MOON SAYS: Well. sad but not, this is the last chapter of Skeleton Fall! It was supposed to be finished two months ago, but time got away from me. This is my Christmas present to you, my readers! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WORDS: 3, 372

PAGES: 8

ENJOY!

Skeleton Fall

Chapter 4

My legs actually gave out when the shock took control of my body. Lucky for me, my partner sensed the increasing tension in my body, and caught me when my legs gave out.

"I know I'm a good dancer and I'm also hot; but I wasn't aware I was so good looking and an awesome dancer, that it made you weak in the knees," he teased lightly, but I heard the tiny bit of worry buried in there.

No, I didn't hear it, I felt it.

I could also feel my guys tensed and worried at what was going on.

My head ached with the new—or old—found knowledge that I just acquired a few seconds ago. Well, not acquired, just remembered.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in my ear.

Suddenly, without thinking, I pushed him away and stumbled back a few steps. So many emotions flashed through me. I couldn't tell any of them apart. What emotions was I feeling? Whose emotions were they?

The last question surprised me, but I tossed it away. No more confusing thoughts; enough were racing at lightning speed through my head.

I saw him struggle with himself. He wanted to know if I was alright, but he didn't even know how to ask. It was then, that I realized, he didn't even know my name.

He reached out on a limb and called me something that seemed to rattle him.

"Akki?"

As soon as he said it a vision—no, it was a memory—flashed before my eyes.

"Akki?" Sasuke snorted. "Why would someone name their child Akki?" he paused as he looked up at me. "Oh, never mind."

Then it switched.

"Akki?" Gaara asked softly. "It's just another name for what we are."

The scene switched again.

"Che, Akki?" Shika said as he turned form his cloud glazing to me. Our eyes locked. "It means Demon. Why should we care whether or not someone is a demon? Let alone called one?"

My heart soared like the clouds he loved to watch; and they went higher with his words fresh to my ears.

Then he was in front of me. My sun kissed blonde, my sunshine, my light.

"Akki?" he asked, startled at my question. "I know what it means. The Villagers wanted to name me that after they found out what happened to Kyuubi," he told me, with no emotion. "But why should what people call us matter? Whether it is demon, or savior, or murderer? In the end, everyone dies and what others call you does not matter any longer."

I closed my eyes. His words hit home then and now. Even if he truly didn't understand the impact of his words, the fool, he never did understand. So many lives changed and made for the better, just because of his words.

"Akki?" he asked again and his voice (and word) brought me out of my memories of another life.

I saw those red eyes flash blue and I had enough. There was too much confusion, too much recognition.

I ran.

Fast.

Faster than I knew I could run. But I laughed bitterly. This wasn't fast; if I was running fast no mortal or untrained eye could see me. When we trained, Sasuke and Neji had trouble using their Kekkai Genkai to keep up with me. Of course, when I used eye Kekkai Genkai, it was hard to follow them as well.

I ran without thinking of where I was going. My feet just took me somewhere while my mind and heart were in major turmoil. When I stopped I was at my tree. The tree where all this shit started. And now it would end here as well. Fitting, I supposed.

I was confused and not confused at the same time. I was a fricken walking and talking oxymoron!

I was a powerful half-demon that screamed full-demon; but on the other hand I was a puny mortal human that screamed human.

Everything was wrong.

I wasn't who I was. I was everything I wasn't supposed to be.

Afraid. Frightened. Scared. Alone. Confused. Human. Ignorant. Guilty.

I knew deep down, in the pit, of my heart and my soul, that I had condemned someone I loved. But I didn't know how he was punished.

All because of me and my selfishness.

If only I had gone with him. I was the coward, I had run, and broken my promise. And he was the one who paid the price.

I ripped off the mask in anger and threw it away.

Anger at myself.

No, I wasn't angry; I was beyond furious. My emotions were calling to nature; and nature was responding with a vengeance.

The Wind was raging hard enough to rip trees out of the ground. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The Earth was rumbling and shaking. It was pouring like there was going to be no tomorrow.

I toned down the Earth's reaction, but kept the others in full force. Except the ripping trees out of the ground; Earth wouldn't like that too much.

There was no way anyone was getting near me. The rain was hard coming down in rivers. By now it was flooding, and my tree's trunk was already half drowned in water.

From the lowest branch to the ground I think is twelve feet. So the Water was at least up to six foot now. I knew no one over six feet tall that would want to be near me.

Shika was five nine, Gaara was five eight, while Sasuke was right at six foot. Naruto was…no! I threw the thought of him right out of my mind.

Thinking of him would totally undermine me. My mind was so chaotic, that I couldn't make sense of anything.

Who was I really?

Was I a Demon Queen? One of the world's most powerful Shinobi? Was I so unstable that I needed those chosen by the elements to keep me grounded? Not to mention the whole soul thing.

Or was I a normal civilian girl? A girl that had lots of friends that cared for her, even if they made things hard on her? Was I a girl who had a fucked up life and needed to be grounded by her friends? Not to mention the whole group thing at school.

My hands covered my face. My mind was in shambles. I couldn't tell who was who. Which Renella was I? The one of the past? Or the one of the future?

"Damn it all!" I screamed. "I finally got away from the pain, guilt, regret and horror!"

Tears escaped my eyes and mixed with the rain; I didn't know if I was crying or it was the rain after awhile.

"Why? Finally it was all over, no more pain."

I cried.

As I cried, I felt like I was betraying myself.

I was strong, stronger than anyone else I knew. I had been through so much shit and I still walked on, acting like nothing had ever happened. Like I was never betrayed, never watched my mother and grandmother get murdered in front of my eyes. Or going on a rampage with my father by my side; forget the betrayal that lead to being hunted by the whole world and getting my soul ripped into seven pieces. Or falling in love with someone I could never have, because his future son would be one of my future Guardians. The massacres, either of them, didn't count.

One of the reasons I felt drawn to the son of a man one of personalities loved, was because of his ability to walk on as if nothing bad had ever happened to him. He was just like me. Our masks would never fall.

Only four could bring mine down. My precious Guardians, my Chosen-ones.

I loved them, and I showed it by saving three and condemning one to an unknown hell.

Abruptly, my head snapped forward. Someone was approaching, and they were hiding their charka like an expert who wielded it for years. A person who knew what charka was, how to use it, and how to bend it to their will.

How did I know they were there then? It was because I felt demonic charka. Only four others had demonic charka in this age. And I gave it to three of them. The other got it after he was born. They were my Guardians.

Gaara had demonic charka in his body, but not at the concentration that it was when I healed him. Naruto always had more than all of the other eight Jinchūriki. He had Kyuubi sealed inside of him; if one combined the Eight Tails with the One Tail, they would have Kyuubi's charka.

As they got closer I knew how many were coming toward me, and how many were not. All four of them were there, but three were staying back—as if they were guards—protecting and enacting a perimeter.

It didn't take a genius to realize who was there. Plus, my storm was clearing up a little. The Earth no longer moved or anything. The rain lessened, but didn't leave me completely.

That was something that made me smile. When it came to the Elements, they loved me more. The rain had always, in the past, comforted me. So did thunder storms.

My lightning and thunder toned itself down as well; but like the rain, it didn't disappear completely.

I was waiting for the Wind to dissolve around me, and I wasn't disappointed.

The Wind barrier around me made a hole—a door if you will—and then took on a wider stance. My barrier was still in place, but it just widened.

I felt my Kitsune's charka as he came closer.

Even though the Water was up six foot off the ground, it didn't bother the intruder. The bastard was walking on water, and old ninja trick.

Naruto.

He still wore his costume. I didn't have to look at myself to know my dress was soaked and my make-up was ruined.

I reached my hand out before I thought; as if my body knew something was going to happen before my mind registered the actions. There was a towel put into my hand. I wiped my face off; it took a few minutes, but the rain helped.

Once I was through, I threw the towel at him; it was easier than I thought. But it didn't make it to him. The rain claimed it first.

"We need to talk," my blonde Angel told me softly.

I rolled my eyes. "No, shit Sherlock, what gave you that idea?"

We both knew what was going on. I was confused and overridden with so many emotions that I lashed out in anger.

"Obviously you remember something," he said hesitantly. "I see that everyone's been re-born, but her."

We both knew who he was talking about. His beloved teacher.

"Are you her or just a cruel imitation?"

I thought about how to answer. Should I say I was her, or just an imitation he thought I was? What was the difference, really? Something inside of me told me not to tell him I was her.

"Would it matter whether or not I was your Renella?"

Clearly I didn't say if I was her or not, but he took it as I wasn't her. I saw how broken and dejected he looked and it pained me.

It hurt to know I caused this pain of his, but I needed answers.

"No, it wouldn't."

I wonder why I felt like mirroring the look of pain on his face.

I turned to my left, trying not to look at him, or else the pain would return. Something caught my attention though, and distracted me momentary.

The skeleton that started everything.

Suddenly, everything clicked for me.

"Are you tied to this skeleton?"

My question shocked him and he showed it; I seemed to have surprised him with my question. Naruto hadn't even thought that I would have figure it out, it seemed. The shock, though, was more powerful than the pain that occupied his face earlier.

The urge to chuckle, came to me, but I resisted it; seeing as this was not the time nor the place for such a reaction.

"Yes," was all he said.

Damn my curiosity!

"So, you are cursed."

The blonde just nodded, no words came out of his mouth to agree with his action though; and no words to deny it either.

So, he was cursed after all, as punishment for what he did. This meant that I condemned him to be cursed. But how was his cursed? What were all the juicy little details of his curse?

"Are you going to tell me, or are we going to just stand here and keep the silence up?"

Naruto's head just moved down, his wet blonde hair sticking to his head. The sun-kissed blonde stood on the water, as I sat on my tree, in complete and perfect silence.

Silence was something that used to love more than anything. Now I loathed it with a passion.

"You are an imitation," he said after a while of silence. "She was my life, my very reason for living toward the end. Almost everyone I cared for was dead; but she was my light during the dark times. She kept me sane, grounded, and alive."

You were the light. I was the darkness. I thought before he continued.

"Then, while I was fighting, that bastard Neji made her use her demonic charka to heal her Guardians. He died before she could save him, a good thing in my opinion. After she healed Gaara, she died; she had no charka left, no energy. I broke and lost control, Kyuubi as well. We killed everyone. As punishment the Nine Lords and the Reigning Queen of the Demon World, bound me to the skeleton for the rest of eternity."

I stopped breathing, was he telling the truth?

"It seems fair that when I thought I found her, it was just an imitation of the real thing. Fate loves her karma. But it doesn't matter; tonight it ends," he said without any bitterness in his voice; just acceptance.

My attention, at first, was on the first part of his words. Fair? Did that mean he thought it was just and the right punishment for his crimes?

Naruto started walking toward me; that action snapped me out of my thoughts and into reality. It also forced his last words into my mind and made themselves known.

But it doesn't matter, tonight it ends.

What was the exact punishment they gave him? What was the way out?

For when demons punished someone, they always gave the punished a way out. Every time it was something that would be almost impossible.

An example would be a guy who hated to kill, and pissed off a demon because he didn't kill someone or something. The man could be freed only if he killed someone.

Naruto stopped right in front of me; everything in me screamed that I stop him from moving or doing anything at all.

But those eyes stopped me.

"How do you get freed?" I whispered breathlessly. His eyes were making me do (and not want to do) things I would have never done unless I was tricked.

He was Kitsune, after all.

I didn't want to reveal things. I didn't want to want to kiss him. I didn't want to wrap my legs around his waist—to pull him closer to me. I didn't want to succumb to the desire to kiss him.

But I did.

And everything went to hell.

As soon as our lips touched, something inside of him broke.

I jerked back, my body became unbalanced and I fell off the branch.

Again. Irony, something you have just got to love it. This tree was the beginning, now it's the end. The skeleton started everything and it would end it with it. I fell of the branch and he saved me; now I fall again and he can't.

Naruto couldn't move, his eyes went wide and he knew he couldn't catch me, as I dropped six foot into water deeper than I am tall.

My body reacted by itself; and did a back flip so that when I hit the water, my feet would hit it first, instead of my back. And instead of falling into the water and drowning, like he thought, I landed on one knee. My eyes closed and I started my heart; for it had stopped again.

When I opened my eyes and stood up, he stared at me in shock. I smirked; it seemed that tonight I would keep on shocking him.

"How?" he gasped as many questions began to flash through his mind at my actions. Naruto saw me standing on water and I saw doubt, clearly, in his eyes as he realized what I did. The blonde male in front me, began to try and connect the dots.

My eyes immediately turned on him, looking him up and down. Something was happening, his charka wasn't coming out—like it was supposed to—but going in, instead. It went straight into a Seal.

Instantly my eyes turned black and with a wave of my hand the storm disappeared.

He knew who I was now; there was no doubt in his mind now; but regret was filling him up, instead of relief.

That meant he broke the curse that was placed on him by the Nine Bjuu Lords and my sister.

Damn it all!

As soon as the Water went away, I was by his side in a split second.

"Ella?"

I nodded and pulled up his shirt. There was the Seal that the curse was coming from. It seemed that Kyuubi had merged completely with him long ago and no longer needed a Seal to bind him inside of Naruto.

"I thought it wasn't you…that's why I did it." He confessed as I studied the Seal more.

Later I would kill him, but now I had to save my beloved Wind Guardian.

Two minutes gone by—almost there.

Three minutes over with—I knew it was designed to respond to my charka, but what did that mean? Did that mean that I could end his curse? Or did that mean I could stop it from consuming him, and in two minutes, kill him forever?

Four minutes were through—I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but I gave it a shot. I channeled enough of my demonic charka to, hopefully, stop the Seal from consuming the blonde in front of me.

Five minutes pasted— he wasn't dead. The Seal hadn't taken him, body and soul. He was still here.

But would I be?

I needed demonic charka to live, and I just gave him almost all of mine. I didn't have much left after healing three of my Guardians, and now I gave almost all of what was left to my last one.

I actually had as much demonic charka as my guys now; now that I thought about it. My demonic charka had allowed their souls to travel through time to be re-born, so it took some of it from them. Now we all had the same amount. Naruto had all of the demonic charka—that he got from Kyuubi—absorbed by the Seal. He only had what I just gave him; which kind of wasn't that much.

Speaking of my Guardians, they were coming toward us now. By the time they came up to us, it hadn't taken them long.

I knew as they came closer that everything was going to be alright. My charka would keep us together now; even if we didn't have much of it left. Of course, we could remedy that by going to the demon world.

Our souls and our past, present and future were now bound together. We all knew it; I felt the knowledge occupy their minds and I felt their acceptance.

Forever and ever, they all thought as they surrounded me. Their thoughts caused me to smirk.

"Forever and ever, huh? Can you handle me that long, my loves?"

Fin

Thanks guys, for bearing with me this long. I'm sorry that it wasn't complete when it was supposed to be (by Halloween).

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS guys, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!