261SOL
Chapter 9: Level Playing Field
Kiba?
There was no mistaking it—Kiba stood at the front of the line, looking stronger than the last time Naruto had seen him in his apartment. He was flanked by two others, both slightly smaller but unmistakably cut from the same cloth.
"Gaara, Gaara, Gaara…" started one man, stepping forward. "What a pleasant surprise. It's been too long since you've come to our negotiations in person." He had a cane in one hand, and bandages wrapped around his face and body. He was the frailest of them all, but people shifted to the side to let him through.
"Danzō."
Naruto was startled at the sound of Gaara's voice behind him. When he turned, he saw Gaara standing a few feet away, with the others lined up beside him like soldiers. Even Rin, who Naruto hadn't realized had regained consciousness, stood rigid. Blue-face was beside her, arms crossed like Gaara's, while Kankuro and Kakashi, stood nearby.
"And to bring so few of you. It's almost insulting." That was the man on the other side again. He must have been the leader, Naruto thought. The leader of…what was it they called them? Lycans.
Is that what Kiba was? What he had become? His friend had yet to realize his presence. And with good reason, considering Naruto was on the ground crouching like a coward.
"Where is your army?" Danzō gestured with his free hand. "It seems we've come a little over-prepared." He shared a laugh with the men behind him.
"I was told this was a negotiation." Gaara's voice was calm.
"Ha. Of course. A negotiation. Then let us negotiate." He turned to look to his side. "Bring the Aberrants."
To Naruto's surprise, Kiba and the two behind him were brought forward by a man who was even larger than Blue-face. Kiba and the two others stumbled through, looking angry as all hell. They growled and shifted and squirmed, swiped angrily at the air in front of them in an attempt to reach the Malésems who stood several meters away. The large man behind them appeared to have the three restrained by a single collar that connected them together.
"Look at them." began Danzō, pityingly.
Naruto was staring at them too, eyes wide. Was that really Kiba? Growling like an unhinged beast?
"Most of them start off just fine," Danzō continued. "As always, my men sensed the newborns and took them in. The initial phase of any transformation is always challenging. But then, of course…the Malésém blood starts to take hold, and they turn into nothing more than ravenous beasts—nearly uncontrollable and desperate for human flesh. What's more is that they can hardly tolerate the sun. A Lycan without the sun is nothing more than a guard dog," he spat.
"Why keep them around, then?" That was Kankuro. "Just kill them and let that be the end of it. Why call us here?"
"So you're playing dumb then." The amusement had vanished from Danzō's voice. "Tell me, how long did you think this could continue without us knowing? It's quite ingenious, really. I never imagined you had it in you, Gaara." He turned to the redhead, his eyes narrowing. "Infecting humans with both Lycan and Malésém blood? Genius. I suppose you were hoping we would accept these… mutations as part of our bloodline? Perhaps you expected us to eventually mate with them and condemn our descendants to the same sunless fate as the Soulless?"
"I had nothing to do with this."
Danzō laughed. "Yes, of course. It was that wretched woman. Beautiful – but wretched. Then why isn't she here?" he asked, making a show of looking around.
"Who is he talking about?" Kankuro asked, sounding apprehensive.
"Your own brother doesn't know?" Danzō asked. "What kind of operation do you run, Summi? Your father never kept secrets from his people."
"You never knew my father."
"Well I've heard—"
"You never knew my father."
Danzō blinked, genuinely surprised he was interrupted. "So then…" he continued, once he'd patched up his pride. "How do you expect to repay me for your treachery? Temari-summa isn't here to offer her apologies so—"
"It was Temari?!" shouted Kankuro, interrupting the Lycan leader and turning to his brother. "Are you fucking kidding me? She's the one who—"
"Please," Gaara breathed, closing his eyes, efficiently cutting the brunet off.
Kankuro stopped talking for a moment, gritting his teeth. "How could…" he insisted lowly. "How could you have left her in one piece after this?" .
"I wasn't sure."Gaara's voice reminded calm..
"Wasn't sure?! Every time you get so much as hint that I've done something wrong you take that sand and decapitate me for days, but with Temari—!"
"You know in the old times," Danzō called out, tired of being ignored. "…crimes like this were solvable with a simple exchange. If one of yours betrayed us, you had no choice but to hand over the criminal to our peop—"
"In those days the Lycans and Soulless had an alliance." And that was Gaara, speaking again. Even out here the air seemed to stand still when he spoke. "No such alliance exists between us now. Not since your coming into power."
Danzō frowned. "So you're protecting your sister, is that it? We disagree on politics so you wish to completely destroy tradition? It's decisions like those that lead to even more bloodshed, you know. We could settle this quite easily if you just hand her to me."
"What will become of the Deviants." Gaara asked, ignoring the statement.
"What can we do with them? They're useless to us, and they will never be allowed to breed within our own. They will be complete outcasts in our society. They will only find meaning if we enslave them and abuse them the way you abuse your precious Malésem army."
"You're going to kill them."
"Precisely. Or rather," Danzō added, smirking. "You are. They might be mutations, but they are strong. They will fight with us here, and the survivors – if there are any – will be disposed of."
Naruto's eyes widened at that. Disposed of? What?
"Then there's no need for us to fight," Gaara replied. "Dispose of them—that, we agree on. Leave no chance for them to multiply. Otherwise, they'll break away from the Lycans and declare war on you. On us. Just as the Demis did."
Danzō hesitated, staring at Gaara for long moments with disbelief. "I don't understand. Why have you shown yourself here then? Simply to discuss terms? I haven't seen you in a century, you never aid your army in combat, and today you show yourself simply to deny battle?"
"You wish to fight me that desperately?"
"Desperation has nothing to do with it!" Danzō's voice rang in the air for a long moment afterwards. " It is…" he continued, trying to calm down. "…my right to exact revenge—"
"Revenge for what? None of your people were harmed—"
"One of our best fighters mated with one of the filthy Deviants!" Danzō shouted, interrupting the redhead. "In order to terminate the offspring we had to terminate her. You owe us a life."
Gaara's eyes narrowed. Somehow it seemed everything had changed. He kept silent for long moments. "I see." He said finally. "A life for a life."
"And I already told you whose life would be sufficient."
"Temari will destroy everyone in your territory."
"I'm not changing my mind! It's her or we fight!"
Something that sounded like a tired breath came from Gaara. "Why must all negotiations with you end in combat…"
"You dare ask why? Or are you afraid? Yes, that's it." Danzō patronized, "It's Sol. You know the sun is rising in six minutes so you're desperate to retreat—"
"Ha!"
Everyone except Gaara turned their heads to the sound.
Blue-face was giggling from his place in line.
Danzō blinked at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.
Blue-face shook a hand in front of him, as if to ask everyone not to mind him. "I-I'm sorry, I just…" he giggled a little more. "I just can't take it anymore." He finally managed to get out. "Who do you think you are?'" he asked Danzō. "Have you ever seen a Summi in battle? Oh, that's right – you haven't. You're much too young."
Naruto, who was cramping up in his position on the ground, raised an eyebrow. The Danzō person looked ancient with wrinkles all over his ghastly face. He was anything but young.
Danzō glared at Blue-face. "I don't see how—"
"Your existence is a privilege, you do realize that, don't you?" Blue-face jeered, raising an eyebrow. "Six minutes is about how long it will take Gaara-summi to eradicate your entire species." He laughed again, holding his head in wonder.
"Sure." Danzō sneered. "And I suppose the previous battles we've won mean nothing, then?"
"You've used the sun to your advantage every time." Kankuro growled, stepping forwards. "Those battles were all illegitimate games you played to build your pride and force these Lycan scum into thinking they have a chance at beating us on an level playing field—"
"It's not my fault Sol damned you." Danzō interrupted, stepping forwards as well. "We are simply using Him to our advantage. On a level playing field as you say, my people would destroy you just the same."
"Pfft—hahaha—!" That was Blue-face again, raising his hands and turning around to hide the almost violent laughter that came from him.
Danzō took a step back, eyes wide and angry. "Are you mocking me, boy?"
"Boy, he says!" exclaimed Blue-face, knocking the shoulder of the Malésem next to him. "Did you all hear that? He called me "boy". How old are you, Danzō?" he asked, turning around, grin still in place. "One hundred? Three? You're nothing but a toddler."
Danzō grit his teeth and clenched his fists.
Kankuro was smirking himself, and the white haired man next to him still had the smile on his face.
"Look at him." Blue-face continued. "I've ruffled his baby fur—"
"Enough, Kisame." Gaara murmured, finally uncrossing his arms.
The Lycan side took note of the gesture, and all of them braced themselves, crouching down and clenching their fists.
"Let me get this straight." And that was Kakashi speaking. "We're going into battle five minutes before the sunrise…because we won't hand Temari over to them?" He turned to Gaara waiting for an answer.
When Gaara didn't answer, Kakashi laughed softly. "So there's something you're not telling me. Seeing as Temari would destroy them anywa—"
"I didn't bring you here to run your mouth."
Another chuckle. "Of course not."
"Enough of this!" Danzō shouted. "You want your level playing field? Fine! Try and defeat us before sunrise!" He stalked over to the three growling men, Kiba included, and smacked them all so hard the leaves on the tree next to Naruto seemed to shake.
Naruto watched wearily as they all but barked at Danzō, eyes suddenly blazing and baring their sharp teeth at him. Danzō took a few steps backwards before he faced Gaara and his men again.
"Four minutes until sunrise. Perhaps you will destroy the Deviants but their mindlessness will debilitate your army, then the real Lycans will strike…"
"It's the mindlessness that I count on." murmured Gaara, stepping forwards.
Danzō started, then glared at the redhead. "Jakor!" he called out. "Release them at my command!"
The one who held onto Kiba and the others clenched the collar tightly – but instead of trying to charge ahead at Danzō who hit them, or Gaara and his army, Kiba and the others fell to the ground, convulsing.
There was a shift in energy. Naruto watched, trembling, as Kiba's shoulder blades jutted outward, exposing white bone beneath torn skin. Naruto flinched as a grotesque transformation rippled across his friend's entire body—a sickening crack resounding from each joint. The three of them twisted and grew, their skin stretching taut to reveal pulsing veins and tendons beneath, while their flesh bubbled and swelled, struggling to contain the sudden surge. Massive canines, sharper than any Soulless teeth, forced their way from their mouths, tearing their gums and contorting their faces as their eyes squeezed shut against the brutal transformation.
Naruto put a hand to his mouth as Kiba became completely unrecognizable. His clothes were in shreds and even his genitals took a different shape, becoming an impossibly long and black mutated mass, standing out against the pale, almost blue, bulging, muscular thighs.
By the near end of it Kiba's five foot seven was a staggering seven feet, and his massive build was nothing but a grotesque thing, a face that was all teeth, a deformed snout, and barely any eyes.
"This is what happens when you mix blood." Kankuro spat, disgusted.
"Everyone drink." Kisame suddenly announced, pulling out the flasks and taking his own swig. He made a face and passed it down. "Two good gulps each." He demanded.
Naruto on the other hand could barely keep his eyes off his still convulsing friend.
Shaking himself, he turned ever so slowly to look behind him, facing Gaara and his army. They were passing the flasks of his blood down the line. When it came to Gaara, he simply handed it back to his brother. Kankuro took the rest of the blood for himself, throwing the flask away when he was done.
Naruto's brows furrowed at that. Wouldn't Gaara burn in the sun?
"They get bigger every time they transform!" Danzō shouted, his eyes crazed and mouth white with his grin. He was talking to his own army.
"Can the Malésem really take them?" Kakashi murmured to Gaara. "They're bigger, more unpredictable. Maybe we just give in and show them our power? So this could be over before the sun."
Naruto squinted. Wait? The Malésems were going to fight alone?
"We won't have to fight the Aberrants. And neither will the Malésem."
Everyone on the Soulless side turned to face Gaara.
"And why's that?" Kankuro asked his brother.
"The Aberrants will be distracted."
Kakashi and Kankuro shared a look.
"What the hell are you whispering about!" shouted Danzō, and Naruto turned back to him. "You people have mocked me for the last time! Jakor – Release them!"
The one who held onto the monsters let go of the rope he'd been holding them with, and in an instant Kiba and the other two were dashing forwards with monstrous growls toward them.
Naruto screamed, scrambling from his spot on the ground, before he suddenly found himself in the air, being lifted by something that didn't feel quite like a hand. "Gaah!" he called out, squirming the way Rin had when she'd been lifted by Kisame. "Wh-wha—"
Then things happened very quickly.
Kankuro, who'd crouched down ready for battle, let out a surprised, "Gaara, you're a genius!"
And then Naruto, who'd been spinning in the hold of the Gaara's sand, caught a glimpse of Kakashi – who was looking at him with pity.
Then Naruto was thrown.
Gaara threw him.
In the way of the mutated Lycans coming at them.
Naruto's shock had not even had a chance to settle when he'd crashed onto the dirt twenty feet away from Gaara. His eyes stayed wide, staring at the redhead and the men who stood beside him.
And it was like everything was going in slow motion. The sound of gurgling and growling was inching closer and closer and closer and closer until Naruto felt the sound right by his ear, felt the slobber dripping down his face, felt the teeth clamping on the entire left side of his body—
"Kkchh—guh—AAAAAAARRGGHH—"
– his mouth stretched wider and wider when what felt like one hundred blunted knives tried to pull his shoulder clean off. Almost unconsciously his body fought back, violently kicking at the pairs of teeth that tried to snap at his legs—
"What the hell!?" And that was Danzō who seemed to have overcome his shock. "What are they—Who is that?! What have you done!?"
"Your—"
Naruto couldn't hear Gaara's reply, because his left ear was suddenly being pressed against the ground, while his right one was being lapped by a giant tongue –
All he could hear were his own shrill cries, muffled now and again by the wet dirt that clogged his mouth until the force of his screams pushed the soil away and there went his right foot, not evading a snapping mouth quickly enough before being bitten so hard Naruto saw white—
"Cuurghh-!"
Naruto choked when something punched his stomach, but that was nothing compared to when it began to eat at his stomach, biting away at it like it couldn't find the right position to access his skin the most efficiently—
Vomit came pooling out of his mouth. Not food of course – because when was the last time he ate – but blood, falling freely onto the already wet dirt like a waterfall.
The tongue at his ear turned into teeth at his ear, destroying the skin on the side of his face.
He was shaking, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he began to drift – but then what felt strangely like a human hand with claws was pulling his face towards the sky, and Naruto didn't know what he expected to see, but it certainly wasn't a snout dripping with a mass of mucus, breathing harshly into his face like it had just run a marathon.
And right above the grotesque nose were…were eyes. Deep brown eyes.
In the distance, with his still working left ear, he heard someone call out, "Lycans attack!"
And there was a sudden rush of wind in the cold forest, tossing his bloodied blonde hair and the fur of the hand that clamped on his chest. From behind the brown eyes of the beast that hovered over him, Naruto could see dark masses jumping over them, towards the Malésems.
There was screaming. The sound of ripping flesh.
But Naruto found the brown eyes the most captivating thing of all. Staring deep into him, shaking in their sockets as if trying to understand.
Kiba?
The beast reared backwards, huffing as if in shock.
Had Naruto said that aloud?
Impossible. Because he was choking on his own blood.
Brown eyes seemed to narrow, coming closer and closer, until Naruto was snot to nose with the beast.
And Naruto wasn't sure but…
Was that his right arm…? Somehow still intact…. reaching to touch the face of the mutated monster?
His hand almost reached the monster's contorted cheek, his bloodied fingers hovering over the growling lips, and the taut grayish skin, stretched so far to reveal the pale veins beneath it.
The sounds grew more frantic in the background. Beastly screams shifted into human wails and were silenced with the sound of tearing limbs that Naruto was becoming so familiar with. More than once a body fell beside him, shifting the ground and splashing dirt on the beast that hovered above him and the side of his tan face.
The hand that had managed to survive the relentless biting of the other two mutated Lycans finally touched the beast's face, and his fingers found themselves squeezing the fur he felt there, squeezing so hard he didn't realize when the dog-thing began to moan – a high pitched whine – as if it was in pain.
And Naruto just kept squeezing, his eyes dim and distant, his mouth partly open and slack, filled with blood. He vaguely accounted for the teeth that were still mauling his lower body, but the pain was distant now. Even his screams had stopped. All that was real was his hand on the one beast's face.
His hand continued to squeeze, as if pleading its last plea. The last gesture he had left in his dying body.
The Lycan above him began to vibrate, and the brown eyes disappeared, rolling to the back of its head as if it was having some kind of seizure.
But Naruto never let go. Something in his mind – which was barely still intact – told him to keep holding on, to keep crushing the side of the monster's head with his feeble hand.
And Naruto watched the thing vibrate, convulse, howl, whine – and shrink.
It was shrinking.
Had Naruto any energy left he would have gasped, or widened his eyes – something. But he could only stare distantly at the scene above him, the slow and equally grotesque shrinking of the monster – bones popping back into place, teeth stabbing backwards and into a stretched mouth—
It looked and sounded painful, but the monster stayed right above him, letting the transformation violently regress until fur fully receded, leaving nothing but a dark patch of wild hair, pale glistening skin, and a familiar face.
"Na…Narut—?"
"THE SUN, THE SUN IS RISING!"
"GAARA-SUMMA, TAKE US BACK – THE SUN! THE SUN!"
Naruto twitched in his position on the ground. He could hear the shouting, but he couldn't comprehend it.
Kiba's human eyes still looked a little animalistic as they stared down at him. He looked down at his friend like he didn't know what to do, like he was having an internal panic attack.
"Naruto? Wh…what—?" he clutched his head, and leaned down groaning in pain. "Naruto….what have I—uuuggh—" he gagged once. Twice. Then another strange sound came from deep in his throat—
And he vomited. A generous steady stream of red liquid poured out of his mouth, dirtying the soil and splashing onto Naruto's face.
It was Naruto's blood, Naruto's flesh, that Kiba was vomiting out.
Naruto tried to swallow, but the blood already in his mouth was too thick. He could literally feel the skin inside his body healing, and then being ripped away again by the two animals who were still gnawing at his stomach and legs.
"K…Kiba," he gurgled out.
His friend had stopped vomiting, but wasn't looking at Naruto. His head was down and to the side, and he was holding himself, shivering.
Naruto lifted his head up to look at his lower half. The monsters didn't even see that he was still somewhat conscious, and continued with their business. But it wasn't really the monsters that he was paying attention to. It was the way the flesh that they ate was constantly being repaired and replaced, his intestines disappeared into their mouths and then somehow grew and replenished right before his eyes.
He could no longer feel his legs, but the stabbing in his stomach was growing unbearable again, as Naruto's mind seemed to rebuild itself, reviving his nerves.
He clenched his teeth, the excruciating pain rising and rising, before—
The pair of teeth at his stomach suddenly stopped. Even the one at his legs. Naruto paused, staring at the sky and breathing harshly for long moments before he dared to look down.
The two beasts were both on their knees, sitting so still as both their enormous heads looked towards the sky.
It seemed everything was silent then. The screaming had stopped. The panic was no more.
And that's when Naruto saw it. To his left—
The sun was rising.
Patches of sunlight shone through slivers beyond the trees, infinitesimal dust particles floating within them. The morning rays were barely making it past the giant tree trunks, but it was enough to make both sides hold their breath in silence.
Finally someone — Naruto had trouble seeing who from his position on the ground — extended a pale shaking arm, and held it to one of the feeble rays. Everyone took a sharp intake of breath when his skin finally touched it—
But he didn't burn.
"He's not…" someone was saying. "H-he's not…"
"Danzō!" Even Kankuro's shout didn't break the tranquility of the moment. Everyone else was either still on the Malésem who'd extended his arm to the sun's rays, or hesitantly extending their arms to one as well.
Kankuro's laugh started low and then grew monstrous as he stood with his hands in the air, as if embracing the sky. "Are you prepared to be completely annihilated?"
"Wh…what is this?!" Naruto heard Danzō shout from behind him, shock and horror in his voice.
"Oh, this?" Kankuro asked mockingly, making a show of looking around. Slowly the Malésem army began to gather behind him, their open mouths bearing sharp smiles and wide, crazed smiles. "Only the dawn of a new era." Kankuro answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Attack."
He didn't even shout the words, but the Malésems behind him suddenly dashed in every direction, heading towards the hundreds of wolf-like things that loitered the large area.
It became an all-out war.
The Malésems were jumping around at speeds Naruto didn't comprehend, taking the heads of every wolf-looking thing anywhere they jumped. And the Lycans were helpless in the middle of it all despite their numbers – crying out when something took one of their limbs, or howling when a punch in the gut left a hole in their stomachs.
And the sun. It had barely risen, but Naruto knew that this was a monumental moment for the Malésem. They were all cackling, screaming, reveling in their bloodshed, and not burning when a hint of the sun's rays brushed against their exposed skin.
They were having fun. And the ones who were hurt would simply regrow their torn limbs, wouldn't they? They looked like kids, running around freely, without worry. He saw an armless Malésem running around, fighting a giant wolf-man with his legs alone, a grin so wide Naruto thought his face could split.
It became obvious who the stronger species was. The Lycans never had a chance. Not without the sun on their side.
Naruto tore his attention away from the battlefield when he heard growling in front of him again. The Aberrants were swiping at the air, touching a ray of light there – then one began swiping at the other, using its clawed paw-hand to scratch the other's face. The assaulted Lycan roared back, but did nothing when the large Aberrant came behind it, positioning its groin so that it was directly behind the other one.
Naruto wanted to spit, he was so caught off guard. Were they…were they really going to have sex right there in front of him, with everyone watching?
It seemed that way. Because the Lycan directly in front of Naruto began to howl as the one behind it mounted him.
"Wh…what—"
Naruto's whimpers seemed to bring attention to him, and the bottom-Lycan growled up at him, pain evident in its eyes as the Lycan behind him began to move. Naruto tried to push backward with the one hand he had, staring in horror as the Aberrant lifted itself along with the one mounting behind it, to reveal its own pulsing sex organ visibly throbbing from between its legs.
And then he came at Naruto, moving forward so its giant body was directly above the blonde, casting its long dark shadow on him.
Now Naruto was face to chest with the four-legged beast. The beast with clear intentions to…to—
Naruto was so scared he couldn't even scream.
His clothes had been torn completely when he'd been feasted on, giving no protection at all from—
And what protection would the clothes have given him?
His working arm feebly came up to push the Aberrant's chest, but what did that do but make the beast growl irritably?
When Naruto dared to look down, he saw that obnoxiously long thing – not as dark as Kiba's had been – coming at him, aiming for the space between his legs that had been ravaged by teeth — his panic became more and more frantic, little bubbles of whimpers turning into curt wails and frantic screams as he pushed against the monster that was trying to rape him it was trying to rape him while it was being raped itself—
"Get o-ff of me-e!" Naruto's cry didn't sound like him, his voice cracked like a smoker and his eyes couldn't leave the pulsing phallus that slowly came at him, bobbing wretchedly and without aim as it tried to find the blonde's hole and Naruto couldn't move he couldn't move his legs were still nothing but bloody stumps of white bone and he tried to shift his body but the pain from his stomach was like white hot fire on his body he could feel his heart literally feel his heart pumping beating faster in panic and Naruto was screaming, he was screaming because the thing had reached and would only need to push to push to get what it—
"Aargh!" someone who wasn't Naruto screamed.
He barely caught the moment when a figure to his right came and shoved against the two beasts.
Kiba!
But the gesture was essentially useless, because although the monster trying to mount Naruto found itself distracted, it only had to violently swipe a paw to knock Kiba back to the ground. Then the Aberrant was turning to Naruto again, growling in pleasure or distaste or annoyance – Naruto didn't understand anything that was—
The body of an animal suddenly came crashing against the two Lycans on top of Naruto, violently knocking them to the side and a few feet from him.
Kiba jumped, startled from his position on the ground. He was getting ready to attempt to shove the beasts off of Naruto again. Naruto let his head fall to the floor, letting out a breath that was painful. He tried to move his legs, he tried to move his right arm – but they were still non-existent, choosing this moment of all moments to not regenerate as quickly as he knew they could.
He turned to the side to face the two monsters. The body that had crashed into them lie on top of one but not the other. It was the body of another kind of wolf monster, only it was easier on the eyes. The Aberrants were shaking their heads and snapping out of their shock. They both growled at Naruto when they came to, and prowled toward him again.
"Wa-Wait!" Naruto panicked. He didn't know what he would do if that thing tried to mount him again. "Pleas—" but his words were swallowed by the beast's sudden yelps. When the two dogs pounced for him again, a thin whip of sand came out of nowhere and swiped through them like a blade.
Naruto stared at the two mutated Lycans for a full two seconds, taking in the confused horror on their contorted faces, before their lower halves slipped from their top halves, separating slowly like ocean water receding backwards from a shore.
When their split bodies fell to the floor, with blood steadily gushing outwards onto Kiba and Naruto who lay wide eyed at the whole thing, the sand that struck through them retracted back to the left, and Naruto's eyes followed it in a daze.
And there it was. The pulling and pushing feeling.
The floor above his head was steadily shining with sunlight, but the floor to his right was shadowed – not with the silhouette of a body but with the shadow of a large unclosed dome of sand hiding Gaara's back from the rising sun.
Naruto felt his breath catch as he stared at the man.
Who also stared at him.
His eyes were passive, unbothered as the dome of sand hovered, shielding the entire back of his body.
"We're leaving now." Gaara said, and small tendrils reached for Naruto.
The blonde blinked at the things, apprehensive as they came closer.
"Naruto!" Kiba suddenly appeared in front of him, and he saw his friend's hand swipe up at the tendrils of sand. Kiba growled up at Gaara – a sound that wasn't human at all, coming from his non-animalistic body. His bare backside was in Naruto's face as he bared his teeth at the redhead, but Naruto didn't notice or care– not when his friend was suddenly taken in the air, held by the neck by the same tendril of sand that had cut the Deviants in two, squeezing until Kiba was choking—
Naruto's lungs seemed to expand so far with the breath he took, and the hand that was still intact reached for Kiba so fast he thought he would break his shoulder joint. "No!" His voice was shrill.
Kiba was screaming and shaking in the hold, and Naruto felt helpless on the ground.
He couldn't see past Kiba's floating backside, but he could see the way his friend's legs convulsed and he could hear the terrible sounds of him choking and swiping at the sand that seized him. "N…Na—kuk!—Naru…to!"
And it was that cry for help, the plea hidden in his name, that made Naruto see red.
Not from anger but from the agonizing pain of the sudden stretching of his limbs. He recognized the feeling now – it was the regeneration.
He was regenerating right before his eyes. It was almost as grotesque as Kiba's transformation. Fingers appeared right at the joint of his torn arm, and extended into a wet wrist, then a slimy forearm. It was the same with his legs, and he didn't even want to look at what was going on with the intestines that were still spilling from his body.
His body moved on his own then; before his new leg had even finished pulling out of the mutilated joint socket, he was using his right leg and both of his hands to turn and hoist himself from the ground—
But when he was finally standing, assaulted by how different the world looked upright, and staring at Kiba's nude back being held captive by the tendril of sand around his neck, he—
He didn't know what to do.
The screaming, the tearing, Kiba's chokes—
What could he do?
"Stop!" he screamed, grabbing his friend from behind and pulling. "Stop, Stop!" his voice was thick – not only with the blood still in his mouth but the phlegm slowly building in his throat. He wondered why the tears were coming now instead of when he was being eaten alive—
But the sand that held onto Kiba never let go. Naruto held onto his friend helplessly as his body continued to shake, the convulsing becoming less and less frantic as the life was literally squeezed out of him—
And then the body was limp. His friend flopped forwards like taffy, the sand disintegrating from his neck. Naruto wasn't strong enough to hold him, so he fell to the ground with Kiba, eyes wide in shock as they both collapsed, one alive and the other…
"Ki…" Naruto blinked hard. "Kiba…?" he breathed.
The sagging nude body did not respond, only drooped further onto the ground, giving Naruto a generous view of Kiba's pale neck and the harsh red marks that appeared there and all over the joints of his body.
"You…" Naruto felt himself stiffen, letting Kiba just roll off of him. "You killed him." his words were barely audible. He faced the ground, unmoving.
From the corner of his eye he could see tiny tendrils of sand, coming to touch him again.
"We're leaving now." It wasn't a demand, or even a harsh tone, but Gaara's voice had a natural finality to it.
Naruto would have sat there for an eternity, if it weren't for the sandy string suddenly touching his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" he glared up at the redhead, eyes crazed with tears still falling out. The sand came at him again, and he swiped a hand against it, only half surprised that it simply broke away into tiny, floating, indiscernible particles in the wind.
He stood up, legs shaking and still glaring at the man. "You killed him!" he shouted, fists at his side.
The dome of sand that hovered above Gaara and shielded him from the sunlight had a shadow that extended as the sun rose behind him. Even the trees couldn't prevent the rays from shining in—
But Gaara stayed hidden underneath his dome. Alive and breathing—
Unlike Kiba.
Naruto was charging forwards before he thought about it. The six feet distance between him and the redhead was closed in just two steps and his fist extended backwards to come forward and sock him in face.
Kunch—!
The sound of his knuckles to the man's cheek was audible.
And everything was quiet.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Except for Naruto, whose breath was coming harshly and his glare still going strong –
Because Gaara hadn't moved.
His punch had absolutely no effect. The man had a face of steel. And he stared at Naruto. Passionlessly.
"Arrggh!" Naruto lunged at him with a battle cry, pounding both fists onto the man's chest. He paused for a split second, startled by the unyielding hardness beneath his hands, but the fury surged back, and with feral rage he struck again, fists hammering relentlessly against the solid frame. But his blows did nothing against the chest of steel. Crying out his frustration, he smacked the man's cheek, front hand, back hand, both hands — over and over, his hands turning redder with each impact. Still, the man stood like stone, unmoved. Desperation mounting, Naruto let his fists crash against the man's chest once more, hands stinging as he screamed and cursed through gritted teeth, fury coursing through every fiber of his being, refusing to yield— "Fuck you, fuck you – ass hole, dick, piece of shit, you fucking killed, you fucking killed—!"
He didn't even realize when the screaming had turned into sobbing, when his words broke with each curse, when the banging on the hard chest and slapping the unmoving face became more pathetic and feeble. The sounds of his sobs became louder than the smacks on the man's face, until finally his arms fell limp to his side, and his mouth closed shut. His head fell forward, spent, and landed on the same chest he'd been trying to hurt.
But he didn't care.
He didn't care about anything.
"What's wrong with me…" he whispered.
Because that's what this all was about, wasn't it? The confusion, the fear, the pain. All pent up.
And now Kiba was dead.
What was he?
What was he?
He didn't jump when the tendrils of sand touched him this time. Didn't even flinch. They wrapped around his legs, his torso, and Naruto started to feel that inability to move creep up over him just like it did back at the fortress.
He pulled back, lazily, and stared up at the redhead.
Gaara stared back. Still as a statue, unaffected as the gray skies.
"We're leaving now."
End of Chapter
Authors Notes:
Edited: 10/2024
Thank you to all of those who gave me the names and the bios of various mythical creatures! It helped a lot and you've made my job 500x's easier!