Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything to do with… damn this takes too long, screw it.
"Speech"
"Thoughts"
"Kyuubi Speech"
"Kyuubi Thoughts"
Through Crimson Eyes: High Stakes
He found himself walking through what seemed to be a void of darkness. There was nothing but shadow and mist in all directions. For most, such an environment would have been frightening, but for Naruto, it had become quite familiar.
"What am I doing here? Last thing I remember, I was fighting Sasuke at that Valley of the End place." He said to himself. His eye brightened as he got an idea.
"Well, wile I'm here, I can just ask the stupid fox to lend me more chakra. With what I had before, it should be pretty easy to win if I had just a bit more." He nodded with satisfaction at his own reasoning, and began to walk forward, instinctively knowing what direction would take him to the Kyuubi's cage.
There was already a rather large gathering at the northern gates of Konoha by the time Sakura and Ino made their way there. Medic Nins were already giving aid to several of the young men who were being brought in. The first to go by was Chouji, obviously unconscious and looking, for one of his girth, very thin. Although he was no thinner than a typical boy his age, for Chouji to have lost that amount of weight in such a short amount of time was a definite cause for concern.
After Chouji was rushed by, a stretcher holding the ravaged form of Neji came by, his body sporting two large holes, one in his chest, just over the heart, and the other in his right side. Several medics were already attempting to stabilize his condition even as they passed.
This of course worried Sakura to no end. Given what she had seen so far, how badly were the others injured. She looked about frantically until she located Tsunade, standing amidst the crowd while delivering various orders.
"Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade glanced over briefly, obviously distressed at the moment. "Yes, sakura? What is it? Were a bit busy here at the moment."
"Have…. umm, have Naruto and… and Sasuke come back yet". She was unable to keep the slight tremor out of her voice. Why did she have such a bad feeling…?
Tsunade's face softened a bit, a bit of sadness and worry crossing her features.
"No, not yet. But don't worry, Kakashi has already gone out to look for them himself. I am sure that he will find them soon and… hey, make sure to get those two into the main emergency wing as soon as possible. Shizune." Sakura stepped back as Tsunade was once again caught up in directing the various medical teams as they cared for the rest of Shikamaru's squad.
"Yes Tsunade-sama?" Shizune answered.
"I want you to oversee Neji's treatment. He is in a critical state and we…" Sakura did not hear the rest. She was lost too deep in thought to care. A hand then grabbed her shoulder.
"HEY! I can see some one coming from the woods!" Ino yelled over at her. Sakura glanced up at that point in time to see a familiar masked ninja come leaping from the trees, his grey hair damp and disheveled. Her heart nearly stopped however when she saw who he was carrying on his back.
"N-Naruto…?"
At the same time, Hinata and Shino made their way to the gathering as well. Hinata felt her heart clench in worry as she saw Shikamaru and his team coming back, obviously worse for wear. She noted with concern that her cousin, Neji, was probably the worst of the lot. She continued to frantically look about, searching for a shock of bright spikey blond hair in the crowd.
"Oi, Hinata, I found Kiba over there. Maybe he can tell us what has happened" Shino said, his normally calm voice slightly strained. Hinata glanced over, her eyes widening in worry as she saw him on the stretcher. She made her way over, nearly getting crushed in between the throngs of onlookers as she sought to make her way to the front of the crowd, Shino following closely behind her.
"K-Kiba-kun!
"Kiba, how bad is it?" Shino asked from behind her. Kiba looked up and gave them both a rather pained grin.
"Heh, it ain't too bad, just had a run in with some freak that could invade my body. Decided to give that hitchhiking bastard a little surprise." He chuckled a bit before he cringed in pain, his hand clutching his side.
"K-Kiba-kun, are you ok?!"
"Y-yeah, this ain't nothing you gotta worry about."
Hinata began to twiddle her fingers, a nervous habit of hers. Both boys knew this well enough, having had her as a partner since their graduation from the academy.
"Ano, d-do you k-know where… Naruto-kun is?"
Kiba's face darkened a bit at that point. "No, I haven't seen him since he went after Sasuke."
"O-oh…" Her face fell. She then heard a voice cry out from the crowd.
"HEY! I can see someone coming from the woods".
She looked up and saw a masked ninja emerging from the woods, carrying a familiar orange glad ninja on his back. Her hands went to her mouth in shock as she took in his condition.
"Naruto…kun…?"
He had been wandering for just a few minutes before he saw a familiar structure in the distance. Jogging the rest of the way, he came to stand before the great doors of the Kyuubi's cage, except…
His face changed between slightly baffled to stark terror in nearly an instant as he observed the sight before him. Where the once great barred doors once stood was now a wreckage of twisted metal, the doors having been forcibly blown off their hinges from inside. A quick glance confirmed his fears even further as he noticed a small piece of paper, a seal, which lay half burnt upon the ground in front of the now open cage.
"Heh heh heh heh…"
Naruto wheeled around, his hands instinctively moving for his kunai at his sides. He glanced around, his eyes attempting to find something, anything, in the darkness about him.
"K-Kyuubi! Where are you?!" Naruto shouted, trying to sound as defiant as possible. All the while his mind was racing.
"How, how did he get free?! There's no way!" His body began to tremble.
"Heh heh heh… Nervous boy?" A deep voice resonated in the vast emptiness, its location impossible to determine. A strange sensation of a giant body shifting through the dark landscape made its way up Naruto's spine.
"Where are you? Show yourself you stupid fox!" Naruto shouted, with a bit more confidence. The Kyuubi may be out, but he would be damned if he let that stupid furball get to him.
"No… Good, good. It would have been disappointing if you had been." Kyuubi's tone was lightly mocking, but with a slight hint of what may have been respect.
"Well, seeing as how that is not the case, let's play a little game…"
Naruto cocked his head to one side, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you mean game."
"It's quite simple, I want a battle. The stakes, of course, being ownership of your body. Now, before you start objecting…" The voice chided, seeming to note what Naruto was a bout to say "Know that I intend to make this a very fair wager for the both of us."
Naruto turned again at a sound behind him, kunai at the ready. His eyes widened impossibly as he came face to face with himself…
"Surprised?" The Naruto/Kyuubi mocked.He appeared to be an exact double of Naruto, except that his whisker marks were wide and jagged, and his mouth sported two fangs. But the most notable difference was the eyes: They were slit and blood red.
"I hoped that you would be impressed." Kyuubi stated idly, noting Naruto's shocked expression. "Frankly, it would be no fun if I took you on in my true form, so I figured that this would even the odds. Now then, are you ready." Kyuubi's face broke into a fanged grin.
Naruto gulped, his throat dry. After a few seconds of composure he looked up, his blue orbs cold and hard with determination. "What's the wager, furball?" He asked, his throat only a little dry.
Kyuubi regarded him for a few moments, his eyes narrowing, his grin widening. He seemed thoroughly amused with his bravado. "My wager is this: A one on one battle between the two of us, winner take all. Should you win, my power, my knowledge, all of it will be yours, as well as permanent uncontested ownership of your own body…" H trailed off, allowing Naruto to consider that for a moment. He then continued. "If, on the other hand, I happen to win, I will be the one in charge. You will be locked away within you own mind, forced to exist in a prison very similar to my own."
"What kind of crap is that…?!" Naruto yelled, his voice echoing in the void about them. "I ain't that stupid, you stupid fox."
Kyuubi continued to regard him, his eyebrow twitching slightly at the insult, but otherwise still amused.
"Now now, it is not as if this will be an unfair fight. We will be on equal terms, I will deliberately hold back the bulk of my power for this fight. After all, it would be no fun to conquer you so easily. But just think… all of my power, all of my techniques, all at your disposal. You have always desired to be strong, and this could be your chance. With my power you could easily become the next Hokage, and then the entire village, the people who shunned you for your entire life will have no choice but to acknowledge your strength."
"But it won't be my strength" Naruto said after a moment. In truth, Kyuubis proposal was very tempting, it was exactly what he was searching for. But he could not shake the bad feeling that he had.
"Of course it would. After all, it's not as if I am simply handing it to you. By defeating me you will have more than earned it."
'That's true' Naruto thought, his eyes shut briefly in thought. If he could win, then he would have defeated one of the most powerful demons in the world in a fair battle. He would become truly strong; he would surpass everyone who had doubted him. He would surpass Sasuke. He could keep his promise, uphold his ninja way.
Naruto opened his eyes to see his dark double standing before him still, the fanged smirk still on his face. He returned it with a foxy grin of his own.
"Heh, your on, ya stupid fox!"
"Excellent…" Kyuubi returned.
Kakashi continued to mull over the recent events that had taken place between his two young charges. He thought over his past choices, his failures, and his regrets.
"Why…?" He thought to himself as he continued through the trees. His back was growing increasingly damp, and it was beginning to worry him. If he did not get Naruto medical attention soon… no, he did not want to even consider that possibility.
"Why… why did I not see it sooner? That look in Sasukes' eyes, that intent. There was no mistaking it, and yet I clung to the belief that my poor words could keep him from that path…"
He shook his head. There were more immediate concerns to think about right now, the issue with Sasuke could wait until then.
"Mmmmmnnnnn…"
"Huh, you awake Naruto?" Kakashi asked, rather surprised. He hadn't expected Naruto to be able to regain consciousness' this soon, considering his wounds. He took a quick glance over his shoulder.
Naruto was beginning to sweat lightly, his face becoming feverishly red. He was mumbling various incoherent words, some of which almost sounded like a conversation. This went on for a few moments, before he lapsed into silence once more. His fever did not abate however.
Kakashi gave Naruto one last concerned look as the village came into view. As he leapt from the final tree to the ground below, he couldn't shake the slight chill that overcame him.
A.N: So how was that? A big battle between Naruto and Kyuubi for the ultimate prize. How will this turn out. And how will this effect everyone else?
By the way, to the people who were interested in this fic, I offer my thanks and apologies. It took me quite awhile to decide just where this story was going, and where I should take it. I eventually settled on this one because it is more dramatic and interesting than my other idea.
My next chapter should come much sooner, now that I have a firm idea as to what I want to do with this story.