A Fox, a Dog and a Raven - Chapter 51 (Inner Demons)
#52 of A Fox, a Dog and a Raven
The second last chapter of the final arc. Tomorrow I will post the final part of Inner Demons and on Christmas eve I will post the Epilogue and the Christmas Special (So long as I finish it in time).
In this chapter Sasuke and Kiba run to Naruto's aide, will they be able to save him from the monster he has become, or themselves for that matter?
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, this is a non-profit fan-fiction written for fun.
In any case, you came here for the story, so I hope you enjoy it.******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The Kyuubi roared in frustration and ran after his prey, using it's deadly claws to swipe at the bandits that were unfortunate enough to cross it's path. Zaraki leapt up the tall wall of the fort and sped along it, he looked over his shoulder only to see the Kyuubi in pursuit a short distance behind, it's long strides allowing it to keep up with his speed as he skated across the surface on the wind chakra on his feet. Using it's powerful legs the Kyuubi leapt forwards and swiped at Zaraki, who narrowly dodged the razor sharp claws and leapt from the wall into the open grassy fields that surrounded the fort. He looked behind him to see the Kyuubi land and continue it's pursuit of him, it wasn't going to let him go, he was going to have to fight the beast. He activated his stone armour jutsu and then ran through the hand-signs for another jutsu, using his wind chakra to quickly reverse his direction and head towards the Kyuubi. With the sudden change the Kyuubi could stop it's charge, but it swiped out with it's claws in a wide arc, as Zaraki thrust both his palms forward and drove them into the beasts chest.
"Thunderous Palm!" The forceful attack sent the Kyuubi hurtling backwards through the air, roaring in pain as it crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop. "Earth Style: Stone Tomb Jutsu!" Four pillars of earth rose from the ground and encased the Kyuubi, Zaraki knew that the jutsu wouldn't hold, it hadn't held against Naruto in his chakra cloaked form and this monster was far more powerful, but it would give him the time he needed to prepare his next attack. "Earth Style: Bombardment Jutsu!" Zaraki leapt from the ground and slammed his feet downwards with all his might, three giant chunks of earth and rock shot upwards into the sky, each one the size of a house. The chunks of earth plummeted back towards the ground, each one of them heading straight for the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi had just managed to burst from the stone tomb when the first chunk of earth hit, quickly followed by the next and the next, burying it under several tones of earth and rock.
There was a round of cheers from the fort as the bandits who had witnessed the blow cheered on their leader for slaying the vicious beast that had just slaughtered their comrades. Their cheers were short lived, the Kyuubi burst out of the mountain of earth and let out an ear piercing roar and glared at Zaraki. It slowly paced towards Zaraki, taking it's time to measure it's prey, circling him.
"Not charging like before?" Zaraki asked aloud, not expecting a reply. "That's right, I'm a monster too!" He grinned. "Lets see who the bigger monster is!" Zaraki launched himself, with his super speed, towards the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi sprinted towards him, both of them seeking the blood of the other.******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Inner Demons - Part 9
Sasuke looked past Kisame and Karabe to the giant, two-headed, white wolf that was Kiba and Akamaru. Sasuke smirked and could tell that Kiba was thinking the same thing as he was; What the hell happened to you? Sasuke drew his sword and began to slowly walk towards the two silver haired men, they needed to finish this and move on to save Naruto. There was the unmistakeable flash of chakra, a huge amount of it, all five of them sensed it and looked towards the direction of the fort. The chakra wasn't normal, it was savage and primal, but Sasuke had felt it before, first-hand, at the valley of the end.
"Naruto!" Sasuke muttered, there was no time to waste. "Leave! If I ever see you again, I will kill you!" He ordered before sprinting in the direction of the fort.
Kiba took off after Sasuke hesitantly but left Kisame and Karabe alone, the two men looking on as the beast and the demon spared their lives. Kiba caught up to Sasuke, still in his wolf form, and eyed the Uchiha before speaking.
"Why are you letting them go!?"
"That chakra, it's Naruto!"
"That wasn't Naruto's chakra, it smells wrong."
"Trust me, it's Naruto! It means he's in trouble!"
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Zaraki exchanged blows with the Anthro-Kyuubi time and time again, his stone armour the only thing keeping him from being shredded by those deadly claws, but maintaining and repairing the stone armour was using too much of his chakra; he wouldn't be able to keep this up the way for much longer. He lunged forwards with a thrust of his lightning chakra coated hand but missed as the Kyuubi leapt over head, somersaulting through the air before bringing it's foot down in a devastating axe kick, Zaraki narrowly avoided the blow which left a small crater from the impact. He didn't have a second to regroup before the Kyuubi was upon him and delivered a rib shattering kick to his chest. He was sent flying backwards but was dragged back by his ankle and then driven into the earth by an elbow to the chest.
The Kyuubi grabbed him by the throat and dragged him back to his feet, once he let go Zaraki began to fall again but was kept upright by a powerful uppercut, the blow lifted him of the ground, followed by a series of punches and kicks, each one lifted him higher and higher, until the Kyuubi leapt into the air and delivered a devastating spin kick which sent him crashing into the thick stone walls that surrounded the fort. Zaraki was broken, he knew it was over, for the first time in his life he had lost to a bigger monster than himself. His ribs were shattered, his jaw broken, he was bleeding all over from the lacerations from the deadly claws of the Kyuubi. He watched, slumped upright against the wall, as the Kyuubi strode towards him, it's snout curled in a vicious snarl.
"Come on then!" Zaraki choked. "Finish it!"
With a savage roar the Kyuubi raised its leg and using every once of strength it could muster crushed Zaraki's head against the stone wall, Zaraki's head now little more than a bloody stain on the fort walls. The Kyuubi howled to the sky in victory and smelt it's next prey approaching. Kiba and Sasuke emerged from the tree line in the distance and they all stopped and stared at the other, the Beast, the Demon and the Monster.
"What the hell is that!?" Kiba muttered in shock as he looked upon the monstrous fox before him.
"That... is Naruto!"
"That can't be Naruto!"
"Well it is, deal with it!"
"Okay... so he looks a little pissed."
"He's not in control, this is bad!"
"What do we do?"
"We need to calm him down, try and get him back in control." Sasuke replied.
"And how the fuck do we do that!?"
"Improvise."
"Fucking great..." Kiba sighed.
Sasuke and Kiba separated, Sasuke moving to the right and Kiba to the left, they didn't doubt that the Kyuubi would attack them without mercy if they weren't careful.
"Naruto, it's Sasuke..." Kyuubi snarled at him but he continued to speak, hoping that somewhere in there Naruto could hear him. "You can relax now, the fights over." The Kyuubi closed the distance between them in just a few strides, Sasuke narrowly avoided the swipe of the razor sharp claws thanks to his sharingan. He ducked beneath the swipe and formed a hand-sign. "Fire Style: Flame Thrower Jutsu!"
A stream of flames shot from Sasuke's mouth and drove the Kyuubi back, it snarled and snapped at him but was careful not to get within range of the flames. Kiba leapt at it from behind but was quickly dismissed when the Kyuubi spun round and delivered a powerful kick to his side, Kiba and Akamaru's double headed wolf form rolled across the ground before their jutsu ended and they reverted to their original forms, both of them barely on the brink of consciousness. Using Kiba's distraction Sasuke quickly ran through several hand-signs, and focused his lightning chakra into his right hand and pointed it at the Kyuubi.
"Chidori Senbon!" Dozens of needles made of lightning chakra fired from Sasuke's hand, many of them striking the Kyuubi all over it's body, sending a high electric charge through it's body. The Kyuubi roared in pain, thrashed about in agony, but remained standing and swiped Sasuke away with it's tails. Before Sasuke could get back to his feet he found himself pinned with a clawed hand around his throat, the Kyuubi's other hand poised to strike. "NARUTO!" He cried and clenched his eyes shut, awaiting the killing blow, but it never came. He slowly opened one eye, and then the other and found the Kyuubi frozen in place, it's eyes clenched shut. "Naruto... it's you isn't it? Please, you can do this, you can take control, I know you can!"
"Sas... uke..."
"Yes, it's me! I'm here!" He spoke, not sure if it would help but it was all he was able to do at this point. He smiled as he saw the red slitted eyes of the Kyuubi disappear and be replaced with the beautiful blue eyes of Naruto. "You did it!"
"Sasuke..." Naruto growled, his voice not his own. "What happened?"
"We won Naruto, we won!"
"But... what happened to me?"
"I don't know but we will get you fixed up, I promise!" Naruto fell back and clutched his head, he was in control again. He had witnessed it all, experienced the savagery of the monster within him. Once Kiba had managed to recovered, he stayed with Naruto while Sasuke searched the fort, the bandits were gone, fled in terror of the monsters who had defeated their leaders. The stories told of the monsters of the Land of Waves would ensure that they never returned.
In the lower levels of the fort Sasuke found over two dozen men, women and children, each of them naked and had been raped numerous times. He freed them and they began to make their way back home. Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru following at a distance to ensure that they made it back safely. They needed to return to Konoha, and find a way to revert Naruto back to his original form, but first Sasuke had to make sure that Tazuna and his family were safe. Kiba remained with Naruto, they didn't want to leave him by himself and they remained out of sight in the forest at the edge of town, while Sasuke escorted Inari and Tsunami back to Tazuna.
"Where's Kiba and Naruto?" Inari asked.
"Kiba's with Naruto, we need to head back to the village as quickly as possible!"
"You should stay and rest, you look exhausted!" Tsunami exclaimed, her composure not the one Sasuke had expected from a woman who had been raped numerous times.
"No, we really need to go. The town will be safe now, I don't think they will return after today, but if any bandits do return give us a call."
"What about the ninja?" Tazuna asked.
"You won't be seeing them again, I can promise you that." Sasuke remembered the look of fear on their faces when they left them in the forest, once they confirm the death of Zaraki they will leave the area and never return.
"Thank you again, you've freed The Land of Waves for a second time!"
"Don't worry about it, now I've really got to go!" Sasuke returned to Naruto and Kiba, Naruto had tried but still couldn't return to normal nor could he communicate with Kisuke or the Kyuubi, making Naruto feel even more worried about his fate. They headed back with all haste to Konohana, careful to avoid the roads and other travellers, they didn't want to start a panic if someone saw Naruto in his current form. They all hoped that Lady Tsunade could help him.