Chapter 2 A Friend Found, A Friend Lost
Dozens of people had gathered to see what had made the loud explosion, and in seconds, Maka got transported out of the room as if she were in critical condition. "I'm fine!" She pleaded snatching her arms back from the medics who insisted she get a check up. It took a lot of convincing, but after they did a quick scan over her features, the medical workers let her go.
"What happened here?!" It was the kid from earlier. He had rushed over so quickly, Maka didn't even see him enter.
"I'm not sure. I was looking into the mirror and it broke." There really wasn't a logical explanation for it, and she worried that they wouldn't believe her regardless of what story she told. Not to mention she wasn't fast enough at making up a quick lie for something like that.
"Do you think it was an attack?" Some of the people whispered catching the boy's attention. His face went serious for a moment and it gave her a chance to study the unnatural markings on his face.
"Naruto, it's alright. No one is hurt. The mirror just broke is all. Listen, can we just get out of here. I really need some fresh air." Maka mumbled looking to him with a sad look. The boy nodded in confusion.
"Yeah, follow me." Naruto started walking down the hallway with his arms behind him like a headrest. "So uhm, what do your friends look like? Do they like the Ichiraku ramen noodles? And what's Death City?"
"Ichi-what?" Maka frowned. "I've never heard of it, but more importantly," She couldn't understand why he would be thinking about ramen at a time like this. Then again, he didn't really understand the severity of the situation. She had to get back and destroy Turtella. "There are seven of us in all including myself. We each have our own abilities and wonderful personalities that even when we fight, we can always pull ourselves back together as a team. All of us come from a place called Death City ruled by Lord Death, the shinigami. He protects us and sends us on missions to protect the peace."
"Oh, so it's a lot like the village. You have the head who oversees everything, and then the ninja to help protect the people." He turned a corner and headed up a flight of stairs leading to the roof. "I'd like to visit it sometime."
"Ninja? We have weapons and meisters." This seemed to confuse the boy who craned his head around with his eyes squinted. Maka wondered if he was starting to doubt her. "I'm a meister. I wield a weapon and fight the bad people. Simple as that." It might be better to keep things simple and not go into details. Then he really would question her. I think... I've entered another world. Maybe that means the others are in another world? Or maybe they're lost in this one? Maka drooped her head wondering if she would even be able to get back home at this rate, and she hoped for the life of her that her friends were safe.
They reached the top and the girl was able to feel the wind brushing passed her long jacket as if in greetings to the new world. A small breath of air escape her lips while she placed her legs over the edge to dangle her feet. The sight below still made her head hurt with options and her heart ache. Naruto seemed to sense her and walked over beside Maka offering a hand to help her up. "Let's go look for your friends." He looked as if he were searching for someone too and had eyes that could relate. "Wherever they are, we can find them together!" His smile reassured her and brought hope into the meister's eyes. Reaching her hand out, she took ahold of the ninja who pulled her on his back in one swift movement. "Hold on tightly!" Naruto shouted jumping like a trained acrobat across the roofs at lightning speed. The athletic ability was incredible and ten times faster than Blackstar could move. This guy was built for movement.
"What's up with the headband?" Maka called out practically death gripping Naruto's neck as he ran and jumped. This must be what if feels like to Soul when she maneuvered around. What a dizzy ride it must be!
"This is the symbol of my village. All ninja wear it with pride and it shows that everybody is equal. No one is better than the other." It was probably a lot more, but like her story, the simplest. "There are other villages out there in the world such as the Sand and the Sound. Each area has their own headband to signal where they are from." Without turning his head to look at her he added, "Where was the last time you saw them?"
"Uhm..." Maka's mind went blank. He wouldn't believe her if she told him the truth. "In the forest! They're somewhere in the forest. We were going on a mission, but somewhere along the way we got lost and separated." There, the perfect answer. The one called Naruto took the answer well and soon enough, they were in the forest. Naruto allowed his newfound friend to slide off his back before jumping straight into action. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He cried doing an erotic hand sign. Out of nowhere about a million clones appeared out of nowhere making Maka stare dumbfounded. He really is like Blackstar! She nearly thought aloud remembering one of his special techniques with Tsubaki when he fought a samurai. Except this was more advanced. They were solid clones and had full matter! Blackstar would kill to get his hands on something like this. "Alright listen up! We're looking for anyone and anything out of the ordinary. So split up and bring me back something useful." All the Naruto's cheered in unison and disappeared within the trees in the blink of an eye.
This world kept getting stranger and stranger. Although, he did offer a useful skill that would potentially save time in the long run and hopefully find someone. However, she didn't really remember describing just who or what they were looking for and hoped it wouldn't be too much of an issue. "I hope we find them..." Maka sighed looking at all the greenery around her. Naruto chuckled under his breath. "Don't worry! I've got this all under control. Even if it takes weeks, months, who cares! I won't give up." That was the type of inspiration Maka loved. I do have friends here.
As time went on and the sun started to set within the sky, the meister was beginning to lose hope. All the clones surely must have searched the entire forest by now if not the nation and still, they hadn't found anything of importance. She had grown tired of waiting on news and stalked the forest floors occasionally kicking rocks around with her feet. During the time allowed, she was able to get well acquainted with her ninja friend and the two got along quite well. After much talking though, she didn't want to overwork the boy. Apparently keeping up with his clones for many long hours drained a lot in him. "We should probably head back now." Maka said with a forced smile. "I don't think we'll find them here."
"We've found something that was lodged in the river!" Both Maka and the original Naruto shot their heads in the direction of the familiar shout. Not to far in the distance, several doppelganger were rushing towards them with their mouths hanging open like a bug catcher. In their hands, they wielded a big scythe with black and red triangles decorating the metal blade.
"Soul!" Maka shouted desperately as she dashed over to meet halfway.
"Man this thing was heavy! I could barely lift it." One of them complained while they handed her the weapon.
"Soul..." The meister repeated happy to be reunited once more. "Can you hear me? You can change back now." Silence. "Soul?" More silence. Maka's eyes widened frightened, and she shook the blade harshly trying to wake up the life within it. "Hey, wake up. Please, Soul!" She begged heavy tears forming up in her eyes. There was no way he wasn't in there. It had to be him. There wasn't another weapon out there in the forest. She recognized the touch, but she couldn't recognize the life force. Her pleads were not heard by the scythe that remained motionless and silent. It was merely nothing but a weapon now. "Soul!" Falling to her knee's and holding tightly to her partner, the meister couldn't help the tears that flowed down her flushed cheeks. He was gone.
Naruto resolved his jutsu and knelt in front of her. "I'm not sure I understand why this scythe is so important to you. I'm glad that we found it... But you talk as if it were a person."
"H-He was..." The girl mustered through her sobs, "My partner, my best friend, and the one I trusted most. S-Soul was my wea-weapon. Now he can't answer me. I don't know if he's dead or just trapped inside!"
The ninja was shocked and slightly moved. This scythe was actually a human once? Judging by the sincerity in her voice, he highly doubted that she was faking this and was led to believe that it was the truth. "Why don't we just break it open and find out?"
"N-No!" Maka screamed quickly holding the weapon to her chest protectively. Even if he were trapped inside, it was still a part of his body. She would never risk breaking him. "No... It is a part of him." The change in world's must have resulted in weapons turning into normal ones used for everyday battle. Nothing prepared her for this though. I have to get back to my world!
"Tell you what. Stay with me for the time being. I know it's not much, but maybe it will give you time to get back on your feet again. I'll have Granny Tsunade look for a way to bring your friend back too! Believe it!" He gave a thumbs up and helped Maka up once more. "If anyone can fix the invetiable, it's the Hokage. We'll stop by her place first thing tomorrow." He ruffled her hair in a friendly way hoping to get her spirits up.
"I can't thank you enough." Maka wheezed trying to wipe away her never-ending waves. How could I have let this happen? At least she wouldn't be all alone. If Soul was here, then the others must be out there as well, but where they okay? Tsubaki wasn't in weapon form so she might have had a chance, but the twin demon pistols... She shook her head following Naruto back into the Leaf Village. Dwelling and whining about the matter wouldn't help. All they needed to do was find them. And if what Naruto said was true, this Hokage, or whatever they call it, could help bring him back to her. Or... She could loose him for good.