Ten

"Naruto."

"Umph, ten more minutes."

"Naruto!"

Someone was tugging on his leg. He tried to roll over, and then started to thrash around when he realized that he was floating in the air and not tucked in his bed.

"Stop! Naruto, stop flailing."

He wind milled his arms a few more times, trying to sit up. He was floating in the semi-dark and there was a funny buzzing in his ears and his spine.

He looked down (at least he thought it was down). "Hey! What's going on?"

Miri tightened her grip on his leg. "Please be still. We need to stay together. Try to remember."

Naruto blinked and tried to do as she had requested. Miri took the moment to shift her grip, so she was holding onto his arm.

Naruto's eyes widened. "That guy! I'll… How do we get out of here? Where's Sakura?" He brought his hands together. "I'll get us out of here."

"Perhaps delay the pyrotechnics."

"Uh, okay." Naruto looked around. "How come this place looks so much bigger than the room we were in? Do you know how to get us out? We have to help Sakura and Kankuro."

"You have remembered. Good. It is bigger because technically we are not in it any more. I am not sure how to get out, but I am reasonably sure an explosive jutsu is not the way."

"Huh?" Naruto made a face.

"Ah, sorry. I think we are in some sort of side or pocket dimension that Nejibana created as a means to extract our chakra…well not ours really, but…"

"What! We definitely have to get out then. He'd better not hurt Sakura." Naruto paused. "Are you sure? It doesn't feel like it did before."

"How is it different?"

Naruto thought a moment, trying to remember. "It really hurt. Like someone was zapping me and I could actually feel the chakra leaving my body. This is…I'm sort of tingly and maybe a little sleepy." Naruto shook his head. "I don't think it's working."

"I am afraid that it is."

Naruto peered at her and realized something. "You don't look so good Miri. Are you okay?"

"I have been better. It is affecting me at a faster rate. I wonder…" She chewed on her lip, thinking. "Did Kazahana Dote know that you were a junchuuriki?"

"Not at first, no."

"So it was probably your own chakra that was targeted by his instruments. And as for now…" She winced.

"Miri!"

"I am fine." Miri managed a weak smile. "I am going to have to start paying closer attention when Kankuro and Ebizo-sensei discuss chakra theories…or rather, when they argue about them. Here is what I think: I have been told that the chakra from a tailed demon has a different resonance that a human's."

"It's a different colour."

"So maybe Kazahana Dote's devices were tuned to the human frequencies, so they took your chakra. As your chakra was replenished by that of the kyuubi's it was retuned to match your own."

"Okaaay, and now…"

"Nejibana has targeted the jinchuuriki's chakra."

"So why can't I really feel anything? You do, right?"

"I am not sure and I do. Perhaps it is due to the difference in our seals. Yours has changed over the years, but at its core it is still designed to keep the kyuubi restrained. So right now it is acting as a barrier, a shield. In my case…" she shrugged. "You know I was never meant to be a jinchuuriki. My seal was for another purpose altogether."

After Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki, another demon had escaped. As it fled, it began to vent its fear and anger on the towns along its route. When word of its rampage reached Miri's homeland, her people began preparations to defend their land, including the proactive measure of sending a guardian out. She was a member of an elite group who carried within them the collective knowledge and spirit of the land and acted as ambassadors, sentinels, and warriors.

Tracking the demon had been easy for the guardian; anyone could see and follow the trail of destruction. As she got closer, the guardian realized that the creature was horribly afraid and its fear was driving its rampage. She confronted the demon and while she could not destroy it, she was able to tire it out. Taking advantage of a break in the battle, she talked to it and was told a story of nine demons who were once one. The demon and its host had been driven away by his people, and had lived in fear until it had been trapped with several of its demon siblings. The demon had escaped, but being alone was difficult, and the pain and loneliness had driven it into a frenzy. And now it was lost, thousands of kilometers away from the others.

After hearing the story the guardian felt sorry for the creature, but her duty remained the same; it could not be allowed to damage her home. However, instead of continuing a hopeless battle, she offered to help the demon. The inner world that had been created during her training as a guardian could be modified to hold the demon, sheltering it from the outside.

"Stop all this fuss now," Miri had said. "I promise to keep you safe until we find your brothers. You won't be alone anymore and you won't hurt anyone else."

The demon had agreed and Miri had kept her word. At the end of the fight against the Akatsuki the demon had stayed with her new host, who in turn had stayed in Suna.

"She has willingly restrained her power while in me," Miri said. "Her only bonds are the trust between us…and those are not much good against this damn machine!"

"Then we have to get out of here now! Can't we find where they are? Just do that stuff you do when you're tracking someone."

"This is not quite the same Naruto. We are not even in the same place anymore."

"It feels the same to me. We can still breathe, so there's air, so I bet everything else works just the same. You can do it. I know you can!"

Miri made a noise, part exasperation, part laughter. Like almost everyone who met Naruto, she admired his positive energy, but there were times when his naivety could be frustrating.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but this is not the same. We are in another dimension, another world. There are no commonalities, no…oh!" Miri stopped, her face going blank.

"Miri? Hey, Miri!" Naruto gave her a shake, it seemed like she had been staring off into space forever. "Hey, are you okay?"

Miri's eyes refocused. "Sorry. We were having a short discussion about your theory. It just might work."

"It will! That's great! Uh, what theory?"

"Commonalities. This place and our world have the basics in common…or at least they should."

"Huh?"

"It is as you said, we will track our way back and the trail will be the most basic of bread crumbs. Oxygen, hydrogen. We will find those that came from our world and follow them. Of course, that presumes that the trail has not disappeared, that we have enough energy left, or it does not cause some weird reaction, or we…"

"It'll work. Let's get going."

"First we have to make a few adjustments." Miri held one hand up between them as though she was going to start hand signs. "Water, air. All need these most basic things."

Naruto felt the surge of power as she called two of the demon's tails.

"And now, a change of venue." Miri pressed the tips of her first two fingers against Naruto's forehead, just below the edge of his headband between his eyes.

There was a moment of disorientation and then Naruto was standing in a familiar place, in front of the gate that sealed the kyuubi.

"Fools, what are you doing here?" the demon growled.

"Please, elder brother, please help."

Naruto looked around, the second voice was unfamiliar. "Oh cool. So that's what it looks like. Er, what is it anyways?"

The demon of the five elements snorted. "I am not an 'it' and it is obvious what I am." The demon shook its long neck, waved its tails, and snorted again. "I disagree with you, host. He's an idiot."

"Hey! Take that back!" Naruto glared at the creature.

"Why are you here?" the kyuubi demanded again.

"You heard our conversation. You have probably figured out what I want to do," Miri said. "And why we have to work from here."

"Because you are weak."

"Only compared to you brother," the gobi said. "So please lend us your strength. You know it's the only way."

"No."

"I should not have to point this out," Miri said. "But you will be destroyed too. It will take some time, but it will happen."

The demon glared at them a moment. It turned so it had its back to them and curled into a ball. "Do what you want."

"Thank-you very much." Miri bowed politely.

Naruto planted his hands on his hips. "Hey, you cranky old fox! Don't be rude! You'd better help or I'll…"

"That is good enough, Naruto," Miri said. "We need to get started. We have to work together to do this. If you use your sensory mode you will be able to help follow the trail once we find it. We will follow it to where we entered and then find a way out."

"Right! Let's do it!" Naruto concentrated, flipping his hands through the signs until his perceptions had shifted. "Okay, ready. Now what?"

"Good. Let us show you the particles from our world. Then we will try to find their source. Simple, eh?"

"Sure. Just like I said."

Naruto concentrated hard. Soon he could see some sparkly lights appearing around them. They reminded Naruto a little how dust would float in the air when he cleaned his rooms on a sunny day. As more appeared, they formed path, heading off to their right.

"Cool," he murmured. "Let's go!"

Naruto started along the trail; using his arms and legs almost like he was swimming, towing Miri along with him. It felt like they had gone a long way when the trail started to disappear.

"What's happening? Are we there yet? Miri!"

Naruto gave her a shake. She lifted her head, she was very pale and Naruto could see sweat on her face.

"Sorry. Lost it," she gasped. "Too weak."

"Just keep trying. We have to be close." Naruto looked around. In his sensory state he could see the energy leaving their bodies floating away in all directions and he was getting really sleepy. He shook his head, trying to clear it so he could see again, but the trail was gone. He looked at Miri and realized that she was starting to look transparent, like she was disappearing, and it was getting hard to hold on to her.

"Miri, just a little further." He gave her another shake.

"Close. Right." Miri concentrated on staying conscious. "But… too weak. You will have to finish. At this distance…" Miri winced and curled up into a ball. "Easy for you. Just find… You know…"

"Miri!" Naruto looked around. "But I don't see anything!" He chewed on his lip, trying to think what to do. "If we are close, then maybe they can hear us. Kankuro! Sakura!"

He yelled some more and listened, but did not hear any response.

"Damn. Hey fox, help out here!"

The kyuubi's voice rumbled in his head. "If you haven't figured it out yet, then you don't deserve my help. Doesn't matter now anyways. The seal's getting weak, in a little while I'll be free."

"But you heard what Miri said…"

"I don't care. It might only be for a moment, but I'll be free."

"Elder brother please. He's an idiot, but he is better than the alternative. Please help," another voice rasped in his ears.

"Hey! Who's there?" Naruto yelled, but then realized that he knew the voice. "Is that you, gobi?"

"Who else would it be?" The creature made a derisive noise.

"You're okay? Are you going to help Miri?"

"No I am not. None of us are, can't you see that? She wants me to help you. I can't believe that you can't see it. This should be easy for you. My poor brother, stuck inside such a fool."

"Hey!"

The demon sniffed. "Humph. Look, you're close enough to find your own way. Just think of something familiar and let your senses guide you."

"Like what?"

"Anything at all. Just do it. We haven't got all day here." The demon sighed. "I don't know where she gets the patience to deal with you idiot men. It's easy, just follow your senses."

Naruto concentrated as hard as he could, but the path was gone and he could not see anyway out. He tried to find a chakra trail, but that did not work either.

"Our chakra is drifting everywhere. It's confusing everything. How am I supposed to do this?"

It was getting hard to feel Miri's arm and he really wanted to curl up like she had and go to sleep.

"Hey Miri!"

"Stop bothering her, she's concentrating as hard as she can to try and stay solid. You have to…" The gobi stopped.

"Hey! Are you still there? What do you mean, stay solid?"

The demon's voice flickered in his ears, it was getting weaker. "She says to try this: follow your heart instead. It's what you do usually in these situations, so just stick with what you know." The demon whined in pain. "Heart, head, whatever…just hurry!"

"My heart?" Naruto looked down at his chest, as though he would see the answer written there. "My heart…familiar things… How do I do that? I just want to get out of here so we can stop Nejibana. That guy! We have to find him and the others." Naruto tried yelling again. "Sakura! I have to find her!"

Naruto growled in frustration, he could easily imagine the look on Sakura's face as she worried about him. She would be worried, and then she would be angry that he had gone off and gotten in trouble. He could see those expressions so clearly and hear her voice, just like he was right next to her. He could…

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, putting everything else out of his mind except for her. Her familiar and beloved face; the heart and soul he would know anywhere. That was all he needed to find his way back. It was simple.

"I found it! You were right." Naruto opened his eyes. "Crap, we'd better hurry."

He pushed himself closer to the spot he was sure would lead to Sakura.

"What do I do now?"

There was no response, from either demon or from Miri.

"If no one's going to say anything, then I'm going to do this my way. Finally." He conjured a clone and then had to rest; it was getting hard to do anything.

"You ready?" he asked the clone.

The clone gave him a thumbs up. "Let's do it! Time for some of that spyro…uh…pyrotactical stuff."

"Yeah! Let's go!"

-0000-

"Shit!" Kankuro tugged hard, but the metal did not budge. "Damn things are jutsu resistant. That idiot!"

He followed up with a string of curses that made Sakura wince. Despite the situation, she had to chuckle at his last comment.

"If he made something we can't get out of, then he can't be that much of an idiot," she said.

Kankuro gave her a sour look. "Never said I couldn't get out."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, any time then…"

Kankuro made a face at her. He tugged some more. "When I get my hands on…" he spotted something by the door. It was a pile of their packs and the weapons that had been taken from them. He could just make out his belt at the bottom of the pile.

Kankuro wiggled his fingers and concentrated. The locks on the cuffs could not be picked or broken with any jutsu, but they did not prevent him from using his techniques. He began to grin. "Heh. Like I said. What an idiot."

"What? Can you get out? What are you going to do?"

"Just watch. You'll see."

Sakura growled at him. This was no time for the puppeteer to start showing off. Some movement off to her left caught her eye. The pile of their belongings was shifting and she could hear a faint clicking noise. After a few moments something emerged, pushing its way free of a tangle of straps; it was Karasu, or rather the miniature version of the puppet. Karasu walked towards them, when it was a few meters away it sprang into the air and landed on Kankuro's shoulder.

"Now for the tricky part," Kankuro murmured.

Karasu crawled up his arm. Kankuro curled one hand into a fist and the puppet climbed on top. Sakura twisted her head to watch. The puppet removed one of its limbs and inserted the bladed end into the locking mechanism for the manacles. It twisted the arm around, seeking the right angle to open the lock.

"Almost…"

Karasu added a second arm to the lock, wiggling them both around until there was a click and the manacles popped open.

"You did it!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Kankuro rubbed his wrists and then used the miniature limbs as lock picks to free Sakura.

He flashed a triumphant grin at her and went to retrieve his belt. His grin faded as he approached the control panel for the machine and inspected the dials. He placed one hand on it and extended chakra strings into the mechanism.

"Can you shut it down like that?" Sakura asked.

Kankuro did not answer. He placed his other hand on the panel and closed his eyes. Sakura was just about to give him a shake when he removed both hands and slapped them against his thighs.

"Damn it!"

"What? What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Can't you shut it off?"

"No. Damn it!" Kankuro made a frustrated noise.

"C'mon, there's got to be something we could do. Can't we just…punch a hole in it or something?"

Kankuro snorted. "You've been hanging around Uzumaki for too long. The last damn thing you want to do to an unstable pocket dimension is throw chakra enhanced punches at it. If we could stabilize it then maybe we could create a gate, but…" Kankuro shook his head. "We'd need the energy of another jinchuuriki to even think of trying that. And we're all out of those."

He tapped his fists on his thighs, wracking his brain for a solution. Sakura went over the pile of their stuff and retrieved her weapons, hoping to give him some space so he could think. She paced around, watching him fiddle with some of the dials and levers on the control panel.

"Would they be able to force their way out from the inside?" she asked.

Kankuro grimaced. "Damn, I hope Uzumaki doesn't start tossing rasengans around. That would be bad."

"Why?"

"What did I just say about it being unstable!" Kankuro rubbed his jaw where Nejibana had hit him and winced.

"Do you want me to look at that?"

"Nah, it's nothing, besides you look like you're more interested in punching than healing right now."

Sakura looked down at her hands and realized that they were clenched into fists. She made herself relax, flexing her fingers and rotating her wrists. When she looked up, she realized that Kankuro was staring at her with an intense look on his face. After a moment he made a surprised noise.

"What? What are you looking at? Did you think of something?"

"Maybe," he said. The intense look was replaced by a big grin. "You Leaf medical-nins are pretty good with your hands." He patted his chest. "Best damn massage I've ever had."

"Kankuro, I hope you're not asking me for a back rub," Sakura said in a low voice.

"No, no…heh…maybe later." Kankuro waved his hands when he heard her knuckles crack. "Take it easy. What I mean is, when you removed the poison that day, it was a really delicate operation. You were working at a cellular level, right?"

"It was the only way to remove those heavy metals without destroying your organs."

"Right, so like I said, you're good with your hands. Have you ever made a chakra scalpel to work at that level?"

Sakura nodded.

"Could you make a finer blade?" Kankuro gestured at the sphere. "To cut between particles at an atomic level. I think that if you do that then you won't destabilize things any further."

"You think? You're not sure?"

"Pretty sure. So, can you do it?"

Sakura looked at her hand, trying to visualize what Kankuro wanted her to do. "And if I cut something I shouldn't."

"A damn big explosion. But that's going to happen anyways if we don't do something soon. We'll have to seal it up again pretty damn quick and then do something to try and contain it." Kankuro saw the uncertainty on her face. "C'mon where's all that positive Leafie energy?"

Sakura made a face at him. "So how do we know where to cut?"

"Shit, that's a problem. I didn't see where he dumped them in and spatial relationships between the two dimensions probably aren't the same anyways. I can't sense anything. Can you?"

Sakura concentrated. "No."

"I'm not surprised. Crap." Kankuro glanced at the dials on the control panel. "Fuck. We'll just have to take a stab at it. Literally." He waved a hand at the sphere. "Pick your spot."

"I don't…"

She was interrupted by a burst of static from the control panel. Lights began to flash and needles started to wave around wildly on the gauges. The sphere began to pulse.

"Shit! The idiot!" Kankuro realized what was happening and felt a jolt of fear. If Naruto was acting on his own, then he was not with Miri. She would know enough to prevent him from trying to force his way out. So they were either separated, or…

"No, no, won't happen," he muttered. Then louder, "Sakura see if you can figure out which way it's headed and then cut there."

"I…" Sakura tried to focus.

"Now!"

She held up one hand, it was glowing blue with chakra, and formed the finest blade she could; honing it until the edge was beyond the visual range of even the most powerful ocular jutsus. She could feel the energy building in the room and could easily picture what was happening. Naruto and his clones were hurtling towards a target, their faces bright with determination.

She picked what felt like the right spot. "Naruto," she muttered, like she had so many times before. "You reckless fool. Please be alright."