Exit Strategy by krakonfive
Summary: Kenobi escapes by jumping into a random simulation. However, things go wrong and he cannot leave. What he needs is an exit strategy... but is he ready to follow it? OC x Canon Naruto Shippuden. Science fiction themes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Rated T for some language and violence.
Early chapter, folks! Had to post today since I'll be busy tomorrow.
For all those passing through here, don't hesitate to drop a few words in the review box ;D !
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PART 3
III- KONOHA 11
I woke up in a hospital bed.
No IV feed and I still wore my trousers: my injuries must have been deemed minor enough. A spike of pain answered my attempt to sit up.
How long was I going to wait until I recovered? I didn't have time to waste! I forced myself into a seated position, impatience growing. I hated hospitals. Looking around, I saw morning sunlight stream through a window. A thick green curtain suspended from the ceiling separated me from the rest of the room. Tray with uneaten food to the left, two chairs to the right. Yamato snored softly in one chair; Sakura's bag was on the other.
I coughed. It wasn't hard given the state of my lungs.
The jounin blinked and turned to look at me. His chest and stomach were bandaged but he now had a new flak jacket.
"You shouldn't be moving." he said, nearly whispering.
"You shouldn't be up." I retorted.
"I recovered. But you… Sakura told me what you did."
A spike of fear twsited my gut. I had been careless and used abilities I hadn't revealed so far. I thought back to Kakashi's surveillance mission. Had I lost Konoha's trust already? I started formulating excuses using what little I knew of the Eart-
"It was very brave of you to do that. You care for them more than you admit." He frowned. "You shouldn't hide your capabilities from your team though."
I opened my mouth to protest. He silenced me by raising his hand.
"Rest for today. Tomorrow we'll train ninjutsu."
He stood up and saw my gaze wander to the chair next to him. His from gave way to a smile.
"Don't worry, Kenobi. She's with Naruto." he said in a reassuring tone, pointing to the curtain.
He walked around my bed and passed the curtain. Before the fabric swung back into place, I glimpsed Sakura snoring beside another hospital bed. A tangle of yellow hair was visible from under the covers.
Well, I thought, with both its boys in bed, Team 7 wouldn't reprise training for another day. That'd give me 24 hours to think of how I'd handle the volatile kunoichi. I went back to sleep.
My thoughts alternated between Naruto's demonic transformation and Sakura. How would she react to my hug? I wondered if she wanted violent retribution for violating her personal space. I went through the possible outcomes. She'd avoid me and training together would be become difficult. On the other hand, the girl would dismiss it and never mention it again. Oddly, I didn't want her to do so.
The hours passed slowly. Nurses came and went.
I amused myself with a sound amplifier until I could single out conversations. Most were orders from doctors to subordinates or gossip between nurses.
My following occupation was making smaller and smaller pieces of metal spin faster and faster in tighter and tighter circles. I reached my limit when the metal itself began flowing like a liquid, having been subjected to too much stress.
Sakura got up and left at around ten in the morning. I hid myself under the covers when she pulled the curtains to peek. I added a snore to convince her to leave. Damn girl, I wasn't ready for my punishment yet! She left and I sighed in relief.
Naruto woke at midday. He refused to eat the hospital food, but didn't have to go hungry. A girl and three boys visited him, offering something that made him squeal in delight. The smell made my mouth water in my room. I felt a pang of envy at the way he received visitation, but I suppressed it. My contacts were limited to Team 7 after all.
The blond ate his food, voicing compliments. When he put his tray down, I stole his fork and knife by levitating them under the curtain. I needed that mass of metal to play with.
My amusement was cut short when he fidgeted uncontrollably in his bed. He was annoying and broke my concentration whenever I tried an exercise. Giving up, I carefully molded the fork into ear plugs.
I was forming a correctly proportioned model of the solar system when I paused to listen. I heard a faint buzzing sound that was too loud to be nervous hypersensitivity. When Neptune moved into position; the buzzing became louder before subsiding. After making the metal orbit above the hospital bed, I concentrated on the noise. It increased whenever I used my magnetic powers and changed pitch or tone depending on what I did. There had to be a relation.
It took an hour for me to realize what was happening. My earplugs were vibrating in resonance with the variations in the magnetic fields I generated. In turn, they created a sound. I felt myself compelled to find a way to abuse this phenomenon.
Several hours later, Naruto scratched his ear. The tickling sensation stopped. He went back to playing cards with his clone when - gah! Something was in his ear! He started probing his ear tunnel with his little finger. His confused clone snuck a look at his creator's cards.
"Stop it!"
He swung his head trying to find who had spoken.
"It's me. Can't you recognize the voice?"
The blond frowned. His clone exchanged a few cards.
"Kakashi-sensei?" he asked. He got out of bed, still scratching his ear.
I adjusted the flexibility of the metal dish attached to his eardrum.
"Can you hear me now?" I muttered.
"Kenobi? Where are you?!" he shouted. He glanced at his clone searching for a card in the deck. He dispelled him with a scowl.
"Not so loud!" I winced. "I'm in the room next to you."
I watched as the sixteen year old pulled aside the curtains and grinned.
"There you are! No-one told me you were… GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he screamed.
I chuckled. "I'm not in your head! There's a piece of metal in your ear making the sound."
He frowned and stopped scratching. I cut the link since he could hear me normally now.
"Well then get it out of me!" he grumbled, crossing his arms. I nodded without doing anything.
"It's gone." I told him then patted my bed. "Come here."
The ninja sprung onto the bed and stared intently at my figure. He looked slightly worried.
"I'm fine, Naruto. I'm tired, that is all. I'm not injured." I reassured him.
He pointed to the bandages on my chest.
"Those are new. What happened?"
"Oh, these? Nothing, nothing at all!"
I grinned. He knew I was lying and started to look nervous. Maybe he'd made the connection between my injuries and his loss of control over the Kyuubi. I needed him to return to his normal self.
"Hey, I think I can walk now. Wanna go out?" I proposed.
His frown left him and he smiled.
"Sure! I'll get my clothes and show you around! There's something being prepared for you too!"
I refrained from asking for further details.
My right thigh was stiff, so I limped my way outside. I didn't have the time nor the metal to loop wires around my arms and legs, so I couldn't correct my gait.
The evening air was chilled and grey clouds formed overhead. I took a deep breath, savoring the various odors and aromas. It was like rediscovering the sense of smell; the stench of disinfectant was overpowering in the hospital. Naruto hopped and skipped around me, happy to leave his room. He could not stomach immobility for long, I realized. Neither could I.
We first went to my hotel room to check out. I had an envelope waiting on my doorstep: payment for my part in saving the Kazekage. I rolled the bills and slipped them inside a pocket. I didn't have many belongings but Naruto held the small bag I had packed for me without asking. I looked over at him. Naruto usually didn't express himself very well. Right now he oscillated between over joyous and nervous, between being overbearingly attentive and lost in thought. I waited until he was silent, staring at the street as he walked.
"Don't take it out on yourself, Naruto!" I said. "You did your best, didn't you?"
He looked up with a confused expression. I read surprise, shame then gratitude on his face.
"Kenobi … yeah, I did. It was hard pushing back the demon for so long." He clenched his fists and looked down again. "I should have tried harder. I injured you and Sakura. It could have-"
I laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him from spiraling into self-recriminations. He looked up in surprise.
"You tried your best and that is what counts. Naruto, your efforts were destined to control the Kyuubi's chakra better, were they not?" I asked, adding a reassuring smile.
He nodded slowly.
"Your efforts were intended to prevent yourself from harming us. It is an admirable objective and I should be thanking you for doing so. Don't worry about losing control; it's better here than during a mission..."
The blond was now staring at me with watery eyes. Before the blond broke down into tears and hugs, I assumed a rigid posture and resumed walking. Naruto wiped his eyes and sped to keep up.
Our first stop was to collect Sakura. She lived in a two floor house not much different from the row of other houses on the street. The pink-haired kunoichi stepped out in a knee-length red robe, a black handbag and high heels. Naruto erupted into a flow of awkward compliments on her dress. She punched his head when he misinterpreted her intentions. He got up, sulking and we reprised our route to the center of Konoha.
After a few minutes, I noticed Sakura was giving me more glances than usual. What did she want? Was I ill-dressed for the occasion? Had I done something? I was pretty sure that I had maintained a neutral expression and avoided staring at her.
She looked me in the eyes again with an angry expression and turned away. Aha! Sakura was a girl and girls wanted to be noticed.
I rewarded Sakura by shamelessly wandering my eyes down her dress. I pretending I hadn't noticed her watching. When I reached her knees, I looked away and continued as if nothing had happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slight smile and a hint of a blush. Having dealt with the situation, I went back to planning and setting up cover stories.
The second place we stopped at was not far from Sakura's house. At an intersection, two girls and three boys waited. I took a moment to put a name on each unfamiliar face. They were Ino, Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Neji. Ino wore a revealing purple dress, Neji was wearing formal clan robes and Kiba had civilian clothing. Shino and Hinata were in their usual clothing but without their headbands.
Ino spoke first.
"Oh that's the cute boy you mentioned!" she said, nudging Naruto.
She bowed before me. I did the same.
"Eh… Hi. I'm Kenobi. I come from-" I started before being interrupted.
"Doesn't matter!" the blue eyed girl said. "Come on, we're having fun tonight!"
Neji did not express his enthusiasm.
I shortened the questioning about my origins and my reasons for joining Team 7 by mentioning Sasuke. They then left me alone and I efficiently excluded myself from the discussions and drifted to the back. Surprisingly, Hinata ended up next to me. The quiet Hyuuga's pale features, bordered by impeccably combed waist-length hair, were marred by reddened cheeks. I watched her until I was sure that she was fixated on Naruto before returning to the observation of the new characters.
Kiba Inuzuka was leading the group. He made jokes continuously, to which Naruto obliged by laughing loudly and 'improving' them with even more lurid content. When his nose twitched and spun to follow a strong odor, I had the distinct impression of watching his dog, Akamaru. The beast wasn't at his sides at the moment: they were reputed inseparable, so I would have to question him on it. Neji didn't join the discussion, preferring to stride proudly ahead of the group. I could sense an aura of irritation around him; I wondered who had dragged him into this. Shino was the complete opposite of the other three. His glasses reflected the flashing lights of the shop signs while the rest of him disappeared along with the dimming light. With his hands in his pockets, head hidden under a hood and body blanketed with a large coat, it was very difficult to read him.
"… if I wanted, I'd sniff them out! That way I'm always safe." boasted Kiba.
"Cheater!" complained Naruto in response. "The only way I know it's that time of the month is when she's hitting me harder than usual!"
"That's because you're an idiot and you deserve it!" Neji snapped.
The group fell silent before collapsing in laughter. I watched Shino. His shoulders trembled slightly. So he was listening! I smiled in triumph as I detected his first reaction to anything. I turned to Ino and Sakura. They too were laughing, but probably at a subject of less dubious nature. Hinata, at my side, frowned as she realized what Naruto and the boys were talking about.
We turned a corner to join a street packed with villagers. Now that darkness had fallen, the multicolored lights and faces rosy from the cold gave an overall festive atmosphere. Cheerful banter formed relaxing rumble in the background. The group had stopped. I gave a questioning look to Naruto. He opened his mouth to explain when a youthful cry was heard. Lee was waving at us from a restaurant. The bright purple and yellow sign spelled 'Barbe-Q' in flashing light bulbs. Green spandex boy was inside, beckoning us to follow. The eight of us started to cross the street, excusing ourselves through a cluster of hungry customers. The chatter had stopped as we were momentarily separated by the human tide. I took the opportunity to cause mischief with wise application of the information I had gathered so far.
"Hey Naruto! Hinata's checking out your butt!"
Naruto jumped at the voice, crashing into an elderly lady. He muttered excuses and helped her up, looking around warily for a pair of perverted, pupil-less eyes. He found the offending Hyuuga and stomped ahead to confront her, slowing down only when he noticed her confused expression.
"Don't scare her! She's very shy when it comes to your big butt." I said.
"Shut up about my butt!" he raged in my direction.
Unfortunately, the girl who had a crush on him was standing next to me and she was turning very red at the orange ninja waving his fist at her. Naruto realized this and stepped closer to explain himself.
"No, I meant … Hinata, it wasn't for you!" He scratched his head then pointed at me vehemently. "I swear its Kenobi! He's… he's in my head and he said you were checking out … my … butt …"
Hinata collapsed when her face turned purple. I caught her and held her upright. Shino was the sole witness to these events and he offered to take her. I was quicker, thrusting the limp body into Naruto's arms.
"Here, you knocked her out, you take care of her!" I said in a serious tone.
The blond glared at me, realizing that I had put him in an awkward situation. He then put his arms under her knees and lower back and carried her to the restaurant. I re-activated my tiny microphone attached to his eardrum.
"No groping while she's out."
Naruto nearly dropped his load and showered me in curses. However, his heart wasn't into it and soon his face wasn't just red from anger.
Inside the restaurant, Shikamaru, Choji, Lee and Tenten awaited us. We joined them around a low wooden table. Three coal-fired barbeques were already roasting meat. Tenten added a few drops of an unknown sauce to the meat on the grill in front of her. I sat at the opposite end of her cooking.
I introduced myself when my turn came and mentioned my training with Naruto and Sakura for an 'important mission'. It helped that Shino turned out less talkative than me, so I didn't have to force myself to reveal more.
An appetizing smell filled the warm corner delimited by painted walls and a sliding door. The cushion I was seated on was comfortable and the cheerful chatter between old friends was like a distant music I could sleep to.
Sleep.
Damn, I was tired; tired of forcing my muscles past their limits, tired of spending nights planning and scheming and tired of having to maintain the façade and the lies that composed 'Kenobi'. Not having anything to talk about but death and revenge with these people was sickening. I shook the negative thoughts away and removed my cloak. The metal weights I had lined it with made a jangle as I folded the black robe in two. Ino was staring at my chest, elbow nudging Sakura. I looked down. My shirt had short sleeves, so the bandages were visible as they extended up to my throat. The ones wrapped under my chin had been removed to reveal the pink and wrinkled skin that grew over deep burns. Sakura muttered to her blue-eyed friend. I grinned in their direction and loaded my plate with pieces of unseasoned meat.
I looked around as I picked at the squares of salted beef with chopsticks. Neji was calm and his movements looked rehearsed. He wore a white silk gown adorned with a red dragon. Hinata ate the same way he did, but her gaze shifted uncomfortably to the agitated blond next to her. Naruto, Kiba and Lee were playing a loud and exciting game that consisted of snatching pieces of meat from the grill before Choji loaded them all onto his plate. The kunoichi's had formed a girl's corner opposite the rowdy boys and were chattering happily, interrupted occasionally by giggles. I listen for a while, making out the words 'hair', 'perfume' and 'lingerie'.
To my left and right were Shino and Shikamaru. They weren't very talkative, either by nature or because they were too lazy to catch up with the conversation. Lee's flying pork delivery technique misfired and sent the meat sailing through the air in our direction. Before I could react, the bug-user's chopsticks flew from above his plate and caught it. He dropped it behind his collar and it disappeared.
I stared at him for a moment and cleared my throat. Time to start my own party.
Shikamaru spoke first.
"So… Kenobi, right?"
"Yeah" I answered.
"You come from Earth Country? Why, if I may ask?" he said with a bored expression. Shino's glasses were turned a few degrees in my direction; he was interested in the answer too.
"Well … It's not a happy story. It's all got to do with Sasuke …" I let the word hang in the air before continuing in a lower voice. "My village wasn't very important, nor had it ever been involved in any sort of trouble. Four families lived there. Our specialty was swords that could channel chakra very efficiently. Cut through anything and all that."
I looked to both sides. Shino's chopsticks hung in the air. Shikamaru was looking at me, eyes occasionally dipping to my burned neck. I prepared for the next part. My face drained of color, my shoulders tensed and I straightened my back.
"Sasuke attacked us. He killed … everyone. I escaped though, and I have come here to avenge my village. I have nothing now, so I decided to stay here." I paused. "Naruto is the best way to find him anyway."
Shikamaru nodded. His eyes lingered on me as if to tell me he knew I hadn't told him everything.
"You do know Naruto won't take this lightly?" he asked. He looked over to my right.
Shino spoke for the first time in my presence. His voice was deep but monotonous.
"Naruto does not want others to seek revenge. That was the path Sasuke took, and it has led him to become a traitor and an embarrassment to this village. You will have to confront him about this."
He had turned to face me. His shaded face was eerily visible as light shone into the depths of his hood. Even if I could not see his eyes, I could feel them boring into me. This was a cold, logical person who only spoke once he was sure of a fact. To defend Naruto like that… I felt chilled.
"I will do so, and soon." I told him, firmly and with a nod. Satisfied, Shino returned to his meal.
Silence fell at our corner. I looked over to the other side. Ino and Sakura were untying Tenten's buns. Hinata was as red as the coal embers as she whispered something to Naruto. Shikamaru was the one to break the ice.
"Chicken?"
"Sure" I said and handed him my plate.
We left the restaurant feeling quite full. The streets were empty and several shops had closed down, making the village look strangely abandoned.
I left in the company of Naruto and Sakura. I was happy to get to know the others better. Naruto had held a persistent smile since Hinata had spoken to him. Sakura's cheeks were still rosy from the way the discussion had turned near the end. Discussions between hormonal teenagers always ended up like that.
I looked over to Naruto. He was walking with his arms crossed behind his head, dazed. This was the same boy Shino had stood up for in his own, decisive way. The bug user would eat me alive if I didn't respect my promise to the latter. When I said soon, he'd have wanted me to talk with Naruto the moment we left the restaurant if it meant that Naruto would not get hurt.
Naruto kicked at a stone, unaware of his surroundings. What had the blond done to obtain such devotion from mere comrades? It puzzled me. Maybe I feared the same would happen to me. I activated his earpiece.
"Naruto."
"Hn?"
He stopped and turned before realizing I wasn't speaking to him directly even if I could.
"I need to discuss something with you. Alone."
The teenager frowned, smile fading. He opened his mouth …
"Whisper. I can hear you clearly."
He watched as my lips barely moved then repeated the maneuver.
"What is it?"
"I need to speak to you … without Sakura. Tonight." I said in a serious voice.
"Come over to my place. You're staying at a hotel, right?" he mumbled.
I nodded and looked away. I had spent the night out without reserving a room for tomorrow. At least I could camp; I had all the equipment collapsed in the bag I lifted on one shoulder. I turned to Sakura. She was a few steps behind me, removing her earrings. They were plain
golden studs with a small emerald stone in the center.
"Let me help you." I said before gently detaching the two halved of the metal jewelry and placing it on her palm.
She looked up. Her blush was gone, or maybe I couldn't see it in the dark.
"We'll take you home, then I'll leave with Naruto, okay?"
She slanted her head quizzically. "Where to?"
"I need to talk with him privately." I explained.
"What's so important that you can't tell me, huh?" she asked in a haughty tone, eyebrows raised.
"Things girls shouldn't hear. You remember what I mentioned Hinata?"
"I do... you weren't very subtle. She fainted."
"Well, you see Naruto here want more... information."
Sakura froze in place, jaw slack. Naruto skidded to a halt with wide eyes, half amused and wary of his teammate's reaction.
"Come on, let's go-"
My words shook them from the shock. I dodged the enraged kunoichi's fist and got hold of her wrist as it passed by. Her eyes shot daggers as I twisted her and stopped her fall painfully.
"You could have broken my bones!" I protested.
"You're worse than Jirayai!" she screamed. She shook against my hold, much stronger than I had thought. I didn't have my metal wires to
augment my strength, so I could only retain her for a little longer. I turned her arm like a door knob so she straightened her back. Naruto watched warily, unsure whether to escape or save me. She grunted something foul and wrenched herself free. She faced me with spittle flying from her lips, fists clenched and veins bulging.
"How dare you … COME BACK HERE YOU SHIT!" she screamed when I formed a metal platform at my feet and jumped on it to escape. She leapt after me but soon she was out of sight. It hurt to maintain this speed, but I gritted my teeth and continued until I could not hear her curses and shouts anymore. I slowed down when I felt safe, only to hear an earth-shaking CRACK. I shuddered at the rage-fuelled strength she possessed. Naruto would have to walk her home, but at least now she was out of the way. She wouldn't let Naruto handle what I was going to say the way I wanted to.
I met Naruto at his apartment. I was waiting for him, magnetically attached to the railings on the stairs leading to his door. The telescope allowed me to find the pink-haired demon and follow her as Naruto trailed behind. I had chuckled when she slammed her door on him.
She'd had enough of boys for one night, I thought.
Naruto fumbled for his keys grimly, nursing an aching bruise. When he saw me, he mumbled angrily and went inside, leaving the door open. I followed him, copied the keys and locked the door behind me.
Naruto flicked a switch. A naked lightbulb illuminated a small interior that primarily stank of ramen and secondly of dirty clothes.
"Do you train here?" I asked innocently. "Without opening your windows…?"
He grumbled some more as he opened a cup of instant ramen. I felt slightly sick at the overwhelming odor.
I waited as he slurped the half-heated contents of the paper cup. He had one mattress in a room with overflowing drawers. Next to it was a bathroom. A kitchen and a closed storage room full of ninja equipment and workout machines completed the square-shaped apartment.
When he finished, we sat on his mattress. He looked tired. I straightened my back and spoke.
"Naruto, I've come to a decision. I'm not going to kill Sasuke."
The blond's eyes widened.
