lol i have amazing people who read this story...not only do you guys give me kick-ass reviews...
BUT Sakuradeathblossom (who i will forever thank for the picture she drew me!!!) and Dark-Neko-Princess either get naked and run around or flash guys every chance they get!
HAHAHA you guys crack me up!
So this chapter is for the afore mentioned ladies and also everyone else who reads this story...because you all inspire me to keep going.
Anyways, enough of that mushy stuff. here's the next chapter folks!
hope ya'll like it... and before the questions start, NO this is NOT the last chapter.
there will be more, i promise.
:-)
The next seven days were the longest days of my life.
Not only did I have to babysit Naruto to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, but I also had Sakura constantly by my side babysitting me.
She had been doing this ever since I told her why Naruto was really here.
Everywhere I turned, there she was, making sure I was safe in whatever I was doing.
If I stepped out of my office, she immediately bombarded me with questions like: "where are you going?" "Why are you going there?" and she always followed it with a "be careful."
I was starting to regret ever telling her the truth about my plan…
But I kept my temper with them both. I knew that Naruto was just being himself and that Sakura was just looking out for me.
In fact, it probably would have been peculiar if Naruto was responsible for once and Sakura didn't react the way she was…
I was talking to Shukaku more and more about this growing sense of misfortune that had taken permanent root in me.
I don't like this.
Me neither. I haven't felt this feeling since the last time they removed me from my host and put me in that damn teakettle.
Do you think I could be wrong? Could they really be after you as well?
Of course they're after me! I'm one of the strongest demons in existence, who wouldn't want to control me?!
I almost physically rolled my eyes at my demon's ego; I was amazed that my body was big enough to host it…
Just a warning boy, if they do try to extract me, I will fight it the whole way…
I visibly winced when I imagined Shukaku fighting tooth and claw against the ritual.
I could almost feel as his claws ripped apart my insides…
Sakura noticed me wincing and was immediately by my side asking if I was alright.
Sighing, I turned to everyone else that was in the room and ordered them to leave us alone.
There was a slight pause as all of their eyes shifted from me to her and back to me again, then they all slowly moved out of the room, Naruto being the last to leave.
When the door was closed behind them, I turned to her and said, "You need to stop."
"Stop what?"
"Fussing over me like I'm a child."
"I am not!"
"You are. Ever since I told you why Naruto is really here, you've been treating me like I'm incapable of being self-sufficient. You've been in my office everyday and refuse to leave my side. You are not my mother. Stop it."
"Well I'm SORRY for being worried about you!" she yelled.
"Worry for Naruto, worry for yourself, but do not worry for me."
"Fine." she said as her lip quivered slightly, her eyes were getting shinier which meant that she was on the verge of crying. "I'm sorry for caring about you, it will never happen again." Then she bowed low to me and added, "Kazekage-sama."
Then she turned around and walked out onto the balcony.
I watched her as she left. I had no desire to go after her. She had just insulted me by her actions, there was no way I was going to be the one to mend this fight…even though I knew that's what she wanted me to do.
If she really wanted to be left alone, she would have left my office. But she had just went to the balcony, I could still sense her chakra from where I was sitting.
But I remained at my desk and called everyone back in.
As the day went on, I could still sense her chakra outside of my office; after a few hours though, when she finally realized that I was not coming outside to talk to her, I felt it fade away until it was gone.
When I knew she was gone, I looked out of my window.
Maybe I should have went outside…but I shrugged off my doubts.
I would talk to her tonight, and if she was still upset then, I would wait until she calmed down.
A large bird flying overhead pulled me away from my thoughts.
That's odd…I thought as I watched it soar above Suna.
I've never seen a bird like that in Suna before.
That's because they don't live here…
As I watched the bird circle the village, that bad feeling jumped to life and consumed every inch of my body.
It's begun…Shukaku said, unleashing a battle cry within me.
I watched the bird carefully and waited for it to touchdown into the village, but it only circled a few times and then flew away.
It was just scoping things out.
But it will be back.
And I'll be waiting…
My eyes remained glued to the sky for the rest of the day.
I told Naruto to leave, giving him the day off so that I could scan the sky without him becoming suspicious.
Long after the sun went down, the bird hadn't returned.
So I left my office and made my way back to the house.
Temari and Kankuro weren't home, and I figured they were out training since I had kept them busy all day.
Naruto was gone as well, probably out eating somewhere.
The only chakra presence I felt in the house was Sakura's. I followed her trail to the roof where I found her staring out at the desert once again.
"You never came to the balcony…" she said sadly.
"I was going to, but then you made the mistake of calling me by my title…and if I followed you out there, it would have only made things worse."
She shook her head bitterly at me, "What do you want Gaara? I'm not in the mood for your company right now."
"I want you to promise me something."
She laughed mockingly then and turned to stare at me, "You have no idea how mad I am at you right now…do you?"
"No. I know full well how mad at me you are. But that doesn't negate the fact that I want you to promise me something. Once you promise me this, I will leave you alone."
"Fine. What is it?"
"Promise me that if something goes wrong, you will not come after me."
"What are you talking about?"
"If I was wrong and I am kidnapped, I don't want you to try to rescue me. I want you to accept what has happened and move on."
"I can't do that."
"You must."
"I don't have to do anything you tell me to do."
"Now is not the time to be defiant Sakura…" I said dangerously.
"You know what, FINE. I promise. Are you happy now?! Now will you go away and leave me alone?!"
I nodded at her and turned to leave, "I will be waiting for you when you're ready to talk."
"Don't hold your breath." she said bitterly.
And then I left.
I simply turned my back on her.
I left her sitting on the roof while I transported myself down to the street.
Returning to my office once again, I stood and stared out of a window looking up at the sky.
I knew that bird would return tonight…it was just a matter of sitting and waiting.
After hours of an empty night sky, a shadow passed over the moon and I spotted the bird and its owner immediately. It glided silently in the sky, and if it wasn't for my acute senses, I would have never had heard it coming…
The shinobi on the back of the bird landed quietly on the balcony and muttered, "Infiltration successful."
I smirked at the stupid man, he had no idea that his mission had just failed.
I watched in amusement as his eyes widened when he noticed me standing in front of him.
The wind whipped around us as I said, "That's as far as you go."
Shukaku groaned with excitement as the tension before the fight built, sand started to spill from my gourd and circle around me, waiting for our deadly dance to begin.
The man in front of me reached into a bag that he had attached to his hip and my eyes widened in surprise, I hadn't expected him to start this so soon.
My sand sprang to life at his action and lunged at him. He dodged my attack easily and jumped up into the air, landing easily on the giant bird's back.
A game of cat and mouse commenced.
I didn't know what he was waiting for…he was just flying around Suna with my sand biting at his heels.
Was he waiting for backup? Or was it just him I had to fight?
The elders had mentioned that the Akatsuki travel in groups of two…so where was his partner?
Keeping a part of my awareness on the look out for the second member, I brought back my attention to the man I was currently fighting.
I was growing tired of chasing him with my sand. I knew the longer I dragged this battle out, the worse off I would be.
So I jumped into the air and landed on my sand as it lifted me up to meet him on the battle ground that he had chosen: the air.
The battle was evenly matched.
Whenever he hit me with one of his explosives, I easily blocked them and attacked him with my sand.
Before long, I found myself engulfed in my sand as it formed a ball around me. My absolute defense was now up, and I knew that it was going to be tested.
I felt the crowd grow beneath us as the whole village was waking up to the sound of our battle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Baki and Kankuro standing on the balcony of a building. Baki was ordering the other shinobi to set up their battle positions in order to reinforce me.
But there was one chakra presence that I focused all of my attention on…Sakura's.
Her pink hair stood out against the dull earth tones of Suna, and she was as close to me as she could possibly get. She was standing on the roof of the tallest building near me, her proximity worried me since she was so close to the fight; I was worried that a stray explosive would drop and hit her.
But I couldn't worry about her right now. I had to refocus my attention on my opponent, otherwise her, Naruto, my siblings, and all of Suna would be in danger.
The man stopped moving around and presented another type of explosive…but I could sense that there was something different about this one.
"I'm sick of looking at your impassive face." he said as he let the bomb drift from his hands and float between us.
In a puff of smoke, the bomb grew to ten times its original size. This could not turn out well for anyone…
Spreading its wings, it began to fall towards Suna…and directly where Sakura was standing.
As the bomb fell towards the village I swore I would die to protect, my opponent explained to me his technique and also that the bomb was his strongest and that it could easily destroy Suna with one blast.
I couldn't allow that to happen.
I wouldn't allow that to happen!
I knew I was running low on chakra, and a feat like protecting the whole village would only lesson my chances of surviving this fight, but there was no doubt in my mind…I would protect everyone.
Digging into my chakra reserves, I pulled up all of the loose sand in the village and made a giant sand shield that would block the explosion.
And just to be safe, I surrounded Sakura with an extra one. I could feel her emotions rebounding off of the sand around her, and I felt as a wave of her worry washed through me.
When the dust and smoke settled, my sand shield was revealed to all.
I heard cheers come from down below and again my eyes widened…they were cheering for me.
The whole village was cheering and supporting me…
Encouraged by this, I easily blocked another explosive attack from my opponent.
I was once again completely surrounded by my sand, and I was breathing hard…
That sand shield had used up more chakra then I thought it would have.
I had to think of a way to end this battle now…
But I was pulled from my thoughts as I felt something digging around in my sand.
I watched in horror as little spiders crawled out from my shield and I knew that it was over.
There was nothing I could do as they exploded.
The blast knocked me unconscious for a few seconds and Shukaku's roaring pulled me out of it immediately.
Conscious once again, I felt as my sand slowly fell away from me.
It would be over soon…but I had to do something about the giant sand shield I had made for the explosion.
If I didn't remove it soon, it would fall apart when I fainted from exhaustion and all of my work would be wiped away completely; and I would do what my mother had meant for me to do: I would destroy the village.
I felt myself slowly lose altitude.
No…not yet. I thought as I used up what was left of my chakra to remove the shield.
The tension and confusion below me carried all the way up to where I was floating.
I saw Sakura shouting something at me, and Temari was holding her back from coming to help me.
I was proud of my sister then…I knew she was fighting within herself to come and help me as well. But she knew the orders I had given her: protect Sakura, no matter what. And before she was my sister, she was a loyal shinobi...
The giant sand shield was almost outside of Suna's borders and every inch it moved burned.
Pain exploded inside of my body as my chakra was used up.
Every inch was agony.
Every centimeter was hell…but I was resolved to do it. I would not be the one to destroy Suna…
When the last of it was over the desert, I released it with a sigh and slumped forward.
Shukaku roared and shrieked at the realization that we were defeated, and that he was at the mercy of this merciless group.
I knew I would not survive this.
There was no way I could survive this.
Regret washed through me as I remembered my last interaction with Sakura.
If only I would have known how tonight was going to turn out…
I would have went to her on the balcony.
I would have apologized to her and pulled her close.
I would have held on to her and never had let her go.
I would have done so much more…
Baki's words about treasuring every moment with her echoed inside of my head and I cursed at myself because I knew that I hadn't.
At least I made her promise not to pursue me and my attackers…she would be safe, Naruto would be safe.
I had completed my task and returned Naruto's favor.
Blackness was creeping up on me and surrounded my vision, it would not be long now before I passed out, probably never to awaken again.
I was falling faster now…
There was only one thing left to do before it was all over.
I turned my head to look down at Sakura.
I saw her staring up at me, struggling against my sister, tears streaming down her face and blowing away in the wind. Her pink hair was sticking to her cheeks from the wetness that had accumulated there.
"Sakura…" I whispered, and I knew that she had heard me because she paused in her struggling and her gaze intensified on me.
"I love you…"
And with that said, I let the blackness engulf me, and the jaws of the monster swallowed me whole.
I was only semi-aware of my surroundings.
It was like I was already dead but aware of the things going on around me.
I was floating. Being carried by something that was firmly wrapped around me.
It was almost comforting to have something holding me so tight…it reminded me of Sakura's embraces.
Then I was released and dropped onto a cold hard floor.
Then voices.
Voices surrounded me, and I didn't recognize any of them.
They were talking about getting the wrong Jincuuriki.
I knew it…I wasn't their target after all.
But apparently now that they had me, they didn't want to let me go.
A surge of chakra in the room pushed against me, and I was once again floating.
An ooze like substance surrounded me and I was suspended in the air.
Chanting soon followed and Shukaku hissed and started tearing around inside of me.
He pressed against my ribcage and I felt as they bent and broke against the pressure.
Breathing was only available to me in low gasping breaths; and even those were painful.
I couldn't move.
It felt like I was paralyzed, held in place by this cloud of ooze. But every fiber in my body wanted to thrash out.
The pain was so agonizing I couldn't bring myself to scream, all I could do was wheeze and gulp as Shukaku poured out from my mouth and eyes.
It felt like someone was pulling out my innards through my mouth as Shukaku's claws scraped against my eyes in order to stay within me.
He was fighting.
Fighting for life.
Fighting for his freedom.
Do something boy! he yelled at me.
I can't…I thought quietly.
He roared again as he clung to my soul for dear life, I knew he would tear it out with him.
Suddenly there was a flash of white light and my mother's face filled in the brightness.
Then another flash and my father's face stared down at me with stern and hateful eyes.
He was soon replaced by Temari, Kankuro, and Naruto talking to me. Their mouths were forming words, but there was no sound.
Then another flash and Sakura was smiling at me.
Sakura…
I hope she is safe.
I only wanted the best for her…I hope she moves on and has a family with a husband who loves and protects her.
And I also hope that she won't forget me and all that we had and could have had…
Shukaku was almost gone now, his voice only a fading echo inside of my head.
I felt lighter…I felt as all of his hatred and bloodlust and sordid thoughts were lifted from my body, and for one second out of my entire life, I was free…then the whiteness that surrounded Sakura's face flashed brighter and engulfed me.
I was still floating, but yet, it felt like my feet were firmly on the ground.
Looking around there was nothing…just white emptiness.
Was this death?
It was a lot more quiet and peaceful then I thought it would be…especially for someone like me.
I looked at my hand…did my existence ever really help someone?
Suddenly I felt someone's presence nearby…looking around I saw…me.
There I was, staring back at myself.
It was a surreal feeling.
I looked so small and insignificant, how could someone with such a small stature strike fear into the hearts of everyone around them?
Why was that 'Gaara'?
Did I have to be that? Had I chosen the wrong path all along?
As I was contemplating this, a soft wind came out of nowhere and blew me away…
I was just a memory now, another state of consciousness.
Something was falling all around me…It was pink sakura peddles.
Looking behind me, I noticed it was the tree that Sakura and I always sat up against at the field in Konoha.
Walking up to it, I sat down and leaned my back against the sturdy trunk of the tree.
And I waited.
I waited for Sakura to come and join me.
I would wait for eternity.
I waited as the nothingness swirled around me…