Alpha Wolf

Yamcha sighed in his cell. He was bored out of his mind! He was laying in his single bunk, staring at the gray ceiling.

He actually should be happy. He was released from the T&I division a few days ago. They had no reason to hold him since he was not a threat to the village. He was nothing more than a common thief, one that was taken down by genius nonetheless. It was a blow to his pride, but it was worth being away from Ibiki.

He thought he would be in big trouble for harming two clan members but to his surprise he wasn't . The Hyuuga leader chose not to hold anything against him, much to his surprise considering he beat her pretty bad. The Inuzuka and he worked out a deal, he would spend a month in prison and then would work for them for the next year. He'd choose cleaning poop over prison any day.

In his free time, he had plenty of time to work out. He gained a bit of speed and power in his few days in the cell. With nothing else to do, why not work on your figure?

Yamcha was really concerned with what was going on outside the prison walls. With his keen sense of hearing he could make out the signs of a battle. Occasionally the building would shake from nearby explosions.

"Take THIS!"

Yamcha instinctively jumped up from his bed. Not even a second later, the wall burst open. A body came crashing through moments later.

Before his mind could register the situation he jumped forward and grabbed the figure, landing in a crouch. His eyes glared into the large hole in the wall. Although most prisoners were taking this opportunity to escape, he was more on guard for a possible attack. He was startled when he felt the figure roughly lifting out of his arms. As they stood with their back to him, he could only see the long brown hair in a ponytail. The person was on guard, lowered into a feral stance. One that seemed rather familiar…

"Are you ok?" he asked. The figure turned towards him and he froze.

There stood a figure around his age. On each cheek was a red tattoo, one that seemed almost tribal. They wore a flak jacket that was open displaying their…

Oh, did he mention it was female? And an attractive one at that.

Yamcha quickly back pedaled until his back was against the cell bars. His breathing was quick as he stared at his hands. 'I just… And she's… Oh no not again! Focus, Yamcha focus!'

Yamcha gazed up to see the girl Watching him with a raised brow. "Are you ok?"

The desert bandit tried to talk, but only could stammer. As he continued to speak (or attempt to) he noticed something that made him tense up. "Look out!"

The girl turned and saw the trail of shuriken coming her way. She did a backflip as she went through seals. "Ino no tsume!" In an instant a short blue burst of chakra erupted from her fingernails making them appear more like claws. As she landed, she burst back into the air towards her attacker. The lady swiped away another volley of chakra and released a roar as she tore into the chest of the nin.

The girl glanced back. "Thanks."

Yamcha smiled, looking rather goofy. "No problem!" His expression turned into one of cool confidence. "The next one is mine."

"I hope you do better than the other inmates. It sounds like a massacre down there."

Yamcha's face tightened as he ran through the hole. As he glanced around he could see a handful of bodies all wearing the same orange uniform as he. They were either old or sick, the few that probably didn't have a chance at escaping. The shinobi were now picking off a few more of the stragglers. There were only five shinobi, each with a headband that contained a music note. Yamcha snorted.

She was wrong. It wasn't a massacre. At least not yet.

In practiced ease Yamcha was to the right of the nearest ninja. As he was lowering his blade to decapitate a young man, a punch to the jaw quickly put him out and he crumpled to the ground. The sound caused the other shinobi to turn their attention towards him. In an instant he was surrounded.

The lady stepped forward, but he quickly waved a hand, to terrified to look in her direction. She stepped back with a huff, crossing her arms across her chest.

Yamcha glanced to his left and right, before meeting the gaze of the shinobi in front of him. The blonde smirked at him, waving his scimitar in the air.

"You're going to fight all alone, kid?" the sound shinobi asked with a snicker. "You're better off letting your girlfriend help."

Yamcha turned beet red at the remark. He could feel heat rising in his face. "She's not my girl friend!"

"You got that right…" The lady mumbled, causing Yamcha to sweat even harder.

The blonde shinobi snickered, which was followed by his teammates. Yamcha took this time to gaze behind him. He noticed that two of the shinobi were going through signs.

"Katon! Hoteri Ougigata no Jutsu!"

Yamcha quickly went through three signs. "Daton! Doryūheki!" He slammed his hands into the ground and a slab of rock shot out immediately halting some of the embers. He jumped backwards and ducked as another few shot in his direction. With a grunt he jumped into the air, only to be intercepted by a shinobi. The man held a small blade and swiped it at the teen.

Yamcha grabbed the man's wrist on instinct. As the man stared at him in shock Yamcha threw a vicious head butt, instantly making him go limp. He twisted the body behind him and cringed as it was pelted with shuriken. He tossed the body and fell into a roll but instantly jumped back as he was assaulted from the front. He danced away from a flurry of swipes from the trash talking blonde, getting more irritated by the second.

Yamcha cried in pain as he was punched from the side, knocking him off balance. He continued to roll, narrowly avoiding the blade. "Doton: Iwa Tounyuu no Jutsu!" Yamcha gripped a rock and charged chakra into it before chucking it at the shinobi that punched him. The man grunted as he was hit in the face. A wet, sickening crunch could be heard as he fell backwards, never to move again.

The remaining shinobi landed in front of Yamcha, a couple of feet ahead of him. He slowly climbed to his feet, wiping a trail of blood from his lip. A wide smirk crossed his features. "Is that all you got?"

The three sound nin growled in frustration at the bandit. The blonde glanced to his left and right, then his green eyes met Yamcha's black. "Beta formation!"

Quicker than Yamcha's eyes could follow, the three shinobi were in action. The first shinobi to meet him was a red head, swinging with chakra enhanced fists. Yamcha danced around each blow, but the guy was too fast for him to try and attack. Yamcha dodged a kick to his chest, jumping back and rolling onto his feet. He quickly dropped into a split, releasing a light squeal as another kick whooshed over his head.

The next attack was a bicycle kick. Yamcha raised both arms and blocked, grunting from the force of the attack. As the two battled for superiority, Yamcha noticed a gleam coming from the left. He lowered his arms and quickly pushed up, throwing the shinobi off balance. He punched the shinobi in the crotch as hard as he could and grimaced as he wailed while holding his jewels. He then Once more jumped away from the blonde blade wielder. He danced and dodged another salvo of swipes.

"What's the matter? Getting tired?" the shinobi asked with a smirk. He swiped once more diagonally and the horizontally, annoyed that the teen was still dodging. "My guess is that a few more seconds and you'll be diced meat!"

Yamcha snorted as he dodged again, noticing a hole in the man's defense. He kicked the shinobi in the wrist, smirking as the blade sailed in the air. He twirled and kicked him in the chest, knocking the man backwards. With a triumphant huff, he caught the blade before it touched the ground.

"Well well, somebody's missing their weapon." He took a step towards the man, resulting in him scrambling the backwards. "What's the matter, you don't know any jutsu?"

The shinobi continued to crawl away as Yamcha neared him. His heart pounded faster than ever before. He couldn't manipulate chakra, his coils were much to small! "Get away from me, you disgusting maggot!"

Yamcha smirked even wider. This guy was nothing more than a bully, relying on his comrades to support him while he inflicted terror upon others. He quickened his pace until he was standing over the figure. He snarled at the cowering shinobi as he raised the blade. "You never could've beaten me."

"Doton:Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!"

Before Yamcha could react, he was pulled into the earth until only his head was visible. The blade clanged next to his head. He glared to his right and noticed the third member of the group was crawling out of the ground with a sick smile on his face.

The blonde scrambled to his feet and gripped his sword. "About time you show up, Strata! Know that I will be reporting this to Lord Orochimaru!"

The man known as Strata chuckled as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Yeah, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind that he put a wuss in charge of this team." This caused the leader to growl in anger.

"Hurry up and kill that guy!" the third member yelled as he stood, still rubbing his crotch. "He cheated!"

"Whatever." Blondie lifted his blade and glared at the snarling Yamcha. "Told you I was gonna kill ya."

Yamcha glared defiantly. If he was going to die, he would do it with honor. As the man began to swing, Yamcha grimaced slightly.

"Gatsuuga!"

Yamcha heard the familiar call and was surprised as he saw a pair of spiraling forms shoot past him. The two lackeys released cries of anguish as their midsections were dug into. Their blood splattered as the bodies were forced into the air. As they landed in two heaps, he saw the spirals stop spinning.

Yamcha's jaw dropped as he saw the same girl from earlier. The other typhoon turned into a large grey dog with a white underbelly. The dog growled ferociously at the blonde, who instantly backed away in fear.

"Guremaru! Kimaru! Dig him up!"

Yamcha was shocked as two dogs that looked like the first jumped beside him. They quickly began to throw up the dirt and Yamcha was free in a few seconds. He jumped out and landed nimbly, giving the dogs a nod in thanks.

"Now, I guess I can finish this match." Yamcha smirked before the cowering shinobi. He lowered into his stance. "You've pissed off the wrong wolf, buddy."

The ninja took a step back. He prepared to run, but halted as he heard growling. Quicker than he could register he was surrounded by the ninken. They formed a semi circle, ready to attack the coward. The man turned back to Yamcha, fear evident in his face. "Prepare to die you bastard!" He charged towards Yamcha, frantically waving his blade.

A glint could be seen in Yamcha's eyes. He side stepped a sloppy swing, sending the man stumbling forward. He reached for the shinobi's wrist and snapped it, ignoring the shriek that ensued. "Get a load of this! Wolf fang fist!" Yamcha began to batter the man senseless with a salvo of attacks. With the final hit he released a howl and thrust his cupped hands into the chest of the shinobi, sending him flying through the air.

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow at the barrage. She had to admit, that was a technique that could be very beneficial to her clan. Their use of claws would leave a shinobi shredded! She stepped towards the man and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job," she said. She could feel the toned muscles cringe at her touch. "What's your name?"

Yamcha dry heaved. 'She's. .. touching me!' he thought nervously. He quickly jumped away, putting space between the two. He could hear a whine come from one of the dogs. "M-my name's Yamcha!"

The lady quirked an eyebrow. "The desert bandit?" At the nod, she smirked. "You're the guy that beat my little brother."

Yamcha's eyes widened at this revelation. Why hadn't he put it together? The marks, the jutsu, the dogs! He immediately began backing away, only to be nudged back forwards by one of the dogs. "I-im sorry!"

The lady raised a hand to silence him. "We can deal with this later. You're a fighter, so you can repay me with assistance." The lady looked at her dogs and nodded. They all stood, ready to sprint. She gave one look over her shoulder. "The name's Hana, by the way. Try to keep up, will ya?"

XxxoxxX

Run.

This was the only thing on Kankuro's mind. The sand genin was sprinting for his life from his deranged brother. The cool wind of the evening air brushed across his face as he sprinted away.

Kankuro dodged a wave of sand that quickly reduced the tree he was on moments ago into splinters. He rolled under a hail of shuriken made of sand and bounced back, continuing his run.

"Stop running you coward!" Kankuro ignored the voice. He knew that avoiding fighting Gaara would bring complications. The boy was much too ruthless to be denied a chance at battle. He was silently hoping that Gaara would have been happy to avoid showing his skills.

The angered yelling trailing him proved otherwise.

Kankuro was doing his best to avoid his pursuer. He was relatively fine, but it would be crazy to say he made it unscathed. He had a number of scratches littering his body from both sand and broken branches that he narrowly dodged. His left arm was hurt badly from a hail of sand shuriken that was too quick to dodge, leaving it almost useless.

"Gaara, stop!" Kankuro didn't have to look back to know who was screaming. He never heard his sister sound so afraid. Desperation was evident in her voice as she called out to her youngest sibling.

The young puppet master looked from side to side, searching for a place to hide. He was outside the gate in the center of a plain field. He tried to control his breathing, but there was a reason he wasn't a taijutsu specialist. He was never good at this much pursuing, he preferred fighting from a distance.

Kankuro flinched as he heard a pair of sandals click behind him. He slowly turned, his body quivering all the while. He grit his teeth tightly as he stared into Gaara's eyes.

Gaara held a feral smirk towards his brother. Kankuro felt fear shoot up his spine. He could tell that the demon was on the verge of escaping, and he witnessed the power on more than one occasion.

He would definitely die.

Kankuro glanced towards Temari as she landed behind Gaara. He could see the look of fear on her face directed towards him. Although Gaara was their sibling, they felt like they were the only children of the Kazekage. Gaara was so distanced from them and threatened to kill them on multiple occasions.

"Gaara… please stop this!" Temari yelled as she took another step towards him.

Gaara began to chuckle while gripping his head. "Mother wants his blood!"

The blonde took another brave step towards Gaara. "Gaara, that isn't our mother! She would never approve of this!" Gaara began to convulse, falling to one knee in seemingly pain. Temari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please don't hurt him."

Kankuro's eyes widened as he saw Gaara's facial expression. He seemed to be angered the minute the hand was on his shoulder. "Temari, move!"

"Don't TOUCH ME!" The young Jinchuuriki swung back and sand followed his movement, causing a screech from his oldest sibling. The girl was sent airborne as her body was smacked by the sand. She landed hard into a tree, causing it to burst immediately on impact. Her momentum planted her into another one.

"Why, Gaara?" Kankuro yelled as he held a fist up. "Your beef is with me, so why hit her?"

Gaara slowly turned back towards his only brother. Kankuro could see a crazed look in the boys eyes as he stared a hole in him. The boy began to chuckle, which quickly turned into a manic laugh.

"I am the only person that deserves to exist! I am powerful, and you are a coward!" He looked down at his hands and continued to speak in a softer tone. "Do you know why you are weak? It's because you're worrying about other people. I fight for me, that is why I will forever exist!"

Kankuro grit his teeth harder at the comment. As Gaara rose his head he could see the beginning stages of the sealed beast escaping. The boys icy blue eyes changed to a golden glare. The teeth on the right side of his face sharpened and around his right eye was beginning to look like sand. With practiced ease he quickly dropped his puppet, whirling it in front of him. The puppet resembled a human with three eyes and four arms, as well as shaggy brown hair. As the mouth clattered open a row of sharp teeth could be seen.

Gaara began to smile, his sharp teeth causing his opponent to flinch. "Yes… Yes mother…" The sand around Gaara began to rattle as it rose.

Kankuro quickly jumped back, his puppet sprung to life as it dove towards his youngest sibling. Gaara glanced at the puppet with mild irritation. When the wooden soldier closed the distance, a blade came out of each hand.

Gaara swiped his hand and a stream of sand shot towards the puppet. Kankuro twirled his pinky, resulting in it to spin at an accelerated rate, knocking the sand away. Another wave of sand was slipped under by Crow. The mechanical warrior chattered as it quickly shot towards the red head, its blades stretched out ahead.

Gaara lifted a hand and the sand on the ground shot up towards the puppet. The sand caught it by the leg, halting its momentum mere inches from stabbing him in the head.. Kankuro twitched his index finger and the leg quickly dispatched, causing the younger boy to snarl in annoyance. Sand quickly covered the missing appendage.

Kankuro grunted as he channeled chakra into the leg, causing it to explode. Gaara grunted as he was pushed back by the blast with his arms raised to protect his face. The blast caused him to slide back a few feet, but not any worse for wear.

Gaara scowled, more out of annoyance than anger. "That's enough!" he roared. He thrust his hand towards the puppet. In a flash the sand surrounding him shot forward.

Kankuro quickly pulled back his hands, causing Crow to turn tail and get away from the flying dirt. The puppet shot kunai as it retreated from its limbs, each being deflected by the pursuing sand.

The puppeteer grimaced as he felt a tug on his chakra string. He quickly released them as he jumped backwards. A trail of sand shot towards him off of the string and barely missed him. His bones froze as he heard a loud crunch.

The elder sibling stared in horror at what was left of his puppet. Gaara had a fist held out towards it. The puppet was dangling in the air, surrounded by sand. Wooden limbs were falling at a steady pace, each clattering as they hit the ground. Gaara grit his teeth as he tightened his fist, resulting in more creaking sounds to emerge. Kankuro flinched as the machine burst into saw dust.

Gaara turned towards his opponent, a feral smile on his face. Kankuro took a step back, raising his arms in a defensive position.

"Now," Gaara said as he took a step towards his brother, "no more games."

The two stared each other down. Gaara took a step towards Kankuro, and then another.

'No,' thought Kankuro. 'It can't end like this!' He scanned his surroundings as his brother continued to slowly move forward. The way he was smiling at him was terrifying!

When Gaara was a few feet from his brother he raised a hand. The sand around him rattled in anticipation, causing Kankuro to immediately tense up. His smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed. "Die."

As the sand shot forward, Kankuro switched with a nearby rock. He grimaced as it was crushed, but used the opportunity to toss a log at him with a chakra string. As the boy screamed in pain he took off in a run away from his deranged sibling.

As Kankuro ran he thought of the many possibilities in which he could win this battle, and the results were none. Without his puppet he was completely defenseless against the beast known as Gaara. If he had Temari they could've at least stalled time until their sensei was here, but Gaara put an end to that plan a while ago.

In the middle of his thinking, Kankuro was suddenly tripped up by a small hand made of sand. He shouted as he fell and landed hard on his stomach. He attempted to stand but was halted as he felt something crawling up his leg.

This wasn't going to be good.

"No more running."

Those three words made Kankuro's heart stop. He heard his brother say them to many shinobi and civilians alike that he captured trying to run from them. The results always ended the same, and he even he knew what was next yet he was unprepared for it.

"N-no! Gaara, please!" The teen began to crawl away, but the sand gripping his legs gave him no room for escape. The distant look in his brother's eyes shook him to the core. The setting sun behind his head only made him look even more ominous. "I'm your brother Gaara!"

The red head seemed to flinch at that comment. His eyes narrowed as he rose a hand above the cowering puppeteer. "I told you I would kill you." He clenched his fist shut, and smirked as he heard the ensuing screams of pain.

XxxoxxX

"Rasengan!"

Jiraiya continued to run as he put a hole through another shinobi. The body was blasted backwards and hit a building, sending it crumbling to the ground. His goal was to reach the gates as fast as he could.

He knew that the gates needed to stay standing. If they fell, other villages would take this for weakness and attempt to attack.

He'd rather die before he let that happen.

Jiraiya grimaced as pain shot up his leg. He was relatively fine, but all of this running was tearing open the wound. The shinobi he faced so far were mere cannon fodder. They were sloppy and most died without the use of a single jutsu.

Jiraiya ducked as a hail of shuriken came soaring over his head. He didn't look back as he threw three. He could hear the groans of pain as the bodies hit the ground with a thud. "Suna shinobi aren't what they used to be," he grumbled as he kicked another.

After a few more minutes, he finally reached his destination. He landed on the wall. Ignoring the sounds of battle, he gazed ahead. He was just in time. He could see a massive snake quickly approaching. The gate.

"Orochi… that slithery bastard!" he growled in annoyance. There was only one thing to do in this situation. He bit his thumb and began to go through seals.

"Dodonpa!"

Jiraiya jumped from the wall as a thin beam impacted it. He could feel the heat of the blast as it seared past him. The ensuing explosion shook him out of his stupor.

The sage turned and glared. As the smoke cleared he could make out five figures. There was a small boy, he looked to be a mere toddler. His skin was white and he had bright red cheeks. Another was a fat teen with long silver strands of hair, and a cocky grin to match it. The next was a giant of a man, standing at least 6 feet, all muscle. Beside him was a older man, around 30. He had a mane of brown hair,, and a large beard to match.

The fifth figure was the one that struck him the hardest.

Standing in the center was a pink clad man. He had a long black ponytail, and a mustache to go with it. On his face was a smile that oozed confidence.

"Jiraiya, how nice to see you again."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. He had plenty of memories of the assassin standing before him. "Tao," he said in a calm voice.

The general smiled even wider. "Ah, how I love these reunions!"

XxxoxxX

A/N: Cliff hanger! Sorry for being gone for so long, it's been a lot of family issues. This chapter is pretty short, but hey, I tried. I also realized I deleted a chapter that wasn't supposed to… so I'm going to have to make that for you guys. Yeah, hope you enjoy this one. Sorry that neither of our heroes was in it. Anyway, read and review!