Sound of Darkness, Sound of Light

Disclaimer: The "Naruto" characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I have put them in situations that diverge from the original storyline, but with no intent of compromising the integrity of his work. I make no profit from this story.  The character of Hikari is my own creation.

C & C appreciated   ashoro@excite.com

Chapter Two: Pursuit

Several shadows separated themselves from the grey areas underneath the giant trees, and began to flow in the direction of Naruto's departure.

The village hospital ought to be able to take care of him...if we can get there in time.  Naruto glanced down at the small bundle in his arms.  The child was surprisingly light, and seemed somewhat frail. Not a shinobi-in-training, that's for sure, thought Naruto. The child was obviously not able to care for himself, and it was a mystery as to how he could have gotten to the middle of the forest on his own, with no clothing, gear or weapons.  The forest wasn't a particularly dangerous place to someone like Naruto, or the dozens of other village children who worked and trained there.  But it wasn't without its hazards, either.  I know how much it sucks to be alone, but don't worry, kid.  I'll make sure you get to someone who can take care of you.

Just then Naruto caught movement out of the corner of his eye.  A dark, formless shape was racing along the ground underneath him.  For an instant, Naruto thought it might just be his shadow, but he dismissed that idea quickly. It was between Naruto and the setting sun, and the shape seemed to be wrong.  Glancing around, Naruto noticed several more of the shades skimming along the ground underneath him and to the sides.   Man, this just isn't gonna get any easier, is it?

Then, within his mind, Naruto 'heard' a dark, guttural voice.

Leave the Child.  I/We only want the Child.

Great! thought Naruto, tension beginning to flow across the back of his shoulders.  Let's see if I can lose these things.  After several minutes of evasive maneuvers, he realized this wasn't  going do him any good.   Guess that woulda been too much to expect.   Naruto paused for a moment, hoping that the shadowy figures couldn't move up into the trees. Gingerly swinging the child over his left shoulder, he placed his hands together, forming the familiar seal with his fingers.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsuu!" Naruto felt the familiar disorientation as his consciousness was momentarily fragmented into a dozen copies of himself. This quickly cleared as Naruto's shadow copies resolved into semi-independent clones, then moved down to the forest floor to engage and distract the pursuing shades. 

Naruto began moving forward, once again grasping the child against his chest and bounding through the trees. He hadn't gone but a few meters, however, before he realized that his copies had all been instantly destroyed, pounced on savagely by the black shapeless forms pursuing him across the forest floor. Damn! That was too quick. This is getting serious.

Again, Naruto felt the mental call. You cannot escape me/us.  I/We will take the Child.

"Like hell you will!" Naruto spoke aloud, defiant.  It seemed he was safe as long as he stayed in the trees, but he was going to have to go aground in a few minutes when he reached the fields surrounding the village.  Think, damn it, think! There has got to be a way out of this.  

Fortunately, while the dark shapes were able to keep apace with him, they did not seem to be able to pull ahead and surround him from the front.  If I can just hold them for a little while, I can make the sprint to the village. Then the walls will stop them, or the watch. Hell, Anbu has been getting too much rest lately, anyway - if it even comes to that.

While the standard Shadow Copy Jutsuu was obviously too weak to do much good, Naruto didn't need to delay his pursuers by much - only a matter of moments. A slightly stronger Copy might be just enough.  But that meant putting more chakra, and more of his consciousness - into the Shadow Copies. Which means I may have to use red chakra - which will be dangerous.  Naruto shuddered inside, at the thought of even some of  Kyubi's  consciousness gaining control of his Shadow Copies. Ero-senin said to never mix chakra when using Kage Bunshin, but I'm running out of ideas.  I'll just use a little, this once. 

Naruto paused on a large tree branch at the edge of the clearing surrounding the village, and again moved to drape the child across his shoulder. He formed the seal with his fingers, but hesitated.  He could almost feel Kyubi smiling inside him, licking his lips at the though of even part of his consciousness escaping, viscose drool dripping down his fangs.  If any of the nine-tail fox spirit's ego was able to slip past the Seal when Naruto tapped Kyubi's chakra, things might get even worse than they were at the moment. Naruto struggled, beginning to form the words with his lips. He could feel the blue chakra pulsing through his body, and the red chakra glowing seductively at his midsection. He began to extend his inner reach towards the pulsing scarlet power, when the child on his shoulder twitched.  Suddenly, an unfamiliar energy entered into his consciousness. Nani! What is this...white chakra? How is that possible..?

Naruto heard another mental call. Take..take this..I haven't much left.  The voice was clear and pure in Naruto's mind, yet much, much fainter than the darker voice of his pursuers. Before he could even begin to respond, he felt the white force enter his system, blending with his familiar chakra to produce a blue-white energy that surged with clean, unadulterated power.  It was as if the blood in his body had been replaced with a raging whitewater torrent - cold water that would have been frozen, only it was moving too quickly for ice to form. Before he knew what was happening, the words escaped his lips for the second time.  "Kage Bunshin no Jutsuu!"

This time, the disorientation was severe, and it was only because Naruto held the almost lifeless form of the child that he was able to remember who was real, and who was a copy.  Moving quickly to the ground,  Naruto struggled to move forward, and maintain his sense of self.  He was seeing through a dozen pairs of eyes, and feeling the struggle of a dozen different selves against the formless black blobs so close behind.    As he gained towards the village, he felt these additional consciousnesses savagely snuffed out, one by one.  It was still happening so quickly, but the enhanced copies were holding for a few moments longer than before, buying Naruto just enough time to rush through the village gate, past the astonished guards.   With a moan, the exhausted young ninja collapsed to the ground, overcome by the rush of sensation, the pale child clutched tightly to his chest like something precious.

-------------------

The story continues in Chapter Three: Hiakri

C&C appreciated - ashoro@excite.com