KG: I'm here. You're here. It's here. Let's go.
Music of the Month: Obscura by Askii.
Quote: "Don't get confident at the top of the food chain. One day you might find that you're near the bottom before you realize it."
Naruto tried to speak, but no words came out. He opened and closed his mouth so many times he wondered if he looked like a gaping fish. For once in his life, the young genin was at a complete loss on what to do or say. What was he supposed to tell Kurenai? What…could he say? Hey, Kurenai-san, sorry I just found two of your genin cell. Yeah, they're both dead. Sorry about that!
The Kyuubi jinchuuriki finally just held his head down. "Nevermind. I'll…I'll tell you later," he said pitifully.
Kurenai stared at Naruto curiously. She didn't miss the looks of horror, shame, and guilt written across his face. She'd seen the look many times in her career as a kunoichi. She saw the eyes of a very tired, and crestfallen shinobi. She saw someone who had seen too much and received too little. She wondered what he had to say, but she could already tell it wasn't anything good.
Though this concerned her, Kurenai didn't push it. She was never the type of person to force an issue that no one wanted to bring up. She'd woken up a bit before Naruto returned home. She made some small talk with Ayame about the world. She didn't know much. The last thing Kurenai remembered was fighting about five or six Oto-Suna shinobi in the streets. Then, a rock the likes of which she had never seen crashed into the earth. The ground shook like it was being torn to pieces. The pain and injuries she endured had knocked her out. She couldn't even say she woke up because her vision was blurry. She felt like she was constantly on the line between life and death for over a week. When she fully became aware of herself, she was in Naruto's apartment under warm blankets.
Kurenai asked about the Oto-Suna Invasion of Konoha, but Ayame merely shook her head. She opened the windows and told Kurenai that even if the invasion force won, there wouldn't be much for them to gain from their victory.
The Genjutsu Mistress would not forget the shock on her face when she stared into the vast…nothingness of her village. Skies filled with putrid greenish-yellow dust clouds, sounds of drumming thunder, flashes of purple lightning, and tornadoes swirling angrily in the distance, she saw them all. Kurenai questioned if this was actually the end of the world or not.
She asked Ayame question after question, but each only seemed to stress out the ramen waitress. The look on the poor young girl's face. She looked absolutely terrified and psychologically scarred. The jonin quickly swapped topics. She asked Ayame if she had rescued her, but the girl said that she hadn't. Kurenai was in Naruto's bed long before Ayame got there. He was the one who had rescued her and nursed her back to health.
To say Kurenai was stunned was an understatement. Forgive her previous assumptions, but she didn't expect such a thing from what the academy deemed a failure. Hell, even his win against Kiba astounded her. His win against Neji, well she basically just threw out everything she thought she knew about Uzumaki Naruto. She now saw what attracted Hinata to him. He might not be a genius by society's definition, but not many people could think and plan the way he did.
Kurenai also noticed that her old clothes, covered in blood, were near a dirty clothes pile. Ayame claimed that Naruto found her before the ramen waitress. If that was the case then Kurenai was going to close her eyes and sigh away the embarrassment. She had a feeling she knew where her thoughts were going. If Naruto had done what she thought he did, then she'd let it go. Oh sure, the embarrassment was more than enough to make her want to punch him until his mind erased any memories from his head, but she was more sensible than that. She knew when her life had been saved. She would be grateful for that. She'd try not to hold it against him. Though she did wonder how many days he had to "care" for her before Ayame arrived. She probably wouldn't ask.
Anyway, she thought of her team. She hoped they were alright. While Kurenai didn't believe in playing favorites, she did admit that she felt closer to Hinata than to Kiba and Shino. Asuma always liked to joke that Hinata's demureness brought out Kurenai's maternal instincts. The jonin played it off, but she wondered if he was right. Kurenai hoped she would get better soon, then she could be out there with Naruto. She would look for others and restore whatever order there was to this cursed world.
The door opened which interrupted the silence in the room. Ayame stepped through. "Naruto-kun, you're awake! Thank god!" she said before she threw her arms over his neck.
"Ayame-neechan, that hurts!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Embarrassed, Ayame released him. "S-Sorry. Your bag was kind of heavy, but I moved it to the living room. How are you feeling? You passed out right in front of the door!" she replied.
Naruto sighed. "Let me go wash up and get some food first. I-I'll go over everything else later," he said as he stood to his feet. He wobbled for a moment, but he found his footing and left.
Ayame and Kurenai glanced at each other.
"Did I interrupt something?" the former asked.
"I honestly don't know," the latter replied.
The blond opened the door to his bathroom and gave himself a wash. Truth be told, he didn't remember the bath that much. Lukewarm water, a bar of soap, and a brush of the teeth, that was all he got until he sat at the table. His brunette friend entered the living room and placed a bento in front of him with some chips and juice. Yet, he might as well have not even seen it. All he could see was Kiba's corpse and Hinata's head, both moaning from the afterlife, cursing him for his weakness.
"Naruto, what's wrong? Obviously something's bothering you," Ayame said. The light of a candle was all that kept them light as they sat together.
Naruto shivered. "Nothing wrong, Ayame-neechan," he said slowly, almost as if to make himself believe what he was saying.
"Don't lie to me, Naruto. I've known you most of your life. I know when something's bothering you. Tell me," the ramen waitress insisted.
"I said it's nothing. I'm fine, dattebayo," he returned.
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"Naruto-kun,"
"I SAID I'M FINE DAMMIT!" Naruto screamed as he slammed his fist on the table.
He widened his eyes. Slowly, he looked up and he dreaded the shock, hurt, and pain on his friend's face. Naruto's face contorted in sorrow. He slumped in his chair. His head bashed on his table. He hoped the light of the candle was dim enough to hide his face. "How do I tell her, Ayame-neechan?" Naruto asked, his voice laden with unbearable anguish and frustration.
Ayame's gaze softened when she heard the distress in Naruto's voice. His words became uneven and croaked. His sobs reached her ears. "How do I tell Kurenai-san that I saw two members of her team dead?!" Naruto asked.
The brunette widened her eyes and her hands covered her mouth. W-What? Naruto found two members of that jonin's team? She quickly understood what unnerved him so much. Her shock over his outburst quickly faded away while she watched him clench his fists.
"Kiba and Akamaru are gone! Their nothing but bones now back at the stadium. Hinata, she…she's…," Naruto spoke of Hinata's fate and Ayame sat utterly stunned. No, how could such a fate befall such a sweet little girl like that?
First, the village. Then, her father. Now, Naruto's friends. Everything was coming down around them. The grief and sorrow threatened to overwhelm them as the unforgiving wind blasted outside.
Yet, both stiffened when they heard violent coughing…from around the corner. They turned and they noticed Kurenai wheezing in pain as she clenched her chest. She coughed so hard blood expelled from her mouth. Naruto and Ayame quickly moved to help her. Whether she knew it or not, Kurenai dove into Naruto's chest and wailed, her coughs spasming her pain in hot bursts.
Kurenai felt her mind break in two pieces. She heard the scream from Naruto and got up to investigate. She just made it around the corner when she heard Naruto speak.
"Hinata, she…she's dead. She was…beheaded and an earthquake dragged her and the Shinobi District into the ground!"
The jonin felt a deep pain in her chest. Like she had been stabbed with a hot kunai, she dropped to the ground and coughed. Her croaks were so hard that she thought her heart would burst from her chest. Tears fell down her face. Images she wished not to see of her student's body rampaged through her mind like a moving movie screen. Hinata, Kiba, they were both dead! They…they both…
Kurenai gripped Naruto's T-shirt as she cried. She screamed and screamed, but the winds blotted out her voice. She had failed them. Why was she still alive if she couldn't even protect her own students?! What the fuck was even going on in this forsaken world anymore?!
The jonin felt the bile rise in her mouth. It mixed with the blood and violently ruptured over Naruto's clothes. She gripped him hard. Her jonin strength was not to be underestimated. They were gone. They were gone! Why were they gone?!
"Hehehehehehe, t-that's it! I'm in Hell! We're all in Hell!" Kurenai laughed to herself before her world became dark. She fell in Naruto's lap and passed out, the stress of her sickness and the pain too much for her recovering body.
The next time Kurenai woke up, it was morning. She slowly opened her eyes. She turned her head to her right and noticed Naruto sleeping on the side of the bed. She frowned for a moment until she looked up at the ceiling. Hinata, Kiba, two of her students were dead. Plus, the news of what befell the former was unlike any she'd ever been given.
The jonin thought of her students. Hinata always had confidence issues due to the strict nature of her family. She wasn't the most talented person out there, but she had her own strengths and resolve. Kurenai always wanted to try and give Hinata that reason to strive to do better. It was by now she understood that the reason was the boy sleeping at the foot of her bed.
Then, there was Kiba. Oh, yes, there was Kiba. The headstrong, brash, sometimes inconsiderate "alpha" of the group. For all his faults, Kiba was a hard worker. Kurenai admitted it was rather hard to teach him, Hinata, and Shino since the three were so attuned to their families style. None of them were adept at genjutsu either. Still, there were other things she tried to teach them. Kiba took to the fighting well. Of course, she disapproved of his trash talk, especially to a comrade like Naruto, but his fighting genius spoke for itself. Had he…he lived to his adult years, he would have become one of the most feared taijutsu shinobi in the world.
She didn't hear any news on Shino, but she was out of hope at the moment. It probably wouldn't be long before his body turned up somewhere too. Kurenai wasn't even sure she could stomach the thought. Just thinking about Hinata and Kiba was enough.
Kurenai violently coughed. She placed her hand over her mouth while her fit worsened. The pain in her chest was great, greater than any pain she'd ever felt. When she looked down at her palm, she saw how stained with blood it got. Would this be the same blood on her hands if she held Kiba and Hinata in her arms as they passed away?
A hand shook Kurenai from her thoughts. She turned and noticed the Kyuubi jinchuuriki was awake. He grabbed a wet rag and cleaned her hands. He was silent as he worked and she was as well. The jonin had to admit that something changed about the blond. Last night, his eyes were filled with dread and weariness. Now, he was filled with a deep, burning inner fire that she'd not seen in many people. Also, she wasn't sure why but she could see something swirling around him. No, perhaps see was the wrong term. She could feel it deep within her. Something in his body was unnatural, yet it exuded a mysterious strength all the same.
"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked.
He touched her forehead. Kurenai stared at her sheets.
"Was that what you were going to tell me last night? That Hinata and Kiba were dead?" she asked.
Without speaking, Naruto nodded. He didn't trust his voice to not crack if he did otherwise. "I see," the jonin said.
The blond genin stood up and walked out of the room. Later, Ayame returned with him. The ramen waitress sighed. "Well, she's got a fever again, but I think the stress got to her. We don't have a doctor and the Konoha Hospital's been torn down. I think we can only pray that she doesn't have any internal bleeding," Ayame said.
Naruto slowly nodded. "Alright. Later in the week, I'll make a trip to the hospital. There should be something over there since over-the-counter stuff isn't gonna cut it. Ayame-neechan, give Kurenai-san plenty of fluids. She'll need more rest. I'll be outside," the blond said as he turned around.
Kurenai groaned. "I'll be fine. I've rested enough!" the jonin exclaimed.
"Kurenai-san, Naruto-kun's right! You can't get up yet! The fact that you even got up yesterday wasn't good," Ayame protested.
Despite the pain, Kurenai leaned up and pulled the covers off. She swung her legs and landed them on the ground. No, she didn't want to rest. She didn't want to go back to sleep. If she did, then those visions of things she didn't want to see would enter her mind.
She wobbled to her feet. She was a jonin. Kurenai had to take charge. She had to be the one to lead. She needed to protect this genin and this civilian. For her young charges who died, she had to be better. She…she had to…
"Kurenai-san, please lay down!" Ayame pleaded.
"I said I'm fine. I know what my body can and can't do!" She panted.
The Genjutsu Mistress panted. Her vision blurred. She stumbled her way to the door. Just before she reached it, she felt the very minuscule amounts of her chakra fade away into nothingness. For an instant, her heart stopped. Her instincts flared. They told her of danger, a great pressure that made her fall to her knees. When she looked up, all she saw was an explosion of green aura surrounding the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's body. That mysterious aura flared like a great firestorm while it sucked away the minimum amount of chakra she was even blessed to have. She tried to speak, but no words came out. When she stared into Naruto's eyes, gone was their blue color. A shade of deep green replaced them. In those eyes she felt small, insignificant, weightless.
"Get in bed, Kurenai-san," Naruto said, his tone neither angry nor harsh. It was merely spoken like it was just another day.
Kurenai shivered. Was it that weird chakra? Was it because she felt delirious? She didn't know why, but his voice sounded like a crashing chorus of thunder. Whatever strength she had was used to barely keep her conscious. How could she have known that the young boy's chakra slowly engulfed her own eyes, filling her body, and making her quiver. The words that came from her mouth formed before she could even properly register them.
"Yes, Naruto-sama," she uttered.
The room remained quiet for a moment.
Ayame stared at Kurenai in shock and so did Naruto. Both failed to properly understand the words that came out of her mouth. Unfortunately, they couldn't think on them because Kurenai's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out. She fell on top of their futon. The ramen waitress moved. She touched the jonin's cheeks. The brunette breathed a sigh.
"She must have been more delirious than we thought. Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I'll get her into bed," Ayame said.
"R-Right. Just give me an update when I get back," the blond said. Ayame nodded.
With that done, he closed the door behind him, grabbed his things and walked outside. "What the hell was that?" Naruto thought as he jumped on the railing. The dusty winds blew in his face before he dashed off.
Naruto ran to a corner of the village he knew was deserted. Kurenai's odd behavior aside, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had one goal for today. Hell, a goal for the rest of the week. Find out what the hell this damn chakra was good for.
That was two times Naruto almost lost his life. He didn't know how he got home both those times. Granted, the one with Ayame he felt he'd done pretty well, but yesterday was the worst he'd ever felt. Fear stopped him from acting out against those things back in the Shinobi District. He felt powerless when all those bugs nearly overwhelmed him. If this was the case, then why was he even alive? Why did he even save Kurenai and Ayame? If he couldn't protect them, then they'd all be dead anyway. If he kept this up, maybe he wouldn't be returning home at some point.
"I gotta figure out how this stuff works!" Naruto thought.
Hours. Many frustrating hours passed by for Naruto as he tried to make the green chakra within him work. Yet, the first day he went to bed with nothing but frustration. That said, he quickly cataloged what went wrong. So the chakra, for whatever reason, wasn't used for making jutsu or for climbing onto surfaces. He'd tried the Kage Bunshin many times. Like…a lot of times. A LOT of times!
He even tried the summoning technique, but that provided nothing as well. This led him to believe that whatever this chakra was, it wasn't useful for combat.
"Then what the hell is it used for?!" Naruto grumbled to himself as he went to sleep.
The second day was when Naruto decided to try something else. Instead of using the green chakra to fuel its own power, he decided to try using it to fuel the powers he already had. Now that, that was where the interesting stuff happened. The green chakra was indeed' chakra, but it was a different type of chakra. It was like…dammit, there was some sciency term for it that the blond couldn't place. Well fuck it, for lack of a better term it…was an intensifier of sorts.
Since jutsu didn't work, for whatever reason, Naruto decided to channel the green chakra directly into the reaches of his body. He'd seen Lee and many other wielders of taijutsu do this. Yeah, it was like normal chakra, it could enhance natural abilities, but this was even greater than what normal chakra could do.
When the blond threw a kunai it sailed for miles. When it impacted a building, it brought that building to its knees. He could see further than the Great Walls of Konoha. He could run as fast and as far as he thought possible. He could lift and grab things heavier than he could without the chakra. It enhanced all of his natural abilities. That had to be it.
Yet, there was a problem. This green chakra, the backlash was immense. When he had released himself from its effects, he nearly passed out. His chest burned. His arms and legs ached. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and his eyesight blurred for about an hour. The backlash was just as great, if not greater, then when he first used the Kyuubi's chakra.
All he knew was that, despite his joy at having something he could use to fight, he couldn't fully rely on it. It was rather wild untamed. Each time he used it, he felt something primal, beastial, hungry, powerful seeping into the very edges of his mind. It only ever spoke one word. Anything else was a large, heavy, primordial roar just like the Kyuubi's.
Dominate.
That word Naruto remembered so clearly when he rested. It didn't sound like some pass of thunder. No, it sounded like a pass of wind, a common sound, the type of voice you'd associate with someone unimportant. Yet, it was always there, always waiting, always watching, always tempting.
For the next five days, Naruto worked with this green chakra. If nothing else, he prided himself on his work ethic. When he wanted to train, he'd fucking train until his arms ached and his legs fell off. Yet, no matter how much he trained, he couldn't get rid of the backlash. In fact, the longer he used it, the longer it got.
Unfortunately, it rained for one entire day so Naruto was stuck inside. Kurenai stopped bleeding, but Ayame continued to give the woman treatment. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki oversaw some of that, but he mostly spent his time in the living room. This was because he'd been using the green chakra for something else.
Naruto meditated. Yeah, it doesn't sound right. Nevertheless, exercised his mind with the intensifying qualities of his new chakra. Naruto saw memories of all the things he'd experienced. Some he'd like to forget. Others he wished he hadn't forgotten. With the green chakra amplifying his brain, and his memories, Naruto remembered all of the lessons he got from the academy.
Every taijutsu lesson, every ninjutsu lesson, and every genjutsu lesson. Everything seemed to intersect with him at different points in his life. The green chakra massaged his brain, stirred up everything he'd ever done, seen, smelled, heard. Some were too far back to recall. Yet, there was one he remembered. How did he even forget it?
The Hokage Residence.
Despite the severe headache, Naruto walked over to his map and wrote on it. Now that he thought about it, the Hokage Mansion had been destroyed by the Stone Faces. However, in case of invasions, there were select bunkers hidden throughout the village. Naruto didn't remember that, but back when Iruka was talking all about those safety procedures he mentioned them.
The Stone Faces, for example, were one of them. Clearly, it wasn't the smartest one, but in order to get people there in a hurry, it was the most optimal. That said, Naruto remembered there was something beneath the Hokage Mansion because he snuck down there once. He'd been caught by the Sandaime and gotten in trouble. When he asked what was down there, Sarutobi said, "A place I hope that'll never need its lights turned on."
Naruto didn't know what that meant, but he'd like to try now. Well, that said, the damn mansion was rubble now. How could he find it?
"Still, I guess it's worth a look," he thought to himself.
The next day, Naruto went out and simply surveyed everything. On the roof of a building, he stared at the Shinobi District through a pair of binoculars. Those creatures continued to patrol the area. He watched them closely, carefully even. Kakashi was always on about that 'know your enemy' stuff. No better time to know his enemy than now he figured.
The massive earthquake fissure from a few days ago eagerly showed its after effects. Buildings had been bashed into each other, the hills of bodies slumped over like slabs of meat for a butcher, and debris littered the ground. Eyeless and tongue-less heads rolled in the wind upon the sands of the walkways.
A rain tarp over his body to protect him from the wind, Naruto wrote down what he observed from these creatures. For lack of a better term, he just decided to call them Bone Crawlers. It wasn't hard to figure out why. They fuckin' crawled, like…everywhere.
Clearly, they didn't eat. Or he assumed they didn't eat because he'd watched them for at least six hours, but they never bit into any of the bodies that littered the ground. They were very adept and nimble. Like a shinobi, they could leap across buildings without sight or sound. How they did this, he didn't know. They also typically traveled in fives. Four usually followed behind one.
They made noises or…clicks from somewhere in their bodies. Unlike last time, none of them screeched, but he assumed that was because there was no threat. Instead, they seemed to rip the heads off the decaying bodies and take them somewhere. As far as he saw, there were only those five. He waited to see if more would come, but they never did.
Yet, as he observed them, Naruto stared at the growing mist hanging over the Shinobi District like a plague of death. His enhanced mind pondered their movements. "Why are they staying over there? Aside from that thing in the Chunin Exam Stadium and those bugs in the fissure, I haven't seen anything else out here. Why don't they just take over the Civilian District?" Naruto thought to himself.
If he treated them like animals, then he guessed it could be territory. They had what they needed so maybe they didn't need to expand anywhere else. Maybe there was something here he wasn't getting. Not once, not one single time, they didn't even consider coming to his part of the village. In fact, dare he say they almost seemed adamant to avoid it.
The thought that there might be something in his part of the village did worry him, but what could he do? He couldn't exactly go out finding it. He'd had enough close calls for the entire week.
Once the day was finished, Naruto moved back inside. He noticed Kurenai was at the table along with Ayame. Both greeted him. Though the Genjutsu Mistress was still moving sluggishly, the fact that she was moving at all made Naruto glad. Kurenai had stopped coughing blood after a while, but it was clear the news of Hinata and Kiba's deaths shook her greatly.
"Welcome home, Naruto-kun. What have you found?" Ayame asked.
"Yo Ayame-neechan, Kurenai-san. Well, I've got a bit of an idea," Naruto said as he took off his dusty clothes. He took a seat in his chair.
"Oh, before that, Naruto-kun, the water jugs and bottles in one of the apartments are starting to get low," Ayame said.
Naruto pulled out a notepad and wrote that down. There were still plenty of places to loot water jugs and bottles from. "Alright, I'll take stock when I can," he replied as he took out his map and laid it on the table.
Ayame passed him a bento and some juice. She gave one to Kurenai as well before she got her own. The three stared at the map while Naruto tapped one of the spots he marked with a pen. "Kurenai-san, you're a jonin so you'll probably know. I know there was something beneath the Hokage Mansion. Jiji told me about it. Can you tell me what it is?" he asked.
Eyes turned to Kurenai. She stared at the spot Naruto marked and sighed. "Normally, I would have said that's confidential, but I don't think anyone's gonna blame me if we don't follow protocol. There's probably no one left alive with the authority to court martial me anyway. Not like there's a place to hold one either," she replied slowly, almost depressingly.
The black-haired woman rolled her neck and leaned forward. "Hokage-sama said it was a series of tunnels that led to deeper places in Konoha. I've never been down there myself, but I know all the major shinobi facilities in the village are linked to that tunnel. The Anbu headquarters, the Forest of Death Tower, and other important facilities are connected to that tunnel. It also leads to some…other places, but I wasn't authorized to know," Kurenai answered.
Naruto and Ayame blinked. There were places that even Jonin didn't know about?
"You're going to investigate?" Kurenai asked.
Naruto swiftly nodded. "Yeah. The apartment's getting weaker by the day. It won't be long before it falls down. I've got to find us another place that won't get melted so easily. That was why I went to the Chunin Exam Stadium where I found Ayame-neechan. I'm the only one who can actually fight right now, so it's only natural that I should go right?" he asked.
Kurenai had to admit she was impressed. Was this really the kid that dove into combat without a plan? He definitely wasn't what Kurenai thought he was. Well, they say adversity builds character.
"And should you encounter any more of these creatures mutating in the village?" Kurenai asked. Both noticed Ayame shiver in dread at the thought.
"I've found a good way to fight them. Besides, I'm only investigating dattebayo. Besides, with the fall of the Stone Faces, I might not even be able to get in through the Hokage Mansion. I sure don't know where the Anbu Headquarters are. To get to the Forest of Death, I'd have to go all the way to the Shinobi District again. I don't know what the earthquake might've done to it," he replied.
"But how are you going to…," Ayame stopped when Naruto smiled at them.
"Don't worry! I'll figure something out. I swore to protect you both and that's what I'm gonna do! I'll find us a safer place!" he said earnestly. So honest was his reply that neither Kurenai nor Ayame knew how to combat it. His words felt reassuring, even in these deplorable circumstances. It felt nice to them both.
"And if the Hokage Mansion doesn't work out?" Kurenai asked.
Naruto tapped another part of the map. "Well, there is the Red Light District. I know a few casinos with underground bars, and entertainment tunnels. The way the world is now, staying somewhere high isn't gonna help us. Hell, sometimes I'm nervous with us staying on this floor," Naruto replied.
Slowly Kurenai nodded. That made sense. Not knowing when some of these buildings would fall and crumble into dust at any given moment.
"Naruto, how do you even know about the Red Light District?" Ayame asked, an odd smile on her face.
The blond rolled his eyes. "Please, Ayame-neechan. You're talking to the guy who didn't have a bedtime growing up. Saw many things, worked for some of the places too," he said.
"You worked in the Red Light District?!" Ayame asked.
The young genin shrugged. "The stipend for orphans wasn't as great as you think it was. That barely covered the cost of my textbooks, shinobi gear, and other stuff. I needed the money for food and other clothes. How do you think I got so good at dodging chunin and jonin? I did rush jobs all the time. No one's gonna suspect a kid of carrying cargo. It wasn't until I became a genin that I made enough money to quit the lifestyle," he explained.
The ramen waitress and jonin glanced at each other again. Neither knew what to say to that as well. Kurenai felt rather bad. She would like to help, but she was still incapacitated. By Naruto's accounts, the environment was rougher. She was already sick. Hell, she couldn't even make it to the door a few days ago. Though her fever had lowered again, she knew it'd be some time before she started throwing kicks and punches.
Plus, there was something that disturbed her. No matter how hard Kurenai tried, she couldn't gather her chakra. She thought that her chakra would have returned by now, but she didn't even feel a percent of what she once had. Hell, the chakra she could feel was the bare minimum that a human needed to keep themself alive! She actually tried to gather her chakra, but that caused a pain so intense she thought she almost died. It felt like her body nearly exploded from the inside out. So great was the pain that she passed out for an entire day.
She wondered if Naruto felt the same thing. Surely, he'd tried to cast jutsu at least once. That said, Kurenai kept it to herself for now. They were already worried about her enough. She didn't need to add to it. Besides, judging from the bags under Naruto's eyes, he was truly trying hard for their sake.
With the planning done, Naruto spent the rest of the day going over what he observed of the Bone Crawlers, trained, and gave Kurenai and Ayame a wireless radio that he found along with headsets. He'd found them along with other things in the Shinobi District. With this, at least he could stay in contact with them.
Naruto also set up a training board for Kurenai. It wasn't much, but at least she could practice her throws. He also took the time to help Ayame practice with kunai and shuriken. They couldn't take any chances. She'd have to be capable just like them. When he was gone, he tasked Kurenai with overseeing the brunette's training. No one argued.
"And Kurenai, when you get better, I've got something I wanna show you," Naruto said.
Her interest piqued, the Jonin quickly nodded.
Night began to settle over the ruins of Konoha. Once again, the three noticed how cold it was. Naruto lit some candles as best he could, but they didn't do much except fill the entire room. Kurenai fell asleep after being given her medicine. Before they fell asleep, Ayame told Naruto that they were all out of the medicine that they'd been using.
The blond sighed. Though they did have more medicine, he thought he'd need to make a trip to the Konoha Hospital eventually. His thoughts drifted him off to sleep.
The next morning, he got dressed. Ayame prepared breakfast with what tools she had. She also packed Naruto his lunch for when he was outside. Kurenai was still asleep and he wanted to get a headstart into the day. Even when he woke up, it was still cold outside. He decided to bundle up.
Naruto switched on his headset. He adjusted the sound and the radio frequency. Alright, the plan was to look into any instance of the Hokage Mansion. Then he'd find water. If he had the time, he'd go to the hospital to pick up whatever he needed. Of course, the more casual looting wasn't out of the window for the day either.
Once he was geared, Naruto pulled up the door. "Be safe, Naruto-kun," Ayame called.
He gave her a thumbs up and then left. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki landed on a nearby rooftop. It was so cold, he could see his breath. When he looked at the sky the putrid green-yellow dusty air was gone. In its place were clouds of dark grey. The wind blew faster. The village was quiet. When had it ever been so quiet except for the freezing wind?
Wasting no time, Naruto touched his earpiece. "Ayame-neechan, do you read?"
"I read you, Naruto-kun!" Ayame said over the line.
"Good, I'll be sure to make regular updates," he said, his voice muffled by the scarf he wore.
The blond dashed towards the ruined buildings of the Hokage Mansion and the Hokage Stone Faces. He remembered being here before. Now, it just seemed like a distant memory. A memory of the dead civilians who hid in the Faces during the invasion. Heh, even that seemed so far away now. It probably happened close to a month ago by now.
As he ran, he thought of his apartment. It wasn't getting better. Actually, one of the spare apartment rooms crashed into the lower floors. Luckily nothing was in there, but that only made him realize that he was running out of time. It wasn't holding as long as he thought it would. It wouldn't be long before he said goodbye to his home as well.
After some time, Naruto landed on the ground before the crushed buildings. Unlike last time, there were no bloodstains. They must have been covered up by the wind and sand or melted away by the acid rain. Either way, it was just as lifeless as the rest of the village.
He stepped over the fallen gates and entered the compound. He looked at the Hokage Stone Faces. A few sculpted sides had been melted from the constant rain and weather. It wouldn't be long before they crumbled to dust as well. He tried not to think about it.
"Alright, time to get to work," Naruto said as he stared at the mountains of debris. He did a quick scan of the area for danger. Once he found none, he raced to another rooftop. He took out his binoculars and scanned the Shinobi District. He was surprised.
"Huh? They're gone? Where did they go?" Naruto thought. The Bone Crawlers weren't anywhere in sight. For nearly the past week he'd been observing them. They always stayed out to late. They were out very early in the morning. Why would they be gone now?
Though worried, Naruto moved back to his task. For the next coming hours, hard work and labor was the young genin's burden. He pushed and pulled debris out of the way. Fallen stone, and splintered wood, shattered remnants of monuments, Naruto moved them all. Beneath his mask, his breath was hot, but his body shivered. It was…very cold outside.
Naruto groaned as he lifted a large piece of wood. There was no longer any strain on his body from his fight with Gaara. He knocked it over with a resounding crash. His goggles blocked the flying dust from getting on him.
"Find anything?" Ayame asked.
Naruto grunted. "Nothing but dust and wandering ants. I've been out here for six hours,"he replied. He leaned against a cracked wall and took a breath.
"Look around the area where the Hokage Mansion fell. It's a tunnel system. It's not capable of moving itself."
Naruto was a little surprised to hear Kurenai on the other line. He followed her instructions and moved to the spot where he thought the Hokage Mansion once stood. It was a little hard to tell. Between all the natural disasters, nothing was where it once stood.
After about two more hours, his efforts were rewarded. "It's here! Or at least, I think it is," Naruto said. It took some digging from all the sand and dirt, but he finally found two metal doors with a large seal over them.
"Thank Kami. So what will you do now? Investigate?" His former ramen-making friend asked.
"He should probably come back. The seal on the door is very complicated. All jonin know how to open it, but a genin can't…,"
"I know how to open it," Naruto said, cutting off Kurenai.
"...What?" Kurenai asked.
Though the two ladies weren't around, the blond nodded. "I know how to open it. I…I can see it," He said.
It was true, he could see it. He could see every single piece of the seal coming apart in front of his eyes in hues of green light just like the chakra he'd been training with. He didn't know how, but it was the same way with the storage scroll. The seal in the storage scroll, the seal on the metal doors, he could decipher them like they were simple locks. Don't ask him how, but he could. He could see the intricacies of the matrices and the unraveling of each piece. All he had to do was touch the seal and his chakra did the rest. He didn't even have to command it. It just…worked.
The seal became undone and the doors unlatched. They revealed a large ladder descending into darkness. Now, forgive Naruto if he didn't readily jump at the chance to dive in. He'd had a fill of…dark places for a good little while.
"It's open," he said.
"What?! That's impossible! How did you…"
"Apologies, Kurenai-san, but we'll have to save the questions for later. These don't exactly run on the best battery."
Naruto grabbed the door handles and opened them. It was a long shot and he was running low on hope these days. Yet, he was hopeful that some people could have escaped into these tunnels. Did he expect otherwise? Probably not. However, he wouldn't be him if he just gave up that easily.
Suddenly, Naruto shivered. His gloved fingers got so cold they actually began to hurt. When…when did it get so cold?
"Is it…snowing? We aren't in the winter months."
Naruto was too busy shivering to tell who said that. He looked up and he saw that the statement rang true. It was snowing. He held out his hand and tiny flakes landed on his gloves. For a moment, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki smiled. Though this definitely wasn't the time of the month for snow to be falling, it was rather nice to see.
However, it didn't stay that way for long. Slowly, Naruto was sure his arm was getting heavier. It was probably the clothes, but he didn't remember wearing anything as heavy as he was feeling now. When he looked down, unbridled fear ran through his heart.
"What the…," He growled as the snow began to splice itself together. White strands of frozen water stuck to each other and quickly began to spread like some strange fungus growth. Like hundreds of crawling worms, or creeping ants, they formed together. They stringed up his arm in a violent rush almost as if to try and overtake his body.
Naruto cursed as he used his other hand to try and wipe the snow off, but it quickly began to spread on his other hand. Both arms were quickly becoming encased as the sickening strings of cold wrapped around his clothed hands.
By the grace of Kami, Naruto was able to wiggle his hands out of his gloves. He stepped away as the strings of snow fully wrapped around the fingered material. They fell to the ground frozen solid before they cracked and crumbled into nothingness.
"What…what's going…," Naruto didn't get the chance to finish.
He shivered again. Now his back felt heavier. He turned his head and he watched as more snow piled on top of each other. "Kuso! Kuso! Even the damn snow's trying to kill me?!" Naruto thought. He quickly grabbed his earpiece.
"Ayame-neechan! Kurenai-san, stay inside! Don't touch the snow! Whatever you…do!"Naruto growled as he struggled to get out of his clothes.
"Naruto-kun? Naruto-kun! What's going on?!" Ayame asked.
"The snow! It's alive!" Naruto yelled as he threw off the clothes he was wearing before the tendrils of snow could fully wrap around him.
"Naruto, slow down! Snow can't be alive!" Kurenai replied.
"Fine! Whatever! Just don't. Go. Outside!" He emphasized as he threw his coat away and jumped through the doors in the ground. He then quickly closed them and sealed then shut. He could hear the way the snow and sleet landed on the doors. He could also hear the crawling, creaking of metal it made as the snow, like some kind of otherworldly creature, crawled along the ground.
"Ayame-neechan! Kurenai-san! Come in! Do you read me?"Naruto called over his mic.
There was no response. The lining of the walls must have prevented communications from getting through. The distant howls and dripping of water unnerved the blond. It was completely dark where he was. He also didn't know how long it was going to snow for. Could something like that even pierce the doors? Were Ayame and Kurenai alright? What if the snow crushed through his house? They'd have no protection!
"Ayame-neechan! Kurenai-san! Come in!" Naruto said nervously.
More static.
For about five minutes, Naruto called out but received no reply. He wanted to open the doors and check. He wanted to open the doors and look. He wanted to open the doors and run! If…if they died too, he'd be alone again! Was he too hasty in looking for a place to stay? Maybe he should have just run back! Anything would be better than this constant fear of worrying!
The snow got heavier. Naruto actually thought he heard hail from the way it was beating against the door. A little worried, he took a step back. If by chance it did break through then he hoped he'd be far enough away.
Naruto inhaled and then exhaled. "Easy, Naruto Uzumaki. Alright, The place is boarded up. They also have plenty of supplies. We were running low on water, but they should be able to get enough between two people. They also have juice if they need it. I'll just hope that they're fine. I'll wait a few days," Naruto thought before he heard something rumble from within the stone-clad walls around him.
Swiftly, Naruto pulled out his flashlight. He flicked it on and stared at his backpack. It wasn't great. He had only packed for a day's trip. Nevermind that half his food was gone from the lunch he'd eaten earlier. He only had a little bit of water and half of his food. How long was he going to have to stay here?
After some self-contemplation, Naruto grabbed his backpack and stood to his feet. He looked at the stairs which led into the deep, dark tunnels. He swallowed his fear. Thoughts of what could lay in this darkness unnerved him. Yet, he pushed on. He couldn't let his fear stop him. Besides, if the place was free then it was much safer than his house.
Naruto walked down the steps and into the encroaching darkness until it smothered him. He waved his flashlight around the area. The air was cold, but he figured that was because of the wind. He cursed to himself. His coat had gotten taken by the snow which left him without much covering.
He continued down the flight of stairs. "Well, at least I don't feel like I'm being followed this time," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki thought to himself.
He walked down for a rather long time he felt. How long he walked he wasn't sure. The dark oddly warped his sense of time. His fingers touched the stone walls. He absently noted that stone slowly gave way to steel and metal. The distant howls of wind flowing from below him caused him some concern, but not too much.
He finally reached the bottom. His steps echoed through a series of long tunnels and interconnecting lanes. As expected of a bunker which led itself beneath the village. There were no lights on. He didn't expect them to be. More than likely they ran out of power when the storms hit. With no one to turn them back on, they must have just stayed dead. Well, it wasn't like Naruto could get them back on so he decided to keep moving. He rubbed his arms. He was cold.
The young genin knew no direction he was going. He'd turned down a series of hallways that led to nowhere. He didn't suppose there'd be a map of the area in a place like this. All those elite shinobi probably trained to navigate this place with their eyes closed or something.
Naruto pointed up his flashlight. There was a soft creak of the tunnels that made them rather creepy. He wouldn't say why, but it's what he felt. He turned down another hallway.
Once he turned down that hallway, the blond stopped. There was a glimmer, a brief flashing light that reflected off the lens of his torch. He almost missed it. It'd been a long time since he'd seen it.
A trap laid above, triggered to pull several kunai hidden in the ceiling or alert…someone living down here. It wasn't just one either. There were dozens. Numerous explosion tags, fire tags, chakra sealing tags, and more weapons littered the hallway.
Cautious, Naruto turned out his flashlight. True, it made it harder for him to see the traps, but there was no way someone wasn't monitoring them. If they were an enemy, he'd do the same as back in the Chunin Exam. Give them no reason to be certain of his position.
Though the tunnels turned dark, Naruto, for some strange reason, could still navigate them just fine. He didn't know why, but he felt he had a better perception of things since he'd done his training. He touched the wall and he could feel where everything was. The kunai, the shuriken, the explosive tags were where he could sense them. Well, he couldn't see them, but he could sort of…picture where they were.
He stepped over one trap. He then stepped over another that had been double-layered. A piece of wire was close to slicing into his neck. Whoever made these traps, they were good. Not nearly as good as him, but good.
Once he maneuvered his way through the traps, Naruto turned down another hallway. Honestly, just how many places could these go to?
Suddenly, Naruto stopped. He slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out a kunai. He heard footsteps. It was still far away, but he could hear something about the weather outside. He found an open grove in the wall and stepped into it. He then took out a metal pin and threw it at the opposing wall.
The pin made a loud clang. The voice stopped. A light pierced through the tunnel he was just in. Footsteps grew louder.
"I'm telling you I heard something," one of the voices said. It sounded like a woman.
"It could just be the mice again. They link to wander these dark tunnels sometimes," another one spoke. This one was definitely a man's voice, but it sounded oddly familiar. That said, forgive Naruto if he didn't leap for joy. End of the world or not, he couldn't be sure if there were only Konoha shinobi and civilians live. Oto and Suna forces could still be here.
"Mice?! Then you go first! I'll hold the light so we can see,"
Despite how cold he felt, Naruto could feel the sweat pouring down the side of his face. He'd never been one for stealth. Kakashi would always tell him that he never acted very shinobi-like. The blond always took it for a compliment rather than an insult.
He tried to breathe. His mind raced. His chest thumped. He clenched the kunai in his hands. It was dark so he couldn't see very well. The light from one of the others shined down his tunnel. The shadow of a young man got closer and closer until…the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki struck.
The blond didn't think any further. He just jumped into action as he was infamous for. He surprised both enemies. The genin grabbed the young man. He was the closest. He then swung his kunai and tipped it right near his captive's throat.
"Don't move or I'll kill him!" the young genin threatened. He pressed his blade into his captive's throat, pricking it with blood for emphasis. The light shined in his eyes.
The young girl growled. "Do it and it'll be the last mistake you ever…what? Hey, it's you! That kid that beat Neji at the Chunin Exam!" the girl exclaimed.
Naruto frowned. Well, it wasn't impossible for someone to recognize him. Hundreds of people saw him triumph over the Hyuuga prodigy. Nevertheless, he didn't withhold his grip.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The woman held up the flashlight over her face. Naruto widened his eyes. Though she looked worse for wear, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki noticed that it was Neji and Bushy-Brow's female teammate. She looked a bit pale from when he last saw her. Her hair had also been let down. He didn't know why, but he spoke.
"You're Neji's teammate!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Tenten at your service! Now, how about you remove the kunai and start apologizing to your friend there," the girl named Tenten said as she pointed to the blonde's captive.
He looked down. The flashlight showed a boy about as pale as Tenten. His face was mostly covered, but Naruto could never forget that torn grey jacket. He also couldn't forget those awkwardly black glasses on his captive's face. He'd only seen one other person wear glasses similar to those. That person was much older and way more perverted! That same stupid sensei who fell for his harem jutsu. Yet, this one in front of him merely looked at him stoically.
"It's good to see you as well, Naruto. You can release me now," the young man said.
Naruto's mouth thinned as he saw an insect fly past his face.
"SHINO?!"
KG: Well, I'll stop there. Since some people are a bit hard-headed, I guess I'll re-emphasis the point from earlier. This. Isn't. A. Harem. Fic. Now some others speculated if these were aliens from the meteor. While I am tempted to go that route, I'd rather not. Every creature, big, small, and horrific is a mutant born of the Elemental Nations and corrupted by the meteor. Also, word of warning, this is a post-apocalyptic fic. The world is still in the midst of the apocalypse part. The world is going to get A LOT rougher as time goes on. On that note, this green "chakra" isn't what you think it is, it's much more potent than that.
KG: Anyway, thank you all for reading. Have a great day! CREAM SODA!