The long awaited Chapter 4 is here at last...albeit I really have no idea if it was that long awaited. Before I get started I'd just like to say I've had a terrible time writing this chapter. I've screamed at it trying to find the appropriate words to use...but i think everyone has had one of those types of days. So don't let me keep you from it any longer. The bottom author note will try to answer any questions you may have after reading this chapter. That said. Enjoy.
He stared fixatedly up at the gleaming white stars shining overhead as he synchronized private radio frequencies with his comrades beside him. He silently nodded a confirmation signal to begin the first stages of his plan. Ino and Kiba nodded back and split up in different directions.
He knew…He understood that the village would brand them as traitors. His only hope was that one day the village might re-label his acts tonight justifiable after the dawning of his new regime. It wouldn't be easy and he could honestly say that he had no goals for the moment, but for right now…all he needed to do was focus on the adventure to come…
The very thought of it…had Naruto almost bursting at the seams with excitement.
He scurried to position himself a block away from the facility Tayuya was imprisoned. Kiba had already relayed him the information that she was on the fourth floor, south wall, and second cell from the right. They had all the information they needed.
There was only one minor little hiccup…
"How do we escape after we get her out?" Ino asked in a reserved tone.
"Dunno. Guess we'll just fight our way out?" Naruto asked looking to Kiba who nodded agreeably. Ino stood completely baffled.
"That's the most retarded idea I've ever heard in my life!" Ino yelled smacking the two of them upside the head. "We're not dealing with a few little genin! What we're doing will warrant the anbu, jounins, and even the chuunins and genins to stop us from getting away!"
"…yeah…so…what's your point?" Naruto asked cautiously.
"Hopeless!" Ino exclaimed out of aggravation.
"Scavenger to Crow, do we have eyes in the sky? Over." Naruto called through his headset.
Ino responded back quickly. "Crow here…ugh…why do I have to be the crow? Anywho, I've found a nesting place. Eyes will be in the sky in thirty seconds. Over and out."
"Roger that," Naruto replied. "Over and out."
Naruto waited as patiently as possible though he couldn't help that his hands and knees were trembling slightly. It was the feeling he always got right before he unleashed the devious schemes he concocted. He sighed slightly as he thought back on those good old days back at the academy. He looked up finally to see a crow coming in for a landing atop his head. The crow pecked him twice signaling that Ino was possessing it before taking flight once more.
The crow cawed. The coast was clear. Naruto jumped up and ran straight for the building and jumping up each level with a mix of quiet stealth and sheer determination pushing him up to the fourth floor of the complex.
The crow cawed again twice. Naruto quickly and quietly threw a cloak that was the color of the building over him to blend in perfectly. The minutes ticked by and Naruto didn't dare move an inch until he heard that sweet crows caw. He was beginning to get worried as the minutes soon turned into the hour but eventually the crow cawed once more signaling that it was safe to move forward again.
It was the most dangerous game of Red Light, Green Light imaginable.
He edged along the southern wall now and finally after much stress reached his destination outside Tayuya's cell. He pushed himself up against the wall. No one would be able to see him because of the awning above him.
"Tayuya," He whispered to the limp form dangling by the chains binding her wrists. Ibiki had unmercifully wrapped her chains over a support beam. His words failed to reach her as she made no indication that she had heard him. Her head remained lulled forward. If Naruto hadn't of known better he would have figured she was already…
"Psst! Tayuya!" Naruto whispered again shrilly hoping to evoke a response. There was none.
Naruto was beginning to panic as the crow fluttered in to rest on his shoulder. Seeing the situation the crow slipped in between the bars and landed atop Tayuya's head. It pecked it once or twice and Tayuya groaned out of irritance.
"I'm not dead yet you no good fucking piece of shit!" Tayuya yelled shaking her head wildly causing the crow to topple before taking flight again. It flew out between the bars and looked at Naruto before pecking his hand three times. It was the sign that Ino was letting off the jutsu.
"Played it like a professional," Naruto congratulated her. Not too long after he spoke the crow toppled over dead. It had been overexerted by Ino's jutsu. Thus it acted as a sign that Ino had released her jutsu on the poor little critter.
Naruto quickly swallowed any sadness he may have felt and redirected his attention to Tayuya. "Tayuya? You awake?" He asked in a non-disturbing tone.
"Yeah," Tayuya said. "That you, Uzumaki?"
"That's me," Naruto stated heroically. "I'm here to get you out."
Tayuya shuffled a little causing the chains to rattle. Naruto watched her carefully trying to decipher her body language, but it was proving hard as all he could see was her silhouette.
"Is this some kind of guilt trip? You've gotta bust me out because you put me in here?" Tayuya laughed bitterly. "Stay the fuck away from me."
Naruto sighed slightly, "I do feel bad for that. I didn't know they were listening in on our conversation, but that's not why I'm doing this…"
Tayuya raised her head slightly at his words before sagging it back down, "Do yourself a favor and forget about me. I don't want to live anymore."
Naruto's head began spinning as he tried to process what she was saying. "Why?" he asked.
"I have nowhere else to go. There's no way the Sound would accept me back. My team is dead and my dreams are finally shattered."
Naruto carefully processed everything she said before responding, "You want to die?"
"…That's right," Tayuya stated.
"I don't understand...I'm risking my life here trying to save you!" Naruto declared.
"I don't give a shit," Tayuya responded.
This was not part of his plan. Not to mention the heartbreaking feeling that Tayuya's words inflicted upon him. This was a person he looked up to and whose ideals he had made his own, and yet now she stood before him a mere shadow of her former self.
Naruto slumped down in front of her window in quiet contemplation. "What a weird feeling."
"What?" Tayuya asked out of annoyance.
"How do you cope when one of the few precious people in your life no longer believes in herself?" Naruto thought aloud as if to answer her question. "It almost feels like I've lost a bit of my purpose."
"Well good," Tayuya spoke snidely, "Maybe you'll go home to your 'few precious people' and leave me the fuck alone now?" She asked hopefully.
"I can see it from here," Naruto responded in an out of focus manner, "Your execution platform. It's the place where your life ends so long as you stay stubborn."
"Lucky you to be able to see it," Tayuya retorted pulling slightly on her chains.
Naruto sighed out of exasperation and scooted down the side of the wall in a squatting position looking out over Konoha. At the beautiful city in the dead of night and the amazing Hokage Monument that stood in the distance. He smiled slightly as his eyes lay upon the old schoolyard and became somber as his sight passed by his training grounds and the memorial stone.
"Tayuya, what was your dream?" Naruto asked quietly. "My dream is to become the Hokage and have everyone look up to me. To treat me like I'm somebody important, you know?"
"So you're a boy who wants to hog the limelight," Tayuya stated knowingly. "Personally, that's a rather childish goal."
Naruto thought it over in quiet contemplation, "Maybe. Everyone refused to acknowledge me growing up, so I guess it's only natural to have a goal such as that." He said as he looked up to the night sky, "But it's still a goal, a dream. People who can't make goals for themselves…they just waste away. They give up hope too easily and forget what it means to be alive. They lose focus on life and watch it zoom by without a care in the world."
"So what are you trying to say?" Tayuya acknowledged in a dark looming voice.
"What happened to make you want to quit living?" Naruto asked concernedly.
Silence. Neither spoke for what felt like eons. Time had ticked by at a crawl with Naruto continually looking up to the stars as if hoping that his imprisoned comrade's problems were answered within them. Her chains rattled slightly as she shuffled her feet and answered uncomfortably.
"I have never cried. Not once. Nor do I ever intend to. So why should I have to dig up one of my sob stories to give you an answer?"
"Because you are my friend," Naruto said comfortingly, "and I want you to know that I will always be there for you…even through the bad times."
Naruto could hear the steady intake of breath his words had caused in Tayuya. He needed to know what had broken her. You can't mend what is broken without all the pieces. And although he was pushing for time, none of it seemed to be near as important as this conversation.
"What the hell is with you?!" Tayuya yelled. "What the fuck is so interesting about me!? I'm your enemy! I helped your best friend betray the village you love! You're scum! A Konoha bastard! You don't care about anybody but your own! You have nothing to gain from this!!! Get the fuck out of here!"
"No," Naruto stated plainly.
"I'll call the fucking guards!"
"Then do it." Naruto replied seriously. "Maybe then I can finally understand why you've given up on yourself."
A small but shaky intake of breath could be heard from inside the jail. Naruto's eyes widened. She couldn't possibly…
"GUARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed out desperately.
Naruto's jaw dropped. "What the hell?!" He yelled. "You actually did it?!"
He could hear it. The fast-paced footsteps of Konoha's anbu black ops closing in at an alarming rate. Naruto narrowed his eyes and switched his radio back on and tuned it to all frequencies in his private party.
"We've been compromised. Follow through with the plan! Kiba do it now!" Naruto yelled into the mic.
The issue ordered a two-headed white dog emerged from out of nowhere in front of the Hokage monument before proceeding to impact the mountainside and causing a small avalanche. Naruto didn't have time to watch as the legendary heroes who protected the village crumbled and fell, smashing upon impact and crushing a few houses beneath them.
"Diversionary Tactics basics number one, do something so unthinkable that your enemy will have to pause to look at it."
Naruto charged up his Rasengan. The small ball of blue energy swirled around in his palm just long enough to stabilize before Naurto smashed it into the prison wall, blowing a huge hole within the southern wall.
"What the hell is going on?! What are you doing?! Don't tell me you—"
"Oh Tayuya…"
The inner torment that had crushed her spirit seemed so obvious when laid before him. Naruto had never seen someone look less than human in his whole life. Tayuya had told him that corruption breeds within politics but he had never known to what extent…
She hung chained by the wrists over an old wooden support beam forced to stand up on her broken legs as her arms were ripped slightly from their normal resting spot most likely due to being stretched by the chains over a long period of time. That was not to mention the numerous scrapes, bruises and fractures that were noticeable all over her tattered body. But the most unbearable sight to see were the two carved out holes that now inhabited her eye sockets.
They had cut out her eyes.
The anger and rage that passed through Naruto at that moment made it impossible not to unleash some of Kyuubi's chakra. The chakra flooded his body at an alarming rate as two tails quickly formed and the red aura of the fox radiated around him. He swung his claws at the chains slicing them into and causing Tayuya to fall to the floor. He continued the momentum of his swing and brought it back around to catch 3 anbu that jumped into the hole blasting them back with enough force to send them in the direction of the ruins of the Hokage monument.
"GIVE INTO ME."
Naruto struggled desperately to retain control of himself.
"GIVE INTO ME."
"Get out of my head!" Naruto yelled out of aggravation.
"YOU NEED ME. WITHOUT ME, YOU ARE NOTHING."
"I don't need you," Naruto screamed shakily as his whole body went into a spasm. Pieces of his flesh began ripping apart as he slowly started losing control.
"YOU NEED ME. LET ME TAKE CONTROL!"
"I thought I told you…you stupid fox," Naruto grunted painfully as his eyes glowed red, "I WANT TO DO THINGS MY WAY, WITHOUT YOU!!!!!!!!!"
His scream echoed throughout Konoha as he slowly fell to his knees coughing. His eyes lost their glow and returned back to their normal shade of blue as the aura around him slowly dissipated.
He didn't have anymore time to waste. He quickly bit his thumb and slammed the summoning jutsu into the ground. The foundation of the prison shook as Gamabunta was summoned on top of the prison. Naruto quickly grabbed onto Tayuya holding her tight to his body and being careful not to hurt her. He pumped chakra into his feet and sprung out the building just as it collapsed as Gamabunta came crashing down on top of it.
"Let me go!" Tayuya yelled as the two fell in midair. "Let me go!!!"
Naruto chopped the back of her neck knocking her unconscious. "Sorry Tayuya, I really can't handle any of that right now."
They landed with a thud before Naruto leaped to his feet and broke into a run towards Gamabunta. On his left Ino's body lay limp as Shikaku Nara carefully held in place over 30 anbu and jounin with the shadow possession jutsu.
"Nice one!" Naruto called out to her.
Ino possessing Shikaku's body nodded. "Don't worry about the body, Kiba is on his way to pick it up."
Naruto laughed lightheartedly as he blew past her and up Gamabunta's back. The old crack-addicted toad didn't look the slightest bit pleased at the moment.
"What is the meaning of all this, brat!?" The wizened toad yelled. "This is in strict violation of the summoning contract!"
"Sorry Bunta, no time to explain we need to get out of here now!" Naruto informed him loudly.
"I'm not budging until you tell me what the hell is going on and why I've been summoned against my village!" The old toad replied stubbornly.
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS," Naruto yelled. "The village wants to persecute someone innocent. Look at her and see for yourself the torment she has had to endure!"
The toad looked down to the young woman as if contemplating his decision of the situation. In Naruto's opinion he was wasting valuable time. Kiba, with Akamaru on his shoulder and Ino in hands, landed beside him.
"We need to get out of here. Ino can't hold the jutsu much longer," Kiba said gravely.
"Bunta NOW!" Naruto yelled.
"Naruto Uzumaki," The toad said his name as he slowly took out his sword, "I hereby cancel your contract with the toads. From this day forward you are no longer allowed to summon me or any of my brethren."
Naruto's eyes went wide as Gamabunta, with the expertise of a skilled swordsman flicked them onto the top of his massive sized blade and glared deep into the depths of Naruto's eyes with all the hatred of a man that had personally been betrayed.
"Be gone."
Before Naruto could get in a word in edgewise, Gamabunta swung his blade in an upward swinging motion with them still on it. Naruto and Kiba watched in horror as their feet gravitated off of the blade and the team of four ascended into the air at an alarming fast rate over the horizon to inevitably come crashing down to earth and meet a grizzly fate…
Okay, so here's my beef. I feel like I got most everything I wanted out of this chapter but had a lot of fun-filled trouble conveying it all. I've rewritten this little piece of hell a total of about four times so far but I still don't feel that clenching sensation of BAM! I got that chapter pegged. You know what I'm talking about if you're a writer.
I left the plan ambiguous in the story to sort of create that wow factor. Hope it worked, but basically Naruto employed the necessity of diversionary tactics by having Kiba destroy the Hokage monument and Ino using her mind control to take over Shikaku Nara and use his chakra to possess the ninjas as they come towards the prison. I'll let you invent up your own reasoning for how she handled catching Shikaku off guard...really wouldn't be too hard...I mean who would expect there best friend's daughter to betray the village when his best friend is so loyal to it?
I think this chapter is pumped full of plot twists and shockers that nobody would have expected...and if you did expect them...Well I'll be honest, I don't think anyone expected this chapter to go anything like this. Whether that's a bad thing or a good thing is hard to say at this point. Anyway, we will be diving into Tayuya a lot more in the chapters to come. I made her blind. Call me evil but it's been a part of my plans from the get go. Sorry, I'm a jerk.
No matter which way I went about making this chapter, the team's escape would be based on a completely spontaneous bout of dumb luck. Sadly we must face the fact that a team of genin couldn't possibly take on an entire village of ninjas and be standing at the end of it bored out of their minds.
Hopefully this author's note helps out in rectifying any wtf moments you may have experienced while reading the chapter. I'll probably come back to this chapter sometime and see if I can't rewrite some parts, but for now, overall, I'm happy with it and I hope you are too.
Chapter 5. Coming soon to a fanfiction site near you.