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Mayoigo
Chapter 2
Sand
"What's your name?" the Hyuuga asked.
Naruto struck a pose and declared loudly, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!"
The Hyuuga, instead of responding to Naruto's statement, gave a piercing whistle to the trees. Another shinobi jumped out of the darkness into the light.
"Ruko, make sure they don't wake up for a while, then we need to go. I'll explain on the way, in the meantime, we need to leave. Our ambush may have succeeded, but we don't have enough power to face this many people at once on even grounds." The Hyuuga stated calmly. "Or, alternatively, you can stay here, but that's your choice."
The teen identified as Ruko pulled several vials out of his clothes and began to administer injections through a needle that extended from his leather gloves. The ninja that were injected fell into a deep sleep, almost near death. It was fairly clear to Naruto that they would die if so much as a fox came upon them while they were in this state.
He stated his concerns, "Hey, what happens to these guys when we leave?"
"If they're lucky, they'll survive, if not, it's not our problem." The Hyuuga replied evenly.
Naruto was about to protest when he remembered that they had threatened to kill him, and would probably do a similar thing if they had been beaten. He still didn't like it.
"Can't you do something to protect them Hyuuga?" he asked determinedly.
The Hyuuga did a double take, then turned back to Naruto, "What did you call me?"
"A Hyuuga, what else would you be?" Naruto asked.
"You've met people like me?" he breathed.
"Yeah, they live in Konoha." Naruto replied, trying to figure out why this kid had no idea what a Hyuuga was.
"Hanmou, you know what that means! We've found it finally." The girl exclaimed.
The Hyuuga now known as Hanmou glanced down at her and smiled.
Hanmou's face got a wondering look, "It's amazing isn't it Ayumi, we spend years searching, and we do a good deed and we find our way home."
Naruto's eyes swept between the two, "What are you guys babbling about?"
Ruko, who had finished his work, wandered back over to the others and fixed Naruto with a silent gaze, as if he were trying to communicate something.
After a few seconds, the teen finally whispered "Home"
Naruto raised an eyebrow to this. "What do you mean home?"
"No time now, we have to go, can you read maps?" Hanmou asked Naruto.
Naruto nodded, and Hanmou procured a map. He handed it to the Ayumi, who pointed out a section that was farther than just a few days travel from Fire country, and Konoha.
Naruto stared for a second, "Eh! How did I get so far from Fire country!"
"Calm down, those suppression bonds probably kept you asleep for a good portion of the trip. As far as I can tell, they were members of a group called Datenshi. They probably had some motive for taking you this far away from your comrades." Ayumi soothed.
Naruto calmed down a little and took up the map. The place he recognized as fire country wasn't actually labeled on this map, in fact, the map seemed centered on a much larger land mass, which undoubtedly resided to the west of the world that Naruto knew of. He pointed to Fire Country.
"That's where I come from."
Ayumi and Hanmou nodded, then disappeared for a second, returning quickly with a pair of backpacks.
"Doesn't he have a pack?" Naruto asked, pointing to Ruko.
"Nope, he's gets food from somewhere, but I don't know where the heck that is." Hanmou replied.
Naruto stared at Ruko for a second before bursting out, "That must be an awesome technique!"
Hanmou and Ayumi stared at Naruto for a moment, then burst out laughing. Ruko just blinked and smiled. Naruto fumed at the laughter of the others.
"HEY! What the heck is that laughing for!" Naruto yelled at them.
"I'm sorry Naruto-san, but Ruko doesn't actually use a Jutsu, he kinda finds food or something like that." Ayumi snorted.
Naruto growled, but withheld any further comments. Hanmou suggested that they move out and they did so with haste, but not before leaving a perimeter of warning seals that would scare away most animals. Naruto in the lead, they made good time, covering an amazing distance using their enhanced speed and endurance. By the time they stopped for their first break, the sun had reached the peak of it's course and was beginning to descend into the afternoon. Naruto, far less winded than the other shinobi, finally got around to asking his questions.
"What's a lost nin?" Naruto demanded.
Hanmou glared at him from his seat on the ground, but replied anyway, "Ever heard of the great shinobi wars? Or the demon attacks? Or maybe even just a regular mission?" He shifted slightly, getting comfortable, and gestured for Naruto to sit as well, "Well, naturally, there are always children that get caught up in these events somehow. Sometimes it's an overeager academy student, or maybe it's an accidental encounter with a not so empty house. In any case, things happen to those children. Usually, they're killed outright, so that they keep silent," Naruto growled and clenched his hands at this, "But sometimes, a ninja will take pity on the child that they have found and claim it has their own. The list of reasons and acts goes on."
Naruto blinked, "So that means..."
Hanmou nodded "The ninja will take the child home and either care for it and teach it how to become a shinobi, or, in the worst case, will sell them for money or favors."
"And what kind are you?" Naruto asked, almost knowing the response.
"I am one of the latter kind, Ruko is too. Ayumi-chan had a decidedly gentler life, but it was still harsh on her."
Ayumi nodded, but when Naruto turned to Ruko, the boy just stared at the ground, unwilling to meet his gaze. When he turned back to Hanmou, Naruto noticed something. Hanmou had not looked directly at him for the entire passage of the speech he had given. He was as a matter of fact, not looking at anything at all.
"Eh? Hanmou-san, what's wrong." Naruto queried.
Hanmou shook his head and repositioned his head, but here was still something wrong with his eyes. "Sorry, lost myself for a second there, anyway, we should get moving again."
Naruto wasn't convinced that was it, but he agreed nonetheless.
Now, when Naruto had first thought that Fire Country was several days travel away, he had failed to take into account the fact that these were shinobi of unknown power and endurance. So, as normal of anyone who meets a friend who they don't know well, he underestimated them. He soon realized that whenever he had traveled, he had been held back by the people with him, who often needed more rest breaks than him, and were sometimes slower. It turned out that these people were just a little under his stamina, and if not over, equal to his speed.
Naruto hungered for their training techniques "What kind of training do you guys do to become this strong?"
Hanmou and Ayumi exchanged smiles while Ruko chuckled, "Well, ever heard of unorthodox training techniques?"
Naruto nodded, and Hanmou continued, "Well, Ruko here, decided that it would be fun to see if he couldn't find a more interesting way to train himself. Needless to say, it involved a school of pirahnas, half a quart of blood, and an umbrella."
"Umbrella?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Creates drag..." Ayumi giggled, nudging Ruko until he almost hit a tree.
"Despite the fiasco of his first attempt, Ruko hasn't given up on his attempts, and the training he's come up with has proven quite effective in most cases, except for that one with the tigers... I never want to do that again." Hamou shivered.
"Tigers" Naruto asked, perplexed now.
Ayumi filled him in, "Ruko decided that he should train up Hanmou's killing intent, so what did he do? First, he exhausted his chakra by using a trademarked draining attack, then, he got him drunk, inhibiting the recirculation of chakra through his body, as he was releasing it in random bursts all night, then, he took his weapons. The next morning, Hanmou found himself almost naked laying face to face with half a dozen tigers in the local zoo, and it wasn't from behind the bars."
"Almost died... but... it worked, and no, I still haven't forgiven you" Hanmou shot at Ruko's hopeful face.
Naruto was a little intrigued, "What did you do?"
"Well you see, while he was getting me drunk, he said to me that killing intent was a fairly useful ability. I literally had to stare each one down while dodging the others. I was lucky that we got out of town just after that, I thought they were going to have me commited."
Naruto laughed and let the subject lie. They traveled in silence a while longer, entranced by the constant thump of their sandals on tree limbs. Naruto was about to begin another exposition when he suddenly felt the world drop out from underneath himself.
"GAH!" he cried out.
He caught sight of Ruko flipping through a complex series of hand seals. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he felt his world blur.
Okunoin nojutsu (inner sanctuary) a voice echoed through his head.
Naruto looked up to see Ruko walking slowly down in the air towards him. He felt Ruko's hands close around him and float him towards the ground. When he felt his feet touch the ground the world seemed to catch up with itself and everything returned to focus. Naruto stumbled as his center of balance was drastically changed. He looked back to where he had fallen and saw a nest of some kind of bug. Each one was about the size of his fist, and all appeared to be asleep, they bore a strange resemblance to a very large rhino beetle, except for the fact that they had pincers that looked like they would do a lot of damage. Naruto shivered and turned to Ruko, intending to thank him.
Naruto stumbled as the other ninja collapsed onto him, convulsing and frothing at the mouth. Blood had mixed with the foam escaping the boy's mouth, probably from a bitten tongue, and it had turned a sickly pink color. Naruto had barely a moment to be surprised before Ayumi landed next to him, yanking Ruko away from him and slamming him on the ground, holding him there.
She snapped a look at Naruto, "Help me!"
Naruto fell to his knees and held down Ruko's legs and arms while Ayumi pinned his head. Hanmou appeared next to them and took up a strange hybrid of the Hyuuga style Jyuuken stance. Before Naruto could react, Hanmou directed a flurry of blows onto Ruko's convulsing form. After a dozen strikes, the boy fell silently back to the ground, exhausted and unconcious.
Hanmou fell out of stance and came out glaring at Naruto, "BAKA!" he yelled, "Watch where you're going!"
Naruto was too stunned to reply.
'Jyuuken stance used in treatment?' he thought.
Hanmou backhanded the blond, sending him into a tree, "You're lucky to be alive, a ninja must always pay attention to his surroundings. Those beetles would have eaten you from the inside out. Be glad that Ruko responded so fast. And even so! Look!" he gestured at the unconscious Ruko.
Naruto glared back at the Hyuuga, nursing his injured jaw, unable to talk through a combination of pain and embarrassment. Hanmou looked like he was about to say more, but Ayumi placed her hand on his arm, restraining him.
Hanmou nodded and sighed, "Just be more careful Naruto, we've been together for a long time, and I'd hate to lose one of us when we're this close to home. As for that jutsu, don't ask about it, he can't teach it to you, Ayumi is the only person who could possibly learn it." Hanmou turned away from him and walked over to Ruko, slinging him over his shoulders, "Anyway, we have to keep moving, do you know of a nearby village?"
Naruto shook his head, still a little sulky, but willing to help. They resorted to heading back on their normal course towards Konoha, and hopefully, they would either run into a town or Naruto would recognize something.
It wasn't long before the woods began thinning out, then disappeared entirely. Naruto almost fell over when the firm ground suddenly became coarse sand. He caught himself just before he overbalanced, perching precariously on one foot. When he regained his balance his head came up, Naruto had his signature grin plastered on his face.
"Hey Hanmou! I think I know just the place to get help for your friend."