CHAPTER FOUR -- WHITEOUT
Author's Notes: Longest chapter so far! Heck, this thing is almost as big as the other chapters combined. I was originally going to have 2,000 words as the max of a chapter... But I realized that's not really very much. Anyway... The plot thickens! Maybe things will get interesting!
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It was white. Really white. That was the first thing Naruto could think of when he saw the island the clients were on. There was a red-brick town by the docks, smoke billowing from dozens of smokestacks. It looked like a small, warm, cozy little place.
"I suggest you put on warmer clothes," one of the other male passengers said -- the cabins had split up the genders, for the most part. "It's heated in here, but it's freezing outside."
Naruto nodded and reached into his backpack, Sasuke and... well, everybody else doing the same. They all changed, Naruto and Sasuke stowing their forehead protectors into their backpacks, making sure everything was buttoned and zipped up before exiting the cabin.
Naruto's jacket was much thicker than his usual attire, and a slightly darker shade of orange. There was no Uzumaki insignia on his left arm, and the shoulders were not blue. There was also a hood, the edge the same furry material as Kiba's.
A black point ended its point on the small of his back, riding up his back as it grew thicker and splitting into two, riding on his shoulders and down the sides of his arms, forming arrows.
The pants were the same darker orange, the pockets outlined in black. A single thick line of black going from the hip down to the ankle on the side of the left leg.
Sasuke was wearing a blue leather-looking cloak with long-sleeves, as well as a baggy hood. Think the cloak Naruto wears in 1st movie The zipped and edges of the hood were outlined in black. His pants were the same color and material, the pockets outlined in black.
"Hey, where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, reaching into his backpack and pulling out something familiar... his green goggles.
"Those things?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.
"I figure since you said we shouldn't wear our headbands, and it snows, I oughta wear some goggles," Naruto grinned, pulling at the strap to tug them on, keeping them strapped over his forehead.
The women then began filing out of their cabin. Naruto and Sasuke wondered over, mingling with the crowd until they reached Sakura, who was just getting off -- probably thinking they had already gotten off.
Sakura's coat, like her teammates' new clothes, was roughly the same color as her usual clothes. Sakura's was a plain red coat with a hood, the cuffs of the arms had a white, furry material -- as did her hood, like Kiba's. Her pants were also red, the white fur on the pant-cuffs. Her hood was up, but her face was already pink from the cold.
"Let's get started," Sakura said right away, hurrying for town. "I'm not that cold, but I hate this."
"Heh," Sasuke chuckled. "Right... Well, we might as well use the photos and look around. If we split up, we can cover more ground..."
"But only two of them give a good look at their faces," Sakura pointed out. "So will two of us be working together?"
"Yeah, you and Naruto," Sasuke replied. "I'll be fine on my own."
"Wait up!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought we agreed they were at the top of the mountain!"
"I was being sarcastic at the time," Sasuke said. "If we go up there, and they're not there... I will be pissed. Now, which one do you two want to question about?"
"I guess the girl," Sakura shrugged. Naruto shrugged as well, and took the photos from Sasuke. "When and where should we meet up, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke looked around, now that they entered the town. He pointed to a small restaurant -- it was a small, cozy place with a fire clearly visible from the windowpanes lining the wall.
"Meet up there in one hour," Sasuke said. "We'll exchange any gathered info, eat, and plan things out a little."
"Sounds good," Naruto nodded. "C'mon, Sakura-chan. My bet's on the grocery store -- we just gotta find it."
"That's pretty smart," Sakura commended. "Choosing places they'd go regularly."
"I try," Naruto grinned.
The trip was short -- Naruto had actually seen the food market farther down the street. They entered the warm store, which only had a single room for customers that was about the size of a bedroom.
This town apparently focused on meat, especially bear and deer -- or at least that was Sakura's impression. The only fruits and vegetables were all imported from Water or Lightning Country.
"I hear it's gonna snow," a thick-built man said to another customer. "But I don't think it's gonna reach town."
"Crap, I was hopin' t' go huntin,'" the other man groaned. "Guess that means I gotta buy dinner..." He grabbed a skinned chicken, bought it, and he and his buddy exited.
"Excuse me," Sakura said politely to the elderly woman behind the counter. "We're looking for a friend of ours... Here's her picture..."
"Hmm... No, I'm afraid she doesn't ring any bells," the woman replied, shaking her head.
"Maybe you know her brother?" Naruto asked. "Tall guy, skinny..."
"Dark brown hair and eyes," Sakura added. She put the back of her wrist at her hairline, trying to imitate Riddin's hairstyle. "His hair kinda looks like this?"
"Hmm... No, I'm afraid not," the lady said. "But maybe you should try the pharmacy. Some people like killing their own game, and ignore fruit and vegetables. Find them... unnecessary. Stupid, really..."
Sakura glanced at Naruto. He was a bright red -- he never ate any of the healthy stuff either, Kakashi was always riding on him to eat a 'balanced diet.'
"So, uh, where's the pharmacy at?" Naruto asked, trying to keep his voice even. "We're kinda new to town."
"Down the street, take a left," she instructed. "It's on the north side of the street, the right."
"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Sakura smiled.
"If you need any food, or any more info, come by," the lady said brightly, smiling a wrinkly smile. "If you kill any game, we will purchase it if it's in good condition."
"We'll remember that," Sakura said, raising her hand as she and Naruto exited.
"I guess it makes sense we wouldn't find them in a butcher shop," Naruto said after a moment. "It's kinda funny the front sign makes it out to be your normal grocery store."
"What makes you say it's a butcher shop?" Sakura asked.
Naruto sniffed. "You could kinda smell blood."
"I didn't notice," Sakura admitted. They turned onto the street the pharmacy was on. "You think there's a normal food market, like at Konoha? Or should we just ask at the pharmacy, and if that turns up nothing, ask where we might get some info?"
"Uh... Yeah, that sounds good," Naruto shrugged. "Sakura-chan, you're a girl-"
"Thank you for noticing," she said through gritted teeth.
Naruto didn't notice her remark, "Even if they're hiding out, there must be somewhere this..." He looked at the photo, "-'Reiyin' would go."
"Hmm..." Sakura hummed thoughtfully as they entered the pharmacy. She handed Naruto the other photos, and he approached the pharmacist, and she stayed at the entrance.
Where would she go in a snowy, hunter town like this? Sakura wondered, letting Naruto handle the questioning. A clothing shop, maybe? It'd be easier if I knew a little about her...
"We're in luck, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned as he walked back over to her, dragging Sakura from her thoughts. "This guy says Yoshimitsu Rayn comes down here every two weeks. She's due to come in tomorrow -- probably around noon."
Author's Note: It's written in kana as Yoshimitsu Reiyin. However, since I'll be using 'Rayn' for the most part. So it's not like they're two different people, my beta got confused -- hence why I made this note.
"Does he know where they're staying?" Sakura asked. "Or anything about her brother, Riddin?"
"Nah, just that Rayn comes in here regularly," Naruto replied, shaking his head.
"So, we just try asking about Riddin?" Sakura suggested. "Since we can find Rayn tomorrow?"
"Well, without a photo, it might be difficult," Naruto shrugged. "We did our job! I think we should enjoy the remaining time until we meet with Sasuke."
"How do you propose we do that?" Sakura questioned, glancing at him.
Naruto's face brightened. "Let's try snowboarding!"
Snowboarding! Inner-Sakura screamed. Let's do it! Shannaro!
"C'mon, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a grin. "I bet'cha we could get up there and board down, and still get to the restaurant on time!"
"Eh... alright..." Sakura said slowly, trying not to show her excitement. "But if we're late, it's on your head."
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"Ne... Kyouku-san," the first figure said, in a brown overcoat. Narucho was a thick man, and not from muscle, his head shaved. "I know where the girl is gonna be tomorrow, at noon. Following those Leaf brats paid off."
He and his two associates were sitting in a bar, even though the third was underage -- all wearing the same brown overcoat. It was a dump, the bartender didn't care if he sold a 12-year-old sake.
"Alright, Narucho," the second figure, Kyouku, chuckled. Kyouko was a tall figure, his black hair cut short. "Good job. Yokoji, you think you're ready for this?"
Yokoji, the underage at seventeen, sighed. He was fairly thin, his steel-gray hair almost over his eyes in a mop-top way. "Whatever, Uncle Kyouku."
"We finally get to end this," Narucho grinned. "Twelve years of this clan war, we finally get to end it. It'll be the end of the Yoshimitsu."
"And the Kajiya shall be victorious!" Kyouku yelled proudly.
Yokoji just sighed.
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"Old man!" Naruto exclaimed, banging his palm on the counter.
They were about ¾ up the mountain, in a large ski lodge. It was made of wood, supported by several beams -- since it was on a slope.
"Show some respect," Sakura hissed. "Sir, we were hoping to rent to snowboards..."
The old man chuckled, no doubt at Naruto's rudeness. "Alright... The boy's around 148 cm, and you're around 150 cm..."
"Roughly," Sakura nodded, impressed. "How'd you know?"
The old man smirked and pointed behind Sakura. She glanced behind her shoulder -- the to of them were standing in front of a wall. On the wall was a massive ruler, which allowed the old man to easily judge their height.
"Oh..." Sakura said simply, blushing and sweat-dropping.
"What type of snowboard do you want?" the old man chuckled. "Any preference on color or design?"
The Genin glanced at each other.
"We dunno anything about snowboards," Naruto explained flatly. "Just give us an average board."
The old man nodded, handing them both black boards with no designs. They took the boards and handed over the money that the signs indicated, wandering out to the launch ramp.
"Oh, by the way!" the old man called. "This mountain is known for sudden, violent snowstorms!" He laughed when the Genin froze in place. "Just keep boarding downhill, and you should be fine!"
It was just a ladder leading up to a platform, adjacent to the platform, to get a good start before hitting the snow.
"Y'wanna go first?" Naruto offered, looking up the tall ladder.
"Umm... No, you can go first," Sakura said nervously.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, beginning to climb with his board in his jacket. He reached the top, and yanked out the board. "Let's do it!"
He set the board down and set his feet into the foot clasps. He locked them in place, and side-jumped over to the ramp. He looked down the ramp, biting down on his tongue in thought.
"How do I start?" he asked dimly, looking down at her. "Do I jump? Or just kinda lean?"
"My guess is jump!" Sakura called. "Good luck!"
"Right," Naruto said uncertainly, lowering his goggles over his eyes.
He made a bigger side-jump, tilting the nose of the snowboard forward. He slid down the ram quickly, but he felt off balance while standing straight up, so he crouched down a bit.
He flew from the ramp, landing on the compacted snow, making his way down the mountain. He could faintly hear Sakura cheering, but he just crouched farther down, picking up more speed.
This isn't that hard! thought Naruto. I doubt I can turn too well, but at least I haven't fallen yet.
"Turn, you idiot!" Sakura yelled, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Before you hit the tree!"
Naruto tried shifting his weight to his left foot, and lifted his right foot a little. The nose of the snowboard popped up, and Naruto's speed dropped dramatically. He managed to jerk his right leg to the right, and then dropped the nose -- he was now going in a different direction. He just barely missed the tree, and had lost a lot of speed.
Naruto dropped down to a virtual crouch, his speed picking up again. He was approaching a jump, and he had to decide whether to try the jump or steer around it. He decided to jump.
He pushed his weight down on the board, and then jumped just before the sudden drop that was the jump. It was a small jump, but he was airborne. His stomach churned, feeling empty. He quickly dropped, snow flying everywhere, and he continued down the mountain.
He tried glancing behind him, but didn't see Sakura anywhere. Should I stop and wait for her? Maybe she fell and is stuck or something...
Naruto crouched all the way down again, grabbing the nose and tail of his board. He jumped, making a 180º, and was snowboarding backwards. Difficult? As hell. But possible -- of course, now he felt off balance, and was going slower than ever.
"Hmm..." Naruto hummed thoughtfully. Sakura was nowhere in sight. Naruto got an idea, and made his favorite hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Shadow Clone
A tower of Kage Bunshin appeared on his shoulders, allowing the Kage Bunshin on top to see much higher up the mountain than the real Naruto.
"You see her?!" Naruto called up, straining from the weight.
"No!" He looked up at the sky. "Hey... It's snowing real hard all of a sudden..."
"Damn," Naruto muttered. He ended the Jutsu, and all the Kage Bunshin disappeared. "Sakura-chan, where are you?"
He turned the board, and slowed to a stop. He unhooked his feet from the snowboard and began walking uphill, leaving the board. He pulled on his hood, glancing up to see it was indeed snowing very violently. In only a few seconds, wind was blowing so hard he nearly fell, a hat of snow gathering on his head.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, and was barely able to hear himself.
"Oh, by the way!" the old man called. "This mountain is known for sudden, violent snowstorms!" He laughed when the Genin froze in place. "Just keep boarding downhill, and you should be fine!"
"Crap..." Naruto groaned. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Dozens of Kage Bunshin appeared, all clutching at their jackets. They all began looking around, calling for Sakura.
"All together!" the real Naruto yelled. "1... 2... 3..."
"SAKURA-CHAN!"
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I can't see a thing! Sakura thought, crouching down so she could get off this mountain as fast as possible. There's snow everywhere, I can barely see my own hand...
"Naruto!" Sakura roared. "WHERE ARE YOU!?"
Nothing but the howling wind replied. Sakura frantically looked around, but everything was the same. The snowstorm was swift, loud, and blinding.
Unfortunately, the blinding was what got Sakura. She hit a patch of rocks head on, and she was thrown forward, her board breaking in half. She hit the rocks hard, but she was alright -- nothing seemed to be broken, but she would have some serious bruises.
Prying the shattered board from her feet, Sakura looked around.
"NARUTO!" she yelled. "Damn, I can't see anything..."
But Sakura still had a tiny sense of direction -- they were on a mountain, so she could tell which way was uphill and which was downhill.
But which way to go? Downhill, where there the weather would be better -- like the old man said? Or uphill, where there were caves -- she and Naruto had passed by several on the trek up? She had no idea how long this snowstorm would last.
If she tripped going uphill, she'd face-plant into the snow. She could freeze to death if she didn't have the strength to get back up. She felt pretty weak at the moment, too. Crashing into rocks probably had something to do with it.
If she fell going downhill... She couldn't help but think of the cartoons where someone tripped, creating an exponentially growing snowball. Not only would she freeze, she'd get physically ill. Not an honorable death for a kunoichi of her caliber. Not a good death for anybody, really.
Paranoia and too many cartoons as a child dictated she go uphill. Fear of death dictated she go downhill. But she had been trained not to fear death. She had never been trained not to fear cartoon antics.
Uphill it was.
The wind roaring in her ears, even through her hood, she trudged uphill. She trudged through the slush, hugging herself, trying to pull the jacket tighter against her freezing body.
Her teeth were chattering beneath her scarf, so she grinded her teeth together so they wouldn't shatter against each other. She bit down on her lip so hard that they bled -- the warm blood was sickening wonderfully warm against her cold lips and chin.
After what seemed like a frozen eternity, but it was really almost half an hour, the path evened out. She saw brown and black amongst the white.
She had entered a cave.
Snow had blown several meters into the cave, but the cave was so deep she couldn't see the end of it, it just disappeared into the darkness.
Not that she saw something other than white, she realized her vision was blurry. Had she cut herself on the fall? Would she die of hypothermia? It seemed pretty likely.
I can't stop, even if there's only a few inches of snow, thought Sakura. I just need to get to where it's dry... Maybe there's wood or something farther in, so I can get warm.
"Naruto!" she called, her voice echoing in the darkness. "Are you... in here?..."
She continued walking forward, trudging through the snow -- it was so much easier now that there was no wind blowing at her. Her steps were slower, her body so cold she could barely move.
Her breathing slowed, becoming deeper. She occasionally let out a shudder, but she wasn't sure if it was because of death closing in on her, or purely the cold. Perhaps both.
Her strength was sapped. She fell to her knees, hugging herself. She face-planted into the snow, and she didn't even have the strength to move anymore, so she couldn't get up or even turn her head.
I can't believe this is it... thought Sakura. I'm sorry Naruto... Sasuke-kun...
The blurs all melded into a black, and Sakura's world stopped.
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Author's Notes: I was thinking... If people asked questions on slightly confusing parts, I would be able to explain it later -- just because I picked up on it, and my beta did, doesn't mean everyone else will.
I will see you all soon... All of 16 you.. if there's even that many, I just see that many hits.