'Thinking'
'Kyuubi_talking'
"Talking"
/Naruto Talking to Kyuubi/
"Jutsu's"
The second to the last chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. The plot idea is my own and the OC's as well.
Chapter 34
"How did you find me?" Naruto sighed. A little while after Gaara found Naruto, the two found shelter in a nearby cave and sat around a small fire to try to warm themselves up. They took off their overcoats and laid them on some rocks to help them dry off. As of now, Gaara leaned against the cave's wall, starring at the rain at the entrance of the cave while Naruto sat hunched over next to the fire. His dull eyes stared straight into the flames and he rested his chin on his arms.
Gaara didn't move but responded with, "I check in on you every now and then." He said, referring to their bracelets they hand crafted themselves with both of their chakra.
Naruto nodded his head. He closed his eyes and reflected back to when he was yelling at the sky. Almost as if reading his thoughts, Gaara said, "I did some research for the past couple of months about black chakra." This sparked an interest in Naruto. He opened his eyes and shifted his head to stare out the entrance of the cave as well. "The only thing I could get from the text was only those who are held host to a tailed-beast could use the power of the dark chakra. But to use the power, even though it is far more powerful than some, has its toll."
"What sort of toll is that?" Naruto asked.
"The more you use its chakra, the less of a chakra source you have until you are left with no chakra at all. And if that isn't bad enough, it eats at your life span until you die."
"Well that sounds dramatic." Naruto replied and laid back on the cold earth floor. He stared at the black ceiling. It remained quiet for a couple of minutes with the rain being the only noise. After a while, Naruto spoke up, "How do you get rid of it?" His voice was barely a whisper as he thought back to how he felt when the black chakra showed up. The first time, he could barely remember but this last one, the one that happened barely an hour ago, he felt something in him that terrified him. All emotions vanished. He didn't feel anything. It was almost as if he didn't feel human. He didn't feel like nothing at all. If it wasn't for Gaara snapping him out of it, he didn't know what was going to happen and he wouldn't admit it to just anyone, but it scared him.
Gaara didn't answer at first. He thought back to some of the ancient scrolls he stumbled across in the vast library the Sand contained. "It is not something that you can get rid of, really. You yourself are calling upon its powers because of the lost you experienced."
Naruto frowned and sat up. "I've seen ninja lose someone important to them before but black chakra has never showed up in the equation." He didn't understand in the lease.
"That's because those ninja didn't have a tailed beast residing in them." Gaara pointed out. He turned towards his brother and walked the few steps to sit down next to the fire. He laid back against the wall of the cave and started up at the ceiling as if lost in thought. He closed his own eyes and explained, "I never thought to share this information because I didn't think it would show up. After Sana died, I became distracted by more and more scrolls I found and some information appealed to me. But you never came home for me to explain it to you."
Naruto didn't say anything.
"Not only was Sana's chakra very rare, it had a negative side effect to those around her. Because you were the one who traveled with her the most, it really only affected you." Gaara opened his eyes and stared at his brother. He noticed the confusion and the fear in his eyes but didn't say anything. Instead he elaborated more, "As you've witnessed already, the black chakra came from Sana's own chakra. She used it mostly with you as you were training with her so some of her chakra resided in you and mixed with Kyuubi's and remained dormant. Now that Sana is gone, you are calling upon it without realizing it because you are thinking of her so her chakra, along with yours, comes to the surface."
"Why is it black?"
Gaara thought for a moment before saying, "It's because of the colors already present. Sana's solar and moon chakra mixed together is supposed to have a lighter color but when you add your chakra, along with Kyuubi's, it starts to get darker. And then your emotions have a factor in it as well."
Naruto shook his head and laid down again. "I never realized it could get so complex."
"Neither did I."
The two became quiet again and listened to the downpour outside their cave. Naruto thought about his deceased sister and the wonders she was to him. He missed her greatly. He never really witnessed a death to have such a great effect on him. The only other person was the third Hokage but even then, he wasn't as close to the man as he was with Sana. His parents died when he was an infant so he had o memories of her.
"Does it get easier?" Naruto whispered without moving from his current position.
"When you learn to let go and stop blaming yourself, then yes; it does get easier." Gaara answered gently. "You know it isn't your fault, no matter what anyone says. Sana wouldn't want you to blame yourself for her death. She would want you to be happy and to do things that make yourself happy, not close yourself off to the world and dwell in misery."
Naruto nodded his head and felt the tears form. "It's like my life ended with hers." He sat up and mirrors Gaara by leaning against the wall. He stared at his hands as he finally opened up. "She was my world, my sister, and to have her die in my arms…"
"But it wasn't your fault, Naruto. And you have to stop blaming yourself."
Naruto nodded. "How?"
"You need to live." Gaara answered as he reflected back to the first two weeks after her death. When Naruto came home to the Sand, he closed himself off to everyone and stayed in his room. He didn't eat and never came out. No one even knew he left the Sand until Temari opened his room to try to talk to him. "You need to let Sana go but keep her with you at the same time. Remember her by being yourself again and do the things that make you, you. I know she doesn't want to see the new Naruto because that isn't the one she knew and loved."
With a small chuckle, Naruto could almost picture her with her hands on her hips, lecturing him on his behavior for the past couple of months. "She would be pretty pissed if she saw me know." He agreed. A few tears slid down his cheeks and he brushed them again. He took a deep breath and looked at his brother. After everything he had put Gaara through, the red head was always by his side. He couldn't have found a better man than him.
"I think… I think I'm going to live again, as cheesy as that sounds." Naruto admitted, finally coming to a decision about his life. His tears stopped coming and he wiped the rest of them away. He sat up straighter, his mind clearer than it had been for many months.
Gaara gave a small smile and gave a nod of his own. "What're you going to do now?"
Naruto thought for a minute. Something had been weighing him down for many months now but he didn't know what to do.
From the look Naruto gave, Gaara gave him something to think about. "You already know what their decision on the matter is."
"I know… But it's been so long."
"They're not the same as they once were."
"… What about the others?"
"They'll understand."
Naruto nodded and stood up. Gaara stood up with him and Naruto pulled his brother into a tight hug. "Thank you, Gaara."
Gaara hugged him back. "Anytime, brother."
They parted and Naruto gave him a smile, one of the first smiles since Sana parted from the world. He turned towards the entrance and quickly grabbed his damp overcoat and slipped it back on. The red and black flames seemed to gleam against the orange coat. When he looked up, he noticed the rain had stopped and a strip of sunlight had slipped through the clouds and lit up the entrance. Slowly, he walked towards the light and once he was engulfed in it, he turned around and gave a small wave to his brother before taking off towards a new but old destination.
Gaara stayed where he was as he watched the man who came to him nearly four years ago, looking lost and defeated, leave him again with a new sense of purpose. He smiled and leaned back against the cave's wall and closed his eyes.
"Go back to where you belong, Naruto. But don't forget; you are welcomed back anytime."
XxxxX
Naruto felt his heart beat inside his chest at a fast pace as he jumped from one tree to the next. But his heart wasn't beating fast because of the run; it was pulsing harder and faster from the nerves he was being faced with. What was going to happen when he made it there? What was he supposed to expect? What should he do?
'Just be yourself.' Kyuubi sounded.
A sense of guilt bloomed inside his chest when she spoke. He slowed down from the run and stopped on a branch, landing in a crouch. He starred at the floor of the forest and the same surfaced and laced in with his words.
"Kyuubi," he said out loud. "I'm so sor-,"
'Don't even think about it, kit.' Kyuubi cut him off. She didn't sound upset or annoyed. Instead, her emotions were surpassed except for her understanding attitude.
"But-,"
'You've been through the shitty end of the bus and if anyone can understand, it's me. I can't read your thoughts after all.' She sort of gave a toothy chuckle before continuing, 'You never meant any of it and I see that. I'm just glad Gaara got through to you before I had to summon myself out and eat you.'
Naruto gave a small smile at the joke. "Thanks, Kyuubi. I don't know what I'd do without you."
'I don't know what I'd do without me either.' Kyuubi joked. Naruto kept his smile and shook his head. He picked his pace up again, this time going faster than before. Kyuubi spoke up again a few minutes later, 'It's good to have you back, kit. It's been getting pretty lonely.'
"It's good to be back." He replied and he meant it. He felt like he was opening his eyes for the first time in years and breathing in fresh air. He was never going to forget his sister but he was glad to be out of the depressed state. And with that, he wanted to make amends to those who have been trying to get him to come home for so long. He always wanted to go, but when Sana had appeared in his life, he didn't want to put her through whatever he was going to experience if he had gone back. But now, he wouldn't have to worry.
'She always wanted you to go back, you know.' Kyuubi said as she read his thoughts. Naruto didn't say anything so she continued, 'She knew what you were feeling and before the whole Orochimaru thing, she was trying to figure out some plan to get you to go back.'
Naruto smiled to himself. "She never held me back." Kyuubi tilted her head, slightly confused. He continued, "She said that she held me back from going back. But she's wrong. I made the decision to stay with her and the Sand. Sana never held me back. And she never will." He pushed forward.
XxxxX
It took a day and a half to reach his destination and he never stopped to rest or to eat. He kept pushing himself forward, wondering what he was about to get himself into. But, he was finally here. Before him stood the great doors leading him into the Leaf village, a place he used to hold so much respect for. But with all of the past and recent events that occurred, he looked on with a new light.
Naruto stood a few feet from the entrance. The rising sun was just breaking over the cliff where the Hokage monument stood. He looked at the sleeping village and gave a small smile. He was finally coming back to where he was banished so many years ago. He took a deep breath. The Sand will always be a home to him but it was time to go back to his first home. He took a couple of steps towards the village.
As if on que, one of the ninja guards stepping out of the little hut next to the door and stretched real fast before walking over to greet the new ninja. But when caught a look at who it was, he stopped dead in his tracks. His face dropped as he stared.
"I-it's you!" He nearly yelled. "It's really you!"
Before Naruto could say anything to reassure the guy, another ninja walked out of the hut, rubbing the back of his neck and yawned. "What's all of the commotion about?" Then he looked up and nearly mimicked the first guy.
The first guy turned back and yelled, "He's back!"
Naruto tensed, not able to tell if the two guard ninja were a part of the group that still hated him or not. His hand went immediately to his hip pouch to be ready, but the next sentence had him relax his stance.
"The village's savior has come back! Go get the commander!"
Naruto watched the first ninja disappear and then he turned his head to the second man who was trying to fix his face up. He tried to casually walk over to him but his excitement was too much and he was nearly tripping over his feet.
"It's Naruto, right?" The guy asked as he came to a stop in front of him.
Naruto nodded, trying to his the embarrassment. "Uh, yeah. And you must be Yondi." He said, remembering back to before he left the village.
The guy, Yondi nodded his head and a grin spread across his face. "You remember!"
Before the small chit-chat could continue, a low murmuring could be heard. Naruto's head perked up and he looked towards the village to find many people up and already starting their day. But all of them were at a stand-still, gawking at the newcomer.
"He's back!" One whispered.
"Is another threat coming? Why is he here?"
"Who cares! Our savior it back!"
"It's the famous blond hair!"
Naruto looked all around and instead of seeing the majority of negative comments, he saw hope in many people's eyes. They all spoke highly and some were smiling so big it was hurting his face to look at them.
Interrupting his train of thoughts, the guy that had disappeared before, came back and joining him was the one person Naruto wanted to talk to.
"Are you back for good, or just a visit?" Sasuke asked from where he was. He crossed his arms at his chest and was frowning.
Naruto smiled and held his arm out, his hand forming a fist. "I'm coming back to where I belong."
Sasuke closed his eyes and gave a sigh. He shook his head and reopened his eyes and closed the distance that stood between them. When he was close enough, he formed a fist of his own and bumped it with his comrades. "Welcome home, dobe."
Naruto smiled. "It's good to be back, teme."
XxxxX
I didn't realize I was going to end the story like that, but I kind of like it. The epologue is the only chapter left of the story! Stick tune for more!
