Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him

Pairings: SasuNaru and maybe some others

Warnings: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.

Summary: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?

Title: Hybrid Theory
Chapter Eleven: Pushing Me Away

It was a long night. Sasuke stayed by Naruto's side throughout the entire thing. Ever since he had molded himself with the Kitsune, he had been asleep, not even stirring in his slumber. Sakura and Kakashi joined him from time to time, but Sasuke didn't say anything to them.

It was only really know that Kakashi understood what Iruka had said a few days before.

FLASHBACK!

"What about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"Sasuke's just weird. He's a table. I don't know him that well – but I think that Naruto's female half has found Sasuke's softer side," Iruka explained.

END FLASHBACK!!

Around three in the morning, Sasuke finally fell asleep. Kakashi was taking his turn on watch, watching the boy. The raven-haired child had curled up to the blonde, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. If Kakashi had a camera, he would have taken the picture, but he didn't have one, so he sighed and merely smiled softly at it.

Some things just couldn't be explained. Maybe this was one of those occurrences.

I've lied / to you
The same way that I always do
This is / the last smile
That I'll fake for the sake of being with you

It was another day before Naruto finally awoke again, this time back in his old form – as a happy male. Sasuke nearly died with relief when he saw his teammate's eyes open, even though they were very strange eyes. The right eye was still the crystal blue that Sasuke had seen for four years, whilst the left was a blood-red that he had only seen once before and that was when Naruto had gone up against Gaara in the forest during the Chuunin exam.

"You're alive!" Sakura said to Naruto as she came over, relief written all over her face.

Naruto nodded. "I don't die easy!" he bragged. Sasuke whacked him upside his head.

"Itai!" the blonde yelled. "Wait! My voice! It's not as loud!" He looked down at himself. He put his hands where his breasts should be, but found none. Jumping up, he ran around in estascy. "I'm a man again!"

Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura all looked at him with strange expressions on their faces.

"Typical dobe," Sasuke grunted. Sakura looked at him, knowing that his feelings for that 'typical dobe' were much more than what he would ever have for her.

Yes, it hurt. But she would rather he be happy with someone else than be miserable with her. Slowly, she placed her arms tentatively around Sasuke. She felt him tense in her embrace.

"You know, Sasuke-kun," she whispered in his ear. "You should tell Naruto how you feel."

Sasuke flushed a deep red. "W-what are you talking about?" he growled.

Sakura giggled. "If you're in love with someone, then the only thing to regret later is doing nothing about it," she said wisely.

Sasuke looked over at her. "Has that ever happened to you… that regret thing?"

"Once, but that's okay," Sakura replied with a small smile. "It's not a happy feeling."

Sasuke nodded. He turned back to Naruto, who was still running around with the joys of his manhood back.

Kakashi just sat there, on the grass, reading his book, until he heard Naruto step up in front of him. Naruto looked at the man with nothing but grim determination in his multicolored eyes. Gone was the feeling of joy he had experienced moments before.

"Kakashi," he said in a soft voice. "I have something I need to do."

Kakashi looked up, his eye showing nothing of what he was feeling. "Oh?"

"I have to go and fight that demon."

"Which one?"

"Both of them."

Kakashi motioned for Naruto to sit next to him, which the boy did a moment later. "Which demons do you mean? Itachi? Yuminaka? The Wolf?" he asked seriously. He didn't want his student to go back into there – Naruto didn't have enough training.

"Itachi is Sasuke's enemy, not mine," Naruto replied calmly. "But Okami and Yuminaka are different. They are my enemies. They are Kyubi's enemies. I will kill them."

"What makes you think that I won't stop you?" Kakashi's question was casual, but there was an underlying threat in it.

"Because…" Naruto began. "Because… its my duty to my family and to the village."

Kakashi thought about this for a moment. "I don't want you fighting them."

"I don't want to fight them either, Kakashi-sensei," came the strange retort. "But this isn't about what I want to do. It's about what I have to do."

Kakashi nodded. There wasn't much he could say to that retort, now was there?

It was late at night when Sasuke awoke. He didn't know why he had been disturbed in his sleep. Looking around him, he saw Naruto putting his kunai and shuriken in his holster.

"Where are you going?" the Uchiha wanted to know. His voice held more emotion than he wanted it to.

Naruto looked up at him, eyes hidden in the darkness that surrounded the two. "Go back to sleep, Sasuke," he growled.

"No, not until you tell me where you're going," Sasuke snapped at the blonde. He grabbed the boy's arm, holding him there. "Tell me where you're going."

"Someplace that's not here," the blonde male answered sarcastically. In a whisper, almost inaudible, he continued, "Someplace I might not return from."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke hissed.

"Sa-"

"Don't tell me you're going after Yuminaka!"

"Sasu-"

"You can't defeat him, he's too strong for you!"

"Lis-"

"Please don't go, all right, Naruto?"

Tired of being ignored, Naruto pressed his lips onto the other boy's. It silenced Sasuke's rant as his eyes widened in surprise. Naruto's eyes were closed as he kissed his rival fiercely, passionately. After a second of surprise, Sasuke found himself kissing back.

When they broke for air, Naruto murmured in Sasuke's ear, "I love you, teme" and then disappeared.

Everything falls apart / even the people who never frown / eventually break down
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
Everything has to end / you'll soon find we're out of time left / to watch it all unwind
The sacrifice is never knowing

Naruto sped as quickly as he could, back to the hut that he and his fox friend had just escaped from. He stood on the tree where his orange jacket and pants were. Sighing, he slipped the jacket and pants on, if only because if he were going to die – he was going to die as Uzumaki Naruto, not as Shiozu Kurai or Kyubi no Kitsune. And Uzumaki Naruto wore an orange jumpsuit with a fluffy orange jacket.

Naruto stared down at the hut, hesitating for a moment.

Are you really going through with this? Kyubi asked in his mind.

"Yes, I am," Naruto whispered back.

You do realize that the chances you'll survive aren't that great, his older sister pestered.

"Yes, I realize this, Nee-chan, but I have to do this, all right?"

Why?

"Why what?"

Why do you have to be the one that does this?

"Because I care," Naruto whispered. "Because I want to be strong enough to protect those I love."

What is being strong?

"I don't know."

Then why do you hope to obtain it.

"Because I love them."

His Nee-chan purred softly in the back of his mind, calming him down as he jumped from the tree, into the clearing.

"YUMINAKA GAROU!" he yelled, calling the stupid old geezer out. "GET OUT HERE NOW!"

"What are you screaming about?" the old man asked, appearing out of thin air with a large wolf by his side. He smirked. "Oh, it's the kid. Sorry, Okami… he's not worth what you have."

Waves of purple chakra flew off of Naruto, his eyes glowing. One shined a fierce blue whilst the other was a deadly red. He glared at the old man – Yuminaka. "I'll kill you for what you did to me!" he roared, wind sweeping around him because of his chakra. His eyes turned towards Yuminaka, the whiskers on his face looking more and more real. Fangs sharpened and grew, as did claws. Chakra whirled around him ever faster as nine tails grew, flashing and whipping the air.

Yuminaka looked on him in awe. The wolf nearby watched with a morbid pleasure, licking his lips from time to time. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Naruto's face began to lengthen as red fur grew all over the boy's body. He bent over on all fours, growing in size and strength. A moment later, the transformation was complete. He looked like the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The only difference was his right eye: which still shone blue, even though he was no longer human.

"You look magnificent," Yuminaka told him.

Naruto just growled, pouncing at the man. Before he reached him, though, a gray blur blocked the fox from his prey, knocking him off balance. When he rose back on all fours, he turned and noticed the wolf standing in between him and his target.

"Move," he snarled. "Or die."

"Kill me, Kyubi… if you can!" the wolf growled back.

Naruto jumped in, teeth flashing and jaws snapping. He grabbed a mouthful of the wolf's neck in his mouth. The wolf, after a moment of pain, scratched at Naruto with all his was worth. The sharp nails of Okami's paws dug through the red fur of Naruto, creating long gashes in the skin beneath. Naruto cried out in pain, releasing the other's neck.

Okami jumped at him. Naruto dodged and turned, his tails lashing at the wolf, whipping the fur off its back. Okami howled in fury. Naruto jumped again, landing on the wolf, teeth gnashing against the side of the wolf. Okami swiveled his head around, grabbing the fox by the neck and flinging him elsewhere.

Naruto landed hard on the forest floor. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he stood up, only to have Okami jump on him like a pack wolves to a wounded deer. He tried to shake the other demon off, trying to break free of the hold. Okami held fast. Suddenly rolling, Naruto managed to get on top of the wolf, rather than be under him. His teeth sank into whatever flesh he could find as his claws dug into whatever skin they could reach. The wolf howled in pain and fury, not allowing the fox's grasp to stay for long.

Both opponents were bleeding onto the ground from numerous gashes. They squared off, walking in a slow circle, eyes never leaving their adversary.

"Getting weak in the knees, Kyubi?" Okami snarled.

"You still just like to hear the sound of your own voice, right, Okami?" Naruto sneered.

Okami lunged at him. Knowing that he would have to end his fight soon, Naruto unleashed his chakra, sending it to attack the wolf by any means possible. The purple electricity-like substance formed a shield around his body, crackling with anger and rage. He jumped at his opponent, the shield searing Okami's flesh to the bone, so that there was no chance of healing.

Still crackling slightly, Naruto turned back to Yuminaka. "You're next," he growled, but before he could take another step, his form began to lose itself. Chakra pounded around him, burning him. It was his own chakra. Quickly retreating back into his normal form, the poor boy collapsed before he was able to kill Yuminaka.

Luckily for him… Kakashi was there to murder the sniveling scholar for him anyway, but he didn't see this, as he was already knocked out.

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away

As soon as Sasuke got over the shock of the kiss, he hurriedly awakened Kakashi and Sakura, quickly explaining what had happened (and casually forgetting to mention the kiss). Kakashi told them to get ready (again) and that they were following Naruto to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble.

By the time they reached the field that surrounded the hut, the two demons were furiously attacking each other.

"My god… he let the Kitsune take over?" Sakura asked softly.

"No…" Sasuke answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at his eye – it's still blue," Sasuke replied. "That's not the Kitsune, that's Naruto."

Kakashi nodded, his head proudly thinking about how much the three had grown. Shaking these thoughts out quickly. "Sakura, Sasuke, you two stay here – do not indulge in the fighting," he told them.

"What will you be doing?"

"I'm going after the human that started this."

The two genins nodded and watched as there teacher jumped down from the branch. He slowly approached the old man, eye glittering with anger.

"It wasn't my fault!" Yuminaka was wailing. "The Akatsuki made me do it."

"Stop crying," the silver-haired Jounin barked angrily. His eye was basically cracking with rage.

"P-p-p-p-p-lease don't k-k-k-kill me…" the man cried out.

"Oh… and why not?" Kakashi wanted to know. He removed the hitae-ite from his Sharingan eye and began to summon Chidori to his palm. Yuminaka didn't put up much of a fight as the lightning ball of chakra slammed into his chest. Blood splurted everywhere as the attack sank into the man's heart, making it explode.

Yuminaka fell to the ground, a wide fearful look in his eyes. Kakashi slowly put his forehead protector back over his Sharingan eye.

"Pathetic," he growled softly as he walked over towards the unconscious Naruto. He could see the wolf demon, with a gaping hole in its side, laying several feet away. Gathering the blonde in his arms, he jumped back to where he had left Sasuke and Sakura, not pleased to find that only Sakura was waiting there for him.

I've tried / like you
To do everything you wanted too
This is / the last time
I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you

Sasuke watched as Kakashi began to advance on the old scholar. His eyes burned with the Sharingan of his bloodline as he made ready to find Itachi. Just as he was about to jump, Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Kakashi-sensei told us to stay here!" she hissed.

"Hn."

"And here I thought that you were FINALLY getting some kind of emotion in you!"

"Hn."

"Fine, go, but when you come back, you better tell Kakashi that it's all your fault."

"Hn."

And then Sasuke left, heading towards where he knew his brother lay in wait. He was gripping the katana he had stolen from the fallen guard as he made his way into the hallway that they had left Itachi in.

"Itachi," he muttered, his voice hoarse as it echoed off of the cold stone walls. "I know your in here, aniki."

"Ah, so there's my little brother," a shadow spoke, walking slowly towards Sasuke.

"Aniki."

"Sasuke."

"I'm here to kill you!" Sasuke yelled, flicking his katana out and discarding the sheath.

"I know, but don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my brother," Itachi sneered. "In fact, I'll fight you with all I have, just to make sure you are worthy of the Uchiha name."

With that said, Itachi swooped in, kicking and punching at Sasuke. It was all the younger could do to dodge, not having a chance to attack. He jumped back, out of reach of his brother. Snarling, he rushed in, katana held in his firm grasp as he swiped it sideways.

Itachi easily avoided the blow. "You're going to have to be better than that if you're going to hit me, little brother," the man taunted. "Do you hate me enough yet? Have you followed my advice?"

"How could I ever hate you enough, Itachi?" Sasuke glowered at his brother, katana glinting with a deadly light reflecting off the torches. "Every minute, I see what you did to the Clan… how could I ever hate you enough?"

"So… are you finally ready to defeat me, little brother?" Itachi goaded. "Can you finally become me?"

Sasuke showed his surprise. "Become… you?" he wondered aloud, not understanding the statement.

"But of course. I killed my family, except for you, of course," Itachi explained slowly. "And you kill me – the only family you have. Therefore, by spilling my blood, you are not only fulfilling your avenger duties, but becoming your aniki."

Sasuke gave a loud scream of something incoherent as he rushed at Itachi again. This time, he managed to clip his brother's shoulder with the katana. Itachi grabbed Sasuke's neck and slammed him against the wall, punching him in the ribs several times. Sasuke purposefully avoided looking into his older brother's eyes. He had fallen for that once before, he didn't need to be under the same thing twice. He wasn't sure if he could withstand the mental strain more than once.

Acting like he was helpless for a moment as several thoughts went through his head, Itachi was surprised when Sasuke's leg hit him in the gut. Dropping the boy, he jumped when Sasuke swung his leg out in an effort to trip him.

"Maybe you have grown a little bit, little brother," Itachi mocked. Sasuke, remembering Lee's Lotus, ducked his brother's incoming fist and skidded forward. He kicked upwards, hitting his brother's chin and sending him flying. Jumping up, he found himself right behind the older man.

"Do you really think 'Lotus' will work on me?" Itachi asked lazily.

"I don't know," Sasuke grunted in reply. "Because this isn't the Lotus!" He swung his foot out, which Itachi blocked, then reversed the flow of movement, swinging his leg at the other side. Not expecting this, it hit Itachi. Sasuke then went through the movements of the Lion Combo. He ended with his heel slamming into Itachi's solar plexus, rendering the man breathless.

Sasuke rolled off and wearily got to his feet. He looked at Itachi, still in his fighting stance. His aniki began to chuckle.

"Congratulations, Sasuke-kun," Itachi breathed softly. "You're truly an Uchiha."

Sasuke passed out soon afterwards.

Everything falls apart / even the people who never frown / eventually break down
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
Everything has to end / you'll soon find we're out of time left / to watch it all unwind
The sacrifice is never knowing

When Sasuke came to, he found himself lying in his sleeping bag. Next to him was Naruto, who looked asleep. He winced slightly, his body on fire with pain.

"Lie still," a soft voice said above him. He looked up through his swollen eye and saw Sakura smiling gently down at him. "It'll hurt if you move too much. You broke a few ribs." Sasuke nodded. "Rest now."

"How's Naruto?" Sasuke managed to murmur.

"Shh," Sakura told him, completely ignoring his comment about the fox-boy. "Just sleep for now. Everything will be better when you wake up again."

Slowly, like a little boy, Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes, slumber creeping up on him barely a second later.

When he awoke again, Sasuke found that he could move slightly easier than before. The first thing that Kakashi did when he saw his student was awake was hit him with his new version of Icha Icha Paradise.

"I told you to stay!" he snapped, but it wasn't really in a mean way.

Sasuke just stared at him. "Whatever," he grumbled. He sat up in his bed and looked over. Naruto still hadn't moved. "How long have I been out of it?"

"About two days," Sakura replied, coming over with some food and drink for him. He ate slowly, only sipping at the drink. He wasn't that hungry at the moment, but he didn't feel like arguing either.

"Has Naruto woken?"

Sakura shook his head. "I think it might be more of emotional strain than anything else," she told him. She had recently been training with Tsunade to be a medical nin, so she was familiar with these types of things.

She quickly replaced the wet cloth that was on Naruto's forehead with a fresh one. Sasuke noticed that he had removed Naruto's forehead protector. Kakashi noticed the concerned expression that crossed the normally emotionless boy's face whenever he looked at Naruto.

"Ne… Sakura, are you sure he's going to be alright?" he asked softly.

Sakura sat down next to him. "I'm positive, just give it a little more time and he'll be fine."

Sasuke nodded and went back to sleep, his head turned towards Naruto. Sakura realized this and smiled inwardly. Kakashi just read his smut book as though he were oblivious to the world around him.

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away

It was nighttime when Naruto awoke again. He sat up and looked around. His body had mostly healed itself of its injuries. Looking around, Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura asleep nearby. Kakashi was awake by the fire. The boy, unable to see the point in any more sleep, quickly stood and joined his teacher by the fire. Kakashi looked up from his smut book as the boy sat down.

"Did you fulfill what you had to do?" the Jounin asked softly.

Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. He checked himself for injuries and found that the ones he had were fading fast, as though they had never been there to begin with.

"What did the rest of you do?" he asked. "I can't imagine any of you just sitting around, waiting for me to come back."

"You're right about that," Kakashi told him. "I managed to kill off Yuminaka, though I personally think it was a waste of a Chidori – he was a sniveling idiot. And Sasuke went after Itachi. I don't know the details, but I think Sasuke finally defeated him."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm not."

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. He found himself, for once, at lost for any words. He heard a faint purring in the back of his head, happy when he heard it. It showed that the Kyubi was well and back where she belonged.

"I'm just glad I was strong enough!" Naruto yelled with one of his large vulpine grins. Kakashi just went back to reading his smut novel.

Were all out of time / this is how we learn how it all unwinds
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
Were all out of time / this is how we learn how it all unwinds
The sacrifice is never knowing why...

A few weeks later, Naruto sat down on his roof. They had returned safely, with many not knowing where they had gone. Tsunade was happy that Naruto was back to normal and showed this with a bone-crushing hug. Before he could recover from that, Iruka swept him into an even tighter, more painful hug. Naruto didn't matter if he cracked a few ribs, though, because he truly knew that someone cared about him. And that was worth more than a few of his already abused ribs.

He looked up at the moon, hanging like an orb in the sky, surrounded by the twinkling light of stars on the blue-black canvas of night. If it were a painting, Naruto thought that it would be the best painting in the world. But such beauty can never truly be captured on canvas.

The blonde lay back, just thinking over the last mission and what it meant to be himself when he heard the soft tread of footsteps on the roof. Looking towards them, he saw Sasuke standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable. Sasuke came over after a moment of hesitation and sat down beside his friend.

"Did you… did you really mean what you said?" he whispered, as though he feared asking the question or getting the answer.

"About what?" Naruto asked, slightly puzzled.

"When you said you l-loved me," Sasuke said in an even quieter voice.

"Yes," Naruto replied with no hesitation. Sasuke seemed taken aback.

"Huh?"

"Yes, I meant it when I said I love you," Naruto blurted out. He looked away, concentrating on the stars. "Because I really do." Turning back, he looked at Sasuke. "The question here is your feelings, not mine."

Sasuke nodded and leaned over, planting a kiss on Naruto's lips. "Does that give you your answer?" he asked softly.

"Hmm…" Naruto mumbled. "I don't know."

"Dobe," the Uchiha breathed affectionately before pulling his love into another, deeper kiss.

Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
pushes me away

Special Thanks To: Linkin Park, who every last song in this fic is by. I got it off the CD "Hybrid Theory" and used the title of the CD for my fic -.-" Yeah, I already know I'm pathetic.

Replies to Reviews from Chapter 10:

Ookami: is this a good enough ending for you? Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Toki Mirage: I know, I know, I'm evil… but so are you! You were being a big meanie on MSN. And I was just joking around. Bah! Don't worry: I still love you!

pretendingtobeinsane: Here's the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing most of the chapters. I loved reading your comments.

Ramen no Tenshi: I don't really know what you mean by "-sweatdrop- or not". Care to elaborate, or will you leave me in much confusion?

Az-Strawberry: Thanks for liking both sides of Naruto. I wasn't sure when I started this fic if people would like "Kurai" as much as "Naruto". I love Kyubi… which is why its name as my user name.

Alicia McClellan: I hurried as much as I could, was it soon enough for you?

chibi chidori16: Yep, Naruto's looks change just a smidge, but that's what you get when you perform a fusing technique, neh?

Mimic12355: I love your comment about the fox demon being "cool in her own weird way." It made me feel warm and fuzzy, for unknown reasons. But then again, anything involving the fox demon makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Jenniyah: Did this chapter answer your question?

Saiera: Well, here's the final chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it.

ElizabethMarieRose: I don't think there will be a sequel… dunno why, but I hoped you liked the last chapter!

someone: yeah, I made a the man characters female for a while… well Kyubi's still female. Thanks for reviewing!

Notes From Kyuubi-chan:

1. I don't understand why this always happens. The ending song on CDs seem to not collaborate with the endings of my chapters. Oh well, this was one of my favorite songs back in the day, so I shouldn't complain, but I'm not sure if it fits the chapter that well. Oh well.

2. Sorry for having no Sakura revenge. Every time I went to write it, I had something distract me until I finally just gave up and forgot about it. Bah… sometimes I wish I hadn't, but that's okay.

3. I'm done with this story. I can't say "finally done" because that involves at least a week of writing. This is done in four days. That has to be a world record for me. Ten chapters in four days. What the hell is the world coming to?