Not as long as last chapter, but definitly got this one out faster. I'm just getting excited from being so close to the end. Of course there is a little bit of dread as well. This story started back on May 1st of 2010. It's been almost 2 years and it's almost over. I've learned a lot about writing in that time and staying strong with my own plans despite certain negative reviews from people that don't like this or that theme in your story. A writer must be able to stay strong in his/her convictions of how the story should go, and while I wavered for a little while, the story had managed to stay true to its intended purpose and plot. Some things have been added as I dug deeper into the scope, new relationships I hadn't thought about came around, and I realized how important it is to write plans for your story so you have a solid story instead of just coming up with everything when you sit down to write it. Other stories that I do will be much more planned and less prone to making the some of the mistakes I either did make, or almost made.
Thanks for staying with me and please continue on for the last couple chapters. Enjoy this chapters conclusion of Naruto and Gaara's fight. This is the beginning of the end!
disclaimer me-I DON'T own Naruto.
PLEASE REVIEW!
Sasuke watched in awe as his girlfriend attacked the monster that Gaara was becoming. He knew she had a lot of potential, but seeing her like this was something else. I get the feeling that either she isn't going all out when we spar, or the only thing that brings out all her strength is situations like this, where lives are on the line. He clenched his eyes tightly. I need to get stronger, for her. If I'm going to do anything to protect her in the future I need to stronger than I am. Looking up he saw the toad that Naruto had summoned watching the fight excitedly, not even noticing the branch falling from above. Moving quickly he jumped over to the toad and managed to grab it right before the tree fell.
"Gotcha!"
"Woah! Yeah, thanks...but who's got her!" Sasuke looked back over his shoulder to see Naruto sailing through the air at a tree, just as there was an explosion at Gaara's back. His eyes widened in panic as he rebounded on the nearby trees, trying to catch her and at least cushion her impact, but he was too slow.
"Nooooooo!" He dumped Gamakichi next to him as he picked up Naruto's body quickly. "Please be okay," he whispered, "please..." Good, there's a pulse, and based on the impact image on the tree her head didn't hit too hard, so what's wrong? "Please Naruto, please, be okay..." She stirred, smiling.
"I love you, too," Naruto whispered.
"Huh? Naruto! Good, you're okay. I was...I was afraid you were..." Naruto laughed as she opened her eyes.
"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun, don't worry." He stared.
"Naruto...what's with the grin? You're looking a bit crazy." She shrugged him off as she stood.
"I'll tell you later, but for now," she said, raising her voice and turning to Gaara, "it's time to end this fight for good!" Gaara laughed.
"You've barely scratched me in the last several minutes that we've battled and I'm not even using my full power. You want to defeat me sister? Then go ahead and try!" Gaara roared as his form grew larger and more grotesque. It's animal resemblance was that of a huge (and rabid) raccoon. "Do you fear me now! DO YOU?" To everyone's surprise Naruto remained un-phased. Rather her face showed how perturbed she was as she pointed at the small giant in anger.
"So, you finally took over did you? Well I'm not gonna stand for it! I demand that you let Gaara go NOW!" Gaara stared at her for a moment. "Yeah that's right! Go away and never come back!" Instead of any other reaction she might have expected, Naruto (and Sasuke and Gamakichi, though for different reasons) sweat drooped.
"Gwaahahahahaha! Leave? Demon? Oh, this is fantastic! No, sister, I am me; I am Gaara, and I've never felt so free. Fighting you, it feels so...it makes me feel...alive," he said, his grotesque figure licking it's lips. "Let me feel alive some more." Naruto recovered quickly, calling forth another army of shadow clones and trying to get behind him again having taken note that before he started getting larger there had been serious damage. She realized that where she hit before must actually be a weak point in the boy's sand armor.
"Gaaaaraaaa," she yelled, "I'll make you see reason if I have to beat the crap out of you to do it! Wake up, and see who you really are!"
"THIS-IS-MEEE! And nothing will stop me now! All my enemies will die, everyone, and I will prove my existence! I will be alive!"
"Yeah right! THousand years of-" she began, only to be swatted away by his tail.
"Tsk tsk tsk, nope! You won't get that shot in again! And now we make it interesting!" Naruto and her clones jumped back as Gaara grew once again, only this time he did not seem to stop.
"Woah, he's big," one of them said.
"No kidding, Sherlock; what was your first hint?"
"Hey, I'm just making an observation here!"
"Well its kind of obvious, don't you think?"
"Why I outta-"
"This happens inside your head usually?" The Naruto sitting next to him shook her head.
"No, not really. We just can't stand each other much. Too much of a good thing I guess."
"Yeah, too much of a..." Sasuke paused as his mind began to consider and he quickly lifted a hand to his nose as his eyes went wide and he began to bleed. The clone snickered.
"Pervert." He glared at her.
"Your fault."
"Is not!"
"Is too."
"Is-"
"You two going to keep arguing, or are you going to do something about that guy," Gamakichi yelled, pointing at the large sand monster that now had Gaara sticking out of it's head as he looked down on them.
"...fine, we'll finish this later," she said. "I gotta go; have an idea boss might like..." With that she poofed, and mere instant later, the rest of the clones began to charge up at the monster as it laughed and swatted at them like flies.
"...what is she doing now?"
"Can't you tell? She's over there!" Sasuke followed Gamakichi's gesture and saw Naruto kneeling on a tree branch, eyes closed. He activated his sharginan to try and figure out what she was doing. He shook his head in surprise.
"She can...she can do that?"
"Of course! Though if she failed to get pops last time she'll probably do it again if she isn't careful; after all, pops doesn't answer just an old sum-"
"No no no, not that. I meant the way she's controlling the Kyuubi's chakra. She's actually by-passing her own chakra and gathering up the Kyuubi's so that she can have enough chakra to summon your...pops, I guess."
"Oh, is that what she's doing? Well, maybe she'll get him after-"
"Summoning jutsu!"
"-all...wow."
Crushing many of the trees around them now sat the giant boss toad, Gamabunta, with Naruto on his head. He did not look happy.
"Eeeehhh? What's going on now? I was just about to enjoy a nice cup of sake."
"Again with the sake? Come on boss toad, I've got something serious I need you to take care of!" He lifted an eyebrow as he took stock of the girl on his head.
"Naruto again is it? I thought we went over this; you can't be my subordinate until you take a drink with me." Naruto stamped a foot down on his head...hard.
"And as I recall I'm still too young! Besides, what's so different about working with my dad than me, eh? It's still in the family, isn't it?"
"Yeah pops, give her a chance," came the small toads voice as it landed on his fathers head, throw courtesy of the Uchiha Express Airlines.
"Gamakichi! What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come out and play, so I answered Naruto's summon," he said, winking at Naruto. "Besides, if I'm going to take over for you someday I figure'd I should get to know the new summoner." Bunta grunted.
"Eh, fine, whatever. Guess it's Shukaku then, huh? You owe me for this kid. I've already fought enough biiju for two lifetimes. Still," he continued, grabbing his 'dagger,' "here goes nothing," and he charged in. Despite his skills and use of water for offense and defense, there was little he could do to damage the great being. Almost immediatly after their first exchange Gaara cackled once again and induced what Naruto heard him call a 'forced sleep jutsu,' to which Bunta moaned.
"Great, now he'll be twice as tough."
"Huh? Why?"
"Why? Because he just gave control over to his biiju, that's why!" Naruto stared over, remembering what Temari had told her about Gaara not being able to go to sleep.
"Oh...crap...well, how to we stop him," she called out, even as the demon attacked with renewed vigor and loudly celebrated it's new freedom.
"We have to force him awake again, but we'll need to real close, and the only way I can guarantee you being close enough long enough to do that is if I can grab him."
"So, go and grab him!"
"Do I look like I can grab something like all that sand, girl? Though you were Minato's kid; guess you don't have his brain after all."
"Hey! I'll have you know that I-"
"Yeah, whatever gaki. Now listen up," he said, taking a blow to his gut as he sailed over their opponent, "I can't do a transformation jutsu on my own; can't do the handsigns, but I'll give you enough chakra to manage turning me into something, and you'll transform me into something with claws and teeth or something to grab him with, got it?"
"Claws and teeth," she asked. "Yeah...I think I can manage that." She brought her hands up into the sign, thinking of the irony of what she was about to do. "I'm ready when you are," she called out.
"Then do it; now!"
"Transform!"
Not too far from the battle field, helping the two weakened Sand genin, Sakura looked up in surprise at seeing a huge fox where the toad been a moment ago. A fox with nine tails. ...Is this what they were talking about before? Wow... Even as she watched, the fox grabbed a hold of the other giant and held on.
"Alright kid, do your thing!"
"Right," Naruto replied, and using her clones she launched herself forward at the sleeping boy. Several small waves of sand shot out at her, but each time she would summon a clone and the two of them would manage to move her out of the way until she made it to Gaara. "Now-wake up!" She grabbed his head and hit their foreheads together enough to make them both bleed, but it didn't matter to her, so long as the demon was no longer in control. She kinda hoped hoped that the jolt would knock some sense into him. It did at least wake up him, Shukaku crying in dismay and anger over being dispelled so soon. Back in his original form, Bunta gave the already weakening sand a kick, hastening it's dissipation.
"Well, it's been a tough fight, and I'm tuckered out. That, and I need to take Gamakichi home before mama gets too upset. Good luck gaki."
"See you around Naruto. It's been fun!" The small toad managed to wave before him and his father disappeared, Naruto too busy trying to catch her self from the fall to wave back. She managed it, but barely, and shot back up near the top of the trees to find Gaara. He was only a few meters away, also clutching a tree top as he stared at her in anger.
"No, you shall not stop me; I never loose! I will be vindicated, I will destroy my enemies and I take you home!"
"Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere, Gaara, and I'm not letting you hurt anyone. I may not be the best fighter out there, but I can stop you here and now before you go any further." Gaara cried at in rage as he launched himself at her, and she retaliated, the force of their blows knocking the wind out of each other. They were too stunned to catch themselves this time as they fell through the trees. As she hit the ground Naruto felt a sharp pain in her left arm as she dislocated it. Meanwhile, Gaara felt that feeling Yashamaru had called pain all over his body. He did not feel so alive now, and he didn't have the strength to move. He tried to pull himself up, and failed. He closed his eyes a moment before he jerked his head to the side as he heard heavy breathing and a dragging sound coming closer. Eyes now open he saw Naruto pulling herself towards him with a single arm, the other hanging limp by her side and pain written all over her face...and she was coming closer. An unfamiliar sensation rose up within him and he cried out at her.
"No...no, stop! Don't come any closer!"
"Not, going, to happen," she replied.
"I, I'm sorry! I get it! I'll leave you alone; you can stay in Konoha!"
"It, it doesn't matter, really. Not now." He cried.
"Why? Why do you keep going? What's making you do this?" Naruto barked out a laugh.
"Haven't you figured it out? You got it all wrong. You don't become strong by being on your own. You become strong by loving others, and fighting for them," she said, drawing close to him. He trembled and quaked.
"Please," he whispered, "I don't want to end. Don't kill me..." She chuckled as she finally pulled up next to him. There remained no more space between them and he closed his eyes as she raised her arm, waiting for the cold steel of death to take him.
"Sorry, but that's not what I had in mind," she said, and he gasped as another new feeling over took him. Looking down he saw her blonde hair covering his chest, and her arm wrapped around him in a hug. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry you lost Mom, that you felt so alone, but you don't have to anymore. Mom wanted you to know that she loves you with all her heart...and so do I...brother." He gasped again.
"What, what do you-how, why-" She lifted her head up a little.
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain, but Mom, she, she was..." Naruto paused. "Just like how you have Shukaku and I have Kyuubi inside ourselves, Mom left a peice of herself in me when she died, but she would only get to talk to me once." She smiled softly. "When we were fighting, and I hit the tree, I finally got to meet her, and she told me the whole story, stuff that none of you guys knew, and now I know." She laid her head down again and her grip tightened. "You are my brother, and I love you, and I'll do anything to help you remember what love is so that you'll stop trying to kill, and learn to trust again. Stop listening to shukaku, and hear what mom really wants you to think. Love, Gaara. Love. That's what mom wants for you, and to do for you. Mom loves you, and so I-"
"And so do I," another female voice said. The two younger teens looked up to see Temari and Kankuro limping over till the knelt beside their siblings and, being on either side, lifted them up to a sitting position, though Naruto never relinquished her hold.
"I'm sorry we haven't always been there for you, Gaara," Temari said, "but, we do love you."
"Yeah man! I mean, give us a break, we're still kids and we were trying to take care of you without dad finding out. We screwed up, but just give us a chance, will ya?" Gaara stared and would have clutched his heart had Naruto not already been doing so. It...didn't hurt! It had hurt in so long he chocked out a sob at the sudden relief as warmth flooded him. His three siblings held him tightly through it all and he recalled when he had felt this same way before, when he was much younger. Temari and Kankuro watching over him, his mother, Temari telling him not to hurt himself...all those times. How could he have forgotten this warmth?
"I, I'm sorry," he managed to say. "I'm sorry...for everything."
"It's cool man."
"Yeah, what he said." He turned to Temari.
"..." She smiled.
"I know," was all she said, and as she gripped him tighter he finally managed to bring an arm around and return the group hug a little.
"Well," Naruto said brightly, "now that that's taken care of, I think I need, a nice, little...nap..." And she collapsed, having used the last of her energy to push off her pain long enough to show Gaara he was truely loved.
.
.
.
Far away from the forest two figures were already rushing towards the hospital area. One was carrying a heavily bleeding body while the other, using his superior speed, cleared the way, and they still found time to talk.
"You know, Kakashi, the chance she is who you think she is...who she looks like she is is-"
"I know Gai, I know!"
"Then-"
"I don't care! I, I have to take this chance. In any case, as long as she is properly secured then she should know something about Orochimaru's organization. You saw her abilities, right?" Gai sighed inwardly. He applauded Kakashi's generally youthful attitude in this matter...but he would have a most un-youthful funk once it was confirmed that this woman was just another or Orochimaru's experiments, possibly a clone meant to infiltrate but possessing some defect. They had both read the reports on the sannin's labs and experiments so there was a precedent.
"Is it worth it?" Kakashi looked down at the passed out figure he carried, years emotions he'd thought buried, years of loss and torment ready to break him in a moment.
"...I hope so," he whispered. "I hope so." I would never forgive myself for not knowing.
Whew! So, how was that? Not as long as the last chapter, but some big stuff none-the-less I'd say. In canon, as I recall, Naruto passed out because he was tired. In this case, she passes out because she hit so many trees and crap on the way down and the pain was overwhelming, but she something to do. And now Gaara is starting on the right path, and the sand sibs, all 4 of them, are reunited.
Then we have Kakashi and Gai rushing to the hospital to heal the almost dead 'Rin,' not even sure if she's the real deal. Next chapter will reveal whether Rin died those 12 years ago, or this was just a sick ploy by Orochimaru that never went through. The answer to the poll from over a year ago will finally be revealed! Are you excited? This is also take care of Kakashi being able to talk to Naruto about her true history. No matter which it is, Kakashi will finally be able to move on. So, which do you think it is? Real Rin or Clone Rin?