Yes! My internet works again... kind of. I had said previously that I would be updating on fridays/saturdays, but with last week's extra post and then my internet connection stopping me from uploading on the weekend I'm now out-of-whack for posting new chapters. What does this all mean? It means that I'll be posting at least a week apart from the previous post depending on how far along I am in writing, and it might be any day but I'm gonna try and make it the end of the week if I can (and it's not too long after the previous post). Enough rambling from me. Enjoy the new chapter.
"Speaking current tense"
"Speaking past tense"
'Thinking current tense'
This is fanfic. I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 3: Dazed and Confused – Part 1
For the last ten minutes Naruto had been awake. He had opened his eyes and instantly knew where he was, he just didn't know why. The pain quickly got his attention. Every part of him hurt, which was exacerbated as he tried to sit up, fresh agony erupting all over his body. He choked his cry of pain down, a feeling telling him not to cry out.
Once relaxed on the table he was on, Naruto tried just moving his left arm, and while the sensation of movement was like pins and needles, he was able to move it fairly easily despite the pain. That was when he heard the door open to the hospital room he was in.
Feigning sleep, Naruto tried to appear unconscious as he felt a presence enter the room and proceed to his right. He could faintly smell cigarettes and soap. A cool hand grabbed his right forearm and then Naruto registered a needle enter his skin. His blood was being drawn.
That was when he felt it. A small tremor vibrated through the table following a muffled boom. Feeling the hand on his forearm loosen its grip, Naruto knew this was his chance.
Naruto's eyes flashed open, the light of the room blinding him as he looked at his target. He didn't need to see though, his body was on auto, the brief flash of light doing nothing to hamper his movements. Naruto's left hand grabbed the needle protruding from his right arm while his right hand found the neck of his target. The needle punctured the right eye of the man, death instant, then his body collapsed across Naruto's, the new weight pinning Naruto to the table.
Laying under the heavy weight of the man, Naruto now saw his face clearly. Naruto did not know this man, but also at the same time knew that he did. It confused him greatly. Scanning the dead man's face, brief images flashed in his mind. He could see the man wearing glasses, a notepad and pen in his hands as he stood over Naruto. He could see him laughing, making jokes, and then as quickly stern and demanding. Naruto could also remember the man poking needles into him a lot.
Naruto could still not remember the man, but knew his description well. The man was in his late forties, early fifties, balding with grey hair and two scars, one on either side of his face. The knowledge of the scars was disconcerting to Naruto as he could only see the right-hand side of the man's face properly.
Feeling a powerful nagging sensation in the back of his head, Naruto was instantly aware that it was the Kyuubi's doing, though he didn't know why. Then it hit him. This man was named Xander and was Naruto's doctor, or so he claimed.
Naruto felt a surge of strength through his body as he claimed back a lost part of his memories, the Kyuubi pushing power through the seal to aid him. Naruto slowly pushed the dead Xander off of himself, the lifeless body falling to the ground in a heap. Then, slowly, Naruto raised himself to a seated position on the table, his feet dangling over the side.
A wave of nausea assaulted him, but he fought through it, and slowly Naruto's mind cleared again. He knew the next part would be difficult. Wherever he was, whatever was being done to him, Naruto knew escape was paramount, he just didn't know who he was escaping from. But whoever it was needed him constantly drugged in order to keep the Kyuubi under control. Akatsuki sprang to mind as his captors immediately. What he didn't understand was why he wasn't already dead.
Naruto needed to escape, but he wasn't sure if he could even make it to the door of the room he was in, let alone evade whatever guards there were and then find his way outside. 'I suppose I'll only find out by trying, plus I've got to get out of here regardless.' Pushing himself forward off of the table with his arms, Naruto placed his feet on the ground, then instantly collapsed to the tiles, his knees and arms taking the brunt of the impact as he sought to protect himself.
Choking back a groan of pain as he fell to the ground, pain flowing through his knees and arms, Naruto could feel the nausea again, but its effects were lessening. Hunched over, another large tremor vibrated through the room, the distant roar of an explosion accompanying it, and Naruto knew then that something was definitely wrong and he had to go.
'Come on Naruto, you can do this. You don't want to go out laying on the ground in pain, do you?' With that thought Naruto pushed himself off the ground, then reached out for the edge of the table with his hands. Pulling himself upwards with all his strength he then propped his body against the table and attempted to steady his weight.
For several seconds Naruto could feel the weight on his legs cause them to give way, but with his body leaning against the table he did not fall. Then he pushed off the table and stood still for a moment before he felt his legs give which caused him to reach out with his hands to steady himself as he stumbled forward. However, this time Naruto did not fall. Now standing in the room, he could feel a new found power coarse through his body. He was also naked.
The room was empty except for the table he was laying on, the small beside table on its right, and Xander's dead body on the ground. No other items were in the room. Sighing, Naruto looked at Xander again. 'I guess I'll have to take his clothes.'
Naruto knelt by Xander and stripped him of his clothes. The doctor wore plain clothes, a plain white t-shirt and black pants underneath a long white doctor's coat with black shoes. The shirt was too big for Naruto's frame and so he discarded it. The coat was much the same, but since he disregarded the t-shirt Naruto needed something to wear, so he tightened the belt at the waist and did up what buttons he could find. The pants however were a good fit once the belt was tightened though they were a bit short in the legs. He ignored the shoes as they were too big.
There was a third explosion as Naruto finished dressing, the sound slightly louder this time, while the vibration it caused was more powerful. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Naruto was still feeling weak, but he knew it was now or never – he did not have the time to rest and regain his strength.
'I've got to do this whether I have the strength to or not.' Naruto made his way to the door.
After the initial explosion announcing their attack on the wall, and their struggle to gain a foothold on top of the wall surrounding the entrance to the Uchicha's base, Owl now had a brief chance to survey their position.
His team, named Hydra, had caught the ninja on guard by surprise, as evidenced by their initial scurry of activity that resulted in seven of their number falling. Now, with the initial surprise gone, the defenders were quickly regrouping, their training kicking in. 'Now comes the hard part.' Owl smirked, his mask hiding it from the enemy.
Owl had been the captain of Team Hydra for almost three years now. Every mission was a success, and the name Hydra was feared and revered. Like the mythical beast with which the team shared its name, every member of the team was worth two Anbu, meaning that whenever a member was replaced, two heads would grow to replace one.
Dodging to his right, Owl avoided several shuriken that ricocheted of the surface of the wall, his path becoming blocked by another attacker. Spinning around a straight thrust, Owl grabbed the ninja's hand, pulled back to snap it, then, taking the released kunai from the broken hand stabbed it through the ninja's throat. The movement lasted mere seconds.
Owl's initial attacker had moved in to attack using his dead comrade as a shield. Instead of dodging around the dying ninja, Owl pushed the body at the oncoming ninja, the blood from the throat wound spraying in an arc, the two bodies colliding. Sliding in amidst the confusion, Owl withdrew a kunai from his left thigh pouch and stabbed the alive ninja in the heart. Both bodies collapsed on the battlements.
Flipping backwards, Owl avoided a fireball from another ninja that had just landed on the wall, two more ninja's backing him up. Owl flipped through several hand signs just as Frog launched several kunai wrapped with explosive tags at the ninja's. Timing was everything. As the three enemy ninja's launched forward toward Owl, either attempting to dodge or deflect the incoming projectiles, Owl completed his attack and fired an air ball straight at his attackers. The resulting explosion from the explosive tags and air attack incinerated the ninja's.
Frog was the newest member of the team and easily filled the place of their dead teammate Bear. Joker was reluctant at first to welcome Frog, but eventually warmed to him after being berated by Rose. Owl couldn't blame Joker for his attitude though since Bear was like a brother to him. However for the team to work each member had to trust each other implicitly. They had trained hard to get their teamwork perfect.
"Centre!" The command from Owl was instantly recognised by his team, and each member redoubled their efforts to make for the centre of the wall.
The enemy was swarming around them now, and each foot of ground was hard fought. Owl was leading the way, Frog acting as backup, while Joker and Rose brought up the rear. The enemy forces were well trained, their defense structure planned out perfectly. Several ninja's engaged Team Hydra in close quarters combat, using taijutsu, weapons, and jutsu, while the rest attacked from medium to long range with a combination of weapons and jutsu that not only exploited gaps but also worked in conjunction with the ninja's attacking in close quarters.
Killing another enemy with a kunai to the head, Owl pushed the dead body into the path of another ninja, then ducked as Frog fired off another barrage of kunai that exploded. Pushing into the newly created opening, a foot clipped Owl's chin, the force of the attack and his instincts to reduce the damage forcing him back a step. That's when he saw it. Further along the wall, Owl spotted a brief flash of movement that he knew was three bodies leaping off the wall and into the cover of the few buildings that covered the distance between the wall and the cave entrance.
'Looks like Hinata made it over the wall. The enemy has spotted them, but more are occupied with us. We'll have to double our efforts to keep most of them on us.' Owl knew it was easier said then done.
Two more ninja's joined the battle on the wall, the new arrivals forcing a small wedge between Owl and the rest of Team Hydra. Owl could do little between the constant attack of the three ninja's that surrounded him and conceded more ground increasing the distance from his team. Then the ninja to his left fell as Frog decapitated the ninja in a rushed attempt to provide backup. It was a foolish move.
Distracted by his move to help Owl, Frog took three kunai in the back, jerking forward from the sudden impact. Frog then quickly spun around, flashing through hand signs, and shot his hands out at the enemy, arcs of lightning striking the two ninja closing on him in the chest, their bodies instantly fried.
As Frog slowly knelt on the ground he held up his hand to stop Owl from coming near him. "Go... now..." Owl could tell by the laboured breathing that Frog was near death. "I'll... buy you... some... time." Owl knew what he meant straight away.
Team Hydra was always given dangerous missions. Before Owl joined the team, there was a ritual introduced that acted as an initiation for each new team member. Each member had a seal placed on their body that acted as a detonator. Once activated it would turn the body of the person it was placed on into a bomb. Only the team members who had the seal could activate it, and it was a sign of trust in the team that each held the life of the other in their hands. Each member of Team Hydra would fight to the death with even death being used to complete the mission.
Owl engaged another ninja in combat as Frog slowly stood and used the last of his strength to rush into the group of ninja that were in combat with Joker and Rose. Falling back in time with Frog's attack, Joker and Rose dropped several explosive tags on the ground in front of the enemy. Wasting no time, Owl cut the ninja he was fighting with across the throat and kicked him in the stomach, the force of the kick launching the body off the battlements to the ground behind the wall. Owl then crouched low as Joker and Rose regrouped with him, and as Frog engaged the enemy Owl performed a small, unique set of hand signs. The resulting explosion, coupled with the explosive tags, killed the group of ninja that Frog attacked, his body incinerated by the blast, and left a crater in the top of the wall.
The brief pause in the fighting seemed to stretch on forever as smoke from the explosion slowly dissipated. Then the fighting started again as Owl, Joker and Rose finally made it to the centre of the wall. Owl could feel exhaustion creeping up on him, and no doubt the same was happening to Joker and Rose. Each sported cuts and burns while twenty-two enemy ninja lay dead along the right-hand expanse of the wall.
'Well that's objective one complete. Now to make it inside.' Stealing a quick glance at the cave entrance, Owl noticed no ninja exiting the cave. 'Either that's all of them, or Hinata has her hands full.' A brief wave of despair washed over Owl. He knew his team's chances of making if off the wall were slim. They were not going to fail though, not after Frog's sacrifice. Determination fuelling his body, Owl formed up with Joker and Rose, each covering the others back in a triangle formation.
The captain of Team Hydra then spoke low enough that only Joker and Rose could hear him. "Listen up you two. No more stuffing around. We need to make it inside those caves and I'll be damned if these small fries are going to stop me, got it?" Joker and Rose both nodded, then the three members of Team Hydra attacked.
I haven't re-read this chapter like I have with the others, just not up to it, so if there are any errors/mistakes let me know. Reviews, comments, error correction welcome. Thanks for reading.
