Walking Corpse

A/N: Okay. I’d like to start this author’s note with a brief disclaimer. February. This chapter was done and ready for posting in mid February. You can all blame the wait on aff.net, who decided to break down and then change domains the day I went to post. I’m not going to lie, there were some tears.

I’ll take the blame for the eight months before that, but from February on – so not my fault.

I really don’t have much of an excuse for the absolutely appalling lateness of this chapter. It started out with writer’s block, expanded into a really terrible first draft, turned into a miscommunication between my beta and I and just ended up with me kind of being a lazy asshole and not bothering to harass her into getting it back to me.

Thank you for your patience with me. Or at least your attempts to feign patience. Oh, hell, thanks for the reviews threatening to hunt me down and torture me with sporks as well – they make me laugh really hard, after I put the chain on my door.

Special thanks to Serena, whose daily nagging kept this chapter from being lost to my ever present laziness and apathy which for some reason always wait until the final chapters of fics to strike.

Almost done now kiddies, one or two chapters left.

~*~*~

Temari had been in the midst of blocking weapons while carrying on another verbal spar with Tenten—a pastime she found amusing bordering on enjoyable—when she not only felt but saw a powerful blast of chakra from the east.

Battles around the north gate slowed, eventually stopping as fighters stood staring at the huge red column of chakra that rose into the sky and disappeared above the clouds.

Temari's brother leapt to the top of the wall to stand beside her. They exchanged worried looks.

"What is that?" Tenten asked. She had pulled off her Anbu mask, staring at the chakra with wide eyes.

"Naruto," Kankurou said grimly.

"No," Temari corrected. "Kyuubi."

She leapt from the wall, heading hastily towards the eastern gate, Kankurou only a step behind her.

~*~*~

Silence had swept through forest outside the eastern wall. The fighting had stopped after red chakra had burst from Naruto – along with an agonizing scream that still echoed loudly in Gaara’s ears, even though it had stopped several minutes ago.

Naruto had not moved nor made a sound since the scream. He lay face down on the ground and appeared to be unconscious or dead. A chain from the sound ninja he had been fighting was still wrapped around his neck, but she had dropped her end of the weapon when the chakra had violently surged from her opponent.

No one moved closer for fear that another wave of that chakra would rush from the unmoving body.

Gaara had tensed and was waiting, trying to ignore the scream and the nauseous feeling he had as it continuously replayed in his head.

"Do you ever think about just letting go?"

The words flashed briefly through Gaara's mind. ‘Is he stronger than you, Naruto?’ he wondered.

Gaara was not surprised when Naruto’s body began to move and, as much as he wanted to be – as much as we wished he could have believed that Naruto would never fail, he was not surprised to see that his friend’s eyes were now blood red.

Kyuubi stood slowly, pulling the chain from his neck and tossing it to the ground. He twisted his neck with a crack then began to look around the forest, grinning wildly at all of the people who were staring at him. Some were dumbfounded, the others horrified. With a sudden jerk of his arm his shoulder popped loudly into its joint, having been dislocated during Naruto’s earlier fight.

“No one has run in terror yet,” Kyuubi said. He licked his lips almost hungrily. “I don’t know whether to admire you for your courage or pity you for your stupidity.” He spoke with Naruto’s voice, but there was a smooth arrogant quality in his tone that Naruto had never possessed. “I’ve waited so long to destroy this village.”

“We will not let you destroy Konoha,” a voice spoke up from the crowd. Gaara recognized the speaker as Rock Lee’s former sensei. “We will protect it from you just as we did last time. This time you will be destroyed.”

Kyuubi laughed and with speeds that were almost impossible to follow he was suddenly in front of Gai. He backhanded the taijutsu specialist before the dark haired man had a chance to react and the sheer power of the hit sent him tumbling through the air and flying dangerously towards a tree.

Kakashi sped from his position within the crowd, leaping into the air and catching Gai before he could impact with the tree. Landing easily, Kakashi laid the unconscious man on the ground then stood, staring defiantly at the demon.

Kyuubi growled at the blatant challenge, and his chakra flared up around Naruto’s body and stretched out towards Kakashi, who had the presence of mind to grab Gai and get out of the way. Shrill screams began to echo through the forest as those unlucky enough to be caught in the flow of chakra were set ablaze. Chaos erupted as people began to flee in all directions, survival instincts kicking in.

Gaara remained exactly where he was, despite the panicked frenzy all around him. He had made a promise.

The woman Naruto had been fighting earlier was engulfed by the chakra, but she was surprisingly still standing and apparently unharmed. Black lines had begun to wind along her flesh, looking like snakes coiled around her arms. She had activated the curse seal, Gaara realized, and was using that power to maintain a barrier around herself.

Gaara felt Sukaku stir, but for once the demon wasn't trying to get to Kyuubi. He seemed to be trying to distance himself from the indeterminable amount of power now emanating from Naruto's body.

A human's body was not able to handle chakra of that amount.

Gaara slowly walked towards Kyuubi, purposely letting him sense his presence. The demon inside him had caused him nothing but despair and given him only pain since the day he was born, and now he was finally able to use the parasite’s presence to help him.

Kyuubi's eyes suddenly met Gaara's. His fangs were bared in a grin and the chakra that had blocked his path dissipated, allowing him to walk unharmed to stand in front of the fox demon.

“Sukaku,” Kyuubi said. The red chakra began to quell as Kyuubi reached out and grabbed the front of Gaara’s shirt, pulling him forward and claiming his lips in a hungry kiss.

Behind Kyuubi Gaara could see Kimi, who was steadily maintaining her barrier, start to form seals.

“Promise me, Gaara.”

He made no attempt to stop Kyuubi from ravaging his mouth and no attempt to try and wake Naruto up. His friend wasn’t sleeping.

“Promise what?”

All he had to do was keep Kyuubi distracted and hope that whatever Kimi was planning would work. If she failed he would stop the demon himself.

“If something happens tonight, stop Kyuubi.”

Temari and Kankurou were sitting across the room. Neither spoke. Their brother stood across from Naruto, arms crossed as he quietly regarded the Konoha shinobi.

Naruto had come to them on behalf of the Hokage to ask them to join the fight against Orochimaru. But he also had a request of his own. “If Kyuubi emerges tonight, it will be for good. Don’t try and help me, don’t try and get me back. Just kill him.”

The hotel room was silent save for a deep shuddering breath from his sister.

Naruto’s blue eyes were determined as he met Gaara’s stare. “Promise me.”

Gaara broke eye contact, staring impassively at the floor. He gave a short almost imperceptive nod.

When Kimi finished her seals she had transformed into the second stage of the curse seal. Her nails had lengthened into claws and her skin now had a thick leathery look to it. Pointed ears had emerged between a curtain of black hair and her teeth had sharpened into fangs.

Gaara felt Kyuubi begin to pull away as Kimi’s power became more noticeable. In a desperate act to keep the demon’s attention away from the threat, he leapt up, wrapping his legs around Naruto’s waist, fisting his hands in his hair and nearly shoving his tongue down his throat. The sudden battle for dominance kept Kyuubi distracted long enough.

Gaara noticed the barrier the same time Kyuubi did.

It surrounded the two of them, giving them no space to move without coming into contact with the lethal sides. Gaara carefully slid down from Kyuubi making certain to stay away from the barrier sides. They had to stand flush against one another and he didn’t even have room to lower his arms, which he’d wrapped around Kyuubi’s neck.

Kyuubi roared and Gaara could feel him starting to gather chakra.

It wouldn’t work, Gaara realized.

Kimi had already sustained her barrier against the fox’s chakra, it was actually powerful enough to withstand Kyuubi’s power.

Unfortunately, Naruto’s defeat of his desert coffin had shown that his own barrier of sand had a weakness. If Kyuubi let loose his fiery chakra within Kimi’s barrier …

This situation was getting drastically out of hand.

As Kyuubi gathered his chakra, Kimi prepared to finish what she started, picking up the Manriki Gusari from the ground. Gaara watched the glow of her chakra as it flowed into the weapon, which began to transform. The metal balls became larger and sprouted several sharp metal points until they resembled two large maces.

“These can maneuver through the barrier, Kyuubi-sama, even though you cannot,” Kimi said. “To kill the nine tails fox will be an honor.”

Gaara could feel the heat of the chakra emanating from the demon that was once his friend. The slitted red eyes closed as an animalistic howl flew from Naruto’s lips. When they opened, Gaara searched them for a trace of Naruto. There were no flashes of purple, not even a spec of blue. Naruto was truly gone.

With a sudden burst of speed Kimi charged, and Kyuubi’s chakra flared dangerously. No matter what the demon felt for Sukaku, survival came first and Gaara doubted that the demon would hesitate to kill him if it meant he would live. He could already feel the heat of Kyuubi’s chakra through the armor of sand that caked his body. His normal defense of sand had already begun melting before it could even rise up to protect him. Kimi was nearly at them, and with Kyuubi unable to move she could actually kill him.

He closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Naruto. This wasn’t his friend, but it was his body. To die fulfilling his promise to Naruto wasn’t a bad way to go.

The ground unexpectedly rocked with an explosion; one that couldn’t have been caused by Kyuubi – Gaara was still alive.

Kyuubi’s chakra suddenly lessened and the barrier was gone. Opening his eyes, Gaara noticed that Kimi was far off, crouched low to the ground and panting heavily. The explosion had apparently been caused by a kunai with an exploding tag that had been thrown in Kimi’s path.

“I thought I told you to go home, Kimi,” a voice called from the eastern wall. Uchiha Sasuke stood on top of the wall, kunai in hand and Sharingan spinning wildly.

“I was hoping this one would run,” Kyuubi said, extracting himself from Gaara’s arms, which had remained wrapped around his neck during the confusion. There was a manic gleam in his eyes as he stared at the dark haired shinobi. “The hunt is half the fun.” He flexed his clawed fingers and tensed to leap at his prey.

“He saved your life,” Gaara said immediately. He knew that it would make no difference to the demon what Sasuke had done, he just wanted to keep Kyuubi’s attention on him.

“Being alone, being incomplete—what you must feel, what your pain must be—I can understand that.”

Kyuubi looked back at him with something akin to amusement. “He was trying to save my ex-host’s life. Despite all the brat’s warnings he still refuses to believe what is obvious.”

“Everyone’s allowed to have hope.” Gaara’s clenched his fists to prevent his hands from shaking in anger.

“But the people who are precious to me, if you hurt them….”

“Hope is for the weak. Those who are strong do not need hope. We simply make what we want come to fruition. Hope is useless, and I will kill all those naive enough to think otherwise,” the demon said, turning again towards Sasuke. He paused, staring at the wall of sand that now separated him from his prey.

“And if you try to kill them…”

“…I will stop you.” Gaara’s eyes flashed dangerously at Kyuubi.

“Sukaku, you should be helping me,” Kyuubi said. “Why protect this human trash?”

“I am not Sukaku!” Gaara screamed. The control he’d had on his emotions snapped and grief for the loss of his friend as well as rage at the one who killed him consumed him. He raised his arm high above his head. “And since you are no longer Naruto…”

The few ninjas who had not run away watched in shocked awe as a huge tornado of sand rose up behind him, towering precariously. Gaara’s arm came down and the pillar dove at Kyuubi, sand flying at incredible speeds.

The demon simply allowed his chakra to flare up to temperatures so high that the sand was burnt out of existence before it had a chance to hit him.

The flow of chakra from the fox didn’t stop however. Gaara could feel the anger radiating from Kyuubi.

It didn’t matter that Gaara and Sukaku were not the same. In the fox’s eyes, Sukaku had just attacked him with the intent to kill. Whatever connection the two demons had was now insignificant. Kyuubi was going to try to destroy him.

Gaara felt Sukaku cowering within him at Kyuubi’s immense power. “Give me your help or we’re going to die,” he thought to the demon. He had never done this before – trying to talk to Sukaku. He used to just go to sleep and let the raccoon handle it, but he had not resorted to that since his fight with Naruto, and he didn’t plan to start now.

Sukaku gave him no answer, trying to hide deeper within his host. Gaara lost what little patience he’d had. “I can see who would have been on top.”

Gaara could almost feel the demon growl within him. Sukaku snapped out of his fear and a rush of power surged through him. For once in his life the demon was cooperating.

~*~*~

Orochimaru was in a bit of a bind. On the one hand he was in the middle of a giant-scale attack. On the other, half of his forces were dead and the other half had run away screaming like little fucking girls. It also seemed as though Kyuubi was now in complete control of Naruto, and the fox demon had threatened to eat him last they spoke.

He decided to wait and see whether or not Kimi’s signature move, which had been dubbed the “Bind and Butcher” by her three teammates, would actually work on the demon before making his fight or flight decision. When Sasuke appeared at the battle, purple energy swirling dangerously around him as he prevented Kimi from finishing her move, he figured he could spare a few more minutes.

Orochimaru’s face twisted into a grin at the sight of his former body. He may have removed him from control of his mind, but Sasuke would never be free of Orochimaru. The curse seal was permanent, and every time he relied on that power his life span shortened. That much power was hard on the body, each use destroyed him a little more. The knowledge made the loss of his body a little more bearable.

Orochimaru took toll of the situation. Sasuke was standing rigidly on the wall, apparently doing nothing (though Orochimaru knew better), and the two demons appeared to be gearing up for a fight. Now would be a good time to make his quiet escape.

“Running away, Orochimaru?” Jiraiya’s rough voice asked from behind him.

Nothing was going to plan tonight.

“Not that you’re known for your intelligence, Jiraiya, but don’t you think it would have been smarter to stay away from the area the newly released demon is terrorizing?”

“No demon is worse than you are,” Jiraiya said.

Orochimaru turned to face him; Kabuto’s lips curled into a wicked smirk. “You flatter me.”

Jiraiya fixed him with a heavy glare. “This time we’re going to end this.”
~*~*~
Upon realizing the implications of Temari’s words, Tenten had followed the sand siblings to the eastern gate.

They landed on the wall, and Tenten found herself standing next to her Anbu captain. “Uchiha-san?” she said. Something felt wrong.

Sasuke was silent and still, staring down at someone on the ground. He made no sign that he heard her at all. Purple energy was swirling slowly around him and although he wasn’t wearing his mask, long black bangs obstructed his face from view.

Unease settled in her stomach, as a memory from her childhood suddenly resurfaced. Finding Lee beaten and unconscious while Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji tried with little success to fight off three Sound nins. Sasuke suddenly appearing with this same purple energy swirling around him, a manic smile on his face and bloodlust in his eyes as he nearly ripped one of the ninja’s arms off with his bare hands.

“Uchiha-san?” she asked again, hesitantly.

With speed that frightened her, the Sharingan was locked on her, staring at his subordinate with no recognition. Wavy black lines stretched across the left half of his face. She took a step backwards. He looked like he might snap her neck on a whim.

His lips twisted into an unnerving grin and she stood frozen as he slowly reached behind him and unsheathed his katana.

Then he was gone. Blinking, Tenten stared at the empty space next to her, before looking down to see Sasuke running with amazing speed towards a figure below them.

~*~*~

Kill.

That’s what Sasuke was going to do. And it was going to be fun. Rip her apart until she was bleeding everywhere and hopefully crying, because it would be even better if she cried. It would be slow of course, so she wouldn’t die right away, because then his fun would be cut short. Start with an arm maybe, so she couldn’t swing those big maces anymore but only one arm, because it would be too easy if she didn’t have some form of defense.

She didn’t look afraid, and that wouldn’t do, he wanted her to scream and cry and she should be afraid for that to happen.

Leapt into the air and BAM the sword never even hit her. He forgot about her barriers. He needed more power to break through them. She was swinging her mace weapon now. He felt the crawly sensation as the curse seal slid over more of his body. More power.

“Sasuke!”

Who was that?

A tall man with spiky white hair appeared in front of him, and a jolt of recognition shot through him. He should know him.

“Sasuke,” he said again, and a word slid into his crowded mind. Kakashi.

His former sensei was covered in blood from the battle, though very little of it appeared to be his own. Both eyes were uncovered and fixed on him.

Behind him was Kimi. She was the one he wanted to kill, to make scream. “Get out of the way, Kakashi,” he said, raising his katana in a ready position.

“Sasuke, you need to get control of yourself. Stop using the curse seal.”

“I have control.”

“Then why are you blindly fighting Kimi? Didn’t you come here for Naruto?”

Naruto? He lowered his katana. Naruto.

He came to help Naruto.

The curse seal slowly began to recede back to into the mark on his shoulder. Sasuke shook his head as if to clear it. He hadn’t lost control of himself like that since he was first given the seal.

“You shouldn’t draw on that power,” Kakashi said when the seal was gone.

“Orochimaru doesn’t have control over me,” Sasuke snapped defensively.

“So why does he continue to allow you to use it? There must be some sort of gain in it for him,” Kakashi replied.

Sasuke looked away from Kakashi’s piercing gaze. When he looked back to his former teacher his eyes widened. One of Kimi’s large metal maces was flying through the air, and before he could do anything it had slammed into Kakashi’s back.

Sasuke could only watch in horror as Kakashi, face frozen in a look of surprise, fell forward to give him a clear view of his now mangled back. Kimi pulled the mace back to her, smirking.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sasuke said, moving quickly to the jounin’s side and kneeling next to him.

Was he doomed to watch everyone in his life die?

“You haven’t called me sensei since you were twelve,” a voice spoke from behind him.

The bloodied corpse in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a log in its place.

Relief rushed through him and he turned to see Kakashi standing not far away, eyes crinkled in a smile. “Yo,” he said, raising his hand in a short wave.

Sasuke didn’t reply, for a surge of power from across the clearing drew his attention.

“Naruto,” Sasuke said, taking a step towards the battle that he and Gaara were engaged in.

“No, Sasuke,” Kakashi said. “That’s Kyuubi.”

Angry black eyes turned towards his teacher. “It’s Naruto.”

Their attention was drawn back to the fight as another flare of red chakra burst from Naruto’s body and Gaara dove out of the way, retaliating with a huge wave of sand that rose high into the air. It crashed down towards Naruto and the sand that would have buried him was obliterated by Kyuubi’s energy. The rest fell around him, knocking over trees and covering most of the clearing that the two were fighting in, which all other ninjas had cleared out of early in the fight.

“Sasuke, the seal—”

“It’s Naruto. He isn’t weak. He won’t let Kyuubi take over.”

“As interesting as all this chatter is,” Kimi called to them. “I’m getting bored.”

She sent a mace flying at each of them. Sasuke moved to dodge, but before he could Kakashi had tossed several kunai, which pinned the chain of the mace heading towards Sasuke to a nearby tree.

“Sasuke,” Kakashi said, his eyes never leaving Kimi. “I’ll handle her, go help Gaara.”

“I’ll help Naruto get control,” Sasuke said, leaping away before the jounin could protest and leaving him to wonder if he was going to lose two students before the night was over.

~*~*~

“Gaara!” Temari said when she saw her brother fighting Kyuubi. She made to leap down into the battle, but Kankurou grabbed her by the arm. She whirled on her brother. “We have to help him!” Temari tried wrenching her arm from Kankurou’s grasp but he held her fast.

“Temari! Look at them! We’ll just be in the way. This—” Kankurou said, watching the deadly battle below them, “—this is out of our league.”

Kyuubi charged Gaara, who immediately erected a wall of sand between them, then flipped away, knowing better than to assume something so feeble would stop the demon. When Kyuubi crashed through the wall, however, he was met with another wall, this one with sharp spikes of sand protruding from it. With the grace of an animal Kyuubi twisted in mid-charge, flipping backwards and out of harms way.

“Sabaku no Gaara.”

Gaara turned to see Uchiha Sasuke standing beside him.

“Uchiha, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Naruto needs help.”

There was a long pause as Gaara considered him. “Naruto is dead, Sasuke,” he finally said. “No human body can withstand the amount of chakra flowing through him. He is just a container for Kyuubi now.”

Sasuke said nothing.

Gaara’s head turned quickly towards the wall and he and Sasuke leapt out of the way as Kyuubi came crashing through it. The red chakra had begun to take the shape of the fox around Naruto’s body.

Kyuubi caught sight of Sasuke, and Naruto’s face broke into a fanged grin. “Even better,” he said, speeding towards him.

Another wall of sand flew up to block him, and with a growl he turned and charged Gaara instead.

Gaara’s sand was still by Sasuke, and wasn’t quick enough to match Kyuubi’s speeds and protect him.

“Gaara!” Temari screamed, beginning to sob as she tried desperately to pull herself form her other brother’s grip.

Having never had to really dodge anything in his life, Gaara’s strength was not speed. He was not fast enough to dodge the thick claw of chakra that slammed into him. It sliced easily through even his sand armor and sent him flying backwards. Gaara slid along the ground and did not stand up again, blood already pooling from the wounds in his chest.

~*~*~

A large group of ninja appeared with a blonde woman at the eastern gate, taking in the chaos that no normal battle could reach.

Injured lay all over the battlefield, both from the original fight and from everything that had occurred after that. Kakashi was locked in a fierce battle with a woman who appeared to be a demon, not a human.

Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen, and she was not surprised to see that Jiraiya was also not around.

She watched in horror as Kyuubi landed what may have been a fatal hit on Gaara, before he turned on Sasuke.

“Sakura, go help Gaara!” she said. The pink haired woman beside her nodded once before following her order. “Shizune, take the medical nins and see to the wounded.” Her assistant was gone in a flash. ”Shikamaru, Neji, go help Kakashi.”

“Tsunade-sama!” Kiba was running towards her, Akamaru at his feet. “Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru are battling in the woods.”

Tsunade clenched her fists. That man would never learn. “They are not my concern. We must stop Kyuubi at all costs.”

“But Hokage-sama,” Genma said, his usual look of disinterest replaced with a frown. “It was all the fourth could do to seal it. What can we do?”

“We can kill him.”

“What?” spoke Ino. “How?”

“He is mortal,” Tsunade told them. “When he was sealed into Naruto he was bound to that body. The seal is broken and he is in control, but he can never return to his immortal demon body. This Kyuubi can be killed.”

“But, Naruto—” Chouji began.

“Is already dead,” she said, not looking at any of them. “This is what he wanted. I will respect his final wishes. We will kill Kyuubi.”

~*~*~

Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru were panting when they leapt apart, neither able to land a decisive blow on the other. The surrounding forest was all but destroyed, trees uprooted and some in flames, others sunk deep into a swamp that had been created at one point.

“Are we done with this game yet?” Orochimaru asked.

“Why is it that Naruto could save Sasuke, but I couldn’t save you?” Jiraiya said, voicing the question that he had pondered for years.

“Because Sasuke is weak. His want for companionship overshadows his want for power. Pathetic bonds such as friendship are what make shinobi weak.”

“I don’t believe that,” Jiraiya said. “To fight for someone else – to be willing to die for others – those are qualities of the truly strong. Without bonds of friendship or love, what is there to live for? To die for?”

Orochimaru began to laugh then raised his arm, allowing at least twenty snakes to fly from his sleeve. Jiraiya dodged, but there were too many and the snakes wrapped around his body, binding him.

“The answer, Jiraiya, is that the truly strong do not die.”

Jiraiya, struggled but the snakes only wrapped themselves tighter. “I don’t think you’ve ever really lived,” Jiraiya said. Then he grinned.

Orochimaru suddenly found himself unable to move as two thick tongues wrapped themselves tightly around him. “What?”

“You aren’t the only one with sneaky animals,” Jiraiya said. Two frogs, each almost as tall as they were, moved out from their positions deep in the woods.

Orochimaru watched as Jiraiya struggled again, concentrating all his strength on getting his arms to move. The snakes finally loosened just enough to allow Jiraiya to clap his hands together in a seal. “Togeyomi!”

Jiraiya’s hair began to grow, hardening into spikes that began impaling the snakes that were wrapped around him and freeing himself.

“If I can’t save you, I will destroy you,” Jiraiya said, his hands forming new seals.

Orochimaru recognized the new set of seals Jiraiya’s hands were making. “How do you know that Jutsu!” he said, losing his composure for the first time since he’d been tossed from Sasuke’s body.

Jiraiya completed the seals and looked up at him, eyes hard and set in determination. “Sandaime was my sensei and Yondaime was my student. Did you really think I wouldn’t know it?”

Orochimaru could not see the looming figure behind Jiraiya, but he knew he was there. He began to panic, struggling against his bonds, but the frogs held him fast.

Jiraiya stepped closer, grabbing Orochimaru’s shoulders with his hands. “I’m going to finish what Sarutobi-sensei began with your arms.”

“This technique will kill you as well!”

“Ironic, no?” Jiraiya said, although his expression didn’t look amused. “The only people who can use this jutsu have to be willing to die for others.”

~*~*~

It was when Kyuubi nearly slashed Gaara in half that Sasuke realized Naruto was truly gone. He had been too late.

He was gone and Sasuke was alone once more.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming feeling of loss, or simply a lack of will to live that kept him from reacting at all when Kyuubi suddenly charged him, but if Kankurou hadn’t leapt from the wall and pulled him out of the way, he would have been lying as still on the ground as Gaara was. He would have been in the darkness like Naruto was.

The group of ninjas who had teleported in with the Hokage, all of which, he noted absently, were once Naruto’s friends, surrounded Kyuubi, who angrily began attacking.

“Uchiha, snap out of it!” Kankurou said, shaking him roughly. He had pulled the unmoving man away from Kyuubi and over to his siblings. Temari was kneeling next to Gaara, running her hand lightly through his hair and murmuring encouraging words to the unconscious man as Sakura worked frantically to save him. Gaara’s blood was all over the ground, staining the grass red, and his breaths were coming in short sharp rasps.

“Uchiha, wake up!” Kankurou suddenly yelled at Sasuke, who stood silent and unmoving. The sand nin didn’t understand why he was crying. “Wake the fuck up!” he cried.

Sakura felt her heart begin to ache, wondering if Kankurou was really talking to Sasuke or his brother.

“Sasuke-kun,” she choked, holding back the hot tears she could feel welling up behind her eyes and not looking up as she desperately tried to keep Gaara alive. “Don’t you leave me too.”

Kankurou let go of Sasuke in surprise when the man blinked and looked down at Sakura when she spoke to him, then moved his gaze towards the battle.

Their friends were barely holding their own against Kyuubi. Kiba’s arm appeared to have been badly burned by the flaming hot chakra. Shino’s bugs were being incinerated before they could do any damage. Lee could only dodge attacks. Blood poured out of a deep gash on Tsunade’s arm. Ino had been knocked aside and was unconscious.

Only you can do it.

“NARUTO!”

The scream echoed throughout the forest and everyone stopped to stare at Sasuke.

Even Kyuubi stopped attacking to see if the man had finally gone crazy.

“I can’t kill him by myself!” he yelled. “You have to help me!”

Kyuubi began laughing, flaring his chakra even higher. “You’ll never get to me, human.”

People could only stare in amazement as Sasuke quickly preformed a set of seals, then gripped his left arm with his right hand. He had to get close enough to touch Kyuubi to use the chidori to any effect. But with that chakra…

“Uchiha, don’t!” Kiba cried, cradling his burnt arm. “Are you suicidal?”

Sasuke didn’t respond or even raise his head to look at him. The chakra that had gathered in his hand began to chirp, sounding like hundred of birds talking at once.

Kyuubi suddenly screamed, shocking everyone, for Sasuke had not even moved from his position. Clawed hands gripped his hair and an animalistic howl shook the very ground they stood on.

The red chakra surrounding Kyuubi was pulled back into Naruto’s body, which jerked as if he had been hit, and was thrown backwards with the sheer force of it and slid along the grass.

It was silent, as if the world had just been made and no living thing had been placed on it yet.

Then, as everyone watched, he moved, struggling to his feet and forcing himself to remain standing. He opened his eyes, which were blue and warm and fixated only on Sasuke. “There isn’t much time. This is all I can do for you, Sasuke,” Naruto said. His voice sounded strained as he fought Kyuubi back with all he had left.

Sasuke finally raised his head, revealing the tears in his red eyes. “That’s all you have to do, Naruto.”

Naruto smiled as Sasuke rushed at him.

“You can’t come back after ten years of being dead and leave again.”

“You are my most precious person.”

“Don't leave me alone here.”

“I want you to be the last thing I feel.”

It was instant. There was no time for words, no chance for a whispered, “Thank you” or “Goodbye.” Sasuke was denied even the cliché of holding Naruto in his arms as he gasped one final shuddering breath and his eyes slowly slid closed.

He felt his hand enter Naruto’s chest and immediately the other man slumped forward. Sasuke caught him with his free arm, holding the limp figure steady.

Gently he pulled his hand from his chest, and the sensation made Sasuke’s knees buckle. He found himself sitting on the ground with Naruto’s body cradled tenderly in his arms. A soft smile was still on the dead man’s face.

Sasuke’s head bowed and raven bangs fell into his eyes.

Don’t leave me alone here. Don’t leave me alone.