A/N: Awesome, awesome reception last chapter. That made me happy. I'm glad that I managed to capture the mood well. Renews some confidence.
So, currently stuck on something, which is whether or not I'm doing an epilogue for this fic. I've managed to plan out the rest of the story chapter wise, so if I *do* go through with an epilogue, this is the 4th to last chapter. If I don't, 3rd to last.
I'm really not sure, because the ending I have in mind can stand on its own, with some ambiguity, but an epilogue ties things up nicely in some ways. Which would you all prefer? I can make either way work.
Regardless, let's finish up this fight.
Time for Chapter 74
Enjoy!
Haku squinted as cold sunlight broke through the trees. The end of the enormous forest was finally within reach. No matter how large one assumed the Land of Fire's largest woodland to be, it somehow managed to outstrip expectations. Picking up her pace, the huntress looked to Shikamaru, who appeared just as uncomfortable as he had throughout their trek through the trees.
"How are you holding up?" she asked. The Nara made a 'so-so' motion with his hand. He had been far from talkative, even less so than usual. It made sense, given that breathing brought him great discomfort. Giving him a gentle squeeze, Haku did her best to make each jump between branches as smooth as possible. His insistence on continuing in spite of a major injury was as boneheaded as it was inspiring. He was in no condition to travel, much less fight, but the huntress had lacked the heart to refuse him. He deserved the chance to give all that he had to offer.
'At least I made it in time.' Haku thought to herself. The sight of Shikamaru half-slumped against a tree with a small hole in his abdomen had sent her into a cold rage. She held only a single regret over her grisly beheading of the horned girl, that being the fact that the spectacle had very clearly disturbed Shikamaru.
'I could've been a bit cleaner about it, I suppose.' she admitted silently. There wasn't a shred of sympathy in Haku's being for the henchwoman. She had nearly taken something precious from her, and anybody foolish enough to endanger the young Chunin in the huntress' presence would pay dearly. Eying Shikamaru from her peripheral vision, Haku sighed quietly.
'This probably won't be the last time, either.' she lamented. Pushing the thoughts aside, the Anbu hopped off the final branch down to the forest floor. With a smooth landing, and no complaints from Shikamaru, the journey continued without a hitch. As they neared the exit of the forest, a figure came into view just beyond the woods.
"Is that…" Shikamaru muttered, trailing off into silence. Haku's eyes narrowed. Coming to a stop at the edge of the plains beyond the trees, the huntress felt a rigidity overtake her frame.
"Imagine meeting you here." Gaara of the Sand greeted them nonchalantly, standing with his arms folded across his chest. By the looks of him, he had been waiting for them. Haku exhaled through her nose. She had been briefed on the redhead's last minute dispatching, but even with an official alliance binding them together, she still saw him as nothing but an enemy.
"Where is Rock Lee?" she asked, not bothering to return his address. Gaara's thin lips pulled into a relishing smile, his sand slowly leaking from his gourd.
"I…relieved him of his duties." he said vaguely. Haku felt Shikamaru tense up against her side.
"You didn't." he growled. Little to no deduction was required to piece together the implications at hand. Gaara laughed dryly.
"Calm down, he's uninjured. All I did was send him home. His help won't be needed. Yours either, for that matter." he clarified calmly. Haku jammed a finger at his chest.
"Your orders were to serve as backup if things got hectic. You'll be tried for operation interference." she said. Gaara shrugged his shoulders.
"Makes no difference to me. Besides, he'd be dead right now if I hadn't stepped in. You should be more thankful." he shot back. He was completely unbothered. Haku began to retort, but Shikamaru beat her to it.
"I'll consider it if you step aside and let us do our job." he said. With any otherG person, diffusing the situation would have been wise, but as expected, Gaara was uncompromising.
"Like I said, your help won't be needed. It's all been covered." he said dismissively. Shikamaru stepped away from Haku to stand on his own.
"Yeah? Well, that's not good enough for me. I think we'll do this our way." he countered. Gaara unfolded his arms and took a step forward.
"Go on. Make my day." he goaded the Chunin. Haku's hand drifted toward the short blade strapped to her back. Things were escalating.
"Why does everything have to be a bloodbath with you?" Shikamaru questioned. Gaara laughed a second time and snapped a twig by his feet.
"Please, you have no room to talk. Don't lecture me." he said. The Nara blinked, taken aback by the response.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Gaara tilted his head off to one side, an odd look overtaking his features.
"Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" he replied, answering the Nara's question with one of his own. A gleam of recognition passed over Shikamaru's eyes.
"Find out what?" he said, suddenly sounding far less sure of himself. Gaara took another step forward, now with much more conviction.
"That you murdered my sister." he said. In an instant, Haku crossed between the two boys and drew her blade. When she came to a stop, she had bypassed the redhead's sand, and had the edge of her sword hovering millimeters from his throat.
"Move an inch and I'll show you murder." she hissed menacingly. Gaara ignored her threat, staring right over her shoulder at Shikamaru.
"I'm almost impressed. She was strong. Stronger than you are. But you still found a way." he continued. Shikamaru pursed his lips uncomfortably.
"I didn't do it because I wanted to." he said. Haku's knuckles turned white as she gripped the hilt of her blade. Gaara wasn't the sort to care for a dead family member. He was attacking an insecurity. Nothing more.
"But that's not quite true, is it? In that moment, you wanted to survive, and she was a threat. So, you got rid of her. Believe me, I know the feeling." the Jinchuuriki said. Haku pressed the blade into his skin, applying just enough pressure to draw the ghost of a twitch from him.
"Shut your mouth." she snapped. Once again, Gaara prattled on as though she hadn't spoken at all.
"You ended a life to preserve your own. I honestly didn't think you had that in you." he said. Shikamaru clenched his jaw, but kept quiet. He was tongue-tied. Sensing as much, Gaara filled the silence.
"Be careful who you cross, my friend. Eye for an eye." he said darkly. Finally unable to hold herself back any longer, Haku ripped her blade across the redhead's throat. But, instead of choking on his own blood, Gaara burst into a shimmering cloud of sand. For a time, both the huntress and Chunin stared blankly at the empty space where he had once been.
"Just a clone. He was stalling us." Haku said, sheathing her short sword. Despite her sensory capabilities, she had been unable to tell the difference. It was immensely frustrating. Shikamaru took a long look off toward the Valley of The End, many miles in the distance.
"We should get moving. I've got an awful feeling about this." he said. Haku nodded and made her way back over to him. Once his arm was over her shoulders again, they took off running.
Unbeknownst to them, Gaara was not their only inbound foe.
"Wind Style: Great Breach!"
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
In a blinding flash of blazing energy, Naruto's small-scale hurricane collided with Satsuki's inferno. In most cases, the elemental matchup would have favored the Uchiha significantly, as wind was known to amplify a fire's intensity, but the sheer size of the blast that resulted from the clash was beyond either of their control. With intense heat and a disastrous shockwave, the fire spread outward in the form of an omnidirectional shockwave that sent both genin flying backwards.
Smashing into opposite sides of the canyon, they were both forced to endure an onslaught of flames with their backs pressed into the jagged stone. The canyon's transformation into a makeshift oven lasted for the better part of a minute, turning the fledgling winter to a summer in its prime for just a few seconds. When the supercharged flames finally died down, Naruto let his arms drop from his face. He had survived the aftermath. It was hardly a triumph, as a quick glance across the trench revealed that Satsuki was very much alive as well. Glad as he was that she appeared surprisingly healthy, it also meant that he had gained nothing. They had stalemated.
Wincing slightly, Naruto suppressed the urge to grip his right eye. The initial wound had healed, but it was still aching badly, and his vision had yet to return in any way at all. For the moment, he was half-blind. It was a hindrance, but one he would have to work around if he hoped to leave the valley alive. Glancing down, Naruto took hold of the remnants of his jacket and tore it off his body. Much of it had been burned off anyway, as had a quarter of his undershirt.
Taking his first steps away from the wall, Naruto was immediately struck by how thin the air had suddenly become. The fire had likely consumed a massive volume of oxygen during its burst, and the valley was an enclosed space. Shelving the observation for the sake of his nerves, Naruto fixed his eyes on Satsuki, who had been blown up onto a small rocky ledge. She had yet to move from her spot. Her eyes were downcast, and her posture was an uncomfortable-looking crouch. Of the two of them, she looked to have exhausted much more energy.
Just as Naruto began to entertain the notion of attacking her before she had the chance to jump down, the Uchiha's voice cut through the silence of the valley.
"It's always you." she said. Naruto took a deep breath to prepare himself. Every time she had chosen to speak thus far, her words had stung him emotionally.
"Whenever I think I'm ready to solve something on my own, whenever I feel like I'm on the verge of breaking through, it's always some part of you that stops me." Satsuki continued, rising up to her feet as she spoke.
"Your face, your voice, or right now, your strength. I can't get you out of my head, no matter how hard I try. You're always there. You're like a cold that never goes away." she said. She sounded calm in an outward sense, but Naruto could hear the slight tremor in her voice. She was struggling her way through every syllable.
"I hate the way I love you. I hate how those feelings hold me back. I wish I could hate you for that, but I can't. I never will. It's my own fault for letting you in." the raven-haired girl said. She then turned her gaze away from her feet, making her face visible once more. The black markings were glowing purple, and beginning to fill in the gaps between themselves. Naruto curled his clawed hands into fists. He was shaking from head to toe.
"But, I'm going to be selfish, and make you pay the price for my mistakes. Some things never change, I guess." Satsuki said, leaning her head back and stretching her arms out to both sides as her body was completely overtaken by the curse mark. Naruto looked on in horror. Something terrible was happening, and he was powerless to stop it. His body refused to move. He was frozen.
"Please don't..." he choked out as Satsuki underwent a disturbing metamorphosis before his eyes. The process didn't take long, perhaps thirty seconds, but it may as well have been an eternity. Soon enough, the purple glow ceased, and Satsuki's body settled into shape.
Naruto took a hesitant step back as the air hung dead around him. She was finished changing, it seemed. The results sent an apprehensive chill down his spine. Satsuki's skin was an unnatural light brown, her lips were purple, and a small horn had jutted out on the left of her upper forehead that split her bangs on one side. Her hair had both thickened and grown slightly longer, with a new ashen gray color to it. Her eyes had changed as well. Her sclera were now black, causing the blood red of her sharingan to nearly glow in contrast. Most striking, and unsettling, was the pair of wings that had sprouted from her back. They almost resembled webbed human hands.
As she stood perched on her rocky ledge, hardly looking or feeling human any longer, Naruto swallowed tensely. She was demonically beautiful, with an aura of unrestrained peril to match. Slowly, painfully, she turned her head down and looked his way. Her cheeks were wet. She was crying. Whether for him, or the discomfort of her transformation, Naruto could not discern.
"Thank you for everything you've done, but this is the end." Satsuki said, her voice husky and low. Then, with a single beat of her wings, she took off from her perch. She touched down again right in front of Naruto, well within his space. She hadn't closed him down particularly quickly, but the blonde was still unable to move. For the second time that day, she had sent him into shock.
"Sa–" he began. Before he could even speak her name, the Uchiha stepped in and crushed the point of her knee into his ribs. The pure force with which she hit him sent the Jinchuuriki flying straight backwards. His feet never touched the water, and he would have flown far further than he did had he not struck the opposite side of the valley. It wasn't the first time she had forcefully introduced him to the rocks, but this was the most painful collision yet.
With jagged stones digging into the skin of his back, Naruto stared across the water. Satsuki was taking her time reaching him again. Her steps were slow, and she was neglecting to use her wings. Her expression had hardened again, with no tears in sight, but there was still something distinctly brittle about her demeanor. Regardless, Naruto knew his situation to be more dire than ever. With one blow, she had shattered at least two of his ribs, and launched him with enough momentum to create a small crater in the cliff-face. With or without his regeneration, his body wouldn't hold up for long under such an assault.
'She'll snap my neck if she hits me in the head.' Naruto thought to himself. She had yet to flex her speed in her new form, but the Jinchuuriki could only assume that she was significantly faster than before. He was nearing his own limit quickly, and his choices were sparse, if they existed at all. A bead of uneasy sweat trickled down his forehead. He was cornered.
'I think it's time you and I had a chat.'
Naruto's eyes snapped wide at the sound of the deep, ancient voice that had echoed through his skull. It was familiar. Distinctly so. Easily recognizing who exactly was speaking to him, Naruto's features pulled into a scowl. He had only ever spoken to his inner demon directly once, several years ago, but he seldom went a full day without feeling the reverberations of its growl within himself.
'Your timing sucks, freak.' he shot back within his mind. The Fox laughed mirthlessly, unheard by all but its injured host.
'Is it, now? I think you'll find that I've picked my moment quite well.' the beast corrected. Naruto remained focused on Satsuki, who was drawing ever closer by the second.
'What do you want, then? I can't really talk much right now.' he pressed. He felt the demon shift about within the depths of his mind.
'You've been suppressing my chakra since the start of this battle. For your sake and mine, I think it's best that you release those restraints. Past a certain point, I need your cooperation to provide aid.' the Fox suggested. Satsuki was less than twenty feet away, with her walk growing more brisk.
'What's in this for you?' Naruto asked, inching back into the body-shaped crater behind him.
'If you die here today, I'll follow you to the grave, and I'd rather not let it come to that. Now, are you in, or are you out? Time is short, brat.' the beast said. Naruto didn't bother to weigh his options. As much as he despised the being residing in his stomach, he knew what his only route to victory was.
'Give me everything you've got.' he relented, relaxing the unconscious stranglehold he had placed on his chakra system. The Fox said no more, and faded back into the darkest corner of his psyche. Satsuki reached the blonde within the same moment. She paused for a brief few seconds before widening her stance, rearing her hand back, and throwing a fully-committed punch at Naruto's head. The Jinchuuriki caught her fist before it could reach him.
Satsuki tried to yank her hand back, but was unable to do so as Naruto's grip tightened on her knuckles. A thick, viscous run of chakra then began to leak from the blonde's skin, cloaking his entire body. With his nails digging into the Uchiha's skin, Naruto's mouth pulled into a snarl. He then bent her wrist back with a sudden jolt, dislocating it instantly. Satsuki flinched and let out a grunt, tugging harder to free herself. This time, Naruto allowed her to break free, and slammed his fist into her mouth as she backed away. The punch knocked the Uchiha backwards into a slide across the water.
Peeling himself off the rocks, Naruto gripped his head as his body was flooded with a massive amount of demonic chakra. It was by far the most intense sum of power he had ever attempted to wield, with or without the fox. His reflexive response was to try to tame it, but doing so would defeat the purpose. Hating it every step of the way, he allowed the Fox's chakra to encase around his body and infuse itself deep within him. When it finally settled into a defined shape and consistency, Naruto was able to breathe again.
The cloak of red chakra surrounding him was pulsating and unstructured for the most part, save for the two off-shoots floating above his head like elongated ears, and the tail-like tendril of chakra swaying behind him. Fully entrenched in the Fox's essence, he dropped down into a quadrupedal stance. It was barely a conscious decision. It felt completely natural. Without warning or dialogue, Naruto leapt forward at his partner. Satsuki did the same.
When they came together, a deep rumbling shook the valley. Locking hands with their foreheads grinding against one another, they tussled for control. The battle was won by Satsuki, as she proved to be the physically stronger of the two. Lifting Naruto off his feet by his wrists, the Uchiha tossed him up into the air, spun, and struck him with the back of her left wing. The appendage felt hard as steel. Catching himself on the water before he could tumble far, Naruto came tearing back in again.
Satsuki weaved a set of hand signs as he approached and reared her head back. Knowing with certainty what jutsu was about to come his way, Naruto prepared a counter ahead of time. Without announcement, Satsuki unleashed her great ball of fire. It was entirely blue in color. With a guttural roar, the Jinchuuriki crossed his arms, and then ripped them downward in 'x' motion. A blast of pure, unseen chakra intercepted Satsuki's blast of fire and split it down the middle. The shockwave promptly hit Satsuki herself, staggering her somewhat.
Rocketing right through the narrow path he had carved for himself on all-fours, Naruto attempted to punch her square between the eyes. However, just before he could connect, Satsuki spread her wings wide and jumped up into the air to take flight. Unfazed by her evasion, Naruto kept on running and made his own jump. Landing on the side of the canyon, he repelled off to the opposite side, and then repeated the process with blinding speed until his elevation matched Satsuki's. With one last push off the rocks, he flew towards the Uchiha.
Once within range, he took a swipe at her with his claws, but the girl was able to block his swing with her forearm. She then flapped her wings twice, soared just a bit higher, and kicked him in the sternum to push off of him. Naruto caught her by the ankle before she could retract her leg, and used her as an anchor to remain airborne. With all the strength he could muster, Naruto pulled on her leg to bring her upper half closer to him. He released her ankle a split second later and landed a crushing punch to the side of her jaw.
Badly stunned, Satsuki began to fall alongside Naruto as gravity took hold of them both, but she regained her faculties before she could drop more than ten feet. Using her wings to right herself in the air, she kicked at him for a second time, but aimed higher, and rocked his head back with her heel. Unable to grab hold of her again, Naruto fell down to the lake. He landed on his feet unharmed, but Satsuki instantly put him back in danger. Having weaved another set of signs during his fall, the Uchiha extended both of her hands out toward him.
"Lightning Style: Depth Charge!" she yelled. Crackling dark blue bolts of lightning flashed forth from the tips of her wings and the palms of her hands, streaking toward the Jinchuuriki faster than Naruto's single functioning eye could follow. Fortunately, Satsuki's ability to aim the electricity seemed to be limited, as five of the six bolts narrowly missed the blonde. The sixth, on the other hand, hit him directly in the chest. The sensation was the furthest thing from pleasant, with his entire body going numb, but beyond that, the lightning did little to genuinely damage him.
Shaking off his lack of feeling, Naruto bounded to the leftmost wall of the canyon and kicked off. The aerial battle that followed was won decisively by the Uchiha, but despite the punishment he absorbed, the blonde was able to drag her back down to the water. The fight raged on at both altitudes, contested at a pace that they only maintained by the graces of their respective unnatural states. The walls were charred by Satsuki's fire and lightning, and cracked like glass by Naruto's brutal strikes and cutting wind.
As their bodies began to break down more and more under the strain of their transformations, the exchanges became messier, with any semblance of defensive craft flying south. After one particularly vicious trade in which both genin were sent down to their rear ends, a scramble ensued, with Satsuki winding up latched onto him from behind. Wrangling the Jinchuuriki into a crude chokehold, she sprung up from the lake with Naruto in her grasp.
Though he fought tooth and nail, the blonde was unable to free himself from her grip as they ascended higher and higher into the air. Once they passed the very top of the valley, Naruto's mind went into overdrive. Even as he was now, if they were to fly any higher, there was a frightening chance that the inevitable fall might kill him. Especially if he landed on anything resembling solid ground. Forcing his chin in between Satsuki's wrist and his throat, the Jinchuuriki sank his fangs into the flesh of her forearm. The girl flinched hard and loosened her hold on him momentarily.
Twisting into her and breaking free from her grasp, Naruto swung his claws in a wide, downward arc. His serrated nails cut right through Satsuki's right wing, severing it at the base. The Uchiha let out a bloody shriek of pain, flailing frantically as she began to spiral down to earth again. Naruto fell at a similar speed, but a touch too far away to strike her again. After a lengthy free fall, they both plunged into the freezing water.
The swim back up from the depths was uncomfortable and bitingly cold, with the still-frosty air feeling muggy in comparison when Naruto broke through the surface. Coughing raggedly, Naruto rubbed the front of his neck. Her squeeze had been vice-like. Satsuki soon joined him atop the water, with her dense gray hair hanging soaked in front of her eyes as she gripped the stump where her wing had once been. Decrepit as she looked, her voice rang out loud and clear.
"How is this worth it to you?! Why can't you just let me go?!" she screamed with a breaking voice. She then ran out toward him. Naruto moved to meet her in the middle.
"Because I love you, you psychotic bitch!" he yelled back, evading three punches from his partner and spinning her around with a harsh counter. Satsuki stumbled away from him and tripped, landing on her hands and knees. Naruto did not pursue her. Every punch took a sizable chunk out of what was left of his stamina. Climbing back up again, the Uchiha turned herself around and bored her eyes into his. It was a strange middle ground between a glare and a gaze. Tears threatened to fall, but she blinked them away.
"Then let's put that to bed." she replied. She then backed up a few steps and leapt up onto the very same ledge of stone she had first transformed upon. A short series of hand signs followed. Naruto recognized them instantly. Black electricity surged from Satsuki's palm, with errant strands climbing up her arm. She was issuing him the very same challenge she had on the roof, only this time, Kakashi would not be present to stop them.
"It doesn't have to be this way." Naruto said, knowing deep down that his plea would fall on deaf ears. When his intuition came to pass, he steeled himself, turned up his right hand, and spun a mass of chakra into a self-sustaining spiral. When the red sphere fully stabilized, Naruto set his free hand down on the water. His animalistic urges were still running strong. Triggered by the sound of a drop of Naruto's blood hitting the water, both teens leapt into action.
As they drew nearer to one another, it became increasingly clear that this would be the final confrontation. There would be no more fighting beyond the incoming clash. The sentiment was only further solidified when the moment of truth arrived, and their jutsu rammed into one another as met in the air.
A massive sphere of chaotic chakra engulfed them as they strained for advantage to no avail. They were dead even. Neither could overcome the other. Breaking apart from their deadlock, they simply floated in the center of the catastrophic ball of raw energy. Staring into Satsuki's eyes, Naruto fully gleaned the truth.
She could not be quelled.
In her watering irises was a deep, immovable dedication. No doubt, to the macabre dream she had so succinctly laid out the day they had become teammates. That drive was a part of her. It was a feature, not a glitch. Though they only remained suspended in space for a few brief moments, the Jinchuuriki came to understand more than enough. The sphere around them soon broke apart and burst, resulting in a deadly explosion.
As Naruto was sent careening away, he looked off toward the village from whence he had come.
'Some of you are gonna hate me for it, but I…know what I have to do now.'
A/N: So…yeah. Naruto vs Satsuki is more or less complete. The fighting itself is done, but next chapter will mark the end of the conflict as a whole. I don't wanna spoil anything, so that last line is up for interpretation until next chapter.
As I said up top, I'm stuck on whether I want to do an epilogue or not. Without it, there are two chapters remaining. With it, there are three. I can do either one, but I want to know which you guys want. Think hard about it, and tell me your preference.
Let me know what you thought of the chapter overall as well. Would mean the world to me :)
I love you all
See you next chapter!
