A/N:

Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little late :( I thought I could get it finished before I left for Montana (and I almost did!) but...yeah, that kinda didn't happen. This chapter was absolute hell to write anyway. A lot is given away in it, and I agonized for hours on what and how much I was giving away. Seriously, I probably rewrote the chapter as a whole twice and a couple of different scenes (like the office scene) almost four times before I thought that it was good enough. It was exhausting, lol.

Even though I'm starting school tomorrow (*dies*) I should have chapter 8 out pretty soon. I already have most of my ideas gathered, I just need to put it all together ^^

A HUGE thanks to JapanAnimeRox, Death-Angel-of-Anime, Number 1 Outcast, Sniffy Sand, lovepeacebre, Byzantea, Sharklover101, luvr4fantanim, and RhiaJ for your reviews! Thank you guys so much!

Well, enjoy the chapter! :D

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto...why the hell would I be writing fanfiction?


Running Scared

Chapter 7: Saeki Sachiko

Takashi was jerked out of a pleasant sleep by the sound of the door to his apartment slamming. He groaned and shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair, attempting to return to his dream.

"Wake up!" A voice snapped through his drowsiness.

He muttered something unintelligible and turned away from the too-loud voice. Pain erupted in the side of his head, forcing his eyes to fly open.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, whirling around to face his attacker.

"What the fuck Takashi?!" Kyoko snapped, obviously irritated, "I've been calling you for the past hour!"

Takashi blinked slowly, rubbing the sore spot on his head, "Really?"

Kyoko groaned, "You're hopeless!"

Daisuke stumbled into the room, also rubbing sleep out of his eyes, "Is that Kyoko?"

"So…I'm guessing that you found something?" Takashi asked, trying to keep his friend from strangling him.

Wordlessly, she shoved a thick stack of articles into his arms. Daisuke reached over and grabbed a few, reading through them with wide eyes. As Takashi scanned a few of them, Kyoko began to speak.

"While I was looking for some former emergency that we could use," she said, "I stumbled across these. Every year since the murder, at least one person has been killed at that camp! All of the deaths were caused by freak accidents, just like the ones on the mountain."

"No kidding," Daisuke said, "This one said that these two kids got locked in the freezer and were in there for over a week before one of the cooks found them."

"About twenty years ago, some girl drowned in a bathtub," Takashi added, "No idea how she pulled that one off…"

"But get this," Kyoko continued, "These were all 'accidents'. There's never been anything like a tornado blocking off the main road. Whatever is going on up there, it's definitely no accident this time."

"Why the hell do parents still let their kids go?!" Daisuke asked, completely baffled.

"Because all of the deaths were supposedly caused by accidents," Takashi said, "So it would seem like the camp itself had nothing to do with it…"

"Shit…we need to get up there," Daisuke muttered, setting down the articles he was holding.

"Yeah, but how?" Takashi asked, "It would be pretty stupid to try driving up there again, and no one is gonna help us unless we give them a solid reason for going up there!"

"I've been thinking about that," Kyoko said, "Even if we came up with a legitimate excuse to send a rescue team to the camp, what would we tell them once we got there and they realize that we lied to them? Do you think that they'll still help us?"

Takashi thought about it for a minute before replying, "Well…you have a point…but even if our excuse was a lie, it's true that we need to get everyone away from the camp before something terrible happens, if it hasn't already."

Daisuke nodded in agreement, "The rescue team may be irked that we lied to them, but it won't change the fact that their help will be needed."

Kyoko sighed, "Yeah…I guess, you guys are right."

"So all we need now is an excuse…" Takashi said, "I just hope that it's in time to prevent any fatalities…"

*K*I*B*A*H*I*N*A*

Life is cruel. This was a lesson Hinata had to learn in the span of less than five seconds. Even as a wordless shriek of terror escaped her lips, she was learning what would become the most important lesson of her life. However, it seemed that the second it dawned upon her, her mind shut down. The only thing it registered was the icy emotion that rendered her motionless.

Fear.

She did not stop screaming as her eyes took in the gruesome scene before her. Instead, and, if at all possible, she screamed louder. Before, she had always believed that there were just some things in life that couldn't be possible. Now, she realized, anything was.

The body in front of her was almost mutilated beyond recognition. Long gashes and stab wounds covered nearly every inch of the corpse, including its face. Yet, surprisingly, the only blood that Hinata saw was the blood that ran down the cheeks of the victim. Her pale eyes followed the small crimson rivers and felt her stomach give a terrible lurch.

The victim's eyes had been gouged out.

However, when Hinata looked past the grisly injuries, she saw the long, trademark brown hair.

"NEJI!"

Her shriek must have alerted the others for in a matter of seconds, warm, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hinata…"

Immediately recognizing Kiba's voice, the young girl turned around and buried her face in his chest, sobs wracking her entire body.

"Hinata?"

She didn't answer. Then, she felt Kiba stiffen against her.

"Oh God," he breathed, "Everybody! Get in here, NOW!"

There was a huge rush of worried footsteps. Hinata didn't look up.

"What is it?" Naruto's voice called out.

"Kiba? What happened? Is Hinata ok?" Sakura asked.

"Did she say 'Neji'?" TenTen asked, "Has he been here this whole time?"

Hinata sobbed harder. A horrified scream pierced the night.

"OhGod," Shikamaru gasped.

"What happened?!" Ino shouted.

Suddenly, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.

"N…Neji?" TenTen whispered, "Neji? NEJI! OH MY GOD!"

Her heart-wretched sobs pierced Hinata's heart like a shard of ice.

"Naruto, go get one of the counselors!" Kiba ordered.

"B…but," the blonde began to protest.

"Now Naruto!"

Hinata heard Naruto leave, cursing under his breath.

"Baka, wait!" Sasuke snapped, chasing after him, "There's no way I'm letting you go out there alone!"

Both of their footsteps faded away as they vanished into the forest.

"Hinata," Kiba breathed, stroking her hair, "Come with me."

"No!" Hinata protested, struggling fiercely as her friend tried to lead her away from Neji's body.

"Hinata…"

"No! Neji…he….I," Hinata chocked out, beyond the point of trying to make sense.

"I know," Kiba whispered, "I know. Come on, let's get you out of here."

She went limp and allowed him to half-drag her out of the barn. Once they were away from the barn doors, Kiba pulled Hinata into a gentle hug. She buried her face in his chest again and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Shhh," he hushed her as she began to sob again, "It's ok. It's going to be ok."

She just clung to him tighter as he whispered silent nothings in her ear. His soothing voice was the only thing that was keeping her from going into hysterics. He held her like that for an immeasurable amount of time, whispering calmingly and rubbing her back. Eventually, Hinata's eyelids began to feel heavy. Kiba's voice was the last thing she heard as her vision went dark.

*K*I*B*A*H*I*N*A*

Takashi was reading an article about a boy who had fallen out of a tree and had cracked his head open on a rock when Kyoko sat down next to him on the couch.

"Any thoughts about this?" She asked, curling up next to him and yawning.

"Nothing," Takashi said, unable to hide his disappointment.

"Read me that murder article again, would you?"

He blinked, "Um, sure, but why?"

Kyoko shrugged sleepily, "Since everything seems to stem from that incident, hearing the story again may give me some ideas."

Takashi smiled, "Alright, just don't fall asleep on me, ok?"

"Ok."

"Promise."

"Yeah, yeah, just get reading."

"So impatient…" Takashi laughed, pulling out the murder article. He glanced over at Kyoko before beginning to read:

"Saeki Sachiko, eighteen, was found dead last Saturday morning at Camp Ayakashi. According to two of her friends, who have opted to remain nameless, she went missing from the camp's opening celebration the previous night. The camp's counselors immediately sent out a search part, but it was to no avail. A fellow camper found Saeki's body while swimming in Lake Dekishi the following morning. Saeki had been stabbed thirteen times and had suffered numerous other injuries. However, perhaps the most shocking injury she had sustained was the injury to her eyes, both of which were completely gouged out. Almost equally as shocking, her mouth had been stitched shut. The autopsy report shows that not only was she brutally murdered, but she was also raped beforehand. The doctors who performed the autopsy believe that Saeki's murderer stitched her mouth in order to keep her quiet. The police are still looking for the murderer but, so far, have no leads."

"It's a shame," Kyoko said, frowning, "She was so young…"

"Did that help?" Takashi asked.

"Nope."

Daisuke suddenly stood up, tripping over his own feet in his excitement.

"Guys, look at this!" He gasped breathlessly, scrambling back to his feet while Kyoko sent him a slightly amused look.

He threw an article down on the coffee table.

"What?" Takashi asked, seeing nothing special about it.

Daisuke pointed to the picture on the bottom right. It was a man who looked to be in his mid thirties. He had short cropped brown hair which could barely be seen from under his baseball cap.

Takashi dropped the murder article and sat up straight, his jaw dropping in shock. "Th…that's the guy who killed Satoru!!"

"What?" Kyoko asked, also sitting up, her shoulder brushing Takashi's. Her eyes widened, "Holy shit, you're right!"

"The article says that he was doing some repair work on the old barn at the camp," Daisuke said, "And he fell onto some of the camp's equipment that was being stored there. Apparently he was impaled by some of the sharper objects and electrocuted."

"That's terrible," Kyoko murmured, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Then that explains the bloodstains and singed hair…" Takashi said, replaying Satoru's death over again in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked.

"Do you remember the way he looked on the mountain?" Takashi asked, "His clothes were covered in blood and he had barely any hair left on his head."

"You're right," Kyoko breathed.

"Wait, Kyoko," Daisuke said slowly, "Didn't you say that there have been at least fifty deaths at the camp over the last fifty years?"

Kyoko nodded, "Yeah, not exactly fifty but…" She trailed off, her eyes widening even further.

Takashi felt his blood run cold as he exchanged a horrified look with her.

"Oh fuck..." was all he could say.

*K*I*B*A*H*I*N*A*

When Hinata awoke the next morning, she was back in her cabin with no recollection of how she had gotten there. The last thing she could remember was Kiba's voice before it was replaced by darkness.

'I must've fallen asleep' she thought, rubbing her stiff neck and yawning.

Her sleep had been undisturbed by nightmares and she felt more awake and well-rested than she had felt in months. A quick glance outside of her window told her that it was going to be a beautiful day. It was nearly impossible to disallow her spirits to soar.

She heard a small noise from the bunk above hers. Curious, Hinata slipped out of her bed and stood up to investigate the sound. The second her gaze met TenTen's bloodshot eyes, her stomach dropped and her memories of the previous night began to surface in an overwhelmingly fast rate.

'Neji…'

"TenTen-chan…" she murmured, crawling up beside her friend and pulling her into a comforting hug, "I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…"

"I loved him," TenTen wailed, tears spilling down her cheeks, "And I never…I never told him!"

"He knew," the words were out of Hinata's mouth before she could even register that she was speaking them, "He knew. And I know that he loved you too."

TenTen inhaled a shuddering breath, "Really?"

"Really," Hinata nodded, blinking back her own tears for the cousin she had lost.

"Thank you, Hinata," TenTen whispered.

Hinata pulled away from the embrace slowly and locked eyes with her friend.

"TenTen-chan," she said, "I need you to tell me that story about the camp again."

"What story?" TenTen asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

"On our first night here, we decided to share scary stories," Hinata explained, "And you told one about a girl who died at this camp."

"Oh," she said, "I remember…but why?"

"I…" Hinata hesitated, unsure of what her friend would think should she tell her the truth, "I think that her death has something to do with the murders…"

"How so?"

"Wasn't the girl killed in a very similar way to Kankurou-kun and Neji-kun?"

TenTen's eyes widened, "You're right! So, you think that there's a copycat?"

"…It's a possibility," Hinata decided to agree.

"Well, the girl was about our age," TenTen began, "And she went missing during the dance held in celebration of the camp's opening fifty years ago. One of her friends found her mutilated body the next morning while she was swimming in Lake Dekishi."

"What was the girl's name?"

TenTen shrugged, "Look, I don't even know if it's a true story, to be honest. Some guy at school told it to me to creep me out or something."

Hinata nodded, trying to think of what she could do with the limited information she had, "Ok, thank you, TenTen-chan." She glanced at the clock on her phone. It was nearing noon. "Do you want to go get some lunch?"

TenTen shook her head, her expression becoming distant again.

"Should I bring you back something?"

"No, thanks," TenTen said, staring at her feet.

"Alright," Hinata climbed down, feeling slightly guilty for leaving, "I'll see you in a bit, ok?"

"Ok," TenTen's voice was steady, but Hinata could see that her friend was struggling to keep her composure.

Hinata nodded to her and left, beginning to quickly make her way toward the cafeteria. When she reached it, she found Kiba sitting at a table with Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. She put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "I need to talk to you."

He nodded, standing up, and following her to the hallway beside the kitchen, where they would have more privacy.

"What is it?" He asked, keeping his voice low.

"Have you ever heard the story about the murder at this camp?" She asked, also lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Well, yeah," Kiba said, "Everyone knows that story. I thought that it was just a legend that counselors told campers to keep them from wandering around at night."

His eyes widened with comprehension as he caught the expression on her face.

"Wait. You don't think…" he trailed off.

"I'm not sure," Hinata admitted, "But the girl in my dreams matches the description, from the hair and dress to the wounds on her body. It all depends on whether or not the murder was real."

Kiba rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, the counselors will never tell us anything."

"So what do we do?"

He chuckled, "Isn't it obvious?"

She shook her head.

"We need to sneak into Tsunade-sama's office and look through her files. If it really happened, I'm sure that she would have a copy of a news article about it, or some other kind of file," He explained.

"S…Sneak into Tsunade-sama's office?" Hinata asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice.

"Can you think of any other way?"

"B…but…"

"Look, Hinata, do you want to know or not?"

Hinata hesitated before answering. She knew that breaking into Tsuande's office was wrong, and that she and Kiba would be punished if caught. However, she needed to know about the murder like she needed air. Though she knew that it was wrong, she had no other option.

"Ok," she breathed, "Ok, let's go."

"Follow me and keep quiet," Kiba ordered, glancing back at the main part of the cafeteria, "There's nothing scheduled for today, so it won't matter is we aren't hanging around with the others. We just need to make sure that the counselors don't see us hanging around Tsunade-sama's office for too long."

Hinata nodded and followed Kiba as he silently slipped out of the cafeteria. Tsunade's office was located on the opposite side of the semi-circle, closest to the main entrance of the camp. Thankfully, it was also the closest building to the trail that led to the cabins, so approaching it would not seem suspicious.

Kiba and Hinata passed the office without so much as sparing it a glance. Once they were out of sight of the clearing, however, Hinata followed as Kiba left the trail and entered the forest. Under the cover of the tress, they snuck back toward the clearing and reemerged behind the office building. Keeping low, they slipped beneath the building's single back window, out of sight of prying eyes. Carefully, Kiba peeked over the windowsill and peered in.

Hinata knew that something was wrong as soon as she saw Kiba stiffen.

"What is it?" She asked, "Is Tsunade-sama in there?"

He pulled away from the window, his usually tan face white as a sheet, "Hinata, we should go."

"What? Why? Did she see you?" Hinata asked even though she had a sinking feeling that Tsunade had nothing to do with the horrified expression on her friend's face.

Kiba took in a shuddering breath and grabbed her arm, beginning to pull her away, "Um…yeah, we should really go before she decides to investigate."

There was something off in his voice. Hinata frowned and pulled away, fixing him with a hard stare that he refused to meet.

"You're lying," she said, standing up from her crouching position and turning back to the window.

"Wait, Hinata! Don't – "

Hinata felt her legs give out with shock and she quickly gripped the windowsill to keep herself upright. She was vaguely aware of Kiba calling her name, but she heard his voice as if it was traveling through a thick fog, faded, slurred, and almost completely drowned out by the loud pounding of her heart in her ears. The world spun around her, to the point where even though she had a firm grip on the windowsill, she still found it difficult to remain on her feet.

Kiba pulled her away from the window and gently lowered her into a sitting position on the ground. Though she still couldn't understand what he was saying, his voice was soothing and soon enough her mind was clear once again.

"Are you ok?" He asked, concern practically dripping from his words.

Hinata took in a deep breath and said, "Yes…just…shocked."

He laughed harshly, "Well isn't that the understatement of the century."

Her lips twitched into a half-smile for a few milliseconds. Kiba stood up and offered her a hand. She took it and rose shakily back to her feet. But as he began to pull her back toward the cabins, she let her hand slip out of his. He paused, sending her a confused look.

"I…I still think that we should…investigate Tsunade-sama's office," Hinata confessed.

Kiba stared at her, completely bewildered, "What?"

"This murder…if it really happened, could explain so much about…about what has been happening," Hinata tried to explain, "I…I just can't pass up a chance like this."

If possible, Kiba's eyes widened even further, and Hinata knew why. Even she was surprised by her willingness to not only break the rules, but to do it under such circumstances.

Kiba finally relented, "Ok, but only if you're sure about this."

"I am," Hinata assured him nervously yet firmly.

She heard Kiba swallow audibly before testing the window. To their mingled surprise, it slid open easily. He paused for a minute or so, gripping the wood of the windowsill tightly, before pulling himself into the office. As soon as he had his feet on the office's floor, he turned back and helped Hinata climb in after him.

Hinata's sneakers made horrible squelching sound on the wet carpet. She nearly choked at the oppressive, coppery scent of blood. The crimson liquid was everywhere. It formed large pools on the floor, which Hinata tried to avoid as she made her way over to the large desk against the left wall of the room. Blood had collected on top of the wooden surface and had overflowed, still dripping onto the carpet. The red that splattered the walls contrasted heavily with their original white paint, forming a cruel, twisted masterpiece.

"This can't be possible," Kiba muttered, covering his sensitive nose, "Things like this just don't happen!"

Hinata ignored him. Her eyes were drawn to one of the two file cabinets on the opposite end of the room. The one closest to her was completely covered in blood that seemed to ooze out of the top drawer. The one beside it, however, was mostly clean, only stained on the bottommost drawer due to the enormous pool of crimson that was spreading from the other.

Slowly, Hinata began to make her way toward it, ignoring the blood that coated her sneakers. She was unsurprised when she found the drawer to be locked.

"Kiba-kun?" She asked, "Can you look around Tsunade-sama's desk for a key?"

He tipped his head to the side and sent her a confused look, but didn't argue. She turned back to the file cabinet, only half listening to the rustling of damp paper from Tsunade's desk.

"Found it!" Kiba exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a small silver key.

Once Hinata managed to get the drawer open, she had to turn away. It was as if she had pulled a dam out of a great river. Blood gushed from the open drawer and cascaded down to the floor in waterfalls. She had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from gagging as she felt the warm, sticky liquid coat her legs and shoes.

"Look at that!" Kiba said, pointing at something in the drawer.

Hinata followed his finger and saw a white tab sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the dark crimson files. She held her breath and pulled the clean file out. Not knowing what to expect, she opened it slowly and stared at the single piece of paper it contained.

It was a camper file. Her heart beginning to beat rapidly, Hinata completely skipped the information on the paper and instead rested her gaze on the picture in the bottom right corner. It was a picture of a girl with black hair who was smiling shyly at the camera. There was a streak of blood across her eyes, as if someone had taken their finger and had tried to cross out her eyes. The layer of blood was thin enough for Hinata to make out the beautiful blue color of said eyes.

"This is her," she whispered breathlessly, showing Kiba the paper, "This is the girl in my dreams!"

He took the paper and read, "Saeki Sachiko, eighteen, from Konohagakure. She lived with foster parents, went to Konoha high, and was a pretty good student."

"Is that all it says?"

"Well, it just has some stuff like the results of her physical, her address, and some release forms that her foster parents had to fill out," he said, "You know, the usual."

"What was her address?"

"What?"

"Her address."

"Um, 800 Byakugan Avenue, why?"

Hinata felt her body go numb. Kiba's eyes widened and he almost dropped the file in his shock.

"Isn't that…"

Hinata nodded wordlessly. Sachiko, the girl who had been haunting Hinata's dreams for months, had lived in her very house fifty years ago.

Kiba took the folder from Hinata and put it, along with Sachiko's camper file, back into the cabinet.

"We should probably go," he suggested, noticing how white Hinata was.

"O…ok," she stammered, snapping out of her daze.

He opened the window and climbed out easily, leaving bloody footprints on the windowsill. Hinata followed, allowing him to wrap his arms around her waist to keep her steady.

"Oh, and I found this on Tsunade-sama's desk," Kiba said, pulling a small slip of paper out of his pocket and handing it to her, "I don't know what it means, but, for some reason, I felt like I should grab it."

On the paper, there were two separate lines of numbers. She recognized the first – fourteen, five, ten, nine – from the discussion she overheard between Tsunade and Iruka. They were the numbers that had been carved into Kankurou's chest. The new line contained the numbers nine, fourteen, and fifteen.

"Thank you," she said, putting the piece of paper in her pocket, her mind furiously working to find the significance of the numbers.

By the time she reached her cabin, she was no closer to solving the mystery behind them.

*K*I*B*A*H*I*N*A*

Izumo had just finished eating an early dinner with Kotetsu when a worried-looking Iruka approached their table.

"Izumo, Kotetsu," He greeted them, "Could I talk to you both in private?"

Izumo exchanged a puzzled look with his friend and nodded, "Sure, we just need to clear our trays. We'll meet you outside in about five minutes?"

Iruka nodded and left, heading toward the exit of the cafeteria.

"What do you think that's all about?" Izumo asked as he emptied his garbage into the trashcan and put his empty tray on the shelf beside it.

"Who cares?" Kotetsu asked, yawning and mirroring Izumo's movements, "I just hope he's quick about it. I'd love to turn in early tonight."

Izumo couldn't agree more. It seemed that since Kankurou had first gone missing, they had barely had time to sleep.

When they stepped outside, they found Iruka waiting for them, wringing his hands nervously.

"What can we help you with?" Izumo asked before Kotetsu could say anything, not trusting his friend to be very polite given the situation.

"Well, last night, I sent Hayate to get the back-up generator," Iruka began to explain, "Some of the lights went out last night, and I just wanted him to bring it back here just in case the primary generator stopped working."

"Are both of them busted?" Kotetsu asked, "Because if it is, I think you'd be better off asking Kakashi or Asuma to look over them. Neither Izumo or I are very good at fixing things."

"I don't know," Iruka blurted out, "Hayate never came back from the storage area."

"What?" Izumo asked.

"I sent him over there at around eight last night," Iruka continued, "And I waited up for him until eleven. When he didn't come back, I assumed that he had gone straight to his room. But when I didn't see him this morning, I began to get worried. I asked Asuma if he had seen him and he told me that Hayate never came back to their cabin last night. Nobody else has seen him since."

"Well we haven't seen him," Kotetsu said.

"I figured as much," Iruka sighed, "But I was wondering if I could ask you both a huge favor."

"What is it?" Izumo asked.

"Would you go over to the storage area and see if he's there?" When Kotetsu and Izumo merely gaped at him, he continued, "It's a possibility that he got locked in or something. I just need to make sure that he's ok."

Izumo exchanged a look with Kotetsu. For some reason, the brunette couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding about the task, something just didn't seem right.

To his surprise, Kotetsu said, "Ok, we'll go check it out."

He raised an eyebrow at his friend who replied with a shrug that basically said, we might as well.

Iruka relaxed visibly, "Thank you."

"No problem," Kotetsu said, "We'll head over there now."

Izumo had no choice but to follow as Kotetsu began to walk in the direction of the storage area.

"What the hell?" He hissed once they were out of earshot.

"What? You'd really be ok with just walking away without at least trying to help?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Are you scared?"

Izumo almost stopped walking in shock. Kotetsu's question wasn't harsh or mocking. In fact, he thought he heard a small edge of concern in his voice, but he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not.

"I'm…worried," he confessed cautiously.

"It's ok, you know," Kotetsu said, "I mean, some weird shit has been happening lately. Frankly, I'm terrified. Two murders only a few days apart, and no one has a clue as to who did it. It's creepy. Not to mention the fact that we have no power besides what the generator can provide and no phone service."

"You know that Iruka was lying about the cleanup crew making progress right?"

"Yeah," Kotetsu frowned, "I'm fucking pissed about that. Something weird is going on, and it's like he thinks that giving us all false hope is gonna make things better."

"He's probably still trying to avoid causing panic," Izumo guessed.

Kotetsu snorted, "Kinda late for that isn't it? I'm actually surprised at how calm the campers are."

"Do you think Hayate's ok?"

"Hayate? He probably just got distracted or something, you know how he is."

Despite Kotetsu's semi-reassuring words, Izumo's unease grew as the storage area came into view. It consisted of two long, parallel buildings and was enclosed by a fence that towered about sixteen feet above the ground. The two buildings were used for storing extra equipment, emergency supplies, and even excess food if there was any.

The sun began to set behind it, casting dark shadows in front of the buildings and making the enclosure look even more ominous.

"Might as well get this over with before it gets dark," Kotetsu grumbled, making his way toward the entrance. Izumo followed, glancing about nervously.

"Well, would you look at that," Izumo heard him say.

"What is it?"

"The gate's unlocked," Kotetsu said, pushing it open to emphasize his point.

"That means that Hayate never left," Izumo said.

"Or that he left in a hurry…" He sent the brunette a creepy look.

"Kotetsu!" Izumo snapped, punching his friend in the shoulder.

He laughed, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

Izumo rolled his eyes and cupped his hands, calling, "Hayate! Hayate, are you here?!"

"Look," Kotetsu said, nudging Izumo and pointing to the door of one of the buildings. It was cracked open.

They approached it slowly, still calling Hayate's name. Izumo opened the door and was met with darkness. They ventured inside and Izumo began to fumble around for the light switch. Finding it proved to be pointless; the lights didn't turn on.

"Light's aren't working," He informed Kotetsu.

"Great," Kotetsu muttered, turning on his flashlight.

They walked down the hallway in silence. The only sound was the noise that their shoes made against the hard floor.

Toward the end of the hall, Kotetsu suddenly stopped, covering his mouth and nose.

"Do you smell that?" He asked, his voice muffled.

Izumo took in a deep breath through his nose and almost gagged as a result.

"Ugh, that's just awful," Kotetsu complained, "What is it?"

"I don't know," Izumo coughed, feeling as if he was drowning in the sour stench that hung in the air like a thick blanket, "But I think it's coming from one of the storage rooms at the end."

The smell got worse as they neared the end of the long hallway.

"In there," Kotetsu said, gesturing toward the last storage room on the right. Its gate was only half pulled open. Izumo watched nervously as Kotetsu grasped the handle and pushed the rest of the gate up. Holding his nose, he then took his flashlight and scanned the room with it. Izumo's breath caught in his throat as the white beam of light came to rest on a large, metal can that was sitting in the dead center of the room. Kotetsu's hand was shaking so badly that it was a wonder that he didn't drop his flashlight.

Oozing out from the lid of the can was a thick, dark liquid. It coated the entire left side of the can and was forming a pool on the floor around it.

"Is that…blood?" Izumo asked, dreading the answer.

Kotetsu took a deep breath and stepped closer to the can, his hand resting on the handle of the lid. Izumo joined him, pressing close to his friend's side. Kotetsu closed his eyes and quickly lifted the lid. It hit the ground with a loud clang as he immediately dropped it in shock.

Izumo stumbled over to a corner of the room, retching violently. The metal can was filled with blood and contained what seemed to be the mutilated remains of a human corpse. White maggots formed a thick layer on the very top, squirming and inching their way around. It was the most horrifying thing that the brunette had ever seen.

Izumo didn't register that Kotetsu was dragging him back toward the exit of the building until they were halfway there. The hall was pitch black; Kotetsu had dropped his flashlight in his rush and Izumo couldn't remember what had happened to his.

He thought he heard something, but he couldn't be sure over Kotetsu's furious cursing.

"Shut up!" He gasped, "Listen!"

Kotetsu fell silent. Through their footsteps and heavy breathing, Izumo could just make out a slithering sound coming from behind them. Fearfully, he looked back over his shoulder. After doing so, he wished with every fiber of his being that he hadn't.

Barely visible in the darkness was a strange-looking figure that was jerkily dragging itself toward them. As they neared the door and the darkness began to dissipate slightly, Izumo was able make out more details about their pursuer.

It looked like it was human, or, rather, like it used to be human. It's neck was hanging loosely to the side, blood dripping to the floor from it's empty eye sockets and gaping mouth. It was dragging itself forward using only it's arms; it's legs trailed behind it uselessly.

"Fuck!" Kotetsu shouted as they burst through the door and stumbled outside.

"Close the door!" Izumo cried, throwing his weight against it. Kotetsu copied him and they managed to close the door just in time. The creature crashed into it, emitting furious croaking noises.

Izumo began to shake uncontrollably as he felt whatever-the-fuck-it-was begin banging against the door. Kotetsu hissed as he continued to press his weight against it.

Finally, after what felt like years but could have been no longer than a few seconds, the banging stopped.

Deciding to take the chance, Kotetsu and Izumo sprinted for the open gate. Once they were through, they took off into the forest, not even bothering to lock the gate behind them.

When they arrived back at the camp, there was nobody in sight. Gasping for breath, Izumo felt his knees give out. Kotetsu caught him before he hit the ground and wrapped one arm around his chest and the other around his waist to keep him upright.

"Are you…ok?" He asked, breathing heavily as well, his breath tickling Izumo's ear.

Izumo snorted, "Ok? We just found Hayate's body shoved in a can and then were chased out of the storage area and into the dark forest by whatever the fuck that was."

"Good point…"

It took a few minutes before Izumo felt steady enough to stand on his own. However, when he tried to pull away, Kotetsu tightened his grip on him, resting his forehead on his shoulder.

"Kotetsu…"

"Just…let me hold you…for a minute," Kotetsu pleaded.

Izumo could feel his friend's rapid heartbeat against his back and knew that though Kotetsu was trying to keep a calm face, he was internally freaking out. Izumo sighed and grasped Kotetsu's top hand.

"Ok."

*K*I*B*A*H*I*N*A*

After a very long shower, Hinata made her way over to the cafeteria where, she was sure, the rest of her friends were. What she wasn't expecting was to find the entire group standing outside of the building, apparently arguing about something. Sasuke especially seemed angry about something. His voice carried over the rest of the group and he was making impatient gestures with his hands.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked, walking up and standing beside Ino.

"Hinata, there you are!" Her blonde friend gasped.

"Have you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked before anybody else could say anything.

Hinata's eyes widened, "Um…no, I haven't seen him since this morning. Why?"

"He's missing," Chouji blurted out.


A/N:

Yes, Sachiko's last name (Saeki) is a play on the last name of Kayako (a.k.a. the girl from The Grudge). I thought it was kinda fitting because when I read back on the descriptions I've written of Sachiko, she reminds me of Kayako a bit (probably because those movies scare the hell out of me :D)

Well, hope you liked the chapter! Please, please, please review! :D

Oh, and free cookies to the person who correctly guesses the significance of the numbers that Kiba found in Tsunade's office!