Okay, here we go. Remember that this is a three-part story. We're getting right into the thick of things when it comes to Part 1, so things are going to escalate starting now.
Chapter 7: Masked Bandits
The gate was coming into sight really quickly.
Six Genin and two Jounin were the ones who were going on this mission together, and as the gate came into view, he already saw six other people standing there. That meant that he was the second-to-last one to make it there.
"There you are, Naruto! You're late!"
Even though she was on a different team, Sakura never missed the chance to yell at Naruto. Naruto tried to smile at her, but the pink-haired girl just scoffed and looked away. It was odd, usually he would command this type of behavior by both of his female companions.
Yet, Ino was just staring at him calmly. She had been remarkably subdued their entire time on the team, and had rarely ever yelled at him or even raised her voice around him.
Naruto adjusted his backpack while also adjusting his bassoon. Looking around, it seemed that he was the last genin to get there, which meant that there was a Jounin missing. It was pretty obvious to him who it was...
"Uh... I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I overslept..." Naruto said, not bothering to make excuses for himself. Sakura just huffed at him before turning back to moon over Sasuke.
Shikamaru and Chouji had begun to talk like the best friends they were, Sakura and Ino were arguing, and Sasuke was sulking off alone at this point. Since the rest of the Genin weren't paying any attention to him, so Naruto turned his attention on the only Jounin sensei who was currently there with them.
"Good to see that you made it relatively on time, Naruto," Asuma told him as he noticed that Naruto's attention was on him. Naruto made a unique gesture with regards to Asuma, and the Jounin sensei blushed uncomfortably.
"Uh... let's just say that it all worked out very fine..." Asuma said knowingly. A couple of the other Genin looked at him strangely, but Naruto smiled back at him.
"Anyway, what's this new technique that you're going to be teaching me?" Naruto asked eagerly. He just couldn't seem to get his mind off the new technique, and he also couldn't seem to stop pestering Asuma about it either.
"Eh, well... you'll see what it is when we finally break for camp and we have some free time. I'm sure you'll like it quite a bit..." Asuma said. Naruto frowned slightly.
"Speaking of which, what is this mission anyway? I haven't been told what we're supposed to be doing?" he asked.
"Wait until Kakashi gets here. We'll explain everything to you then," Asuma replied.
"Yeah, Naruto, that makes sense. Don't make this more troublesome than it needs to be and just wait for Kakashi to get here already..." Shikamaru pointed out, taking a break in talking to Chouji to walk right up to them.
Something made Shikamaru pause and raise an eyebrow, however. He seemed to glimpse Naruto's large suitcase backpack shake for just a split-second. It was very light, but it was there, and it was bizarre.
"Hey, Naruto, what's up with your backpack?" he asked. Naruto turned around and gave him a look of confusion that for some reason looked very fitting for someone like Naruto.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked. Nothing seemed off with the backpack he was wearing.
For all he was worth, Shikamaru just seemed to find explaining it too troublesome and just let it be.
"Uh... never mind."
Naruto just looked at him oddly, before he noticed Ino staring at him strangely again. Naruto just awkwardly shook it off once again, pretending to be interested in the dirt right below his feet.
Thankfully, Kakashi made it a point this time around to not be too late, so at exactly a half-hour after the scheduled meeting time, there was a loud puff of smoke followed by the lazy Jounin stepping out of it non-chalantly.
Asuma sighed.
"Would it kill you to be on time for these missions just once?"
"Sorry... you see I got lost..."
"Yeah, save it! I don't wanna hear your stupid excuses this time!" Naruto butt in. Kakashi was probably going to end up saying something like "I got lost on the road of life" or something like that, even though he had already used that one three times already with his own team.
"Heh... heheheheheh..." Kakashi chuckled lamely, scratching the back of his head. The other five Genin were also looking at him with expressions of irritation, but Naruto was the only one who had said anything.
"Let's just move on to the mission, shall we?" Asuma suggested.
"Sounds good. I'll explain our mission, then. There has been some strange activity occurring over the past month or so. Details of unexplainable occurrences are happening. Appearances of strange phenomena are occurring in a very concentrated point in the northwestern forest of the Hi no Kuni. Our mission is to simply investigate the phenomena in question and see if we can determine its source. However, the location we are headed for has a deep concentration of bandits, and is very close to the border of Kusa no Kuni, so it was decided that two Genin teams were necessary to complete this mission, hence why you all were chosen..." Kakashi explained.
That explanation set Naruto's nerves on end. Strange phenomena? He didn't like the sound of that. And no matter how much he tried to shake the feeling, he couldn't help but feel that this had something to do with him in one way or another.
"Let's get a move on. We can discuss this more as we begin the trip..." Asuma said. Kakashi nodded in agreement, and the six students fell into step behind their senseis.
The chilly autumn air sent shivers down Naruto's spine as the early morning continued on. The eight ninja were walking down the trail at a quite leisurely pace for their mission. The senseis in particular were attuned to pick out anything suspicious.
"Sensei, what kind of "strange phenomena" have been happening at this place anyway?" Sakura asked. That seemed to be the topic on everyone's mind at this point. Even Sasuke was somewhat interested.
"There have been numerous reports of strange things occurring in that area, but what can be picked out as truth isn't exactly clear yet. Some people say that there have been unknown species of animal randomly appearing around that area, while others point out that a strange, foreign-clothed man is causing trouble around there, and that the local bandits are acting strange. Whatever the case, our mission is to understand what is going on. We will find out soon enough..." Kakashi said.
Sakura seemed satisfied with that answer, and she nodded. It would keep the rest of their curiosity satiated for a while at least. Asuma and Kakashi went back to talking, while Naruto was already beginning to get bored.
He considered taking out his bassoon and playing, but on a mission that might draw unwanted attention, so he left it alone for now. His other gift from the Happy Mask Salesman, the Stone Mask, was still buried in the bottom of his backpack.
He felt his bassoon for a couple seconds, before adjusting it to a more comfortable position. He had felt the little grooves that had been engraved in the side of the instrument. They were symbols or characters of some kind, but they were foreign to Naruto. He didn't have any idea what they meant.
Naruto's day went as planned. They were to walk pretty much all day until they rested, about fifty miles away from the site of their mission. The next morning, they were attempt to complete their mission. They would spend the next five days there, meaning that their return to the village would occur on October 7th, right before the Kyuubi festival.
After over eight hours of moving, the group of eight ninja set up a camp in a mildly forested area with enough space for six Genin and two Jounin to rest near. They made a light campfire, while keeping the smoke to a minimum to avoid giving away their location.
Most of them were quite, scarcely saying a word to one another as they basked in the warmth of the flames. Only Chouji was making a fair amount of noise, as he scarfed down his trademark chips.
Even Naruto wasn't making much noise, for he was busy rummaging through his giant backpack. As he pulled out a blanket to lay upon, he laid eyes upon his Stone Mask... and one other that he wasn't expecting to see.
Everyone else looked at him when he gave out an audible gasp.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked his student. The other Genin were looking at him in confusion as well, even as Naruto turned to give them a clearly forced smile.
He quickly shoved the spiky, heart-shaped mask underneath all the other materials in his backpack. Thankfully, it wasn't giving off an aura this time around, though who knew when it could randomly "turn on".
"Nothing! Nothing! Everything is fine!" Naruto said, chuckling slightly. That was a little too forced, and he could tell that Kakashi and Asuma were seeing right through it. The rest of the Genin seemed to accept his answer though.
"I see..." Kakashi said, letting it go anyway. "Moving on... tomorrow you will all break into three pairs and spread out once we arrive. Asuma and myself will be at the main "base" of sorts, supervising," Kakashi said.
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Shikamaru asked. "Since this is an investigation mission, I assume we have to use our instincts to locate anything out of the ordinary, but usually investigations are given more information than what you have vaguely told us."
Naruto wasn't listening at this point, but he didn't really need to be anyway. All that the Jounins told them at this point was that there was very little concrete information about the occurrences around the area, and that there wasn't any more information to be had.
The only thing that Naruto was mulling over was the appearance of the mask in his backpack. He had thought that he had wiped himself clear of the mask, but that obviously wasn't the case.
"Alright... let's get some rest for the time being. I'll take first watch while the rest of you sleep. I'll wake you up in an hour, Naruto, so you can take the next watch..." Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto.
The campfire dimmed, and everybody settled down into their sleeping bags for the night. Pretty soon, the sounds of snoring filled the air. Naruto was surprised by how loud Sakura actually snored, and since he was right next to her...
It wasn't like he was going to get any sleep anyway. He laid on his side for the next hour or so, and occasionally his foot would nudge the side of his backpack, which would remind him of things that had happened.
Eventually, he heard rustling from the other side of their camp, and he already knew that it was Kakashi getting up from his post to come over and wake him up. As a shadow fell over him, Naruto fidgeted in place for a few times before pretending to look up to see who it was.
"Alright, Naruto. I need to get some rest as well. Take the next shift and wake up Chouji in an hour..." his sensei ordered him. Naruto blearily nodded unenthusiastically, but crawled out of his sleeping bag anyway.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it..." he said. He took a seat on the rock that was directly behind him, and as Kakashi went to rest, he felt an overwhelming sense of solitude. The forest was quiet at night, with a lack of wildlife in this area. The wind was a cool, comfortable breeze, and the moon hung over the campsite and bathed it in a dim white glow.
He plucked his bassoon out from underneath his backpack, and began to blow into the reed softly. It was a very quiet and low tune, and he made sure that he didn't wake any of his comrades up. With that being side, he felt the need to calm his nerves somewhat.
The sounds of the bassoon mixed in with the forest, and Naruto felt himself getting more and more relaxed the longer he kept playing. It was a strange feeling, but it helped him get his mind off of the mask.
"Naruto?" a low whisper rang out in the forest around him. Naruto faltered in his song for just a moment, surprised by the fact that someone else would be up at this time, when he was supposed to be watching.
He looked around, searching for the source of the voice, when he noticed that it was Ino, awake and staring at him through her sleeping bag. Naruto looked at her awkwardly; it would seemingly explain the way their relationship has been for the last couple weeks.
"What are you doing?" she asked. Naruto didn't ask for her to get out of her sleeping bag, but for some reason she seemed to do it anyway, quietly slipping out so as to not awake their other comrades.
After a couple weeks of being her teammate, Naruto wasn't particularly mad at her anymore. If he was going to be around her for much of his time, it wouldn't do. He would just have to get used to her. But still, it didn't explain why Ino was randomly interested in him all of sudden.
"Well..." he trailed off, as Ino walked directly up to him. He didn't particularly feel like spilling his problems to her, but it was thrust out of his mind completely when a strange throbbing sensation entered the back of his mind.
"Are you playing that instrument? Where did you even get that thing anyway?" she asked, sitting beside him.
"The mask salesman who your dad bought the mask from!" Naruto responded. Ino made a face.
"I know you like that guy, Naruto, but doesn't he seem a little... off?"
Even Naruto couldn't find fault in Ino's logic. There was something a little off about that guy. He understood that his strange clothes were probably a result of him being a foreigner, but with those pointed ears and especially that unnerving smile, and Naruto couldn't feel entirely comfortable around him.
Still, the Happy Mask Salesman had been nothing but nice to him ever since he met him, so he had to defend him.
"Well... he's the only one around this time who's been nice to me back in the village, and he's not even from around here! He gave me this bassoon as a present for nothing. Basically, he's the only one who's given me the time of day..."
That answer seemed to surprise Ino a little bit. She knew Naruto wasn't exactly liked around the village, for reasons she didn't really know why. But, she had always shrugged it off, and even participated in some of it herself, due to peer pressure and whatnot.
"Naruto... why do they treat you like that back in the village?" Ino asked. It was honestly the first time it had ever crossed her mind to ask Naruto a question like that.
Naruto looked at her solemnly, fiddling with his bassoon. He had found out the reason recently, the fox demon Kyuubi that was sealed within him was the cause for that. He wasn't sure he was ready to reveal that secret to the world, though.
"I don't know..." he croaked.
"Oh..." Ino responded.
The two of them sat in awkward silence for a moment longer, before Ino finally spoke up.
"Naruto... there's something I want to say. I know... I haven't exactly been the best person to you over the years. Back at the academy, and now that we're on the same team. I don't even know why I was so bad to you, but... with what has been happening these last few weeks, I was especially cruel to you... and..."
Naruto was surprised, and it showed upon his face. He had never known Ino was the type of girl to act like this.
"What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, Naruto. Mainly for the way I've been acting these last few weeks, but with how I've been acting all throughout the academy. I like to say I'm better than Sakura, but honestly the way we act is exactly the same, and that includes when you're involved. So, I'm sorry..." she said.
Now Naruto was extremely surprised. He blew into his bassoon out of bewilderment, because Ino was never one to apologize. The two Genin sat in more awkward silence, and it was apparently his turn to say something.
"I'm sorry, too. For the way I acted back at my apartment. It was your birthday, and I shut you out over basically nothing..." he said. Ino scoffed.
"Please, you had your reasons for doing that. I wouldn't be happy seeing someone like me if I were in your situation..." she chuckled. Naruto only smiled back at her.
"Naruto... can I listen to you play?" she asked. It was at this point that Naruto was beginning to notice that Ino was sitting pretty close to him, all things considered.
He didn't need to be told twice, though Naruto thought that playing for someone else would be a little bit different than normal. Regardless, the blonde boy began to wing it, playing the song that he knew best.
Ino closed her eyes and let the music wash all over her. It was such a serene tune, this "Song of Healing" as she had heard Naruto call it. She felt all her worries drift away, and it even felt like her soul had been mended by the tune.
She was beginning to hum along to the tune when Naruto changed it up, playing a song she had never heard before. She didn't know it, but it was the song that Naruto had played during Kurenai's serenade.
Naruto was simply getting enraptured by the music, just barely attentive to the listener beside him. He had a little bit of a mix-up though as he felt a weight apply pressure upon his shoulder all of a sudden, and he paused in his music.
He turned to see Ino was now resting her head on his shoulder, breathing deeply. She had randomly fallen back to sleep, and had found that he was the most suitable pillow available.
He blushed lightly, but otherwise did not do anything to disturb her. He would have to wake up Chouji in a little while anyway, so he could let this occur for a little bit longer.
Naruto remained like this for a few more minutes, until he felt something slightly wet on his shoulder. Naruto cringed at the uncomfortable feeling, before he set his bassoon down and looked over at what he saw. The sleeping Ino was drooling into his shoulder, and a little puddle was forming on his clothes near where her mouth was.
He winced in disgust, but he otherwise didn't wake Ino up until his watch was over and he had to wake up Chouji.
"Hey, hey. Ino... wake up!" he whispered, rustling his teammate awake. Ino fluttered her eyes open, and yawned, drowsily nuzzling her head into her "pillow". She blinked a few times, before she finally noticed just what she was leaning against.
She backed up frantically, and Naruto and Ino stared at each other.
"Um... sorry?" she hazarded a guess. Naruto just stared, before Ino noticed the patch of drool that she had left on his clothes, and blushed heavily at that.
"It's alright..." he said. Ino seemed to realize that his watch was up, and it was time for him to get some rest, so she went back to her sleeping bag and laid down within it, while Naruto walked over to rustle Chouji from his sleep.
The next morning, Naruto seemed to be in a more chipper mood.
He had mended his relationship with Ino, and had successfully gotten his mind on the mask that he still knew was in the bottom of his backpack. Yet, they were well on their way to the area where the suspicious activity was happening.
They had arrived at about two hours before mid-day, and were immediately about to get to work. True to Kakashi's word, the six Genin had split into three pairs, while the two Jounin would hold down the "base", which was at the very center of a crude map that Kakashi had drawn for them all in the dirt.
Sakura had gone with Shikamaru to the northern part of the forest, Sasuke with Chouji to the eastern part, and he had gone with Ino to the western part. Which, after what had happened last night, he wondered if Kakashi hadn't been eavesdropping on them.
"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Naruto asked. It seemed to be the million dollar question of this entire mission.
Naruto and Ino had been walking around the western forest for quite some time now, and Naruto could tell that there was something different about the place as compared to other forests within Hi no Kuni.
"Shh! Be quiet for a second... I think I see something!" Ino told him, shushing Naruto quickly as she gestured for him to come hide behind a tree with her. She was peeking out of the thick bark every so often, apparently trained on something in the clearing ahead of them.
Naruto ducked behind the tree with her, and looked out to view what she was looking at. He could see the smoke of an almost dead campfire rising above the landscape, which meant that there must be people nearby.
The sound of raucous laughing pierced the din, and Naruto laid eyes upon them for the first time. To the untrained eye, they weren't anything special. They looked like an ordinary gang of bandits, about two dozen of them or so all spread out within a small to medium sized camp within the woods.
But there was something much different about this group, and they weren't the only things that were out of the ordinary with this area. Naruto was beginning to notice things. This section of forest was pretty dense, with the exception of the clearing ahead of him. But there were strange little... things that were floating around them at this point.
They looked kind of like little floating balls of yellow light, but they flew around like they were alive and left trails of light wherever they went, which underneath the canopy of trees made this area dim enough for him to see them.
"Bandits... but what's so special about them? We knew that this place was flooded with them..." Naruto said. Ino only shook her head at the boy, seemingly realizing something that Naruto did not.
"They're acting strange. Just take a look at them for a little while, and you'll see what I mean..." she replied. Naruto kept his eyes trained on the lot of them, waiting to see what Ino was so jumpy about.
After a few minutes, he saw what she meant. Most of the bandits were just sitting in a circle in the middle of the camp, but there was something on a type of pedestal that Naruto couldn't make out from this distance.
Then, the bandits all began to chant in unison.
It was in a bizarre language that Naruto had never heard before, but these bandits spoke it with such unmatched fluiidity, like they had known it all along. The chant was like a bizarre religious ceremony, and pretty soon the bandits were all kneeling in front of the pedestal as if it were an idol.
"What's that thing in the middle of their camp?" Naruto asked, but he knew as well that neither he nor Ino could possibly see that far.
"This behavior is definitely strange for bandits. They're thieves, not zealots! I think we may have found a clue as to what's been going on here over the last few weeks." Ino responded. She jumped out from behind the trees, being careful not to draw attention to themselves. However, it looked like the bandits were far too entranced in their little ritual to notice them.
"This needs to be reported back to Kakashi-sensei. I'll go and explain the situation. You stay here and watch them, and see if they display any more strange behavior..." she continued.
It sounded like a solid plan to Naruto, so the blonde Genin let her go while retaining his position behind the tree. As Ino disappeared underneath the canopy of the trees, Naruto watched the bandits closely. A few of them were getting up at this point, but one of the bandits had something strange attached to his face.
"Wait a second..." Naruto thought to himself, feeling an odd sense of familiarity over what was happening. Before he could continue watching, there was a flash of movement, and Naruto reacted accordingly.
A large bandit wielding a giant axe suddenly got in Naruto's blind spot, and wasted no time in trying to shove his axe through Naruto's head. Thankfully, Naruto was much quicker, and he reacted in time to move out of the way, which meant that the giant axe lodged itself into the thick bark of the tree.
Naruto didn't even know where the bandit had come from, but the large man roared in anger as he drew his axe from the tree. Naruto didn't even need to look twice to realize that all of the other bandits were now alerted to his presence.
The bandit with the axe apparently wasn't done with him quite yet though. He swung the axe again, and Naruto did the only thing he could think of in that situation: he lifted his bassoon to block the axe.
His heart sunk when he realized what just happened, but surprisingly, the wooden instrument didn't immediately break underneath the pressure of the heavy axe. The bassoon was apparently made up of an extremely sturdy type of wood, and the Happy Mask Salesman did tell him that it was made of special properties, so it was able to block it completely.
The big bandit seemed to be looked confused for a moment or two, before Naruto used the opportunity to punch his several times in the gut. The bandit doubled over and wheezed, allowing Naruto to get behind a tree before the other bandits got there.
"I guess now might be the best time to try out my new mask..." Naruto thought, as he heard the bandits in the camp chanting to themselves frantically, apparently concerned about the sneaky ninja that had been watching them.
He reached into his backpack frantically and pulled out the blank, expressionless Stone Mask, which he then carefully attached to his face so he became as blank and boring as an everyday rock.
He then stepped out into the open. The large bandit with the axe was knocked out cold, but the others in the camp were apparently preparing to head out to look for him. With these mask on, he could hopefully sneak right in there and see what was up.
He carefully snuck up into the camp, being hesitant on whether the mask actually worked or not. Ino should be back at the main base at this point in time, but she could come back at any time.
Overall, there were about twenty-five bandits in the camp, some of them in the tents that were set up around the clearing, while there were about ten of them out and about. True to the salesman's word, he was not detected upon entering the camp, despite the fact that it should be obvious to see him moving around in broad daylight.
Two of them who were out drew Naruto's attention though. They were wearing masks.
They were masks that Naruto didn't recognize out of one of the salesman's books, but they definitely looked like something that he would sell. Rather, they both looked like frog heads, with the hands of the frog covering the bandit's eyes. He had no idea what those masks did though, if they even did anything.
He shuffled his way over to the center of the camp, where they were apparently gathered around that strange pedestal from before. He could finally get a good enough look at what they were "worshipping".
It was another mask.
It was quite a bit different than masks that he had seen before. This one looked completely like a human face, though with a twist. The human face had a cap of some kind on, a very unique hat that he had never seen before. White hair stuck out of the cap, and the stern expression on that mask's face was covered in red and blue war paint around the eyes and forehead.
Looking at it, Naruto felt a splitting headache come onto him, with a high-pitched screaming echoing in his brain from a source that he didn't even know of. This mask right here... it unnerved Naruto. A lot like Majora's Mask from before, but this one was different. He could sense a presence it even from this distance, but it wasn't the type that wanted to use him, like the other mask.
This mask radiated white hot rage, and it was directed at him.
The bandits were milling around once again, as a particularly large bandit stepped out of one of the tents and locked eyes with him, who should've been concealed underneath the strange mask.
"What are you doing in our camp?" he asked.
Chapter done.
Translations and Other Features
Hi no Kuni: Fire Country
Bye,
Alban55
