Aftermath (A Sequel to A Flash to the Future)

Chapter 29 - Jinchuriki Showdown

Sasuke panted as he hid behind a tree. He knew something was off about that kid. He peeked around the corner to see the partially transformed Gaara, looking around for him. He was like some hound sniffing for his blood. 'What in the hell is he?' he thought to himself as he rested his head against the tree. 'It was like he was some kind of monster.' He furrowed eyebrows and gritted his teeth. It didn't matter. He was tasked with taking down the genin and bringing him in. They also had yet to finish their battle. And Sasuke never did like leaving stuff unfinished.

He leapt from his spot in the tree and landed on another before launching himself in a flip toward Gaara. When Gaara finally saw him, he grinned psychotically as he extended sand appendage, punching Sasuke in the stomach. Sasuke grunted as he was sent flying back by the boy's weird appendage. He disappeared from view once more, substituting himself with a log before reappearing above Gaara.

"Over here!" he called out as he descended upon his enemy.

He pulled out three kunai in each hand before launching them at the red head. Gaara turned around and saw the fast projectiles whirring toward him. He brought his hand arm up to shield his body, allowing it to absorb the shock of the attack. One by one the kunai embedded themselves into the appendage. Sasuke stopped himself in mid-flight, swinging around a branch before settling on top of it. He looked at his opponent to see what he was going to do.

Gaara only grinned as the kunai began to sink into the sand of his arm. Sasuke watched this in disbelief, placing distance between them. Suddenly, the kunai projectiles were sent back to him, flying so fast that they quickly became encased in fire. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he brought his arms into an 'X' form over his face and tucked his body in. He managed to evade the fiery kunai and returned to hiding. The battlefield went quiet as Gaara realized that he had been fooled by a clone. He looked around the again, seeing the Uchiha no where in sight.

"Uchiha.....Sasuke!" Gaara finally called out. "Why don't you come out and fight me?!" he yelled before he suddenly grabbed his head in pain.

The jinchuriki moaned and groaned in pain as he fell to his knees. Sweat fell from the revealed part of his face as his visible eye constricted. He talked to himself once more before he let out a vicious roar. Hidden behind a tree not far from him, was Sasuke who was peeking around the corner watching the whole thing. The sand seemed spread and cover more of his body. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth as Gaara continued to call out to him.

"No escape! I won't let you escape! Uchiha Sasuke!" he yelled as he jumped from his position and began to destroy the trees around him.

Dust began to rise as Gaara went on a mini-rampage. Sasuke had to continue to maneuver himself through the forests to avoid the jetting boy as he crashed and slashed into multiple trees. When the dust finally settled, the jinchuriki finally found where the Uchiha was hiding. 'You've go to be kidding!' Sasuke thought to himself as he looked back at the laughing Sand genin. 'What's with that outrageous strength....?' The Uchiha disappeared again before finding another place to hide, much to Gaara's dismay. He began to look around for the Uchiha again.

"Are you afraid of me?" Gaara yelled out again. "Uchiha Sasuke! Are you afraid? Are you afraid of my existence?!"

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. It was too overwhelming. He thought about the conversation he had with the boy, during his training with Kakashi. He said that his eyes.....his eyes were like his. When he approached him that day, he told him that a battle is where another's existence and one's own existence are put on the line and that each tries to kill the other. He told him that only the winner could actually feel the value of their own existence. He had already deduced that the boy had been trying to kill him since their battle began. However, what was he to do? He was ordered to subdue his opponent, yet he felt like he was looking death in the face. He shook his head at that thought. While they both had different perceptions of what a battle was, the Uchiha knew one thing about this battle. And that was he was going come out the victor. No matter what.