Title: Who am I?
This fic is AU. Any complaints regarding context can be forwarded to my middle fingers.
Summary: The search for an identity.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: This chapter is edited as of Friday the 12th of January.
Chapter 3: Revelations.
"Gaara, show yourself. It's time for you to die." He was simply stating a fact. He never wasted his voice on nonsense.
The sand at his feet suddenly attempted to swallow him, so he jumped onto the nearest building. He turned around and settled his sights on his target.
"Fool," Gaara said. "You don't know what you're doing. Flee or I'll crush you like the rest."
Fugen didn't answer, preferring to charge the small redhead. He threw a rapid combo of kicks and punches, only to be pushed back by the ever-present sand. He launched another attack, this time being as unpredictable and fast as he could, aiming both high and low and everywhere in between. Even so, he still couldn't land a single blow.
"Why? I was supposed to be done by now..." he was confused.
Xxx With Gaara xxX
Gaara stood patiently, waiting for his opponent to tire and realize that it was futile. At the moment they realize that, that was when it was the most fun to kill them. To see all hope disappear in the blink of an eye, replaced with understanding of their impending doom. Though some were too stupid to realize what fate had in store for them even when Gaara had them captured. He couldn't decide which group made the kill more satisfactory, but he figured he'd just have to kill until that time came around. It wasn't as though he minded killing. After all, they were trying to off him, so why should he spare them as much as a …
Something happened. Something new. The instant came and went, and Gaara knew what had happened. The impossible. This imbecile, no older than Gaara himself, had landed a punch, on his right cheek. And it hurt. It didn't matter that Gaara had never been injured before. He knew pain. The only real difference was that this time, it came from the outside.
How though? How could this be? His shield was supposed to be impenetrable. So how could this mere boy, this human, land a hit? He looked to the offender. He stood a rough ten yards away, panting hard, yet he wore a cocky smile, as though he thought he could win. To show such insolence to the holder of the great Ichibi was nothing but a one-way ticket to your early grave.
Gaara saw red. His feeling of rage soared to new heights. So much so that it almost became tangible. He lunged at his opponent.
Xxx With Fugen xxX
This was the longest he'd ever spent in a fight with only one opponent before. It was frustrating. One hit was all he'd managed over the long course of this battle. He was starting to feel the strain. But on the other hand, the one hit he had managed to deliver had a profound effect on his target.
At first he seemed stunned, just standing there looking into thin air. Then he became enraged. His entire body became encased in sand, taking the shape of a small tanuki.
"Child! Watch out! The boy you're fighting is the vessel of the sand demon, Shukaku!" The voice all but shouted.
"A demon eh? No wonder this is taking so long. No matter, he'll still die."
On the outside, Fugen drew his sword and activated it, making a beam of solidified lightning appear. He countered a tail sweep aimed at his head with the sword and subsequently cut it off, making Gaara, or Shukaku, Fugen wasn't sure anymore, howl in pain.
Xxx With Jiraiya xxX
At first it seemed as though none of the boys were gaining an upper hand, but as time progressed it became clear that the blonde was pushing the redhead, identified as Gaara, back.
But then, just when the blonde had managed to connect the first hit of the fight, Jiraiya recognised the redhead to be a jinchuuriki, for nothing else could explain the waves of energy that rolled off the boy. He prepared to step in, but stopped himself when he saw the blonde wield a sword he knew only too well. It cut through the redhead's sand armour like a hot knife through butter. It was amazing that someone so young could hold off a jinchuuriki with seeming no problems. Granted he was wielding a legendary weapon that once belonged to the 2nd hokage, but legendary or not, his opponent wielded the power of a demon. Another thing was; how had the boy got a hold of the weapon? It was said to have been stolen two years ago, from its resting place in the hokages tower. Surely it couldn't have been this boy who stole it? No, he must have acquired it through some other means. Besides, if he was the culprit, however unlikely, then he would also have been the one to steal the Forbidden Scroll, and Jiraiya couldn't see that anywhere. He decided to interrogate the boy when the fight was over.
He was brought back to reality when a bright flash revealed the sand-encased form of Gaara impaled on the Raijin. To his surprise, the Demon host just grinned and backhanded the blonde, making him fly several yards back. Gaara didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that a sword was sticking right through his stomach. He pulled it out and charged the blonde with the sword held high, ready to cleave the opposing boy in two. It was clear that Gaara had never wielded a sword before. His form was clumsy, and left him wide open, something the blonde took advantage of.
Xxx With Gaara xxX
He swung at the blonde, with all his demonic strength, ready to divide the offending blonde into smaller parts of himself. He missed.
Due to the laws of physics and the amount of force Gaara put into his swing, he was spun around, leaving his back open to the blonde. He swung his re-grown tail at his opponent, and smiled to himself when he felt the hit connect. He was only human after all.
Despite the difficulty Gaara was having with his opponent, he enjoyed himself more than he ever had before. For that, he felt a sense of gratitude towards the blonde, which was quickly erased when an explosive tag that had been attached to his back sent him flying.
In retaliation, Gaara hurled a bunch of suna-shuriken at the blonde. The redheaded demon host grinned when he saw the blonde get hit square in the face by one of the sand projectiles he'd hidden in the shadow of another one.
Xxx With Fugen xxX
Fugen silently thanked the gods for his mask. That hit had serious damage potential. So far he'd been able to avoid serious damage, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer, unlike the demon he was fighting. He longed for his sword, but the tanuki infested boy still had it. Time to up the level.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" he cried with a raspy voice. He cringed at the pain in his vocal chords. With ten copies of himself surrounding the suna demon, he smirked behind his slightly damaged mask.
Gaara studied the offensive weapon in his hand, then deactivated it, and ate the hilt. Then he laughed a high-pitched laugh.
Fugen watched as the demon host ate his weapon and drew a deep breath. Then there was an explosion. Suna shuriken flew everywhere, destroying the clones with ease and caught the blondes unawares once more. Fugen felt his annoyance with that attack rising as he took another hit to the face.
Strange thing was; the mask didn't appear to be affected by the hit at all.
Xxx With Shukaku xxX
He'd hit this human twice! In the face even! Yet he just shrugged it off like it was nothing. At this rate his opponent might survive, and if Shukaku knew anything it was that no human would ever survive his wrath!
He charged.
Xxx With Fugen xxX
He had already abandoned the hope of sticking to taijutsu to spare his voice. But aside form the kage bunshin, the only jutsu in his repertoire that he was really adapt at using, he didn't have the stamina left to try any of the others in his arsenal. Why he only knew high powered and stamina demanding jutsu like that he didn't know, but he did know that attempting the Kage Bunshin again would be a waste of good chakra.
He wrapped five explosive tags around the handle of a kunai and charged the demon head-on. With a desperate burst of speed, he arched around the sand-tanuki, and shoved the kunai straight up the tanuki's ass. His reward was a backhand slap to his face. Ironically, the backhand was the only thing that saved him from being caught in the explosion. When the smoked died down, what was left of Gaara was a pile of sand scattered with pieces of glass. Fugen saw the hilt of his sword half buried in the sand, and made a dash for it.
With a firm grip on his hilt, Fugen jumped away from the sand pile and grinned at his handiwork. Mission complete, time to get paid.
Or at least, that's what he thought...
Xxx With Shukaku xxX
Shukaku screamed, his rage barely contained. He'd just had his ass handed to him by a human! If he only had his original body and not this weak human one, then he'd show him! That's when something rare happened; Shukaku got an idea!
Xxx With Gaara xxX
His body rose from the pile of sand, glowing as eerie shade of yellow. Around him formed a dome of sand, and his hands started doing handseals.
Gaara himself was barely aware of what was happening, the demon inside him having taken control after the first explosive tag. Gaara felt the sensation of being high above ground. Through it all he heard the high-pitched voice of his demon yelling curses at his opponent. There were two things Gaara didn't understand. Why the blonde was still alive, and since he was lucky enough to actually be alive, why, when it was obvious that he was fighting a loosing battle, he didn't flee. Gaara would have. Though he doubted Shukaku would let him run very far. Everyone Gaara had ever faced were now pushing up the daisies.
Then he felt it. It came over him like a shockwave, waking him from the daze he had previously been in. A powerful presence. So much so that even Shukaku's power paled in comparison. Shukaku screamed. Gaara smiled. Maybe he'd lose after all. Maybe he'd finally die, and be relieved of the pain. He hoped so.
Xxx With Jiraiya xxX
Jiraiya stifled a gasp. With an almost overwhelming sense of nostalgia, Jiraiya realized who the blonde was.
He was Uzumaki Naruto, and like Gaara, he too was a jinchuuriki. Jailor of the demon fox lord Kyuubi, and saviour of Konoha, courtesy of Jiraiya's former student, the Fourth Hokage. He had been missing for over two years, along with the forbidden scroll and the Raijin. Jiraiya was now positive that since the boy held the Raijin; he would also be in possession of the scroll. Now he had to talk to the boy later, get him to reveal the location of he scroll and return to Konoha.
Having gained this new information, Jiraiya was now sure that Naruto would win one way or another. Kyuubi was the strongest of the tailed demons after all, the only possibility would be if Naruto didn't know how to use the fox' power. Power without control was nothing after all. If it came to that, Jiraiya would personally step in, but first, he'd see how his star pupil's legacy fared.
Xxx With Fugen xxX
When Gaara had morphed into that huge beast, the voice had been furious. Fugen felt the voice's power rush through his system. Then he lost control.
Xxx With Kyuubi xxX
"Is that puny rodent opposing my absolute power?" The Kyuubi yelled, forgetting for a moment that his 'absolute' power had been bested by a human.
"That is a decision he won't live to regret!" The fox seethed. His power overwhelmed his host's system, leaving the fox in control, even though it could would only last ten minutes tops, before the seal forced him back in.
Xxx With Jiraiya xxX
When Gaara morphed for the second time, he saw Naruto close his eyes and fall into a trance-like state. He prepared to jump in before the sand demon which he now recognised as the Ichibi, Shukaku won the battle.
Both Jiraiya and Shukaku shivered when the energy hit them.
'Kyuubi.' was their collective thought.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, and instead of the piercing blur from before, a pair of red-slitted eyes appeared.
'This fight is over.' Jiraiya thought as he prepared to leave. As he was about to turn around though, he saw out of the corner of his eye, Naruto, or well the Kyuubi now, jump onto of a building, hands racing through handseals at an inhuman rate.
Jiraiya decided to stay, if only to see what the fox was attempting.
Xxx With Kyuubi xxX
"Maton: KaKitsune Endan!" he yelled. Naruto's vocal chords were instantly healed when Kyuubi took control of the body.
The results were instantaneous. A Nine Tailed fox, made of fire, the size of Kyuubi's original body streamed to life from his mouth.
The attack hit Shukaku head on. Shukaku screamed as his body burned in the inferno surrounding his body, and didn't stop until the flames died down. Not because he wanted to stop, but because his entire body was turned into glass.
Kyuubi jumped from the roof he stood on up so he was level with the tip of Shukaku's nose. He threw a punch with all his might, and shattered the glass statue of Shukaku into a billion pieces. Inside it all was Gaara, and when the large form of Shukaku was no more, neither was what held the redhead up, so he fell. And fell, until he crashed into the ground, making a large crater. He was barely conscious to see the blonde boy walking towards him, sword activated.
Xxx with Gaara xxX
'Now I will finally die. Mother, here I come.' Was Gaara's last thought before he, with a smile, gave in to darkness.
Tsuzuku...