Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox
Written by Neon Majestic
(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)
OoOoO
CHAPTER 54 – Rescue Operation
Mitokado Homura sighed as he sank his donut into the mug of cream before him, before taking a bite out of it, even as he leaned back in his chair. Looking around his living room, he beheld the pieces of art on the walls around him, the expensive pieces of pottery housing numerous flowers, and just beneath his feet there was a pricey Persian rug.
"To think, after all the years I've worked with Hyuga Corp, I'll soon be living it up better than this, in such a short time," he chuckled. "And all I had to do was follow Akatsuki's instructions...I'm only sorry those instructions didn't include telling that pompous Hiashi to kiss my—"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Wha...!" Mitokado jumped out of his seat and spun around to face the front door. "Who's there?" he demanded.
"My name is Nii Yugito," a female voice announced from the other side of the door. "I was told this is where Mitokado Homura-san lives. May I come in?"
Harrumphing, Mitokado hurried to the door and opened it…and standing there was a young woman with blond hair tied back in a ponytail, though a few locks hung over her forehead. "Oh—ah—yes, I am Mitokado Homura," Mitokado spoke up, adjusting his glasses as if to see the woman better. "Ahem...how may I help you, miss?"
Yugito came straight to the point. "I'm a government investigator, sir," and here she pulled out an identification badge from her jacket and showed it to Mitokado. "It is my understanding that, yesterday, you were let go from Hyuga Corporation. Now, just today, the Hyuga Corp CEO's daughter has gone missing. I wanted to at least come by and eliminate you from the list of possible suspects in this girl's disappearance."
"I...see," said Mitokado, his interested look dissolving a little. "Well, while I sympathize with Hyuga-san's loss, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. I wouldn't have the faintest clue about where the child is, or how she's come to be missing."
"No?" Yugito cocked an eyebrow. "Then perhaps you'd care to explain—" and just as suddenly she put her boot in the way as Mitokado was moving to close the door in her face. "Please don't do that again, it's very rude. As I was saying, perhaps you'd care to explain why security footage from earlier this evening has you at Hyuga-san's office, showing him photographs of said child who you claim not to know anything about? And suppose I were to go get all telephone records that have numbers assigned to you, included in them, from that hour to this?"
Mitokado fully scowled now. "What exactly do you want?"
"I want to know where the girl was taken, and by whom. And I also want to know how Uzumaki Naruto fits into all of this." Yugito's eyes narrowed.
"Hmph. Well, madam, if you must know, I don't know where the Hyuga girl is, nor do I know any Uzumaki Naruto—I've never met the person," said Mitokado. "And I clearly don't like what you're insinuating, that I have anything to do with either of them being in any trouble."
"I see. Then I suppose you wouldn't know Uzumaki Kushina, either, right?" Yugito inquired.
"Obviously not," Mitokado scoffed at her. "Now how about you leave my house? And if you feel you must question me further, speak to my lawyer."
"Very well, I'll stick around while you dial your lawyer," said Yugito, unmoved. "And while you do that, you can prepare to have him explain those security tapes I mentioned earlier, plus the phone records that I WILL get to prove you had conversation with Naruto on this very night. And by the way, I should remind you that we're talking about two children's lives, possibly hanging in the balance. Would you really be prepared to live with your conscience if anything were to happen to them?"
"You don't have anything to pin on me," Mitokado said defiantly. "In any event, whatever tricks or tactics you try to use to intimidate me, I've got enough backing on my side that I can fight your tactics with ease. Now...have a good night, young lady."
"...good night, then." Yugito removed her foot from the doorway, and only then did Mitokado slam the door in her face. Sighing with great reluctance, she turned and walked away from the door. "Damn it...dead end right there..."
"Dead end, huh?"
"Hmm?" Yugito turned around, and standing quite close by was a man with dark hair and an inquisitive smirk on his face. "I see...so you were here too, Itachi?"
"I've been keeping a close eye on things that are happening at this time," Itachi said casually.
Yugito's eyes narrowed. "Then you know about Hyuga Hanabi and Uzumaki Naruto..."
"I can at least direct you on where to go." Itachi nodded. "There's been a spike in activity in the warehouse district since this afternoon, including a lot of suspicious characters riding about. Several of them, I was able to confirm, have had past dealings with Mizuki. And right now...my little brother has taken it upon himself to gather a small group to play commando and assist Naruto-kun. Maybe you'd like to go give them a hand."
"And you?" Yugito inquired.
"Right now, I have other instructions to follow," said Itachi.
"Hmm." Yugito shook her head. "The big man certainly moves in strange ways, doesn't he?"
"So it goes." Itachi turned away. "You'd better hurry now, Yugito-san, unless you want a bunch of kids to steal your thunder." And he headed off down the street, Yugito watching as he departed.
OoOoO
Mitokado, watching the conversation between Yugito and the mystery man from behind his window-drapes, covertly picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello?...yes...a woman just came by here, asking questions about that Kyuushingai brat..."
OoOoO
Riiiiing! Riiiiiiiing!
Mrs. Yamanaka hurriedly answered the phone. "Hello, Yamanaka residence...ah, Ino? Who may I say...ah, yes, one moment. Ino!" she called out. "Uchiha Sasuke is on the line!"
In a flash Ino bounded down the stairs, stars in her eyes. "Sasuke-kun? Calling ME? Oh, joy!" she squealed, taking the phone from her mother. "Hi, Sasuke-kuuuun!" she purred.
"Listen to me very carefully, Ino,"Sasuke said in a no-nonsense tone. "Naruto's been kidnapped.""WHAT?" Ino immediately dropped her fan-girl attitude.
"I'm calling a couple other people to help out, and Kushina-san is with me, too. Come to the warehouse district on the south side of town. We'll meet at the hill overlooking the waterfront.""Understood. I'm on it!" Ino quickly hung up the phone and then dashed to the door. "Sorry, Mom, I've got an emergency! I'll be back!"
"Wait, what? At this hour? What's going on?" Mrs. Yamanaka called after her—but already Ino was slipping into her sneakers, dashing out the door, and pedaling her bicycle down the street as fast and hard as she could.
OoOoO
While all this was going on...
Naruto remained chained to the stone column in the middle of the warehouse where he was being held prisoner. His face was battered and bloody, both eyes were purple from bruising, and his clothes were dirty and torn from all the beatings he'd taken up to this point. Meantime, Kin, who was still guarding him, was casually wiping her hands with a cloth. "One thing I'll say about you—you know how to take a beating," she commented.
"...whore..." Naruto muttered.
Kin eyed him and contemplated stabbing him with the nearest sharp object...and then decided against it. "Consider yourself lucky Mizuki-sama said to leave you alive, or else you'd be a dead duck right now," she said coolly.
"Hey, missy."
"Eh?" Kin looked up at the sound of the voice, and beheld an orange-haired man with multiple facial piercings walking into the open area where they were; he was accompanied by a brown-haired man. "And you guys are..."
"We're Akatsuki. I assume your boss told you we're the ones who broke him out of jail," the pierced man answered. "Go take a walk. We want to have a few words with this guy."
"Oh, please. I'm not leaving my post," Kin replied.
In turn, the brown-haired man held up one arm—and out of the sleeve of his jacket there shot a long, sharp blade. Kin's eyes widened on seeing it. "On second thought, a walk sounds about good right now. See ya, fellas." And she quickly ran out.
"All right...now that the nuisance is gone..." The orange-haired man turned his attention to the captive Naruto. "So this is Kurama the Fox of the Kyuushingai? Well, young fellow, it looks like you'll be enjoying our hospitality for a while," he announced.
Naruto slowly eased his head up and managed to crack one eye open to look at the speaker, the light flooding under his eyelids and stinging his eyeball. "Akatsuki..."
"Yes, that we are." The pierced man nodded. "My name is Yahiko. And this gentleman with me," indicating the brown-haired man who was just shifting his arm-blade back into place beneath his sleeve, "his name is Monjin."
"You...you guys...killed...Utakata...and Roshi..." Naruto found it difficult to talk due to how swollen his lips were.
"Saiken the Slug and Son Goku the Gorilla, yes," said Yahiko. "They were only the first to feel our fury. The rest of you will soon follow."
"Well, you've got me here. Why don't you just kill me already? You might as well just get it over with while you can," Naruto spat, even as he found sufficient strength to talk.
"Would that we could, but…" Yahiko shrugged. "We have our instructions."
"We were reliably informed that a certain woman has been snooping around, in relation to our activities here in town," Monjin spoke up. "She specifically asked about you, and that got our attention...Nii Yugito, I believe her name was. So...what we want is for you to tell us who she is."
At once Naruto's mind began to work, rapidly. They knew who Utakata and Roshi were...they knew who I was...yet they don't know about Yugito? Maybe...maybe they don't know everything about us...if that's the case, I can't let them know she was one of the Nine!"We're waiting," Yahiko's voice interrupted Naruto's thoughts.
"Then go ahead and wait a little longer," Naruto said icily. "I don't have to answer you."
"Maybe you don't understand the gravity of your situation, Kyuushingai," Monjin replied. "The only reason you're not dead yet is because you've got information that's of immense value."
"And what could I possibly know that you guys can't find out for yourselves?" Naruto demanded.
"For starters, you know the names of everyone who was involved in the Kyuushingai project," said Yahiko. "Not just your fellow Kyuushingai—everyone. Doctors, trainers, whoever else you had to work with. And we want those names. And you're going to tell us what we want."
"And you couldn't have gotten it from Utakata or Roshi, because...?" Naruto prompted.
"Because we were told that you would be the most likely one out of the Nine Terrors to have the info we want," said Monjin. "Now, tell us what you know. Tell us who this Nii Yugito is that's snooping around...and who the people were who were working with you and your comrades."
Naruto chuckled at him. "Ask your mother. I told her while I was banging her last night."
In one swift movement, Monjin sent a punishing right hook to Naruto's jaw; Naruto cringed in pain and spat out blood and, he was sure, a tooth. But he'd barely had time to spit the blood before Monjin grabbed him under his throat. "You think you're funny, don't you?" Monjin hissed. "Well, guess what? You should well know my mother as you claim—because you and your friends KILLED her!"
"Oi, oi. Ease up." Yahiko took hold of Monjin's wrist and pulled him away from Naruto. "Go over there and take a moment to cool off."
Monjin glared at Yahiko, but nontheless complied and walked off to another section of the room. "You'll have to excuse him," Yahiko addressed Naruto. "His mom was among the casualties in Kumo City...there was a New Years' Day celebration there, at midnight, and that's where the first couple of deaths in the 365 days' slaughter tally began. But you'd know that, wouldn't you?"
"...okay, so that explains him," Naruto breathed, pausing to spit a bit more blood out of his mouth. "And you, pierce-face? What's your story?"
"...pierce-face? Huh...I've actually never heard that one before." Yahiko chuckled a little. "Well...you'll already know that there was a lot of gang activity during the 365 days...and a lot of people got maimed or killed. In my case...I was caught in a crowd stampede in Ame Town, when a bunch of punks decided they were going to stir up trouble...my face was badly trampled, and I had to get these pins implanted," and here he pointed to the black metal items sticking out of his nose-bridge, "to help keep my skull-bones together while I healed. Now they serve not only as a permanent medical implant…they also serve to remind me of the pain I went through from that time."
Naruto lowered his head a little, closing his bruised eye. "You're sure taking your issues rather well. Not like your buddy over there," and here he nodded his head a little to indicate the sulking Monjin.
"Oh, I can afford to be easygoing about it now," said Yahiko. "But trust me, at the time, I was in excruciating agony. It hurt just to blink. I was in constant suffering for a whole year after that incident. Even now, sometimes, when I think about it, my face feels numb." He lightly touched one of the metal protrusions from his face. "And, really, whose fault was it but yours, the Kyuushingai?"
He reached forward and patted Naruto on the head. "Understand, Kurama the Fox, I don't have anything against you, personally. I actually kind of like you. After all, you've got such a nice sense of humor." Then his smile disappeared. "But the fact remains, you're still one of the nine people who caused us, and others like us, a lot of pain and suffering. All we want is justice. Is that so wrong?"
Slowly Naruto lifted his head and opened the one eye that he could open, managing to fix a glare on Yahiko. "Your pal Deidara could've killed ordinary civilians at Iwa City. And Konan kidnapped a woman who had nothing to do with any of this, just to get to me. And you guys have released a crazy person who's going to cause a lot of chaos and distress to the people of this town, and they never did anything to deserve any of it. Is that so right?"
"All a means to an end, just a means to an end," Yahiko shrugged. "We'll do what we have to do. The masses will agree with us, if not right now, then eventually. After all...it was the masses who suffered during the 365 days."
Presently the orange-haired man stood up and walked over to Monjin. "You done fraternizing?" Monjin scowled at him.
"You done sulking?" Yahiko quipped. "Listen. Why don't you stay here and...keep him company?" nodding his head at Naruto. "Get whatever he knows out of him. Take as long as you need to do it."
"...yeah. Now you're talking my language." Slowly Monjin grinned.
Nodding, Yahiko turned and walked out of the warehouse. Watching his fellow Akatsuki member for a moment till the other man was out of sight, Monjin walked up to Naruto. "All right, you Kyuushingai filth," he said softly and venomously. "Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to ask you some questions. And every time you don't give me an answer, or you mouth off to me," and suddenly his arm-blade erupted from its place under his sleeve, "I'm going to cut you. And when I cut you, it's going to HURT. And you'll beg me to give you death. And I won't."
"Whatever helps you with your mommy issues," Naruto grunted—and Monjin promptly slashed him across the chest, drawing blood.
OoOoO
Ino pedaled her bicycle up the hill furiously, keeping a close eye out for any sign of Sasuke or Kushina. "Where are you guys?" she wondered aloud.
Her visual search was soon rewarded, for as she approached the brow of the hill, she saw a Land Rover parked under a tree, with two figures standing outside and a third sitting inside and behind the wheel. She immediately recognized the two standing outside the vehicle. "Kushina-san! Sasuke-kun!" she whispered as loudly as she dared.
"Eh? Ah, you're here, Ino," Sasuke remarked on seeing her.
"Sorry to be late, I came as fast as I could," Ino apologized.
"Don't worry, Ino-chan, we've only been here a few minutes ourselves," Kushina assured her.
Sasuke looked around. "If my guess is right, the others should be arriving any moment now...we're already late as it is, and every second counts..." Then he looked in another direction and his eyes narrowed. "Ah, there they are."
Coming up the hill, from different directions, were seven youths. "Suigetsu...Jugo...Kiba...Shino...Sai...Shikamaru...Choji," Sasuke named them one by one. "And there's supposed to be one more..."
The noise of a motorcycle engine cut him off, and as one they all turned to see Tenten riding up the hill toward them. "Yo," she greeted them, shutting off the bike's engine. "I got your message, Sasuke. What's this about Naruto being in trouble?"
"How about I let her explain..." and Sasuke jabbed his thumb at Kushina.
"Yes, well...I apologize to all of you for this inconvenience," Kushina bowed her head to the group. "Long story short: Hyuga Hiashi's daughter, Hanabi, was kidnapped earlier today, and the kidnappers said they wanted Naruto in exchange for her release. When Naruto heard about it, he dashed out to go and save her...and since I had no clue where he'd gone, I went to ask for a friend's help to find him. Then I went home, and two of Mizuki's goons ambushed me...as it turns out, they told me Naruto was to be taken here. So I went to Sasuke-kun's father for help. And now, here we are."
"Mizuki..." Ino said the name with distaste.
"That's the guy who was pretending to be a Kyuushingai, wasn't it? I'd heard that he'd broken out of jail," Sai remarked.
"Yes, it was all over the evening news," Shino confirmed.
"Damn, what a troublesome situation," sighed Shikamaru.
"Naruto sure knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he?" Suigetsu commented. "After that fight at Iwa City..."
"But at least we managed to survive that experience, thanks to him," Jugo pointed out. "If he's really in trouble, I'll do my part to at least return the favor."
"Yeah, yeah, I got you," Suigetsu shrugged.
"But, guys, if Mizuki's involved in this, then it's not like we're going up against ordinary people," Kiba spoke up. "While I was on my way here, I saw a bunch of guys on motorbikes driving around different streets and causing problems...I recognized some of them from Mizuki's fake-Kyuushingai period. These guys don't play nice."
"And now we're about to go right into their lair..." Choji gulped nervously. "Oi, Sasuke, at least tell us you have a plan, right?"
"Of course I have a plan," Sasuke scoffed. "Listen. Do all of you have cell-phones?"
The others' heads nodded in the affirmative.
"Good. We should all exchange numbers right now," said Sasuke. "That way, we can keep in touch with each other."
"What exactly do you have in mind for us to do?" Sai wondered aloud, even as they all took out their cell-phones and began to input their numbers into one another's phones.
Sasuke glanced down at the warehouses below their position. "Okay...there are five warehouses immediately below us, plus a few more stretching further out along the waterfront, here," he said. "We should work in groups, each group taking one warehouse and checking it thoroughly in case Naruto or the Hyuga kid might be inside. Then we free them and get them up here as fast as we can—and whatever happens, we have to stay out of sight as much as possible."
"That means my motorcycle won't be of much use here," and Tenten glanced at her vehicle.
"Sasuke-kun and I already discussed the plan while we were waiting for you to arrive," said Kushina. "Since I'm injured, I might be a liability down there, so I'll stay here with the vehicle and the driver and act as a relay point—each group sends a text message to my phone, and I'll relay it back to everyone else."
"And since there's ten of us aside from you and your driver...that means we're going to be in pairs...five pairs," Tenten noted.
"Makes sense," said Shikamaru. "Smaller group numbers means faster movement and lower chances of being seen. And with your plan layout, we should be able to cover the area in fast enough time."
"But be careful," Sasuke warned. "Mizuki and his gang might be out in the town right now, but we don't know how soon they'll come back here—or how many of their goons they still have here. So try not to engage anybody in a fight unless you absolutely can't avoid it."
"You called us specifically, so does that mean you already have the teams planned out?" Shino asked, adjusting his sunglasses.
"I know who I want to go with—Tenten," said Sasuke. "The rest of you, feel free to decide among yourselves."
Suigetsu and Jugo looked at each other. "Well, Suigetsu?" asked Jugo.
"It's fine by me," Suigetsu nodded.
"Ino-san, shall we work together?" Sai asked.
"Okay!" Ino nodded.
"I'll go with Shikamaru," Choji announced. "He'll be the brains, and I'll be the brawn!"
"Sigh...if you insist," Shikamaru shrugged.
"I guess that just leaves us, huh?" Kiba chuckled as he turned to Shino.
"Let's work well together, then," Shino nodded.
"Then it's settled," said Sasuke. "Everyone, pick a warehouse and go straight there first. Whether you find anything or not, message Kushina-san so she can let the rest of us know."
"Do your best, everybody. And...thank you once again for coming out like this," said Kushina.
"Hey, all you had to say was that Naruto needed help, and I'd jump right on board!" Ino said cheerfully. "I owe him a bundle, after all!"
"And I can't afford to have him die before I can take my revenge on him," said Suigetsu—and he got elbowed in the ribs by Jugo to quiet him.
"Good. Then let's get going, everyone!" Sasuke declared.
OoOoO
Hiding amid the nearby trees, Yugito watched as the teenagers hurried off in their allotted pairs toward the warehouses. "Naruto's friends, huh...they've got guts, I'll give them that," she whispered. "Still...guts alone won't win against people like Mizuki...especially now that Akatsuki's involved. Don't worry, kids...you're about to have Matatabi the Cat watching your backs..."
OoOoO
Neji steered his Porsche Boxter up the hill toward the Hyuga mansion, the grim-faced Hiashi in the front seat next to him, and a moment later the car was guided into its personal garage. Exiting the vehicle, the two went for the mansion's front door, where Hiashi rang the doorbell. Ding-dong!A moment later the door opened...and there stood Rock Lee, grinning widely. "Who...?" Hiashi started.
"Lee, what are you doing here?" Neji inquired.
"Hinata-san let me in," Lee said casually. "I had a delivery to make here, so I came straight up and she let me in."
"Delivery?" Hiashi frowned.
In reply, Lee snapped his fingers—and from behind one of the nearby hallway columns Hinata appeared, holding a short, gray-eyed, dark-haired girl by the hand. "Father! Neji!" the younger girl exclaimed, running toward them.
"Hanabi?" Hiashi stared at the approaching child—and then, forgetting himself, he stooped down and caught her in a tight embrace. "Oh, thank heavens! Are you all right, Hanabi? Did those people hurt you?"
"I'm fine, Father," Hanabi answered. "Um...I kinda need to breathe..."
"Breathe later. Hug now." Hiashi would not be contradicted.
Neji, for his part, reached down and tousled Hanabi's hair. "Welcome home, Hanabi," he said quietly.
Hinata, meantime, walked up to Lee and bowed her head. "Thank you again for bringing Hanabi home, Lee-kun," she said. "And for protecting her where you were."
"Ah, it was my honor, Hinata-san!" Lee chuckled. "After all, youthful vigor such as what your sister has must be nurtured, yes?"
"You should've seen it!" Hanabi began in earnest. "I came to a store, and then the store was being robbed, but then Lee-nii-san came out of nowhere and beat up the robbers, and then one of them had a gun, but I threw an apple at his head, and then Lee-nii-san beat him up some more, and..."
"What? A store robbery? And you were in the midst of it?" Hiashi tightly squeezed his daughter closer to him. "Oh, thank heavens you weren't hurt then either!"
"Ack...Father...air..." Hanabi wheezed.
"Eh, Hanabi, what about Naruto-kun?" Neji asked suddenly.
"Um..." Hanabi's expression suddenly became apprehensive. "He...told me to run and leave him..."
"Hmm." Now Hiashi let go of Hanabi and stood up. "That means he may very well be in danger. Hanabi, do you remember where they were holding you?"
"Yes, Father," Hanabi nodded. "It was at a warehouse, near the harbor."
"The warehouse district on the south side of town," Neji supplied.
"Um...shouldn't we do something? At least to help Naruto-kun," said Hinata.
"Hmm, yes...he WAS willing to let them take him in order to ensure Hanabi-chan's safety," Lee reasoned. "That kind of unselfish gesture cannot be overlooked."
"Uncle." Neji looked at Hiashi.
The Hyuga patriarch closed his eyes as if in contemplation. Then he opened them and nodded. "Very well. Hinata, stay here with Hanabi and keep her safe. Neji, Lee-kun, you two come with me. Everyone clear?"
"Hai!" the other four nodded.
OoOoO
END CHAPTER 54
00000
NEON MAJESTIC: So…Sasuke and the gang, with Kushina as mission control and Yugito as a hidden ally, prepare to storm Mizuki's base and save Naruto! More action comes up next chapter!
EDIT: Moved the beginning section of Chapter 55 to the end of this chapter, with Hanabi having been returned safe.
