Here it is. I finished chapter 14. I'd just like to take this moment to remind everyone that fight scenes are not my cup of tea. I suck at them...at least I think I do. If you don't think so thanks. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter.
Disclaimer: insert usual bs here so that I don't get sued.
Ch. 14: Battles and Poison
He'd been standing in the center of the cavern. Surrounding him were several shadowed figures that were all members of the Akatsuki. They'd already activated the jutsu and Gaara felt as if something was being ripped away from him. The statue in front of him glowed and drew something from him. He wanted to fight it, but didn't. Aya's life depended on his cooperation. It was killing him though. Literally. He forced himself to remain calm. He couldn't afford to fight. Aya.
"Gaara!"
His eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her. Aya was standing in the cave entrance gasping for breath. Blood dripped from her palms and dirt coated her clothes. Her eyes were on him with fear and anger burning inside them. She stumbled and Kakashi caught her easily. Kankuro moved forward and threw a kunai at Deidara and Sasori, interrupting the jutsu. Gaara felt it release him. His eyes didn't leave Aya. She was here and alive. She was bleeding.
"Easy there, Aya. You look beat," Kakashi said calmly. It was a good thing she showed up. The jutsu the Akatsuki were using on Gaara hadn't had time to take affect. His eyes moved to Gaara and he frowned. Something wasn't right with Gaara's eyes. They were still green but the shape was wrong. They were shaped like Shukaku's eyes now.
"You're bleeding," Gaara stated.
Aya nodded. "I know. I've got one bad cut on my leg too." Her eyes met his and widened. "Gaara, you're eyes..."
He didn't wait for her to finish. He turned to the Akatsuki. "You will pay," he growled. All but two of the shadows vanished. The two that had captured Aya to begin with. The blond one smirked and the deformed one looked out at them from beneath his hat. It looked like they would have to fight Gaara after all.
"Gaara, watch out," Aya shouted. "The funny shaped one is Sasori of the Red Sand. Be careful."
Gaara nodded and stepped forward and his eyes remained on Sasori. "You will suffer for every moment of fear she had."
"Let's see if you can back up that talk," the blond man replied and pulled out two clay bombs.
Kakashi looked at Temari and Kankuro. "Gaara can't handle them both alone even with Shukaku. I'm going to take the blond man."
"Deidara," Aya supplied.
Kankuro nodded, "I'll help you. Temari can protect Aya."
The two shinobi moved forward and stood next to Gaara. Kakashi informed him of their plan. The kazekage nodded and turned his full attention onto Sasori. Aya looked at them all and stepped back. She would only be in the way at this point. Temari stepped in front of Aya and pulled her fan out, just in case. Gaara would go ballistic if anything happened to Aya. She was his greatest weakness. Unforntunately for the Akatsuki, she was also his greatest strength. Gaara would do anything to save her and that meant he wouldn't hold back.
The battle began. Gaara made the first move and shot a large hand of sand after Sasori. Sasori dodged easily and moved quickly to keep from being caught by the sand. Escaping Gaara's clutches wouldn't be easy, so it was best not to get caught in the first place. Sasori's cloak was lost at some point and Aya could only stare. He wasn't human. He looked like....a puppet. A really odd shaped puppet. He even had a tail.
"What I the world?" Aya asked Temari. "He's a puppet."
Temari nodded. "The real Sasori must be around her somewhere though. He has to be near by in order to control the puppet."
There was a large explosion and Aya jerked her attention back to the fight. Deidara was the source of the explosion. Kakashi and Kankuro weren't making his battle easy. The explosions were going to make everything collapse if Deidara wasn't more careful though. Then they would all be crushed to death. Deidara threw yet another bomb. Kakashi dodged left and the clay spider latched onto the wall. There was a large explosion and the cave shook again. Aya stumbled and fell. She winced. Her muscles were very soar. She heard something crumble. Her head jerked up and stared at the ceiling. Rocks fell. The fighting paused as each fighter prepared to block the falling stones. A dome of sand appeared around Aya and Temari. 'Gaara,' the painter thought.
The ground continued to shake for several minutes. Aya really wished she could see what was happening. It worried her to hear all that destruction outside the dome and not be able to see if Gaara was alright. Then the sand melted away. Aya looked around. The cave was now more of a crater. The roof had fallen away leaving nothing but walls. The battle still raged on in front of her. None of the fighters seemed hurt thought they each supported at lease one new bruise. Sand suddenly sprouted from the ground and surrounded Sasori. Gaara made a gesture and the sand began to fall onto the puppet. Sasori watch the sand coming and cursed. He would have to abandon Hiruko if he wanted to escape alive. The sand closed over him and buried him alive. It took quick maneuvering but he ejected himself from the puppet just as the sand closed over him. The puppet he'd been in was destroyed.
Gaara's rage knew no bounds at this moment. He felt like his blood was boiling from it. These men had made Aya, a defenseless civilian, bleed. They had cause her fear for no better reason than she mattered to him. These members of the Akatsuki had to pay. He would make them pay if it was the last thing he did. Gaara closed his fists crushing the now empty puppet. He knew Sasori wasn't inside it anymore, but he wouldn't allow the puppet master a chance to use that puppet again. His eyes trailed over to where Sasori stood now and narrowed. So this was the real face of Sasori.
"You're stronger than I expected," Sasori commented as he pulled out a scroll. "It seems I'll have to use this after all."
"It doesn't matter what you use," Gaara growled out. His voice was an odd blend of his own and Shukaku's much like his eyes had become. "I'll destroy you."
Sasori smirked. "You can try."
The puppet master pulled out a puppet that had Gaara's eyes narrowing. They now knew what had happened to the third kazekage. It didn't matter what Sasori pulled out though. Gaara intended to make him pay. The smell of Aya's blood was in every breath he took. Shukaku was obviously increasing his senses. The tailed beast wanted Gaara angry. He wanted Sasori to pay as well. Whether it was because he just like to fight or because he cared about Aya, Gaara didn't know. It really didn't matter in the end.
Aya stood next to Temari as they watched the fight. She didn't really understand fighting. As a nonfighter it just hadn't mattered before. Now she wished she understood the intricacies of battle. Then at least she would know who was winning. She kept thinking of the first time she'd seen Temari and Kankuro train. At first they had seemed evenly matched. Out of the blue, Temari had knocked Kankuro down. It made Aya nervous now to know that something so small that she didn't see it could cost Gaara this fight. Her eyes followed him as he battled the new puppet Sasori had pulled out. She frowned at the black metal that came from the puppet and spiraled around Gaara like little blades.
"Gaara, don't let those things scratch you," Temari shouted. "Remember he had poison on everything."
Aya felt her blood turn cold. In this battle, one scratch could cost him his life. For her the battle seemed to drag on for hours. Gaara dodged around for a moment as he watched the puppet move. Then he stopped and held up a hand. Sand gathered and then pressed together. When it solidified a spear was in place of the sand. With very careful aim Gaara threw it. Sasori had his puppet dodge upward. Gaara smirked. The spear changed direction and followed the pupped. Apparently, Gaara could control the direction of the spear like he could his sand. Sasori had been caught by surprise and didn't move the puppet in time to dodge the spear. Aya frowned as she noticed something. "Gaara's control is better than normal."
Temari nodded, "You see his eyes. That means that a portion of Shukaku is out in the open. I don't understand though. They've never worked together like this before."
Sasori frowned and stepped forward. Gaara grinned, "So the master will fight now. Perfect."
Gaara lifted his hands and the sand moved to his will. Sasori opened his cloak to reveal a large cable in place of his stomach. The end of the cable was a sharp point. Aya stared. Sasori was a puppet. Then how were they suppose to kill him? Kankuro looked over and shouted at Gaara, "Gaara! It's his heart. That thing in his chest is his heart. You'll have to get that to kill him."
Gaara didn't move. His eyes remained on Sasori. The puppet master smirked and the attacks began. The two began dodging around as sand and cable chased their master's enemy. Gaara dodged with a frown. Sasori was good and he was fast. He needed another plan to defeat the puppet master. His eyes scanned the area and a plan began to form. It could work. A glance behind him told him that Kakashi and Kankuro were near winning now. Deidara looked exhausted.
"Gaara!"
Aya's shout had him jumping up. He was lucky he did. The point of the cable slammed into the ground where he'd been standing. It was time to end this once and for all. It would take all the chakra he had but he would do it. His eyes moved to Kankuro who nodded. His brother signaled to Kakashi. The two of them dodged back as far away as they could. Aya and Temari took the hint and followed. Gaara turned to the two akatsuki members. They were both standing across from him. Deidara held a bomb in each hand while Sasori had the cable ready to attack again. Gaara smirked. They didn't know it yet, but they'd walked right into his attack. He held his hands together and began to focus his chakra. Thanks to Deidara's explosions, he had plenty of sand to work with. What he didn't already have, he could create by crumbling rocks. The ground shook and the walls of the cave began to crumble. Sand rose from all around blocking all escape points. Second later it came crashing down on the three fighters. Gaara quickly rose to the surface and pressed his hands down onto the sand. He felt it move beneath his palms to crush downward. For a moment he stayed ready for more attacks just in case one of them had survived. Nothing happened. He relaxed and stood up.
Aya ran forward and threw her arms around him. Gaara held her as relief flooded his system. He sensed the attack coming and knew it was too late. He had no more chakra to fight with. All he could do was make sure Aya wasn't hurt. He shoved her back and placed her inside a sand barrier. Aya sat up and beat on the walls. She knew that meant another attack was coming and that Gaara was about to be hit. She heard someone cry out as the sound of metal piercing flesh echoed in the air. Then there was silence. Aya felt the tears running down her face. The sand melted away and she stared in shock. Gaara was fine.
Her eyes moved to where the cave use to be. Sasori stood there with a sword and two kunai embedded into his heart. Aya looked up at Gaara, "What happened?"
He gestured behind them. She looked and smiled. Sasuke stood there with an empty sheath at his side. Naruto and Sakura were standing just behind him. They walked forward. Naruto gave one of his goofy grins. "We win."
Aya nodded and turned to Gaara. He reached up and placed a hand on her face to wipe the tears away. It was over. They'd won the battle. Gaara felt his muscles begin to shake. He'd used up too much chakra. That last technique always ate into it and he hadn't fully recovered from the attack on the village. Not only that but he'd been cut by one of Sasori's attacks.
He looked at Naruto. "I'm about to pass out." The world began to fade away but Gaara forced himself to stay awake long enough to finish. "Make sure they're both dead."
Naruto nodded, "Right. Team 7 is on it. We'll let your siblings get you and Aya back to Suna."
Gaara closed his eyes and collapsed. Sakura knelt next to him and checked him for serious injuries. It was the look on her face that had Aya panicking again. Sakura looked worried about something. She cut open Gaara's shirt to examine a puncture wound he had in his chest. The concern in Sakura's eyes grew. Aya tried to suppress her rising panic.
"What is it?" Aya demanded. "What's wrong with him?"
"He was stabbed at some point with one of Sasori's weapons. I'm guessing that cable." Sakura looked up at Aya with regret. "There was poison on the weapon and now it's in Gaara. I don't know if we can save him."
Aya stared for a moment then she shook her head in denial. "What are you saying, Sakura? There has to be something we can do. He can't die." Tears began to fall down her face as she slid to her knees. "Please. Do something."
Sakura looked at Aya then turned back to Gaara. "We have to get him back to the village. It will take time but I might be able to do something."
"I'll take Gaara," Kankuro stated as he lifted his brother.
"I'll go back to Suna with them," Sakura informed her team.
Temari looked at Gaara. "I'll stay here and make sure Deidara is really dead."
Aya stumbled a little and Sasuke caught her. He looked at Kakashi, "I'm going to help carry Aya."
"The rest of use will stay here and find Deidara's body then," Kakashi said. He knew Sasuke just wanted to stay close to Sakura. Since they didn't need him to help here, the copy ninja so no reason not to let him go back to Suna.
The moment they returned to Suna, Sakura got to work. She had Gaara moved into a room where she could examine his injury. Aya stood to the side and watch anxiously. Gaara looked like he was in pain. The medics had to cut his shirt off so they had access to his wound. Sakura began checking his symptoms so that she could identify the poison. The Konoha medic finally stood and explained the situation to the other medics in the room. Aya had no idea what half of the explanation meant. What she did understand was that Gaara was poisoned with something and that Sakura wasn't sure she could come up with an antidote in time to save him.
"Please," Aya whispered. "Please save him."
Sakura glanced over at her and then back to the Suna medics. "I'll need some items. The method is crude but it's the only way."
"Aya!"
She turned to see Baki running up to her. Aya offered him a shaky smile. "Hello, Baki."
"I just heard. How is he?"
"I don't know." Aya looked back at Gaara. "I don't know."
"He'll need to be held down," Sakura stated after a bowl of medical liquid was brought in for her. "This procedure won't be easy on him."
The other medics, Sasuke, and Kankuro held Gaara down. Baki moved over to help. Aya stayed out of the way and just watched. Sakura held the sphere of liquid over Gaara's chest, and then pressed it into his body. Gaara cried out in pain and tried to get up. The liquid began to come out the wound, carrying a purplish-black liquid inside. This procedure was repeated several times. Each time put Gaara though pain and Aya got to the point where she could barely stand to watch. This didn't stop Sakura. She wanted to get as much of the poison out as possible. Sweat trickled down Sakura's face and her eyes were focused entirely on the task at hand. Once she had as much of the poison out as possible, she sat up with relief.
"He's finally out of immediate danger but there still some poison in his system." Sakura turned to the medics around her. "It's time to make the antidote."
Aya stepped over to the bed and took Gaara's hand. He was still unconscious but he seemed more relaxed. She reached up and touched his face. His skin had cooled some but he still had a fever. Aya climbed onto the bed with him and laid next to him. She was so tired. One of the medics noticed that her palms were injured and treated them Aya allowed it as long as he didn't require her to leave Gaara's side. Her hands were bandaged and a change of clothes was brought for her. She showered and dressed then returned to Gaara's side. All she could do now was wait to see if Sakura could find a cure for Gaara.
Sakura came in around dawn and woke Gaara to give him medicine. He fell asleep again just seconds later. Aya, who had moved out of Sakura's way, returned to his side.
"Alright, that's it. At this point, all we can do is wait and pray," Sakura said. She stepped back and nearly fell. Sasuke was there and caught her with ease. She smiled up at him as he steadied her again. "Thanks, Sasuke. I used more chakra than I originally thought."
He merely lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the room. She complained a little about not being an invalid and Sasuke didn't need to carry her. He ignored her.
Aya laid down next to Gaara. They'd done all they could. He didn't look any better. Aya laid a hand over his heart so she could feel the reassuring beat against her palm. He would be alright. He had to be alright. "Please be alright," she whispered as she fell into sleep.
That's a wrap. All finished for now. I'll get to work on the next chapter. I'm thinking about just ending the story or continuing until all the Akatsuki is dead or converted...Hmmmm....why don't you guys let me know what you think and majority vote will win. Sound good? Good. Until the next chapter.
