Sanguine Symphonies
By: Gothic Lust
Naruto Shippuuden (Alternate Universe-ish)
Naruto U. /Sakura H.
Horror/Drama
Rated M
Summary: Commission. Naruto knew ever since he was little that a hospital was the devils work, nothing good ever really came from it. Besides, it didn't have ramen. But he never really thought that the Hospital of Konoha could become a battle ground of the supernatural. Warning, Vampires and other oddities afoot!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters and plotline. Also, this specific plotline was commissioned by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous.
Author's Note: I took a few liberties with the use and description of Chakra. I figure that since it is a mix of spiritual and physical energies, it can do a lot more than perform Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, so here's my interpretation of it. I think, mainly, that it can have other simple properties that are not normally used. Let me know if it's too odd, or not. Enjoy.
Chapter One:
The Peaceful Village
Naruto crouched low between two thick moss covered boughs high up in the canopy. The air was heavy against his skin, soaking deep into the rough cotton jacket so that it weighed down his arms and hair. Breathing shallow, he crawled on his belly scraping a wet green line across his orange pants and white shirt. Behind him, the soft puff of hot breath from Sakura cut against the wet cold air. He nodded to her briefly and matched her determined eyes and set stony face. They held their breath coming down from their perch, landing next to Sai where he kneeled half hidden by a bush.
Thin hands gracefully drew dark ink across wet paper, and with a small amount of chakra and a sudden gesture of those hands, black ink peeled and grew into shape, slithering along dewy grass to a cabin several meters ahead.
"Ready?" Naruto whispered.
The other two nodded looking to him for signal to move. Peeking between the two, Naruto caught sight of wispy silver hair nodding in his direction. "Go," said the raspy voice of Kakashi through their head-sets.
Black ink exploded on wood, chakra pulling apart boards and iron coils that held the door together clouding the morning air with splintered wood, dust and ink. Using the sudden noise and chaos to their advantage, Naruto and the other's slipped through the weakened defenses of the inhabitants, catching a guard by the door in the jaw as he passed splashing them lightly with warm blood and spittle.
"There!" Sakura shouted, darting low to the left where a broken table lay folded inward on itself. Between the v-shape of its bend lay Tenzou, bleeding and bound in thick weather-worn rope and white paper seals, chakra weaving lightly among the frayed edges, strengthening it.
Meeting her there, Kakashi squat next to his co-captain, cradling the man into his torso to shield him from stray wind blades that past from Naruto's jutsu with his back. Sakura leaned over the two briefly, enough to pass a green-glowing hand over a nasty gash on the captured man's forehead before departing, striking a man with her fist that tried to storm her.
"Get going Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled dodging between blasts of fire jutsu, grinning to himself at the weak heat, momentarily remembering the searing blaze that was Sasuke's kanton before ducking and weaving past Sai, nodding to his teammate and following his sensei out the splintered door.
Sai let off one last painted-creature, watching the ink devour Naruto's once opponent, suppressing the fire and chakra as it seeped into his clothing.
Once outside, they regrouped several miles away, Tenzou unbound and in the care of Sakura, green hands passing over his chest and head, searching for further injuries.
"Well, that was fun!" Naruto smiled at the group, arms cradling his head as he rocked back on his feet, opening the jacket enough to reveal more of his white shirt.
"Yes, next time we'll toss you to the enemy, Naruto." Sakura growled, finished with Tenzou and turned to scowl at her longtime friend. "Nice plan, jackass! He could have been hurt."
Unfolding his arms from behind his head, Naruto frowned at her. "I would have done it, but he's the only one that can use wood-style techniques."
"Yea, but that was all a waste, we didn't even get what we came here for." Sakura stood and huffed, stomping away from their small circle.
"Not necessarily." Tenzou spoke up, cutting the two from fighting. Nodding to Sai, he gave an odd smile.
Sai returned the gesture with a fake smile of his own, his pale cheeks twitching with the effort of expression. "We got it," he said and held up a scroll with the drawing of a wood fragment, large enough to engulf the page.
Tossing the scroll to Tenzou, the heavy paper puffed and expanded into white smoke, leaving behind the wood fragment in his grasp.
"Neat trick." Kakashi drawled from behind one of his perverted books he was using to wait out the storm of his students fighting.
They watched silently as the wood lightened and pulled back into Tenzou's hand, revealing the scroll that had been their original mission.
Their awe at such a crafty trick was cut as kunai rained from the canopy, scratching them as they dodged, Naruto releasing chakra enhanced wind to keep his teammates safe, spinning some of the projectiles off course.
Tossing off his customary jacket, now ripped and useless, Naruto flipped and let loose a giant shuriken spinning it into the canopy, lopping off thick branches that fell heavily enough to shake the ground.
Sakura ran towards the newly fallen boughs, and using her massive strength, cratered the area they rested in, sending up sharp splinters of wood, and rock that trapped several of the falling shinobi.
Naruto caught the edge of a kunai with his forearm, blocking his middle as he dodged left, avoiding a follow-up kick that would have split his cheek. The two fighters danced around one another, swapping blows and scratches before they broke apart to let through a stray jutsu, a column of water filling the space between.
When the torrent settled around his ankles, Naruto looked up to notice their opponents were gone, and so too was the scroll. Bleeding, Naruto clutched his wounded arm and proceeded to where Sakura kneeled panting against a tree, her arms shaking with the chakra lacing up her muscles, causing her to twitch in pain.
"Who got cut by the blades?" Kakashi called out, handing Sai a bottle of something. The young man tilted his head back, swallowing a mouthful of whatever was inside and handed it back to Kakashi, an arm wrapped around his middle, where Naruto could see red stain against pale skin.
"Yo." Naruto hollered, watching as Tenzou wrapped Sai's wounded belly in thick bandages.
Tossing him the bottle, Kakashi started over to Sakura, checking her arms. "Drink." He ordered to Naruto, pressing a hand to the inside of her elbow. Naruto watched her bite her lip to stifle a scream.
Not questioning Kakashi, Naruto tilted his head back after wiping the lip of the bottle, and took a mouthful. The sour taste of medicine nearly had him spit it out, but with a quick hand pressed over his lips, Naruto forced himself to swallow. The taste of foul bitter grass came back up with a gasp.
"We're heading back to Konoha." Kakashi said, Sakura standing completely now, though a bit shaky. "This mission is over."
"But we lost the scroll!" Naruto yelled. "We have to get it back."
"Not with half the team poisoned, and Sakura suffering from chakra exhaustion." Kakashi took back the bottle and quicker than they could blink, drank deeply from it.
"You just—I almost—your face!" Naruto's voice broke, pitching a bit higher than normal from blatant shock.
The mask pulled slightly around Kakashi's mouth as he smiled at Naruto. "You'll never see my face." He said with a laugh. "Now get ready, we're leaving for Konoha."
XxxxxxX
Dusk settled with a warm breeze on the winding down village of Konoha. The hot summer air stifled much activity, forcing many residents to retreat home early, and for the shinobi patrolling the perimeter walls to pull at their flak jackets, peeling layers of protective clothing and wrappings from sweaty skin. Chakra leaked in an effort to cool them, a thin skin forming over each shinobi, catching stray puffs of wind and converting hot air into a cool relief as they patrolled and scouted.
A group of ANBU settled near a northern wall, the stones reflecting the burnt orange glow of a setting sun and propped up a lone figure. The masks of the warriors trembled against the mist of chakra leaking in the air, their own chakra strings suffering under the strain to keep the porcelain masks on.
"Careful, we don't know if he was left there on purpose." A cat-masked man made his way forward, cautiously heeding the warning from the fox-masked captain.
"He's certainly dead, but what's with the halo of chakra?" He asked, pressing gingerly on the corpse's throat, checking for pulse and traps. So far there was no signal of thin trip wire or paper bombs.
"There's no mark on him, can you see what killed him?" A female, hawk-masked member asked, performing a few quick hand seals. "What nation is he from?"
"Unknown." The cat replied simply and turned the body when the female hawk nodded her approval.
"You're clear." She said and stepped back, avoiding collision with her fox-faced captain as he stepped forward and knelt by the body, peeling the lids of the eyes back revealing blood-shot whites and the iris bleached of color, enlarging the pupil so it engulfed most of the space, devoid of sight.
"He's not a doujutsu user." Their fox-captain let the lid slide down languidly; the skin was papery and dry, slow to return down an equally dry eye. "Inform Hokage-sama. This was not a natural death. Something's off, I can feel it."
The two subordinates stood sharp, their heels clicking briefly before a flare of chakra sent them over the wall and into the village proper in search of their Lady Hokage.
XxxxxxX
"Hold still you brat!" Tsunade growled, pulling cloth bandages tight around her patient's forearm as he squirmed away from her, screaming profanities and incoherent ramblings.
"Easy for you to say," He shouted back. "You weren't the one poisoned."
"It's just a scratch dobe!" Sakura sighed, from where she rested on a bed next to him, her arms equally bound by blue sleeves that glowed with running chakra that rippled and waved lazily.
"Tch," Naruto sniffed, flicking his tongue against the back of his front of his teeth sharply. Annoyed, he pulled his arm from Tsunade's grasp lightly, purposely being difficult. His eyes slit in fox-amusement, a flash of red briefly passing over blue before settling again and allowing the blond woman uninterrupted work-time.
"Finally," She sighed and rewrapped the arm, painting symbols along the white surface with a soft brush.
Don't Touch! It read as Naruto was given back his arm, scratching at it immediately and being slapped for it.
"What did I say!" Tsunade growled, cracking her knuckles as she twitched her fingers. "Don't touch it, or I'll cut it off and we'll find out if Kyuubi can grow back lost limbs."
Paling, Naruto effectively stilled himself by sitting on his hands, wincing lightly as the bandage chafed against the raw skin Tsunade had to scrape off.
"Where's Sai and Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked just as the blond went to leave.
Sakura looked up from her own arms, curious. "Weren't they poisoned too?" She finished for him.
"Nope, Naruto was the only lucky idiot." Removing her used gloves, Tsunade trashed them beside the door. "They left for home. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With a final wave, she left, meeting the two ANBU that waited outside for her.
XxxxxxX
"Tsunade-sama, I heard there was a corpse found at the northern wall." Sakura entered the cold steel-boarded room of their in-hospital mortuary early the next morning. Tsunade was peeling back the tarp over a prone form. "Can I help in any way?"
Blonde hair flew about her neck as the woman turned and regarded her student. The girl's arms still wrapped in blue-chakra cuffs. With a soft sigh she shook her head, tired. "No, check on the brat, I need you to make sure that the poison doesn't weaken his control over—" She paused momentarily, fearing to give name to the creature within Naruto. "It." The word was spat out with a hiss.
Sakura nodded solemnly, glancing to Hiashi Hyuuga, bowed to him briefly and offered him a simple good morning before turning to leave.
"Oh, and Sakura," The girl turned back quickly, wide-green eyes locking on her favorite teacher, a smile spread across her face in hope. "Please take care of him, and don't fight. I could use the peace."
Her lips turned down in a frown, a thin finger twirling a lock of her short hair, curling it gently when she let it go. "I understand, don't stay up too late, you're really tired."
"Nothing a great big bottle of sake won't cure!" Laughter followed her out and back to the stairs. The cold corridor warming momentarily with her sensei's laughter as she ascended the stairs towards Naruto and the rest of the hospital staff, dreading another shift in the trauma ward, even if the experience was good for her.
Tsunade watched the doors close on her student her face stony once more, then turned to the man prone on her table. According to the report, he had been found yesterday at dusk near the northern wall, alone and with no visible injuries. In the corner, Hiashi Hyuuga leaned over a chart scribbling.
"Find anything interesting?" She peeled the sheet properly off the man, exposing sunken flesh, thin enough to show the ridges of his ribs and the abnormally thin form of his waist.
"Nothing normal." Hiashi looked up, annoyed, but didn't stop his writing. "He's dehydrated, and the chakra network is equally shriveled and drained."
His chakra? Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed as she pushed against the weak skin at his pulse. Her finger sunk easily into the musculature of the corpses neck, the pad of her forefinger brushing against callused, scarred muscle beneath smooth skin.
"He has signs of injury, but no outward physical scaring." The rasping of Hiashi's pencil was her only answer for some time. She continued to prod and poke, checking for obvious signs of abnormalities or disease.
Looking at the corpse closely, Tsunade could only conclude the man to have been very fit, and unlikely to die from natural causes. His stature and musculature, if he had any fluids to be in proper human form, suggested he had once been a shin obi. Could this man have left behind someone? Perhaps a child, or sibling, or a lover.
"Could a medic have closed the flesh before healing the muscle?" The question broke her from pondering the man's life and treading into dangerous thoughts about her own deceased loved ones.
"No decent medic would ever do something so stupid." Tsunade hissed. "Closing the outer layers of flesh would cause sepsis, decaying the blood and injured tissue beneath."
"Could that be what killed him?" It was a stupid question, they both knew it. But even the stupid ones needed to have a documented answer.
"Then what explains his obvious dehydration?" Hiashi scribbled down a 'no' anyway and placed the pad he had been writing on onto the desk.
"And the narrowing of his chakra network." Hiashi added, standing from his seat. "I've left my finding on the desk. Do you need me to stay further."
"Indeed." Tsunade waved him off, then bit her thumb and leaned over the corpse. "What in the world happened to you?"