Worlds Apart

Part 25

By Mieren

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With Kakashi out of commission, and cursing at a volume that could be heard across half of Konoha, Team Seven was officially on hiatus. The three chuunin went their separate ways, Sakura hanging out with Ino and Sasuke training. Naruto joined up with Duo, talking nonstop and trying to figure out what the pilot was up to. The brunette put up with it good-naturedly, answering what he could and occasionally getting the blond to help him lift something or retrieve something he needed from in town.

"Why did you bring wheels? We have wheels here, you know. They're not even the same size! This one is thinner and bigger around!"

"Those wheels are special. I haven't started on what uses them yet. Help me real quick. I can't lift this engine and use the torque wrench at the same time," Duo said, waiting for the next predictable question.

"What's a torque wench?"

The blond lifted up the engine to where Duo specified in a strange cylinder device that was four feet across and about two high while the pilot hurriedly fastened it into place.

"Well, a torque wrench is the thing I'm using. A torque wench is just a very scary thought on all imaginable levels. If a woman tried to torque that, I'd be most unhappy." He leaned back, wiping one greasy hand across his forehead, leaving behind a black streak. Looking around for something that could interest his friend, he handed the blond a tangled mess of steel. "This is just a metal stand for what I'm working on. It should fold right out."

"Thanks!" Naruto enthused. It wasn't often that Duo actually let him do anything more than move something heavy or fetch something. "Say, what are you working on anyways? You never did say."

"Small satellite. It will hover just over Konoha in space and send information back to me," Duo explained, trying to keep it as simple as possible. As a receiver, he had hijacked Heero's laptop, modified slightly, of course. Once the cobalt-eyed teenager found out it was missing, he was going to be livid. He began work on the transmitters and scanners in the main cone.

"How do you plan to get it down?"

"I don't. It gets to camp out there until the end of time. You won't be able to see it once it's up there. After a few years, the power cells will die and it will just be like a huge floating lump of steel."

"Finished!" Naruto crowed happily. Duo's eyebrows shot up. They were easy to open, but not for people who didn't know what they were doing.

"Okay. Put it out in the middle of that field on a perfectly flat surface. Then set the booster… the fat cylinder we were just working on… on top of it," Duo instructed.

He had originally thought that the ninja would be in the way, but with the blond around, he was actually getting through his tasks twice as fast. He could do the skilled work while his companion performed all the physical labor. He was even slowly working his way up to see how complicated a task the slightly shorter teenager could perform. All of the smaller items and weapons were finished and now he just had to work on the large ones. Once he had that, the most difficult part would come. Seek and destroy.

Duo watched with interest as Naruto almost effortlessly lifted the booster jet and placed it as instructed. He paused in his work to write down a quick note.

I need all of the information you have on Orochimaru and Akatsuki. I need names, pictures, and last known locations and those currently suspected. List all known traveling companions for each person with any information you know of them as well. Include a map of the continent that marks all known villages.

Duo

"Come here. I need you to deliver this note to the Hokage," Duo called when he saw that the chuunin was just finishing his task. The blond nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke with the note. "I hate it when they do that."

He finished with the front cone fairly quickly and moved onto another of his large items, his motorcycle. He had just attached the thinner, taller wheel to the front forks when the blond chuunin returned, the Hokage following him closely. Arching one chestnut eyebrow, Duo waited for an explanation. He had wanted information, not the temperamental blond woman. She had a huge wad of folders under her arm and looked like she wanted to beat him over the head with it.

"The next time you send me a written message," she said in a clipped tone. "Send it in our language! I could barely figure out what you wanted!"

"That was this language!" Duo returned defensively.

"We use kanji, not letters!"

"Oh," Duo muttered, realizing that he really was in the wrong this time. "Sorry." For once, he actually meant the apology. Recognizing his sincerity, Tsunade calmed down greatly. "Hey, Naruto. Put the cone on the booster while I talk to the Hokage." The blond boy eyed the seven-foot metal cone a bit warily, but did as asked.

"This is all we have," Tsunade sighed, handing the grease-covered brunette the files she had brought with her. "As for where they are or were last seen, I can't tell you much. No one has a clue where Akatsuki is based. Orochimaru usually travels alone or with a white-haired young man in glasses named Kabuto. We don't have a good picture of him. Akatsuki is formed mainly of missing-nin. If you can find Itachi and kill him, we believe the organization will fall apart. He travels with a man named Kisame." At this, she offered him a picture taken from one of the folders.

"Yikes. There's a face not even a mother could love," Duo muttered. "So I'm looking for groups of two and possibly one large cluster of missing-nin."

"We know they're there…"

"But they may not be gathered in one place," Duo interrupted. "If Itachi and Kisame wander around like you say, the others may as well." He flipped through the folders, only having a little bit of a hard time following the kanji. "Akatsuki is after the Kyuubi. Well, that's smart."

They think they can reseal him and use him as a weapon, Shinigami said. And after what I did, they'll probably be after me as well.

Can they actually seal you?

No, but they can piss me off.

Do you know where they are?

No. Not my world, thus not my people to track.

Damn.

Cutting off his mental conversation, he found Tsunade watching him very carefully and he cocked his head to the side in a disarming movement, the action also letting her know that she had his attention now.

"What were you just doing?" she asked slowly.

"Talking to Shinigami."

Kakashi had mentioned something about the God to her. "So he's yours?"

"I'm his host, if that's what you mean," Duo said cheerfully. "I'm not about to claim to own a God."

Damn straight you're not.

"Finished!" Naruto cried out loudly, interrupting their conversation. "Even managed to figure out the latches!"

At that, Duo ditched them both and jogged over to the small rocket he had prepared, checking the setting of the booster on the stand and the cone on the booster. He was mildly surprised to find that the blond had actually figured out how to connect the two pieces successfully, and from what he could see, the latches would blow apart properly.

Sure of his own work, and trusting in Naruto's dubious help, Duo moved far back, ushering the Hokage and blond chuunin to follow. He readied the switch in his hand and palmed it, sticking his fingers in his ears.

"This is about to be loud," he said, his voice sounding distorted to himself with his ears plugged.

The two blondes nodded and followed his example. Once he saw them do the same as himself, Duo punched the ignition switch. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a high-pitched whir started to sound, slowly building to a deafening rumble that shook the ground. Fire blew from the bottom of the rocket as the jet engine finally engaged. The rocket trembled a little before finally lifting off the ground, swiftly gaining speed as it sped towards space and its final orbit above Konoha.

In the middle of a joyous cheer that his toy had actually worked, Duo was abruptly shoved off his feet to come to a rolling stop quite some distance from where he had been standing. He surged to his feet angrily to yell at whoever was responsible for throwing him when he saw that the booster engine was lying in a smoldering heap right where he had been standing and Naruto was a few feet from it, arms still out from his intervention.

"Are you okay?" Tsunade asked, going over the stunned brunette as he stared at the demolished booster where it was imbedded in the earth. He started to answer that he was fine when his, or rather Heero's, computer beeped and he ran to it, typing frantically.

The satellite was up and functioning, already scanning everything it could see for the layout of the land. Duo rummaged quickly through the assembled folders and pulled out the map Tsunade had provided, running it through a small portable scanner he had brought along. After a few key commands, the computer began to integrate the drawn map with the photographic one from space. While that was in progress, he set up a full thermal scan of the region, to be updated as often as possible, and focus on groups of two.

"What is going on?" Tsunade repeated for the fifth time, starting to sound really mad.

"The satellite is in place and the thermal scanner is running," Duo said excitedly, paying no mind to the fact that they didn't understand him. The computer beeped and he ordered it to zoom in. A man with long dark hair was traveling with a younger man with white hair wearing glasses. "Is that them?"

Tsunade's jaw dropped and she was unable to answer for a moment.

"That's them," Naruto said in her place.

"Perfect," Duo said, eyes glittering. He set the computer to track the two. "Now help me hold up my motorcycle so I can fit on the back tire and we're off!"

There was a moment of silence, followed by two questions.

"Motorcycle?" Naruto asked.

"We?" Tsunade asked. Duo gave her a flat look.

"I need someone to cover my butt while I do this. I'm not used to this nonsense."

"But Naruto?"

"Hey! What's wrong with me?" the blond protested.

"There really are better choices," Tsunade began.

"No. I want Naruto. He's the most familiar with how this technology works and he's strong enough to give me the time I need to work," Duo said firmly. Very slowly, the Hokage nodded, glancing at Naruto to see if the little blond she almost considered a baby brother wanted to go along with this mad idea. Seeing the overly eager expression on the boy's face, she conceded.

"Fine," she sighed. "But he gets hurt, it's your ass."

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To Be Continued…

Slow chapter, I know, but it had to be done. I follow the muse. There should be some fighting in the next chapter or at the very latest, the one after. According to my computer, though, this story has cracked 102 pages. Can I get some credit for that? Review!