Eleven
The chakra blade sank into the sphere. Sakura was surprised at how little resistance there was. She had tensed up, expecting to feel some sort of pain, and although her arm was tingling, it was nothing she could not handle.
Kankuro kept one eye on her progress and another on the dials of the control panel, ready to stop the kunoichi at any moment. Soon Sakura had made an opening tall enough for a person to step through. Kankuro peered inside, careful not to touch the edges.
"That should do," he said.
"Did you feel that? He's coming!"
The pulse of chakra hurtled towards them, picking up speed and energy. Soon they could see a bright glow heading their way. Kankuro realized that it was not going to stop.
"Fuck! Move!"
Kankuro dove forward, pushing Sakura out of the way and trying to shield her from the blast that hurtled through the opening. He saw it go by out of the corner of one eye; the bright blue-white of the rasengan's energy and a mass of orange clad limbs.
Naruto smashed into a wall clone first and then slid to the ground in a pile of rubble. The clone poofed out of existence. Naruto tried to get his bearings; he had landed upside down and when he tried to flip over all he managed to do was shift his knees so that they were beside his ears. Rubble rained down on him.
"Hey! Little help here!" he yelled.
Kankuro shook his head. As usual, Naruto had managed to land in the most undignified posture possible. Miri had flown out of his grasp when he had hit the wall and had rolled a few meters away. Kankuro took a step towards her and then stopped. She would have to wait; they had to get the opening sealed again. It was a miracle that the passage of the rasengan had not caused the whole thing to explode and Kankuro was not sure how much longer their luck would hold out. He started to rummage in his belt pouches.
"Sakura, we have to seal it back up."
"How?" she asked.
"Just like you would do if you were closing a wound. But with really, really small stitches." Kankuro pulled a scroll and a brush from his belt. He placed the scroll on the ground and made some hand signs. There was a flash and the scroll and brush increased in size. Kankuro rolled out a long length of paper. "We'll put this on top after. It should help contain it."
"Sort of like a bandage?"
"Think of it like that, sure."
Kankuro began to brush symbols on the scroll. Sakura refocused her chakra blade and turned back to the gap she had created. Naruto's passage had widened the opening, but she was still able to push the edges together and seal them shut. The tingling she had felt before was increasing; as she worked it became more difficult; her chakra was being drained by something. She reached the top of the hole.
"I'm done, but I don't think it will hold," she said.
"That's okay, just as long as it lasts long enough for us to get the hell out." Kankuro looked up from the scroll. "This should help. Give me a hand to get it in place."
Sakura glanced at the writing; it was a seal she had never seen before.
Kankuro saw the question in her face. "It'll work." He glanced over his shoulder at the control panel and then at Miri.
"Don't worry, she's alive," Sakura said.
Kankuro nodded. "C'mon, let's get this in place and then get the fuck out of here."
She helped Kankuro maneuver the seal into place and stood back to let the puppeteer activate the scroll with a series of hand signs.
"Is it safe now?"
"No. This will contain it, but it's still going to explode." Kankuro chewed on his lip. "I don't think this will be enough." He waved his hand at Naruto. "Get him on his feet." Kankuro knelt by Miri and rolled her over. "Hey, wake up!"
When she did not move, he grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. "C'mon Miri, snap out of it!"
He leaned closer, intending to check her pulse, when she sat bolt upright and smacked her forehead against his chin.
"Shit, watch it!"
"Ouch!" Miri pressed one hand to her forehead and scanned the room, trying to get her bearings. "We are back. It worked then?"
Kankuro grunted, rubbing his chin. "What the hell were you thinking to let him use a rasengan?"
"Did not let him. I told him not. He must have…ah…well…I did tell him to follow his heart and his instincts." Miri looked sheepish. "Worked though."
"Humph." Kankuro pulled Miri to her feet. "Yeah, but more because of Sakura than you two idiots." He gestured at the sphere. "We need more containment. Remember what you did that time to stop the storm those rogue shinobi created to try and destroy the village? I need you to do it again."
Kankuro let go of her arm and she took a few wobbly steps forward, eyeing the sphere.
"So? Can you do it?"
"Possibly." Miri rubbed her forehead and then peered at her fingers. "Your face is hard. Is this paint or blood?"
"Miri!"
She flapped a hand at him and glanced over her shoulder. Sakura had pulled Naruto out of the rubble and was shaking him as she scolded him. Naruto was waving his arms as he tried to get a word in. He had a big happy grin on his face. When he saw Miri looking, her gave her a thumbs up.
"It worked great Miri! See! We came right to her."
She returned the gesture. "Never any doubt, Naruto."
I should have known that is how he would find his way, she thought. What is closest to his heart is easiest for him to find.
"Any time now Miri," Kankuro growled.
"I am working on it. She is most upset." Miri sat down. "I need something for drawing, like chalk. Something not water based."
Before Kankuro could say anything else, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned inward, to the place inside her mind (or maybe her soul) where she had created a space for the demon. The gobi was not hard to find, she just headed towards the sounds of destruction. Miri walked onto a high rock ledge above a forest of huge pine and maple trees and looked down on the gobi thrashing around at the edge of a lake, tossing rocks, uprooting trees, and splashing water everywhere.
Miri planted her hands on her hips. "That's quite enough of that."
The gobi roared, "I want to destroy it all! Let me out!"
"You know very well that's not going to happen. We got out of that place, and now you're feeling better. So please calm down."
The gobi snarled and lashed out with its tails. Wind whipped against the trees, the water churned, and dirt and upturned trees flew through the air.
Miri leaned forward. "Do not make me come down there." Her voice was low, but had taken on an edge.
The gobi froze. Its ears flattened against its head and it whined, "But I want…"
"I know what you want. You want to rage against those who hurt you. There will be an opportunity for that later, but now we need to stop that machine."
"Do you promise?"
"I do. Later we will hunt. But now please, lend me your strength."
The gobi relaxed. "Alright."
"Splendid."
Miri's eyes snapped open and crossed, trying to focus on the stick of kohl Kankuro was holding in front of them.
"That will work perfectly. Thank-you." Miri took the stick from him and began to draw a design on the floor.
Kankuro watched her a moment, then checked the dials on the control panel, and checked his seal. He turned to tell Sakura and Naruto to hurry up and help with the door to the room, but when he saw them he rolled his eyes.
"Idiots," he muttered and turned back to watch Miri.
"Sakura, Sakura, stop. I'm alright," Naruto waved his hands, partly to fend off the fist she was waving at him and partly to show her that he was indeed unharmed. He wiggled around, trying to free himself from the rubble.
Sakura grabbed him by the front of his jacket and pulled him out. She gave him one final shake, making dust fly from his hair and clothes. "What were you thinking? You could've been killed! Where were you? You were just…gone."
For the short time they had been in the sphere, Sakura had been terribly aware of his absence from her senses. They had been apart before, for training and missions, but it had never left a void like she had just experienced. Even when Naruto had gone away to train with the toad sage, she still been aware of him.
Sakura was not sure when it had happened; becoming so aware of him. But she did know that she never wanted to have that horrible, empty feeling again.
"You were gone," she repeated in a small voice. She let go of his jacket and clasped her hands together.
"No, no don't cry Sakura. Look!" Naruto waved his arms. "I'm right here and I'm fine. Just like always. Don't worry. I'll always find you. Believe it!" Naruto folded his hand over hers. "I'll always come back to you. And you'll always keep me from being too big an idiot and doing something stupid like…" He took a shaky breath and touched her hair with his other hand. "It hurt me too when he left. And I'll never do that to you because I know what it's like. And because…only a real idiot would leave someone as great as you."
He squeezed her hands and smiled, hoping that his speech had sounded better to her than it had to him.
Sakura looked down at her hands. They had disappeared into Naruto's grasp. She had not realized that his hands were so big.
"When did this happen? How did this happen?" she murmured. She eased one hand free and brushed some dust from the shoulder of his jacket and then from his cheek. "And I know you'll never give up on Konoha or any of us...or on me."
"Never!" he asserted. "I will…whoah!"
Naruto's eyes went wide and Sakura whirled around. The stone floor under the sphere started to crumble. Slabs of stone lifted into the air and encircled the sphere. Each section of stone was covered with dark lines; swirling patterns that made Naruto a little dizzy when he tried to follow them.
Miri was still kneeling on the ground. When the stone solidified around the sphere, she stood up. She wiped sweat off her forehead with one kohl smudged hand.
"Took you long enough. Here." Kankuro thrust Miri's sword and pack at her. "Let's get out of here." His scowl deepened. Miri's eyes had changed colour from their normal brown to yellow.
She snorted, expelling a jet of steam from her nostrils. "I did what she wanted. Now is my time. To hunt."
Kankuro made an irritated noise. He reached out and flicked her forehead with two fingers. "Hey! That's enough of that. Miri, get control of it."
Kankuro flicked her forehead again, harder. Her head snapped back and she blinked at the puppeteer. Miri blinked a few more times, eyes returning to normal with each blink. She reached up and rubbed her forehead, smearing kohl around.
Kankuro raised his hand, fingers poised. Miri swatted it away.
"Stop that, please."
"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro shook the gear he was still holding. "Take these so we can get out of here." He circled one finger at her face. "And you might want to clean that up a little."
Sakura joined them. "Are you alright, Miri?"
"Well enough, thank-you for asking."
Kankuro was heading towards the door. "Let's go."
He reached the door and placed his hand on the lock, extending chakra strings into the mechanism. A few moments later the lock clicked and the door swung open. They stepped out of the room and into a deserted hallway. Kankuro turned and closed the door behind him, latched it again, and added another seal.
"What's that for?" Naruto asked.
"Another layer of containment for the blast," Kankuro said. "What's the fastest way out of here, Miri?"
Miri looked around, nose twitching as she scented the air. "They brought us in from below, but to get out, it will be faster if we go up." Her finger traced the path along a series of catwalks and stairs that lined the interior of the facility. "And it would be prudent to get out from under all this rock as soon as possible."
"No shit. C'mon, lead the way."
They climbed until they found a door that led them outside. A steep rocky slope lay in front of them, and off to the side was the forest they had passed through earlier.
"Wow, we're so high up," Sakura said.
"We came in down there." Miri pointed to the side. They could just barely see the railroad tracks. She peered down the slope a moment, and then began to rummage in her pack for her cleats. "Ah, good, they are here. It looks slippy ahead."
Miri strapped the cleats onto her boots. They started to hurry down, running as fast as they could on the slick surface.
Something rumbled behind them like a low warning growl of a beast.
"We need to get further away," Kankuro said.
"I hope that nobody…ooph!" Naruto had been looking over his shoulder, which caused him to stumble and fall. He landed on his stomach and slid several meters down the hill.
"Be careful!" Sakura scolded. She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.
"Not a bad tactic Naruto," Miri said. "But most people use a sled."
The rumbling got louder behind them.
"Run faster," Kankuro yelled.
"Wait!"
Miri ran close to Kankuro and fumbled at his belt.
"Hey! Maybe later Miri. We're a little busy here."
Miri pulled a miniature puppet free. "Use him Kankuro."
Kankuro skidded to a stop and looked at who she was holding. He grimaced. "Ah shit. You can't mean…"
"It might be a little hard on the lacquer, but his weight combined with chakra and the momentum of a proper push should give us the speed required to…"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Kankuro made the hand signs to release the full-sized puppet. "Naruto, Sakura, come here and help us push. Everyone take a leg." He gestured and Shanshouo's legs folded up to provide hand holds.
"C'mon. One, two, three…push!"
They pushed together until the puppet started to move on its own, then they scrambled onto its broad back.
"Hold on," Kankuro ordered and turned his attention to Shanshouo. Chakra along his wide flat belly helped increase their speed and helped protect the puppet's frame and Shanshouo's long tail could be used as a rudder to help steer them past obstacles.
It was still a bumpy ride, but exhilarating. Once Naruto was sure that Sakura was not going to fall off, he raised his head to look around. The cold air rushing by his face made his eyes water and run. They were moving fast and still gaining speed. Kankuro cursed and made an abrupt adjustment that made Shanshouo lurch to one side and everyone had to scrabble to hang on.
"Get your head down!" Sakura smacked his shoulder. "You'll get blown off."
Naruto grinned at her and then laughed; impending explosion forgotten in the rush of speed. After a moment Sakura grinned back, eyes squinted against the rush of cold air, cheeks reddened and hair whipping around her face. Naruto's heart gave a lurch that had nothing to do with the dangerous situation. He wrapped his arm around Sakura and pulled her close.
Kankuro glanced behind him. "Idiots," he muttered.
Miri tapped his arm. "Eyes on the driving, please. And more speed would be a good idea."
"What?"
"It is starting. Faster please."
There was a muffled explosion, followed by a much louder one. Kankuro could feel a change in the vibrations running through his puppet's back.
Smoke belched out of the top of the mountain, a small puff at first but then in black gouts. There was a much louder explosion and the top of the mountain was blown straight up. Cracks began run down towards them, churning up dirt and snow as they advanced.
Miri could feel a change in air pressure as the shock wave advanced towards them. She could tell that the blast would not extend to the city, but it would damage the mountain and much of the surrounding forest.
"Kankuro, it is coming. I can stop it if I let her…"
"No! Don't you dare. We can outrun it. Hang on." He raised his voice so the others could hear. "Hang on!"
Sakura watched the shock wave of the explosion moving towards them; it almost seemed to be moving in slow motion. The sound of the blast reached them first, drowning out Kankuro's swearing. Shanshouo began to shudder and jerk underneath them. She felt Naruto's grip tighten briefly before he let go. He scrambled towards the puppet's tail.
"Naruto!" Sakura could barely hear her own voice over the roar. "Naruto!"
Naruto had stopped and was making a series of hand signs. The ground exploded beneath them and Shanshouo was tossed into the air. Sakura tried to keep hold of the puppet even as it was flipped end over end. She got one final glimpse of Naruto; he had finished his hand signs and she could see a visible surge of chakra forming around him, it was a mix of his regular chakra and the red hued energy that was a characteristic of the demon's. Chakra crackled as its tails unfurled and began to lash out.
