A/N: HAPPY 50TH CHAPTER, BOYS AND GIRLS (Technically the 51st, but one of them is the PSA between chapters 17 and 18).
This chapter will contain something that I've been dreading writing, but have been setting up this entire arc. I hope it lands with all of you.
The invasion still has several chapters left, so the hope is that it doesn't drag on too much.
Time for Chapter 50(!)
Enjoy!
Gaara had been far more correct than Naruto would have liked.
The single conversation the two Jinchuuriki had shared had not been a pleasant one. Marred by a horrid crime, open threats, and blood, it was a moment in time the blonde had pushed to the furthest recesses of his mind. He had never gone so far as to forget it entirely. He remembered each and every word they had exchanged. One sentence was ringing true at present.
"When one apex predator finds another, it's only natural to be competitive, don't you think?"
The sentiment did not fit perfectly, as Naruto's competitive spirit was secondary to his raw dislike for the redhead as he stared into his sociopathic eyes, but he could not deny that his natural instinct was to rip the boy apart. It had been from the very start. The difference between then and now, simply put, was that he now felt capable of doing so. Perhaps the inclination was a byproduct of the demonic chakra coursing through his system, perhaps not. It made no difference.
With little else other than raw disdain fueling him, Naruto charged across the lengthy crater to intercept Gaara, who had already begun his approach. The Jinchuuriki clashed halfway, locking opposing hands and cracking their foreheads together. Straining against the redhead, the leaf genin was instantly struck by how brutally strong Gaara had become physically. Though he had never faced him in combat before, none of what he had seen indicated such a staggering level of physical power.
Within seconds, Naruto had been pushed back a foot, with his feet sliding back across the dirt. When he attempted to force out more strength to regain ground, Gaara turned his own effort against him by stepping off to the side and allowing him to stumble forward. Trading in his hold on Naruto's wrist for a grip on the back of his neck, the Suna boy bent the blonde's posture over and drove the point of his knee up into Naruto's stomach. He then tossed him back towards Satsuki with the same grip.
Rebounding to his feet, Naruto took a deep breath. The first exchange had been definitively won by Gaara. Under normal circumstances, the blonde would have taken stock of what he had done wrong, and at least attempted to adjust accordingly, but his mind was clouded by discord and anger. Charging back in again, Naruto was made to miss with a swipe of his claws aimed for the Suna boy's face. Leaning back, Gaara caught his arm as it whizzed past his face.
He then spun Naruto around and shoved the arm up between his shoulder blades, putting tremendous pressure on his shoulder. The blonde struggled against the bind, quickly freeing himself and paying his fellow Jinchuuriki back with a cracking punch across the jaw that turned Gaara's head. The redhead merely grinned. When Naruto stepped forward to continue his assault, he was painfully punished for his recklessness with a stabbing pain on his right side.
Gaara had, in the brief pause between engagements, reformed his left arm into a serrated spike once again, and had sunk it six inches deep into Naruto's shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Naruto returned the favor by jamming his claws into his foe's stomach.
"You've made my day already." the Suna boy said with a dark chuckle. He then snapped his head forward and sent Naruto stumbling back with a mean-spirited headbutt. Rubbing the small hematoma rising up on the crown of his head, the leaf genin scowled at Gaara. The aesthetic damage he had taken from Satsuki before the Jinchuuriki's arrival had already healed, and he could see the multiple puncture wounds on his stomach mending in real-time. His recovery was even more rapid than Naruto's.
"How about we move a bit…faster?" Gaara suggested. The blonde was afforded no time to answer, as the Jinchuuriki was directly in front of him with alarming suddenness. Ducking low, Naruto narrowly avoided being bludgeoned by Gaara's jagged left arm and reflexively slugged him in the gut. Before he could build on his success, the Suna boy snatched up his arm and performed a short spin to generate momentum and toss him up into the air.
Regaining his bearings quickly, Naruto couldn't help but marvel at just how high he had been thrown. When he began to plummet again, he picked up speed quickly, and with nothing to push off of, he was a slave to his own trajectory. Gaara waited until the last possible moment to move himself into position, almost as though he was drawing the blonde into a false sense of security. But he did indeed move, and once again, with shocking speed.
When Naruto was within ten feet of hitting the ground, the redhead sprinted to meet his descent, and made a short, vertical hop that resulted in the top of his head smashing into Naruto's spine. Bouncing off of Gaara's skull, the blonde was violently kicked in the ribs just before he could hit the dirt and sent sprawling. When he finally came skidding to a stop, he had returned to the exact place he had started upon his arrival. Right in front of Satsuki.
As he slowly made it back to his feet, he took a glance back at his battered teammate. She was on her hands and knees still, with her eyes downcast. She had not even reacted to his rough landing near her as far as he could tell. Upon further inspection, an explanation for her statuesque state presented itself. Her face was covered in black markings, all of which were stemming from the tattoo on her neck. She was pushing back against its grip in silence.
Wincing at the pain in his lower back, Naruto spat blood out of his mouth. A prick of cold then hit his face. It was beginning to drizzle. Ignoring the shift in weather, the leaf's Jinchuuriki locked eyes with Gaara, who was nonchalantly trudging his way forward. He was immensely strong. Far beyond what Naruto had sensed during his approach, which either suggested that he had been holding back significantly during his bout with Satsuki, or that the blonde's senses had fooled him. Likely a combination of both. Worse yet, Naruto's gut told him that he had not seen the extent of Gaara's strength in any capacity.
'I can't win like this.' he thought to himself grimly, shifting his eyes down toward his claws. His own reserves of chakra were still depleted from his grueling exhibition with Neji. Even now, he could feel the pressure the fox's chakra was exerting on his body to maintain his current form of strength. It simply was not enough. Brief as the battle had been up to the present moment, it was clear that Gaara was simply stronger than he was. He could react to his movements, and he could resist him, but the difference in impact was palpable.
'I have to try it.' Naruto decided. Digging his nails into his palms, he allowed a further rush of demonic chakra to burn through him. It was painful. Tremendously so. It always felt unpleasant, but Neji had inflicted severe damage to his internal pathways, which only amplified the pain. Stepping away from Satsuki and toward Gaara, the fiery aura lining his figure increased in volume and deepened in shade.
"That's the way. Embrace it." the Suna boy encouraged, baring his own fangs. Naruto held his tongue. He was unsure of how long he could handle the raw weight of his demon's chakra. Wasting precious seconds on barbs would be foolish. Bursting across the space between them, Naruto drove his fist into the left side of Gaara's jawline with as much momentum and force as he could muster. The impact completely bypassed the redhead's firm stance and sent him sliding backwards with his heels digging into the earth.
When he came to a stop ten feet away, he suffered a delayed reaction in the form of his knees buckling slightly. For the first time, Naruto had truly staggered him. Immediately going back on the offensive, the blonde rushed in and swung for his head again, connecting flush across his cheek with a swipe of his claws. In his desperation to work quickly, he threw himself woefully out of position attempting to strike him a third time.
With a slight stumble forward, Naruto was punished for his lack of consideration by Gaara, who clobbered him over the head with his armored left fist. The sand encasing his arm felt like a dense metal. Enduring the ringing bell in his head, Naruto pressed on and snapped Gaara's head back with a spearing punch from his leading left hand. He was finally able to connect with consistency.
Gaara was far from cowed, and having adjusted to the blonde's renewed speed after only a single lost exchange, he was prepared when Naruto ran in to continue their scuffle. Jumping back a step to extend the distance between them, Gaara allowed his fellow Jinchuuriki to walk face-first into his bladed arm. Naruto thinly avoided having one of his eyes removed by jerking his head left, but still suffered a deep gash on the side of his head as the serrated sand sliced by him.
The pain of the wound paused him for just a moment, but it was more than enough time for Gaara to knock him back with a harsh kick to the chest. The boys did not immediately leap back into the fire. Instead, they began to slowly circle one another. The rain was well and truly pouring down now, and the sky had darkened. The demented smirk had not yet left Gaara's face.
"I'll give you credit where credit's due, you're already packing more of a punch than that whore ever did." he said, gesturing off toward the still-immobile Satsuki. Naruto's jaw tightened at his vulgar insult.
"But as you are now, who you are now, you don't have a prayer. That much I can promise you." the redhead continued. The leaf genin snorted in response.
"What's with all those bruises, then?" he pointed out. Gaara licked the blood that was leaking from his lower lip and held his air of arrogant confidence.
"They're my reward for being so patient." he said, a shade of masochism coloring his tone. The air around the pair then deadened. In the dimmer light brought about by the burgeoning storm, a faint red glow could be seen emanating from Gaara's outline. Naruto could feel his presence growing heavier. His golden eyes almost seemed to emit light. The blonde's instincts had been correct. He had been suppressing himself.
"What the hell are you?" Naruto demanded, doing his absolute best to hide the slight degree of nervousness in his voice. Gaara's sanguinary smile only widened.
"What you were too afraid to become."
Shikamaru squinted his eyes as sparks flew from his and Temari's kunai. Taijutsu, and especially knife-play, had never been a favorite of the Nara. It was an exhausting practice, and it was highly stressful. He was already cut in several places from his face all the way down to his sternum, and his arms were growing weary from the torrid pace Temari was forcing him to contest. They had battled their way out of the infirmary just over a minute ago, and were now tussling in the hall's intersection with another.
She was strong, aggressive, and relentless. She never ceased attacking. Shikamaru was not entirely devoid of chakra, but he lacked the space or time to use what he had. Leaning back at the waist, the Nara's eyebrow was trimmed by the edge of Temari's blade. Snapping back at her immediately, Shikamaru countered her near-miss by punching her clean in the mouth when he straightened up again. For just a moment, the fan wielder backed off and touched her lips, likely to ensure that neither had split.
In that moment of temporary calm, Shikamaru felt his personal regrets and self-loathing creep in. This was not the way he wanted it to end. He scarcely understood why he had done what he had with the girl, or why he had bothered to be receptive to her at all, but he knew for certain that violence was not the outcome he had been seeking. He hadn't known that an invasion was imminent. That much he could forgive himself for. But, in reality, the internal pain he felt with every traded blow was of his own creation.
He had made choices, and he was reaping what he'd sewn. He was being forced to duel a person he, at the very least, viewed as worthwhile, and at most, held a genuine appreciation for. It was his own fault for allowing attachment. Especially after the brutally close call his feelings had incurred once before. Temari allowed him no more time to think, as she quickly pressed forward again. When the sparks began to fly again, Shikamaru found that his desire to push back had weakened.
He still defended himself. He still countered her when he could. But he no longer felt the adrenaline rushing through his veins that had been fueling him in the earlier stages of their encounter. Within thirty seconds, he felt his back hit the wall of the corridor they had maneuvered into. Tensing up at the predicament he found himself in, Shikamaru was unable to bring his hands into proper position to defend the point of Temari's blade, which was headed for his neck. He was quite surprised to find that he could still breathe a moment later.
His throat was in pain, but not in its center. The Suna girl had missed a clean puncture, and had only grazed the side of his neck and plated her kunai in the wall next to it. As the blood dripped down to his shoulder, Shikamaru met her eyes, which were uncomfortably close to his own. In them, he found conflict. She had pulled short at the last possible moment, and he was still alive as a result. What was going through her mind, he could not tell. Her teal irises quickly hardened again, and she pulled her blade from the drywall.
Acting hastily, Shikamaru snagged both of her wrists and pushed her back. He then released her right wrist and folded his arm over to crack her on the temple with the point of his elbow. Temari backed up a step, but yanked her remaining arm free and whipped him just below his right eye with the butt of her kunai. Pain exploded from where she had hit him. He knew immediately that his orbital bone had been shattered. Gripping his face with a wince, Shikamaru staggered.
Temari was upon him again rapidly. Any questions she may have had regarding what she was and wasn't capable of doing to him had been answered, it seemed. With his vision badly compromised by the damage to his face, the Nara struggled to avoid the blade trained on him. His arms were able to endure most of the punishment, but his neck was knicked twice more in the following minute. He had been wavering mentally to begin with, but now, he was wavering physically. Temari had sorted her feelings, and she was fighting to kill him, or so it seemed.
'I'm gonna die.' Shikamaru thought to himself frantically as he barely managed to deflect a swipe of the fan wielder's knife with his own. His mistakes had earned him administrative and social punishment the first time he'd made them. And now, his retribution would be harsher. He would pay for his inability to compartmentalize with his life. He had been incredibly, unfairly lucky in the Land of Waves. That luck had run out.
And yet, despite the truly awful circumstances, he did not want to die.
He despised himself for his naivete, and a small part of him felt as though he deserved what was coming to him for allowing such mistakes time and again, but his deepest desire was to live. He was unambitious, and he complained plenty, but to be killed in a lonely hallway was not an end he could abide. With a desire to preserve himself building up inside of him, Shikamaru put his greatest asset, his mind, to work. Stealing a look over his shoulder, he found his cornerstone. The hall they had stumbled into connected directly to one of the emergency exits, and the door had been ripped off by some past effort.
Absorbing a harsh punch to the forehead, Shikamaru clenched his jaw and strained his mind. Time was running out. Even if he escaped through the open doorway, she would pursue him out in the open just as tirelessly. Then, a method clicked in his mind. One that he hated. One that made him sick to his stomach. But one that would work. It was simple, but simplicity was his friend given the minimal margin for error at hand. Steeling himself to do what he must, the Nara stepped into the oncoming Temari and shoulder-checked her as hard as he could.
Being slightly larger than she was, the impact knocked the fan wielder off her feet. Shikamaru then produced a smoke bomb and threw it down. Due to the small volume of the corridor, the ensuing mass of smoke was incredibly thick and opaque. Well aware that he had miniscule time to operate, Shikamaru sprinted for the door, and when he reached it, he threw together his crude trap as quickly as he could. The entire process took fifteen seconds, and by the end of it, he could hear Temari's feet thundering toward him.
Scrambling up to his feet again, Shikamaru backed as far back from the emergency entrance as he could without intruding on the active fighting raging on all sides of the arena. Time seemed to slow down for what came next. As the Suna girl came into view in the doorframe, Temari appeared to realize the grave mistake she had made right at the last moment. Her eyes widened in fear, and she attempted to stop, but she was a slave to her own momentum.
Her feet hit the tripwire, and set off the paper bombs Shikamaru had lined the interior with. They exploded instantly, causing a decent chunk of the wall overhead to collapse down into the doorway. A massive cloud of dust and debris flew forth from the blast site, scattering all the ninja in close proximity, enemies and comrades alike. Shikamaru was not among them. He stood his ground, and covered his face as the wide whipped past him. As the dust slowly dissipated, the results of his deadly handiwork came into view.
There was a pile of rubble where the exit used to be, and in a sight that he instantly knew would haunt him till the day he died, Temari's upper half was sticking out of it. The middle of her back on down was completely obscured by the concrete and stone. Crushed, in all likelihood. A sobering numbness took hold of the Nara. HIs legs moved practically on their own, in a slow approach toward the broken kunoichi. The closer he drew, the more an even darker reality dawned on him. She had survived the blast, somehow. Her arms twitched and pulled at the asphalt, and her head slowly craned upward.
When he reached her, Shikamaru knelt down in front of her. He could not feel. He could not afford to. He could sense the terrible whirlwind spinning deep down inside of him. He had made his choice. There was absolutely no reversing it. Regrets had no place. Any conviction to be so cold completely disintegrated when Temari's eyes met his own.
"You…finally grew a pair. I'm p-proud of you." she croaked out, somehow finding the levity to joke. Her voice was choked and decaying. Hardly a shred of her usual bluster. Shikamaru said nothing. He dared not speak.
"C-C'mon, I gave you a compliment. At least smile." the dying girl pressed. Whether she was truly without care for her own passing, or entirely delirious, the Nara could not tell. He could not fulfill her request. His face remained stoic, with periodic twitches as his emotions threatened to shatter his composure. Temari appeared to realize this fact. Propping herself up as best she could, the Suna girl shakily reached out and touched his cheek.
"L-Look at me, Shikamaru. And listen." she said, her tone deadly serious. The leaf genin exhaled heavily at her touch. He was hanging by a thread.
"No matter what they s-say to you, no matter who it is, never stop caring. And…never stop trying to see the good in people." she said as firmly as she could possibly manage. Her words broke him. He had maimed her, and there she was, encouraging him. Urging him not to lose himself. Shikamaru's shoulders shook, and hot tears streaked down his cheeks. It had been years since he'd cried. Temari, in her final moments, gave him a bloody smile.
"Keep that h-heart. It's what I…" she began. Before she could finish, the light in her eyes dimmed completely, and her hand slid off his face, falling limp to the ground. She was dead. He had killed her. Self-defense be damned, he had murdered a young woman. A person he had cultivated a friendship with. A person he had respected. A person with friends. A family. Goals. Dreams. Interests. An entire human being. Gone.
Reaching out, Shikamaru gently closed her eyes, and then rose up to his feet. He then felt a drop of water strike the top of his head. Rain had come. Brutally, tragically poetic.
"She really liked you, you know."
Apparently, Temari's final words, and the cold of the rain were not enough torment. The powers that be were not satisfied with Shikamaru's suffering. The voice that had pierced through the falling rain and chaotic noise of the battlefield was far too familiar. Turning around slowly, Shikamaru was met by the cruelest sight imaginable. Standing twenty-odd feet away, with his face paint smeared and bloodied, was Kankuro. His expression was blank, and his posture lifeless. As with Temari, Shikamaru could not find his voice. He had nothing to say for himself. Kankuro filled the silence himself.
"She had a thing for you right away. Thought you were cute. Said she liked how calm you were." he continued, his voice breaking slightly. Though he did not sob, a fresh set of tears stained the Nara's face.
"After you stood up to Gaara, you were all she talked about. Maybe you think she just wanted to screw you, but it was more than that. She felt awful for not telling you. Hell, she almost wrote you a note. She wanted you to survive, above all else." Kankuro said, his frame trembling as he slowly fell apart.
"That's why she came looking for you. She wanted to make sure nobody else got to you. She would have let you live. She would have knocked you out and hid you somewhere. And you…you went and did this." he choked out. Shikamaru finally spoke, against his better judgment.
"I didn't know. I–" he started. Midway through his reply, Kankuro stomped his foot on the ground, silencing him instantly.
"Shut up. Don't you dare try to smooth-talk your way outta this." he snapped, rage and grief visible on his face. The puppeteer trudged across the wet ground, stopping just short of him. After a moment of hesitation, he punched Shikamaru clean on the jaw, sending him back a step. He then drew a kunai and attempted to stab the leaf genin in the chest. Having no more will to retaliate, Shikamaru did not move. Kankuro had every right to retribution. The puppeteer froze halfway through the motion, accompanied by the sound of a dozen small impacts.
Kankuro's chin rested on the leaf genin's shoulder as he lurched forward. He then took a grip on the Nara's ripped shirt.
"You've g-got some nerve to be crying." he hissed in his ear, sorrow, pain, and frustration dripping from every word.
"You have…no right…to cry." the puppeteer rasped, sinking down to his knees and breaking down into uncontrollable sobs as he took hold of Temari's unresponsive hand. His back was littered with senbon, with one in the base of his neck. They were made of ice. Shikamaru's brain registered the implications quickly, but he couldn't help but look on in shame at the raw agony he had incurred for a moment before turning around and stepping away from the broken family.
Looking to the roof of a nearby shop, the Nara found what he was looking for. Standing atop the building, expression hidden behind her mask and hair flying in the wind of the storm, was Haku. How much she had seen beyond the very end was unclear. She was holding a short blade in her right hand, and a set of senbon in her left. As he looked upon the former huntress, Shikamaru felt his eyes begin to leak again.
He was not like these people.
There was blood on the end of Haku's blade, and a touch splattered on her mask. She could kill without conscience. Satsuki had done so as well. Naruto certainly would have in his rage. Shikamaru could not. Even with every justification, what he had done to Temari would remain a specter in his mind for the remainder of his days. He knew it to be the case. More than anything else, a single truth disturbed him.
His feelings of disgust were temporary.
He would learn in time. He would learn to let go. He would learn to kill. He would become numb to it all. He would no longer view his enemies as people, but as obstacles. He would become just like the rest. Just like Haku. For all that he appreciated, and held a certain degree of affection for the girl, the absolute last thing he wanted was to mirror her. She was everything he was not, and while that fact likely informed his suppressed feelings toward her, it made no difference.
A flash of lightning cracked across the sky. As the thunder followed it, Haku took a half-step in his direction, one of her arms twitching forward as though she wished to reach out and touch him. She pulled back and stopped at the edge of the roof. She then glanced off toward the northern border. When her attention returned to him, she tossed her short blade down toward him. Shikamaru caught it by the hilt. He seldom knew how to use such a weapon, but the message was clear.
Stay alive.
Managing a nod in Haku's direction, the Nara gripped the handle until his knuckles turned white. Seeming to feel that she had done all she could given the situation, the Anbu girl turned away, and vanished into the rain. Alone again amongst the fighting, Shikamaru took a deep breath, and wiped the rainwater and tears from his face with his sleeve. Fixating on the image of his mother's face, he prepared to brave the chaotic battlefield.
It was of no comfort to him, but in the back of his mind, he knew how his actions that day would be viewed. A loyal shinobi, serving his country no matter the cost. A boy with conviction so strong that he had put aside his personal feelings for the greater good.
A good soldier. A strong patriot. An emotional child. A killer of friends.
Naruto lowered his posture and bent his knees in preparation to charge. Things had only become more difficult since Gaara had begun to truly flex his literal and figurative muscle. His speed had only increased, he hit even harder, and he was a stonewall to grapple with. The blonde had still found his successes, including managing to knock his man down, but none of it had been sustainable. Throwing himself forward, Naruto speared his claws toward Gaara's face.
His wrist was caught before he could connect, and when he attempted to strike him with his free hand, so was his other. The redhead twisted the joints inward, forcing Naruto's arms to hyperextend. Using the uncomfortable grip, Gaara lifted him a few inches off the ground.
"You might want to fix this. They'll break soon." he said with a sneer, hoisting him up another inch. The blonde grunted in pain as his joints were stressed beyond their limits. With great effort, he was able to break free from Gaara's iron squeeze, but not before his right wrist snapped. Unfortunately, the pain distracted him for just a moment too long, as when his feet hit the ground again, he was caught badly off-guard when Gaara violently sank his earthen fist into the right side of his abdomen.
Blood flew from Naruto's mouth. The shock of the blow practically folded him in half, and forced him down to a knee. At least two of his ribs had been broken.
"I meant what I said, Naruto. You can't beat me. Not the way you are now." Gaara said, his voice taking on an odd calm as the rain poured down over them. The leaf's Jinchuuriki glared up at him and attempted to rise, but found that the pain in his ribs was still too great.
"What does that even mean?" he demanded. The redhead reached down and snagged him by the jaw, lifting him up to eye level.
"You know what the difference is between you and I? You've barely gotten your feet wet. You're green. A rank amateur. And based on how little control you have, you didn't even know you were a Jinchuuriki until recently." Gaara said as Naruto tried and failed to break free from him for a second time.
"They only handed me a rank a few years ago, but I've been in the fire since the day I could walk. Unlike you, I was bred for this." he continued. The leaf genin struggled again to no avail.
"And you're satisfied with that? You'd let them make a weapon out of you?" he questioned. The Suna boy smirked and tightened his grip.
"Well, it lets me do what I like to do. But even then…" he started, pausing midway to drop Naruto from his hold. He then cracked him hard between the eyes with his more human hand and sent him down to his back a few feet away.
"...they've never been able to control me." he finished. Naruto propped himself up on his elbows, but was flattened back down by Gaara's foot pressing down onto his sternum. He was simply too much. How Satsuki had survived him at all, Naruto did not know. It was true that the blonde was at less than one hundred percent of his full capabilities. The internal bleeding the head medic had slowed earlier had intensified again the moment the battle had picked up in earnest. But having felt the wrath of Suna's greatest weapon, Naruto begrudgingly felt as though it made little difference.
"You're letting them use you." he growled, his entire body aching from the inside out. Gaara stared down at him with remorseless eyes.
"You say that like you're any different. If you hadn't beaten yourself half to death, they'd have sent you after me on official orders. All because, well, that's what you mean to them. You're convenient." he said bluntly. The Suna boy dug his heel into Naruto's solar plexus.
"And before you accuse me of not understanding, or being too far gone to know the difference, I'll give you some insight." he said. The leaf genin made one last effort to sit up, but couldn't muster the strength.
"They shunned, ostracized, and tormented me. They branded me a monster. A beast to be feared. I was too young to understand. I went weeks without sleeping. I couldn't even look at my reflection, because I was afraid of what I'd find staring back. I hated myself for what the voice in my head urged me to do. To prove them all right. To be what I was always expected to be. I nearly drove myself to insanity resisting my taste for blood." he said. Naruto despised the genuine, deep-seated chord Gaara's words were repeatedly striking.
"But one day, I made a choice. I embraced it. I let down my walls and I made peace with my demon. I became one with it. The voice in my head became my own. I accepted myself for what I truly was, deep down." the redhead intoned. The golden hue of his eyes then deepened.
"I am Gaara of the Sand, Jinchuuriki host of Shukaku." he said, his voice taking on an inhuman echo. Naruto shuddered. He was looking at the darkest road available to him. Submission to the depravity and violence of the beast within him. Gaara's foot lifted from his chest, and repositioned slotted under his back. The leaf genin was then tossed away, landing near Satsuki for the second time.
Rolling onto his stomach, Naruto made it up to his hands and knees. The lone positive of his situation was that he was still positioned between Gaara and his teammate. As he tried to make it up to his feet, a strained voice hit his ears.
"I'm sorry, Naruto." came the voice of Satsuki. The blonde looked back at the girl. Her gaze had finally left the ground. Her face was completely overtaken by the markings. She sounded horribly guilt-ridden.
"Don't apologize. It's not over yet." he shot back, turning back to the Suna boy. Gaara extended a hand forward, and sand began to rise up from the ground.
"This was over before it even began. I'll extend you some kindness, and let you both die together." he corrected. The sand then formed into an angry cloud. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. There was an outside chance that he could evade it in his damaged state, but Satsuki absolutely could not. In the short time he was given to deliberate, he chose to stay put. If he could shield her, he would. The sand soon came crashing forward. Naruto closed his eyes and braced himself.
While he did hear the sound of Gaara's sediment smashing into something, the fact that he neither smelled blood nor felt any new pain brought his eyes snapping open. The sight that greeted him was incredibly confusing. Standing before him was what appeared to be a member of the Anbu Black Ops, gray flak jacket and all. The second, even more perplexing detail was the sizable wall of solid ice that was shielding all three of them from Gaara's sand.
As the gears turned in his mind, Naruto soon realized who had come to their rescue, and when he did, a scowl painted across his bruised and bloodied features.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. Haku didn't bother to turn and face him, or offer any outward reaction at all. Instead, she made a one-handed seal. The ice wall shattered into snow, repelling Gaara's sand back to its source.
"Are you really in any position to be complaining?" she countered. The Jinchuuriki opened his mouth to retort, but slowly shut it again. She was right. Finally standing to his feet fully, Naruto wiped plasma from his forehead.
"Fine, I'll take it, but you picked a bad time to play hero. Do you even know who we're dealing with right now?" he pressed. Haku simply took a step forward, her masked eyes fixed straight ahead on the Suna boy, who looked quite intrigued.
"My orders are to eliminate Gaara of the Sand." she said stoically, both answering his question and clarifying that her arrival had not come out of the goodness of her heart. Regardless of her motives, help had come, and Naruto could not find the bitterness to be upset about that fact. Haku then reached into a pouch attached to her utility belt, producing something small. She then flicked it back toward the blonde. Catching it after several fumbles, Naruto studied it skeptically. It was a small, circular pill of brown color.
"What's this supposed to be?" he asked. The pill was featureless, lacking any sort of label or number inscribed into its surface.
"It's a food pill. Eat it. You'll like the results." Haku explained. Seeing no genuine reason not to trust her beyond disdain, the Jinchuuriki popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. Instantly, he felt a rush of energy and vitality rush through his system. His pain did not dull, nor did his injuries heal any faster than they already were, but he felt restored.
"It's a military-grade ration. It has enough chakra and nutrients packed into it to keep you going for three days. Maybe a bit less than that in your case." Haku added, stepping forward again. Naruto looked on nervously as the Anbu stared down Gaara.
"You again. I didn't even feel you coming. Just like last time." the redhead said, folding his arms across his chest. Naruto furrowed his brow. The Suna boy's words heavily implied a history between the two. Haku drew a kunai.
"Perhaps I should have just cut your throat and been done with it, then." she said flatly. The blonde shook his head.
"You can't beat him. I don't know what happened the last time you two met, but he's not the same guy. Trust me." he called out. The former huntress ignored him entirely.
"For somebody acting on orders, I feel quite a bit of tension in you. What has you so invested?" Gaara inquired in an amused tone. Haku made another single-handed seal. Rain water then froze on her kunai, extending its blade with razor-sharp ice. The Anbu held the frozen knife out in front of her, assuming a stance as she did so.
"I'm having a bad day, and I'll be taking it out on you."
A/N: Alright, so, I know most of you don't really care about Shikamaru or his arc in this story, but this chapter was why I needed to give him so much page time. I hope it all makes sense to you now.
(For those of you interested in Hiruzen, Guy, and Kakashi vs Orochimaru, you'll be getting your fix next chapter)
And yes, Gaara is, if it wasn't rather obvious by the dialogue, more or less a Perfect Jinchuuriki in this version of events, which is why he's so much stronger than Naruto is.
I do NOT subscribe to the idea that the protagonist always needs to win the direct confrontation, so I have no issue with writing Naruto as a solid step below Gaara strength-wise.
I hope this chapter was enjoyable, even thought it was SUPER long and maybe a little hard to follow?
Tell me your thoughts in a review. I love hearing from you all :)
I love you all
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