He couldn't stand that sound
The visual carnage was one thing. He could handle that now. Watching the animalistic dissection from so close seemed almost tranquil. As if there was beauty in the survival based roots behind it all.
But the crunch... That sickening snap. It made him shiver from head to toe.
Naruto had misunderstood the whole point of their little retrieval mission. Kiba had planned to bring Shino's corpse back, yes. The slain boy needed to return home, to his people, his pack. But not for burial.
Far from it.
He'd explained, wound in hand as he put pressure to his lacerated cheek, that they would carry back what remained to the house and there, the pack would gain life from his demise. A meal made from what was left would nourish those he loved. His meat would feed the "wildlife" strengthen the sad and he supposed in some twisted way that is was beautiful and symbolic...
Or perhaps just fucking savage.
Wolves, birds, reptiles, and most breeds of rodents were known to scarf down on the less fortunate so that they may live on. Kiba also sought to keep to instinct as well as tradition.
"You'll do the same to me when I kick the bucket. So help me god my pack won't starve when there's perfectly good meat hanging around. Respect your brother, and respect yourself." The humanity in his eyes flickered away into black pupils and red slits as sucked marrow from bone. "Eat like the predator you are."
They all followed suit.
xXx
The damp slurp of his clotting blood only made him want to vomit. The image of Orochimaru burrowing his way from the wreckage of his chest cavity. Each pop and crack of fragile rib had left him without an appetite to put it lightly. And the realization that Sasuke too had been captured by the madman was almost too much to process.
He took an occasional glance up from his feet. The meal was solemn, no one made eye contact with one another but no one seemed particularly ashamed of their actions either. He'd sat at the table but refused to partake. Kiba begrudgingly complied as to be fair he had already had his fair share of Shino... he agreed to leave Naruto be if he only agreed to not yet tell the others what they'd seen. The horrible truth that they'd learned.
That Orochimaru wasn't confiding himself just to the lab anymore, he'd ventured above ground.
Hinata caught his eye as she bit into a finger and she almost felt shame as Naruto reverted his gaze back to the ground to keep from looking at her.
xXx
Naruto found himself in the backyard after Kiba had mercifully dismissed him from the "meal." The guilt sat so heavily on his stomach that he'd spent the last hour trying to throw up. But no matter how far his fingers ventured down his own throat, it wasn't enough for him to produce something remotely close to Shino's forgiveness.
So instead, he suffered in silence.
He took the temporary alone time to face the nights sky. It was always foggy and dull in his hometown, years of manufacturing and increased population had made the night sky impossible to appreciate amidst the city smog.
But this, this was almost surreal.
Each star shined a certain way, like each one was trying to outdo their neighbor for Naruto's attention. Each cluster competing with the next for their plot of the sky.
"Do you want to talk about it?" A soft voice asked.
He'd heard her come, but he was still fairly surprised to see Hinata checking on him. Naruto simply shrugged as he leaned his head against a barren tree with a "thunk."
"... You realize you probably shouldn't ignore me right? What if I'm dangerous and unpredictable still?" She jested.
"Well then I guess I'll have to deal with the consequences." He groaned.
Hinata reflected on the pathetic state he was in... she'd never known Naruto to be the weak one between them. Many things had tested her humanity lately, and she seemed to be failing, but this ignited something primal within her. A longing to protect. She wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his back so close she could feel his tense breath turn lax in her hold.
"I know I haven't been myself lately but you know I'm here for you, right?" She said, more than questioned.
"Of course." He said. But that hadn't been what was bothering him, not really anyway.
"You saw him, right?" That question had been plaguing him for hours. That raven feathered beast has to have been Sasuke.
'I know it was.'
"Naruto." Hinata took a moment to gather her words. What she was going to say was harsh, but true.
"What I saw was a winged monster. But I can't really say if it was Sasuke or not, I'm sorry-"
"It's him!" They'd see, they'd all see eventually. He made to shrug her off but her grip was much firmer than he bargained for. So instead he leaned his head against the tree with her arms around him.
"But I hope I'm wrong... Why are you so fucking strong?" He questioned.
"Just shut up and let me comfort you." Hinata purred into his back and Naruto couldn't really deny that it made him feel a tad bit better.
Even though deep down he knew her good mood was caused, in part, by a full stomach. The beast within her had been sated, so now her humanity could show.
"What are we doing here Hinata?" He asked.
"Well right now we're sitting here while I try and make up for being a moody twit the last few days."
Naruto chuckled at the notion but his smile fell almost as quickly as it came.
"No I mean, what are we doing here, with them." He nodded at the house. "I mean do we even belong here? Maybe we should just leave-"
"And do what? Turn our backs on those who so readily accepted us?" Hinata's voice was unexpectedly calm like the kind soul he used to know.
"Naruto you grow fox ears, fangs... and I... I have claws, and a tail, a temper, and this... appetite." Her voice was sullen at the mention of her new taste for flesh. "I'm only even bearable because we just got rid of what remained of a boy. Someone we know... Knew. we can't just leave them Naruto."
"Yeah. I guess you're right, huh." He wearily accepted.
"So can we give it a rest? We should do everything we can to repay them for what they've done for us."
"Agreed... but you just gotta promise me one thing."
"What's that?"
"Well If this is to be our new family. Our new home... well we gotta bring Sasuke back to it. He's out there. With that snake. And we just have to bring him home."
"Naruto I don't think-"
"I don't need an answer now Hinata. I just need you to trust me."
Naruto stood this time without her resistance, walking back into the house to pass out promptly on the nearest couch.
xXx
"Wakey wakey pup."
Naruto woke to the not so subtle smacking of his face and a grinning Kiba.
"I'm up, I'm up!" Naruto groaned as he swatted the offending hand away.
"Pretty sure we gave you guys a bed, yeah."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Naruto sat up and let out a bone crackling yawn as he scratched at his bed head. "Wha time is it?" He yawned.
"Time for your lazy ass to get a move on. We got things to do. "
"We? As in me and you? I don't know man-"
"I said we'd do some training first, and we did that didn't we?... Come on let's go."
'Trained or almost died?' Naruto thought.
Kiba got up to leave, and Naruto slid on his chucks reluctantly. Still dressed in his garb of the night prior.
"What time is it?"
"Early."
Naruto hid his face behind his hands as the front door open and sunlight flooded the doorway. A sharp groan escaping his lips. Kiba didn't seem to thrilled to be out and about before evening either but he trudged along to the driveway and beeped the locks of his Nissan.
"Plans changed. It's me and you. Let's move."
"Where?"
"You ask a lot of questions kid-"
"And you dodge a Hell of a lot. Where?" Naruto interjected.
"... The university." Kiba climbed in and immediately got to fiddling with the mess of cd's on the dashboard. "Hard? Or Harder Rock?" He asked uninterestingly, picking a cd before Naruto could even answer.
"Hard." He said definitively, skipping to to his favorite Rob Zombie song.
"I thought you were taking Shikamaru?" Naruto asked/shouted over the rising blare of "living Dead Girl"
"We're meeting Lee, Hinata and Ino there. This seems more like a job of force than tact." Kiba Shouted back. He pulled out of the driveway as he cranked the music until the car began to rattle and those were the last words said for the remainder of the trip.
xXx
"Took you long enough." Ino tsked at Kiba as he walked through the door of the university's library.
"Me?" Kiba looked pho to his left and right right. "ME?! You give directions like you can only fucking read brail!"
"Can we... not?" Naruto piped in. The reunion was already questionable considering Lee trembled in Hinata's prescience. Ino's star like appearance all but demanded attention, and Kiba's voice tended to put a megaphone to shame.
And then there was Hinata, quiet and illusive as always. She, staring at the campus's beautiful landscape, a particularly worn looking Sakura tree barren of cherry blossoms standing tall amongst many spruced saplings.
"Um, hey." Naruto said.
Hinata jumped at his words but made no move to face him. The voice was automatically familiar and his scent even more so.
"You ok-"
"Shame to see more dead Sakura's." She reached for a wilting petal, her hand flat against the glass as she longed to catch it before it fell.
Naruto wasn't naive enough to believe she just meant the trees.
"Hinata..." Natruto started. Solemn at best.
"Let's get a move on pups. People to see, things to do." Kiba barked before any more side bar conversations could be held.
"Where exactly?" Lee questioned. He had since moved to Kiba's side and instantly felt much safer. Hinata of course had thought about apologizing but the young speedster had been doing a fantastic job at keeping his distance.
"Ino found a seemingly credible source here." Kiba continued. "Somethin about a shady investigator character talking to students."
"Some cop named Hatake? Apparently he's some detective going from campus to campus asking heaps of questions about missing kids." Ino further explained.
"Missing kids?..." Naruto asked, a bit absent.
"Yeah, ya know." Ino waved booth hands about sarcastically at the collective. "I'm assuming there's not many other serial kidnapping scandals going on right now."
"Yeah... right." Naruto rubbed the base of his neck where his (now over grown hair) met his back. "So then what's the plan?"
"There's not really one yet." Lee piped up. "We're just waiting for him to approach one of us, apparently he's made it to K.U. As of late, so with any hope we'll run into him."
"And the more of us the better!" Ino exclaimed as she motioned to the group. "We'll just have to spread out amongst the campus and hope we can snag the guy."
"But we don't even go to this school?" Naruto questioned.
"Which is whyyy you make double sure to blend in, yeah?" Kiba said with a reassuring nod. "Stick to your social groups."
"I for example see an annoying group of cheerleaders I'd love to join. Bye now!" Ino was gone with a wave.
Naruto watched as she walked away and was suddenly aware why he was there in the first place. He fit a wicket if he really thought about it. They now had an athlete, a bad boy, a book worm, the hot Barbie type and then there was him. Void of his over bearing optimism that he used to have, he was sure he just seemed to blend in like any normal guy his age. Blonde, medium height, medium build.
Unremarkable to those none the wiser.
"Hinata, you'll be here in the library. Lee will work out at the track. Ino you should find which social clubs are most active here and hover a bit. I'll be finding the school stoners and you bud will do whatever the hell you want, pays dividends to have a uncontrolled variable." Kiba finished as he patted Naruto on the back.
"What do we do if we find him?" Hinata asked, less than actually interested.
"You find out if he knows more about this Orochimaru creep than we do. You don't give to much away, and you don't lead him back to us. You let me know as soon as any of you find anything."
"Annnd how do I do that? Didn't exactly bring my phone into a prison cell Kiba." Naruto genuinely pondered as he watched the remainder of his group walk off to there respective positions.
"Hah! Just give me a whistle, pup. I'll come runnin."
xXx
Where to go, what to do. Naruto thought as he snatched up the nearest biology book and and a couple other general course books before quickly exiting the building.
'The cafeteria? No, no that won't due, I don't have any money and it'll look beyond weird just sitting in there not eating.'
One of the lecture buildings caught his attention next.
'Hmm, well I suppose not, it's the middle of the semester. Teachers would recognize a new face.'
He walked for about an hour until he found himself back where he started, adjacent to it, a nice seating area with a slow flowing fountain. Naruto found himself in the schools garden. Just next to the library it was a peaceful enough place to recon as he sat under the Sakura tree Hinata had been eyeing. The occasional petal fell onto the pages of the book he was pretending to flip through and he couldn't help but smile at the familiar color. It reminded him so of the pink locks head played with on countless occasions.
His hand twinged in guilt a bit as he brushed one away onto the ground.
"She deserved better." He thought out loud.
"Whom I might ask?"
Naruto jumped at the sudden intrusion. He turned to his right to see a man quite bundled up for the chilled autumn. A thick grey pea coat and a well placed scarf covered up most of his face. The twinkle of a curious eye could be seen beneath the vail of his unnaturally silver hair.
Naruto deduced that he couldn't be more obviously snooping around campus unless he wore an accompanying sign that said "look at me" with his outfit.
"A, uh. Friend of mine, Mr?"
'No need to be to eager. This is obviously my guy, but I don't know anyone who goes out of their way to talk to some old dude with they're whole body covered up like that.'
"Hatake. Kakashi Hatake. Sorry to interrupt like that I just noticed that you're um." He paused to take a quick look around the empty courtyard. "All by yourself."
"Yeah and I'd like to keep it that way Mr. Hatake, so if you don't mind?" Naruto made a faux take at reading his book again when a hand found on his shoulder.
"Please son, I'm here to help." He removed his hand to pull a badge from his jacket pocket. "Konoha Police Department. I work in missing persons. If your friend is missing then I might be able to help."
"You think I haven't talked to the cops already?"
"What I think is that maybe some of the cops around here haven't been doing their do diligence." Kakashi moved closer as he said this. A hushed tone as he outed his police brothers and sisters in the area. "I think something has to be done. So please, if you know something. Your help could save more lives than even just your friend."
Naruto kept up his stoic facade and gave him a questioning glare.
"Just tell me." Kakashi reaches into his front pocket and pulled out a small palm sized photo. "Do you know this man?"
The picture of the man in question showed a thick pair of circular frames. White hair pulled into a ponytail, and the lingering stare of a mad looking young man.
Damn right he knew him, and he'd kill him himself when he got his claws on him.
"...No. never seen him. Who is he?"
"Kabuto, Yakushi." He replied, tucking the picture back into his pocket. "He's a physcho with a pulled medicine license, tried pulling some ethically challenged stunts a few years back on an orphan he adopted."
"Ethically challenged?... You don't have to sugarcoat things gramps."
Kakashi was caught up in thought when Naruto stopped his explanation.
"Look kid, I don't want to go spreading ghost stories alright?" All you need to know is that he seriously messed these kids up in the head based on some bullshit science. Targeting vulnerable, isolated, young adults. Now does that sound like your friend?"
Of course it did, but Naruto determined that he didn't need to know that. He took a visible opportunity at miss direction instead as Kakashi reached inside his overly large coat, Naruto could see his service pistol and in return he let out a nice low whistle of appreciation.
"Nice piece officer, must need it with all these whackos running around." Naruto said as he eyed the gun.
'Here's to hoping Kiba wasn't bullshitting me.'
"What?" Kakashi halted the pull of one of his information cards to look down at his gun. "Yeah. I guess I do kid." He continued to hand him his business card which Naruto reluctantly took. "You sure you don't want to come down and talk about a few-"
"Heyyy Buddy!" Kiba came on cue from behind Kakashi with a quickness, draping one of his arm over Naruto's shoulder. The tell tale smell of marijuana thick about him. "We're going to be late for Bio if you're just out here chit chattin."
Naruto took a quick glance at the first book on his pile of random library literature.
"Oh shit, Biology , I almost forgot." Naruto turned to Kakashi. "I uh, got your number officer. I'll give you a call if I got anything worth sharing." He made a quick wave and took off with Kiba before the older man could question him further.
"You be sure to kid." He yelled after them but a wave over the shoulder was all he got in response.
"So, what'd we learn?" Kiba asked as they rounded the nearest corner.
"That the good doctor might not be working alone."
xXx
"We got a name, might be working for Orochimaru." Naruto said as they approached their group back in the library. "Kabuto, Yakushi." The group for the most part was unfamiliar with the name, but something about that name was visibly gnawing at Lee. He was already glistening from what Naruto could assume was a jog around the athletic field, but now he was starting to pale.
"Round glasses, unusually white hair?" He asked and Naruto nodded.
"A crude smirk, no smile?" He continued.
"Yes. Do you know him, Lee?" Naruto asked. He'd had the full attention of the group now as he began to pace in a tight circle.
"That man would come to my orphanage once a month, like for house calls." He was biting persistently at his nails at this point. "The kids he'd see. It was never the ones with the skinned knees, or the high fever... it was the quiet ones. the loners." Lee took a seat in the nearest chair and did his best to keep still lest he fidget out of his skin.
"I remember having a gash on my head from a mean pitch to the head on the play ground." He pointed to the very much faded mark on his left eye. His attention focused on Naruto and Hinata as they'd been the only ones not to have noticed it by now. "Crying like the little kid I was, he slammed the door in my face. Said I was "too chatty, too happy..." I never saw any of his patients again. Back then you just dismiss it. But now? I'm not so sure. I haven't thought about that place since I got adopted."
"Which orphanage Lee?" Ino asked, pulling up a chair to the nearest computer.
"Sacred Hands." Lee looked out the window into the open courtyard. "It's a few miles down the road actually.
xXx
A/N: life happens fast. Lol which is to say, I'm sorry for taking forever with an update. It's also obvious to me that my narrative has changed drastically. So I've been going through and changing things here and there to fit a better universal tone.