The Remnants Of A Sand Castle (A Gaara Love Story)

The Shukaku's Opponent

The Shikaku had come to play.

The vortex appeared right in front of Uragiri and I. It was black and ominous.

"GRRRR... RRRRAWWWRRR!!" The exclaims from the vortex only meant one thing. 

The Shukaku was coming right now.

I backed away in horror as a terrifying raccoon like head swung it's way out of the vortex. Followed by a large torso that took up the space of the three roof tops behind us. Then, the horrifying one tail whipped out of the portal, and smacked Uragiri. He flew 6 rooftops in the other direction, and I heard a "thunk!" I saw red blood come from his ears too. He was out cold.

I turned toward the Shukaku, trembling at the chakra it was emitting. My eyes were wide, and tearing up in fear.

So this is a tailed beast... Huh? 

My hands were shaky and imprecise as I slowly pulled out an arrow for defense. But my shaky hands drop it instantly.

No, Rin, you have to pull it together! You're the only person here with enough skill to defeat it!

I took a couple of deep breaths and stood firm. I counted every option available to me to fight off a tailed beast. How could I overpower this sociopathic monster?

I activated my eyes.

Why was this the only option?

I whispered the forbidden jutsu.

"Isangan: Total Dominant Reality." My once yellow eyes now shown a brilliant fuchsia. My incisor teeth now grew into long, threatening fangs. My albino hair then shifted to a startling crimson. My plain nails cultivated into sharp claws.

I looked like a beautiful beast.

A now groaning, squinting Uragiri looked in awe at the form I had taken on.

The Shukaku looked down curiously at it's obvious opponent. It seemed pleased I looked like a challenge. But I would be more than that.

I would be the victor.

The waiting was unbearable. The next match wasn't in motion yet, because there was an intermission time. Sasuke was in the infirmary, out cold. When he woke up, I suspected he'd be less than pleased to see me.

That was not surprising. Beforehand, I'd never shown even a pinch of real power in our training sessions. But that was ordinary. Fact was, I'd actually tried a bit during our match. I don't think Sasuke finds hiding your abilities a cool thing. But who would? It makes you seem like a fraud.

And frauds are never welcome.

Of course, being only able to wander after my match, I walked aimlessly around the arena. The halls behind the seats were plain and unappealing. I was eerily bored. I trudged up to the contestants box, and I was greeted with cold glares.

Now this was predicted, of course, but it still hurt nonetheless.

"The heck's up with all of you?" I snapped, folding my arms over me. If they were going to be cross, so was I.

"I think everyone doesn't like how you've changed." Naruto spoke in a sympathetic tone. He was the only one here who knew my past, other than Gaara, but he was nowhere to be found. Everyone else ignored me.

"Well," I spoke loudly for all of them to hear, "everyone else should get over themselves, because, I'm no different. I was this strong yesterday, and the day before that. They just didn't know it. And so, the only reason that they should be upset would be because they're afraid of my strength. Chew on that, Konoha kids." I huffed out the last sentence in annoyance. Frankly, I was pretty sure I was getting more moody with age, but how would they know that. As far as I was concerned, they just thought I was getting haughty.