Destiny of the Cursed

Chapter 7: Turning Point

In the beginning of the fight, Gaara was already acting strange. When sand came out of his gourd, Katana immediately saw the blood stains there. He had killed someone recently.

Then he clutched his head as if he had a wave of agony and nausea overcoming him. He whispered weird things like, "Mother…" and something about "foul blood…". Katana was panicking inside. The Shukaku was taking control again. She wanted to jump right down in the middle. She wanted to stop the fight and talk to him. To calm him down. To turn him into his real self again. But she knew she couldn't.

Sasuke attacked, his speed matching the speed of Lee. The boy was shocked to hear that Sasuke used his sharingan to copy his moves. Gaara stumbled at the impact of Sasuke's punch, sending him to the other side. He attacked and attacked but the sand cannot even block one. They were all fast. Gaara used his absolute defense, which seemed to be his trump card. He was enclosed in a thick and very hard ball of sand. Something swirled and formed outside the ball. It looked like an eye. What the…?

Katana pulled back her hair, let it slide through her hands and breathed out shakily. Kakashi turned at her. After a moment, he turned his attention back to the fight. "What's bothering you?" he asked, though he knew the answer quite well. She remained silent. "…You know why…" she replied. "Then I was right all along?" he asked again. She just nodded. "That's not… That's not the real him." She said in quietly for only him to hear. "How do you know that?"

Katana turned her head to his direction. She gave him a look. He stared at her grey eyes. Smiling, he resumed watching the battle. "I believe you…" he answered. Looking back at the arena, she saw Sasuke in the side, gathering an enormous amount of chakra in his hands. It sparked and fizzled. Katana's eyes focused on his hand. "You… you taught him the chidori?" asked Katana. "Hai", Kakashi answered, "I needed to. Or he wouldn't stand a chance against Gaara." She kept a calm composure but Kakashi knew she's upset deep inside.

As Gai explained it's concept to Sakura and the others, Katana watched closely as Sasuke charged. The noise was a lot louder now that he was moving, so everyone's eyes were glued to his thrusting arm. The said arm drilled into the thick surrounding sand and Sasuke's hand was soon buried inside it. Everything was quiet. No sounds emitted from inside it ball of sand. Suddenly, a loud, bone-chilling scream was released throughout the arena. It was Gaara's scream. "BLOOD! MY BLOOD!"

Katana lost her cool and was replaced by a horrified look. "Gaara-kun!" she shouted, but his scream drowned it. Katana hop on the rail and got ready to jump, but two strong arms latched to her waist. She struggled and fought back. "Let go of me!" she yelled. "No! Katana, get a hold of yourself!" Kakashi sternly told her. Naruto and the others stared at the father and daughter. They've never seen them fight before. And Katana was nothing like this. She was always level-headed.

"Calm down!" Kakashi ordered once again and Katana stopped struggling. Kakashi set her down on the floor gently. Her face was blank but eyes held everything. Anger and desperation. Her closed fists shook. Black aura slowly formed around her again. Sakura and Naruto became alarmed. Kakashi took one of her hands and held it tightly in his. "Katana!" he said. Grey eyes snapped at him, losing its bloodlust. Katana stared at him, as if she didn't know where she was. Then it dawned to her what she just tried to do. She looked down regretfully and stood up, not looking at Kakashi. Kakashi felt a pang of guilt and hurt hit him in the chest.

A gigantic claw of some kind that has black markings around it sprung out of the ball. It caught a bit of Sasuke's arm, but he managed to escape. The claw retreated back and now there was a small visible hole in it. Katana felt a certain chakra. It came from inside. The ball of sand cracked. It softened and poured down as grains. There in the middle stood Gaara, who held his bleeding left shoulder. He was breathing irregularly.

Katana felt another thing. Drowsiness slowly entered her mind. A genjutsu! She held her hand in front of her and did a hand seal. "Kai!" She thought she heard Sakura's voice. Opening her eyes, she looked around. Everyone was asleep. Sakura, Kakashi and Gai weren't. She smiled but frowned immediately. The ANBU had scattered. Three giant snake heads appeared out of nowhere and started to destroy the buildings outside. The Kazekage exited and held the Hokage hostage. No one understood what was going on. She jumped down beside Sasuke. Temari and Kankuro, plus their sensei, were standing in front of Gaara. She glared. "What are you planning to do?" she hissed. Her curse activated once again.

Their sensei looked back at the three. "Leave." He ordered them. "Take Gaara with you and leave." So he does care for them as a teacher…

"What about you?" asked Temari. "I'll join the battle. Just go!" They did what he said and left. "Is the person behind this…Orochimaru?" asked the examiner, who had his guard up. He only smirked. "Who knows? Now let the fun begin." The examiner spoke. "Both of you are chuunin level. Go and pursue Gaara. If you are a shinobi of Konoha, then at least make yourselves useful." He told Katana and Sasuke. They shared a look. Katana's was of determination while Sasuke seemed to neglect the given task. Together, they took off in pursue of those three.

"Sakura! I have a mission for you!" said Kakashi as he fended off the sound-nin enemies. "What mission, sensei?" He cut his thumb with a kunai and let the blood flow out. Doing a summoning jutsu, he continued, "Wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. Sasuke and Katana chased Gaara. Now, I want you to track both of them." A small dog 'poofed' out. "Pakkun will be going with you." He ended. Sakura stared at Pakkun. "Is the dog going to help?" she asked and Kakashi sweat dropped.

With Katana and Sasuke…

"Slow down, will you!" shouted Sasuke. "You're going too fast!" Katana glanced back and glared. "Well, you're not going fast enough!" she yelled back at him. Getting closer, Katana sensed two chakra signatures. "Shino's here…" she whispered loud enough for Sasuke to hear. They stopped.

Kankuro was in front of them while Shino was on their right. "Go on." He told them. "I'll handle this guy."

Sasuke turned to him. "You seem pretty confident." He challenged Shino. But Shino took no offense. "I can get him off your backs for 10 minutes, don't worry." Katana nodded. "Thanks Shino!" she said and jumped off with Sasuke.

On a distance, Katana thought she saw something red. She jumped another branch down and was staring directly at Gaara. "Ga…Gaara…" she mumbled. Looking around, she noticed Temari unconscious by the side. What happened? "Good. You found him." Said Sasuke. As soon as Gaara saw him, he cracked. He fell onto his knees and held gripped his hair. Sasuke didn't know what was with him. Katana looked worried and alarmed. "Arggghhh…" he groaned out in pain. He was slowly transforming into something… Something more powerful and fearful. He looked up them with crazed eyes. "Gaara!" shouted Katana. "Control it! Don't give in!" But he didn't care for her at the moment. "Get lost!" he roared viciously. "Do not interfere." Said Sasuke in a cold tone. Gaara and Sasuke began to fight. Katana flinched. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. He's not Gaara…He's not Gaara…Gaara is the one inside…Help him… You need to help him! Her eyes flashed black and gold as soon as she snapped them open, only to be tackled down by a lunging, half-transformed Gaara. They went several feet down. She fell on her back roughly. Did Sasuke… escape? She asked on her mind. She stood up with a hurting back. She saw him behind a tree. That jerk! He didn't even warn me!

"Uchiha…Sasuke! Are you afraid of me?" bellowed the demon-possessed boy. He kept mocking Sasuke until the Uchiha finally decided to show himself. He gathered chakra in his hands. He activated the Sharingan and charged. Gaara charged as well. Katana was only able to stare as the two went for each others' lives, head-on. She could attack from behind and double team Gaara but she hesitated. Her head was full of 'what ifs'. A scream of pain interrupted her thinking. It was soon followed by a lunatic laugh. "So that's why I'm excited!" exclaimed Gaara. "It was because of this pain." He was trembling horribly. "Defeating a man strong enough to hurt me and killing him completely would mean a greater sense of existence!" he cackled. Sasuke smirked wickedly. "MORE!" growled Gaara. A tail formed at his backside. Katana gritted her teeth. She didn't like what was happening. Gaara hurled himself towards Sasuke to attack. "Dendou Kuroi Kago!" yelled Katana.
He was trapped behind black bars. When he dared to go near it, it electrocuted him, sending shooting pains down his arms. It only riled him up more. He punched the cage open like a toothpick. "Katon!" A giant fireball was thrown to Gaara's direction. But he ran through it. Katana gathered a large amount of chakra in her arms. She would have to use that forbidden technique. It consumed almost 60 % of one's chakra so she doesn't use it often. It was her own version of Kakashi's original Chidori.

"Dendou Tora!" a fierce growl was heard as she did the jutsu. Gaara looked back. A beast-shaped lightning bolt hit him straight in the gut. It didn't cause him to bleed, but it did electrify him, sending a hundred volts in his chakra system. He fell on his knees and gasped out in pain. If he wasn't half-transformed, Katana figured he'd be dead by now. She huffed and panted. Her power was drained and she was low on chakra. Her eyes turned back to grey. Things were getting blurry in her vision. She saw something big coming in her direction. Her eyes widened. He was after her!

"No…NO!" she screamed in terror. Sand engulfed her. She was trapped. The lack of oxygen turned her paler.

"HEY!" called out Sasuke. "I'm your opponent here." He said with a glare. He let go of her and both charged head-on. Both landed on opposite directions. Gaara's arm bled and sand poured out of it. Sasuke on the other hand, had marks on his arm. Katana stared at Sasuke. So that was what Sakura meant by curse seal…He collapsed and shuddered. "Guh!" he winced. The mark was burning and he couldn't move. Gaara charged for Sasuke. Katana tried to stand up and dashed between them. So, this is how I'll die…

She shut her eyes tight and waited for the impact, praying that it'll be painless. But the blow never came. Something went 'thud!'. She hesitantly opened her eyes and saw something surprising. "You…" she sighed, "you're late again, baka." She smiled sadly and let her body fall down on the tree branch. Naruto was there. So were Sakura and Pakkun. Sakura rushed to Sasuke. Pakkun went to her side. "You okay, kid?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm tired, that's all." She answered. "You know, Kakashi's gonna kill me if he sees you like this." Katana smirked. "Don't worry 'bout it."

"Katana-chan!" yelled Naruto. She brought her head up. "What?"

"Who the hell's this guy?" he asked dumbly and pointed to the pissed off boy.

A vein popped out on her forehead. "That's Gaara…you nitwit." She couldn't help but added frustratingly.

Sasuke kept groan and wincing. He spat out blood. Sakura was too worried to fight. Pakkun immediately backed out of the fight. It's up to you, Naruto…but maybe if I push myself… I could still be of help. She pushed herself further to her limit and still stood up. Pakkun tried stopping her. "Hey! What're you doing? You can't fight any longer!" he reprimanded. But the girl was stubborn. "If this curse of mine is staying, then it might as well be useful enough." She argued back. Drawing some more chakra, she activated it again for the second time. Clenching her teeth to bear the pain of ripping muscles, she trudged behind Naruto. "I'll be your backup." She told him. He nodded thankfully. Suddenly, Naruto tensed. "GUYS! Get Away!" he shouted to Sakura. Sakura understood it too late. Gaara charged towards her. "Die, Uchiha Sasuke!" he roared. She stubbornly blocked the way, not caring if she'll die. "Sakura-chan!" chorused both Naruto and Katana. The claws of Shukaku suffocated her. Katana ran towards them. "Dendou Tsume!"

She successfully cut the claw in between. Sand poured out as grains and Sakura was able to breathe again. But this time, it was Katana who struggled in his death grip. "Ga-Gaara…guh!" she choked out. "It-'s m-me! Ka-Kata-na!" she kept speaking even though she knew he couldn't hear her very well at the moment. But she had to at least try. Naruto swiftly took Sakura and Sasuke away from Gaara. Tears formed at the sides of Katana's eyes. "Are you scared girl?" Katana knew that voice belonged to Shukaku. "Are you scared of me?" he asked harshly, but she smiled. "I-I'm not c-ry-ying be-ca-cause I'm scared…I'm cr-ying bec-cause I h-hate s-seeing y-ou t-this way, Gaara…" she sobbed. Tears trailed down her cheeks like small rivulets. His eyes widened. "I-it hu-hurts to s-see you li-like t-this… be-cause I…I lo-love you.." she weakly said. He jerked his hand. The grip loosened. She gasped loudly and coughed out blood. His transformation reduced… she noticed wearily as blood and salty tears mixed at her chin. He stared at her, his look a mixture of disbelief, doubt, and… a desire. A desire for him to be loved. More tears flowed out of her eyes. "P-ple-ase… let's stop this, Gaara…" she begged helplessly.

But he seemed to remember something terrible and his uncontrollable mood returned to him. "You're lying…" he hissed venomously. "You're lying!" he shrieked and threw her to the other tree. Her body went limp. "He… he said that too… A long time ago… And yet, he just lied!" he roared. Katana didn't understand what he was saying. All she knew was that she had about six long gashes all over her body, two broken ribs, minor internal bleeding and a broken wrist. Nothing critical…she thought sarcastically. Pakkun dashed to her. "You crazy kid! Are trying to get yourself killed?" he asked her.

Not quite comprehending was he was saying, she just answered, "Sure, why not?" Pakkun was quiet, and then he sighed. "Kakashi sure rubbed too much of his attitude on you."

Katana was awake the through the whole battle. In her condition, she could only watch Naruto fight Gaara. She even thought she saw the blonde use 1000 years of pain, but of course, she could be hallucinating in her state. She even saw him transform into the real thing. She wanted to throw up in fear and disgust.

Sasuke even stood up. Seems like he took control of it…Good for him. Thought Katana. "Only when you have someone to protect… Can you be truly strong!" yelled Naruto. Katana was amazed how much chakra he had inside his body. "I WILL PROTECT THEM, NO MATTER WHAT!" Thousands of Naruto shadow clones invaded the area. One was even at the same place as Katana was.

She smirked. "Can you please get me up now?" she asked. He grinned. "Promise to take it easy." He sat her up and used the tree trunk as support for her back. "Thanks. And Naruto…" he glanced at her. "Yea?" She smiled. "Please… please bring Gaara back." He turned his back on her, but Katana knows he wore a teasing smile. "Don't worry. I'll bring your boyfriend back." He snickered before jumping onto the boy.

"ORRRAAA!" screamed Naruto. All the clones jumped on Gaara, kicking, punching or throwing shurikens. Gaara transformed further. A gigantic raccoon-looking sand demon showed up. Katana's eyes widened. That's…That's Shukaku? Sand wrapped around Naruto's body, who was unable to escape because of the previous kage bunshin he did. SHIT!

Not minding to break a couple more bones, Katana managed to stand up. "Ack!" she winced. "Summoning no Jutsu!" screamed Naruto from the inside. The casing exploded and out came a huge oversized, smirking frog. Katana paled in more fear and panic. She hated frogs. But it got worse. "What'cha want, boy?" it asked. She fainted.

After the fight…

Katana woke up to the cold droplets of leaf dew above her. Remembering all the injuries she had, she groaned out. She jumped off the branch and landed on unstable feet. Half-walking, half-stumbling, she followed the trail of sand and footsteps. She soon reached her destination. Lying on the forest floor were Naruto and Gaara, both with bleeding foreheads. Sensing that Naruto still had much chakra left, she knelt near Gaara.

Ripping off her left sleeve, she exposed her curse mark. After carefully cleaning the wound on his forehead, she ripped off the other sleeve and used it to bandage the injured part. When she was done, she heaved out a relieved sigh. Gaara's eyes fluttered open. "Ka…Katana?" he asked wearily, not believing his eyes. She gave him a gentle smile. "Just rest." She told him. "You've lost a lot of chakra." He stared at her as if wanting to say something. She looked back, waiting for him to speak. "I'm sorry…" he said regretfully and Katana could tell that he was sincere. His eyes held no bloodlust, only yearning.

"When I said 'I love you', I wasn't lying." She stated. It took sometime before he realized what she meant. His sea foam orbs widened. "It was real." She looked down at his hand and took it. "Do you remember this?" she asked, showing his hand holding hers. He nodded slowly. Her smile widened. "I want you to know that no one is really alone. A lot of people think they are alone, but they really aren't. Someone is always there by their side, ready to catch them if they fall. Just as I am ready to save you from the burden of your past." She squeezed his hand before letting go.

She backed away from him a bit. "Temari-san! Kankuro-san!" she called out. They slowly showed themselves, their guards still up. She shook her head. "I have no intention of fighting you guys. Please, just leave our village in peace." She said seriously. Temari folded back her fan. "Thank you…" she said gratefully. "It's okay." She replied. They supported Gaara. She supported Naruto. They jumped off in different directions.

"Naruto, I know you're awake the whole time." She said out loud. Naruto snickered despite his tired state. "Great speech. But why didn't you just kiss him and get it over with?" he teased. Katana smirked. "Naruto, I hold the upper hand right now. Do you want me to drop you and leave you alone in this forest?" she asked tauntingly. He gulped. "No Ma'am!" Sharing a laugh, they walked towards the village.

End Chapter