I think it's about time, so here we go.
Disclaimer: Screw you guys, I'M GOING HOME!
Return of the fallen pair
Naruto and Fuu walked up the spiralling path of the base at a leisurely pace, glad to smell the damp air and feel the calm breeze of the place that was now their home. It was just midday, but the tall trees always offered a cool shade from the otherwise overbearing sun. The place was quiet today, though that was no surprise since the pair most likely to cause noise were just coming back from a mission.
"Hoy!" Naruto called, breaking the silence that had permeated peacefully in their absence. Fuu smiled and chimed in with her own call, mimicking Naruto's with a higher pitch. The two of them were in a good mood; they were looking forward to kicking back if only for a little while.
"You think anyone's there?" Fuu asked, cocking her head as she looked up into the shadows of the base. No one had appeared, or even called back to them. Though she hadn't expected much of a welcome back party, she would have thought at least Utakata would have said something.
"There'll be someone, can't just leave the place unattended can we?" Naruto replied, slipping his hands behind his head casually. His wounds had completely healed, much to Fuu's shock, and he was now back in pique condition. However he had been keeping quiet, and Fuu did the same in case he was still angry with her. But the smile that appeared on his proved otherwise as he nodded above, "Yo, Utakata!"
"Hey, Naruto." Utakata called from a couple of floors up. He gave them a wave as they ascended, one which Fuu happily returned. Though Naruto noticed that smile seemed half hearted, and the bags under his eyes suggested another thing too.
"Not getting rest?" he asked, as he and Fuu reached the older boy. Utakata cave a slight chuckle and nod, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"It's been a busy couple of days." he obscurely replied. That caught even Fuu's attention as the youngest Jinchuriki raised her brows questioningly, but Utakata failed to acknowledge her look.
Naruto watched Utakata uncertainly; he could see that he was trying to avoid something. With a slight frown, he looked to the room behind Utakata, though could see nothing within, "Where's Gaara and Yagura-san?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the room.
"Oh, well… they…" Utakata hesitantly replied. But he gave up his disinclination when he realised it was futile. He let out a tired sigh and pointed behind him, keeping his eyes closed with no wish to see the coming reaction, "They're sleeping."
"Oh?" Naruto murmured, looking at Utakata curiously. It took him a few moments of thinking, but when it hit him, it struck like a sledgehammer, "EHH?!"
Utakata began to explain, but Naruto wasn't listening. He shoved past Utakata and ran into the room, before coming to find that what Utakata said was true. Two beds were placed in the same room, Gaara and Yagura occupying one each. Both of them had their eyes closed, and judging from their breathing, the other thing Utakata said was also true. Naruto hurried over to Gaara's bed and crouched down beside his red haired friend, looking at him in concern.
"What the hell happened?!" he demanded, whipping his head back to Utakata. Fuu peered into the room, before gasping and rushing to Yagura's side much like Naruto had for Gaara. Utakata leant against the wall by the door, slipping his arms into a folded position as he watched his two unconscious comrades.
"It's my fault." he said, in a quiet voice. Naruto and Fuu both turned to face him from their positions, their brows furrowed as they wondered just what had happened while they were away, "I convinced Yagura-niisan to show Gaara-san how to control the Ichibi… but-"
"Control the-" Naruto repeated, before turning back around and gripping Gaara's shoulder. Ever so lightly he shook the boy, not wanting to seem too rough in case something bad happened, "Hey Gaara, you in there?"
"Maybe you should leave him." Utakata worriedly suggested, reaching out his hand hesitantly. But Naruto ignored him, he knew himself what sleep did to Gaara.
After a few moments of Naruto's light shakes, Gaara's eyes slit open slightly as he stirred. Naruto released him as soon as he saw that, kneeling back as he watched Gaara silently. The red haired boy blinked hazily, before raising his hand to his face and shielding his eyes from the light.
"I was… asleep?" he asked, though to no one in particular. He then spotted Naruto by his side, and with a grunt of effort he steadily raised himself to a sitting position, "You completed your mission?"
"Uh, yeah." Naruto replied, with a nod. He had barely remembered such a trivial thing, so distracted was he by the sight before him, "I dropped the money down at the bank when we got back." he then moved a little closer, the crease in his brow deepening as he stared at Gaara, "So what happened?"
"I don't know." Gaara simply replied, brushing some of his hair from his eyes. He had never looked so tired before as long as Naruto had known him. By this point, sleep had done him some short term harm as his energy failed to recover, "What was I doing?"
"We'd better wait until niisan wakes up first, he'll probably know more about what happened than me." Utakata replied, drawing unwanted attention back towards him. He straightened up and turned towards the door, looking over his shoulder with a face too tired to properly smile, "I'll get you something to drink, we could all probably use one."
"Ah, I'll help you." Fuu said, getting to her feet and hurrying after him. Utakata gave a nod as he waited, then the two left the others in peace. Naruto watched them until he could no longer hear their footsteps, before letting out a sigh and slipping down to a seated position with his back against the wall.
"Guy who hired us said if anything worthwhile turns up, he'll think about hiring us again." he said, as he rested his head on the wall and looked up at the ceiling, "But if he gives us another piece of crap mission like that, he can pay thirty seven million for all I care."
"Why thirty seven?" Gaara asked, his interest maintained only by the eccentricity of such a figure. Naruto looked up at Gaara with a raised brow, as if he was surprised that Gaara didn't already know where he was coming from.
"Put that with what we've already got and we'll have about enough to start looking for other Jinchuriki right?" he mused, with a light shrug. Gaara's brow twitched slightly at just how narrow minded Naruto was being, but three years had shown him that the blond wasn't capable of long term planning.
"Perhaps." he said, deciding against getting in a financial debate at this time. He didn't really feel like putting everything in layman's terms for Naruto's sake. But now that he thought about it, there wasn't that much he felt like doing at all, "Is this what it means to rest?"
"Heh, don't know what to do with yourself do you?" Naruto asked, with a cocky smirk. Gaara gave him a sideward look, even though he was right that just annoyed Gaara all the more. He didn't particularly like the idea that someone knew him so well.
"Hey, Naruto?!" called Utakata's voice, bearing a foreboding tone. Naruto and Gaara looked at each other with uncertain frowns, before Naruto rose to his feet and left to see what Utakata was calling him for.
He quickly descended down to the lower floor, heading into the kitchen area that Utakata and Fuu both occupied. The two of them were stood by the doorway to one of the bridges leading out into the trees, their backs to Naruto as they stared outside. Fuu looked at the blond as he entered the room, gesturing for him to quickly come closer.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, approaching the two of them with a curious look. He peered over their shoulders and looked in the general direction that their eyes were set in. It didn't take him long to spot the source of their attention, he too was interested in the small group of travellers down below.
"This place is more than a little out of the way." he muttered, as he lightly pushed past Utakata and Fuu. He looked down to the three boys standing by the trees below, each of them were looking up at them in just the same manner.
To the right was the tallest of the three, though not by much. From this distance it was hard to see, but that one had messy hair of very bright shade of white, hanging just over his eyes and down either side of his face. He wore a lilac sleeveless shirt and a belt with water bottles attached to it, and white trousers on his lower half. He stood with a hand on his hip, grinning up at Naruto with sharp teeth and violet eyes.
"This guy… why does he remind me of Kisame-sensei?" Naruto thought, his brow creasing worriedly.
Beside that person was the shortest of the three, a boy with raven hair that like the first one hung down either side of his cheeks, but spiking out at the back as well. He wore a baggy white shirt that revealed most of his upper torso, but was kept in check by a large piece of blue cloth wrapped around his waist. Beneath that cloth was a pair of dark slacks and black sandals, and was held in place by a thick purple rope. Naruto could faintly see a blade behind the boy, but couldn't make out the style. What he could make out however were the onyx eyes that watched him impassively, eyes that for some reason pissed him off.
"What a bunch of weirdoes." he thought, before setting his eyes on the third and final person. He looked over the last member of the group, slowly zoning in on the mark on his forehead. He froze on the spot, his eyes widening in shock, "No… it isn't…"
"So you would be the "stupid looking boy with the giant blade", I assume?"
Naruto stared with his teeth gritted and his eyes fixed upon the last boy, the one he now definitely recognised. Though he had changed a lot, there was no mistaking that mark on his forehead, nor those cold, pupiless white eyes.
"Hyuuga Neji." Naruto said, his voice ringing with disbelief. He stepped out further onto the walkway, making sure to get a better look of the person who had nearly killed him three years ago.
"Nice to see you remember me this time, Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Neji replied, casually raising his hand to run through his long brown hair, which was tied back in a low tight ponytail with just a couple of strands hanging down over his face.
He wore a shirt that was the same style as the boy in the middle, but it had a closed collar and was unusually asymmetrical, with his right side just a short sleeve that revealed a fully bandaged arm, and the other so oversized not even his hand was visible. The shirt also had a tail to it, running down to just above his ankles. He too had black slacks and sandals, and also wore a purple rope tied around his waist. But what was most noticeable was that, somehow, his eyes were even more condescending than before, "Have you gotten stronger?"
"You wanna find out?" Naruto asked challengingly, gripping his blade in his hand as a smirk spread across his lips.
"Leave it be Naruto."
Naruto looked to his right, his brow rising in surprise as Gaara stepped between Utakata and Fuu, joining him on the walkway. He looked down to the three boys standing far down on the ground, his impassive look coming off as a little too aggressive, "Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji, what business do you have here?"
"Hey Sasuke, what is this some sorta reunion?" asked the white haired boy, scratching his head as he looked at the middle boy with a troubled expression, "So are these guys game or-"
He then came to a sudden pause as he somehow only just managed to notice the blade on Naruto's back. His brow rose impressively, a sheen appearing in his eyes that once again made Naruto see this boy as not unlike his sensei.
But then moments after the loom faded to disappointment, he dropped his gaze and took one of the water bottles from his belt. "That's not it." he said, as he opened the bottle with his teeth and began drinking from it. He took a few deep gulps before lowering the bottle again, looking up at Naruto with one eye narrowed, "Yo, rumour has it Momochi Zabuza is dead, and this place belonged to him. You ain't seen a giant sword have ya?"
"You won't find it here." Gaara replied, without even giving the person asking a fleeting glance. He folded his arms and fixed his eyes on Sasuke, the cold looks in their eyes meeting.
"Pfft, guess this was a waste then." the white haired boy muttered, turning around and beginning to head away, "Guess I'll look elsewhere."
"Hold on, Suigetsu." Sasuke said, looking back at his comrade for a moment. The boy called Suigetsu looked back with a half frown half surprised look; he clearly couldn't see the point in staying any longer. But Sasuke's eyes returned to Naruto and Gaara, most notably the former, "Last time we met, you were saved by someone. That person was Hoshigake Kisame, right?"
"Eh, Kisame?" Suigetsu repeated, with a confused frown. Naruto looked between the two, wondering what the big deal about that was.
"What about Kisame-sensei?" he asked, gaining a frown of his own as Suigetsu's head snapped up in his direction.
"Sensei?" he repeated, before breaking out in a fit of laughter. He grabbed his sides and bent over, his sharp teeth spread out in a huge grin that made Naruto and Gaara look at each other, "Looks like we've found an interesting guy!"
"Anyway." Sasuke said, silencing Suigetsu with a look. He then returned his eyes to Gaara, his expression revealing nothing, "I know that Hoshigake Kisame is partners with Uchiha Itachi. As his students, you probably know something useful. Tell me everything you know about that man."
"We are no longer affiliated with Akatsuki." Gaara replied, speaking clearly to make sure Sasuke made no mistakes about what he was saying, "Anything you know is most likely more than what we know."
The two stoic boys kept their eyes in a gridlock, one trying to see if the other was lying, while the other tried to convince the first to give up. The look lasted for several moments, but in the end it was Sasuke who decided to concede. Without another word he turned around and began taking his leave. Neji followed him after giving a smirk to Gaara, while Suigetsu waved to Naruto. The three of them then made back to the wilderness, almost disappearing from sight completely.
"Give up on finding Uchiha Itachi." Gaara said, his eyes narrowing as he gave Sasuke a commanding stare. The three boys stopped, but Sasuke kept his eyes firmly on the path ahead as Gaara's words caught him, "You cannot defeat him."
Though Sasuke made no move, Neji and Suigetsu both made a half turn to look up at the red haired boy. The two of them wore smirks, both malicious but at the same time impressed. Naruto watched them carefully; he had a bad feeling rising in his gut. Sasuke's head slowly turned, but before he could look, he disappeared in a flicker.
"What?!" Naruto thought, quickly grabbing Eko's hilt once more and preparing to-
SHLICKT!
He froze as the sound hit his ear, coming from a place just a little to his right. He turned his head to look in that direction, his eyes widening and his pupils shrinking at the sight he saw.
Sasuke stood in front of Gaara, his lips almost at the desert boy's ear. The sand from the gourd maintained a solid position, reaching halfway towards the gap between the two boys. Through both ends, the front and the back, Sasuke's long thin blade pierced through Gaara's stomach and even the gourd itself.
"Don't label me under your weakling standards." Sasuke said, pulling his blade out in one smooth motion. Both Naruto and Gaara's breath were caught in their throat as blood flowed from the open wound, pouring out as Sasuke disappeared again.
"GAARA!" Naruto yelled, grabbing his friend before he fell off the bridge. Utakata and Fuu both rushed to his side, the former quickly removing the gourd while the latter supported Gaara's head. Naruto pressed his hand against the wound on Gaara's stomach, trying to do the same thing as the sand and stop the blood from flowing, "GAARA! GAARA!"
"NARUTO!" Utakata shouted, fixing his serious eyes on Naruto's hysteric ones, "I can help him for now, but if he doesn't see a doctor soon he'll die!"
Ba-BUMF!
Naruto knelt frozen, the world around him dragging to a standstill. He could almost feel the bridge beneath his feet collapsing, like he was falling through a deep chasm. Gaara… would die? No, there wasn't a chance in hell.
"I won't… allow it!" he thought, as he slowly gritted his teeth. He looked down to Gaara, and then up at Utakata and Fuu, his expression turning livid as his jaw began to tighten, "I won't… I won't…" he whipped his head down to the place the three boys had been, but were now gone, "I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"
"DAISUKE!" he screamed, throwing his head to the trees. One of the dogs who had been watching from the branches raised his head and looked straight at his master, "TAKE FUU TO NAMI!" Naruto ordered, before shooting Fuu a look that told his thoughts. Fuu gave a scared nod as she revealed that she understood. That was all Naruto needed.
"Wait, NARUTO!" Utakata yelled, as Naruto bolted off the bridge and down to the ground below. The blond completely ignored him as he hit the ground, landing on all fours and hurtling through the trees faster than his legs could cope.
"You sure you wanna do this?"
"Don't try and stop me!" Naruto replied, even his thoughts coming out in a growl. He broke through the foliage and littered branches, red chakra growing from his skin and covering his body.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you partner."
Naruto gave silent thanks, but then allowed himself to focus fully on the deed ahead. The three invaders had already disappeared from sight, were they in some sort of hurry?
"Don't you dare run away!" Naruto thought, as he pounded through the trees. He was moving at such a speed, the landscape began melding together into one continuous blur of brown and green. But those colours soon became obscured even more so as the chakra crawled over his face, covering his eyes and soon his entire body.
Just at the end of his spine, the chakra grew out into a single tail, but as the scene of Sasuke's attack on Gaara ran through his mind again, a second tail soon followed. This was so far the most he had ever gained; never before had he felt such dark, consuming rage. He wasn't afraid of it, nor was he really glad it was there. As far as he was concerned, it wanted to do the same as him, but not for his sake.
"THERE!" he thought, as something finally came into view. Sasuke, Neji and Suigetsu had all come to a stop, the latter two regarding him with interest. Naruto drew nearer to them with every fleeting moment, ready to beat them until they were no longer discernable from each other. And then he would finish the job.
Suigetsu was the first to move, stepping in front of Sasuke with a wicked grin on his face. However, he too was blocked by Neji, who turned to face his two comrades and bare his back to Naruto. He spoke a quiet word to them, which resulted in a nod from Sasuke and an annoyed grunt from Suigetsu. Those two then turned away and disappeared, leaving Neji to deal with Naruto.
"GET BACK HERE!" Naruto roared, as he lunged for Neji. The Hyuuga kept his back to Naruto even as the blond sailed through the air towards him. However, just as Naruto was about to reach him, Neji turned his head. Blinded by an intense light, Naruto didn't realise his predicament until it was already too late; his body was completely paralysed.
Neji sidestepped just as Naruto was about to fly straight into him. He reached out his palm and with a blast of chakra; he forced Naruto's back against a tree. Naruto was unable to resist as he was propped up against the tree by the single blow, even his face was caught in the half wince caused by the light.
"Now now Naruto-kun, no need to cause trouble." Neji said, as he raised his hand to Naruto's head. To his great surprise, Naruto watched as the cloak of chakra faded away, against his wishes the adrenaline was leaving him. Within moments he was as good as a rag doll, and by the look on the Hyuuga's face, Neji was well aware of it, "It looks like that dear monster of yours has a little more room to breathe."
"Bastard!" Naruto growled, his muscles straining as he tried to break whatever had been done to him. What was this, a paralysis Jutsu? He would have almost denied the possibility of someone being that fast with hand seals, but after what just happened to Gaara-
"It's his eyes."
Eko was right, though Neji had dimmed the light, from the shine in his left eye it was definitely the Genwaku Byakugan. Then this was a Doujutsu? If so, it was pretty intense. However, it confirmed at least one thing for him; if Neji was using it even while Naruto was frozen like this, it was because he had to.
"As much as I'd like to see your capabilities, I can't have you getting in my way." Neji said, as his hand reared back threateningly. Naruto was practically screaming at his body to move, his eyes were becoming bloodshot from pure effort. However, just as it looked like Neji was about to strike, he stopped. A slow smile spread across his lips as his eyes turned from left to right, before locking straight onto Naruto's, "What a loyal pack of mutts you have."
As he said that, Naruto began to hear the distant growls of the dogs all around him. It looked like Neji's field of vision was as strong as ever, if not stronger. "Damn it, what am I thinking?!" Naruto cursed himself, now wasn't the time to think about things like this, he'd save analysis for when he got out of here.
"Hmph." Neji chuckled, closing his eyes for a moment as he straightened up. Naruto was caught by surprise, what the hell was he doing?! "Sasuke-kun is naïve, it didn't take very much for your friend to convince him." he said, narrowing his eyes patronizingly. He placed his hand on his waist as he studied Naruto's frozen face, smirking at the look in the blonde's glaring eyes. He then took a step aside, looking out the way he would soon be heading with an almost distant look about him, "Did you know Orochimaru used to be a member of Akatsuki?"
Naruto faltered for a moment as his eyes locked on Neji's, confusion setting in as much as shock did. Neji caught this look and let out a small inward laugh, both mocking yet unsurprised.
"Well then, let me impart these words to you, before I take my leave." Neji said, as he slowly lifted his hand to Naruto's face. He gripped the paralysed boy's head, leaving just enough room to see his eyes, "Had the leader of Akatsuki had his way from the start, you would most certainly be dead."
As Naruto's pupils shrank in horror, Neji released a well placed burst of chakra and knocked him unconscious. Just as he did that, his Doujutsu came to an end and Naruto slumped. The Hyuuga watched Naruto as he fell to the ground, his left eye constantly shifting in and out of focus as it readjusted to normal conditions. His smirk disappeared as he lifted his hand to his face, covering the strained eye as he grimaced to himself. Then, just as the dogs began creeping closer, he disappeared in a sudden flicker, leaving them to whine by their unconscious master.
