Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or the show for that matter.
Chapter 4: Strange Disappearances
Hiya, sorry this chapter is really short but I am working on the next chapter already and it will be substantially longer.
It was mid-day in the village of the sand. The streets were bare and seemingly deserted. The young Kazekage was walking down a street which should have been packed with villagers. He stopped as he reached an intersection, frowning as no villagers could be seen anywhere.
His frustration and worry was mounting. The sight of his orange-clad friend at the other end of the street momentarily had comforted him.
But something wasn't right. Suddenly Naruto began to dissolve as if he were made of sand. The buildings around him were beginning to crumble and come crashing down.
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Gaara bolted upright in his bed, both hands clasped on his forehead. It had been two days since Naruto had told him of the invasion army mounting but.....nothing has happened.....yet. Gaara stood and went out to his balcony to stare out into the horizon where the sun was just beginning to rise. He spent much of the morning contemplating what he should do next.
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Elsewhere, a young blond had awakened much in the same manner. Naruto rose from the hospital bed and dressed into clothes that Temari had brought for him to wear. The remainder of his Anbu robes had been disposed of. He wasn't supposed to be wearing the garments until after he was released from the hospital. He had been moved into a normal room, being as most of injuries would heal without the aid of medical jutsu. Although his injuries were still quite deep, the Sand's medical core were impressively skilled but his wounds had been grievous. He had been informed by the last medical nin to come see him that, they could not perform any more medical jutsu on him until his body had a chance to recover. He still had a nasty gash along his ribs on his right side, along with a variety of bruises, also several of his bones were not fully healed yet. He could manage with what he still had.
As he picked through the garments that were left for him it became apparent Temari chose these to screw with him. The button-up shirt was a bright teal with silver flowers all over. The khaki pants weren't pants at all but some kind of sick parody, they were too short to be pants but too long to be shorts.
'Perhaps she did this just so I couldn't walk out of the hospital without drawing attention of the staff.' he thought. He made a mental note that this would not go unanswered. Naruto however would not be discouraged to escape the hospital and so he opened the window and jumped.
The room had been on the third level of the hospital and as Naruto landed he collapsed onto the ground holding his side. As he clutched his side he spit out every curse he knew and several that were combination of curses he had never thought of before.
"Very smooth block-head." Temari had came at the perfect moment to see Naruto "land" and wasn't against making fun of him while he was in pain.
"Shuddup, it's.....your fault." He coughed out as he gasped for air.
"Just how do you figure that? It's my fault you have shit for brains." Temari replied with a grin. Naruto appeared to have recovered and was now standing.
"No, you left me these clothes just so I'd draw to much attention to leave out the front door." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Temari. Temari was completely speechless for a moment as she tried to fathom the logic that has that as a conclusion. After a few long seconds of Naruto staring at Temari, she burst out laughing. Naruto regained his posture and began walking off.
"HOLD IT!" Naruto froze. Temari wasn't looking as playful now. She had seen that one of his wounds on his right arm had opened and was bleeding. She could only guess that the wound on his chest had also reopened. "You aren't just going to ruin that shirt by bleeding into it. The wound is going to have to be redressed." Temari was definitely not asking.
"This thing?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes wide from shock. "It's atrocious."
"I got that shirt specifically for you, now I won't have it ruined so quickly. Besides you say that you think this one is bad, what about that orange jump suit you used to wear?" Temari's eye twitched as she countered him. Naruto had known that twitch, it was the one he would see on Tsunade's face or......Sakura's, right before he was about to get hit, really hard usually.
Naruto's face suddenly shifted going from looking appalled to sullen. Temari was slightly confused by this, but he had appeared like he was done arguing for the moment. Temari had Naruto accompany her to the Kazekage's residence where she had Naruto take his shirt off and wait for her in one of the guest bedrooms. Naruto began twiddling his thumbs as he felt uncomfortable in this situation. The door opened and Temari strolled through the doorway. Her jaw dropped as he eyed Naruto up.
"You nearly bled right through the bandage." she tried to pass off her moment of awe as something innocent. After being joining the Anbu, Naruto stepped up his training severely. He no longer resembled a young boy, quite simply his body was impressive even. His scars were numerous but not many of those could have been avoided she imagined. She walked over and began to remove the bloody dressings.
"We received a message from Konoha." Temari spoke softly, knowing that this would remind him of his lost comrades. The remaining color drained from Naruto's face and he stared out the window. "It appears that only one member of your squad was able to return to Konoha. I wasn't given a name but it was the youngest shinobi in the squad, if that means anything to you." Temari didn't like having to be the person with bad news. Naruto looked relieved for a moment but it passed quickly as it appeared.
"I failed as a squad leader." he muttered, more to himself than Temari.
"Naruto.....I'm sure you did everything within your power." Temari said in almost a whisper. She was never the consoling type.
"It wasn't enough though." His face becoming graver as he talked, Temari tried not to look at him as she finished cleaning the wound. "Barely a few weeks after my promotion. The first real battle I had been commander in." Naruto's words trailed off.
"What is important is that you tried. Your squad members knew that there was the possibility they would not be returning, all shinobi are aware of that." Temari hated seeing someone like him in despair. Naruto was the person who changed Gaara, someone who could never be disheartened, but here he was. "Naruto, why hasn't this wound healed. You are supposed to have accelerated healing." Temari said, Naruto needed something to bring his mind off his comrades. Naruto suddenly looked ashamed.
"It's because the Kyuubi is gone." he replied.
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Inside his ceremonial chamber, the high-priest was pacing around the outside of the room. The ritual was nearly complete. The priest was anxious, upon the completion of the ritual he would be so close. Jashin himself shall be brought into this world.
The Symbol of Jashin, a circle with a triangle running through it, was drawn on the floor but was easily twenty meters across. Forty of his finest followers were performing the ceremony, each of the sitting on the outside of the circle. None of them knew there were all going to be sacrificed as soon as they finish. The high-priest was becoming bored with watching the procession. The best way to worship Jashin was to spill blood in his name.
Suddenly the candles which had been illuminating the room all went out at once. The priest could still see though, the ritual circle had begun glowing with a devilish red which began to saturate the room. From the middle of the room, a hole in reality had been torn, and something was coming through. As each second passed more and more of a savage beast was coming out of the portal in the floor. The high-priest stepped forward and kneed before the embodiment of his God, more specifically his thirst, once this creature consumed enough. Jashin himself would walk upon the Earth and he will reshape it into his liking.
"Great harbinger of Jashin, I present you with a sacrifice." The high-priest gestured to the followers who had just completed the ritual.
