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Ruka- More positive feedback= faster updates. Do have 3+4 done tho.
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Chapter 2: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole into Neverland
Naruto blinked her stinging eyes against the dim lighting. She felt like her senses had been steamrolled and then tossed into a blender. She groaned and struggled to calm her spinning head. Everything felt wrong, especially in this unfamiliar place. A strong smell of decay and blood hit her still sharp nose. So you're finally up, brat. A voice growled, rattling Naruto's already frazzled mind. "That hurts you stupid fox..." She muttered in irritation. She could feel him swishing his tails with annoyance and decided not to elaborate on her present feelings. Then perhaps you should not have drunk a lake's worth of sake before writing a haphazard and unstable seal, you stupid human! Naruto flinched as the fox's voice grew with each word he threw at her mind. "Right, right, don't get drunk anymore. Got it." She quickly agreed with her tenant before her mind simply imploded from her sensory overload. "Mind telling me what happened?"
Hmph. You and the other kits decided that setting off explosive tags would be a great idea, so you decided to create some homemade ones. Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "Oh no...don't tell me I blew something up and landed myself in prison alone! It was Shino's idea so he should be here." She huffed indignantly. Don't think too highly of yourself. The situation would be much simpler if it was merely a simple explosion. She frowned at this and tried to remember what exactly had happened to no avail. At least Kurama's chakra was slowly driving away the effects of the hangover so she could think clearer. She tried to pull herself up to a sitting position only to find that she was chained to the ground and her chakra had been suppressed with seals. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she needed answers and fast. "What happened?"
I was just getting to that. The Kyuubi's chakra flared slightly from his impatient nature. I believe that the seal you made has sent you to the past. I don't know how far back yet, but I can sense the presence of another me here. Oh yes, and because of your lack of forethought, the seal was overloaded with chakra and disintegrated once it did its job.
Naruto's mouth gaped open as her mind tried to process this bombshell of information. What the hell?
Naruto stumbled around unsteadily, muttering incoherently and occasionally giggling at a joke that only she had heard. The townspeople around her shied away and sent the clearly drunk girl the oddest looks. Blonde hair whipped back and forth with her strange dance of movements down the path. Debilitated by her blurry vision, she veered off the dirt road and walked headfirst into a tree. She leaned against it without moving for a bit, before hearing loud shouting and crashing glass that left her ears ringing. Despite her state of mind, she was able to identify the trouble before her.
"Oy! Whatt'ya think yer doin, bein sooo noisy?!" Naruto yelled in the general direction she heard the sounds from as she stumbled past the tree and nearly fell over. Very nice first impression, kit. The Kyuubi growled sarcastically, as he impatiently waited for the girl to sober up eventually.
"Oh shaddap you stupid fuzzball." She grumbled back. I'm going to pretend that I heard nothing since your mental state is compromised at the moment. Kurama's eyes flashed angrily with carefully controlled rage. "Fuzzball! Fuzzball! Fuzzball!" Naruto sang annoyingly off key. Shut up and go save them already! Any more of this drunken Naruto was going to push Kurama over the edge of sanity. "Oh yah! Whazz goin on over there..." Naruto slurred while squinting in the direction.
Through her blurry vision, she was able to identify an old couple shrinking back fearfully against the walls of a small teashop. A group of younger shinobi had the couple trapped. Most were focused on their 'conversation', though some glanced in her direction. They didn't perceive her as a threat, but it was hard to ignore the drunken girl. "Heey! Leave 'em alone!" This caught the attention of the rest of the group, and they turned to face her, annoyance coloring their glares.
"Was nice while it lasted," mourned Chika-baachan, "Bin a real long time since we've had any protection." The elderly lady was hunched over as she served a man who could have been her son's age. She gripped her serving tray tightly to her chest as she observed her customer. He was a tall man with spiky white hair held back by a hitai-ate and dressed with a geta. The man cradled his tea cup as he brought it up to his mouth. He blew gently across the surface of the tea.
After taking a sip, the man murmured, "What happened?" The question was asked casually enough that the old lady didn't think much about his intentions. She had a pretty positive outlook on foreign shinobi now. Maki-chan was an amazing and kind kunoichi even when drunk.
"A group of young 'uns from Oto came by ta demand 'protection' money. Business bin real slow lately. There ain't been nearly as many visitors as there used ta be," with this, the old lady peered over her serving tray to look at the customer suspiciously, "Ya shinobi, ain't ya? Ya here for Maki-chan?"
"Maki-chan…" the customer said in an unobtrusive manner, "Yes, we had arranged to meet here at this teashop. You've met her?" He continued, "Perhaps she mentioned me? My name is Jiraiya." The man, now revealed to be Jiraiya, slid a wad of bills across the table. "A tip."
Chika-baachan hurriedly picked up the money and shoved it into her sleeves. "She made no mention of ya. But the entire time she was here, she was drunker than my husband on a weekend night."
"She's the protection you mentioned? And she is no longer here anymore?"
"She stumbled out from behind a tree, swaying from side ta side. She prolly heard the commotion. The Oto-nin were shattering cups and plates everywhere. Was a terrifying experience. I was afraid that them sluggers would kill jii-chan and myself for not having the dough."
"She saved you."
"A flash of yellow, that 'un was. She appeared almost instantly behind the leader of the group and dealt a swift blow ta the back of his neck. She then did this swirly move and knocked the other two shinobi out too. It was ahmazing. At the time, I ain't knowing what her intentions was 'sides knocking out them Oto-nin. I shivered some in fear when the most ahmazing thing happened. She turned that pretty face of hers towards me and gave me the most brilliant smile I've seehn in years of living in this dump of a country. 'twas so bright; I felt like I was staring into the sun personified.
When she started talking, I could tell she ain't sober. She slurred them words together. Real lost damsel that 'un was, much confused but much willing tah help. I asked if she would be a real dear and help save the other town shop owners from them terrorizing Oto-nin. She agreed real easily and bounded off over them rooftops. I hurriedly chased after the gal on the road. By the time I caught up to her, I saw Maki-chan being thanked by dozens of other villagers and off by the road, a 'hole buncha pass'd out Oto-nin."
"And where is she now?"
"Tak'n by that nutty leader of them Oto-nin, real scary that 'un. A real pasty guy if I eva saw one. Pastier than jii-chan's wrinkly ass. He came in here all mean and scary, demanding ta see Maki-chan. Seemed like Maki-chan recognized him, though real drunk she was. She went with him easy but I heard them sounds of battle. Metal clashing and all that. By then it got real quiet and I mustered that courage to go out, there was no one there."
"You mean they left together? Or was she defeated by the man?"
"I have none idea. My job's justa serve tea to ya customers."
"Describe the man please."
"Pay up. Without Maki-chan ta protect us from the next-round of collections, I gotta make some dough."
Reluctantly, Jiraiya rifled through his shirt to pull out another wad of ryo before throwing it on the desk. He looked at Chika-baachan expectedly. "This had better be some good info…."
The soft echoes of quiet footsteps snapped Naruto out of her stupor. Regardless of where, or when, she was, she still needed to be on guard. As the footsteps neared, she paled slightly. There was a distinct scent of snakes. And if this really was the past, then this was no friendly visit.
Orochimaru strode down the hallways of one of his Oto lab. His sandaled feet made no sound as he padded along. He was heading towards a rather curious subject, one that he had captured just the day before. He approached a blocky seal-painted door. The strongest suppression seals for the unknown, of course. Flicking his blood onto the seal, he watched as the seal activated and the door unlocked. Orochimaru placed his hand on the doorknob, stilling his face into what he prided as his most frightening face. It is show time.
He stepped into the room with all the grace of a lethal predator, only to see that the girl was glaring at him unabashedly. The look in her eyes was fierce. She was not afraid of him. Not afraid of him, Orochimaru! One of the strongest shinobi alive in her presence, yet she showed no fear.
Orochimaru leered. This girl would be worth breaking. He thought back to his first meeting with her. Even incapacitated, she was a worthy kunoichi to incorporate into his Sound Four.
"Interesting..." Orochimaru mused quietly to himself while he observed the unconscious pile of his Oto nin. He prodded one of the snoring bodies with the edge of Kusanagi, annoyed when the man didn't wake up immediately. The tip of the blade cut into the Oto nin's flesh, and the man started awake with a howl. "Report." The snake man hissed dangerously. The threat of an extremely painful death hung in the air without needing to be said. The man gulped and quickly stuttered out his story. "Interesting..." Orochimaru mused again before piercing the man's throat and leaving him gurgling away his last bits of life.
Loud laughter emanated from the small tea shop. It was a foreign sound in these parts, and Orochimaru immediately knew that he had found his target. A smirk found its way onto his lips. This girl would make an excellent subject, and he would enjoy breaking that mirth. He entered the building and grinned at the tensing of the atmosphere. "I'm here for the little lady over there." He demanded smoothly. The old couple exchanged a worried glance. The blonde turned to him, about to shout, but froze when she saw his face. Her facial features formed a grim mask, though Orochimaru could still pinpoint the specks of anger in her blue eyes.
"Fine." The word was surprisingly steady, and startled the old couple more than her loud arrival.
"Maki-chan..." Chika-baachan put her hand on the blonde's shoulder in an attempt to stop her. The girl grinned brightly while removing the hand gently.
"I'll be a'ight!" Despite the sunny smile, there was an intensity there that Chika-baachan knew not to get in the way of.
"Stay safe Tema-kun." The old man held his wife close as they watched the two shinobi exit their shop.
Once the two were outside, the blonde quickly put distance between her and Orochimaru and put her hands in a familiar hand seal. A small horde of sunny hair glinted in the light. If this is what the girl could do when she was drunk, then the potential that she could have when sober... "Interesting." Orochimaru's smirk grew as he drew his faithful blade.
"You've been very helpful, old lady. I'll be sure to recommend any travelers I see to your teahouse." Jiraiya stood up, sweeping away the dust from his clothes. He grabbed his pack from the bench next to him and slung it over his shoulder before walking out of the store.
A low chuckle emanated from the figure proceeding toward Naruto's cell. Cruel eyes settled on the frozen kunoichi. "Hello there, young lady." The pale man hissed with a chilling smile plastered on his face. Too many questions filled Naruto's mind at once before she settled on one. When exactly is this?
So a mysteriously powerful kunoichi appears out of nowhere wearing a shinobi character engraved hitai-ate and is then kidnapped by Orochimaru. What village uses such a hitai-ate? Also, a kunoichi that powerful with looks that striking should be pretty well-known, yet she is not in any of the bingo books.
"There is something odd going on. For a powerful kunoichi described as a "flash of yellow" to appear in Orochimaru's territory, visibly drunk or drugged, and then be taken. What could this mean?" Jiraiya muttered to himself as he hopped from tree limb to tree limb.
He stopped on a particularly thick branch before biting his thumb and flicking his hand out. He rapidly formed handsigns to perform the summoning jutsu. Kosuke appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Hey Jiraiya! What's up?" Kosuke hopped onto his summoner's shoulder. Jiraiya quickly pulled out an empty scroll and a pen.
"I need you to deliver this to Sarutobi-sensei. It's an urgent message. It has to do with Orochimaru," Jiraiya rapidly scribbled on the scroll before sealing it up and tossing it gently at Kosuke. The toad snapped it out of the air with his tongue before saying a muffled "Got it!". He disappeared in another puff of smoke.
Jiraiya looked forward into the darkness of the forest he was in and narrowed his eyes. I'm coming for you, Orochimaru. No experiment of yours will stop me.