Angel's Touch
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
28
Views:
1,365
Reviews:
383
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
28
Views:
1,365
Reviews:
383
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The Inner Demon
Artemis: *yawns* I’m sorry it took a while for this update. I wanted to update on the fifth, but complications arose. One, I needed to update my Naruto doujinshi on my deviantArt account. Two, I had surgery on the third to remove a hangnail in my big toe. Three, I’m also working on a flash game in my college flash class for my final. And four, this chapter required me to be in the right mood and tread carefully so that I can deliver a good chapter for you guys. ^_^
By the way, I made a flash Dress up game where you can make your own Naruto character plushie. ^^ If any of you want to check it out, just go here, (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/46274108/).
Sooo…forgiveness, yes? ^^ Boy…this chapter is going to be testy on me. Hope I don’t mess up. ^^
*by the way: Mirandler43 has been doing grammar checks on my story. XD Give her credit, cause I have bad grammar. ^^ Thank you, Mirandler! ^^*
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Chapter 16: The Inner Demon
Gaara frowned as he and Lee walked through the woods, looking up above them through the leaves to the star-covered night sky. Something didn’t seem right to him. He wondered a bit if Lee had noticed it as well. It had only taken them about ten to fifteen minutes to get from the resort to where they’d all split into two groups. Yet, they’d clearly been walking for almost an hour now in the direction they had come and had yet to spot the resort. He felt like a hamster on a wheel, walking and walking and but getting no where.
Sighing gently, he turned his head to look at Lee, only to find said young man staring at him. Blushing faintly, he frowned and blinked. “What?”
Lee blinked in surprise, as if jolted out of some deep thought process, “Uh…excuse me. I did not mean to stare.”
Both of them looked at the ground in front of them and kept walking, the awkwardness forming in the air. Gaara risked a glance after another moment and found Lee looking at him again.
Frowning this time, he bravely faced Lee full on. “What?”
Lee jumped slightly and straightened his head, looking off to the side. “I’m sorry. I was just wondering…um…Gaara-kun? Are you…”
Gaara raised an eyebrow, waiting for the question.
Lee hesitated, then frowned and looked up distractedly. “I believe that we are lost! I shall climb this tree and take a look to make sure.”
Gaara frowned and watched Lee scurry to a nearby tree and start climbing. Sighing, he leaned against a trunk and crossed his arms, watching the other attempt this feat. Why didn’t Lee just fly up past the leaves and look? He was an angel like Naruto…so he should have the wings to do it.
A slight wind passed through for a moment, a soft hissing voice riding along its invisible draft.
‘Gaara…’
Jolting out of his light daze, Gaara straightened up and looked around with a frown. Had he imagined that? Walking slowly over to the tree Lee had climbed up, Gaara looked up and pressed a hand to the trunk.
“Lee?”
He waited a moment, yet received no reply.
Growing a little anxious, Gaara turned around and pushed his back to the tree, squeezing his arm slightly.
‘Gaara…’
Jumping slightly, he bolted away from the tree and quickly looked around. Ok…if this was a joke, it wasn’t funny. Yet, Lee didn’t seem the type to play jokes in a situation like their’s.
‘……..Gaara…’
Gaara cried out as a sudden blinding pain invaded his mind and brought him to his knees, his hands holding tightly to his head in a futile effort to block it out. Something was crying inside of him, burning within every limb of his body. Emptiness was opening up under him, sucking him into a numb world of light. Someone called out to him, a hand resting cautiously on his back. Clawing through the pain, he found himself free from the abyss he’d started to plunge into and fell forward.
Lee caught him before his face hit the ground, helping him to sit up as he gasped for air. The angel’s eyes were furrowed in concern and he was asking Gaara something, yet his words were muffled and unintelligible. He sat there while Lee rubbed his back soothingly, waiting as the blinding pain slowly faded away to a cold sweat.
“Gaara-kun? Are you all right?” Lee’s words finally reached him clearly.
Gaara swallowed and looked at the other, nodding hesitantly.
Lee frowned, obviously still worried. “What happened?”
“I…don’t know…” Gaara replied softly, mulling over the question.
Lee slowly helped him to stand back up, treating Gaara as if carelessness would cause him to dissolve away into a pile of sand.
“Gaara-kun…I believe this may be some sort of illusion,” Lee spoke up after Gaara was able to stand steadily. “We seem to still be in our original location prior to our return journey.”
Gaara took a moment to register this news, his body still shivering slightly from the memory of that pain.
“We should stick close together. No doubt the enemy wishes to separate and pick us off one by one,” Lee continued, sounding a little nervous. “I pray that Sasuke-kun and the others have passed through unharmed.”
Gaara honestly cared little. His worries were more for Naruto and for the mysterious cause of his strange attack just now. But his mind was still jumping around, as if it was afraid to rest in place for to long. He brought his hand up and relaxed his head against it, willing his thoughts to calm down.
Lee suddenly stiffened beside him, bringing him out of his momentary meditation. Raising his head quickly, Gaara’s eyes widened in surprise as the very air and scenery around the two of them began to shiver and sway back and forth. Something started to take form among the shadows, at first long and serpent-like before it reverted and began to mold into a different form. As it became humanoid, abnormalities began to sprout from its body; A scaly fat tail, one large deformed arm and leg, and the face becoming a disturbing mix of animal and beast. It slowly stopped its transformation, chakra rising off its body in columns as the black dissolved away and took color and weight.
Gaara’s heart nearly leapt from his chest as the enemy straightened and looked up to meet his gaze, an almost perfect mirror to his if not for the wild yellow eye on the right side of its face. His blood ran cold as he stared at the deformed shadow. It looked…it was…him? And yet…there was something very bloody and frightening about this copy, and it wasn’t just the half tanuki form practically molded onto it.
“Please tell me he’s a friendly relative of yours,” Lee whispered in a slightly uneasy tone, eyes glued to the creature in front of them.
Gaara slowly shook his head no, taking a step backwards away from the atrocity before them. Lee backed up as well, yet remained beside him loyally. Gaara was grateful for that. The last thing he wanted was for someone to abandon him again.
The monster grinned widely, eyes locked on Gaara. It cackled after a moment, crouching and still grinning. “Sabaku…no Gaara…I’ve come to kill you.”
Without warning, the creature bolted forward and slammed into them both, knocking Lee aside and pinning a surprised Gaara against a tree by the neck. Sand shot up to try and defend Gaara, but another type of sand clashed and blocked it from forming a protective wall around him. The devil tightened its grip painfully, licking its lips with a chuckle. Gaara winced at the impact and choked against the tight hold. There was something terrifying and familiar about this look alike. There was a haunting fear deep in his heart and it left Gaara paralyzed and unable to act in defense against the assault.
This had almost been him.
This thing now choking him...was the form of the Devil Beast he had slowly been turning into. If Naruto had found him...if no one had cared...
Somehow, he just knew. This was his demon...
...and Gaara found himself completely terrified for the second time in his sad little existence.
The devil raised its deformed claw of a hand, eyes widening and filled with blood lust. “I’ll destroy you…and with that…I will earn my right to exist!”
Gaara’s eyes widened in horror, realizing he couldn’t possible face a demon like this. Not even his sand was strong enough to counter the devil’s attacks! The claws came down to rip him to shreds with one swift strike. But then to Gaara’s surprise the hand was gone just as quickly. He watched the demon fall away as Lee reappeared, sending the beast stumbling back with a hard kick in the chest, sand and all.
Lee landed easily and struck a battle pose, his expression serious and calm against the monstrosity before them. Though he’d been frightened a moment ago, Gaara-kun’s life was in danger and he would not rush off in fear. At the cost of his life, he would protect his friend.
‘Gai-sensei…watch me’ Lee thought and smirked, knowing that even though his beloved teacher wasn’t there, his heart was with him. He’d do Gai-sensei proud!
The devil recovered and straightened, eyes burning with hatred now directed at Lee. Lee returned the gaze steadily and silently dared the enemy to make another move towards Gaara.
Gaara watched this, rendered speechless by Lee’s fearless courage. How could the other meet that gaze so easily? And why…was he protecting him? They’d only really met that evening. It was just like with Naruto. Lee was treating him with the same selfless compassion as Naruto.
“If you bother me…I’ll kill you too,” Devil Gaara suddenly spoke up, bringing Gaara’s attention back to the situation at hand.
“You may try if you like,” Lee replied, grinning confidently. “But I am Heaven’s brilliant green handsome beast!! I will not back down!”
“Then die!” The devil growled out, charging at Lee with killing intent.
Lee waited, then dodged the clawed hand as it struck out for him, turning and kicking him hard again. Sand shot up and blocked his kick, surprising Lee for a moment. He swerved out of the way and reformed his stance, eyebrows furrowing a little in concern. It would seem their enemy possessed powers reflective of Gaara-kun’s.
He waited and watched as Devil Gaara turned slowly towards him, the sand dissolving to the ground and vanishing among the grass blades. Eyes locked on him while the other’s tail slowly wagged side to side. He watched the tail for a moment, before remembering to keep his guard up. Readying his muscles, Lee bolted forward in his own charge and began delivering kicks and punches upon the enemy, circling him as he did so. With each kick and punch, the sand shot up and blocked the devil from harm. By the time Lee had completely circled his enemy, he had deduced that this person was completely protected on every side. It was a perfect defense.
Devil Gaara watched his attempts, his grin returning and growing to its fullest in sadistic amusement. Lee frowned as that grin formed, forcing himself to not let it disturb him. 'Gai-sensei…what should I do?' He could not harm this enemy while that sand protected him. And it would seem, regardless of how many kicks he dealt, he could not simply carve away the sand to get to the enemy.
The devil formed a few hand seals, then closed his eyes and focused. Suddenly, a wall of sand began rising up in front of Devil Gaara, forcing aside the leaves and trees before plunging towards Lee. Lee yelped in surprise and jumped aside, scurrying to his feet and dodging desperately as the sand danced along after him, rising and plunging and rising again in an attempt to catch and burry Lee under its deadly grains.
Lee managed to stay just ahead of the sand, only to run into more sand that had been waiting in front of him. The rest of the sand struck down upon him like a large mallet. The sand dispersed, leaving a beaten up Lee to sink to his knees painfully.
Gaara, meanwhile, watched the battle with growing alarm. This was impossible! This demon had control of sand, and there was no way Lee could get to him through it. And why was Lee only using physical attacks? He was putting himself in direct danger and severely handicapping himself that way!
Devil Gaara smirked and raised his hand, sand rising up all around the sides of Lee’s body. Gaara’s eyes widened in realization, already knowing what his shadow was about to do. No…he couldn’t just sit and watch this! This was his demon, not Lee’s!! Forcing his body to move, Gaara quickly brought his hands together in a single seal just as the sand crashed down around Lee.
Devil Gaara’s eyes widened in bloodlust, his hand closing with finality as the sand around Lee ruthlessly caved inwards. Gaara closed his eyes and focused as much chakra as he could, praying it had worked. After a thick moment of silence, the devil chuckled happily before turning to face Gaara now.
“Now…I can kill you at last…”
Gaara opened his eyes and turned to face his shadow, something inside of him aching painfully. He felt anger and sadness swell up in him, and suddenly he no longer cared about his life. He’d rip this monster into pieces for what he’d done! Chakra filled his body and radiated slowly from his skin, the color a faint yellow instead of blue like normal. Gaara found the strength to stand again and returned the cold stare of his demon, the edges of his eyes slightly moist.
“You…” Gaara growled out, more chakra rising off of him. “You won’t get the chance…because I’m going to kill you for this!!”
Without much thought, Gaara charged forward and threw himself into his devil, sand flying up as both of their shields attempted to protect each at the same time. Caught off guard, the other stumbled and fell while sand shot out everywhere from their clashing shields. Gaara clawed through the sand till he forced it out of his way, then punched Devil Gaara hard across the face, leaving four deep gashes with his now sharp nails. He landed another punch as the other struggled to fight him off and their sand clashed over and over again in failed attempts to protect their masters.
Finally kicking Gaara off him, the devil struggled to his feet angrily and sent a pillar of sand to ram into Gaara and crush him into a tree trunk. Gaara collapsed to the ground in pain, but he was so angry that he forced it aside and stood. Again charging at the devil, he sent his own sand at him like a spear. Devil Gaara’s eyes widened then narrowed, jumping back slightly and sending sand up to block the attack. The spear pierced into the shield and again sent sand flying everywhere, Gaara using this to get through the shield. He punched at the demon who tried to dodge, grabbing onto his arms and biting into the devil’s neck with a death grip.
The demon let out a pained cry and reached behind him with his deformed claw, digging the nails deep into Gaara and trying to pull him off. Gaara held on, refusing to release his grip. The other could kill him if he wished, but he’d take out his jugular along with him!
They struggled and slipped, falling onto the sand and wrestling, one trying to break free and the other holding on.
Gaara winced as pained seared through his shoulder and back, skin beginning to tear under the pull of the claws that pierced him. Someone shouted something and arms wrapped around him from above, a hand against him releasing chakra that entered and spread throughout his body. He suddenly felt weakened and sore, the yellow chakra slowly fading out of sight and his nails returning to normal. Left in a dazed state, he was pulled off of the ground into someone’s arms.
His mind settled as he blinked slowly, the pain bringing everything back into focus.
The whole area of the forest around them was full of felled trees and sand, and the devil he’d been biting onto for dear life slowly shifted and dissolved into nothing more then a pile of black sand. As the illusion finally ended, all the sand in the area relaxed and fell into piles on the earth, devoid of the life they’d had at their masters’ will.
Gaara’s eyes quickly moved to where Lee had sat defeated, recognizing Lee’s sensei who was examining the sand. Gaara watched as it slipped away to reveal a perfect ball of hardened earth. Heart beating heavily in his chest, Gaara recognized it as the Suna no Tate he’d tried to create around Lee to protect him from Devil Gaara’s attack. He’d actually formed it!! But had he made it in time?
“How’s it look, Gai?” Kakashi’s voice spoke up.
Gaara realized then that the person cradling his body was the older angel.
“This is certainly an impressive piece,” Gai answered, frowning at the ball of sand.
Gaara frowned, anxiously willing the ball to weaken and dissolve away. Gai looked slightly surprised, but seemed to put two and two together and waited. Gaara watched each chunk fall away, terrified of what he might see once it had gone. If even a handful of that devil’s sand had gotten in past his shield…
“HAHA!” Gai laughed out suddenly, grinning from ear to ear.
Sure enough, as the last bits of the ball vanished, Lee’s beaten but still alive body was revealed. The young man had balled up in an attempt of defense, but upon feeling the night air hitting him, he peeked out and noticed them all.
“Gai-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!” Lee exclaimed and carefully relaxed his defense, wincing for a moment before smiling up at Gai.
“That’s my Lee!” Gai smiled back proudly, dragging Lee to his feet and giving him a powerful hug.
Gaara sweatdropped at the display, but relaxed considerably and closed his eyes as the ache inside his heart soothed away.
Thank god…
***word dictionary***
Suna no Tate – This is the Japanese name of Gaara’s technique, Shield of Sand. It was the technique he used to surround himself in a ball of hard sand as his ultimate defense during the chunin exams.
***notes***
Battle scene – God, this chapter was unbelievably hard. XD Seriously! First off, I’m still working slowly with Gaara’s personality. And yet, here I focused completely on Gaara and Lee, as well as pitting Gaara against the evil form of him. Which by the way, Devil Gaara was like the Gaara Naruto fought before he completely transformed into Shukaku during the chunin exams.
Gaara – This chapter hopefully showed something about Gaara. And hopefully a little character development. Gaara was at first terrified of his own inner demon, but afterwards found courage to fight it for the sake of a friend. Which, now that I think about it, is sort of like his transition in the anime/manga to. XD Kinda…a little. ^^
***reviewer responses***
CommGonn – actually, you’ve often been the first reviewer of the chapters as well. ^^ I went in order of who reviewed first. ^^ And yeah, the special was 18 pages, which wasn’t that bad actually. The Halloween special had been 21. ^_^ *nibbles the cookie* Thank you!
Shadow – Hmm…I’m not sure about Neji. Maybe Hinata cause I like that pairing. ^^ *shrugs* As for Itachi…I will say nothing about any bad guy until they appear or don’t appear. *grins mysteriously* As for Neji/Haku…I can’t see it. They never even met. ^^’ But that doesn’t make you messed up. ^_^
Artume – No laugh. He’s done it twice already. *glances at Naruto*
ClosetEmo – I love kicking Sakura’s ass with Sasuke on the gamecube to. ^_^ And I bought Twilight Princess to! I beat it in like four days…and now I’m depressed because I beat it. >_< MIDNA RULEZ!!! XD
mirandler43 – HI!!! ^^ Haven’t heard from you in a while. Glad your move went well. ^^ When I was little, I described things to the extreme and my mom always said I didn’t need that much description. So I sort of learned to tone it down to a nice set and now it comes natural. ^_^ And yes. This story isn’t ending any time soon, so I’ll probably do another special. A Valentines special! ^_^ And if you want to edit, feel free. But don’t force yourself if you don’t’ want to.
Nomme de Plume – Itachi and Orochimaru. People keep asking about those, but I’m staying tight lipped about them. XD Not saying if they in this or not. ^^
pwnd – They will when the time comes. ^^’ I wanted to update on the fifth for you, but complications (stated above) arose and I couldn’t… I’m sorry. -__- That and this chapter was really hard to work on. ^^’ And Sai won’t be in this because I haven’t met Sai yet. I’ve been watching the anime cause I can’t get the full manga and don’t want to skip manga chapters. But thank you for the wonderful review. ^^
Yuri-san – I love you to. ^_^ (writer to reader) Holiday specials are kinda hard to. And if reviewers don’t leave funny or thought provoking questions, it affects the special. ^^ But I’ll probably do one again for Valentines. *smiles*
outlander_girl – Yeah…I suck at summaries. And back then, my plot hadn’t been completely formed yet, so I wasn’t really sure what the story would be other then what the plot says. ^^’ And if you want Gaara to have Lee’s eyebrows, try my ‘Make Your Own Naruto Plushie’ dress up game on deviantArt. I posted the URL at the top of this chapter. I have it so you can do just that. XD
Donedin – Yeah, but a lot of sex involved questions. XD I have no real social life either cept online. XD So we all fit well together. =P
justanothernumber – thank you. ^^
kameotoluvsgaara – Yes, the tengu is Haku. ^^
GayGuy23 – Dude, I’m way ahead of you. I love Lee/Gaara and Gaara is so definitely the uke! XD
Anon – thank you, thank you! ^^
bloodyrose – I love a protective and jealous Sasuke to. ^^ And yeah, though the main pairing is Naruto and Sasuke, I like to remember the other characters and their relationship with other characters. And yeah…it can be tedious. But I’m happy cause I get all my favorite pairings. ^_^
Emrilou – Cause…I’m slightly sadistic and torturing can be funny. ^_^ And yes, Sasuke possessive rulez!! ^^
By the way, I made a flash Dress up game where you can make your own Naruto character plushie. ^^ If any of you want to check it out, just go here, (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/46274108/).
Sooo…forgiveness, yes? ^^ Boy…this chapter is going to be testy on me. Hope I don’t mess up. ^^
*by the way: Mirandler43 has been doing grammar checks on my story. XD Give her credit, cause I have bad grammar. ^^ Thank you, Mirandler! ^^*
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Chapter 16: The Inner Demon
Gaara frowned as he and Lee walked through the woods, looking up above them through the leaves to the star-covered night sky. Something didn’t seem right to him. He wondered a bit if Lee had noticed it as well. It had only taken them about ten to fifteen minutes to get from the resort to where they’d all split into two groups. Yet, they’d clearly been walking for almost an hour now in the direction they had come and had yet to spot the resort. He felt like a hamster on a wheel, walking and walking and but getting no where.
Sighing gently, he turned his head to look at Lee, only to find said young man staring at him. Blushing faintly, he frowned and blinked. “What?”
Lee blinked in surprise, as if jolted out of some deep thought process, “Uh…excuse me. I did not mean to stare.”
Both of them looked at the ground in front of them and kept walking, the awkwardness forming in the air. Gaara risked a glance after another moment and found Lee looking at him again.
Frowning this time, he bravely faced Lee full on. “What?”
Lee jumped slightly and straightened his head, looking off to the side. “I’m sorry. I was just wondering…um…Gaara-kun? Are you…”
Gaara raised an eyebrow, waiting for the question.
Lee hesitated, then frowned and looked up distractedly. “I believe that we are lost! I shall climb this tree and take a look to make sure.”
Gaara frowned and watched Lee scurry to a nearby tree and start climbing. Sighing, he leaned against a trunk and crossed his arms, watching the other attempt this feat. Why didn’t Lee just fly up past the leaves and look? He was an angel like Naruto…so he should have the wings to do it.
A slight wind passed through for a moment, a soft hissing voice riding along its invisible draft.
‘Gaara…’
Jolting out of his light daze, Gaara straightened up and looked around with a frown. Had he imagined that? Walking slowly over to the tree Lee had climbed up, Gaara looked up and pressed a hand to the trunk.
“Lee?”
He waited a moment, yet received no reply.
Growing a little anxious, Gaara turned around and pushed his back to the tree, squeezing his arm slightly.
‘Gaara…’
Jumping slightly, he bolted away from the tree and quickly looked around. Ok…if this was a joke, it wasn’t funny. Yet, Lee didn’t seem the type to play jokes in a situation like their’s.
‘……..Gaara…’
Gaara cried out as a sudden blinding pain invaded his mind and brought him to his knees, his hands holding tightly to his head in a futile effort to block it out. Something was crying inside of him, burning within every limb of his body. Emptiness was opening up under him, sucking him into a numb world of light. Someone called out to him, a hand resting cautiously on his back. Clawing through the pain, he found himself free from the abyss he’d started to plunge into and fell forward.
Lee caught him before his face hit the ground, helping him to sit up as he gasped for air. The angel’s eyes were furrowed in concern and he was asking Gaara something, yet his words were muffled and unintelligible. He sat there while Lee rubbed his back soothingly, waiting as the blinding pain slowly faded away to a cold sweat.
“Gaara-kun? Are you all right?” Lee’s words finally reached him clearly.
Gaara swallowed and looked at the other, nodding hesitantly.
Lee frowned, obviously still worried. “What happened?”
“I…don’t know…” Gaara replied softly, mulling over the question.
Lee slowly helped him to stand back up, treating Gaara as if carelessness would cause him to dissolve away into a pile of sand.
“Gaara-kun…I believe this may be some sort of illusion,” Lee spoke up after Gaara was able to stand steadily. “We seem to still be in our original location prior to our return journey.”
Gaara took a moment to register this news, his body still shivering slightly from the memory of that pain.
“We should stick close together. No doubt the enemy wishes to separate and pick us off one by one,” Lee continued, sounding a little nervous. “I pray that Sasuke-kun and the others have passed through unharmed.”
Gaara honestly cared little. His worries were more for Naruto and for the mysterious cause of his strange attack just now. But his mind was still jumping around, as if it was afraid to rest in place for to long. He brought his hand up and relaxed his head against it, willing his thoughts to calm down.
Lee suddenly stiffened beside him, bringing him out of his momentary meditation. Raising his head quickly, Gaara’s eyes widened in surprise as the very air and scenery around the two of them began to shiver and sway back and forth. Something started to take form among the shadows, at first long and serpent-like before it reverted and began to mold into a different form. As it became humanoid, abnormalities began to sprout from its body; A scaly fat tail, one large deformed arm and leg, and the face becoming a disturbing mix of animal and beast. It slowly stopped its transformation, chakra rising off its body in columns as the black dissolved away and took color and weight.
Gaara’s heart nearly leapt from his chest as the enemy straightened and looked up to meet his gaze, an almost perfect mirror to his if not for the wild yellow eye on the right side of its face. His blood ran cold as he stared at the deformed shadow. It looked…it was…him? And yet…there was something very bloody and frightening about this copy, and it wasn’t just the half tanuki form practically molded onto it.
“Please tell me he’s a friendly relative of yours,” Lee whispered in a slightly uneasy tone, eyes glued to the creature in front of them.
Gaara slowly shook his head no, taking a step backwards away from the atrocity before them. Lee backed up as well, yet remained beside him loyally. Gaara was grateful for that. The last thing he wanted was for someone to abandon him again.
The monster grinned widely, eyes locked on Gaara. It cackled after a moment, crouching and still grinning. “Sabaku…no Gaara…I’ve come to kill you.”
Without warning, the creature bolted forward and slammed into them both, knocking Lee aside and pinning a surprised Gaara against a tree by the neck. Sand shot up to try and defend Gaara, but another type of sand clashed and blocked it from forming a protective wall around him. The devil tightened its grip painfully, licking its lips with a chuckle. Gaara winced at the impact and choked against the tight hold. There was something terrifying and familiar about this look alike. There was a haunting fear deep in his heart and it left Gaara paralyzed and unable to act in defense against the assault.
This had almost been him.
This thing now choking him...was the form of the Devil Beast he had slowly been turning into. If Naruto had found him...if no one had cared...
Somehow, he just knew. This was his demon...
...and Gaara found himself completely terrified for the second time in his sad little existence.
The devil raised its deformed claw of a hand, eyes widening and filled with blood lust. “I’ll destroy you…and with that…I will earn my right to exist!”
Gaara’s eyes widened in horror, realizing he couldn’t possible face a demon like this. Not even his sand was strong enough to counter the devil’s attacks! The claws came down to rip him to shreds with one swift strike. But then to Gaara’s surprise the hand was gone just as quickly. He watched the demon fall away as Lee reappeared, sending the beast stumbling back with a hard kick in the chest, sand and all.
Lee landed easily and struck a battle pose, his expression serious and calm against the monstrosity before them. Though he’d been frightened a moment ago, Gaara-kun’s life was in danger and he would not rush off in fear. At the cost of his life, he would protect his friend.
‘Gai-sensei…watch me’ Lee thought and smirked, knowing that even though his beloved teacher wasn’t there, his heart was with him. He’d do Gai-sensei proud!
The devil recovered and straightened, eyes burning with hatred now directed at Lee. Lee returned the gaze steadily and silently dared the enemy to make another move towards Gaara.
Gaara watched this, rendered speechless by Lee’s fearless courage. How could the other meet that gaze so easily? And why…was he protecting him? They’d only really met that evening. It was just like with Naruto. Lee was treating him with the same selfless compassion as Naruto.
“If you bother me…I’ll kill you too,” Devil Gaara suddenly spoke up, bringing Gaara’s attention back to the situation at hand.
“You may try if you like,” Lee replied, grinning confidently. “But I am Heaven’s brilliant green handsome beast!! I will not back down!”
“Then die!” The devil growled out, charging at Lee with killing intent.
Lee waited, then dodged the clawed hand as it struck out for him, turning and kicking him hard again. Sand shot up and blocked his kick, surprising Lee for a moment. He swerved out of the way and reformed his stance, eyebrows furrowing a little in concern. It would seem their enemy possessed powers reflective of Gaara-kun’s.
He waited and watched as Devil Gaara turned slowly towards him, the sand dissolving to the ground and vanishing among the grass blades. Eyes locked on him while the other’s tail slowly wagged side to side. He watched the tail for a moment, before remembering to keep his guard up. Readying his muscles, Lee bolted forward in his own charge and began delivering kicks and punches upon the enemy, circling him as he did so. With each kick and punch, the sand shot up and blocked the devil from harm. By the time Lee had completely circled his enemy, he had deduced that this person was completely protected on every side. It was a perfect defense.
Devil Gaara watched his attempts, his grin returning and growing to its fullest in sadistic amusement. Lee frowned as that grin formed, forcing himself to not let it disturb him. 'Gai-sensei…what should I do?' He could not harm this enemy while that sand protected him. And it would seem, regardless of how many kicks he dealt, he could not simply carve away the sand to get to the enemy.
The devil formed a few hand seals, then closed his eyes and focused. Suddenly, a wall of sand began rising up in front of Devil Gaara, forcing aside the leaves and trees before plunging towards Lee. Lee yelped in surprise and jumped aside, scurrying to his feet and dodging desperately as the sand danced along after him, rising and plunging and rising again in an attempt to catch and burry Lee under its deadly grains.
Lee managed to stay just ahead of the sand, only to run into more sand that had been waiting in front of him. The rest of the sand struck down upon him like a large mallet. The sand dispersed, leaving a beaten up Lee to sink to his knees painfully.
Gaara, meanwhile, watched the battle with growing alarm. This was impossible! This demon had control of sand, and there was no way Lee could get to him through it. And why was Lee only using physical attacks? He was putting himself in direct danger and severely handicapping himself that way!
Devil Gaara smirked and raised his hand, sand rising up all around the sides of Lee’s body. Gaara’s eyes widened in realization, already knowing what his shadow was about to do. No…he couldn’t just sit and watch this! This was his demon, not Lee’s!! Forcing his body to move, Gaara quickly brought his hands together in a single seal just as the sand crashed down around Lee.
Devil Gaara’s eyes widened in bloodlust, his hand closing with finality as the sand around Lee ruthlessly caved inwards. Gaara closed his eyes and focused as much chakra as he could, praying it had worked. After a thick moment of silence, the devil chuckled happily before turning to face Gaara now.
“Now…I can kill you at last…”
Gaara opened his eyes and turned to face his shadow, something inside of him aching painfully. He felt anger and sadness swell up in him, and suddenly he no longer cared about his life. He’d rip this monster into pieces for what he’d done! Chakra filled his body and radiated slowly from his skin, the color a faint yellow instead of blue like normal. Gaara found the strength to stand again and returned the cold stare of his demon, the edges of his eyes slightly moist.
“You…” Gaara growled out, more chakra rising off of him. “You won’t get the chance…because I’m going to kill you for this!!”
Without much thought, Gaara charged forward and threw himself into his devil, sand flying up as both of their shields attempted to protect each at the same time. Caught off guard, the other stumbled and fell while sand shot out everywhere from their clashing shields. Gaara clawed through the sand till he forced it out of his way, then punched Devil Gaara hard across the face, leaving four deep gashes with his now sharp nails. He landed another punch as the other struggled to fight him off and their sand clashed over and over again in failed attempts to protect their masters.
Finally kicking Gaara off him, the devil struggled to his feet angrily and sent a pillar of sand to ram into Gaara and crush him into a tree trunk. Gaara collapsed to the ground in pain, but he was so angry that he forced it aside and stood. Again charging at the devil, he sent his own sand at him like a spear. Devil Gaara’s eyes widened then narrowed, jumping back slightly and sending sand up to block the attack. The spear pierced into the shield and again sent sand flying everywhere, Gaara using this to get through the shield. He punched at the demon who tried to dodge, grabbing onto his arms and biting into the devil’s neck with a death grip.
The demon let out a pained cry and reached behind him with his deformed claw, digging the nails deep into Gaara and trying to pull him off. Gaara held on, refusing to release his grip. The other could kill him if he wished, but he’d take out his jugular along with him!
They struggled and slipped, falling onto the sand and wrestling, one trying to break free and the other holding on.
Gaara winced as pained seared through his shoulder and back, skin beginning to tear under the pull of the claws that pierced him. Someone shouted something and arms wrapped around him from above, a hand against him releasing chakra that entered and spread throughout his body. He suddenly felt weakened and sore, the yellow chakra slowly fading out of sight and his nails returning to normal. Left in a dazed state, he was pulled off of the ground into someone’s arms.
His mind settled as he blinked slowly, the pain bringing everything back into focus.
The whole area of the forest around them was full of felled trees and sand, and the devil he’d been biting onto for dear life slowly shifted and dissolved into nothing more then a pile of black sand. As the illusion finally ended, all the sand in the area relaxed and fell into piles on the earth, devoid of the life they’d had at their masters’ will.
Gaara’s eyes quickly moved to where Lee had sat defeated, recognizing Lee’s sensei who was examining the sand. Gaara watched as it slipped away to reveal a perfect ball of hardened earth. Heart beating heavily in his chest, Gaara recognized it as the Suna no Tate he’d tried to create around Lee to protect him from Devil Gaara’s attack. He’d actually formed it!! But had he made it in time?
“How’s it look, Gai?” Kakashi’s voice spoke up.
Gaara realized then that the person cradling his body was the older angel.
“This is certainly an impressive piece,” Gai answered, frowning at the ball of sand.
Gaara frowned, anxiously willing the ball to weaken and dissolve away. Gai looked slightly surprised, but seemed to put two and two together and waited. Gaara watched each chunk fall away, terrified of what he might see once it had gone. If even a handful of that devil’s sand had gotten in past his shield…
“HAHA!” Gai laughed out suddenly, grinning from ear to ear.
Sure enough, as the last bits of the ball vanished, Lee’s beaten but still alive body was revealed. The young man had balled up in an attempt of defense, but upon feeling the night air hitting him, he peeked out and noticed them all.
“Gai-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!” Lee exclaimed and carefully relaxed his defense, wincing for a moment before smiling up at Gai.
“That’s my Lee!” Gai smiled back proudly, dragging Lee to his feet and giving him a powerful hug.
Gaara sweatdropped at the display, but relaxed considerably and closed his eyes as the ache inside his heart soothed away.
Thank god…
***word dictionary***
Suna no Tate – This is the Japanese name of Gaara’s technique, Shield of Sand. It was the technique he used to surround himself in a ball of hard sand as his ultimate defense during the chunin exams.
***notes***
Battle scene – God, this chapter was unbelievably hard. XD Seriously! First off, I’m still working slowly with Gaara’s personality. And yet, here I focused completely on Gaara and Lee, as well as pitting Gaara against the evil form of him. Which by the way, Devil Gaara was like the Gaara Naruto fought before he completely transformed into Shukaku during the chunin exams.
Gaara – This chapter hopefully showed something about Gaara. And hopefully a little character development. Gaara was at first terrified of his own inner demon, but afterwards found courage to fight it for the sake of a friend. Which, now that I think about it, is sort of like his transition in the anime/manga to. XD Kinda…a little. ^^
***reviewer responses***
CommGonn – actually, you’ve often been the first reviewer of the chapters as well. ^^ I went in order of who reviewed first. ^^ And yeah, the special was 18 pages, which wasn’t that bad actually. The Halloween special had been 21. ^_^ *nibbles the cookie* Thank you!
Shadow – Hmm…I’m not sure about Neji. Maybe Hinata cause I like that pairing. ^^ *shrugs* As for Itachi…I will say nothing about any bad guy until they appear or don’t appear. *grins mysteriously* As for Neji/Haku…I can’t see it. They never even met. ^^’ But that doesn’t make you messed up. ^_^
Artume – No laugh. He’s done it twice already. *glances at Naruto*
ClosetEmo – I love kicking Sakura’s ass with Sasuke on the gamecube to. ^_^ And I bought Twilight Princess to! I beat it in like four days…and now I’m depressed because I beat it. >_< MIDNA RULEZ!!! XD
mirandler43 – HI!!! ^^ Haven’t heard from you in a while. Glad your move went well. ^^ When I was little, I described things to the extreme and my mom always said I didn’t need that much description. So I sort of learned to tone it down to a nice set and now it comes natural. ^_^ And yes. This story isn’t ending any time soon, so I’ll probably do another special. A Valentines special! ^_^ And if you want to edit, feel free. But don’t force yourself if you don’t’ want to.
Nomme de Plume – Itachi and Orochimaru. People keep asking about those, but I’m staying tight lipped about them. XD Not saying if they in this or not. ^^
pwnd – They will when the time comes. ^^’ I wanted to update on the fifth for you, but complications (stated above) arose and I couldn’t… I’m sorry. -__- That and this chapter was really hard to work on. ^^’ And Sai won’t be in this because I haven’t met Sai yet. I’ve been watching the anime cause I can’t get the full manga and don’t want to skip manga chapters. But thank you for the wonderful review. ^^
Yuri-san – I love you to. ^_^ (writer to reader) Holiday specials are kinda hard to. And if reviewers don’t leave funny or thought provoking questions, it affects the special. ^^ But I’ll probably do one again for Valentines. *smiles*
outlander_girl – Yeah…I suck at summaries. And back then, my plot hadn’t been completely formed yet, so I wasn’t really sure what the story would be other then what the plot says. ^^’ And if you want Gaara to have Lee’s eyebrows, try my ‘Make Your Own Naruto Plushie’ dress up game on deviantArt. I posted the URL at the top of this chapter. I have it so you can do just that. XD
Donedin – Yeah, but a lot of sex involved questions. XD I have no real social life either cept online. XD So we all fit well together. =P
justanothernumber – thank you. ^^
kameotoluvsgaara – Yes, the tengu is Haku. ^^
GayGuy23 – Dude, I’m way ahead of you. I love Lee/Gaara and Gaara is so definitely the uke! XD
Anon – thank you, thank you! ^^
bloodyrose – I love a protective and jealous Sasuke to. ^^ And yeah, though the main pairing is Naruto and Sasuke, I like to remember the other characters and their relationship with other characters. And yeah…it can be tedious. But I’m happy cause I get all my favorite pairings. ^_^
Emrilou – Cause…I’m slightly sadistic and torturing can be funny. ^_^ And yes, Sasuke possessive rulez!! ^^