Disclaimer: Do I really need to go through this again? Oh alright. I do not own Naruto and any other characters associated with Naruto. Any original characters are mine however so please do not use without my permission.
Through Crimson Eyes: To the Victor go the Spoils…
"Kakashi-sensei!" The pink haired ninja cried out, her cropped hair waving behind her as she made her way through the crowd. A few feet behind her was another girl, this one with short blue/black hair and white eyes. Said eyes were currently focused on the boy on the stretcher.
When she got there, Sakura drew in a sharp breath as she got a good look at Naruto. Tears welled up in her eyes. "K-Kakashi-sensei, what happened!"
Kakashi looked at her sadly, his one eye downcast. "Sasuke." That was all that was needed.
Sakura looked at him in complete shock, the cold reality finally settling on her fully. She looked back at Naruto, who lay sweating on the stretcher as they carried him off, his head thrashing about violently. He looked as if he were in the middle of a bad dream.
"…W-what's wrong with him?"
Both Kakashi and Sakura turned to see Hinata standing there, her hands clasped worriedly in front of her. Her eyes remained locked on Naruto as he was carried off.
Kakashi sighed. How best to explain this, without revealing too much. "He suffered a massive wound from his battle with Sasuke. It should be alright" he added quickly, hopping to head off any tearful reactions, "but he is going to placed into intensive care for a while."
This seemed to placate Sakura, but Hinata's worried face did not relax. There was something else, something she could not put her finger on. She was better than many others her age in sensing chakra, her training with the Byakugan honing her senses to a higher point than the average ninja. It was still not nearly as good as her fathers or Neji's, but it was enough to sense a strange, almost frightening aura about him. She bit her lip absently.
Kakashi, of course, noticed her behavior. He only hoped that she would not delve too much into it. Naruto had enough to worry about with out having his secret completely blown.
"Kakashi, follow me!" A yell from Tsunadae broke him from his thoughts. Giving one last look at the two girls, he left to follow the Fifth, his thoughts dark.
"AAARRRRGHHHH!" A scream pierced the darkness as Naruto hit the ground again, rolling several times before he finally ground to a stop. He was bleeding quite badly at this point; his lips were stained from coughing up blood. After a moment, he looked up, his eyes half-lidded.
Another figure stalked him from the mist, its movements alone emanating murderous intent. Kyuubi stopped just in front of Naruto, his face only slightly damaged. His lips split into a wide grin as he regarded his fallen opponent.
"Is this it? Is this all that the future Hokage is made of? This is pathetic, you really are a no talent fool." Kyuubi's grin suddenly changed into a sneer as his leg shot out, catching Naruto directly under the chin. Naruto cried out again before hitting the ground.
"This can't be all that you've got?" The Kyuubi screamed at him. He stalked forward again, and Naruto, despite himself, attempted to crawl backwards.
"How sad, this isn't even fun anymore. Well then, I suppose that it is time for me to finish this off. After all…" Kyuubi stopped for a moment, gauging Naruto's reaction "…I want to get on with my next game as soon as possible."
"N-next…game…?" Naruto mumbled weakly.
Kyuubi grinned again. "Of course, after all, once you body is mine, there is a whole village of ninja that I will be able to destroy." His eyes glittered mischievously as Naruto gave a sudden cry of protest. "Especially that pink haired girl, she will be so much fun. I wonder how long she can last." He mused, almost to himself.
"D-don't you dare, I won't let you…"
"Heh, you are in no position to be dictating anything boy. Of course, maybe I should start with, what was his name, oh yes, Iruka."
"NO!"
Kyuubi continued on as if he hadn't heard. "of course, the taste of men never really sat well with me. In that case, I suppose I could go for that interesting Hyuuga girl…"
"ARRRRGGGHHHH" His scream tore from his throat before he even realized it. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain, and lunged forward, all of his momentum directed toward the creature that tormented him. Kyuubi, however, had expected this kind of attack.
Naruto's punch was stopped short as it slammed into Kyuubi's ready palm. He did not stop however, throwing all of his strength and momentum into it, he thrust his leg upwards, grazing Kyuubi's chin as he attempted to dodge out of the way. After that second attack, he felt a sharp impact against the side of his head, and was once again thrust backward. He landed heavily, but was up again almost immediately, panting.
The Kyuubi regarded him for a moment, and then began to chuckle ominously.
"Heh heh, what's wrong? Did I make you angry?" He spread his arms wide in invitation. "Then feel free to do something about it!"
With a growl, Naruto shot forward again, faster this time. His hand went out to the side as chakra began to gather, blue chakra with a hint of red. His face now looked very similar to his double, his eyes red and slit, the whisker marks wide.
Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. "Interesting…" he managed to get out before he was forced to dodge again. 'It seems as though he has already begun to change… this is better than I had hoped!'
"Get him on the bed NOW!"
A group of white garbed medical nin immediately placed Naruto on the large hospital bed, though the process was a bit difficult due to his constant thrashing. About half way to the hospital Naruto had begun to go into a fit, his body now burning with fever. This greatly worried both Tsunade and Kakashi, both understanding the possible reason.
"Ok help me to get his shirt off; we need to get him bandaged right away!" 'Please still be there, please…'
They lifted the shirt, and her breath caught in her throat. There on Naruto's stomach, around his navel, was the seal. Or what was left of it. The four way seal on the outside of the spiral had burned away, and the spiral itself was beginning to disintegrate even as she watched.
"K-Kakashi."
"Yes Hokag…" His voice trailed off as he noticed what she was staring at. 'No, it isn't possible…'
Tsunade continued, her voice unsteady "Kakashi, I-I want you to go out and round up as many of the ANBU as you can. Tell them…"
She took a moment to collect herself, tears now making their way down her cheeks.
"…Tell them that the Seal is broken."
Sakura and Hinata sat across from each other out in the main hall of the hospital, both of them consumed by silence. Sakura was bombarding herself with self-loathing and pity, and Hinata was still distraught by the frightening chakra she had sensed.
After nearly fifteen minutes of silence, Sakura finally decided to voice her self-accusations aloud.
"It's my fault…" She mumbled to herself. Hinata heard her however.
"P-please don't s-say that Sakura-san!"
"But it is! I wasn't able to do anything, I just sat there as they left. I'm completely useless; I've always been the useless one. It's all my fault." She broke down, her tears streaking down her face.
"It's not your fault." Another voice shouted down the hall. The two girls both looked up suddenly to see Shikimaru standing there, his normally bored expression twisted in anger.
"It's not your fault Sakura." He said again, turning towards the pink haired girl. "I think we all know whose fault it is."
"But if I had just…"
"It would not have made any difference." Shikimaru stated, cutting her off. "Sasuke wouldn't stop for you no matter what you had said to him. If you had gone with us, Naruto and Sasuke would have still fought. There was nothing you could have done to stop them; they were itching for that fight for a long time."
The door to the room suddenly opened, and Kakashi stepped out. His face was ashen, his eye dark. His appearance did little to ease the anxiety of the three young ninjas in the hallway.
"H-how is he?" Hinata spoke first, her soft voice carrying in the soundless hall.
Kakashi didn't answer. Instead, he began to stride off down the hallway towards the entrance. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides.
"Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted. The three of them ran off after him. Sakura ran ahead until she stood right in front of him, her tear stained face hardened in determination.
Shikimaru spoke up, voicing the question all three had been wanting to ask. "What is going on? This is more than a simple injury isn't it?" Hinata's breath caught in her throat involuntarily at Shikimaru's question, her own internal fear having been given credence.
Kakashi regarded them sadly. "I'm sorry… but I can't discuss this now."
"Why!" Sakura shouted, her tears flowing again. She knew there was something going on, something far deeper than anyone was revealing. All this secrecy was tearing her apart inside.
"What is going on?" Shikimaru asked again, his composure hanging by a thread. "There is something going on with Naruto isn't there? Something that you're not telling us. What is it?"
"We are forbidden to speak of it…"
"TO HELL WITH THAT! What the hell is going on here! What are you hiding! What kind of secret does Naruto have that would require silence like this!" Shikimaru shouted, his cool finally broken.
"Please Kakashi-san, what is wrong with Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly, her eyes filling with tears as well.
Kakashi looked at all three before finally sighing in defeat. "Ok… you win… I will tell you everythi…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He was cut off by an ear piercing scream from inside Naruto's room, the sound echoing down the hallway. All four turned in shock, their bodies moving instantly towards the source of the horrible cry.
"Shit!" Kakashi whispered as he ran back as fast as he could, the three younger ninjas following close behind him.
The battle continued unabated within the depths of Naruto's psyche, the darkness pierced by frequent flashes of red light, the silence broken by guttural growls and explosions.
"Much better boy!" The Kyuubi shouted, his now blood stained face filled with malicious glee. He was panting heavily, his tongue hanging out over his teeth like a salivating animal. His crimson eyes burned with battle lust.
Across from him, Naruto stood, his face nearly as bestial as his counterpart. He too was panting heavily. They regarded each other for a few moments.
"Well, this has gotten much more interesting, ne Naruto?"
"…" Was the only reply Naruto gave, his own red eyes gleaming in the dark.
"Heh, very well. Then let's finish this!' With that he lunged forward again.
Naruto shot forward again as well, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. His hand drew back, red chakra gathering around it. Kyuubi did the same.
They continued forward.
Closer…
Closer…
They were nearly upon each other, their arms thrusting forward, all their power being put into this final blow.
Then, at the last moment, Kyuubi drew his hand back, leaving his chest wide open. He grinned, his smirk wavering only slightly as Naruto's chakra empowered hand slipped into his chest, through the rib cage, and out the other side, blood exploding out from the wound. His grim remained even as blood began to leak between his teeth.
Naruto suddenly came back to himself as his attack connected, the crimson red abating as he realized what happened. "Why!"
They stood like that for many moments, as if caught in time. Kyuubi's grin widened, revealing blood stained teeth. He began to laugh, his mirth choked occasionally by a cough of blood.
"… Heh... I have… already seen… what I wanted to see!"
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his voice portraying his shock.
Kyuubis grin grew impossibly wider as he reached down to grasp Narutos arm, dragging his impaled body closer to the completely horrified boy.
"It… seems… that you have won the battle… congratulations!" He chuckled sarcastically.
"B-but…"
"I… never had any intention… of winning this battle. It would… have done me no good. Even after I escaped, I..." He began to cough more deeply. After it passed, he continued "even when I escaped… I realized that I was still trapped. My essence had been bound too completely to yours. Because… because of that, I would never have been able to take possession of your body. So I guess I'll have to settle for the next best thing.
He coughed a few more times. His eyes burned into Naruto's, their red depths still simmering with bloodlust. "So again, congratulations. And… as they say… to the victor go the spoils.
H coughed once more, his body suddenly dissolving into red mist, swirling about Naruto.
"ENJOY…" Was that last thing that Naruto heard as the mist suddenly began to swirl quicker, before suddenly bombarding him, his whole body encompassed by a cocoon of crimson energy.
Naruto screamed…
AN: Whew, long chapter. Well, how was that for a conclusion to the battle? Like it? Hate it?
By the way, sorry for not updating for a while. Midterms are such a pain in the ass.
The next chapter will of course deal with the after math of this battle and how it will affect Naruto. You can bet that the Kyuubis 'gift' will be more than he bargained for.
Just to give some insight into my decision for this battle, I want to make it clear that Kyuubi is certainly NOT doing this out of the kindness of his heart. All over the net, stories like this nearly always involve a reformed Kyuubi, or a Kyuubi who actually comes to like Naruto, and wants to help. My depiction, I think, keeps him a bit more in character, revealing him to be the evil, bloodthirsty manipulative bastard that he is.
Last thing, in regards to the Naru/Ten idea. Ido like the idea, but I cannot, in all honesty, figure out a plausible way to fit such a pairing into the story without it seeming forced. But it is an interesting idea that I could try to implement. And as for the coupling that will occur, well let's just say that, despite what people may think, I am not sold on the Naru/Saku or Naru/Hina pairings. That is not to say that they could not happen, but it is not a guarantee.