion. Akari understood why. It had been a while since she had seen the
Chidori being used by someone other than Kakashi. The last time being Sasuke Uchiha.

"Who are you? What are you trying to do? That technique is dangerous." The girl told her.

"Sakura. It's fine." Ino assured her.

Then the blonde girl turned to Akari.

"Right? You're not going to hurt them." Ino asked.

Akari didn't say anything. As soon as the Chidori was complete she rushed at the boys. She was nearly on top of them when…

"STOP! STAY BACK AKARI!" Naruto growled.

She nearly fell face first in surprise. She was going so fast, her feet skidded to a stop a few feet away from them. Forgetting about the Chidori, she put her arms out to catch herself. Her right arm pierced the ground causing a shower of rock and dirt around her as the Chidori disappeared. The boys broke free of each other. Sora stared daggers at her from where he stood.

"Naruto." She muttered.

"I can handle this. Trust me."

The boy glanced in her direction. Then he seemed to start talking to himself.

"I didn't tell you to come out. Get back in your cage, you monster fox!"

Akari didn't know what to do. She was on her knees not far from Sora's reach. She couldn't bring herself to run away. Even though the look on Sora's face caused her to feel fear for the first time in years.

"Im not going to let some stupid fox take me over!" Naruto yelled.

Akari tore her eyes away from sora. Her eyes widened as she saw Naruto bring his arm back, and stab himself in the leg. She stared at him in shock. Why. Why would he do that? Then she flinched.

She had heard someone. No. Some…thing. She had heard something laugh.

"Why are you holding back?"

A voice. She glanced around her but saw no one.

"Why don't you ask me like you always do?"

Once again she turned to Naruto. Only, she didn't see him. Instead she saw a fox. A large fox in a cage. Naruto stood in front of it. Staring at it. She didn't understand what was going on. Then she realized that in her fear, she had activated her sharingan. It was allowing her to see what was hidden inside Naruto.

"Say, "Lend me your power.""

"Shove it!" Naruto said through gritted teeth.

Akari could now see how hard the boy was fighting to keep control. Once again, she was seeing her friend differently. She had always known he was strong, but now she saw just how much. To have such a monster inside of him, and not lose control. It was remarkable.

"SNAP OUT IF ALREADY! WAKE THE HELL UP!" Naruto shouted.

Everyone stared at the boy in silence. He was no longer surrounded by the Nine-tails cloak. Naruto Uzumaki had managed to stay in control. Sora shrieked in pain. Naruto stood, promising he would save Sora. Akari stood as well, willing to stay back and allow her friend to handle it. Then, without her friend noticing she deactivated her sharingan.

Naruto charged at Sora. Every move he made was blocked and he was thrown around like nothing. Sora was not going easy on him. At one point, Sakura came rushing down to heal her teammate. Shikamaru yelled at her saying that she didn't have the time. Sora sent a large attack at all of them, taking out a large portion of the forest around them.

Luckily Akari was fast. She reached Sakura in time and pulled her out of harm's way. The others had been saved by Yamato's quick thinking. Before Sakura could refuse, Akari grabbed her wrist and dragged her to where the others stood. She handed her friend off too Ino who took the hint and gripped Sakura firmly by the arm.

"Hey! Let go of me! I have to heal Naruto!" Sakura glared at them.

Akari glanced at the boy in question. He had taken a lot of damage but he was still standing.

"You know how quickly he recovers. He heals faster than anyone else possibly could." She told the girl.

Sakura continued to glare at her. Finally she let out a sigh and nodded. Akari made her way back to the boys.

"Akari."

She wasn't surprised that Sakura had finally noticed who she was. She must have heard Naruto when he yelled it out.

"When did you learn that technique?"

Akari didn't turn around. She knew what technique she spoke of.

"Now is not the time Sakura." She muttered.

Without another word, she went back to Naruto. He had finally started walking towards Sora once more. Then, he nearly fell forward before Akari caught him.

"I'm fine. You should go back with the others." He whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere. You asked me to trust you. Now you trust me. I can stop him." She told him.

"How?" Naruto blinked in surprise.

Akari set him down gently then approached Sora cautiously. This would be risky but she needed to give it a shot.

"Stay behind me Naruto. No matter what. I need you to promise you won't look at my face."

"Your face? I've seen your face before." He asked clearly confused.

"Just promise me."

"OK. As long as you bring him back." He muttered.

Sora growled at her as she got closer. She didn't falter. Thought she had been scared of him before, she now realized she had the ability to stop him. She had figured it out as soon as she saw the fox inside Naruto. It had reminded her of what Temari had told her long ago. Also of what she had read about Madara Uchiha. She had the ability to control tailed beasts.

Breathing deeply, she activated her Mangekyo. Then she removed her mask. At the sight of her eyes, Sora seemed to shrink back slightly. Then he let out a loud roar of rage. The small part of the Nine-tails he held was clearly not happy to see her like this. Sora charged at her and Naruto yelled for her to get out of the way.

"ENOUGH!" She cried out.

Everything stopped. Everything was black. In front of her stood Sora. Only it wasn't him. Wisps of red chakra surrounded him. His face was contorted in a gruesome sneer.

"That is enough. You will leave Sora's body." She ordered.

"You dare order me this way! I am the Nine-tails! I don't follow orders from a mere human child!"

"You are not the Nine-tails. If you were, I wouldn't even be trying this. The real one is inside my friend out there. You are but the sad remains of the original."

"I may not be the as strong as the original but that doesn't make me weak. I will not leave this host."

"You will."

Akari put as much power as she could in those words. Her Mangekyo staring daggers at the monster. The fox flinched and cried out in pain.

"Do you think yourself like that bastard Madara. Only he had the power to control me! The boy wants me inside of him. He needs the power I offer."

"I am nothing like him. But that doesn't mean I'm not capable of controlling you!"

"Let me prove to you how badly the boy needs me."

The sneer on Sora's face went away. The fox was no longer there.

"Whats…whats going on?"

"Sora? Sora! You need to snap out of this! I can get rid of the fox for you but you need to want it!" She told him.

"I…I don't want that! I need to destroy all of those who have hurt me! Who have abandoned me!" He cried.

"Including Naruto? He who has made you his friend? Who continues to fight for you even as you lose control?"

Sora seemed to hesitate.

"He's your friend Sora! We all are! Why can't you see that? Why won't you understand?"

"My friend…I don't have friends…" Sora frowned.

"But you do! They are all out there fighting to save you Sora! Let us save you!" She pleaded.

"Save me? I…yes. Please save me!" Sora burst into tears.

Akari grinned but it was too soon. The fox reappeared. The sneer returned on Sora's face.

"NO! There will be no saving this boy! This is my host and I will not leave it!"

"He doesn't want you! I won't allow you to continue to control him! You will leave his body and you will do so without complaint. NOW LEAVE SORA AT ONCE!"

The fox lost its sneer. Its eyes clouded over and he went still. It seemed to nod at her as if waiting for her orders. She had complete control.

"Remove yourself from the boy." She said calmly.

Then she closed her eyes. When she opened them she was no longer surrounded in darkness. She was back in the crater facing sora. Only now, there was a large floating fox head above them. No longer having a host, it couldn't manifest completely. She stared at it in wonder. The fox stared back at her, clearly still under her control.

"Go." She whispered.

It disappeared. Akari fainted.