Author:enchanted nightingale

Beta Reader: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer:The characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 26

The closer they got to the Akatsuki hideout the tenser the Konoha shinobi became. Sasuke in particular. While he still hated his brother for killing off their entire clan, he had seen Itachi once since his marriage to Kagome. Nothing big or bloody, just a short meeting, informing Itachi that there was a new Uchiha, not by blood, and that children might follow. Itachi had bowed his head shortly to Kagome. He had uttered a 'Welcome sister in law' and then vanished. Sasuke somehow knew that his brother would never hurt Kagome. That did not apply to him.

The rest of the team kept looking at him to see if he would go berserk like he used to when he was still a kid, but Sasuke had long since learned his lessons.

"Cave in sight," Naruto whispered from his side.

Sasuke nodded to show he understood.

There were no guards at the gates, no one patrolling the perimeter. The Konoha shinobi entered further in. that was when the bodies started turning up.

"I got one here," Shikamaru informed them. "From the hand I'd wager it's Kisame."

"I found the head," Kakashi said from further down the corridor.

Sasuke dodged a separate limb and for some reason he was ridiculously happy to notice that it was not his brothers.

"I found Hidan's upper body!" came from Anko.

"Who could do such a thing?" Naruto muttered, looking a bit grim.

Sasuke wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I hear noise," Kakashi informed them. "Be ready." He got several nods as a reply.

The team walked deeper into the hideout, meeting more destruction as they went. Lower and upper Akatsuki members were all over the place. And the noise kept increasing. It was like howling, but much more primal and louder than anything they had heard before.

"Whatever it is," Naruto whispered. "It's angry. Very angry."

The others took his words to heart.

Kakashi motioned to two shinobi to stay back. Sasuke was among those to walk forward.

The corridor got wider, leading to a cavern like room. And they stopped short.

"What the…" Shikamaru muttered.

"…hell?" Naruto finished for him.

Sasuke swallowed hard. There were more bodies here. Deidara, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Konan were all dead. And among the bodies only three living beings, two of them holding an injured figure up. The Shinobi from Konoha could only stare. Two children were in the middle of the room, two children Sasuke knew. Hakudoshi and Kanna. A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine. Then he recognized the captured figure. He knew her. He had seen her around the Western Palace, around Kagome. They had shared meals together. Somehow, seeing Kagura all beaten up and bloody gave Sasuke a very bad feeling.

"They're kids," Naruto muttered. His words carried. The two mini demons, plus the one that was semi-lucid, looked up.

"Now," Hakudoshi smirked, showing his slightly pointed teeth, his spear strapped behind his back and still dripping blood. "That was not nice Demon Vessel."

The humans sucked in their breaths from shock.

The demon child smirked. "I can smell it in you, the soul and energy of my brethren."

"You are a demon," Naruto half stated half asked.

"Well, isn't that obvious?" the male child replied again. "Well, we would love to stay and chat, but frankly, you reek."

Anko bristled a bit at the comment.

On the other hand, Sasuke tried not to snort. Of course humans smelled bad to demons, especially humans that had spent days on the road, running.

"Hakudoshi, play nice," a deeper voice came from above them.

Sasuke nearly lost his grip on his kunai. He did not want to believe it but He had actually come for one of his own. Naraku, Sesshomaru's right hand man, a spider demon that had devoured thousands of others, the same demon that could create detachments of his self and have them under his control, his own personal army.

Naraku appeared fully before them, dressed like royalty, his long black hair flowing down his back. He looked so human that he could have fooled even Sasuke, but the Uchiha had seen his true, demonic appearance. Naraku had not caused the carnage, his little minions had. The spider demon was merely amused at them. And as those ancient eyes turned on him and lingered, Sasuke actually did shiver.

"Hm, a familiar face. Long time no see, little mortal," Naraku looked gleeful. A dark smirk appeared on his face. "Give my regards to my cousin. Tell her she'll hear from us soon."

Sasuke did not respond, he would not give his position away and the demon had thankfully not mentioned any names.

"So long, humans," Naraku told the group. And then, using speed any shinobi would envy, he vanished. The demon children, not sparing them a look, vanished too.

The shinobi stood still for a bit.

"That was more than one demon," Shikamaru spoke first.

"Four demons," Gai muttered.

"Three more than the last time," Anko muttered.

"And probably more from whatever place those four came from," Kakashi added.

"Troublesome," Naruto sighed, stealing the Nara's favorite phrase.

"Let's not linger," Kakashi ordered. "We have clues to collect and a report to make."

End of chapter

A/N: The demons made quite an exit, right? ^_^