Before Death

A/N:: Heya, kiddies! ^^ Thanks so much for the reviews all! I hope that you like this next chapter!

Warnings: Slight lime, humor, a little violence, but nothing much. Enjoy!


His body screamed in agony beneath the waves of chakra that surged from every pore on his skin. It rushed out with such force that it actually created its own escape routes, which brought even more pain to him. But, beneath all of that torture, there was the tingling sensation of his body rejuvenating itself faster and faster. It felt as though he were burning alive. Skin became thin and frail beneath the sheer power and heat, cracking open and bleeding all over. His once blonde hair had turned burnt orange and enlarged fangs peered out from beneath his lips. Even his ears had been affected by the chakra, taking on abrupt points. Around and around the energy spiraled, closing in tighter and tighter against his dying body. But, every cell that was killed off was instantly revived or replaced. It was, in short, the ultimate form of torment. An endless wave of pain that the body never adapted to. He could feel the pain growing steadily to as more of that energy snaked its way outward. His senses were going crazy. He could feel, smell, taste, and hear everything. Nothing seemed to be hidden from him. Startlingly crimson eyes bled darker until they were nearly black and a sixth tail formed behind his seated form. The rocks and trees nearby had already been incinerated long ago and even three miles away, the plants were beginning to crumple.

It was too much! God was it too much. But still it came, that dark beast pushing harder at the gates that bound it, feeding the boy more energy. Tears that freed themselves from his eyes were instantly dried from the heat. The six markings on his face had become large stripes of angry black, and his claws were sharper, more deadly. In short, sitting there motionless in the center of all of this chaos and destruction was a small male who looked to be more demon then human. His human side fought stubbornly to control the fox that roared for freedom. He was losing. With a soundless cry, Naruto threw back his head. An instant later, that wicked red chakra vanished, rushing back inside of the twitching male. Following the abrupt disappearance of the energy was a deafening boom that shook the area. Panting heavily, Naruto collapsed to the ground, his naked skin reddened and sore. He had reached six tails and was still under control. Somewhat.

Gradually his breathing evened out and he opened his eyes slowly to take in the sunlight overhead. He figured that he had a good hour or so before the hunting party would show up to take him back to Konoha. A small smirk curved his lips at that thought. Good luck to them. Naruto yawned widely, his slightly pointed teeth glinting faintly in the afternoon sun. He had been on the run for about a week and a half since his little chat with Kakashi and the others. Needless to say, they had not been too pleased about his deal with Itachi and they had decided to imprison him to keep him from fulfilling said deal. However, they had not taken into account that he had known what they were going to do from the beginning. Naruto may have been a lazy idiot at times, but he was not exactly stupid. Thankfully for him, Sakura and Ino were so damn predictable. His plan would have fallen through if Ero senin hadn’t mentioned Sasuke.

Their little outburst had given him time enough to flee and leave behind a clone in his place. Honestly, he was surprised that no one had noticed sooner. I mean, his clone had been a bit too open. Then again, perhaps he was just getting to be that good.

“Hello Naruto.”

“GAAAH!!”

The blonde shot upward, only to find himself slammed back into the ground by a very unhappy looking Hyuuga Neji. Naruto winced beneath the rough treatment and squirmed a bit.

“Owww, jeez, Neji! Was that really necessary?” The blonde whined with a mock pout, his blue eyes showing his displeasure. He glared up into a pair of solid white eyes and a displeased frown. Long strands of rich brown, almost black hair framed the pale skinned male’s face that hovered over him. Neji did not look happy. Well…he almost never looked happy, but he looked far more happy…less then usual.

“Yes, it was. The last thing I need is to catch another of your damn clones, Uzumaki.” Neji hissed darkly, earning a snicker from the other male. Naruto’s grin turned feral and his eyes took on a slightly slitted appearance.

“So tell me, Hyuuga. Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?” Naruto asked in a voice that despite the dangerous undertones, sounded almost seductive. Neji glared down at the teen in annoyance, slightly put off by the playful attitude that the other expressed. Naruto was acting far too confidant for the Hyuuga’s liking. Neji had already stopped up a good number of Naruto’s chakra pores and he had laid several traps to slow the fox boy down. But still, he felt unnerved. Very unnerved.

“Hn? Can’t you answer? Or are you too baffled by your own genius, Neji-kun“ His name rolled from the blonde’s lips like honey and Neji suddenly found himself forgetting what he was calculating, swallowing hard as he felt the unmistakable warmth of Naruto’s chakra slowly caressing his body. A deep chuckle freed itself from those full lips and endless blue took on a slightly reddish hue toward the iris, causing a strange sensation to swell within the startled Hyuuga. He suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that Naruto was completely naked in a very compromising situation and a faint tinge of pink lit his pale cheeks.

“N-nani?” Neji choked out, forcing his weirded out feelings back into line. Of course it was at that moment that Naruto moved, his hips thrusting upward to rub against the other ninja’s. If Neji’s face could have gotten any paler one would think that he had been soaked in bleach. The brunette gasped harshly and his eyes went wide in shock. Naruto used this to his advantage and reversed their positions, settling playfully between Neji’s legs. The Hyuuga looked as though he were going to die from shock. His brain had gone entirely silent aside from the now insistent urges from a certain appendage. Naruto nuzzled the stunned male’s neck gently a deep purr of sorts freeing itself from his throat as his nimble fingers went about undoing the buttons of Neji’s gray shirt. In fact, it wasn’t until Naruto had managed to get the defenseless teen down to his boxers that the white eyed boy snapped out of his trance.

“UZUMAKI! W-What are you doing!?” The brunette yelped, trying to jerk up. The blonde gave him an innocent look that was completely ruined by the dark glint in those eyes of his.

“Well…I was taking off your clothes…” Naruto stated bluntly.

“That isn’t what I meant! WHY are you taking off my clothes?!” Neji demanded, beyond confused and aroused at this point. The blonde ran his tongue slowly over his bottom lip as he looked down at the other, a preditorial smirk plastering itself upon his face.

“It’s a secret…” Naruto purred playfully. It was then that Neji noticed that Naruto’s free hand had been busy forming seals. His eyes widened in realization an instant too late.

“Uzumaki you bas-!!”

A hum filled the trapped Hyuuga’s ears as the seals took effect, successfully binding him to the ground in nothing but his boxers, sporting a hard on that he didn’t want. Naruto bounded away to gather up the brunette’s discarded clothing and set about dressing himself, a shit eating grin on his face. Man, Ero Senin was right! Seduction was a beautiful thing!

“ Thanks for the clothes, Neji! I would have been stuck running around naked if you hadn’t shown up! Ja ne!” With that, the blonde vanished along with the unfortunate teen’s clothing.

Neji wanted to rip that damn fox apart with his bare hands!

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Naruto was on the move once again, his nearly shoulder length hair billowing behind him wildly as he bounded from tree to tree. There was a strange sense of freedom that filled him beneath the caressing of the wind and the warmth of the sun that peered through the trees. It was oddly liberating to both sides of him. The fox even seemed oddly content as the blonde ran. A soft giggle like sound freed itself from his lips as he launched himself from a large tree and into the blue. The cliff face that the forest had been on fell away, leaving miles of sky and the thick green far below. Normally, the young man would be terrified by the drop, in fact, he could not help the slight tremble in his gut from the rush. But now exhilaration rushed out beneath that feeling and he let out a gleeful whoop as he plummeted faster and faster. His eyes began to tear up from the wind that rushed into his face and his generous lips parted in a fanged grin. Once again he was not a missing nin of Konoha or the single biggest threat to the world. Nor was he an ANBU captain who was faced with death on a daily basis. He was just Uzumaki, a loud, obnoxious, and generally simple kid who always looked happy and optimistic as he did stupid things.

There was no village for him to protect from evil, no villagers that spoke behind his back, nor was there the fear of imprisonment. He felt liberated in a sense. But, as the forest below rushed closer and closer toward him, he felt the knowing emptiness that threatened to spill over his liberation and drown it. Naruto had left the home that he had wanted so badly to belong in. He had left behind his friends that had become his only family, teachers, and his dreams. And above all of this, the blonde knew without a doubt one thing that despite his preparation, frightened him. He would be leaving the living world very soon.

Naruto landed silently atop a thick branch within the dense forest, his eyes scanning the area carefully. With a yawn, the male flopped down where he was, still a bit worn from his earlier training. Absently he picked at the constricting clothing he wore. Neji wore such odd things. The blonde had left the grayish tan coat open to a tight black mesh beneath that vanished beneath a pair of heavy pants. He had not bothered keeping the other’s sandals for he could do without them easily. Naruto wished that he had thought to grab his clothes before running, but he had to leave in a hurry. Perhaps he would need to procure some new traveling garments in the near future. Then again, he would only be running about for a month or so. A low grumble from his stomach snapped him out of his musing and he sighed softly. He would need to look for something eatable soon. Naruto really didn’t want to enter civilization, but he realized that doing so would be beneficial. He reasoned that he wouldn’t even need to stay very long at all, either; just long enough to get supplies so that he would be set for his training.

With a grunt, the missing nin hopped to his feet again and he racked his mind for a good place to vanish. Given that he had visited many villages and towns, he had pretty good knowledge of various places that he could go without worrying over ANBU and hunters. But, a new thought entered his mind and a slow smile formed on his lips. There was somewhere he had to visit anyway.

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Tick

Tock

Tick

A pen steadily ran over a sheet of smooth white parchment, making inhumanly uniform letters in heavy black. The hand that held said pen was pale and delicate, nails neatly kept short and tidy, just like every other part of the person’s form.

Tock

Tick

Heavily shadowed mint green eyes glared down at the paper absently, as though the offending object were trying to attack the un-amused male. Why in the hell had this all happened now of all times? He was busy enough as it was without dealing with a crumpling Konoha beckoning for his assistance. True, he did owe them a great deal, however, he was not entirely thrilled with what was being asked of him.

Tock

Tick

Tock

THUD

Those emotionless eyes flicked to where his wall clock HAD been hanging before sliding down to the floor where it lay in several broken pieces. If he were gifted with eyebrows, one would have been arched. Silently, the red haired man rose from his seat before a high desk to stand over the shattered clock. Small grains of golden sand pooled about the mess from the hour glass like structure that had been in the clock’s center. He had liked this clock. Without moving an inch, the red haired man summoned that glistening sand and it instantly obeyed, snaking across the wood floor to coil about him like some sort of loving pet. He watched passively as the grains of gold hovered into the air before him, orbiting his body in a uniform circle. Those intense green eyes narrowed drastically, the dark rings about them making him look like some sinister beast. The sand instantly reacted, clumping together before him and spiraling angrily as his hand shot out the grab what had caught his attention. A rock. A small pebble barely noticeable among the sand. The young man’s lips formed a thin annoyed line and the tiny rock disintegrated in his hand, joining the rest of the sand.

“EEP!!” Came the expected squeal from the window and without batting an eye, the tall male strode to stand before said window. Large tendrils of slightly reddened sand rushed into the room, dragging with it a squirming bundle of blonde and gray. The red haired man’s eyes narrowed darkly and the sand encased the other’s ankle so that the intruder dangled a foot or so from the un-amused male.

“Naruto…you broke my clock.” He stated in a voice that would have sent most others into convulsions. Naruto on the other hand, merely grinned weakly, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment.

“Aa, sorry ’bout that Gaara, I thought you would have stopped it!” The blonde replied from his rather comical position. His blue eyes were lit with a mischief that did not go unnoticed by the red haired teen and with a snort he recalled his sand, letting the other land unceremoniously at his feet.

“Why are you here, Uzumaki Naruto?” Gaara asked, locking his gaze upon the other ninja. Naruto’s grin turned into a childish smile and with a giggle like noise, he promptly jumped on the other male, hugging the stiff Kazekage around the middle. Gaara had grown quite a bit over the past few years and now stood nearly 6’1 or so, as opposed to Naruto who only stood about 5’8. The red head had also gained a fair bit of muscle on his once frail body, making him look quite tempting to nearly everyone who looked his way.

“I just wanted see one of the bestest people in the whoooooole world!” The blonde replied while nuzzling the unaffected male. If it were possible, the Kazekage would be rolling his eyes at the other’s antics, but since it was against his nature to show such things, he merely glared at his new appendage. Although, he was very relieved to see the missing nin alive and well. Naruto was one of the few living things that he actually valued.

“If anyone knows you are here, my position as an ally to Konoha will be jeopardized. You realize this, Uzumaki?” Gaara asked in his typical monotone, and he found himself slightly unnerved by the fox-like grin that he was given.

“I know! But, I am not here!” At the slightly questioning look perceived from the red head, Naruto chuckled. Gaara was beginning to wonder if his friend was still sane, but then again, he was speaking with Naruto of all people. Of course the teen wasn’t sane. As if to demonstrate his point, Naruto transformed before the other’s eyes, his blonde hair turning an odd white that was tinged faintly with orange, his large blue eyes fading into warm brown, and his tanned skin took on a paler shade. Hard muscle turned softer and the body that still cling to the Kazekage grew shorter and more feminine until staring up at him was a very tempting, very pleased female. The girl had hair that was fairly odd, even for Suna. Thick orange bangs fell to just below jaw length over her left eye while the rest of her hair was barely an inch long and was a nearly black shade. Not a single mark marred that perfectly pale skin, large eyes of honeyed brown looking up at him in a strange sort of adoration.

“Hello, Gaara-sama! My name is Mitsuko Ito!” She giggled up at him, while nuzzling his chest. Gaara was stunned. Completely stunned. A faint blush rose up over his pale cheeks and he swallowed. Of course it was at that moment that the door burst open and Kankuro stormed inside with several Sand nins.

“Gaara! Are you being attacked!?” The black covered puppet nin exclaimed, although when he registered what was going on, he halted in his tracks, eyes impossibly wide. Was Gaara, hugging a…GIRL!? The Kazekage’s elder brother’s heavily painted lips curved into a lecherous smirk.

“It’s about time, Gaara! I was beginning to think that you were asexual or something!” Kankuro laughed in amusement, earning a death glare from the red head. Mitsuko blushed heavily at the comment and pulled away quickly, her eyes falling upon the hooded man.

“Ah! Um! Hello! You must be Kankuro-san. Forgive me for the noise, I tripped and Gaara-sama caught me!” She explained with a weak chuckle, bowing to the still grinning man. Kankuro swaggered over to the bowing girl, his eyes scanning over her in appreciation.

“Hn, and what would your name be, hot stuff?” Kankuro asked, his tone taking on a slightly deeper quality. Naruto cringed inwardly.

“I am Mitsuko Ito, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kankuro-san.” The “female” replied easily. The puppet nin lifted one of the girl’s delicate hands and pressed his lips to the back of it, his eyes glinting playfully.

“Kankuro. Leave.” Came the sharp and emotionless voice of Gaara as a tendril of sand coiled about Mitsuko’s waist and tugged the girl back to his side, earning a soft yelp from her. “This girl is entering negotiations with me. No one shall bother our conference. Now get out.”

Kankuro straightened immediately and for the first time in a long time the older male actually felt fear coil within his gut as he stared at his brother. Gaara had once again taken on that look that he had worn in the past, the one that signaled to others that the demon raccoon was coming out. Of course, the raccoon was no longer within his younger brother, that he knew. But still, seeing Gaara looking so angry sent tremors through Kankuro and with a slight bow, the puppet nin retreated, taking the others with him. Either Gaara was genuinely pissed off about something or he was…JEALOUS!? As Kankuro made his way through the endless halls of the Kazekage tower he felt a slow smile curve his lips. So Gaara, his dear little psychotic brother had a crush. How interesting. The puppet nin decided to make a slight detour to visit his older sister. Temari would be very interested in these events.

Gaara let out a soft sigh when he knew that the others had left before turning his dark gaze upon the girl.

“Naruto…how did you do that without a henge?” The red head asked lowly as he felt the beginning of a headache. Mitsuko grinned knowingly and winked at the other.

“It isn’t a henge, actually. It’s a little technique that a friend of mine loaned me. Of course, he would be pretty pissed off if he learned that I was using his face…” She giggled. Already the dual haired female could see the boy fuming about it.

“Who is this friend of yours?” Gaara asked, genuinely curious. “And what do you mean he? You are clearly female.” Of course, Mitsuko was not well endowed in the least, and if she was indeed male then that would make a bit more sense. But, she looked frail and shapely despite that, which sent mixed signals to the confused Kazekage.

“Heh, well, I am a guy mostly, I suppose. My friend is named Mizuki Ito. He’s both.” Naruto explained while folding his arms behind his head. Gaara blinked a few times in confusion.

“Both?”

“Yeah, both?”

“What’s both?”

“Mizuki.”

“No, what is both?”

“MIZUKI, are you deaf?”

“No I mean, what do you mean, both?”

“ He’s both a guy and a girl!”

“What?”

“I said he’s a fucking hermaphrodite!”

Gaara was now thoroughly confused. Both male and female? Did such creatures exist? Even though it was unlike him to show interest in such things, he could not help but ask.

“So…does he have a-”

“Penis? Oh, yeah, of course he does!”

“But then…does he also have a-”

“Vagina? Sure.”

“How?”

“ Beats the hell outta me! I wasn’t that curious about it.”

“But…I don’t…huh?” Gaara stated, his face genuinely mark by his confusion as he tried to wrap his brain around the concept. How could a person be both male and female?

“Can he-”

“Yeah, I asked him that too. He laughed and called me a perverted dork.”

“No, I mean can he bare young?”

“OOOOOH! Eheh! I don’t really know. I never really asked.” Naruto responded while scratching his head thoughtfully. He hadn’t been too overly concerned about Mizuki’s gender. Mainly, he had been too focused on learning what he could from the strange guy.

“ Hey Gaara, do you have any clothes I could borrow? These ones are Neji’s and I think they are getting worn out…” The girl asked after a moment of picking at one of the many holes on the jacket he was wearing. Gaara didn’t even want to ponder why Naruto was wearing the Hyuuga’s clothing. Besides, he was still lost in the whole hermaphrodite question.

“I can have Temari give you some to borrow until you can find another garment. Now tell me, Uzumaki. Why are you here?” Gaara asked finally, back into business mode. Naruto pouted cutely and looked up at him with large brown eyes.

“But, I told you already! I wanted to see my favorite raccoon boy!” The girl whined. Gaara did not react at all to the other but merely raised a non-existent brow. “Fine, fine! I came here to train and hide out for a while. I am sure that you are already filled in on what happened back home so I’ll spare you the tale.”

“ I’m listening. Sit.” The red head demanded, moving around his desk to seat himself in his chair once again. The “girl” pouted again and took up a place across from him before sighing deeply.

“I don’t know how much they told you, so I’ll start from the beginning…” Naruto began, leaning the chair back on two legs and crossing his arms behind his head. When Gaara nodded in agreement, Naruto continued.

“It all started when that bastard, Sasuke left Konoha. We tried getting him back quite a few times and every time we did, he managed to get away from us. Even when I used four tails, that damn snake managed to slither away. Gaara, I can’t let that slippery asshole take Sasuke! I just can’t!” The now enraged fox growled, his eyes filling with pain. The thought of losing the raven haired man hurt him far more then he would openly admit to anyone aside from present company. In fact, he had confessed his own loss to the red haired ninja on multiple occasions. Gaara hadn’t really known what to say in response, but he had listened and gave the blonde his sympathy as best he could.

“ Continue.” Gaara demanded, forcing the silent ninja out of his depression for the moment. Naruto nodded after a moment and sighed deeply.

“ I figured it this way: If Sasuke is taken by Orochimaru, that snake will gain more power and he will destroy Konoha, not to mention several other places, including Suna. I can’t allow that to happen. At present I do not have enough power on my own, so I started thinking. Akatsuki has been trying to get their hands on the tailed beasts for a long time now. They have a great deal of power plus a few of the beasts, including the raccoon. If I could ally myself with them, make them a deal, we could take out Orochimaru and free Sasuke.” The smaller of the two continued, his eyes taking on a haunted look. “ I want Sasuke to be safe. Even though he’s a bastard…”

Gaara nodded in understanding and rubbed his temples slowly. This headache of his was getting worse.

“But then, what about the Akatsuki? If your deal is fulfilled, they will attain the nine tails and their ultimate goal.” Gaara asked emotionlessly.

“ No, they won’t.” Naruto answered. He allowed his body to return to normal for a moment, his blue eyes locking on green. They stared at each other for a long time, emotionless mint studying saddened Prussian.

“You are dying.”

Naruto lowered the chair back onto four legs and looked down at his hands. He bit his lower lip painfully and forced aside the fear that he had felt ever since he learned of his own demise. Mizuki had been the first to tell him of it. The hermaphrodite said that his body was failing him, that if the fox’s chakra was used continuously, Naruto’s body would give out. It would not be able to handle the amount of energy, despite his rejuvenating abilities.

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“Two months at the most.” Naruto replied without hesitation.

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A/N: Sorry about the odd cut off but if I didn't cut it here, the chapter would be WAY too long. Next chapter is going to be huge after all. ^^ RATE AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!