CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Your blood will be mine! Mother, do you see?!? Are you looking, mother?!?" Gaara yelled. Gaara had Sasuke pinned to a tree with what looked like a massive lump of sand, and it was quickly tightening.
"Naruto, stop Gaara!" I yell to Naruto as I race to Sasuke, whose eyes were clamped shut, teeth gritted tightly.
"Sasuke, Sasuke are you hurt?" I ask frantically as my eyes observe the way the sand moves.
"No, it's just this damn sand!" Sasuke breaths out, a raspy, suffocating sound, loosing more of the limited supply of oxygen in his lungs. My eyes widen and I run directly in front of him and try to pull at the moving sand, but it doesn't budge.
"I know, I'll get it off, just hold on!" I say frantically as Sasuke starts turning bright red. I pull harder, digging my nails into it, but realize that the only way to stop this would be if Gaara went down, or Shukaku rather. I quickly turn around, but my breathing stops when I see what's going on behind me.
"That's the fucking Kurama!" I say, more so to myself than anything. Naruto was now on top of what appeared to be Kurama, but the chakra wasn't there to match. Sasuke gasps, which pulls me out of my trance. My head snaps back to him. His head was slack and he was still a bright red color, which causes me to panic. I turn around and go to run to the fight, but Sasuke stops me.
"No, don't leave me!" Sasuke gasps out. My whole body freezes over at the words, guilt coursing through me. His worst fear of all. I quickly swallow at the lump in my throat and turn my head.
"I'm trying to save your life idiot." I say blankly and jump off into the fight. As of right now, Gamabunta, Naruto's largest summoning toad, had a death grip on the Shukaku with the Kurama's nails and teeth.
"Shukaku! Stop this now!" I yell. As soon as my presence was clear to the demon, he shoved Gamabunta and Naruto away, his attention now fully on me.
"Hello, pretty little demoness! I'm sorry, but I don't listen to humans. You'll have to bring Mother Darkness out." Shukaku says as he swings his tail back and forth, the large appendage causing a massive wind, with sounds to follow it.
"I can't. Now, let Sasuke-" I begin, but the sand spirit screamed, more like chuckles. I flinched and covered my sensitive ears momentarily.
"THEN I'LL MAKE HER COME OUT OF YOU!" Shukaku screams as he swings his tail once at me. It was way to massive for me to dodge, so I had to let it hit me and guard my body as best as possible, trying to get the least amount of injuries possible. The tail slammed into my body, sending me flying back in Sasuke's direction. My body broke through the brush and trees, until I'd finally slammed into a tree thick enough to stop me.
"(Y/n)! You're gonna pay for that, you hear!" I hear Naruto scream from where I was just seconds ago. I remain still, my eyes closed, manifesting all of the anger and hatred I could.
"(Y/n), get up, say something, you'd better not be dead!" I hear another voice try to scream, but couldn't. Sasuke. He's dying right now, and it's all Shukaku's fault. That was all it took. I snapped. I stood up slowly, and in one massive push, my body went soaring through the air, right back into the fight.
"Naruto." I call out to him. His head snaps to me and his eyes widen at my appearance. Freezing air whipped around me, untamed chakra whirlwinds like a tornado, making the cold air sting. My eyes flamed a bright blue color and my skin had grown darker.
"(Y/n), how in the-" Naruto begins, but I hold my hand up, stopping him mid-sentence.
"Don't touch him. I'm going to KILL him." I growl demonically before jumping closer, and a bit higher.
"But Gaara is still in there!" Naruto screams. Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. I grit my teeth and try to formulate another plan.
"Yes little demoness, what about my host that you seem to care for?" Shukaku says, making me much angrier, causing the winds to pick up.
"Gamabunta?" My demonic voice calls out. The toad turn his head down to me, almost in a bowing manner.
"Yes, Lady Daku?" The toad says formally, causing Naruto to look at me with a lot of curiosity.
"Get me to his head. When I'm up there, keep his hands busy. Naruto, go to Sasuke, take care of him when he gets unwrapped from that sand." I demand. Naruto hesitates, but a glare from me sends him hopping off to Sasuke.
"Yes, Lady Daku." Gamabunta says as he holds his hand out to me. I jump into it and he raises me up behind his head. I quickly make a shadow clone to be flung with me.
"Now." I demand. Just as Gamabunta throws my clone and I, Shukaku runs forward, causing me to hit much harder than expected.
"Go up there and get ready to catch Gaara. Protect him at all costs." I demand. The clone nods and shoots upwards. We'd landed on the nose, so all I'd have to do is make it over to the eyes. With every step I take, the sand below my feet freezes over. Finally, I'd gotten to his eyes. I added a massive burst of chakra into my own, then slammed my fist down into his eye socket, causing one of his massive eyes to flick to me.
"Ow, you little wench, that - that GAAAHH!" Shukaku screams as his eye catches mine. The sand of his body begins to crumble, just as pain started erupting through my body. My clone had grabbed Gaara, and was now on a tree near Naruto and Sasuke. After Shukaku was completely crumbled, all that's left was air. I free fall though the air, my hair whipping wildly while I clutched my neck. The curse mark was pulsating.
"(Y/n)!" Three voices chime at the same time as the other. My eyes snap open momentarily to see Sasuke, Gaara, and Naruto rushing toward my diving body. Just before I'd hit the ground, another body slid under mine, just barely cushioning my fall.
"AAAHHHHH!" I scream as I clutch black fabric between my fingers. Fingers run through my hair as I can hear the other two approaching.
"What are those strange markings on her body?" Gaara asks. I grit my teeth harder and groan as another wave of pain passes, leaving me sore and panting. I let my exhausted body relax and release my grip on the black fabric, now identified as Sasuke's shirt.
"They're from a curse mark Orochimaru gave her, well, one of them anyway." Sasuke explains from above me. I try and push my self off of him, but it doesn't work. My vision drags out and I let myself go limp against him once more.
"Something- somethings wrong in the village." I whisper out breathlessly as I close my eyes, sleep seeming like the best idea right now.
"Okay, we'll go, but don't go to sleep, keep your eyes open (Y/n)." I hear Sasuke say as we start to run, Naruto and Gaara following behind wordlessly, probably worried.
"Don't tell me what to do, idiot." I growl at him as my head sways limply. He chuckled lightly before picking my head up and securing it with his shoulder.
"There she is. Come on, open them, look at me." Sasuke says once more. I force myself to open my eyes just slightly so he'd shut up, before closing them again.
"Man, (Y/n), that was amazing!" Naruto yelled, causing my head to pound. I flinched slightly and moved my dead weight arm to massage my forehead.
"Keep quiet, her demon form has taken a toll on her." Gaara says as he jumps closer to Sasuke, trying to get closer to me.
"Why in the hell are you still here anyway?" Sasuke sneers as he pushed harder to get to the village faster.
"I need to speak with her after she's rested." Gaara replied. I feel Sasuke descend, meaning that we were on the ground, and he started walking, meaning we were probably in the village.
"Over my dead body." Sasuke growls and starts walking faster. They start arguing all at the same time, so much to where I couldn't understand them.
"Would you all just shut the fuck and get me to the hospital. You all three need to be checked anyway." I growl, causing them to all go quiet. The next thing I knew, I was laying in a bed, an IV in my arm, and a continuous beeping in my ear. Sasuke, Naruto, and Gaara had already been checked.
"Alright, you can rest now sweetie. Would you like me to tell your guests to leave?" The nurse says after she sets down a clipboard. I sigh heavily and rub my head.
"No, let the idiots in." I sigh again as she opens the door and the three boys come walking in. Sasuke pulls the chair up to my bed and sits down as he glares at Gaara. Naruto sits at the end of my bed and lays back onto my legs, glaring at Gaara as well.
"(Y/n), I would just like to say, thank you, I suppose. Words cannot express how I am in debt to you." Gaara explains. I eye him curiously.
"Why, exactly?" I ask as I carefully cross my arms under my chest, making sure to keep my IV still.
"Because, you've showed me that you care." Gaara explained as if it were the most simple thing on the planet.
"Where did you get that idea from?" I ask as I slightly narrow my eyes at him.
"When you spared me. When you sent Naruto away to fight the battle yourself. When you did all you could to help Sasuke Uchiha. You care, and now I see my faults. I would like to ask you a favor." Gaara explains, then asks. Sasuke looked as if he were about to yell at Gaara, and I didn't want that, so I spoke first.
"You want to ask me a favor while I'm in a hospital bed?" I muse at him. His eyes widen the slightest but he nods his head.
"Yes. I would like to ask you, if you can forgive me?" He explains. This time, my eyes widen just slightly, before my expression returns to absolute blank.
"It's not me that needs to forgive you Gaara. It's theses two goofs right here, the entire leaf village, the entire sand village, and your siblings. Ask those people for forgiveness." I explain monotonously. Gaara listens intently and nods his head, whereas Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widen tremendously.
"Then who will you ask for forgiveness?" Gaara suddenly asks. I panic momentarily, but with as much experience as I've had, I shove it down just as quickly as it had come.
"I don't need forgiveness, I need power. I forgive you Gaara, now, leave." I explain, then point to the door. Gaara looked indifferent and turned around.
"As you wish, demoness. Naruto, Sasuke, please take care of her." Gaara says before walking out of the door. A cluster of sand gently caresses my arm before returning to his gourd.
"Will do, Gaara!" Naruto yelled happily as Gaara silently exited the room and gently closes the door behind him.
"So, what's happened?" I asked after a moment of silence. Naruto looked at me completely confused, but Sasuke understood what I was asking.
"Orochimaru killed the Kazekage, pretended to be him, and made the sand attack us, and he killed the Hokage. So, his funeral is tomorrow." Sasuke explains. I nod my head before relaxing into my pillows once more. Naruto soon leaves, but Sasuke stays put in that same chair as I fall into a nightmare filled sleep.
Ironic, huh?