Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between A Rock And A Hard Place ❯ Out In The Open ( Chapter 35 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"Stay still you little brat!" Orochimaru demanded as he aimed for the large white fan once more. Temari was doing pretty well in irritating him enough for a distraction. But he could only preoccupy himself for so long before he gave up and realized that he had real business to finish. It was then that he noticed Kabuto had left the scene. Searching around anxiously he spotted the silver haired assistant chasing after the thorn in his side.@"Enough games. I want that power." Orochimaru hissed, clutching his fist.

"Naruto!" Temari screamed out when Orochimaru focused the sand into giant spikes and quickly shot them toward his moving target. Naruto, hearing his name called, turned barely in time to see them. The last scene he could catch was the blurry shape of the sanded weapon coming for him before he suddenly found himself on the ground with an intense weight on his chest. His eyes wide open to see the spike sticking out of the ground and a hint of red at the corner of his eye. It wasn't out of fear that he felt his pulse quicken that instant, but rather a familiar scent.

"Gaara...?" Naruto muttered slowly in disbelief. The form above him moved briefly, pulling off just enough to see him fully. He couldn't believe his eyes. It had to be just a hopeful wish made hallucination that Gaara made it here and in his condition?

"Sorry, I'm a little late." Gaara panted a bit. The corners of his lips turned upright just a little as he saw the other's astonishing expression. But he couldn't last long with the carefree persona as his wounds were stinging again, making him wince a bit.

"Gaara! Are you alright?!" Naruto shot up, helping Gaara sit up some. He was an idiot for coming all this way for him. Gaara could have died, and then what would happen to him. The two didn't have long to linger in the reunite before a wave of sand splashed up against them from a missed sand spike.

"Well looky here, if it isn't my little chakra helper. It's nice to see you are doing well Kazekage." Orochimaru mocked in a concerned voice. "I was sure you would die in that cave, but you have once again beat my expectations. So allow me to give you a reward!" With that he focused on all the sand in the area. "Sand tsunami!"

Jade eyes widened as he jumped to his feet, grabbing Naruto's hand and running off. Though he had only used that attack once in his life time, he knew the effects of it and all that pressure they would be trapped in would surely crush them into grain if Orochimaru knew how to use it properly. And as much as he would have liked to warn everyone else, he couldn't without wasting time for their own escape.

The sand had already begun to rise up and flee over the grass, washing over some weak trees. "Gaara!" The redhead looked up surprisingly to find his older sister, Temari floating down on her fan. She jerked the teen up by the hand to join her, of course having him pull Naruto along with him as they drifted back up. "Oh my gosh! I was so worried! What happened to you?! You had the whole village in a panic you selfish jerk!" She shouted, roughly slamming her fist into Gaara's arm. The teen briefly hissed at being touched when he had already so many injuries. Immediately the girl was taken aback, "oh, I'm so sorry Gaara! Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly. It was quite clear Temari truly didn't know how to worry about Gaara, since she didn't have to before now.

Naruto didn't pay much mind to all of Temari's worrying. He watched in mild horror as the sand washed over all the grass and trees. Many of the ninja that had approached to take on Orochimaru's giant snake were now fleeing to the safety of the high up village gates. Naruto was a little comforted that they had managed to distract Orochimaru's attention enough to allow Iruka a good escape. he hoped the other would still be alright when they finished this. Scratch that, he would definitely make sure Iruka and the entire village was fine when he finishes this. And that wasn't going to be far away, Naruto assured himself.

It seems right now would be a better time than any to get Orochimaru, since he would have to focus a lot of chakra into the sand tsunami, but how could he manage to sneak up to him without him seeing. The blond shinobi carefully scanned his surrounding area. His blue eyes sparkled with a light of hope when he recognized a distant glimmer of blue hidden with in the forest trees. If it was what he thought it was then it would provide him cover enough.

Without much warning, Naruto grinned mischievously and carelessly leaped off of Temari's fan. Immediately the two siblings lashed from their conversations, yelling at the blond that had stupidly thrown himself over the edge. But to their surprise Naruto landed on the tip of the giant snake's tail rather than the course landscape of sand. Their mouths hung agape as the boy ran along the snake's spine toward the head where Orochimaru stood. And to their surprise, Naruto wasn't the only one heading for the sanin. Gaara felt his breath leave him for a moment when the sparkling lightening of Sasuke's mighty Chidori came into view among the trees. The Uchiha had somehow made it, but Gaara was sure he left him in a pretty bad situation last he saw him.

Orochimaru smirked as he spotted Sasuke as well coming, on in a full frontal assault. "Well if it isn't the great Uchiha. It's so nice for you to finally join us Sasuke!" Orochimaru belched hoarsely with laughter. Despite the teen's hope of thrusting that powerful attack straight into Orochimaru's gut and killing him instantly, the chakra was easily blocked with the man's hand. Perhaps it was still Orochimaru's rather large ego that told him he wouldn't have to use his sand barrier to block this one. But that was his mistake.

Suddenly without notice, Orochimaru was forced forward with a rough tackle from the back. Instinctively he gasped out in shock and a tinge of pain, but it was all Naruto needed to wrap his arms around the man and cup Orochimaru's mouth with hand. Sasuke, seizing the opportunity, thrust Chidori into the man's side while he could not block. The silver haired sanin had a sharp intake of breath, not realizing at that moment that a small pill had been forced down his esophagus. Immediately he recoiled, trying to pull from both boys, in hops of hacking up what he was sure a product of his own plot coming down into his stomach.

"Oh no you don't! This is over Orochimaru!" Naruto hollered, producing several shadow clones to push him around a bit as he started quickly on a rasengan. Luckily, Orochimaru could not focus on any of his new found chakra of the demon while the concoction was purging the soul from his body, leaving him open to every punch, kick and slash of the Naruto look-alikes. Sasuke would be damned if he didn't get in a few good hits himself before Naruto gathered enough chakra for his final attack.

The shadow clones quickly stood the cringing man as Naruto violently attacked him with the rasengan. The forest rung with the terrified screaming of one once mighty sanin. Naruto shuddered a bit as blood splattered onto his face and stained his hand. The attack was powerful enough to knock him unconscious if by some miracle it did not kill him. The free flowing chakra of Shukaku had evaded his body instantly, seeking a safer host in which it could live within. Luckily, the beast had learned it lesson about proper host and ran back whining into it's original demon container. Who else was strong enough to hold such a demonic power?

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted ecstatically. He rushed over, wrapping his arms quickly around Naruto's neck. "You did it!" He exclaimed, snapping the blond out of his slight stupor. He had trouble comprehending what he had just done. Had he really? He faintly glanced down at his reddened hands and the blood now getting onto Sasuke's clothes as he embraced him. Sasuke couldn't care less about that. He was so happy to see Naruto was alive. He would never forgive himself or at least kill Gaara for getting Naruto into this mess in the first place.

Naruto smiled weakly, somewhat accepting the hug. But his eyes drifted back up to Gaara as he slowly approached in float on Temari's fan. They landed and Gaara came running, jerking Sasuke by the collar away from Naruto. "How the hell did you get here?!" Gaara lashed, quickly placing his arm protectively around Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, so you will admit that you tried to have me killed so I wouldn't come and save Naruto?" Sasuke questioned, placing his hands at his waist.

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked back to Gaara, expecting some sort of explanation for all this. Why would Gaara try to kill Sasuke. Sure he knew they were not on good terms with one another, but they couldn't do such a thing to comrades, right?

Gaara's nose scrunched up in disgust like a furious cat. "Don't act like you haven't done anything wrong Uchiha! Any bastard who would sleep with another persons love just to gloat about it deserves all hell!" Gaara hissed.

Naruto's hearted stopped for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Sasuke you told him?" Naruto asked in a worried voice, his eyes glistening a bit as they stared back into satisfied black orbs. How could he do such a thing? Of course Naruto didn't sound any better in his questioning, for it left Gaara confused as to who was actually responsible for the crime.

"What are you talking about Naruto? You were planning to keep this from me?" He asked testily.

"Of course not! It was an accident! I was going to tell you at the right moment." Naruto insisted quickly.

"Oh, so now I nothing but a mistake?!" Sasuke interrupted furiously. "You'd do anything to stay on his good side Naruto! Even if it means condemning your own damn feelings! You didn't seem all that clueless when you begged me to fuck you last night!" Sasuke accused. "It being an accident seemed like the last thing on your mind!"

"How can you say that teme?!" The blond rebutted. Was Sasuke crazy?! What could he possibly gain from lying like this? "Being drunk is hardly a believable consent!" Naruto lashed back.

Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms. "Oh yeah? Well then I guess it isn't true that other's reveal all their true feelings when they are drunk. You may be in denial, but I know damn well you don't love Gaara as much as you think you do."

"Teme-!"

"Will you all just shut the hell up!" Temari screamed at the top of her lungs. "Are you guys just a bunch idiots?! I hardly think now is the right time to sort this thing out when you have an several dead bodies on your hands as well as a frightened leaf village to assure!" Temari barked. "So stop thinking with your fucking dicks for a moment and finish what you started here!"

The three looked at each other with disgusted looks of hate and betrayal before agreeing that Temari was right. Of course this would make it quite impossible for the three to work together in cleaning up around here, but at least it would get done with time.

For the next few hours, it had been the quietest time the three had ever spent near each other. Sasuke of course was too angry to even consider apologizing to Gaara and he couldn't get a word in to Naruto who constantly avoided him as much as possible. Naruto only tried to follow Gaara around so he could explain himself, but Gaara avoided him, not caring for explanation he might have planned. And poor Temari was stuck dealing with all them, since Kankuro wasn't much help at all. She had sent him after Kabuto who, no surprisingly, escaped during all the uproar. The remaining shinobi that were still alive, were gathering up the bodies of their fallen comrades and trying to repair the gates of Konoha. A relief warning had been sent out to all the villagers so they could come out of hiding and help with the clean up.

The remainder of the day would certainly be a stressful one for the people of Konoha...

To Be Continued…

A/N: Urgh! I did it again! I'm so sorry, but please feel free to blame my teachers for assigning so much work and papers. My computer was also being a meanie, shutting of whenever I had typed a lot and forgot to save. T_T I really need to get into the habit of that. But thanks so much for being patient with me. Sorry the chapter is a little short, but I was frustrated with what to do. I hope to hear from you all soon.