Naruto: The Unwoven Threads of Fate

[A/N: Long chapter]

Day of the Tournament

I look at myself in the bathroom mirror. "Today is the day. The day the invasion happens. The day Gaara lets out Shukaku. The day Orochimaru kills the Hokage. I can't change a damn thing. All I can do is survive. So that is what I'll do. Survive, so next time I can make a difference. I've trained my ass off for today. I will not go down easily! I will live to see tomorrow! Let's get to the arena and kick some ass!"

With myself officially revving to go, I exit Kakashi's apartment and start going to the arena where the tournament will be held. I'm going to be there an hour early, to get an idea of the terrain and scope out my opponent. I really doubt that anyone else has improved as much as me, but I don't doubt that they have improved. I need to be ready for anything.

Once the arena is in sight, I notice two chunin at the main entrance. "Hey Kotetsu, hey Izumo. Is there a spot the contestants are supposed to go to?"

Izumo speaks up. "Yeah, there are two booths in the stadium. One is for the Hokage and the visiting Kages, the other is for the contestants. You can go there."

"Cool. Thanks. Is there anything I'm not supposed to do as a contestant? I'd hate to be disqualified because I broke a rule."

Kotetsu talks this time. "Just stay in the booth until it's your match. You'll have to go back there after too. If you lose you can do whatever you want to. At that point it doesn't matter."

"Awesome. Don't leave the booth unless told to. Is it fine if I head there now?"

Izumo says "Go for it. It's the one without the big fancy Kage chairs."

I laugh, "Thanks guys!" I walk into the arena, I'm not the first one here by a long shot. It is already half full, people must really want to watch this. Well, it is one of the few times civilians can watch shinobi do their thing in a controlled environment. Surprisingly I am not the first contestant to show up either. The Sand Siblings beat me here.

"Hey guys. How is everyone?" I greet warmly. No need to be rude, even if one of them is my opponent. And the whole invasion thing, they haven't wronged me yet.

"I'm good." Temari replies with a smile.

Kankuro smirks, "I'm ready to kick your ass."

"I am well." Gaara drones out in his monotonous voice.

"Awesome." No more words are exchanged. They must be nervous. I know I would be. We fall into a companionable silence for the next few minutes.

The peace and quiet is broken by Team 8, more specifically Kiba. "Oi. Alvarcus. You better be ready, Shino learned some crazy moves over the last month! He'll kick your ass!"

I snort. "Please. The chances of us actually fighting are slim. Even if we do, I know how the fight will go." I share a knowing look with Shino, assuring him I remember our deal. "It'll be one hell of a show."

"You'll never get to face him." Kankuro interrupts. "I'll show you what a real chakra string user can do!"

"Oh? Is that a promise?" I ask. "I have always been mildly amused by puppetry. Do you put on shows for children?"

"You are so going down imitator!" That's it. I've decided. Kankuro is going down hard.

"We'll see whose strings are better. Just be patient. Our match is third, it's not that far off."

The bravado talk wavers off, and I happily chat with Kiba, Shino, and Hinata about pointless things until someone else shows up. Team Gai.

I call out to them, "Hey Neji. Hey Lee. Hey Tenten. How's everyone doing?"

"The hospital staff is most unyouthful. They won't let me train!"

"Lee, your legs were pulverized. Its no wonder they don't want you to train. I'm fine by the way. Still wondering what you needed those masks for though. Care to tell me?" Tenten makes a puppy dog face at me, trying to weaken my resolve.

"I tell you what. I might use them today, you could see them in action." Who knows, maybe Kankuro will be a challenge. If not, there is always the invasion. I doubt I'll hold back during that.

"I am curious about these masks too. She won't stop talking about it." Neji adds. Tenten must really want to know. Interesting.

"Woah. Back up." Kiba jumps into our conversation. "You bought five masks? What for, you only have one face."

"Its simple. He isn't using them for his face." Shino got it in one! "Otherwise, he would be wearing one now."

Kiba turns to me. "So what are you using them for? No one could possibly need that many masks!"

"Question of the day: What am I using my masks for? I'm not telling! You'll have to wait and see." Everyone is obsessed with my masks. How annoying. I mean it isn't like I can just tell them 'they're supposed to cover the parasitic thread monster's hearts that I stole when I make them into minions.' Because that would go over well.

"Hey everyone!" Ino shouts out.

Ah, she's here now. She dragged Shikamaru and Choji here with her. Perfect, a distraction. Hopefully we'll stop talking about my stupid masks.

"What are we talking about?"

"Alvarcus bought some masks from the store I work at but he won't tell me what he's using them for!" Tenten huffs. Guess we're still talking about them. Fantastic.

Ino rounds on me with an expecting gaze. "Well? When a lady asks you answer."

"Sorry what? That's not how this works." She can't possibly think that will convince me to answer.

"Alvarcus."

"Ino."

"I'm going to count to three. If you haven't told her by then I'm going to punish you."

"You're going to punish me? For not telling Tenten what I'm using my masks for? How does that make sense to you?" Is she crazy?

"One."

"You better tell her. Once Ino gets like this it's not good for anyone." Shikamaru warns me.

"Two."

"Nope. There is nothing you can do to make me." I will not yield. If I give in once then she'll always try to do this to me.

"Two and a half."

"Really? Just hit me with your punishment already. I can take it."

"Fine! Three! Mind Body Switch Jutsu!"

I don't try to dodge. I didn't realize how bad of an idea that was until it was too late. I've gotten used to the presence of the Jiongu and didn't make the connection that it wouldn't like another presence in our head.

I feel Ino start to invade my mind. This is very bad. In my mind-scape I try talking to her. "Ino. Listen to me. You need to leave, now!"

Ino doesn't stop her advance on my mind. "Please! I just got in here, like I am going to let go that easily! Now, let's find some blackmail material! Whoa, your avatar is weird. Usually people model it after themselves, but you're just this... dark void. It's almost like you don't really know who you are."

"Ino! For the love of Kami, you need to go! We are not alone here! Heed my words Ino, and leave before it is too late." I'm begging her.

"Everyone has nightmares Alvarcus, they aren't real. They are only in your head, your mind, your brain." Ino sounds confident, this is not good. Not good at all. "Besides, I haven't got what I came for! Let's see what you have hidden away in here."

She starts rifling through my memories, images of my second childhood flash past us both.

"Hmm... not what I'm looking for. Where do you keep your secrets?"

"Ino no! You need to get out!"

~What's this?~

"INO!" I scream in my head, "Get out now! It will hurt you!"

Ino just snorts. "Please, nothing in here can hurt me. I'm in control of you. Besides, I want to know what that voice is. This could be exactly what I'm looking for!"

~You are not the host.~

"No! It will kill you! It's alive! It isn't me! Please! I'll do anything, just get out of our head!"

~YOU ARE NOT THE HOST!~

"Oh but it's just getting good! I never would have thought you would have a split personality! You always seem so calm and collected. What's it's name?" Is she crazy? Can't she tell that she's in danger?

"Ino, I am so sorry." I can't stop her. She won't listen. "I did everything I could. I tried. I am so sorry."

"You're sorry? This is great! I've never been in a mind like-"

~I will protect the host. The host must be protected. You are not the host. I WILL PROTECT THE HOST!~

Ino screams in agony, and I can't stop it. I can't do anything but observe. The Jiongu attacks her mind viciously and without restraint.

"Ino! Listen to me! You need to leave! If you leave the pain will stop! It won't follow you!" She finally listens to me, after who knows how much damage has been dealt.

Ino returns to her own body, and I gain full control of mine again. The second Ino is back in hers, she starts crying.

Instantly Shikamaru and Choji come to her aid. Everyone is suddenly tense.

"What did you do to her?" Shikamaru demands. "She was in your head. She was fine before she went in your head. What did you do to her?"

I calmly hold my hand up in surrender. "Nothing. I did nothing. I don't know what she saw and felt. I could only talk to her."

Choji stands straight up, "Then why is she crying?"

"There was something else there." Ino whispers out, "Something in his mind. He's not alone in there, it's like he shares his head with something else. Something dark. Terrifying."

I slowly approach her, Shikamaru and Choji both let me pass. "Ino, did it show you anything?"

With watery eyes, she looks at me. "I'm so sorry Alvarcus. I should have listened. I should have trusted you. I had no idea. I didn't know. I didn't know!"

I gently place a hand on each her shoulders and force her to look at my covered eyes. "Ino, I'm not mad at you. Now tell me, what did it show you?"

Fresh tears spring to her eyes. "It showed me how you two came together."

I wince. Of all the things she could have seen, that one is one of the few I wouldn't wish on anyone.

"It made me feel your pain. It made me live through what it did to you. It was horrible. Words can't describe the agony."

"Ino, it wasn't real. You're not hurt. You're safe." I keep my voice calm and soothing.

"I know that!" She throws her arms around me in a hug. I don't know how to react, I'm supposed to be comforting her but she's hugging me? "I'm not crying because I'm in pain, I'm crying because of what you went through! I only experienced seconds of that agony, I can only imagine what you went through." She's sobbing on my shoulder now. I awkwardly wrap my arms around her. In a voice meant only for me to hear she says, "It's still there isn't it?"

I whisper back to her, "It will always be there. I can't remove it."

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea you went through... that." She's finally stopped crying.

I pull away from the hug. "Ino, I'm alright now."

"I don't believe you." She doesn't, not one bit. I can see it in her eyes.

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm tougher than I look. Right now, everyone is worried about you. Let's get back up and let them know you're okay."

"Alright." We get back to our feet, our heart to heart moment is over. "Sorry everyone!" Ino says while wiping her face dry, "I just saw a pretty... vivid memory. I'm good now."

Everyone starts bombarding her with questions.

"No I will not tell you what I saw! I shouldn't have seen it myself! And don't you dare ask Alvarcus! He doesn't need to remember that."

"I don't understand. Why didn't you kill her?" Gaara asks. Everyone falls silent. "She attacked you. It was your right to take her life, to prove your existence."

"Gaara." I say carefully. "I didn't kill her because she is my friend. She wasn't going to hurt me, it was a playful exchange that went sour. She didn't know about... certain aspects of my past." I don't want everyone to know about the Jiongu. I don't want to be rejected by them.

"Friends? You have friends?"

"Well yeah. Everyone here is my friend. Even you're my friend. I still owe you ice cream after all!" I finish with a smile.

Gaara looks confused. "You're my friend?"

"Well yeah. What else would you call our relationship? You and your siblings were willing to talk to a total stranger on the rumor that he might be part of your family. That's pretty cool. To go so far just to bring me home where I belong. Given we know that we aren't family, but it's the thought that counts!"

"Hold up. That happened?" Shikamaru interrupts but I ignore him.

"I... I need to think on this." Gaara walks over to a corner and sits down. Temari and Kankuro follow him and stand guard. Just how a family should be. They protect their own.

"Dude. Alvarcus, you are the weirdest person ever."

"Shut up Kiba! I am not weird!"

Shino clears his throat. "In the last five minutes you went from talking friendly with everyone, to being stubborn about masks, to comforting Ino, and then called a murderous Sand shinobi your friend."

"Well when you phrase it like that it sounds bad." Everyone stares at me. "Okay, you might have a point." I haven't had a normal day in forever.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" Naruto enters the booth.

"According to everyone here, I'm weird."

Naruto pauses, considering my response. He looks me up and then down. "I could see it. You always were strange in the Academy."

"Oh come on! Really? Can't one person be on my side?"

"I don't think he's weird." Ino comes to my defense. "He's been protective the entire day."

Choji stops eating his chips. "Care to elaborate? How is he protective?"

"Didn't you notice where he stood since coming into the booth? Between us and the 'murderous Sand shinobi.' He moved to always be between us. He even comforted me after I invaded his mind! And Gaara? He's taken him under his wing, he cares about him. I think its sweet."

Well, she's not wrong. I know that Gaara is important, not just as a jinchuriki but because of what he will become. He'll lead his people into a new age, one of prosperity and kindness. He'll even go on to lead the Allied Shinobi Forces! Unless I change something drastic.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I'm honestly surprised she noticed all those things. She must be very observant. "And I am not sweet! Cool, handsome, badass. Those are acceptable."

"Nope! You're sweet." I'm glad to see her bouncing back so well. The Jiongu didn't manage to break her.

"Arg! Shouldn't you be terrified of me or something? Or mad? How can you be this carefree?"

"Please. I'm a Yamanaka. To learn our family jutsu we need to practice, so we practice on prisoners. Konoha doesn't really care if we screw up their minds, and some of those prisoners have disgusting thoughts."

The conversation becomes much lighter from then on out. The rookies chat among ourselves, but I make sure to keep an eye on Ino. When she thought no one else was looking, she would stare at me with eyes full of pity.

"Would the contestants please come down to the arena floor? We will be explaining the rules, then have the first match." A voice resonates throughout the stadium.

"Showtime!" Naruto exclaims, then leaps off the balcony and does some very interesting acrobats on the fall down. Showoff.

I sigh. "No time like the present." I use my chakra strings to slowly move myself to the arena. If Naruto wants to show off, I'll show off too. I basically make it look like I'm flying. The crowd loves it. Kids are pointing, adults are shocked, and the shinobi look intrigued by my performance. Flying is a rare skill.

"That's so COOL! Since when can you fly? You've got to teach me that!" Naruto demands the second I touch down.

"Hm... maybe we could do a trade?" I strike a thinking pose. It's really not that hard to do, and it could give me an excuse to spend time with Naruto. I never really spent time with him at all, not even in the Academy. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours? That kind of thing?"

Naruto's face drains of color. "...Dude. Poor choice of words."

"Oh get your mind out of the gutter! You know exactly what I meant!"

Interesting, that isn't how I expected him to react at all. I thought he would leap at the chance to hang out with someone. Maybe Jiraya's training has been good for him, I bet he's met a bunch of people outside of Konoha.

"So how about it Naruto? Want to hang out sometime? Maybe spar or something?"

"Sure. Just don't complain when I beat you into the ground!"

"I promise to not complain if you beat me into the ground."

The other gennin come down with much less fanfare. How lame, the stairs make for a boring show. I suppose it's okay though, it gave me and Naruto time to chat.

"We are missing Sasuke Uchiha." The proctor says. "You!" He points to me. "You're on his team. Where is he?"

"How should I know? Last I saw him was a month ago. Kakashi-sensei took him on a training trip."

"Did you say Kakashi?" The proctor asks.

"Yep."

"Ah. That explains it. I'll explain the rules now. I'll leave it up to you to fill him in when he gets here." I nod my consent. "My name is Genma Shiranui, and I am the proctor for the third exam. This is a single elimination tournament. Once you lose, it is over. Down here my word is law. If I call a match, the match is over. If I say stop, you stop. If you disobey me, you get disqualified. Understood?" The gennin all agree. "Good. Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki remain here. Everyone else back to the booth."

The gennin all go back. I take the stairs this time.

"Konoha! I give you the first fight, Neji Hyuuga vs Naruto Uzumaki!" The crowd roars.

"So. Who do you think is going to win?" Kiba asks. "I say Neji. He was scary in the preliminary round."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Neji."

"Naruto."

Everyone looks at me in surprise. "What? Naruto's been trained by a Sannin."

"That guy who took Naruto is a Sannin?" Ino exclaims.

"Yep. Jiraya of the Sannin. Also known as the Toad Sage, due to his summons. I wonder if he let Naruto sign the contract?" I hope so. We need Gamabunta to take on Shukaku.

"No shit." Kiba says. "I think I want to switch my bet."

"We were betting?" Shikamaru asks. "I don't remember agreeing to a bet."

"Well yeah. Isn't that what we do during fights like this?" Kiba asks. "All the jonin do it."

"How about we don't count this round. We can make stakes for the next fight." I offer.

"Works for me." Kiba says.

Naruto VS Neji

"Fighters ready?" Genma asks.

"Hell yeah I am!" Naruto is hopping back and forth from foot to foot.

"Yes." Neji casually says. He's not taking Naruto seriously at all.

"Begin!"

"Naruto, was it?" Neji smoothly slides into the opening stance for the Gentle Fist. "I've heard that you were supposed to be the dead last of your class."

"Hehe, yeah I got lucky. For some reason Jiraya-sensei wanted to train me! How cool is that? I do feel sorry for Alvarcus though, he got stuck being the dead last instead of me."

"Don't feel sorry." Neji calmly says. "It was destiny, you were destined to be chosen. He was destined to be the dead last in your place."

"Destiny?" Naruto tilts his head to the side in mild confusion. "Nah, it wasn't destiny. It was the shenanigans of an old pervert that's what it was!"

"Believe what you want, but it was destiny. Just like how today, right now, you're destined to lose to me." Neji lunges forward and slams a palm into Naruto's chest.

Or what was Naruto's chest, instead he shattered a log that Naruto replaced with. Naruto is casually standing next to the only tree in the arena. "Whew! That's one hell of a hit!"

"Interesting. Maybe you're not the dead last I thought you were. I'll have to take this seriously. Byakugan!"

"About damn time! Let's see how good those eyes of yours really are! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto is joined by five copies of himself. "Get him!"

All five clones lunge at Neji. He's not even phased by it, in fact I'd say he looks rather bored.

Neji quickly strikes out five times. Each strike is accompanied by the death of a shadow clone. "You'll need more than five targets to overwhelm me."

"How about five hundred?" Naruto taunts.

"Please, someone like you can't-"

POOF

"I stand corrected. So this is what a Sannin's tutelage will do. This is what happens when you're given everything." Neji flies into action. He's a blur, and everywhere he goes smoke is quick to follow him. That kid is scary good at taijutsu, it's literally one hit one kill.

"Idiot clones!" Naruto shouts. "Don't engage him one at a time! Swarm him!"

Courses of "You got it Boss!" come from all of his clones. They collectively leap into the air straight at Neji. He has no hope of dodging this, there's just to many.

Neji plants a heel into the ground and twists his whole body. "Kaiten!" A blue dome of chakra shields him from every single one of the clones, no it does more than that. It destroys each and every one that touched it. That is one hell of a move.

"You think I was given everything? I earned this. It wasn't destiny that got me here, I got myself here. Nothing more, nothing less." Naruto himself engages Neji. There's no more clones for him to hide behind now.

"No, destiny smiled on you. Just like how it spits on me." They're trading blows at breakneck speeds, neither of them truly connect. At the best they just manage glancing blows.

"Dude, what is it with you and destiny? Destiny isn't something that's predetermined, it's something that's forged. You make your own destiny."

"Do not dare to think you can lecture me on destiny!" Fury makes it's way onto Neji's face. "I was born into the Branch Family, I'm bound in servitude to them. I'll never escape that! I'm forever branded as a second class member! All because of who I was born to! All because it's my destiny!"

Neji falls into an eerily familiar stance. He's prepping for something.

"Just like how it is your destiny to lose today. Eight Trigrams: 1 palms!" Neji slams his palm into Naruto.

"Ow. What the hell? Why can't I move my arm?" Naruto's left arm is limp, it's flopping around at his side. In any other situation I'd find this funny.

"That's what this technique does, it blocks your chakra pathways. Now, I'll finish this fight. 2 palms! 4 palms! 8 palms! 16 palms! 32 palms! 64 palms!"

Naruto remains on his feet for a fleeting moment, then he falls over backwards.

"Proctor, this fight is over. Call it." Neji orders as he turns his back on the blonde shinobi.

"This fight isn't over yet." An imposing chakra wafts off of Naruto. "I hate this part." A red haze forms around his body as he picks himself up. His eyes are red, his fingers sharpen to claws and his incisors grow.

He's using the Kyuubi's chakra. Imposing doesn't do it justice, it feels like hate. It feels like malice, like evil. But there's something else there, something hidden underneath all of that rage and anger. It's something I can understand, it's loneliness.

"What is that chakra?" Neji asks. "I've never seen anything like it before."

In the Booth

"What is that? It feels like hate." Shikamaru asks.

"Is that really Naruto's chakra?" Ino asks too.

"No." I cut in. "It isn't. It's something else."

Everyone in the booth turns to me.

"What is it then?" Kiba demands.

"A burden that he's forced to live with."

"Well? Up for round 2?" Naruto leans over and lands on all fours. He looks like a beast with all of the changes to his body.

"I'll ask again. What is that?"

"This is my curse. My equivalent to your Caged Bird Seal. Yes, I know about your seal." Naruto lifts a hand up to his face. He's looking at the red haze around it. "Like your seal I never asked for this, but I'm stuck with it."

"So destiny has ruined us both."

"No, it hasn't. Just because we carry our burdens doesn't mean we can't make them into our strengths."

"There's no strength to be found from my seal! Only pain and suffering!"

"Really? Are you sure? From my point of view it pushed you to become strong. You weren't given anything in life, you earned it all yourself. You know the true meaning of strength, it isn't power. It isn't chakra. It isn't being born to the Main Branch. It's being able to stand when everyone else tries to knock you down. It's getting back up and trying again even though the world is telling you to quit. True strength is never giving up."

"You know nothing!" Neji roars as he lunges at Naruto. They exchange a quick trade of blows. "You don't know how if feels to live with a death sentence always hanging over your head! You don't know how if feels to never be able to look in a mirror because all you see is chains! You don't know how it feels to be worthless!" Neji's hand shoots forwards, he's trying to hit Naruto right in the heart.

"I don't know how it feels to be worthless?" Naruto catches Neji's hand and doesn't let go. "You still have a family. I've never had a family. I've never had someone care for me. I've never had anyone call me gifted or give me praise."

Naruto slams Neji into the ground so hard there's an impression left behind.

"All my life I've been hated. I've been kicked out of more shops than I can count. I've been treated like trash since day one." He picks Neji up by the neck. "It's you who doesn't know what it's like to feel worthless."

Naruto throws him across the arena. Neji bounces of the ground twice and rolls to a stop.

"You have everything I've ever wanted." Naruto hisses out.

Neji pushes himself up to his feet. "Proctor, I surrender. I can't beat him. Not anymore."

Neji's left hand, the one Naruto caught, is a bloody mess. It's bent at a wrong angle and is turning a grotesque shade of black.

"Oh Kami I'm sorry!" Naruto does a complete 180. "I didn't mean to I swear! I don't know my own strength when I go red. Stupid! Jiraya-sensei told me to not use it! I should have listened to him!"

"What's done is done." Neji dismisses his apology. "You've given me a lot to think about, if the price is my hand then so be it."

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!"

In The Booth

"That was..." Choji trails off.

"Not what I expected." I finish. Naruto is nothing like how I imagined him. He's efficient, he's expressive and he's focused. And once you get past his bubbly mask there's a brittle cesspool of pain and suffering waiting to lash out at someone.

"Yeah. He's changed a lot since the Academy." Shikamaru adds. "I can't believe that's the same person."

"Our next fight is between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Desert! Contestants, please come to the arena!" Sasuke hasn't shown up yet. Not good.

"This is awkward." I say to myself. "OI! Proctor! Sasuke's not here yet! Could you skip his fight and come back to it?"

The proctor looks to the Hokage and the Kazekage. Orochimaru. That's Orochimaru.

They converse for a minute, then the Hokage replies. "We will postpone the fight. If he is not here by the time the last match of the first round is finished, he forfeits the fight."

Murmurs go throughout the crowd. "I came just to see him." "Is he going to be here in time?" "Where can he be?"

"The third fight, will Kankuro of the Desert and Alvarcus Mar come to the arena?"

Kankuro turns to me. "Ready to get beat, imitator?" He jumps down to the arena.

"That's it!" I've had enough of my awesome chakra strings being mocked! "Kiba! I bet I'll beat him without touching him once!"

"Deal! Loser buys the winner a new kunai set?"

"Agreed. Thanks for the kunai." I fly myself down to the arena like I did earlier.

Kankuro snorts. "Nice trick. You better be able to move your strings faster than that if you want to beat me."

I say nothing. He will learn his place.

Alvarcus VS Kankuro

"That's got to be a tough act to follow. Contestants ready?" Genma asks.

"Yes." Is all I say. It is not the time for words. Now it's the time for action.

"Bring it on imitator!" Kankuro taunts.

"Begin!"

Kankuro pulls out Kasaru. "Now you can see what a real chakra string wielder can do!"

Showtime.

"Kankuro." I conversationally say. "What do you know of monsters?"

I see sweat form on his forehead, no doubt he is thinking of his brother, Gaara. He's scared of him. Good, I plan on capitalizing on that fear.

"In the forest I was infected with something."

I extend a single chakra string from my back straight into the air and let it sway gently as if it was in a breeze.

"It made me into a monster."

I use my only genjutsu, Eyes of the Damned. My vision splits as I create eyes on the chakra string. It looks like a tentacle of eyeballs just shot out of my back. Perfect.

Kankuro's eyes go wide and the chatter that filled the air from the stands stops. It's eerily quiet now, my display silenced everyone.

"A monster so fierce, so terrifying, my family abandoned me."

Another tentacle joins the first. He steps backwards, he's trying to get away from me.

I'm not going to let that happen. I casually stroll towards him, acting as if everything is perfectly normal.

"My friends left me. You saw how Ino reacted when she was in my head."

More, I continuously create them now. I don't limit myself to just my back. They spawn on my shoulders, my arms, my neck.

"And your plan is to insult me?"

The tentacles reach in all directions, and writhe in an inhuman pattern.

Kankuro's back dully thuds into the wall of the stands. He can't retreat anymore.

"To make me mad? To mock me? You mock this monster?"

I have fifty tentacles at this point. I don't think I can make more, so I make the eyes appear on my body. On my limbs, my chest, my face. Anywhere and everywhere I can. To top everything off, I create one that spans the width of my chest with my original piercing yellow eye color.

"Gaara's not the only monster, I'm one too."

I stop a mere ten paces away from him and let the tentacles squirm in crazy untraceable patterns.

"YOU DARE TO INSULT ME?!"

Kankuro looks ready to piss himself in fear. His hands are shaking so badly that Karasu is twitching in response.

I move the tentacles towards him. Slowly, without a care in the world. They close in on him from all sides, he's trapped with nowhere to go.

"Run, puny human. You're in the land of monsters now."

"I surrender! Proctor! Stop him!" Kankuro shrieks out.

"Winner by forfeit! Alvarcus Mar!"

I drop the genjutsu. The eyes fade into nothingness. I announce to the silent crowd, "Genjutsu. It was all genjutsu. None of that was real."

I turn to the terrified Kankuro. "I haven't shown you the real monster yet."

I leave him in the arena and go back to the booth. I'm greeted by silence.

"Alvarcus." Kiba says. "That shit was terrifying."

Kurenai turns to Asuma. "I told you his idea had merit. Ha! That kid is brilliant! Re-purposing an utility genjutsu like that! I'm half tempted to ask Kakashi for him. Imagine what else he could come up with!"

Asuma looks pale. "That shit was terrifying."

Something good just happened. I can feel it. I wonder what it was?

"The next match is between Shikamaru Nara and Temari of the Desert!" Both of them go down to the arena.

"Bets?" Kiba asks.

"I bet Shikamaru will have Temari caught, and then he surrenders." My foreknowledge makes betting way too easy.

"NO! I am done betting against you!" Kiba rounds on me. "You have the weirdest most unlikely bets, but they always happen! You're two for two! You can't bet anymore!"

Shino speaks up. "I will bet the same thing as Alvarcus."

"You know what?" Kiba huffs in annoyance. "Betting is done. It's not fun anymore."

"Begin!"

Long story incredibly short, I was right. The fight goes exactly like cannon. It takes forever, and Shikamaru surrenders when he has a kunai to Temari's throat. I have to give the guy props though, he really uses his mind well.

"The final fight of the first round! Gaara of the Desert vs Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara appears in the arena in a swirl of sand. Sasuke doesn't show. "If Sasuke Uchiha isn't here in five minutes, he forfeits the match."

Four minutes and fifty five seconds later.

"Five. Four. Three. Two."

"Yo. Sorry, are we late?" Kami dammit Kakashi, what's your excuse this time?

"Yes. You are." The proctor says. "Another second and he would have been disqualified."

"It's okay, he's here now. Go on! Shoo! Go to the big scary proctor." Kakashi shoos Sasuke away.

"Alright. Now that you're both here we can begin. Contestants ready?"

"Yes." Gaara drones.

"Yes." Sasuke states with confidence.

"Begin!"

Instantly Sasuke takes off at crazy speeds towards Gaara. He got super fast over the last month. I'm impressed, I'll have to ask Kakashi to put me through that training, speed is one of my lower attributes.

"I'm faster than your sand." Sasuke taunts, and it's true. Just like the fight with Lee, Gaara's sand can barely keep up.

"Sand Shield." Sand forms a sphere around Gaara, completely encasing him. An imposing chakra starts pouring off the ball of sand. Shukaku. He's transforming into Shukaku.

Sasuke, undeterred by the new barrier between him and his opponent, puts as much distance as possible between themselves. The sound of birds fills the air.

"Chidori!"

Sasuke takes off towards Gaara at his new Chidori enhanced speed. That kid can move. Sasuke shoves his fistful of lightning through the sand shield, piercing it with ease.

"Blood?" Gaara's voice rasps out.

"This is not good." Temari says from my left.

"My blood?"

"Really not good." Kankuro adds.

"My blood! Sasuke Uchiha! You will prove my existence!" Gaara bursts out of his protective sphere, already half transformed into Shukaku. With a mad gleam in his eye, he lunges at Sasuke.

Whoa, where did all these feathers come from? Wow they're really pretty, and they're so soothing. I think I might... just... nap...

~The host will not be ensnared!~

Pain. Why do I feel pain? My arm hurts, like when I use the Jiongu. The feathers from a moment ago are gone. I was caught in the genjutsu? I didn't even notice it until it was too late.

Oh shit, the invasion is starting.

As I clear my head, many lives were lost. The Suna and Sound nin took advantage of the few moments to slit as many throats as possible.

I need to wake everyone up. "KAI!" I send out a pulse of chakra to wake everyone in the contestant booth.

"What the hell is going on!?" Kiba shouts over the sounds of battle.

"Invasion. From Suna and Sound. The Sand Siblings are gone, all three of them. They must have gone to the arena to get Gaara and taken him somewhere." I explain quickly.

"Die, Konoha scum!" A masked Suna shinobi leaps into the booth wielding a bloody katana.

"No."

I send out my fire whips, all ten, to catch him. They wrap around him and burn into his flesh, making the air smell foul.

"You die."

I up the heat and pull on the strings. They burn straight through his body. I turned him into a paste. It's gruesome.

"Al... Alvarcus did you just melt that guy?" Kiba asks with a tinge of fear in his voice.

I turn around to face my friends. They're all staring at me in varying levels of shock and disbelief. I can't blame them for it, it wasn't a clean kill by any means.

"We can't stay here." I start speaking, I don't have the time to waste being bothered by their reactions. Our lives are at stake. "We're being targeted as the most promising Konoha nin of the next generation. We need to move and help out where we can. Remember, we are only gennin. There will be opponents we can't beat. The only shot we have is to work together."

"Well spoken." Kakashi says. Oh thank Kami he's here. He brought Asuma and Kurenai with him. Thank you, I don't have to lead the kids through this mess.

"Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke and Sakura are both not here. I haven't seen Sakura all day. Orders? What do I do?"

"Sasuke went after Gaara. He's following their retreat. I haven't seen Sakura."

"I haven't seen her at all either." Ino adds. "It's weird, she was really happy her teammates made it to the finals. She wouldn't shut up about how much better her team was then mine over this past month. She should be here. Something must have happened to her. You don't think she's d-" Ino's voice cracks. She can't finish her sentence.

"I doubt it." Asuma calms Ino. "The invasion just started, they wouldn't have the time to do it yet. Besides, how important would one fresh, clanless gennin that didn't make it to the finals be?"

"You're right." Ino tires to convince herself. "She's probably sick?" It comes out as a question, as if she's not sure.

"AAAHHHH!" A scream tears through the air. No. It can't be. I know that scream, I haven't heard that voice for so long. It is my kaa-san. My kaa-san is screaming.

"KAA-SAN!"

I bolt out of the booth, straight over the balcony. I vaguely make a note of a Sound team leaping into the contestant booth.

"KAA-SAN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Where is she? Where is my kaa-san? Who made her scream? Who hurt her!

"NO! Don't kill him! Don't kill Fujita! Not him! Please!" She's begging a Suna shinobi to not cut off my tou-san's head.

On the other side of the stadium.

~Protect what's ours!~

I won't get there in time! I push myself as fast as I can go. I'm not going to make it!

The sun glints off the raised blade of the Suna shinobi. He swings it down. My tou-san's head rolls off his body and falls to the ground.

~No! He has taken from us! Kill him!~

I'm only halfway across the arena. Kaa-san is kneeling over tou-san's corpse, bawling her eyes out. I couldn't save him. I couldn't save my tou-san.

The Suna shinobi raises his blade again.

"NO!" I roar. "KAA-SAN!"

I'm only seconds away. She looks up at the sound of my voice.

With tears in her eyes, I hear her say "We always loved you."

The blade falls.

Her head thuds to the ground.

The world stops. All I can see is my dead parents. My murdered parents. Why are they here? They shouldn't be here. Why?

They came to watch me. They are here because of me. It is my fault.

~No. It is not the host's fault. The one who did this is before you. What will you do?~

I let the Jiongu out. It rips from my chest, reopening my scar.

~Yes. Use me.~

I let it snare the murdering Suna shinobi.

~Yes! Kill him! Let me kill him!~

I see the fear in his eyes, the terror he now feels. The helplessness. Good.

"Get me his heart. Make it painful. Make him suffer. Make him scream!"

~As the host commands!~

The Jiongu digs into his skin, burrowing into his body. He screams. He screams loud enough to wake the dead. He screams so loud all the fights near me stop, they are watching the horror show I'm putting on. Good. Let them watch. Let them know what I will do when you kill my family!

It's not enough. I want all the nin here to know what happens when you take from me. I want them to know what they will face if they cross me. I want them to know that if you steal what's mine, you face the wrath of a monster.

"I said make it painful. I want it messy."

~YES!~

The Jiongu shears off the skin on his chest, displaying his organs. It reaches in, grabs one at random, and crushes it. Blood and bodily fluids fly everywhere. It grabs another. It shreds this one. The shinobi dies. I don't tell the Jiongu to stop. I let it continue desecrating his corpse, I don't care that he is already dead. It rips the next organ to pieces. It destroys every major organ he has in a unique way.

"His heart." I demand. "Give it to me."

~Of course, it is yours now.~

The Jiongu carefully pulls his heart out of his ruined chest and gently, tenderly places it in my hand.

~Wind.~

I remove the rest of my torn shirt, baring my scars and masks to the world.

"Add it to the collection."

The black threads pick the heart up, remove the wind mask from my back and put it inside me. The pain doesn't bother me. Not this time, not when my family is dead. I tear my eyes away from the bodies of my parents and my unborn sibling. I'll never know if I'll have a brother or a sister. I've been robbed of something precious. Something irreplaceable.

Its quiet. Too quiet for a battlefield. I want to know why. Everyone is looking at me in fear. The Suna nin, the Sound nin. Even the Rookie Gennin that are present. The senseis. A select few don't have fear on their face. Kakashi. Gai. Two Suna shinobi. Four Sound shinobi. And one other, a person dressed up in Suna's ANBU gear.

He reaches into his hip pouch, and withdraws a scroll with a black band around it. A body scroll. Why? What's he doing? There is no body to seal near him. He throws it to me.

"Open it." I know that voice. I've heard it before, but I can't place who exactly it is. The mystery Suna ANBU vanishes in a swirl of sand.

"Alvarcus no!" Kakashi commands. He must be done dealing with the Sound team that attacked the booth. I ignore him. I open the body scroll and pump chakra into it to release its contents. A body pops out and falls to the ground with a dull thud.

Sakura. It's Sakura. I'd know that hair anywhere. Her throat is slit. There's a Suna symbol carved into her forehead.

I fall to my knees. "Sakura?" I whisper. "Wake up. Please. Not you too." I know its too late already. "I'm so sorry Sakura. We were supposed to be great. We were supposed to do so many things together. I'm so sorry. We never even got Sasuke to go to team dinners."

"Alvarcus." Kakashi says softly. "Look at me."

I can't. I can't even move. I don't want to move. I don't want to be here. This isn't how the story should go. My parents. Sakura. They're gone forever. I'll never see them again.

"Alvarcus!" Kakashi says strongly.

"What?" I rasp out.

"You need to go to the shelter." Kakashi says gently. I have no idea how he is remaining so composed. He just lost a student.

"No. Sasuke. Where's Sasuke! I need to protect him! I won't lose him! Not him too!" I fly to my feet. I need to find him.

"Alvarcus, no. You've been through enough." Kakashi says softly. "Your parents. Sakura. Just go to the-"

"NO! TELL ME WHERE HE IS OR I WILL FIND HIM MYSELF!" I roar. "I will find him. I will protect him. I will violently deal with anyone who tries to stop me. Even you. I will not abandon him! I won't lose him too!"

Kakashi flies through some hand seals. Pakkun appears in a puff of smoke. "Hey. What do you need?"

"Take him to Sasuke." Kakashi asks. "Look out for him. He's..." Kakashi gingerly touches his Sharingan eye, "fragile." Kakashi turns to me. "Asuma and Kurenai sent some of their gennin to assist Sasuke too. You'll probably catch up to them, Pakkun has more experience tracking than all of you rookie gennin combined."

"Gotcha. Alright kid, let's go." Pakkun takes off out of the arena into the forest. I follow right behind him. "We gotta conserve your stamina if you want to be useful when we get there."

"We don't. My muscles don't tire. I don't even have muscles anymore. The Jiongu replaced them. It doesn't get tired. I can run for days. Literally."

"Useful. You set the pace. I'll stay ahead of you."

I push my speed to its maximum. I'm glad I have the Jiongu right now. If I didn't have it, there is no way I would be able to cover this much distance this quickly.

"I smell a Nara ahead." Pakkun informs me.

"His name is Shikamaru. We're going through. If he needs help, I'll leave a minion."

"Sixty seconds out at current speed."Pakkun warns.

Pakkun and I burst into a small clearing to see Shikamaru taking on three teams of Sound shinobi. He has them all trapped in his shadows.

"Pakkun. New plan: thirty second slaughter. Stay hidden."

He scurries off into the treeline as I charge through the clearing through the sound nin and grab Shikamaru. We need to move.

Halfway through the clearing I will out my lightning, earth and water hearts. As awesome as they are, my chakra strings aren't meant to overwhelm groups of opponents. I need to destroy the enemies as soon as possible. The earth monster stomps its foot and raises walls of stone around the Sound nin in a pentagon. The water monster leaps over the new container and uses Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave to slam the nin into the ground and fill the oddly shaped bowl with a half meter of water. Then the lightning mask leaps over the walls and fires Lightning Release: False Darkness into the water.

I was wrong on my time. It wasn't a thirty second slaughter. It was a ten second slaughter.

"Thanks for the save. How did you make those- What the hell happened to you!?" Shikamaru exclaims.

Oh, my shirt is gone. Shredded by my use of the Jiongu and discarded in the arena. He can see everything.

"I don't have time to explain. Sasuke needs me." I pull the heart monsters back into me with a squelch.

Shikamaru pales. "Your masks. That's what you needed the masks for."

"Yes." I answer. "Pakkun! Let's go." He comes scampering out of the brush.

"This way." He growls out. Good, he's serious now. Before he seemed too relaxed. We start to move again.

"I'll come too." Shikamaru calls out.

I call out to him over my shoulder. "If you can't keep up, don't step up. You'll just die."

Pakkun and I kick it in high gear. Shikamaru follows us for a few minutes.

"How" wheeze "are you" wheeze "still going?" Shikamaru asks between breaths.

"It has to do with those monsters you saw me use. I don't get tired."

"You've" wheeze "gotta be" wheeze "kidding me." wheeze "I call" wheeze "bullshit."

I ignore him. "Pakkun, how much longer?"

"Five minutes to Sasuke. Two minutes to an Aburame." He tells me.

"Shikamaru. Who is Shino fighting?"

"Kankuro." wheeze "I'll help" wheeze "Shino. You go" wheeze "to Sasuke."

"Agreed. I'll do a hit and run attack on Kankuro when I run past. The rest is up to you and Shino."

We run the next moments with no sound but Shikamaru's labored breathing.

"Thirty seconds out." Pakkun warns us.

"I'll destroy his puppet. His poisons won't work on me. It will lower his threat level significantly."

We burst into another clearing to see Shino wildly dodging Kasaru and Kankuro doing everything he can to avoid Shino's swarm.

I flow through hand signs while running, "Earth release: Devouring Earth!"

Jaws of earth rise from beneath Kasaru and crush it to dust. I watch Kankuro go pale.

"Thank you, I was having difficulty." Shino says as I sprint past.

"You get Shikamaru! I'm going ahead to help Sasuke!"

Pakkun and I never slowed down. The entire exchange took less than five seconds.

"Pakkun, how long?"

"Three minutes. Max. Probably less."

"How are you holding up? Can you go faster?"

"Kid, I can keep up with Kakashi. This is nothing."

"Good. The ground levels out here for a while. Let's up the speed."

We run along in silence at breakneck speeds. I've never moved this fast before. At this point I'm not running, I'm leaping. I'm using the Jiongu to its fullest potential in my legs, using the added strength to push me forward.

"Thirty seconds. I smell four scents. Sasuke, foxes, sand, and a female I don't know."

"Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Temari." Good. Naruto is there.

"Five seconds." Pakkun warns.

We burst into the clearing to see Gaara slam Sasuke through a tree.

"SASUKE!" I yell.

"Slicing Whirlwind!" Wind cuts into me, shearing off some skin and exposing my threads. "You will not hurt my brother!" Temari shouts at me.

"You won't hurt mine!" I release my earth heart. "Deal with her! Non-lethal take-downs only. I've killed enough today."

With Temari busy running for her life I turn back to Gaara to see him and Naruto fighting.

"Naruto! Can you survive for two minutes? I want to check on Sasuke."

"You are late." I have never been more glad to hear that damn arrogant tone. "Taking after Kakashi?"

Naruto disengages from Gaara. Gaara is half transformed into Shukaku, his right arm is covered in sand with blue accents. His eyes are bloodshot and he has a feral grin. All higher thought processes are gone, he's running on barely more than pure instinct at this point.

"Never mind Naruto, Sasuke's fine. I think. How's the chakra levels?" I ask.

"Low. I have one more Chidori left. Then we don't have any lightning jutsu strong enough to hurt him."

"Yes we do. I'm here now."

"Cool! You have a lightning affinity too!" Naruto exclaims.

"I have them all."

Naruto's jaw drops. Sasuke looks surprised. "Orochimaru?" He asks.

"Yeah, one of the side effects. Another is the thing fighting Temari." They both glance over to that fight. I say fight, it is more like an extreme version of 'run away from the earth spitting monster.'

"Dude. I don't know if that is cool, or the most creepy thing ever." Naruto says. "You made that?"

"Yeah. Each one has it's own element and can use jutsu of said element. That one is earth. I have fire, wind, water and lightning left."

"You can make more!? Forget teaching me how to fly teach me how to do that!" Naruto exclaims. "That's so COOL!"

"It also gave me all of my scars and is the reason I have masks stitched onto my back."

"He-he.. Less cool?" Naruto rubs his head sheepishly.

"Shut up Naruto." Sasuke demands. "We need a plan. How good is that lightning jutsu of yours?"

"B-rank. Any range. I can fire as many as we need. My chakra recovers extremely fast." I quickly provide the information. "I used it to electrocute nine Sound shinobi who were in a pond on the way over here."

"Here's the plan." Sasuke starts explaining, "Alvarcus, pelt him from long range until he goes down. Naruto and I will work from mid range to keep him away from you. Keep us between the two of you."

"Works for me!"

"Naruto, you are way to chipper for this situation. I'll have my water monster attack from close range. Once earth is done with Temari it'll join."

"STOP IGNORING ME! COME! LET ME FEEL ALIVE!" Gaara throws himself at us.

I jump backwards while Naruto and Sasuke engage him, positioning him to give me a clear shot. I start going through the hand signs for False Darkness.

"Sand Shuriken!" Gaara roars out as he hurls his attack towards me.

A whirling blade of death tears through the air. I attach a string to it and pull. A small section breaks away from the giant shuriken.

"Oh shit!" I hit the floor. The shuriken barely misses me. "Okay, can't redirect those, I just rip off a chunk of sand. Let's try something new."

I push the lightning heart out of my back, but I don't let it separate from me to form a monster. Instead I leave it connected. I create a fifth limb extending from my back to over my head, one that can spit lightning without having to make hand signs.

"Cool. Didn't know I could do that."

False Darkness rips from my new appendage, streaks across the battlefield and blasts a huge chunk of sand off Gaara's sand arm.

"Wicked."

The battle progresses in our favor. Between my water monster, Sasuke and Naruto we have Gaara on the defensive. He is always in a good spot for me to hit him with my lightning jutsu. I blast off more and more sand with every shot. We might actually win this!

"ENOUGH!" Gaara roars. "Genjutsu: Forced Slumber."

"Oh fuck me." I know whats coming.

POOF!

The world becomes covered in smoke.

"What's this? I'm free? I'M FREE!"

Shukaku. He released Shukaku. I am so glad he is outside of the village.

"Guys!" I call out. "We need a new plan!"

Sasuke and Naruto run to my side. I pull in my water monster and retract the lightning mask to my back.

"Okay. I have some combination attacks that might be able to hurt it. Do either of you two have anything to fight a giant sand monster?" I ask my allies.

"OH OH! I do!" Oh thank Kami. "I can summon Gamabunta! He's HUGE! He can fight that thing for us! Here I'll do it right now!"

"Uh I don' think that's a good-"

"Summoning Jutsu!"

POOF!

"-idea. Am I standing on a giant toad?"

"OI! Brat! Why did you summon me?" Gamabunta, the toad boss, asks.

"We need you to fight the big sand monster over there Chief!" Naruto happily chirps.

"Sasuke. Your eyes can see through genjutsu. That's what this is, right? Please tell me we are on the ground. Please?" I'm in the air. I don't want to be in the air.

"We are on a giant toad." Sasuke bluntly informs me.

"See that's what I thought. Is now a bad time to tell you I have a crippling fear of heights? Cuz I do. Big time."

"Hang on kiddos! It's about to get rough!" Gamabunta says while drawing his sword.

"No! I want off!" I'm ignored. Gamabunta bounds all over the place. "I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I can't do this again. I can't be this high again. I'm dead. Dead dead dead. Splat. Again."

"Alvarcus shut up!" Sasuke demands. "I'm not going to let you fall off!"

"Oi. Brats on my head." Gamabunta rumbles. "Which one of you knows the biggest fire jutsu?"

Ignore the height. Do your job. The ground is red and feels like toad. It's always been that way. You are on the ground.

"I do." Sasuke says.

"Me." I say.

"Please. My Grand Fireball is bigger than your fire whip. You can't even make them that long!" Sasuke defends his pride.

"Dude, did you not see me melt that guy in the booth? Oh wait, you were chasing Gaara. You didn't. Doesn't matter. I'm not talking about my fire whips, I have a fire equivalent to the lightning jutsu I was using earlier. B-rank. All ranges."

"What the hell did you do to train this last month?" Sasuke demands. "Was that weird Yamato guy really that good?"

"Nah, I learned most of this from a scroll and trial and error." I never thought I would say this, but thank you Orochimaru.

"Brats! Quit arguing and ready the damn jutsu! You'll know when to launch it!" Gamabunta's cheeks swell.

We're doing the oil and fire move. I push out my water heart. I have it ready a huge water wave. I fly through the hand signs for Intelligent Hard Work and my own cheeks swell. Gamabunta spits out a crazy amount of oil. Hundreds of thousands of liters. I release my own fire. It ignites the oil. The water monster shoots out a wave of water. Ever tried to pour water on an oil fire? It makes the fire go crazy.

FWUMP!

A titanic firestorm rages towards Shukaku. It is beautiful.

"HAHA! Which one of you squirts did that!" Gamabunta asks, "Who would have thought adding water to a fire would make it bigger!"

"I did. Water and oil don't mix well. Some science could explain that, but all I know is never pour water on an oil fire. Or that happens. Kami I love fire so much! Burn sand creature! Burn! Ahahaha!"

"Ow ow ow ow ow! Hot! Hot!" Shukaku is... hopping from foot to foot to avoid stepping in the fire. How ridiculous. This is supposed to be one of the most powerful beings in the world?

"That didn't work." Thanks Naruto, like we didn't notice that already.

"We can't overwhelm it." Sasuke adds. "What else is there?"

"I have an idea." I offer. "It's pretty crazy though. And there is no way in hell I am doing it!"

"Let's hear it kid. I don't have much time left here. Naruto's chakra is almost depleted."Gamabunta adds.

"Gaara released the sand thing by forcing himself to sleep. All we have to do is wake him up, and maybe it will go away?"

"Worth a shot. How do we do it?" Sasuke asks.

"Uh... hit him in the face? He's on that thing's forehead. All one of you two have to do is get over there. I'm climbing down before Gamabunta goes poof and we are all in the air. See ya both later!"

Using my chakra I walk down Gamabunta's back to the ground, Sasuke and Naruto can handle this now.

"Sweet dirt, how I have missed you!" Pain! Squelch. "Oh, that was my earth heart. Glad it survived. Where's Temari? I'd hate for her to get stepped on."

~To the north thirty of your paces.~

"Thanks."

~You are welcome, host.~

The Jiongu shivers in delight. I remember that being much creepier the first time. I find it rather soothing now. I make my way north, stumbling a few times as the giants battle and shake the ground. I come up on Temari. Her fan is ruined, just a mangled heap of metal and canvas. She's pinned to a boulder. Earth has encased each limb, keeping her from moving. See looks up at my approach.

"You here to finish the job yourself? That... thing could have killed me multiple times. I didn't take you as the kind of person who wants to get their own hands dirty. Although, you are covered in blood. I've been wrong before."

"I'm not here to kill you." She looks surprised. "If I let you down will you attack me or run away? I don't know if you noticed, but there is a giant toad fighting a giant sand... thing. Raccoon maybe? Anyways, we should probably move away from here. I'll even take you to Kankuro once the fight is over."

"But... why? My village invaded yours! You're supposed to hate me!" Temari shouts.

"Temari. Today I lost almost everyone important to me. I watched a Suna shinobi cut my-" my voice cracks "-cut my parents heads off. I watched them die. I'll never get to meet my sibling, because he or she wasn't born yet. I watched one of your ANBU throw me a body scroll that contained my teammate's desecrated corpse. Believe me, I'm full of hate. I'm brimming in utter fury. I want to lash out at you, I want you to suffer and know my pain. I want you to experience my loss, to feel the full depth of my suffering. But I'm not going to. No one should have to feel this."

Temari pales. "You lost so many people today?"

"The only people I have left are Sasuke and Kakashi. Now tell me, did you help those events happen? Do I have a reason to hate you?"

"No. Kankuro and I were only told to protect Gaara until he released Shukaku. We didn't know about the invasion until yesterday morning." She answers honestly.

"Then I have no reason to hate you. I will not condemn you for something you had no part in."

"You really don't hate me? If our roles were reversed, I would hate you."

"I've killed eleven people today, some from your village. I've already destroyed eleven families. I won't ruin another, not for misplaced vengeance."

Temari looks relieved. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." She stills at my words. "I said I won't ruin another family. I never said anything about the others." She pales drastically at my words. "And after today, I doubt I'll be able to trust a Suna nin ever again."

"Temari!" Kankuro's voice cuts through the air. "You're alive! He didn't kill you?"

Startled, Temari asks, "Kill me? Alvarcus? He was never going to kill me. I think. Were you?"

"I didn't plan on it, but if you stopped me from getting to Sasuke any better than you did, I might have." I reply honestly. I won't sugar coat anything. "What made you think I was going to kill her?"

"Do you have any idea how scary you looked? You fly into the middle of my fight covered head to toe in blood, obliterate my best weapon, drop off reinforcements and say you're going on ahead? What was I supposed to think!"

"You are very intimidating." Shikamaru adds. Oh good, he's breathing normally again. "I thought I was dead until you saved me. You tear through the center of nine enemies, drop off three black abominations, tackle me, and somehow make a contained pond to electrocute them to death? You did all of that in ten seconds. Probably less. If you don't get a damn promotion out of this, I sure as hell am not!"

"You should have seen what he and Gamabunta did! There was fire everywhere! It was so cool!" Naruto cuts in. He's carrying Gaara, behind him is Sasuke.

"Oh good, you all lived. I was hoping you would survive." I say.

"Please. It'll take more than that to kill me." Sasuke smirks.

"What are you going to do with us now?" Temari asks.

Everyone quiets down. "You could let us go?" Temari suggests hopefully. "We will go strait to Suna. No detours. We just want to go home."

No one says anything. I break the silence. "It would benefit Konoha."

"Explain. I've heard you say some dumb things, but this takes the cake." Sasuke demands of me.

"Think about it. They're the Kazekage's kids. Not only that, rookie gennin demolished them. Had them all but dead. Then we let them go? It shows we are strong. It shows we are compassionate. It shows we have mercy. It shows that we are human."

I don't want to cause more death today. There's already enough blood on my hands. If I can convince the others maybe I can redeem myself a little. Prove to myself that I'm not a monster.

Shikamaru pins the Sand Siblings in a stare. "Straight to Suna? No detours?"

"Yes." Kankuro replies this time.

"I'm okay with it. It'd be too troublesome to keep an eye on you three until some else comes to take you off our hands."

"Acceptable." Shino says, he's a man of few words.

"Sure! We can totally spar sometime if we go to Suna!" Naruto adds.

Is he that clueless, or just doesn't understand that we were invaded? Maybe he and Gaara bonded like in cannon? Or is he actually desperate for friends? I have no idea.

We turn to Sasuke. He's the last one.

"Fine. I'm tired of looking at that red hair anyways."

I let the earth jutsu holding Temari crumble. "Sorry about your fan. I didn't know my earth monster was that strong."

Temari nods, "I'm sorry about your family and teammate." The Sand Siblings leave.

Sasuke stiffens. "Teammate? But I'm... Something happened to Sakura? Alvarcus, is she okay?"

"Ask Kakashi. Please." An image of her corpse flashes through my mind.

"Alvarcus. Is she dead?" Sasuke sounds broken, almost as bad as me.

"Don't make me remember it. Please." I sound pathetic.

The events of today have finally started to catch up to me. I could ignore it during the heat of battle, but now? When everything is over? It's all I can think about.

Sasuke's face drains of all color. "She said I'm sorry about your family and teammate. If Sakura is..." He trails off.

"Y-yeah." I feel my eyes water. "Them too. I'm an orphan now."

"Orphan? Both of your parents... what about... no. Your sibling."

"Sasuke. Please. Just stop talking." I try to collect myself. I fail miserably. "I need to do something. I can't stop doing something. If I stop I remember. I don't want to remember. Someone give me something to do."

"We can go back to the village and see if there is still fighting going on. Maybe assist in evacuating civilians, or protecting the bunkers." Shikamaru suggests.

I have a goal. Something to distract me.

"Yeah. That. I'm going to go do that." Anything to push the pain away.

"I'm coming with." I open my mouth to tell Sasuke no. "No arguing. We lost Sakura. We don't get to die, we are stronger as a team. I'll protect you, and you protect me."

"Alright." I cave. "You set the pace. You're the one low on chakra."