The Fox Bandit Ch 16

The Fox Bandit
Ch. 16: Rage

"What?"
Naruto sighed, his arm going limp. He looked down. He rubbed at his nose in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.
"I'm a demon, Sakura," he whispered, sadly. "Kyuubi, the demon fox. I was born that way. My mother was possessed by him before me, and my great-aunt before her. He's the reason my mother died giving birth to me and my sister."
"Is Naren…?" began Sakura, unable to finish.
"As far as I know, Naren is perfectly normal," he said, cutting Sakura off with a wave of his free hand. "Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept something like this from you. Please, let me go. I need to think."
Sakura didn't think to not do as he asked and let him go. He walked back to the cabin where he had left his normal clothing and grabbed them before heading to the inn. Sakura stared at him, watching him walk away in shock. She didn't know what to say, what to do, or whether or not she should even believe him. But there was that time….he sounded so evil….could he be telling the truth?
Naruto slammed the door behind him and quickly changed back into his usual clothing. If he was going to make it the crossing than he had to leave today, come hell or high water, and no one was going to stop him. He grabbed all his belongings-which wasn't very much-stuffing them in his satchel, and began strapping on holsters. His .44's were wrapped around his waist. He pulled another holster over his shoulder and around his chest. It held all his knives, from tiny throwing knifes to large, serrated, and very lethal knives. He might have to fight Sasuke, so he had to be prepared. Sasuke Uchiha had a vendetta against him for some reason. He could clearly recall that day.

Flashback
"Sasuke, what are you doing?" growled Naruto. His coat whipped around him in the strong wind. It looked as though it would rain soon and thunder boomed in the background.
"You're my best friend," said Sasuke, drawing a sword. "And because of that, you have to die."
Naruto drew one of pistols from the holster. "You're talking crazy, Sasuke. Put the sword away. You know I can shoot you before you even have a chance to stab me."
"I can't do that Naruto." Sasuke charged.
"SASUKE!"
Flashback end

Naruto gripped his head. It was so infuriating.
"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" he growled, slamming his fist into the wall, his chest heaving.
Sakura was coming up the stairs with Naren when she heard the crash.
"What was that?" she asked. Naren's eyes grew wide.
"Naruto," she said. She hiked up her dress and ran flat out up the stairs. Sakura followed her.
"Naruto!" cried Naren. She ran down the hall to the room her brother had been staying in. The door was flung off the hinges and Naren skidded to a halt before she was hit by it. "Big Brother?!" She said, peeking around the door.
Everything that had happened in the last seven months, everything from the time Jiraiya found him near death outside his cabin with a bullet lodged in his shoulder, everything bad that had happened since his father was killed, everything was fueling his rage. He was angry. He was furious.
This was not a good thing.
"Naruto!" Naren cried. She turned to Sakura. "Stay here. I don't want you to see."  She bolted into the room. Naruto was seething. There were large holes in the walls where he had slammed his fist through it. His knuckles were bleeding on both hands. His eyes were not the clear, comforting sapphire blue. They were blood red and the pupils were slits.
Kyuubi was taking over.
Naren ran to Naruto, but he swiped at her, not recognizing her. She backed off slightly, but remained as close as she could. Sakura peeked around the door frame. She gasped. She had never seen or felt something so vicious. Only an hour ago, he was smiling, praising his sister. Now, she didn't know what to think. This wasn't Naruto. This wasn't the young man she had fallen in love with. This was something beyond this world.
"Naruto, it's me, Naren," the blonde pleaded. "It's your little sister. Please, calm down." Naruto growled at her, watching her. Against her better judgment, Sakura entered the room and came behind Naren.
"This is impossible," she whispered weakly.
"He's still in there, Sakura," said Naren. "Naruto is there. The only reason we're not dead yet is because of that."
"Naren! Naren are you ok!" called Kiba as he ran into the room. He came to a sudden halt as he saw Naruto, who turned to him and growled furiously. "What is he?!"
"Kiba, take Sakura and back away!" cried Naren. Unsure of what else to do, Kiba did as he was told. He made to grab Naren, but she jerked away.
"No! I'm the only one that can stop him!" she said. Steeling her resolve, Naren eased her way closer to Naruto.
"Naruto," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "Big Brother, it's me. It's little Naren. You remember? Your little sister?" Naruto was already beginning to calm down. His eyes flickered from red to violet and back. "Big Brother, fight it. Fight Kyuubi. This is not you. You're good. You're the kindest person I know. Come back to me. I don't know what made you so angry, but it's ok now. Everything's going to be ok."
Naruto clutched his head and backed away.
"It's not ok," he said in a harsh voice. But he sounded sad. "Nothing's ok…..Father dead….Jiraiya dead….Sasuke tried to kill….shot at…hung….lost….wedding ruined….my fault….I killed…."
"Why is he talking like that!?" cried Sakura from the corner where Kiba was holding her back.
"He's trying to regain control!" said Naren. She turned back to Naruto. "Come on, Big Brother, you've almost got it. Come back to me." She inched closer to him. Finally, she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly.
"NARUTO!"
Naruto cried out as if he was in agony. Finally, he went limp. Naren struggled to hold him up, and fell to her knees, carrying Naruto with her.
"Naren," he whispered.
"What is it?" she said, stroking his hair.
"I'm sorry," he said before he passed out.
"It's not your fault," she muttered, hugging him tightly. "It was never your fault. You couldn't help it." She looked to Kiba and Sakura. "Help me get him on the bed."
Kiba ran to his fiancé's side, and grabbed one of Naruto's arms, glad the blonde was unconscious though he wouldn't voice that to Naren. Sakura helped Naren with Naruto's other arm. They lifted him and half dragged, half carried Naruto to the bed. Sakura sat on the bed beside him and began to stroke his hair, running her finger through the soft, messy strands. Kiba watched his friend sleep for a moment.
"Naren," he said finally. "What was that?"
"That," said Naren, stroking Naruto's hand, "was the reason everyone wants my brother dead."

o0O0o

The first thought that ran through Naruto's mind was did I kill anybody?. He didn't open his eyes. He registered the fact that he was indeed laying on a bed. He also registered a weight on his left arm. He opened his eyes and looked to see a bundle of pink hair spread across a pillow. The owner had rested her head on his arm and was watching him with her olive green eyes, stroking his cheek with her finger.
Sakura.
She smiled.
"You're awake." She said. Naruto did not smile.
"How can you even look at me?" he muttered, turning away. "I'm a monster." Sakura frowned.
"How can you say that?" she said, lifting up and using her elbow for leverage. Naruto didn't answer instead he sat up. He noticed all his weapons were still wrapped around him.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Just a few minutes," said Sakura. Naruto stared at her, and then swung himself off the bed. "I'll be back in a couple of days."
"What!? Where are you going?!" she cried. Naruto pulled his coat on and grabbed his hat.
"I'm going after Sasuke," growled Naruto. "He and I have some unfinished business."
"But you just woke up!" cried Sakura. Naruto shook his head.
"If I don't go now, I'll miss him," he said, refusing to look at her. "I'm more resilient than you think Sakura. I recover fast."
"Fine," huffed Sakura. "Then I'm going with you."
"No."
"We're going too." Naruto looked up to see Naren and Kiba, blocking the door.
"Definitely not!"
"You'll need us," said Naren. She had changed out of her dress to a pair of jeans and a loose shirt. She wore a long coat similar to Naruto. She also had two .44s strapped to her waist. "You didn't think you were the only one who knew how to shoot a pistol did ya?" Kiba stood beside her, decked out in similar gear. He turned to Sakura and only now noticed that she too was wearing a pair of denim pants and a red shirt. A pair of .32s were strapped to her waist.
"We're going too," said Kiba. "I couldn't talk Naren out of this I tried."
"Besides," said Sakura. "You might need me."
Naruto looked from Kiba and Naren, to Sakura and back. He knew when he'd been beat.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine," he said. "But one thing goes wrong, and I'm forcing you to leave. Got it?"
"Got it," said the trio in unison.