Author's Note: Another chapter! Yay!! I have the next one well in progress so it shouldn't be too long. Alright, as to this chapter; please don't be mad but, in the interest of not taking several years more to finish this fic, I am going to gloss over some of the secondary characters' fights I had planned. I just don't have a good enough grasp of the Akatsuki characters to do them justice, and fight scenes always give me trouble. If someone wants to write a sidefic and cover those fights, be my guest. Just tell me if you do, so I can read it. Otherwise, I may eventually try to flesh them out later. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and encouraged me to keep writing this fic. On with the story.
Chapter 35: Enemy Within
Gaara struggled to sit up, ignoring the aches in her body and the furious buzzing in her chest as the kikaichu responded to her panic. Firm hands pushed her back down but she batted them away with leaden arms.
"No!" She spat, glaring at Shino until he raised his hands in a placating gesture. His father had already hurried out with the messenger. "I will not lie here while Naruto is murdered by those monsters!"
Shino nodded slowly. "We were not told to stay here. Do you need to get anything from your apartment?"
The tension drained from the volatile redhead in a rush of relief. "Yes."
"If I carry you there, you can have more time to rest before you have to fight." Shino offered reasonably.
Gaara nodded and allowed the leaf ninja to settle her on his back. Her body felt like warm gelatin. She wasn't entirely sure she could walk, much less run, and speed was Naruto's only hope.
The insect user took off at a dead run across the city rooftops.
Temari was already dressed for battle and about to leave when they burst into the apartment.
"No." The blonde Suna ninja shook her head in denial. "You are not going!"
Gaara slid from Shino's back and stood to face her sister, feeling Kankuro slip in behind her as well. Her face was pale from pain and exhaustion but her expression was stubbornly set.
"I will get Hinata and Kiba. Tracking is what we excel at. We'll meet you at the gates." Shino announced, feeling like an intruder in the family scene.
"I cannot sit here and do nothing." Gaara told her siblings flatly. The exiled kazekage sent a stream of sand from the potted cactus in the corner to her room, collecting the things she needed as she spoke.
Kankuro snarled. "Gaara, these bastards murdered you once!"
"And now they have a person I love!" The redhead snapped back. It was the harshest she'd been with her siblings in years and she gentled her tone as she saw her sister flinch. "And I will not give them two more without a fight. So you can help me get Naruto back, or you can get out of my way."
"Gaara...I...we can't lose you again." Temari said softly, her voice shaking with emotion.
With a wave of one pale hand, the sand she'd been manipulating drew back in and swirled around the petite redhead before settling back into the gourd now in place on the sand user's back. Gaara was left standing before them in her burgundy coat, her hitai-ate tied around her waist.
"Then help me save Naruto, because I'm not losing anyone." The redhead replied confidently.
There was a long moment of silence and then Gaara turned to leave. Her siblings fell in behind her without further protest.
"Can you run?" Kankuro asked grimly, seeing how sluggish Gaara's movements were.
"Not yet." The redhead admitted.
"Come on." The puppetmaster scooped the sand weilder up and carried her down the hall. Shinta was already coming out of the men's apartment and Matsuri and Sena emerged a few feet down the hall.
Kankuro passed his sister off to Sena, the Sand jonin not offering any complaints about the extra weight as the Suna ninjas darted across the city to the gates where Gaara had seen Naruto off just over a day earlier.
They fell in with the gathering Leaf shinobi, the rescue party had grown to include not only Shino's squad, but Shikamaru's as well. Kakkashi and Sakura stood by the gate with Tsunade. Sakura was tending the white haired jonin's arm, which looked broken. The pink haired girl had a black eye and a gash on her forehead that had been bandaged already.
Tsunade eyed the group, raising an eyebrow at the Suna delegation but she didn't say a word about them joining the mission.
"Go bring the idiot home." The blonde hokage ordered.
Kiba and Akamaru, his hound, took off first and the rest followed; vanishing into the forest in seconds.
Tsunade watched them go, her heart heavy. This was why she'd become a recluse to begin with. She'd watched too many people walk out those gates, never to return. She'd been forced to make too many life or death choices, with other people's lives. It was easier to gamble with only her own life. She nrver should have let herself get attached to these kids. It made the stakes too high.
"I'm getting too old for this." She muttered, heading for her office and a much needed drink.
Gaara closed her eyes as yhe forest blurred past. Her body was exhausted but her mind was racing. It was a familiar state, almost comforting for the ex jinchuriki.
Shino had said it could take a few days for the kikaichu to bridge her chakra systems together, but she had a feeling she was going to need the extra energy much sooner.
Sena stopped suddenly, and Gaara opened her eyes to a scene of destruction; trees were uprooted, craters gouged into the earth, boulders cracked.
"This is where they grabbed Naruto. Looks like he put up a hell of a fight." Kiba explained grimly. "Akamaru just needs a minute to pick up the trail."
A moment later, the white dog barked and Kiba grinned. "Got him. This way."
The group took off again but had only run about a mile when a black robed figure appeared in their path.
"You are trying to take what we have rightfully stolen. I can't let you do that." Another Akatsuki dropped from the trees to further bar their progress.
Shikamaru looked from the pair of enemies to the group of allies and sighed. "Choji, Ino, you with me?"
Choji grinned. "Always."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately."
The lazy ninja and his squadmates squared off against the pair of Akatsuki.
"We'll handle this." Shikamaru announced. "We can't afford a delay here. Go on ahead."
No one wanted to leave anyone behind, but the genius was right; any delay could make the difference in whether they were a rescue team or retrieving remains.
As soon as the three leaf ninjas managed to clear a path, the rest of the group hurried past.
"They'll never make it." Gaara heard one of the Akatsuki boast. "The ritual has probably already started."
'No.' The young kage refused to accept that. She wouldn't give up on Naruto. He had never given up on her.
A short ways later, Matsuri, Sena, and Shinta engaged another pair of Akatsuki members. Gaara tried to run on her own but within half a mile she was lagging behind. Hinata spotted the problem and fell back as well.
"Do you need to stop?" The blue haired girl asked in concern.
"No. We have to keep moving."
Hinata nodded slowly. "Here."
She offered her bavk to the redhead and Gaara accepted the offered ride with a sigh of relief.
"Rest up for the battle, Gaara-san." Hinata told the other girl firmly.
Gaara nodded numbly and let her eyes close as they dashed through the trees.
They were stopped once more. This time there was no greeting, the attack came without warning and only Temari's quick reflexes saved her from a messy death.
The blonde woman eyed the single opponent that appeared from the trees and sighed.
"I got this, keep going."
Hinata passed Gaara over to Shino with a grim smile. "I will help Temari-san."
The insect user hesitated but at last he nodded. "Be safe."
Hinata blushed at his warm tone. "You too."
"Don't you dare die, Ri!" Kankuro called out gruffly.
"Not planning on it." The blonde shot back with a grin. "Now get our future brother-in-law back."
Gaara looked back at her sister and her closest female friend, wishing she could protect them and still save Naruto.
"Shino, is there any way to speed up the nesting process?" She asked quietly as the insect user ran.
Shino frowned. "Possibly...but it could be risky."
Gaara frowned back but didn't have to prompt the boy to continue.
"If you use up all the chakra in one system...the kikaichu might be drawn to the other reserves and create the pathways you need."
"And if it doesn't work I'll be useless in a fight."
"Yes...that's the risk."
Gaara thought for a minute. "What if I can reach the other chakra pathways on my own...only for a second or two. Would that trigger them to bridge the two systems?"
Shino was slow to answer but finally nodded. "It might. Can you do that?"
Gaara frowned. The question wasn't if she could reach the chakra; she felt rage simmering in her mind that was begging to be turned loose. The question was if she could reach the chakra without losing herself to the fury.
"Maybe...but if I do...I may be more dangerous than the Akatsuki."
Shino nodded slowly.
Another Akatsuki member barred the way and Kankuro and Shino took him on as Kiba and Gaara pressed on. The redhead clung to Akamaru's back, the huge dog barely noticing the burden.
She hoped Naruto was okay, because they just ran out of backup.
Akamaru slid to a halt, growling.
"He says Naruto is in the clearing ahead. Only one stupid coat guy to deal with. Come on."
Kiba crept forward but Gaara felt a massive rush of chakra ahead of them and pulled the leaf ninja back.
Akamaru growled and then whimpered nervously.
Kiba frowned. "Now there's no Akatsuki guys at all...and Akamaru says we should turn back."
Clamboring down from the white dog's back, Gaara took a deep breath; steeling herself against the increasingly oppressive chakra spilling from the clearing ahead. "Go back and help the others."
"What? Why?"
"Because I don't think Naruto is himself right now."
There was an earsplitting yowl that set Akamaru's fur on end and Kiba hesitated only a moment before nodding grimly and darting back the way they'd come. If Kyuubi was free...they were likely to need a lot more help.
Gaara moved forward cautiously, and had to roll to avoid a splintered tree trunk that was thrown her way as she reached the edge of the clearing. She came to her feet, stumbling slightly, already calling the sand from her gourd to use as a shield against further attacks.
Gaara spotted the seething mass of red chakra, only vaguely able to make out Naruto's form through the glowing fox shaped shell.
"Naruto." She called out softly.
The creature hissed and lunged at her and the Sand ninja had to leap away from the deadly sharp chakra claws. Four tails waved lazily as Kyuubi eyed her.
"Naruto is gone." The fox snarled. "And once I destroy everything he has left to fight for, I will be free."
"I will never let you do that." Gaara told the evil creature firmly.
"Then I will begin with you."
A tail swept around and Gaara spotted the attack too late for her sluggish reflexes to properly defend. She managed a meager sand shield but the fox tail crashed through it and clipped the Suna ninja, throwing her halfway across the clearing.
Gaara struggled to her feet again as the fox spirit cackled. A clawed hand slashed across her stomach and she vaulted backwards to turn the disemboweling strike into a burning, shallow set of lines across her flesh.
Kyuubi paused, watching the prey clutch the wound and the red blood drip between her pale fingers. "How the boy screams from his prison at the sight of your blood. Who are you to my vessel?"
Gaara felt the fury bubbling up in her and she let it come, grinding the ground beneath their feet into fine sand as the rush of chakra flooded her system. The kikaichu hummed and she felt them move, the chakra flow stabilizing as she straightened her spine and glared at the beast. She caught a glimpse of Naruto's face through the thick layer of chakra and felt her anger fade, replaced with something he had once showm her was even stronger.
Love.
"I love him. You will not take him from me." She lashed out with her sand, driving the fox demon back a step.
Kyuubi growled. "This vessel is mine!"
"Naruto!" Gaara shouted. "You have to fight back from within! You are stronger than this!"
"He cannot hear you, stupid human."
Gaara smirked, even as she had to raise a thick wall of sand to block a tail swipe. She used the cover to dart behind the beast and her smirk grew. "Yes he can."
"What makes you think that?" Kyuubi spun and snapped at the redhead, catching only a mouthful of sand for his trouble as Gaara .
"You just lost a tail." The sand ninja pointed out with just a hint of smugness in her flat tone, even so she was slightly winded and sweating as she fought both the demon and her weakened body.
"What!? No!" Kyuubi looked back and yowled in outrage. "You little brat!" It lunged at her in a blind rage but Gaara didn't move.
The chakra demon snarled as it pinned her to the ground, its claws digging into her arms and its teeth mere inches from her nose.
"Got you! Now you die!"
Gaara lay back on the sand that had grown to cover the once rocky clearing. "Actually, I have you."
She grabbed the creature's arms and held tight as she sank into the sand, pulling Kyuubi down with her.
"No! You will kill the boy!"
Gaara emerged from the sand that now imprisoned the monster up to its neck. "Not if you let him go now."
Kyuubi laughed. "You will not do it. You love the vessel and it makes you weak."
Gaara clenched her hand, squeezing the sand just a little tighter around the trapped fox.
"Naruto would rather die than allow you to hurt those he cares for." The sand wielder explained coldly. "I love him enough to honor his wishes in this if you force my hand." It would kill her too, but her flat tone and emotionless mask hid that truth away from the nine tails.
"No...you will not." Kyuubi insisted, but there was a touch of doubt in the monster's voice.
"Very well...Remain free and you both die. Return to your prison and you live."
Kyuubi yowled as Gaara dragged it deep under the sandy ground with a gesture. She waited, all her focus on the sense of the demon's chakra permeating the sand around it; the feel of the beast's tails struggling against the imprisoning earth.
One minute passed, then two. Gaara closed her eyes and fought the urge to pull the beast up. She felt the sand at the edge of the clearing shift as Kiba and her siblings arrived and spared the trio a momentary glance.
"Did you find him?" Kiba blurted.
Gaara ignored him, focusing again on the weakening struggles below her.
Temari caught the brash young man before he could move forward and shook her head.
"Come on, Naruto." Gaara whispered, kneeling to place both palms on the cool sand as two minutes stretched into three.
"Is he..." Kankuro started to ask the question they all feared.
Just then, Gaara let out a small sound of relief and a moment later the ground in front of the redhead shifted and Naruto emerged, coughing and spitting sand, but very much alive.
Gaara helped whisk the excess sand away, drawing her own back into her gourd and letting the rest fall harmlessly to the ground.
Naruto flopped back on the pile of sand, exhausted and aching but alive and back to his usual self.
Gaara and Naruto shared a small smile as the others rushed forward to check on the pair.
"Are you okay?" Temari asked, eying the blood staining her sister's coat.
"Fine." Gaara insisted.
Kankuro snorted and scooped the redhead up. "When have I heard that before?"
Gaara glared but didn't protest being carried; a fact that said more about her physical state than her monosyllabic answer had.
"Naruto, can you...walk?" Kiba trailed off as he realized the battered leaf chunin was snoring.
The brunette snorted and scooped up his old classmate.
"Time to go home, Akamaru." He ordered with a grin. "Mission success!"
Author's note: Woohoo! Gaara can finally use all her chakra! Naruto and Gaara are both safe and our heroes can make a triumphant return to Konoha. Up next: Gaara is recovering her strength and Naruto has second thoughts about the wedding. Can Sakura talk (or smack) some sense into the knucklehead?