All right confession time, it's been awhile. Several people have asked where I have been the past month and all I can say is…..work. Work and the upcoming semester have had me completely busy. Not only that but I have begun writing my original story and that's taken up a lot of my free time (It's called "Versus" or "Vs" by the way. I found out later that there was a Japanese movie by the same title but my story is nothing like it).
Now how can I make this up? Easy, make this chapter bad ass. Or at least try. Since I don't want to leave this little story hanging I'm going to try and finish it in my off time. I already have every thing planned now I just need to type it out. I'm aiming to finish the current arc within the next four chapters. Whether or not I can pull it off is up in the air.
Also you may note that the title was changed from the projected title. The reason for this was because Approaching and Approach have two completely different meanings. The title change was a result of the extension of the chapter
KEY"blah" – Speech
'blah' – Inner thoughts
NO JUTSU – Technique being usedBlah – Stuff that is done or said in the past
Boom – Sound Effects
+ - Stuff that needs further reference. The extra info can be found in the author's notes
-CHAPTER 25 - "Approach"
"Hah……..hah……..somebody………som…….somebody help me……." A voice slowly echoed in a dark hallway. The voice was faint and slowly crept through the darkness.
"I……..I can't………Somebody help me……..they……..they are going to kill me……"
The voice began to tremble as the darkness slowly lifted. A figure was trembling on the ground. The figure was sitting on its knees. The figure shook more and more. Its head was lowered. "……It's so c…cold…….I can't feel anything anymore……."
The voice got lighter and lighter as darkness lifted even more. The figure raised its head gradually. "I……..I'm going…….going to….."
The figure swiftly raised its face to reveal itself to be Naruto. Blood and tears ran down his face. Suddenly his mouth shot open in a scream, "…….DIE!"
"NOOOOO!" A female scream rang out as a young woman shot up from her futon, "….NARUTO-SAMA!"
A light flicked on revealing the young woman who was sweating profusely.
"What's wrong Mae?" An old voice came from the door of the room that Mae was in.
Mae's eyes were wide open as she breathed heavily. She looked at the old man at the door, "Grandfather……its nothing. I just had a nightmare."
An old man in a kimono looked at her with concerned eyes, "Are you sure? You look terrible."
Mae nodded. The old man was hesitant but let it go and left after turning off the lights. Mae laid her head down on her pillow. Tears began to flow from her eyes and down her cheeks. 'Naruto-sama……..' She closed her eyes.
The rescue team sent by Konoha moved swiftly through the trees. Each member jumped from branch to branch. Kakashi looked at Pakkun who was leading the group. "It seems that Naruto and Gaara are most likely together."
Everyone looked at him as he continued, "We've steadily been heading towards the location that was mentioned by the message from the Sand."
Gai smiled, "That's good. Frankly speaking I wouldn't want to have had to make the decision to go after one of our own or the Kazekage."
Temari lowered her head a bit. Lee looked at the two Jounin team leaders, "But Gai-sensei I still don't understand why Naruto-kun and Gaara of the Desert have been abducted."
Hinata, Temari and Sakura narrowed their eyes. Kakashi looked forward, "The reason is because of their common link. Those two share something that none of us can even comprehend."
Lee raised his eyebrow. Shikamaru looked at Kakashi, "From the information it's obvious that Akatsuki is a powerful organization. To have captured that Gaara so easily is terrifying."
Gai looked at him, "Not necessarily. Information gathered at the Sand showed that the Akatsuki member who attacked the Kazekage was injured. Blood was found from the battlefield that wasn't the Kazekage's."
Neji narrowed his eyes, "What information is there on their infrastructure?"
Kakashi thought back to his conversation with Jiraiya three years prior. "Well, there should be a total of nine within the organization. Orochimaru was once one of them but left. We also know that the missing-nin Uchiha Itachi, Kisame, Sasori of the red sands and Kisei Zetsu are within the organization."
Lee whistled, "That alone is amazing. I know a few of those names. I don't know this Zetsu or Sasori though."
"Sasori of the Red Sands…." A few of the teens looked at Temari, "….he is a truly terrifying man. He is a master puppeteer. He left the village twenty years ago under mysterious circumstances. He hid much about himself. No one except for his family knows the true extent of his abilities. It is said that he was easily at the Kage level."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "Added to that, Uchiha Itachi. A man responsible for the destruction of the entire Uchiha clan. Kisame of the Mist was a member of the infamous seven Swordsman of the Mist. His side hobby is said to be the hunting down and killing of Kage's. The only information available to us about Zetsu is what we've already told you. Then there is the person responsible for capturing Gaara."
Kiba gulped, "Geez……they're a bunch of monsters."
Shino looked ahead though his words were directed at Kiba, "Not only that, but we have to assume that these people could be at the bottom rungs of Akatsuki's ranks."
Kiba had an un-approving expression, "Oi…c…cut it out with comments like that."
Gai landed on a branch and leapt off of it, "He's right though. It's entirely possible that they are the lowest tiers of the organization. And right now we're heading right for them."
A drop of sweat rolled down Sakura's face, 'That's right. Right now were heading towards a dangerous situation. Even more so because that man is there. Sasuke-kun's brother Uchiha Itachi. The man who has caused Sasuke-kun so much suffering.'
Kakashi sighed, "As we said at the beginning this is practically a suicide mission. We still have three days before we get to the border country. We could get there faster if it wasn't for the civil war in the Rain village."
Kiba jumped with Akamaru, "Yeah, I was sent there for aid finding lost people from all the chaos. It's terrible."
Kakashi looked over his shoulder, "Do you know why that civil war was started?"
Kiba thought for a second, "Uh……the leader of the village was supposedly killed during a coup right?"
Hinata's eyes suddenly shot open in realization.
Kakashi closed his eyes, "That's only what the head council of the Rain has said to the public. The civil war itself is the result of the claims for the position of leader. But the fact that leader was killed is a fabrication of the truth."
Hinata lowered her eyes, "You mean he wasn't really killed?"
Gai nodded, "The truth is he was kidnapped. The man known as the strongest in the village just suddenly vanished."
Sakura's eyes trembled, "Akatsuki!"
Kakashi looked up at the setting sun, "Most likely. It was said that the leader of the Rain had tremendous power. It's likely he was like Gaara and Naruto."
Neji looked at Kakashi, "That's not all either. The son of the Tsuchikage was also recently taken. Furthermore two large battles were reported within the last few months. Each was apparently on an inhuman epic scale."
Sakura looked back at him, "You mean they were all instances where Akatsuki took someone?"
Kakashi bounced off a branch, "There's no proof but most likely."
Hinata tightened her fist, 'What are they planning? Going this far……taking Naruto-kun…..'
Inside of a dark room, Kaijin slowly walked up to a figure lying on the ground. He smirked, "So this is Uzumaki Naruto. The Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."
"Kaijin."
A voice behind Kaijin attracted his attention away from Naruto who was unconscious on the ground. Kaijin turned his head and looked at two shadows, "I see you two have arrived. That makes six of us. It seems that Kisame and Itachi will be late coming. Of course that man is late as always."
The two figures walked towards Kaijin and Naruto. One of the figures spoke, "Are…….we…….to……..prepare……..now?"
Kaijin looked down at Naruto. "Yes. We have no time to waste huh."
The rescue group quickly approached the border of the fire country. Shikamaru looked at Kakashi, "Even with all that said. What is the connection? I hate to be the one to say this but we're all risking our lives here. I think that we should at least know the reason."
All the teens had somber expressions. Shikamaru continued, "I know the background of Gaara but what connection is there to Naruto. And for that matter all the others that were taken."
Kakashi closed his eyes and launched off of another branch, "That night that Naruto returned from retrieving Sasuke is the connection."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Eh?" Suddenly an image of Naruto with his demon features went through his mind. "You mean when he…."
Kakashi continued, "Fifteen years ago the demon known as Kyuubi attacked the village. In the books it says that Yondaime risked his life in order to kill it but that isn't how it happened. The truth is that the demon was sealed with a young baby's body. That child was…."
"Naruto-kun…." Everyone looked at Hinata, whose random outburst was surprising. She looked down slightly.
Sakura looked at her, 'Hinata….'
Kakashi looked over his shoulder and then sighed, "They are called Jinchuuriki. Ones who have demons that possess their bodies. The demons are called Bijuu. Each demon is named after the number of tails it bares. The Sand's Ichibi is the one that possesses Gaara. The Kyuubi for Naruto. The total of the demons is nine ending with the Kyuubi."
Everyone was quite taken back by this sudden information. Neji looked at Gai, "But why take them?"
Gai looked ahead, "In all reality, we have no clue what so ever. There are theories that Jiraiya-sama has thought of but there is no confirmation."
Sakura looked at him as she and the rest jumped from the last tree branch in the forest and began to run on the ground, "What are they?"
Gai jumped off of a rock, "The first is that Akatsuki plans on extracting the Bijuu and creating a new set of Jinchuuriki under their control."
Sakura's eyes widened, "They can be taken out?"
Hinata and Temari's heads shot up. Gai closed his eyes, "Yes, but….."
Kakashi picked up where he left off, "……when a Bijuu is incorporated into a Jinchuuriki it is done at birth. The reason for this is because a child's chakra system hasn't developed quite yet so they have a higher chance of success than adults. Since they grow up with the Bijuu inside of them their chakra systems slowly fuse with that of the Bijuu. In lamen's terms they slowly become one."
Everyone was paying close attention as they jumped down a cliff. Kakashi looked down, "The Jinchuuriki becomes able to use the powers of the Bijuu and become vastly stronger. But as a side effect the Jinchuuriki becomes dependant on the Bijuu. Its existence is an extension of the Jinchuuriki's own. So when a Bijuu is extracted the Jinchuuriki……dies."
Everyone's eyes widened in horror. Hinata's eyes trembled. Her breathing quickened. Sakura was in the same boat. Temari looked down with a sad expression. A silence fell over the group. Shikamaru had finally gotten his answer but he didn't much like it. He looked at the scenery as it passed by, "You said there were more than one right."
Gai nodded, "There is also the chance that they want to use the demons to create chaos."
Chouji had been straying away from the conversation but joined in, "Chaos? Why?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "Akatsuki has laid low for quite awhile but all of sudden they revealed themselves in a flashy way. Their actions have already created a civil war and dangerous situations in Suna and Konoha. It's possible that they plan to throw the ninja world into another major war by creating chaos amongst the nations with the demons."
Shino titled his head and jumped off a tree, "That is even more of a scary thought than the first theory."
Kakashi nodded his head, "Regardless of the theories, we have to fear the worse and assume that they plan to kill them no matter their plans."
"They won't……"
Kakashi looked over his shoulder and was surprised. Hinata tightened her fists and like the rest of the teens had a look of pure determination. She spoke the same words that was on everyone's minds, "…..I……we won't let them harm Naruto-kun, Gaara-san or any of the others."
Sakura nodded her head. Kakashi was in awe and then looked forward. He closed his eyes and smiled, 'Naruto……you have made great friends and allies. Your dream of being acknowledged isn't just a dream…..here in this place exists people who care and love you…..you'll never be alone again.' He opened his eyes, "Let's go and save them!"
"AH!"
Two young nurses were talking as they walked down the hallways of the hospital. They talked to each other and laughed. Suddenly one of them noticed something in front of her. She quieted down and hushed her companion. The other nurse looked ahead and both suddenly bowed, "Good evening Tsunade-sama!"
A few feet away Tsunade walked the hallway. She waved her hand, "Don't be so formal so late in the night. By the way…." She looked down the hallway, "…which room is Uchiha Sasuke's."
One of the nurses turned around and pointed at a door a few doors down, "I believe that Sasuke-kun's room is that one."
"Thank you." Tsunade walked by the two as they bowed. She had a serious expression, 'It's been a day since they left. I can only hope that everything goes well. As soon as its ready I will send as many shinobi as required to aid them.'
She looked at the door of Sasuke's room, 'Luckily the Sand are also sending a dozen or so men.'
She opened the door, "Sasuke, I came to see….." The door opened slowly and as it did Tsunade's eye twitched.
"Heh, Tsunade-sama always looks so mature and graceful" One of the nurses had a blush. "She's like a goddess!"
"THAT LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"
Both nurses turned after hearing Tsunade's loud yell. Tsunade had her fist balled up as she looked at the empty bed in Sasuke's room. "That brat ran away!" A vein slowly popped on her forehead. "We need to start putting bars on these damn windows!"
One of the nurses had a bewildered expression as Tsunade started to stamp her feet, "….so…….graceful……"
"Good, now that most everyone has arrived we need to get started…."
A voice echoed within the darkness. The voice rang as if it were in a large cave. Slowly the darkness became a soft yellow light as Naruto opened his eyes. His blurred vision slowly cleared but the light of the room he was in didn't let him see much. He looked around and saw two figures standing a ways away. 'Who?'
His eyes left them and then went to the floor. He realized that he was squatted on his legs with his body raised off the ground but just enough for his knees to touch. He looked up and his eyes widened. "What the!"
Both of his arms were wrapped in chains. The chains held his arms up to form a Y shape. The chains led up to a Torri. "What! Why am I chained up! Where am I!"
He struggled fiercely trying to free himself. Suddenly he stopped. He looked down, 'Wh….what's going on…..'
One of the figures turned around, "Heh, what a surprise. I didn't think that you would wake up due to your wound. I guess this shows how strong the powers of the Kyuubi are."
Naruto looked up at the shadowy figure, "Who the hell are you! Where am I!"
The figure didn't move, "My name is Kaijin. As to where you are…..that doesn't matter."
Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to free himself. He struggled but couldn't get lose, 'What the hell is going on? No matter how hard I try to pull it's like my body wont use its full strength. Not only that but….' He looked at his knees on the ground, 'I've been trying to stand up all along but my legs won't move.'
"Kaijin, everyone but Kisame and Itachi have arrived and are in place."
Naruto's eyes shot open and began to tremble, 'I….Itachi! Th…..then these guys are……' He looked at the darkened figures, "….Akatsuki!"
Kaijin looked at a figure behind him, "Good. Zetsu I need you to keep guard outside. At this rate they will be here soon."
The other dark figure turned and walked away leaving Kaijin alone with Naruto. Naruto was angry once he realized who the people were, "You bastards! What did you do to my body!"
Kaijin reached into his cloak but from Naruto's point of view and limited vision in the dark it looked like it was scuffling with his cloak. After a few seconds he pulled something out. "I doubt you know this but in this world there exists things that cannot be explained. One such thing would be the Kyuubi inside of you…"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Kaijin uncovered what was in his hand. Naruto's eyes widened as a glow filled the room. In Kaijin's hand he held a spherical object. From the object an orange glow radiated like a flickering candle.
'What the hell is that?' Naruto's eyes focused so that he could make the object out better. The object was a clear tear shaped chunk of glass. Inside the glass was a flickering flame.
Kaijin continued, "…..it is said that any beast can be tamed as long as you strip away its freedom. That's where this relic comes in."
Naruto was confused but as Kaijin explained further his eyes widened, "I suppose you wouldn't know but along time ago there existed several Kyuubi-like beasts. But for some unknown reason one of them gained power and began to kill off it's kin. This was unusual since Kyuubi would usually distance themselves from others. But this one was different. It hunted down and killed all the other Kyuubi in the world."
Naruto gulped, "But why? You said they avoided each other. So why?"
Kaijin smirked but Naruto couldn't see, "The truth was the Kyuubi's ambition was that of a humans. Or to be more precise, the Kyuubi moved according to a humans will."
Naruto's mouth dropped, "You….mean someone controlled the Kyuubi?"
Kaijin walked a step closer, "That's right. Despite what Itachi told me, you catch on quick. The truth is that a man controlled the Kyuubi the entire time. But why make it attack the others? That's simple, it's because with the others gone he could use the beast to take control of everything. In one foul swoop everything could become that man's play things. And nothing could rival the power of his new pet."
Naruto was trying to take in what was being said but was still confused. Kaijin chuckled, "But a demon capable of world control would never listen to a mere human. Even an army of kage level shinobi could never kill a Kyuubi. So how did that man control the Kyuubi? Simply put the man used his knowledge of forbidden arts and created this little trinket."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What is it?"
Kaijin smirked, "I believe a demonstration would speak volumes in this situation." He raised the object and continued, "Tell me what your favorite meal is."
The object glowed.
"Ramen" Naruto spoke almost instantly. He stopped and thought, 'why…..'
Kaijin titled his hand alittle, "Tell me the name of the person you respect most?"
The object glowed again
"Iruka-sensei" Naruto's eyes widened, 'I wasn't going to say anything….'
The object glowed again, "Kick yourself in the face and then return to your previous position."
THUD!Naruto's eyes bulged as he realized that his knee had shot up and smashed his own face. In an instant it returned to the floor. Blood dripped out of his mouth and onto the ground. His eyes trembled and then returned to the dark figure of Kaijin, "H…how?"
"This can control the Kyuubi. It's said that a portion of the Kyuubi's power is stored within. Whenever the Kyuubi uses its powers this would regulate its use. Because of its appearance it received the name Hoshi no Tama. And since you are the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, as long as I hold this you must do what ever I say. Interesting isn't it?"
Naruto's eyes were wide with horror. Kaijin took another step forward, "You seem to at least understand the situation your in. Those chains aren't to restrain you but to hold you in position."
Naruto lowered his eyes, 'I can't move anymore. How……how does such a thing exist?' He looked up, "How do you have such a thing? What are planning on doing? Who are you?"
Kaijin stepped fully into the light with a smirk, "As I said I am Kaijin. As to how…..the truth is this is a gift from Yondaime."
Naruto's eyes widened as he lost all train of thought. Not because of the words that were spoken but because of the man standing before him, "Y….you're……."
"It's weird…."
The Konoha group had finally entered the border country between the Wind and Earth. Everyone turned towards Temari after her comment. Sakura spoke up for the group, "What is Temari-san?"
Temari looked around, "There isn't a village or anything in this country. It's been uninhabited for a century. Where could they possibly hide?"
Shikamaru looked at her as they ran through a ravine, "Is there any place that they could use as a lair or hideout?"
Temari thought for a second, "Not really. There are some caves and what not but nothing of struct….."
She stopped which got Shikamaru's attention, "What?"
Temari shook her head, "…..eh…..nothing. It's just I thought of something from a few years ago."
Chouji joined in, "What is it?"
Temari thought out loud, "Actually, a few years ago some ruins were discovered. A war almost broke out because of it. It's nothing really, I just thought of it since it's almost like we're heading there."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, 'I thought so…….damn!' He sped up slightly. Everyone caught up to his pace.
He looked down at Pakkun. Pakkun spoke, "A while back both Gaara's and Naruto's scents converged and have followed the same direction."
Sakura smiled, "That means they are in the same place!"
Temari let out a sigh of relief. Kakashi just kept up his pace. Sakura cracked her knuckles, 'Yosh! Finally it's almost…..' Suddenly a feeling went up her spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. She stopped which caused everyone to turn around.
Kakashi quickly questioned her actions, "What is it? Why are you stopping?"
Sakura had a blank expression but suddenly looked to her left, "I….I don't know. I just got a weird feeling."
Hinata looked at her friend, "Sakura-san?"
Sakura began to sweat, 'What's this feeling? I feel like I'm going in the wrong direction….' She gulped and looked at Hinata with trembling eyes. "G…..gomen, For some reason I feel like……like…..gomen……I shouldn't be going this way…." Her hand began to tremble, "…I need to save Naruto but for some reason my instincts tell me to go that way….."
Hinata lowered her eyes and remained quiet for a second, "I understand…..If you feel like you should be somewhere else then you should go. I need to go this way so that I can see Naruto-kun again. There's……there's something I need to say to him."
Sakura bowed her head, "I'm sorry……Hinata….everyone."
Kakashi sighed, "We don't have anytime to waste. Let's go." He jumped ahead.
Everyone else followed. Hinata was the last to leave. As she did she looked at Sakura with a heartrending expression.
Sakura still had her head bowed. She slowly raised to reveal tears flowing down her cheek, 'I'm so sorry Naruto…….Instead of going to help you I'm doing something so selfish….please forgive me….'
A few hours later the rescue group was fast approaching their target. Temari looked around, 'I knew it! We ARE heading towards the ruins. But why? Has Akatsuki been using it as a base?' Her face changed, 'No….I don't need to think of that now. I need to focus for the upcoming battle.' She looked around and stopped when she saw Shikamaru's determined expression. She smirked, "That's surprising."
Shikamaru looked to his side with his eyes and then back forward, "What is?"
Temari closed her eyes, "I thought that kind of face would never grace your ugly mug. Is the brat really that important to you?"
Shikamaru looked up at the night sky and at the full moon, "He's……Naruto is one of my first friends. Since I'm such a boring guy no one would even talk to me. But one day during class that guy threw a book at me and told me to relax alittle." He smiled, "He's the only one who saw through my bored guy act. For some reason when I was younger I figured that it was too hard to make connections so I forced myself to act like nothing mattered. Ever since then we would play together and hang out. He's an honest person……." He regained a serious expression, "…that's why I won't let anyone hurt him. He's an idiot so I have to watch out for him."
Chouji, who was behind the two, smiled contently. Temari looked ahead and saw an image of a young Gaara and then an image of Gaara as the Kazekage, 'I've watched you grow up and realized how you've changed so much. You have become a great person. So now I'll rescue you so that I can watch you become even greater…..Gaara'
Pakkun sniffed the air, "We're here!"
Everyone tightened their fists as they jumped past the last of the trees into a clearing. They all landed on dirt. As they rose they looked around but not for long. All of their heads looked in the same direction at the same time. Hinata's eyes widened, "Wh….what's that?"
In front of the group was a large structure that was partially buried in the dirt. It was built out of stone and had two individual parts to it. Both were oval shaped like an egg. Surrounding the structure were nine Torii that were red in color. Kakashi twitched, 'Dammit…..this is terrible…'
"Why…." Temari was confused at what she was seeing.
Gai looked at her, "What is it? These are the ruins right?"
She nodded, "Yeah but…..last time only the top part was exposed. And…" She looked around, "None of these Torii were here. What's going on?"
"What's that?"
Everyone looked at Hinata who was staring up into the sky. All of them looked up and were shocked as well.
Hinata's eyes trembled, "Red……moon?"
Kakashi's eyes were wide with horror, '……the moon of sacrifice…..'
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well chapter 25 over with. Like I said before I'm trying to get this over with as soon as possible so it might seem hurried. Since it's been awhile I might have missed a detail or two. If I did forgive me.
For those of you who don't know, Torii are the structures you often find at the front of Shinto shrines.
Hoshi no Tama translates to "Star Ball"
On a side note, look at my profile for a few pics I did. Well see ya next chapter.
NEXT CHAPTER – "Different Path's"