Chapter 7: On the Lam
Naruto wakes up to find himself lying on the ground in some forest. He gets up and looks around to see that the others are there as well, however he did notice that Ron wasn't looking so good. "Harry, get up man, c'mon," Naruto said, as he went over to check on Ron with Hermione. Harry gets up and grabs the locket, as he goes towards them. "Harry, quickly, in my bag, there's a small bottle labeled Essence of Dittany," she said urgently, as she and Naruto tried to calm Ron down. Harry goes to Hermione's bag, as he tries to find the item. "Hurry up mate!" Naruto said, as he used some healing jutsu to temporarily stop the bleeding from getting any worse. "Accio Dittany!" Harry exclaimed, summoning the potion, as he went towards them. "Unstopper it," Hermione said, as she ripped open Ron's shirt, while Naruto attempted to heal Ron's arm. Harry was shocked by what he saw, "Hermione. His arm-"
"JUST DO IT!" Hermione ordered, as Harry didn't need to ask twice. "Hold still Ron, it's going to sting a lot," Naruto stated, as Ron yelped in pain. Hermione places three drops onto Ron's wound, healing the wound up as it goes away. The three all breathe a sigh of relief as their friend is alright. While Naruto was busy applying bandages on Ron's wound as a safety measure, Harry and Hermione talked about what happened. "What happened? I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place," Harry stated. "We were. We were there. But Yaxley had hold of me. I knew we couldn't stay once he'd seen, so when he let go I brought us here. Ron got Splinched. I'm... sorry," Hermione explained, apologizing for what happened. "What's done is done, we're still alive that's all that matters," Naruto said, as he helped Ron up. She nodded, as she walked in a wide circle, muttering an enchantment. "Salvio Hexia…Protego Totalum…" she began to mutter, as the others looked at her. "What is she doing?" Harry asked. "She's placing protective enchantments. Since we can't apparate back to my place given the fact that we've been compromised, along with Ron being injured here, it's best we make camp here. Help me with the tent, will you?" Naruto asked. "What tent?" Harry asked, before Naruto summoned camping supplies including the tent. "I stand corrected," he said, as Naruto smirked, before the two made the tent.
Forest-Night Time
Naruto pours boiling hot water out of the kettle onto four cups of cup noodles. "Alright guys, dig in," he said, as everybody thanked him, before eating the instant ramen. "So this is what ramen tastes like? I'm starting to want more," Ron stated, as he digged in. Naruto chuckled, "Trust me, if you want actual ramen, it's best you go to a restaurant that serves this stuff. But most ramen restaurants don't compare to Ichiraku's back in my world," Naruto stated. "Well at least we didn't have to resort into eating mushrooms, as Hermione claims that they're edible even though I highly doubt that," Harry stated, as Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyways, where to next?" Naruto asked. "Dumbledore had a theory. He felt that the Horcruxes would not be made out of random objects. And he felt they wouldn't be hidden randomly either. We know of three so far. The ring, which according to Dumbledore belonged to Tom Riddle's grandfather. The diary, which belonged to Tom himself. And this, which - again, according to Dumbledore - belonged to his mother," Harry explained.
As Harry explained much about the Horcruxes, Hermione took a look at the locket which was looking rather shiny. "It scares me a bit, that, thinking it's a piece of Vol…" Hermione was about to say something, when Ron interrupted. "Don't say that name!" Ron exclaimed, as everybody looked at him in surprise. "What's the matter with you, Ron?" Naruto asked. "It's taboo - You-Know-Who's name. That's how they track people now," Ron said. "How do you know that?" Harry asked. "I overheard a bloke from the Enforcement office talking about it at the Ministry," Ron mentioned. "So basically, if I were to say that bastard's name, his lackeys would come and get us, is that it?" Naruto asked, as Ron nodded.
Things have really gotten out of hand, as now just saying that man's name will bring more trouble. "So is that it?" Ron asked, pointing at the locket. Harry nodded and handed the locket to Ron, who inspected it. For some reason, Naruto was sensing a negative presence from that locket, as it seemed that even the tailed beasts were on edge. "Naruto, I suggest you and your friends destroy the locket right now," Kurama suggested. "Agreed, it's almost as if the locket is sensing our presence and feeding off of us," Gyuki added. Naruto nodded and turned to the group. "Guys…we need to destroy the locket, now," Naruto stated, as they all nodded. "Agreed, let's do this outside," Harry stated. The four went outside, as they tried various methods of destroying the locket. "Dissendium!" Harry shouted, firing the spell, as the locket spinned, but it wasn't destroyed. "Incendio!" Hermione shouted, using a flame spell, as the locket was on flames, but soon the flame died out making the locket still look good as new.
"Shit, looks like magic won't work on it. But I ain't out of options," Naruto stated, as he prepared a Rasengan. "Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, drilling the chakra ball at the locket in hopes of destroying it. However, it seemed that the locket was still not destroyed. "Son of a…alright, time for the big guns then," Naruto stated, as he turned into Kurama mode. "Wait, wait, Naruto hold on for a sec! I don't think magic or chakra isn't going to work on this, as it seems that the locket can take a lot of damage," Ron stated, pointing out the fact that neither of the two worked. Naruto groaned in frustration, before turning back to his regular self albeit he's looking visibly annoyed by the locket. But soon they all heard ticking from the locket and it seemed to be going a lot faster. "Seems like the locket is pissed off," Ron said.
Harry went to the locket and examined the item, as it continued ticking like a clock. He puts it on, as everybody looked at him in shock. "Harry, what the hell are you doing?! Take it off!" Naruto stated. "Well we have to keep it safe until we can figure out how to destroy it," Harry stated. "I can put it in my bag if you want me to," Hermione offered, when Harry shook his head. "Seems strange, mate. Dumbledore sends you off to find a load of Horcruxes, but doesn't bother to tell you how to destroy them. Doesn't that bother you?" Ron pointed out, as he was right in a way. "Agreed, how can we destroy the Horcruxes, if we don't know how?" Naruto stated. Harry was silent, as he had to admit they were right, Dumbledore sent him on a scavenger hunt without even offering any basic advice on how to destroy such items. Alas the four went to bed to rest up for the next day, but for Naruto he couldn't sleep, as something was on his mind. He kept thinking about Tsunade, Shizune, and Mito, hoping that they're alright despite the fact that they are currently in hiding. But what really is keeping him from getting any sleep is the fact that Kurasame hasn't made a move towards him yet and it's keeping him on guard.
Needing something to take his mind off of things, he goes outside and summons his guitar. The night sky was beautiful, as the stars were present with the cool air breezing in. Naruto sits down with his guitar, as he takes a breath before playing a tune(the song is "Shinkokyuu" by SUPER BEAVER). As he played the guitar, he closed his eyes as he focused only on the song itself, blocking out any distraction from his mind. While he was playing, Hermione was actually awake as she couldn't sleep either given the whole situation that just happened earlier today. She decided to go outside to get some fresh air only to see Naruto playing the guitar. "Can't sleep, Hermione?" Naruto asked with his eyes closed, as the girl was surprised that he could sense her, but she nodded. "Can't and I'm assuming the same for you as well?" she asked, as Naruto nodded. "So what's on your mind?" Naruto asked, noticing that Hermione was looking rather troubled.
"Well, it's just that when we were at the Ministry and had to be in the same elevator with Umbridge, I was rather nervous. I feared that what if I got caught and got all of you in trouble. Truth be told, I was afraid of messing up," Hermione stated timidly. "I understand Hermione, if I were in your situation, I too would've been afraid of failing. Truth be told, I was on edge given that we were in a den of vipers, but I kept calm since we had an important task at hand and we did fine aside from a few problems of course," Naruto said. Naruto sighed, "To be honest, the reason why I'm out here right now is that I can't stop worrying about Tsunade and Mito's safety. Ever since the day the two left to go into hiding, I couldn't stop thinking about them as I know it's my responsibility to look out for them, while still focusing on my goal. I just don't want the ones I know and love get hurt because of what I'm doing. Some nights I couldn't even sleep, as I kept wondering whether they're ok and given that we can only have a limited amount of contact, my heart aches just from this."
As Naruto kept explaining, Hermione was silent and listened to what he had to say. "Truth be told, I actually hate having to go out at night and taking on You-Know-Who's followers, but I had to since I won't allow them to go after you and everyone else I know. With this in mind, it's the reason why I kept my distance away from you all during the summer, to make sure you guys are all safe. I know it seems reckless and foolish, but I had to do so, as I made a promise that I will protect the ones I hold precious to me," Naruto stated. Hermione was quiet, but soon she wrapped Naruto in a gentle hug from behind him, as she leaned her cheek against his hair. "Thank you Naruto…for everything you do for us. You really are my hero," she whispered. Naruto closed his eyes, as he leaned back against her, with a warm feeling developing inside his heart. "I don't deserve you, Hermione," Naruto said quietly, as Hermione softly laughed and kissed his hair. "I should be the one saying that, but really Naruto, thank you for everything," she said. Naruto nodded and soon the two went back inside the tent to get some sleep, as they have a busy day ahead of them.
The Next Day
Harry was looking rather tired, as last night he had a vision of Voldemort and some wandmaker by the name of Gregorovitch. From that vision, Voldemort was interrogating the wandmaker about the whereabouts of a powerful item, to which the wandmaker claims that it was stolen by Grindelwald when he was young. Soon the vision ends when Voldemort kills Gregorovitch with the killing curse. Anyways, Harry told Naruto and Hermione about what he saw and it did raise some questions and concern from the two. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure what you saw was true?" Naruto asked, as Harry nodded. The three thought about this, but before they could come up with anything, they heard Ron fiddling with the radio. Harry was about to say something, when Hermione stopped him. "Don't…it…comforts him," she said. "Well it sets my teeth on edge. What's he expecting to hear? Good news?" Harry asked bitterly. "I think he's only doing that so he doesn't hear any bad news. It's the only thing giving him hope to live another day," Naruto pointed out.
Harry scoffed at the idea, to which both Naruto and Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Anyways how long til Ron can travel?" Harry asked. "It should be about a few days at best, splinching is a nasty type of injury caused by magic, we're trying the best we can," Naruto mentioned. "Well you guys aren't doing enough!" Harry yelled in anger. That's when Hermione noticed the issue, it was the locket that was causing Harry to be like this. "Take it off," she ordered, as Harry looked confused. "Take it off. Now!" she ordered again, as Harry did as asked. The scar-headed boy felt a lot more like his normal self, as he handed the locket to Hermione. "How do you feel man?" Naruto asked. "I'm fine, sorry if I acted like a cunt back there," Harry stated, as the two nodded. "It's best we take turns guarding the locket," Hermione stated, as she put on the locket, feeling its cold presence. "Agreed, who knows what it could do to us or anyone else with its negative influence. In a way it's kind of like the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings or even The Hobbit," Naruto pointed, as the two were surprised by that comparison, but nodded anyway.
