Being Human
Chapter 2
AN: ends the same as the first chapter but chapters after will be completely different. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
72 hours before
"I have a mission for you." The Third Hokage informed the group of ninja standing before him in his office. "The village hidden in the stars requests your help in discovering where their children have gone. No one is certain of what exactly happened except that all children are gone. Your team has been requested to help find the children and whomever is responsible for this happening."
"Finally a decent mission." An orange clad ninja complained excitedly. "Someone finally recognizes our talents."
"Shut up Naruto." Sakura muttered "This mission sounds serious." although the pink haired girl was just as exited as Naruto at the prospect of another difficult mission.
"Sakura is right." Kakashi said. "This doesn't sound like a job for genin." he pointed out, he didn't want another mission like their first mission to the land of waves."
"I don't believe that it will be that difficult." The Hokage said. "the area is surrounded by caves, the children could be hidden in any of them."
"If they know where the children are, then why call for our help?" Sakura asked.
"Because of the cave system, there are so many it wouldn't take much for anyone to get lost." The Hokage replied. "It would take them several hours to search every cave. That's time that the children might not have."
"And you believe that three genin can handle this mission?" Kakashi asked, he wanted to spare his young charges from experiencing the pain of loss should they find the kids in a less than desirable state. He knew that finding other kids their age dead could be traumatizing, they hadn't yet been able to put an emotional distance between them and their work.
"You know your team better than I do." The Hokage told Kakashi. "Besides they are going to have to face this kind of mission eventually anyways." Kakashi nodded, he knew the Hokage was right, it would be impossible to keep them from experiencing any kind of loss, to protect them from that would only end up hurting them more in the end.
"When do we need to leave?" Kakashi asked.
"Before the end of the day. This is a pretty serious situation." Sarutobi stated. "They need you as soon as possible." Kakashi nodded again and turned to his team.
"Meet me at the gates in two hours. Don't be late." he told them before disappearing.
"He says that but he'll be two hours late." Sakura muttered as the three genin headed out the door.
"See you guys later." Naruto told his two teammates before sprinting off towards the ninja academy, where he knew Iruka would be. He couldn't wait to tell his former Sensei about his latest mission. Though he should probably wait until after the mission to tell Iruka anything about it. But Naruto didn't feel like waiting, who knew how long the mission would end up lasting. That's why he needed to tell Iruka now, so that his Sensei wouldn't worry if the mission ended up lasting longer than was expected.
"Iruka Sensei." Naruto shouted from down the hall as soon as he entered the academy building, bounding down the hall towards Iruka's classroom. Stopping at his teacher's doorway, he found Iruka bent over his desk grading papers.
"What's going on Naruto?" Iruka asked, looking up from the papers he was grading. "I heard you coming from a mile away. Is there an emergency?"
"Nope" Naruto said, pausing in the doorway. "I just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving on a mission in a couple of hours and I didn't want you to worry." Iruka offered Naruto a small smile, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Naruto always how much Iruka worried about him when Naruto left the village.
"What will you be doing this time?" Iruka asked. "Pulling weeds or chasing cats?"
"Nope. Searching for missing kids." Naruto replied. "I'm not exactly sure how long we'll be gone."
"Doesn't that village have ninja of their own to use?" Iruka wondered, not liking how complicated the mission sounded. He didn't wanted Naruto involved in anything that would get him hurt. Iruka knew that Naruto wanted harder missions but that didn't mean that Naruto was ready for the tougher missions. Iruka didn't think that he was ready for Naruto to take on more complex missions. Iruka didn't think his heart could handle the worry that came every time that Naruto left the village.
"Can you promise me one thing?" Iruka asked. "It might be a little difficult for you, but I want you try your hardest anyways."
"Sure." Naruto said, silently laughing at how worried Iruka already was.
"I want you to try and keep out of harms way. Don't do anything that will get you hurt. And when you get back, come and find me and we will go get some ramen."
"I'll do my best." Naruto promised. "But I don't know exactly what to expect. I guess the kids could have run off to play in the caves and got lost." still that didn't sound quite right to Naruto. Surely not every single child would have gotten lost, at least one person should have known the way out.
"Earth to Naruto." Iruka said getting up crossing the room to wave his hand in front of Naruto's face.
"Sorry, Sensei." Naruto said blinking slowly. "I was just wondering how it was possible for the entire village's children to disappear at once? They couldn't all have gotten lost because someone would have known the way to get out of the caves. At least I would think so."
"That is strange." Iruka agreed, "and I'm sure you will get figure out the answers when you get there."
"I hope so." Naruto said frowning. "I hope we can get to the bottom of this quickly."
"I bet this mission ends up being easier than you think." Iruka said hoping that he hid his worry well enough. Iruka didn't know why but he really didn't like the idea of Naruto going on this mission.
"Just do me a favor and come back safe." Iruka said. "Don't give me anymore of a reason to worry over you."
"I promise." Naruto said cheerfully, his short moment of worry now over. "I'll come back well enough to go get some ramen."
"I'm sure you will." Iruka said smiling at Naruto's show of enthusiasm for the noodles. He really should try to get Naruto to eat something other than ramen but at the same time Iruka knew he would be fighting a losing battle, Naruto was pretty set in his ways.
"I guess I should get going. I'm supposed to meet the team at the gates and I still have to get my stuff packed." Naruto said. Without understanding why, Iruka reached out and pulled Naruto in for a hug.
"I'm not going to be gone forever you know." Naruto said, uncomfortably as he tried to squirm his way out of Iruka's arms. Naruto wasn't used to being shown any kind of affection and it receiving it made him feel very uncomfortable.
"I know." Iruka murmured knowing why Naruto didn't like being hugged. It hurt knowing that Naruto didn't like being show affection because he'd had so little of it in his young life and he didn't know how to react to it. "It's just a feeling that I have." releasing Naruto, Iruka stepped back and watched as Naruto headed for the exit. Iruka couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen and he didn't know what he could do about it. He wondered if he could talk the Hokage into letting him go on the mission with Naruto's team. Surely they would need more people to help with the search for the children. Then again Iruka knew that he was needed here in the village, after all he couldn't go on every mission with Naruto to make sure that the boy was safe. Iruka watched Naruto disappear through the school doors before returning to his desk.
Naruto left the academy and went straight to his apartment, worried that he was going to be late because he had spent so much time with Iruka. It warmed Naruto's heart knowing that Iruka worried about him going on this mission. No one before even seemed to care whether he returned from a mission or not. It was nice knowing that Iruka cared enough about him to worry about him. As he shuffled around the trash he'd tossed in the floor, gathering clothes when he came across them he wondered if Iruka was right to be worried about this mission. Would this one turn out like their first mission to the land of the waves? While the thought thrilled him he still worried that they wouldn't be able to complete it.
When Naruto's pack had been stuffed with clothes and instant cups of ramen Naruto lifted the pack onto his shoulders and exited his apartment, not bothering to lock the door behind him. As he made his way out of the apartment complex he wondered if Kakashi would bother showing up at a decent time or if his time challenged Sensei would make them wait for a long time.
"That demon is leaving on a mission. I hope he dies so that this village can finally live in peace." Naruto heard a villager state loudly, knowing that Naruto could hear them. He winced at the hatred that heard in their voices. It wasn't the first time a villager had stated such things but it still hurt the same every time he heard the hurtful words. He hated that he was despised so much that the villagers wished for his death. It wasn't like he had any say in becoming the Jinchuuriki for Konoha. Naruto wished that they would at least try to understand that.
Sighing, Naruto pushed down the hurt and continued on his way to the villages gates. One day he would prove that he wasn't the demon that he carried within him. He arrived at the gates a few minutes later not surprised to find both Sasuke and Sakura already waiting.
"Did you stop for ramen?" Sakura asked as soon as she spotted the orange clad ninja coming towards them.
"I stopped by to let Iruka know I was going to be leaving on a mission." Naruto replied as he dropped his pack on the ground, and plopped down on the ground beside it.
"I'm sure he would have noticed eventually that you weren't here." Sasuke muttered. "You are the loudest ninja in Konoha." Naruto shrugged and scratched at the back of his head.
"I can't help it that he worries so much." Naruto said. "although it is nice to know that he cares enough to worry unlike anyone else in this village." Both Sasuke and Sakura frowned at Naruto wondering what was bothering their normally cheerful teammate.
"What do you think is going on with the kids?" Naruto asked breaking the silence.
"I'm just hoping that they are lost and nothing serious is going on." Sakura said.
"Afraid that we can't handle another mission like our first?" Sasuke asked, Sakura frowned at him.
"It's not like we are strong enough to handle a mission like that again." Sakura said. "We shouldn't have been asked to take that mission in the first place." Kakashi appeared a few minutes later surprising his young teammates.
"Did you somehow manage to find a watch?" Sasuke asked.
"The Hokage only had to remind me how serious the situation is." Kakashi said. "Kids lives are at stake."
"And you care?" Sasuke muttered.
"No need to sound so surprised." Kakashi said, sounding insulted. "I do have a heart you know."
"That's debatable." Sasuke said.
"Let's go we'll travel all night and get there in the morning." Kakashi instructed as he turned and headed out the gates, his students following behind him.
"Do you think the kids really are in danger?" Naruto asked. "From what I understand that village has a low population so really not that many kids could be gone."
"I don't know." Kakashi answered surprised that Naruto had taken the time to research the village. He was surprised that Naruto hadn't spent all his time with Iruka before leaving.
"I'm hoping that its not as serious as Lord Hokage made it out to be. Because if it is, I'm sending you guys back to the village." Kakashi said "I'm not going to allow you guys to be put in danger."
"We're ninja." Sasuke spoke up. "you can't protect us from danger. To thing that you can only makes you an idiot."
"As usual you have a way with words." Kakashi said as they entered the forest. As they traveled Kakashi found his thoughts drifting towards their mission. Naruto was right when he'd said that this village's population was low, there were only about 500 citizens and if Kakashi's guess was correct about a quarter of those were young children, which meant there was about a hundred and twenty five missing kids. With a group that large there had to be something sinister at work. Kakashi had the feeling he wasn't going to like it very much. He wondered if the kids had been taken to another larger village or if they had been used as some kind of sacrifice. He really hoped that it wasn't the latter.
48 hours before
Team 7 found themselves standing in front of the Hoshikage, leader of the village hidden in the stars. The man was old and white haired, his dark eyes looked both tired and stressed.
"My village isn't what it used to be. Our resources are drying up and people are moving away. I don't believe this village will be here too much longer."
"What about the kids?" Naruto asked impatiently, not really caring about the current events going on in the village. He just wanted to find the kids. He also noticed that for a village that was nearly broke there were several expensive looking items lying around the office.
"It wasn't my idea to have your team brought in. I'm sure the kids are playing in a cave or something, they've been known to do that." The Hoshikage said looking down at his paperwork.
"Then you don't mind giving us a map of the caves so that we can at least find them?" Naruto asked, not liking that the Kage didn't even seem to care that the kids were gone. Didn't he even care that the kids were the village's future?
"I'm afraid we don't have a map." The Kage replied. "We don't go into the caves much so there really isn't a need for a map."
"If there wasn't a need for our services than why did you message our Hokage?" Kakashi asked sounding more than a little irritated. He was getting tired of being called for and then their services weren't needed. Still there was something about the man in front of him that told Kakashi that he knew more about the missing children than he was letting on. There was something about the man's stiff posture and the way he avoided looking into Kakashi's eyes that him he was lying.
"I'm going to find out what's going on here. I'm not leaving until those kids are safe and sound." Kakashi growled watching as the Kage stared at Naruto, seeming to not have even heard Kakashi's threat. Kakashi really didn't like the gleam in the man's eyes, whatever was going on it centered around Naruto.
"Let's go." Kakashi told the teens. "We'll go find a hotel. Naruto, Sasuke and I will share a room while Sakura can enjoy a little peace and quiet." Kakashi made his tone threatening enough that the Kage got his warning.
"I don't like him." Naruto stated loudly as they exited the rundown building. "I think he knows more about the kids than he is letting on."
"I would almost bet that he had something to do with the disappearances." Sasuke said. "he appears to be well paid for a village that's going broke."
"So you think maybe he sold the kids into slavery or something?" Sakura asked.
"It makes sense." Kakashi said "And I think the first place that needs to be checked is the caves and the surrounding areas. He sure seemed adamant about not having a map which I am sure would lead us to the kids."
"But if he was involved why would he tell us the kids were playing in the caves." Sakura wondered. "You would think that he would have tried to send us to another location to distract us."
"Maybe. I'll check out the caves, you guys search the area around the caves, it has to be someplace large enough for a big group to easily fit into."
As they stood in the street making plans for the coming day, they didn't see the Hoshikage standing in the window watching them or more specifically watching Naruto. The man felt the Jinchuuriki would like fetch a hefty price if he was able to capture him or kill him, there were plenty of countries that wanted the bodies of the Jinchuuriki. The sale of that boy would probably help him resurrect the village hidden in the stars. While it was annoying that Naruto was surrounded by team members, The Hoshikage didn't believe it would be that hard to separate the group. He had sold 94 of the one hundred and 25 kids, those other 32 were now dead because they had been unwilling to be sold as slaves. The Hoshikage had left their bodies in the caves believing that the creatures that lived there would devour the bodies and no one would know anything about their disappearance. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the Jinchuuriki, while he knew that he wouldn't be able to capture the blonde kid alive, he had a plan that would allow him to capture the kid dead with very little effort on his part.
24 hours before
Kakashi had decided that since he didn't like the looks of the rundown hotel in the middle of the town, that it would be better if they camped on the outskirts of the village. Not only that, but Kakashi believed it would be safer for Naruto for the time being. He didn't like how The Hoshikage had looked at Naruto, it wasn't in any sexual manner, but more of how could he be useful to them. So instead of renting a room, they were camping outside the village. Something was telling Kakashi that the Kage wasn't to be trusted and he wasn't going to take any chances. Kakashi wasn't about to risk his students lives.
Of course the next morning, while wearing a disguise, Kakashi went into town to discuss the missing children, he was shocked to see that some of the parents didn't even seem to care while others shown too much emotion, almost like they were acting, and doing very badly at it. That told Kakashi that the parents didn't really seem to care, it seems it was less mouths to feed in their homes. After a few hours, when it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to find out anything useful, he discovered that a map of the caves did exist, and it was locked away in the Hoshikage's desk. Which meant that Kakashi would have to break into the man's office and somehow manage to break into the desk to get it, but if it meant bringing the children home, it would well worth starting a diplomatic problem between the land of fire and the land of bears. Knowing his next course of action, Kakashi returned to the three teens that were waiting impatiently to be told what they needed to be doing. Sakura was staring at Sasuke who was reading some kind of scroll, it was likely it had to do with some kind of training, while Naruto was scarfing down a cup of instant ramen. Kakashi supposed that Naruto thought he would die if he didn't get his beloved noodles everyday.
"Find anything out?" Sasuke asked looking up from the scroll he was reading.
"Other than most of the parents seem to not care about their kids being gone not much." Kakashi said. "But I did find out that a map to the caves does exist. I'll have to break into The Hoshikage's office to get it, but I don't think that will be too hard. They don't have much in way of security."
"So he was lying." Sasuke commented, not looking a bit surprised at this bit of information. "I wonder what else he was lying about?"
"I would say probably everything that came out of his mouth." Kakashi replied. "And that includes messaging our Hokage for help."
"Why would he lie about that?" Sakura wondered.
"He wanted a specific person on this team." Kakashi replied. "I don't think he was expecting all of us to show up."
"Who would he want?" Sakura asked. "We're only 13 they should have known that we wouldn't be sent by ourselves."
"They should have known that." Kakashi agreed. "And I have every reason to believe that they want Naruto." the chopsticks that had been on there way to Naruto's mouth paused and he swallowed the noodles that he already had in his mouth before frowning at Kakashi.
"Why him?" Sasuke asked glancing over at Naruto. "He's an idiot."
"I am not an idiot." Naruto sputtered glaring at his dark haired teammate.
"I think I may know why, but I can't really discuss it with you." Kakashi replied. "So for the time being I don't want you guys to separate if at all possible."
"Iruka was right." Naruto complained. "I shouldn't have come on this mission."
"What, are you scared?" Sasuke taunted hoping to get the worried look out of Naruto's eyes. It wasn't normal to see his carefree teammate looking so worried. Sasuke had to fix it, even if it meant starting an argument with the blonde. As much as Naruto annoyed Sasuke, Sasuke could admit that sometimes Naruto could give Sasuke a welcome distraction from his plans for revenge.
"So what do we do?" Sakura asked frowning at Naruto who had resumed eating his ramen as quickly as possible.
"I want you guys to be very careful and if something doesn't seem right get out of there and return to camp." Kakashi said sounding serious. He wasn't going to take any chances, if this did turn out to just be a plot to get their hands on Naruto. Kakashi was going to keep his young team safe.
A few hour before
After breaking into the Hoshikage's office, Kakashi didn't waste time in breaking the lock to get to the map. Once the drawer was opened, Kakashi not only discovered the map but a written agreement between the sound village and the village of the hidden stars.
The village hidden in the Stars agrees to deliver the body (dead or alive) of Naruto Uzumaki to The Sound Village for the amount of 150,000 dollars.
Kakashi stared in horror at the paper in his hand. Was this whole mission just a ploy to get their hands on Naruto? He wondered if it would be too late to get Naruto out of there or if they were already searching in the forest around the caves searching for the kids. It angered Kakashi that this man could so easily trade another's life for money, like that life didn't mean anything to anyone. As Kakashi continued to dig through the papers he came across a receipt from the looks of it, it was from the sale of 94 children to a slave trader for the amount of 94000 dollars. Kakashi crumpled the paper in his fist. He was going to have more than a few words with the Hoshikage. Making money wasn't worth selling children into the slave trade. While that sale accounted for some of the kids where where the other 31? perhaps they would be the ones in the caves? Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what condition they would be in.
Pissed beyond words, Kakashi didn't bother putting anything back into place when he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the office, instead he made a quick escape out of the window. He figured if 94 of the other children had been sold already that meant that the other 31 might not have much longer to live. Kakashi also figured that Naruto wouldn't be captured while he was outside the village Kakashi didn't think it would be so easy to get to him out there.
His decision made Kakashi took off towards the caves hoping that he would be able to reach the kids in time. While he worried about Naruto, he still believed the blonde to be safer there than he would be in the village. As he made his way through several tunnels, a terrible stench filled his nostrils and a feeling of dread coursed through him. Sure enough twenty minutes later he entered a cavern and found 31 bodies lying mutilated on the cavern floor, as he knelt down to one, he noticed the boy couldn't have been older than six years old. Kakashi winced as he went around checking for pulses. He noticed that none of the kids appeared to be older than six years old. Kakashi didn't think he'd ever felt more sick than he had in that moment. What reason was there for murdering children so young? This wasn't fair to them. The Hoshikage would be very lucky if Kakashi didn't end up murdering him before returning home to Konoha.
"I'm sorry." Kakashi whispered to the bodies wishing that things hadn't ended this way for them. If he wasn't careful however this would be how it ended for his students, which he couldn't allow that to happen. "I promise you will get the burial you guys deserve."
Meanwhile out in the forest Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura discovered a large building, it stood three stories high with windows every few feet apart.
"Could this be where those kids are?" Naruto asked.
"Possibly." Sasuke said "But I think it would still be a good idea to check closer to the caves first."
"Why? This place is more obvious?" Naruto asked. "It's clear that it was built to hold several people."
"I think it's a little too obvious if you know what I mean." Sasuke said. "For all you know it could be a trap to lure you in."
"By using a building in the middle of the forest?" Naruto asked, shaking his head. "I don't think so. You guys go on and check closer to the caves. I'll check this building out and meet you there."
"Kakashi Sensei doesn't want us to separate remember?" Sakura asked.
"He's not here right now is he?" Naruto asked. Ignoring his teammates other protests as he took off running towards the building.
"As long as he meets us at the cave I guess it can't hurt, it probably is a good idea to at least check it out." Sakura said.
"I don't know. You heard what Kakashi said about those guys being after Naruto." Sasuke said, he was starting to get the feeling that maybe Naruto really shouldn't have taken off on his own.
"Come on, I think I hear someone talking." Sakura said hearing voices a little piece away from the prison like building.
"We shouldn't leave Naruto." Sasuke said frowning at her.
"He'll meet up with us in a few minutes." Sakura said as she took off towards the sound of the voices. When she reached them, she saw a large group of children, shackled to one another by their wrists. Tight shackles were also on their feet. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, they needed to get these kids out of here, but they didn't know how they would be able to get them out of their chains.
"We could use Naruto to help us right about now." Sasuke mumbled.
"Well can't do anything about it right now." Sakura said. Watching as the guards disappeared into the cave.
"We need to get them out of here right about now, I guess clones will have to do until Naruto can get here." Sakura said, going through the hands signs and making a few clones, Sasuke done the same and they went to work. After the kids had been freed, Sasuke and Sakura heard a loud rumble and a sound like thunder filled the air, glancing at each other they raced back to the building that Naruto had entered but had yet to come out of to find the building lying in ruins.
"What the hell?" Sasuke asked. Wondering how the hell the building had come crashing down, what could have happened to make this happen?
"I'm thinking the kids only served as a distraction to get us to separate from Naruto." Sakura said, standing frozen for a moment before racing towards the ruins, knowing that their teammate was trapped somewhere underneath all the debris.
"Summon Kakashi!" Sakura yelled at Sasuke, "I think his summons could probably help us locate where he is!" Sasuke nodded and started the signs when he sensed Kakashi's chakra quickly approaching.
"What happened here?" Kakashi asked seeing Sakura rushing around the rubble clearly looking for something.
"Don't know exactly." Sasuke said. "But Naruto went in there to search for the kids."
"Why weren't you with him?" Kakashi asked his fingers flying through the hands signs as he summoned Pakkun.
"Naruto is trapped I need you to find his scent." Kakashi told him.
"I told Sakura we needed to stay with him, but she heard the kids and took off in the opposite direction." Sasuke said. "We think the kids served as a distraction so that this building could be destroyed."
"I never even thought that was a possibility" Kakashi said as both he and Sasuke joined in the search for Naruto, neither noticing as each kid slowly disappeared with a puff of smoke.
An hour later Pakkun's voice filled the air alerting the worried members of team 7 to the news that their missing teammate had been found. Kakashi rushed over and began digging through the rubble, struggling to lift bits and pieces of concrete off of Naruto. When he finally reached Naruto. Kakashi noticed that half of his body appeared to be crushed underneath a rather large piece of concrete.
"Hang on Naruto." Kakashi said. "I'm not going to let you die like this." it was only after Kakashi was able to remove the last piece of concrete that was keeping Naruto stuck. He winced at the sight of Naruto's black and blue rib cage, clearly he had some broken ribs and possibly a punctured lung from the sounds of wheezing that sounded from Naruto lips. It was as Kakashi bent down and picked Naruto up that he sensed the presence of a hidden star ninja approaching them.
"Right this way." the ninja said, looking concerned as he took off running in the direction of the hospital. Kakashi took off after him, Sasuke and Sakura following behind him, Sakura had tears in her eyes and Sasuke looked more concerned than Kakashi had seen him be in a long was hope that maybe Sasuke could be distracted from his thoughts of revenge, especially if Naruto's condition was as serious as Kakashi thought it was.
A few minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura were ushered into a waiting room, while Kakashi handed Naruto over to a nurse, conversing with her quietly before she disappeared with the blonde haired boy and Kakashi joined Sasuke and Sakura in the waiting room.
"History is repeating itself." Kakashi muttered as he sat down in a hard plastic chair. He just hoped that this situation wouldn't end"Where's your hospital?" Kakashi demanded knowing that Naruto was running out o the same as the one that happened years earlier.