In claws of evil

Chapter 19: Re-match

“Did anyone bring any snacks?” the blonde asked as his stomach growled. He hadn´t had anything to eat all day and was sure that he was going to die from starvation soon if he couldn´t eat something. He had burned most of his chakra during Neji´s Tai Chi lessons and needed to eat to regain his strength and energy.

“Here, I made those for you and the boys.” Hinata said shyly as she handed a homemade bento to Neji, Shikamaru and Naruto.

“Thank you, Hinata-chan. You are so sweet. Kiba is lucky to have you,” the blonde said with a warm smile as he opened the bento. She had made similar once to all of them. It contained rice, vegetables and smoked tuna.

“Itadakimasu,” Naruto happily proclaimed as he held the chopsticks in front of him while bowing towards the delicious looking food.

“ Say Naruto, doesn´t it bother you that Sasuke is so protective and possessive about you?” Neji asked as he watched Sasuke growl at the Kazekage.

“It´s just his way to show that he cares. I don´t know why he´s so pissed at Gaara though… we are only friends… almost like family.”

“I think he´s jealous because Gaara hugged you.” Neji told him.

“… I know… but I think there´s more to it than that…” Naruto said softly… so soft that only Neji was able to hear it.

~ # ~

“Why are you here?” The Uchiha growled.

“As I said before Uchiha I´m only here to help.” The redhead said with a knowing smirk. He knew that the Uchiha was fuming because Gaara had hugged Naruto and that he was going out of his mind because he was afraid to lose the cheerful blonde.

“Don´t ever touch Naruto again.”

“Why not? He looked like he could use a helping hand and he looked so hot that I just had to-” Gaara´s ´Suna no Tate` was instantly protecting him as Sasuke launched an attack at his face.

“Well aren´t you uptight today Uchiha? Maybe you should try some of that Tai Chi that Naruto and Neji was performing earlier… they looked really hot, all sweaty and half naked in the sun.”

“Uptight, my ass. Keep. Your. Hands. Of. My. Dobe!” He growled. The Sharingan was bleeding red and the three dots were spinning rapidly. He wasn´t going to use a genjutsu before he really had too… he wanted to defeat the Kazekage with a different tactic.

“Oh so you DO have feelings for Naruto-kun.” Gaara teased. “Have you made him yours already? If not I´m sure that other more… capable men will be willing to claim our little sunshine.”

That did it! Sasuke let out a fierce roar, drew a kunai and attacked the Kazekage. Gaara´s sandy shield intercepted Sasuke´s hot tempered attack and threw the raven backwards.

“You won´t achieve anything if you attack me like that Uchiha.” Gaara said with a bored tone. He had his arms crossed above his chest and his legs slightly apart.

“…Hn.” Sasuke knew that the Kazekage was right. ´Let him think that I´m a lovesick fool who can´t control my emotions… and then when he least expect it I´ll kick his ass so badly that he´ll never even dare to think of my Naruto as a hot piece of ass again… damn redhead.`

He acted like a genin right now; attacking in sheer rage which would lead him nowhere… and he knew that Gaara bought it. ´You´re not the only one who can ensnare people in your act Naruto.`

He was Uchiha Sasuke for kami´s sake… If he wanted something he´d get it and if he had what he wanted, he wasn´t going to let go of it that easily.

Naruto belonged with Sasuke and he´s be damned if he would lose anything to that red-haired idiot… not this fight and definitely not Naruto.

“So what now Uchiha?” Gaara asked with a smirk as he saw the raven-haired nin calm down and form the seals of a long distance attack.

“Suna bunshin no Jutsu!” The redhead created a clone of sand to aid him though he didn´t fear the Uchiha´s attack as it would have little impact on his sand.

“Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!” Sasuke formed the necessary hand seals while drawing the chakra from his mouth to his lungs only to exhale in instantly as the air had been mixed with the element of fire. He blew a stream of fire which erupted into a large sphere of flames; directly aimed at the Kazekage.

Gaara made his clone take the blow while the real redhead stood his ground; unaffected by the burning heat.

“Quit the kiddy games Uchiha… I didn´t come here to waste my time. I know a dozen ways how to spend my time more useful than this… like in a soft bed with a beautiful lover.” He said with a smirk which earned him a death glare from the Uchiha.

“Suna Shurikan!” Gaara created several disks of sand and hurled them at the dodging Uchiha.

“Hôsenka no Jutsu!” Sasuke created a series of small fireballs to shield himself from the redhead´s attack.

Even though he intercepted most of the sand shurikan, more than one of the disks still made contact with the pale Uchiha´s body. He received cuts on his cheeks, arms and one even tore up his shirt just above his hip.

The cuts were minor but painful as the salty sand stung like hell in his wounds which made him grit his teeth in anger. Maybe it was about time that he used some of his new attacks.

“Are weak fire attacks and poor Taijutsu skills all you have in store these days Uchiha?” Mocked the Suna-leader.

“Hn, all you use is sand attacks so why shouldn´t I stick to the fire element?”

“Well it´s up to you Uchiha.” Gaara said. “Now let´s try something else, shall we?”

“Sabaku Rou!”

~ # ~

Naruto watched in silence as Gaara used the desert prison jutsu to encircle and trap Sasuke in a large sphere of sand. Naruto had seen Gaara use this before… just before he’d normally use the Sabaku Kyuu and utterly destroy his enemy, but surely he wasn´t planning on using that attack on Sasuke… or was he?

“Naruto?” Tsunade looked at the blonde half demon with concern. Naruto was far to calm about this whole situation. Sasuke was about to get his ass kicked because he couldn´t focus as jalousie blinded him and it didn´t seem to upset Naruto at all.

“Hai Baa-chan?”

“Is something the matter?” She asked.

“Why should there be something wrong?” Naruto asked calmly without taking his eyes of the fight. The tasty food was long forgotten and laid nearly untouched next to him as he couldn´t take his eyes of his dark haired lover. It was fascinating to see his mate fight for him.

The animal in him longed to seek out the strongest partner as it would give the strongest offspring… what the… He shook his head mentally as it seemed that the kitsune had left a bit too much mating instinct behind after Naruto had absorbed the Kyuubi. It made him wonder what he would do if Sasuke lost?

´Would I leave him to find a stronger mate? Would I stop loving the Teme because of a stupid thing like that? I can´t be that shallow, can I? But I love Sasuke… and it would break him if I left… and it would break me if he ever were to leave me.`

“Aren´t you concerned about Sasuke?” The Hokage asked as she looked into his red-stained blue eyes. She saw a hint of confusion before they began to radiate confidence and trust.

“Nope. Sasuke is capable of taking care of himself… he just had a bad start. I have confidence in his strength and strategy… I trust and love him… no matter what… and Kakashi once told me that there´s always someone out there who´s stronger. If the Teme loses it´ll just show him that he has to train more… he has been slacking of lately. We could train together… just like in the old days… it´ll be fun.” The blonde chuckled.

“Don´t you think that it´s a problem that he´s getting so rallied up at Gaara just because he hugged you? What if you have to travel to another country on a diplomatic mission or if one of you are attacked in any way?”

“Baa-chan… take a closer look.” The blonde man said with a grin. “Can´t you see it? What´s missing in this fight?”

“…” She gave him a questionable look before she looked at the two combatants.

“He hasn´t even attempted to use a genjutsu or his cursed form yet. He has only made use of Taijutsu and low level Ninjutsu.” Neji said as he realized what Naruto was referring to.

“Oh,” the Hokage muttered as she suddenly understood why Naruto was so calm.

“He might be pissed… but he rarely loses control. A simple thing as a hug shouldn´t be causing more that a few seconds of real anger. I´m sure that Sasuke knows exactly what he´s doing.” Naruto told them with a smile.

~ # ~

Sasuke found himself trapped inside a sphere of sand. He ran his hands across the raw walls to examine the thickness and the amount of chakra that bound the sand together with a little help from his kekkei genkai, the Sharingan.

´The walls are just as thick as at our last encounter… I wonder why he uses it on me rather than on himself as he did at the Chuunin exam? I need to take things slowly as I haven´t seen any of his fights since the Chuunin exam. I´m sure that he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve even though the Shukaku has been removed.` The Uchiha thought as he carefully planned his next move.

“Suna Raishin!” Gaara hurled his sand into the air and made it form itself into hard pikes before it returned to the ground; encircling the trapped Uchiha.

´This should be able to make any electrical attacks like the Chidori useless if the prissy bastard chooses to use it to free himself,` the Suna nin thought with a smirk.

~ # ~

Sasuke took a deep breath and thought about his options. Last time the Chidori had proved itself effective against the sand armor of the Sabaku… and fire would only turn the sand into… oh… if he could manage to create a flame that hot and still protect himself from the heat, Gaara´s sand would become useless.

He had already noticed the trap outside of his sandy prison as he made use of the Sharingan to analyze his surroundings and catch a glimpse of his blonde half-demon who was counting on him.

Sasuke wanted to show Naruto that he was worthy to be his mate; oh yes the Uchiha knew that animals always chose the strongest male to be dominant as it was the best way to survive… he was a genius after all.

Naruto was his… but it didn´t matter if Naruto didn´t want to stay with him… Sasuke loved the Dobe to much to force him to stay with him.

He connected steel wires to ten different weak spots all around the sphere and connected them into a single thread which his bit down on while forming the needed seals. ´Just you wait Gaara. I don´t care that you´re the Kazekage or a former Jinchuuriki… I´m still gonna kick your ass.`

“Ryuuka no Jutsu!” The torrential fire ran along the guide wires and hit the ten fixation points and heated the sand till the point were it began to melt.

Sasuke was sweating heavily as he felt like he was sitting in an oven.

´I can do this… fire is my element, it won´t burn me… I can endure a bit of heat and I´ll use my chakra to shield my body… for him I could endure anything… as long as he stays by my side… Naruto, you are my strength.`

~ # ~

Gaara´s eyes went wide as he felt as well as saw how his beloved sand melted beneath the scorching heat of the Uchiha´s attack.

´He´s turning my sand into… into glass… that… that PRICK. That particular type of sand is hard to come by.` The Kazekage was pissed…no beyond pissed. Where did the bastard find the strength all of the sudden and why wasn´t he melting, or at least burning along with his beautiful sand.

“Damn it Uchiha, you´ll pay for this!” Gaara growled. He could see that the Uchiha was sweating and his entire body ached but he still managed to smirk at the Suna leader, which only enraged the redhead even further.

”Shukaku no Hoko!” Gaara prepared his supreme absolute attack the Halberd of Shukaku.

He collected the strongest and most solid minerals from the underground and mixed it with his sand; fusing it together with his chakra to create a very strong and hard halberd.

He was planning to throw it at the still trapped Uchiha and wipe that stupid grin of the Uchiha´s face. He knew that the Shukaku-like weapon could penetrate almost all types of material… so glass shouldn´t be a problem.

~ # ~

“What kind of weapon is that?” Naruto asked as he and the others watched as Gaara lifted the halberd over his head; preparing to throw it. “I have never seen an attack like this?”

“He uses it as a spear.” Neji told them.

“What?! How do you know that?” Naruto asked.

“That is not of importance right now. You should worry about Uchiha and on how he´ll dodge a spear like the ´Shukaku no Hoko` while he´s still trapped in his glass prison.” The Hyuuga stated dryly.

´Since when does Neji know so much about Gaara? Are they friends or something?` Naruto mused while he kept his eyes locked on the halberd as Gaara threw it.

~ # ~

Sasuke panted as the heat inside the glass sphere was threatening to suffocate him if he didn´t find a way out soon.

`Maybe I should let him break the glass for me. It´ll give me enough time to for the preparations for my next attack. I still have to destroy the ´Suna Raishin` to be able to use any lightning based attacks.`

All he needed to do now was to concentrate, wait and save as much as his chakra as possible.

~ # ~

Gaara threw the Shukaku halberd at the captured raven. He didn´t stop there as he didn´t plan on giving the Uchiha enough time to form any seals as soon as he was out of the glass sphere.

´If I can´t defeat him with his own lightning jutsu I´ll just defeat him with my sand. No more games. I want to make sure that I´ll win this as the prick needs to learn a lesson about modesty. I don´t want to have the Sound as my allies if the bastard is in charge… even if Naruto rules it with him… not if the things stay like they are right now.` The Kazekage told himself.

He feared that Naruto would be pushed over by the bossy Uchiha… as the blonde tended to have a weak spot for the prick and far to kind hearted to see the Uchiha´s flaws.

He crouched down and rammed his fists into the ground. He used his chakra to crush stones and collect a huge mass of sand for his next attack.

“Ryuusa Bakuryuu! (Quicksand Waterfall Current)” A huge tidal wave of sand rose in front of Gaara. He ordered the rising wave of sand to wash over the Uchiha as the ´Shukaku no Hoku` broke the glass sphere and set the prick free.

~ # ~

Sasuke watched as the demonic halberd approached him with incredible speed before it connected with the sphere; breaking through the thick layer of glass as if it had been a piece of paper and scratched his hips and even left scars along his ribs; leaving a trail of painful claw-shaped wounds.

He instantly drew in a deep breath of fresh cool air and allowed himself to enjoy his newfound freedom while he tried to ignore the pain from his many wounds.

The Uchiha felt a cold shudder run down his spine as he was covered in the shadows of Gaara´s latest attack which was a impressive tidal wave of golden sand which was high enough the block out the sun.

“Oh crap.” He growled through gritted teeth. He had to come up with something… and fast as the impressive wave would reach him in a few seconds.

“Gouryuuka no Jutsu!” Sasuke formed the right combination of seals and unleash one of his strongest fire element jutsu – the Great Dragon Fire Technique… using up nearly all of his remaining chakra.

”Sabaku Fuyuu!”(Desert Sand Floating) Gaara cried as he created a floating island to escape the near demonic blast of the Uchiha´s fire dragon… or at least the head of the mighty dragon.

Sasuke couldn´t help but to smirk as the scorching heat of his attack turned the Kazekage´s tidal wave into a wave of clear blue glass… blue, as Naruto´s sparkling eyes.

The Uchiha was panting heavily as the heat of the glass sphere was burning his already overheated skin… but he was too exhausted to move as the final attack had drained his chakra resources as he had used it to protect himself from it.

He was tired and had made his point. Naruto was his and no matter what kind of attack Gaara used he would find a way to counter it.

“Suna Shigure!” Gaara forced his remaining sand to hover above the drained Uchiha while the redhead stayed out of range on top of his floating sand.

The former Jinchuuriki was pissed and wanted revenge… he wanted to hurt the prick who had dared to turn even more of his beloved sand into frail and useless glass.

He molded the hovering sand from the ´Suna Shigure` into fifty sharp spears.

Sasuke stared from the hovering weapons to the Kazekage and back to the spears with a desperate expression on his face.

His movement had slowed down due to his injuries and he knew that it would be impossible for him to dodge them all as he didn´t have enough chakra left to make more than two chidori… three at most which would probably make him pass out from fatigue… so he had to come up with something else.

He couldn´t change into his cursed form or use a genjutsu as he didn´t have enough chakra nor time left as the Kazekage was about to attack.

~ # ~

Gaara lifted his hand to order the attack as he felt something sliding up his legs; binding him.

It was Sasuke´s final attempt to stop the redheads attack as he summoned his snakes to restrain the other nin.

It didn´t work as the ´Suna no Tate` protected Gaara from the snakes toxic bites and crushed the pale-skinned snakes with ease.

“You´re pissing me off, Uchiha... and I hate snakes,” Gaara growled as he wordlessly ordered the floating spears to destroy their target.

~ # ~

“Sasuke!” Naruto was on his feet as his lover sank to his knees as he failed to dodge the second spear that flew his way.

It hit the pale raven´s shoulder and forced a strangled cry from the Uchiha.

Sasuke stared at the next wave of spears flying directly at him; unable to do anything as a third spear imbedded itself in his thigh as he tried to get up.

Suddenly he felt a surge of familiar chakra approaching him as a bright yellow flash intercepted the fourth spear midair, before its user stepped protectively between him and Gaara´s remaining spears.

“Naruto! No, look out… don´t sacrifice yourself for me!” He cried as he would recognize his lover´s chakra no matter how fast the blonde moved… and since when was his Dobe moving this fast anyway?

“S-Sasuke-Teme… a-are you alright?” the blonde asked after he had created enough ´Kage Bunshin` to take care of the remaining spears. The whisker-marked nin dropped to his knees next to the Uchiha; panting heavily.

“Naruto! Are you hurt? What the hell just happened?” Sasuke grabbed his blonde by the shoulders and looked into the blonde´s heavy lidded eyes; while trying to ignoring his own injuries. He had to make sure that his Dobe was safe… his own safety came second to that.

~ # ~

“Gaara, calm down… I think you made your point.”

“… Neji?”

“I don´t think Tsunade asked you to kill the Uchiha… just teach him a lesson or two.” The Hyuuga told the redhead as he had used the ´Shunshin no Jutsu` to flicker himself onto the floating island to stop the Kazekage from attacking anew.

“… I guess I got carried away… though just a tiny bit. He´s such an ass… and he deserved it.” Gaara explained with a satisfied smirk. He had kicked the Uchiha´s ass… and it had been a good fight even though the bastard had turned his sand into frail glass.

“I know. But there will be no sex tonight if you hurt Naruto-kun.” The Hyuuga said as he crossed his arms across his slim chest and glared at the Suna nin disapprovingly.

“Not fair, Neji-chan. I haven’t seen you in a week… I need you tonight. And I would never hurt Naruto… he´s my savior and part of my family,” the Kazekage stated with a pout as he tried to convince his lover to give him a kiss.

It was only around Neji and Naruto that he could feel comfortable enough to react like this, like a normal human being… as he loved Neji with all heart and soul while he trusted Naruto with his life.

“I don´t know, sandman. You flirted with Naruto and even led the Uchiha to believe that you wanted to seduce our blonde friend.” Neji said while he turned his back on the Kazekage while acting jealous though he really wasn´t as he trusted Gaara with all his heart.

“I just did that to piss the Uchiha off. Naruto taught us the basics of acting as he visited me last summer… I did well, didn´t I? I should receive a reward for that, Neji-koi.”

“… Only if I´m going to be in charge tonight.” Neji said with a smug grin as he turned around to face his lover.

“…”

“Don´t worry. You´re still seme but I feel like experimenting a bit tonight,” the raven-haired Hyuuga purred as he looked admiringly at the decorative monument of glistering glass which his lover and the Uchiha had created at the training ground.

´I´m pretty sure that this will become a national monument as not many cities can brag about having a thirty feet high tidal wave of pure blue glass… it´s simply magnificent.`

~ # ~

“Naruto… talk to me,” the Uchiha pleaded.

“… Not so loud Teme. I used my last chakra reserves to get down here as fast as possible and to create the Kage Bunshin,” the blonde whined. He was tired beyond anything he had ever experienced before… and resting in Sasuke´s warm soothing embrace didn´t help to make him stay awake.

“Are you alright?” Sasuke asked with concern. “Are you hurt?”

“No I´m not hurt but you are. What is taking them so long? Baa-chan and Sakura was just a few steps behind me. You need medical attention.” Naruto told him with a worried tone as he reached out to cup his lover´s bloodied chin.

“… Dobe, that´s not possible as you moved so fast that not even my Sharingan would have caught you.” The Uchiha said as he felt the pain of his wounds reappear as he had made sure that his lover was safe… exhausted but safe. His mind relaxed and forced him to remember his own condition.

“You saved me… thank you.” Sasuke mumbled as he leaned down to kiss his blonde. The pain made him moan which caused the blonde to pull at his last strength and sit up straight so Sasuke didn´t have to lean down.

“No need to thank me Teme. I love you… too me you´re the strongest hottie ever born.”

“What about… choosing the strongest mate? Gaara defeated me.”

“That´s crap. I´m not an animal or a demon… well only half anyway. I chose you and I´m not letting you go so you better get used to it Teme. I love you just the way you are… you don´t have to prove anything to me.”

“Good, cause I´m not letting you go either Dobe,” he said with a weak smirk.

“You have to train tough and lay back on the licorice.” The blonde teased.

“… Hey! I don´t eat that much licorice… how did you know I even ate those?” The Uchiha asked in surprise.

“Oi, I´ve got improved senses you Baka. Your scent gave you away heh heh… I like it though. It makes your scent even more attractive to me Teme.”

As Sakura and Tsunade finally reached the hugging and kissing couple, Sakura immediately began to heal the Uchiha´s wounds.

“Since when can you use that jutsu?” Tsunade asked the yawning blonde who lazily watched the pink-haired medic heal his lover.

“What jutsu Baa-chan?” He asked with a sleepy voice.

“The ´Hiraishin no Jutsu.` Since when do you master the Yondaime´s ´Flying Thunder God Technique`?”

TBC