I do not own Naruto
"Speaking"
Thoughts
Part 2 Chapter 1
"So what is the verdict?"
"No change, it is so creepy I can't stand it."
"It isn't creepy."
"Well it certainly isn't normal I will tell you that."
"Nothing involving that one is normal."
"We should all just start beating him up till he comes to his senses."
"Naruto is already beating up himself enough; he doesn't need us helping him in that department."
"It could help."
"How?"
"Well maybe he won't feel so bad if someone punishes him; I mean make physical his emotional pain and when the sores of the beating are gone so will his sorrow."
"I don't know how to respond to that."
"By saying we should try it."
"You are just looking for someone to beat up. Besides I don't think us beating him up will help him with his 6 month stupor. This is all something he must work out within himself."
"Maybe you should try talking to him."
"No."
"Why?"
"Too troublesome, easier to just lie here and let him work his own shit out."
"Shikamaru how can you say that about your friend?!"
"Just like I did."
"Whatever."
Shikamaru slowly raised himself from his lying position on the couch. He could tell that this conversation wasn't going to just die. When it came to Naruto nothing ever did just die.
"Ok I am sitting and paying attention now. What is it?"
"What bothers me the most is that I can't get why he is still in that zombie like state for this long?"
"How do you not understand such things? I would have thought you would have understood completely."
"Enlighten me."
"Naruto's brain is directly linked to his heart. Every single decision he has made has come from his heart. So if his heart is broken from the death of this girl, then by all means his brain will be broken."
"I get that much but does it really take six months to get over a girl?"
"Girls are troublesome."
Shikamaru was hit face first with a pillow at his comment, but didn't let it affect him.
"Six months..."
"Yeah, it is hard to imagine it has been that long since Kiba brought him here from Coadunation. Where is Kiba by the way?"
"He went out to get lunch from the market, he should be back soon."
The conversation was stopped when the two conversationalists heard a door opening. Their eyes were drawn instantly to the bedroom door.
Naruto slowly made his way out of the room, not making eye contact with either of the two. He moved without really picking up his feet, like something was just dragging a lifeless doll along.
Naruto finally made his way to the kitchen, pouring a glass of water from the pitcher sitting out, and taking a piece of stale bread from the table. When he had acquired the rations he needed to sustain himself another day he began the arduous task of getting back to his room.
The door slowly closed again and the two returned their sights to one another.
"You can't tell me that wasn't creepy!"
Shikamaru wasn't going to respond and tried to let the conversation die, and with the abrupt opening of the front door of the lodging he didn't need to respond.
"GUYS, I'M BACK!" Kiba shouted as he burst through the front door.
Glancing around Kiba saw what he hadn't wanted to that day. Naruto wasn't sitting with the other two, not meaning Kiba suddenly thought he would be. But Kiba thought today might be a good day for some reason, he just felt lucky today.
"So the hothead hasn't left his room yet?"
"It is my room!"
Kiba jumped back at the outburst of anger.
"Calm down Ino, I know that is your room, but right now we have a subleaser of it."
Ino made a humph like noise and turned around and walked toward the kitchen.
"Damn I love to see her walk. That long blonde hair, her purple dress, and that ass. Man it is almost delicious."
"Please don't make me throw up."
"Oh come on Shikamaru, you have to admit she is hot."
"If she is so cute just ask her out or something."
"I am not saying I want to date her, that personality of her's would kill me. I was just stating her attractive level."
Shikamaru stared at the ceiling trying very hard to just ignore his stupid friend.
"Bet your gay..." Kiba left the comment to just float in the air knowing Shikamaru wouldn't respond.
"So Kiba did you get the meat for dinner?"
"Sorta..."
"Explain."
"Well I bought it then..."
A wooden cup was found lodged in the back of Kiba's head and a very pissed Ino with an outstretched arm behind him.
"You fool! You gave away our dinner to some hungry animal again didn't you?!"
"You don't understand, it was starving, the ribs were clearly visible. I couldn't just let the little bear cub starve."
"But us going hungry is just fine!"
Ino stormed back to the kitchen again.
"Troublesome Beast Master."
Kiba looked back to Shikamaru. The double attack was making him feel like public enemy number one.
"Yes, I am a Beast Master, and I love it! I will not abandon any animal I see."
"No need to defend yourself, you are just troublesome that's all."
Ino returned to the gathering area, a new cup in hand. She placed herself in the only other open chair.
"So what news do you bring Kiba?" Ino asked after a swig of whatever she had in that cup.
"Nothing good."
"Figures." Shikamaru added sitting up with a sigh.
"Before I get into that though, how is Naruto doing? Any better today?"
Ino answered the question, being the most qualified.
"No change in his Chuushouteki World. It is still just an iron box, a string going along the top, and him sitting in the middle. The exact same as it was the day you brought him in Kiba."
"Damn, you know I wish I had met this girl of his before she offed. Just to you know see what was so special about her."
"Probably nothing really, I mean Naruto has always had peculiar tastes when it came to anything."
Ino felt a glare coming at her from Kiba's direction, and couldn't stand it.
"What?!"
"You are just saying that cause he turned you down..."
Ino started to blush and turned away.
"No I am not."
"Right...Well think at least she was good looking?"
"She was beautiful."
Kiba and Ino looked at Shikamaru in shock; he had never called anyone such a word.
"You saw her before she died, and you never mentioned it?" Ino said in a daze, Shikamaru never used that kind of language for any woman before.
"No...This is just what Kakashi told me..."
Ino felt relieved in a sense that Shikamaru didn't actually think that someone was beautiful, and let go a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"So you ran into Kakashi-sama?"
"Yeah when were you out to see Hatake-sama?"
"About a week ago."
"I don't remember you going anywhere outside the country..."
"Ino for a Mind Tempest you really don't use that brain of yours' do you? You must be where the term dumb blonde was coined. He is a Shadow Sage; he can pretty much go anywhere there is a shadow."
"I know that!"
"Sure..."
Not letting Kiba complete another insult Ino floored him.
"There, now that my aggression is calmed. Why didn't you tell us you saw him?"
"Because I wanted everyone around for the news but I guess with what everyone is doing there will hardly be a time we are all together."
"Well then how is Hatake-sama if I remember correctly he was the most physically damaged after the fight?"
"The wound he had on his right leg is healed nicely, it cut deep into the muscle, but no bone or nerves we cut so that is fine he can walk normally and all. The stomach wound that he got luckily also didn't hit anything vital; it went clean through so only a scar for that. But that takes us to his most serious wound. Kakashi still has very little movement in his right arm. The bone is very fragile still. He will never get that arm back to one hundred percent. I would be surprised if he ever got it to fifty percent."
"How did he receive all those wounds again? I forgot what you told me on how it happened."
"That is because I never told you. And I am not sure either, no point in me asking him what happened. It is his business, not mine."
"What else did Kakashi-sama say?" Kiba asked, deciding to rejoin the conversation after his trip to the floor.
"Later, first what news did you bring us?"
"Fine, well for starters the world is in far less of a pleasing state then it has been. I just found out that another group of elves were found and brutally murdered."
Ino's face flashed with pain, she never did like these conversations on the gossip Kiba had discovered but knew she had to hear it.
"They were found in a monk enclave in the eastern parts of the third kingdom. The Sanbi had a field day apparently. No one had seen him so ravenous before. The word is after he got a taste of carnage he can't stop now. And the Kyubi gives no opposition since the stupid turtle is letting all this chaos loose in his own territory. The Kyubi also set forth a declaration that if anyone sees an elf to kill it on site. And if they do not adhere to this decree then his minions will kill the human instead."
Kiba stopped when he saw the look of anguish upon his friends face. Ino's face was screaming "you can't be serious".
"Ino...don't worry, most people aren't following the order."
"I figured that...it's just...such a decree, the evil of the demons is sometimes just unfathomable."
"Anything else Kiba?" Shikamaru was already bored with the topic and wanted to take a nap. But he knew he had to say his news also before he could.
"Yeah I got news from Fatass."
Ino let out a snort, and started to laugh, already over her sadness.
"I think he prefers, Traveling Battle Chef."
"But that isn't really a class of warrior. Besides Fatass just suites Choji better."
"Fine whatever, what news from Choji."
"He did some recon in the 7th Kingdom and looked around at the ruins of Gaia."
"And?"
"Get this, there are no ruins."
"What?!" Ino shouted a bit louder then intended.
Kiba looked back to Shikamaru, not liking the overly loud interruption.
"Anyway, as I said nothing is there. The only signs that anything might have been there are a road leading to a large clearing. There is no rubble, no debris, nothing."
"Troublesome."
"It is, isn't it?"
"That all?"
"Oh yeah, Choji apparently met Lee along the way."
"Really, Lee hasn't checked in 4 months, what is he doing?"
"Hell if I or Choji know, supposedly they met up and Lee just kept spewing youthful this, and youthful that like always. Choji couldn't even get out of him what he was doing."
"Figures."
"Guys I think we need to trust Lee more, he might be a pain sometimes, but he definitely knows what he is doing, he is up to something, and it is probably going to be helpful in the long run."
"Ever the optimist aren't you girl?"
Ino flashed a grin at Shikamaru.
"You know it."
"Ok Shikamaru, I gave my info, out with yours."
"Fine, this way I can get things done and go take a nap."
Kiba and Ino stared at Shikamaru as if he was crazy, in an important time like this, he would rather just skip it and nap. How did they work with him again?
"Firstly Kakashi told me to tell this to Naruto, and I guess you guys too. Pein doesn't want Naruto around at all. He said that the next time he sees Naruto if he isn't back to his complete normal self he is going to be killed, and Pein will search for the new Wind Seraphim who won't be totally useless."
"Yikes. I guess we can't let Naruto near Mister Stick Up His Ass then."
"Kiba! Don't insult Pein-sama, he needs nothing less than our utmost respect. He is our best chance against the demons. He is that strong you know!"
"Whatever, I just don't trust him, or those eyes of his, I mean I just get a weird vibe off the dude, like he doesn't have the same goals in mind as us."
Shikamaru cleared his throat trying to get back on subject.
"I don't care what you guys think of Pein right now, the point is don't let Naruto near him till he is better. Next just so you know The Council isn't dead. They are still in contact and have been using a small group of elves and themselves to make guerilla attacks on demon strongholds. Kakashi said they have a secret meeting place, but I couldn't get out of him where that place is. Naruto knows though I would assume."
"Interesting..."
"What is Kiba?" Ino asked curious as to what Kiba saw that she didn't.
"So you find it strange also Kiba?"
"What is strange?" Ino asked with more intensity seeing that Shikamaru also noticed.
"And they still expect us..."
"Yes."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Shouted Ino.
Shikamaru gave a slight nod to Kiba to tell him to explain the situation to Ino.
"It is interesting that The Council expects our little group to just jump at the drop of a hat, to do whatever to hell and back for them, yet we aren't trusted enough to be given a simple meeting location."
"It could be because the culprit for the conquest of Gaia Tower is still at large."
"What? That reason is dumb; it was the demons for that. So that theory is dropped. Aren't I right Ino?"
Kiba looked to Ino to back up what he thought was a cut and dry argument. But the look on her face gave him reason to doubt.
"I don't know Kiba, think about it. What reason do the demons have to destroy that tower? It was a magical nexus, they could have gained from it, why smash it? Also you reported yourself that the tower's remains are gone, since when have the 9 of those monsters hid any of their destruction?"
Kiba's face quickly changed from that of assurance in his own theories to perplextion in light of the new evidence.
"The public would be told that it was the demons. But The Council suspects the work to be a done by humans."
Kiba's face once again donned a new emotion, this time shock.
"Shikamaru, what human has that power?"
"That is the question, and that is why The Council doesn't trust outside their own."
"Wow that is a lot to take in..." Ino looked exhausted from the new information just said by everyone.
"I agree."
"Yeah, we can end it here. I am tired and it is too troublesome to say the rest of the info today."
"Shikamaru you lazy basterd!"
Kiba laughed good and hardy following Ino's outburst.
"Ino he is doing you a favor, you look terrible after all that serious stuff. Go clean yourself up."
Kiba had been finding himself on the floor frequently that day, and after his remark to Ino's looks he found himself there again.
"Fine we will finish this later. I am going to go take a bath in the pond...Don't any of you come peak!"
Kiba sat up rubbing his cheek.
"...bitch can't take a joke."
"So anyone for a game of cards?"
"What cards?"
"I could make some appear."
"Like you did the flapjacks?"
"Shut up!"
"Make me!"
The two blondes stared each other down, prepping themselves to unleash hell on the opposing person.
"Will you two shut up?!"
"Sorry mister bossy."
"Yeah we are just trying to lighten the mood."
The third blonde teen looked rather pissed with the other two.
"If you must be a nuisance, go be one in the corner."
"Fine...janken in the corner?"
"Sure."
In an instance the two of them were in the corner playing a rousing game of rock paper scissors.
"Good now that those two are gone. GET THE HELL UP!"
The third blonde kid decided now was the time to resume shouting at the 4th one sitting in the middle of the room, with his legs to his chest, and arms around the legs.
"Stop doing this and get back to the world!"
"Piss off." The simple answer that came from the sitting one.
"Leave the boy alone, he's hurting." Said by a docile fifth blonde.
"Oh I don't want to hear that shit from you. You have been telling me for 6 months to leave this fucker alone, and I have had it! I am getting him off his ass and into back to the world!"
"But..."
"No, you aren't stopping me!"
The fifth backed down there, seeing that nothing would sooth the anger from his counterpart apart from their host's recovery.
"We are here to help you vent, but up till now you haven't vented enough. You are just a comatose little prick."
The one sitting in the center didn't respond.
"Well the true nature of her man has come forth. She fell for a spineless pussy."
"SHE IS DEAD! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" The sitter was now on his feet shouting at the previous shouter. But soon he was back on the ground due to a fist in the face.
"Naruto you bitch...I loved Sakura-chan too. So I know plenty!"
Naruto's eyes were downcast, not wanting to look his attacker in the face.
"The four of us are clones made up from the shadows you cast in your mind...How do I not know?"
"Look maybe..."
"I said you aren't stopping me!"
"Right...sorry." The 5th Naruto backed off again.
"Naruto, do you really think she wants you to grieve for her in this manner, cutting yourself off, and wasting away without accomplishing anything?"
Naruto didn't respond to his shadow.
"Look around you."
Naruto's eyes quickly did a scan of the small box he was in. Each wall was identical to the others. Just a boring grey iron color. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, all of it was the same, and it was small. Small and confining. There was no logical way that five of himself could be in that room comfortably, but that was the beauty of that world, it didn't have to make since. The only thing strange about it was a small red string running along the center of the ceiling.
"Do you see? Well of course you do, you have been in this box for six months. SIX FUCKING MONTHS!"
"So?"
"So? SO! This room doesn't piss you off? Do you even remember what your Chuushouteki World looked like to begin with?"
The original gave no response.
"It was a huge castle, one beyond imagining. With so many corridors and rooms. If I recall correctly the whole castle itself was a labyrinth. You could easily get lost, find the wrong door and fall to your death. You even supplied your mind with your own minotaur to guard the castle and the maze. There was one room on the 8th floor's 6th tower that was completely ice. Don't you remember how fun it was to slide around on the ice? No way to control where you went in the room. It could take you 3 hours to just make it out of that room. Another room in the 2nd floor dungeon near the iron maiden room, you had a giant bottomless pit filled with ramen…boy that was a tasty room."
The Naruto that had been talking lost himself for a moment imagining all the ramen there.
"Sorry lost myself there. Do you remember any of that? Your mind used to be the worst mind for people to break into, they were certainly doomed. But what you hid in that mind was all worth the struggle and strife. Sakura-chan didn't want you to give that up. She didn't want you to lose your Chuushouteki World after you saved hers."
"What a pointless waste of my mind that was. In all the time I spent doing stupid things like that in my mind, I should have been developing ways to keep her safe…This box is the best thing for me…"
"Do you think that is what she wanted? No. Sakura-chan would have wanted nothing more than to keep you happy. But more than that, she would not have wanted to give up on your goal. Remember the goal that you told her? She supported it, and even said she would give her life to see such a beautiful dream come to fruition."
"Sakura-chan didn't…"
A strange noise started to vibrate through the metal of the cube.
"Damn…another day passed. Ok everyone dissipate for a few." The Naruto that had been scolding the creator, gave the commanding order to the other 4 and in a puff of smoke they all disappeared. Not 5 seconds after that a strange hole formed on the wall to Naruto's back and a young woman dressed in all purple entered.
"Heh…So I see you got up and moved about…" Ino said trying to start the mood off light for her daily check.
Naruto sat unresponsive.
Ino walked to the front of Naruto to find his head still in his knees.
"Naruto please, please come out of this. If not for yourself, but for the people who love you."
Naruto's eyes flashed with pain at Ino's remark, but with his head in his knees she wasn't able to see the only reaction she would get out of him.
"It has been six months Naruto."
Still nothing.
"Tell me what I can do to make it better. We need you Naruto. The world needs you…You tried so hard, you can't save them all, even though it was a big loss."
Naruto continued to ignore her presence. Even though if it hadn't been for her, he probably wouldn't know how long he had barricaded his consciousness in this cesspool of self guilt.
"Ok Naruto, I will let you in on a secret."
Ino waited a moment to see if he cared about the secret. Kneeling down she continued.
"The truth is, I am done. That is it I have had it. I come here every day and get nothing from you. It drives me crazy. But even worse than that it makes me so unbearably sad. I see you like this and I can't help but think that if this kind of thing can happen to the strongest hearted person I know then what will happen to the rest of us. I keep these feelings inside from the others though. I thought of telling them my worries but I can't. They have this crazy notion that I might be able to help you somehow. Shikamaru has said this is something you must solve, but even he thinks I can help somehow. And that pressure is to much. I can't take the weight of the responsibility of curing you…"
Ino paused for a moment, she was telling someone how this ordeal had been making her feel. Causing all those emotions to come to the forefront of her mind, and it was making her eyes water.
"…I can't help you. People don't understand what I do, do they? I am a Mind Tempest, a witch of the mind. Have you ever once heard of a witch healing someone? No, because they don't. Ask me to go into a battle and I will rip the thought process of an enemy apart, I will make them crap themselves every hour on the hour if I wanted. But me coming here does nothing. I don't have any special ability to just fix what was broken. I haven't ever even recalled an account of a Mind Tempest performing that kind of action. But everyone just assumes I can…"
She was silently crying now.
"…I forgot why I come to this world of yours. It isn't even like you respond to me so I can argue with you, or try to mend some thought you have. So I have no abilities and you don't talk to me, so why should I bother? So Naruto I quit. I will still come into the room your body resides in to fool the others into thinking I am trying, but I won't visit your world anymore. I am done."
Ino got up and headed for the hole in the back wall that she came through. The tears were still falling.
"For what it is worth Naruto, I do care about you and hope you can come out of this stupor. I wish you luck in your trial."
With that she left hoping she wouldn't regret her decision.
Naruto's unmoving body started to cast shadow in four different directions. Each shadow took the shape of a Naruto clone.
"You know I still don't get were the shadows come from. I mean where is the light source to cast these shadows?"
"It is just another mystery of the Chuushouteki World."
The two Naruto's in conversation nodded in agreement.
"So, want to continue our game?"
"Sure."
Those two went back to their corner for another round leaving the other three to their own devices once again.
"Look what you did! You made Ino cry!"
"She cried on her own."
"Damn you, is there not even a shred of sympathy left in you?"
"My sympathy and kindness was crushed under a building. Besides Ino isn't one to want my pity."
"Naruto you are doing this wrong I hope you know."
"What am I doing wrong?"
"Grieving, one needs to be crying, shouting, hitting things; they need some form of ventilation. But they also need to be living. Get back out in the world and deal with all your shit! This isn't grieving; I mean you are just locking it all up. The only time you have really cried about it was when it happened after that you just went blank. I am not telling you to get over her death, I mean I understand, everyone in this rooms understands the tragedy of the loss and we haven't gotten over it. If someone tells you to do so I give you free reign to shove your fist into that person's nose. But get out of this stupid nonliving funk."
"So everything I do now is wrong?"
"Way to take what I said and manipulate it. No that isn't what I said."
The shy one in the group thought now might have been a good time to interrupt and end this.
"Ok so we have all said some heavy things today, why don't we all take a break?"
No was the answer he got from the yelling one, and he wasn't even acknowledged by the sitting one.
"What about everyone in the world Naruto?"
"What of them?"
"You are letting them all down. With you in here you are taking away one of their few beacons of hope. You are The Seraphim of Wind…ACT LIKE IT! Get out there and try to atone for Sakura-chan's death. You will never feel like you will fully get rid of the pain of losing the one you loved, but that doesn't mean you can't get rid of a fraction of it. Get out there and fight the demons. Don't you think Shukaku deserves to be destroyed for what he did? And with you like this who will be the one to do it?"
"Shut up…"
"What was that? You need to speak up."
"I said…Shut Up!" Naruto was up in an instance with his left hand on the throat of his antagonize pinning him to the wall and his right in a fist now punched into the iron wall.
"Very good reaction."
"I said…"
The clone that had been pin easily swatted the real away like his attack was that of a fly to a mountain.
"I know what you said."
Naruto quickly recovered himself and returned to his sitting position.
"Wow that easily you return to the floor, how did someone like you ever think you could help the world? I guess all the goals you had, all the people you helped, everything you have done up till now is meaningless."
"…it wasn't" Naruto said to the floor.
"I already told you that you gotta speak up. I am a bit hard of hearing."
"It wasn't meaningless."
"Really? But you have given up; I think your words were it is over and then something about failing. Well if it is over then it was meaningless, the people who died for a better world are nothing more than dust in the wind and the few people still living in this diseased world should just go ahead and commit suicide because there is no point right? I am sure that is what Sakura-chan would want them all to do."
"ENOUGH!" Naruto was back to his feet seething in anger.
"Is it?"
"Out and be gone. I want all of you gone!"
One of the Naruto's in the corner raised his hand and asked, "Even us?"
"NOW!" Naruto yelled loud as he could.
"Ok we will go…"
They each started to dissipated into a puff of smoke till all that was left was the original and his provoker.
"I said all of you!"
"I am leaving."
"Are you happy I am making you leave?"
"No."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because this is the best reaction we could have gotten from you." The clone made his poof into nonexistence leaving Naruto alone.
"DAMN IT!" He yelled when he was by himself, and began a long session of berating the wall with his fists.
"Tsunada is housing refuges."
"Which?"
"Oh the important kind. Hinata, Neji, Hanabi, and Tenten."
"Well Tsunada-hime has always been like that."
"Gracious?"
"No, one to bring power to herself."
"True, the word is also that the actual elf army is in hiding but with one word from Hinata or Neji they will stand and fight."
"Hinata-sama has always commanded respect even though she does come across as timid, so it is no surprise the army will follow their acting leader."
"Agreed."
"Shikamaru is that all the information I need to be filled in on?"
"Yes it is."
"Well were have Kiba and Ino run off to?"
"Kiba left yesterday to go hunting, but I doubt he will find anything. And Ino left 3 days ago saying that she needed to go clear her head."
"Very well, and Naruto?"
"I am impressed Shino that you are the first person not to ask about Naruto first. The thing with Naruto is…"
Shikamaru stopped himself at the sound of the bedroom door opening.
Must be rations time, troublesome.
The surprising thing though was when no sign of movement came. There was no lifeless body stringing along for food. There was simply a presence standing in the door frame.
"Hey guys."
Shino's expression was hidden by his black glasses so the shock could not be seen in his eyes. But Shikamaru's face was covered in it, he almost couldn't bring himself to move his head to look.
"Na..ru…to?"
"Yeah, the one and only."
Shikamaru for once could not find something to say, his mind was tapped. Shino saw this and took on the task of fielding the talking.
"How are you doing Naruto?"
"Fairly well."
"How is your resolve?"
"Well I am not ready to return to The Council, but I gotta say this. Six months in one room, is a really damn long time."
There it was the stupid comment that affirmed that it was Naruto and he was better, for the most part. Shikamaru would swear Shino and Naruto to secrecy on his next action later but for now he had to jump out of his chair and give the blonde idiot a hug.
hurray new chapter, hope you enjoy it.
Thank all of you for you wonderful reviews, i appreciate all the one given to me, even the flames telling me i suck. But i do have a word for those. If you want to flame me go for it, but dont tell me i am an idiot writer and the story makes no sense than continue to read the story. because i am fairly sure i have said if you dont like my story dont read it.
Everything that has been mentioned in reviews will be addressed later in the story and i love that some of you are pointing things out.
Check profile for estimated update day, subject to change with finales coming. Happy Thanksgiving