Part 2.4: The Day of Reckoning
Tsunade slept peacefully in her tent, lying on top of a finely made bed that took up most of the room in her oversized tent. 'Being Hokage has its advantages,' she had thought before drifting to sleep. The snowstorm had stopped and turned into a slight drizzle that pitter pattered on top of her tent. It was thundering slightly outside, but it was quite a distance away; Tsunade stirred in her sleep as the sound grew fainter in the opposite direction of their encampment.
Her tent flap was quietly pulled open and closed again, only allowing for a slight burst of cold to enter the room. However, this was enough to wake Tsunade, whose eyes were alert and open now. She heard the stranger move towards her bed quietly; the darkness around her was too thick to make anything out of the drifting shape.
Suddenly, she sprung up, still covered by her sheets, and lit a candle quickly, illuminating the room, a kunai in her hand.
Kakashi stood before her, looking down with a serious expression on his face.
"Kakashi?" she said, wondering what the Jounin was doing during this hour. She sat up to rub the sleep from her eyes, allowing the sheets only droop down slightly before she quickly brought them back up to her chest. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.
"We have to leave now," he said, his tone very serious.
Tsunade stared at him in shock. She still felt fuzzy having been woken up in mid-slumber. "What," she said groggily, "Why, what are you talking about?"
"The Sound," Kakashi continued, "have already scaled the mountain and are currently making their way to Thunder Capital."
Tsunade stood bolt upright, still clutching the sheets to her chest. "You mean the entire Sound, Orochimaru, and Sasuke, all of them?"
Kakashi nodded, "Baki and I were doing some late night recon work when we saw them. At the very least now we're going to be a few hours behind them. Those few hours could be spent with Orochimaru talking with the Raikage. If we're going to make any kind of an appearance, we've got to move now."
Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Alright, wake everyone up and get ready to scale the mountain. There should be a path up to Thunder Capital where we're at right now. If we follow that, we should hit some villages along the way. If necessary, we'll stop there to rest, but if we keep up the mountain at a steady pace, we should make it up there by daybreak."
Kakashi nodded in silent agreement and then left to wake the encampment. Tsunade slowly crawled out of bed and dressed. She looked in the mirror; she had a pretty bad case of bed-head but nothing other than that.
'Orochimaru,' she thought, 'what's he planning anyway. Ah well, I guess I'll find out soon enough. Might as well get ready, they're going to be some pretty cranky people out there.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto opened his mouth wide, yawning loudly as he was kicked awake by his sensei Gai. "What are you doing," he said sleepily, "What's going on?"
"We're getting ready to move Naruto," said Gai enthusiastically, "arise from your most youthfully refreshing slumber and get ready to arrive towards destiny," ending his speech with a usual good guy pose.
"Yes Gai-Sensei," came a voice behind Naruto. He looked up to see Lee ready for action, and saluting Gai like he under the command of a famous general.
"Now quickly my slumbering students, we must prepare the camp for movement, Lee," he said, as he began pointing to his students individually and barking orders, "collect any rations that we may store, for the trip up the mountain will be scarce of food."
"Yes Gai-Sensei," replied Lee as he bounded out of the tent and made his way around the encampment.
"TenTen," continued Gai, still in a very enthused state, "you will assist Lee in his preparations for the storing of rations." TenTen slowly crawled out the tent flap, finally making it to her feet on the outside.
"And finally Naruto," continued Gai. He looked down to find Naruto had fallen asleep yet again, snoring loudly. "Gaaah YOU FOOL!" shouted Gai as he delivered a swift kick to Naruto's behind, knocking him out of the tent.
Naruto landed face first in a pile of snow, with the butt of his orange jumpsuit containing a large imprint of Gai's foot. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU THICKBROWED BASTARD!?" screamed Naruto.
Gai shot a toothy grin at Naruto, "Why, I'm trying to preserve your most excellent youth by making sure you get up early and train my young student," replied Gai, "Now, go and fetch firewood for the trip, for trees are scarce on the mountains.
Naruto seethed with rage but complied, and went stamping off into the forest.
"Oh, wait a second Naruto," called Gai. Naruto quickly turned around and scowled at Gai.
"What do you want now?" he said scornfully.
"Through my most brilliant observations," said Gai, "I have come upon several conclusions. One, my most dazzling training regimes have no doubt made you stronger that you possibly believed," to which Naruto gave an indignant snort. "Secondly," continued Gai, as if he never noticed Naruto, "I have been asked by the most honorably perverted Jiraiya-sama to allow you to undergo a special type of training coupled with my already brilliant training."
This last part intrigued Naruto, as the last time he trained with the perverted hermit, he learned his most powerful move.
"You see Naruto," continued Gai, "while my amazing teaching methods have no doubt had a profound effect on you, your will to learn new jutsus seems to be very great. Therefore, I am allowing Jiraiya-sama to teach you a new jutsu for use in the upcoming Chuunin exam," Naruto's eyes lit up, "However, I am still your sensei, and you will also do the training regimes I have most brilliantly planned for you."
Naruto looked ecstatic. 'I'm finally going to do some serious training,' he thought, 'No doubt the perverted hermit has looked upon me as a star pupil.'
Naruto pumped his fist into the air and began to leap about with excitement. Gai looked at him for a moment and then continued, "Naruto, there is something I need to talk to you about though," he said, his tone very solemn.
Naruto turned and stared at his sensei, his eyes still shining with the excitement of learning a new jutsu.
Gai, leaned on one knee, so that he was almost eye-level with Naruto, "The point I've been trying to beautifully make these past two weeks is that training is not about learning jutsus or doing special techniques. Training is everywhere, and it is only by realizing this that we can become stronger," said Gai, his tone very serious. "You see Naruto, though you may learn many amazing jutsus or skills, if you don't balance that out with some of that which you believe to be 'simpler' forms of training, you won't achieve your true potential. Remember, there is a large difference between a powerful ninja and a good ninja, do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever Gai-sensei," replied Naruto, obviously not taking in a word of what Gai said.
Gai sighed, "Never mind Naruto," he said, "just get done with your chores for now."
Naruto bounded off as Gai watched him go. 'I will get my lessons through to you Naruto,' he thought, 'after all; I am Gai, the incredible azure beast who never gives up. I just hope you realize what I'm saying before its too late.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night had descended upon the quiet village of Daibuken; the clouds obscured any light in the sky as twilight had enveloped the village in a gentle darkness. Snow was slowly falling upon the houses and streets there, covering the entire town in a few inches of white that heavily contrasted the dim sky. Most of the people were asleep, the windows and doors locked to maintain the warmth within the shabby abodes. The village was poor, as wood was splintered in parts, well molded in others having taken the abuse of many previous winters. Snow was drifting down in piles from their rooftops, hitting the snow and adding to it.
A little girl was tossing and turning in her sleep until nature called and she was forced to leave her bed. She quickly put on a pair of slippers and quietly left her door. She moved quickly down the hall, only pausing to peek insider her parent's bedroom. She smiled at them as they slept soundly next to each other, her father's snoring failing to awake her mother.
'Father was so proud of himself today,' she thought. Her father was the high councilor of the village and handled relations with the Raikage himself. She had heard her father tell grand stories of how he had stood up to that 'stupid bastard' which elicited a swat to the head form her mother for using improper language. Her father had demanded either Cloud protection or the right to arm themselves to protect their village. Mother was bursting with pride for father; in fact the whole village was impressed with how he stood up to the Raikage. She beamed with pride as well, before she was reminded of just exactly why she had gotten up.
She opened the door to the house and stepped outside, when a blast of frigid air hit her, causing her little body to shake. She made her journey to the outhouse quick and hastily returned to the house.
She stopped suddenly and looked towards the western most path. This road led to Thunder Capital and the Hidden Cloud Village. She squinted her eyes, thinking that she saw shadows in the distance. However, another blast of cold wind, forced her to give up her search and return to her home. She slammed the door behind her, causing snow to fall from the roof of the house. She quickly returned to her warm bed and drifted back into sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is this it," asked Set excitedly. Julius nodded slightly, answering his brother's question.
Julius stared at his brother; had they not been wearing masks, he knew he would have seen Set's tongue loll slowly out of his mouth. He always did that when he was 'anxious'. They slowly stepped farther into the village, passing under the sign above them confirming their target, Daibuken. The snow crunched under their boots, and Julius wondered if anyone had heard them approach. The village seemed lifeless as they approached, as the wind beating the snow across the ground was the only sound heard throughout the entire village.
"The whole place looks dead," said Julius emotionless.
Set grinned at him, "Ironic choice of words brother," he said with a chuckle.
Julius did not respond, but looked around. The snow bore the signs of earlier activity, but it appeared that no fresh tracks had been made for a few hours. He stared at his brother through the slits in his mask. Set nodded and pointed to the right side of the village. Julius nodded in agreement and pointed to the left.
They aligned themselves back to back, each to his side. Julius closed his eyes in concentration while Set chuckled slightly in excitement. Suddenly, they sprinted off in their respective directions and began the operation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The climb up Mount Raiden was tough, despite the fact that a path winded up the mountain for them. The trail was very foggy as it actually spiraled through the clouds in the sky. The trail itself was very narrow, with no rails or flags to point their way up the mountain. Everything was covered with a thick, white mist through which they could barely see anything.
'So, this is why this village is called 'Hidden Cloud',' thought Shikamaru as he and the group made their way up the mountain. They had been climbing for a few hours, but Shikamaru had lost all sense of time while in this area. 'Probably around 4 a.m.,' he thought, 'I should be asleep, at home, watching the real clouds move about in the sky, or playing chess with Asuma.'
The thought of chess made his brain recollect last night. He had the chess set placed under his arm, wrapped in a tight blanket to avoid damage. He reminisced about what was, he had to admit, a very good game...
"Check," said Temari.
Shikamaru observed the board, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was losing. He knew it, she knew it, they both knew it. He looked up at Temari; she had a very mischievous grin on her face. 'She's planning something,' thought Shikamaru, 'but what?'
He looked down at the board. He had highly underestimated how good Temari was at this game when they first started playing. Now, he was on the ropes, and he was running out of strategies. 'Well,' he thought, 'better assume the position.
Shikamaru took his hands and placed all of the fingers together, tip to tip, outwards, forming a slight circle facing Temari.
"That thing again," laughed Temari, "it won't help you loser."
'Her bishop and knight are attacking my flank...'
"Wow, you really like to stall don't you boy?"
'...if I can move my knight out, no that won't do, but then again...'
"Jeez, you know I have better things to do than watch you filibuster like some pathetic loser who won't accept he's lost."
'...that's it, I've got it.'
He opened his eyes again, and moved a piece, blocking Temari's check and placing her on the defensive. Shikamaru allowed himself to laugh sarcastically at this, as Temari, gasped slightly in surprise.
Suddenly, he heard one of the sensei's demanding everyone to get ready to leave. Shikamaru looked out towards the flap and realized it was now night. 'I've been playing for that long,' he thought. He looked back into the tent, watching Temari's puzzled expression as she pondered over her next move.
"Guess we'll have to wait for you to lose," said Shikamaru.
"We'll see about that boy," replied Temari, "and don't think you can move any of the pieces on me, I've already memorized the layout." She then strode off to rejoin her group.
Shikamaru laughed softly, replacing the chess pieces in their appropriate slots. 'Its not like she'll win anyway,' he thought, 'after all, a man cannot lose to a woman.'
He looked behind him. Even with the thick fog, he could still see Temari behind him. He shot her a taunting grin, wondering if she could see it or not. Evidently she did, because now she was being scolded by Baki for making rude gestures to their comrades.
Shikamaru smiled and continued on, looking deep into the fog for any sign of stopping.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She awoke suddenly just when she had drifted back into sleep. The first sound she had heard was a loud crash followed by a scream that pierced through the night sky like a sharp knife. This was quickly followed by a low gurgling sound as something landed with a thump from the direction of their front doorstep. Suddenly, it seemed the entire town was alive again as screams came from every direction. She quickly got out of bed and headed for her parent's bedroom. They weren't there, it looked like they moved quickly as the bed itself was unmade and the sheets and pillows were thrown around the bedroom.
She looked towards the hallway. Her mother was standing there, still dressed in her evening wear. She had a terrified look on her face and was crying fervently.
"Come here Megumi," she said. Megumi quickly went towards her mother and was embraced very tightly, her mother quickly picking her up and taking her to the family room. All of the candles in the house were lit, and any lights they had were also on though electricity was scarce. The light illuminated the room well, throwing the light inside out onto the snow from the window to the left of the main door, which was open. The large, ornate rug that usual lay in the center of the room had been hastily thrown aside showing a trapdoor leading to the cellar of the house. She placed her beside the rug; her face was wet with both sweat and tears. Her eyes seemed to be shifting from her, to the open door in front of them.
Megumi's mother suddenly grabbed her tightly by the shoulders, making Megumi wince slightly. "Now," she said, her tone very shaky, "I want you to stay right here until Daddy and I get back okay," she said, trying her best to sound calm.
Megumi was confused but nodded in understanding at her mother's order. Her mother then gave her a brief hug before hurrying off into the kitchen. She watched her mother depart into the other room, the crashing of pots, pans, and utensils hitting the floor as she went.
Megumi looked perplexed. 'What is mommy doing" she thought, "and where's daddy?" She looked towards the open door.
It was still pitch black outside, but the movement of people through the snow and the horrified screaming of the villagers showed that there was much happening outside. She looked towards her porch. The light had cascaded down onto her neighbor, Mr. Takeyama; he was lying down in the snow, but there was something odd about him. It looked like his head had been put on backwards, and there was something red coming from his nose and ears. It seemed to surround his body as well, and his eyes seemed to be looking straight at her. She waved slightly at him, but got no response.
Her mother came back into the room, a twelve inch carving knife in her hands. She looked straight at her daughter and said, "Remember, don't leave that spot until mommy and daddy get back," her voice was even shakier than before and she seemed quite frightened.
Megumi nodded again before her mother raced out the door. Megumi stood up and went to the window nearby, wanting to see where her mother had gone.
Outside the window, pandemonium reigned. She watched as the villagers were scattering across the town, running in every direction, while many lay down on the street, unmoving. Some were moving in the direction of the Thunder Capitol, running through the snow as fast as they could. However, it seemed that whenever people just approached the gate, they fell down, and didn't get up again. Some had red stuff similar to what Mr. Takeyama shoot out of them suddenly, some from their necks, some from stumps that looked like part of their arms. Everyone fell down and didn't get up again.
Then, a big man she recognized as the village blacksmith Mr. Kegitso approached the gate, a large Hammer in his hands. It looked like he was staring into the darkness at the gate, until suddenly the darkness moved. Mr. Kegitso swung his hammer at the shadow, but it appeared to stop mid swing. All of a sudden, a hand appeared to burst out from Mr. Kegitso's back. Mr. Kegitso moved strangely, convulsing in an odd manner, as the red stuff surrounded him, and he stopped moving.
'Are they playing some kind of game,' thought Megumi. She looked to the other side of the village to see some people trying to escape to the route down the mountain. She saw a blur out of the corner of her eye as she caught a slight glimpse of the shadow. It didn't appear to be a shadow at all, but was dressed completely in white, with a weird looking face that bobbed slightly as it moved. Suddenly, an elderly woman appeared to have many pointed stars sticking out of her back; she then collapsed on the floor like many of the others. Megumi recognized the stars, 'Those are ninja things,' she thought, 'are all the adults playing ninja now?'
Another group came into her eye. It looked like a large group of about ten men and woman carrying everything from large swords to pitchforks to pieces of wood.
"He's in this one," shouted one of the men in the group, pointing to a house right across from her own. The door was open and it appeared candles had been lit in the windows, casting a shadow upon the ground. All of them rushed into the house only for the door to be quickly shut behind them. Megumi didn't understand what was happening next, but only heard the voices of the people inside.
"There he is, said one voice," as the others shouted in unison. She heard them all yell, until a familiar gurgling sound came loudly from inside the building. She heard sounds that were unfamiliar to her, as loud cracking, ripping, and wet piercing sounds were heard from inside. She then heard a tremendous sound that chilled her to the core; it was like a cross between a snarl and a laugh, which was emanating from inside the building.
Abruptly, the door opened, and one of the men that had so quickly rushed inside, now rushed outside of the door, covered in the red stuff and holding a spot where she was sure an arm used to be. Something quickly grabbed at his legs, knocking him on his stomach. He was clawing at the snow with his one arm, screaming for help, his eyes wide with fear, his voice cracking under the strain of yelling. He continued yelling until he was dragged back into the house out of her sight. At the exact same time, his yelling stopped and a large splotch appeared on the window, blocking out the light from the candles.
The village had grown surprisingly quiet now. She looked around but saw most of the villagers lying down in the snow. 'They're going to get awfully cold like that,' she thought. She looked back up to the house. A figure of a man was standing there now. His face was similar to the shadow she had seen earlier, but he was covered in red, not white. He was looking down at the ground, seemingly surveying it.
His head quickly snapped upwards. Megumi could see his eyes against the light in the door. They were a very dark red, with strange black, crisscrossing lines across them, and they were looking straight at her. She met them, and a cold fear ran straight through her body.
She looked to her right as the door to her house quickly slammed shut. Her father and mother were standing there, both looking horribly frightened. His father placed a beam across the door, barring anyone from entering. Both of her parents then barricaded the lone window and door with everything they could. Her mother than grabbed her by the arm and opened up the trapdoor that led to the cellar.
"Okay honey," she said very softly, "I want you to stay down here until Mommy and Daddy say its okay for you to come out okay?"
Her father suddenly appeared wielding a very large samurai sword she remembered was a family heirloom.
Megumi nodded again, she was shaking slightly now. The sight of her parents in such distress scared her, but she followed her mother's orders and went down the cellar steps, into the back of the room. It was musty down here, and the earth was not paved with snow, but was quite cold none the less. It was still a small space, as the earth had covered up most of the area, leaving very little for movement. She heard the trapdoor slam behind her, expecting to see her parents behind her but saw nothing. She was completely alone, as the light that penetrated through the floorboards above was quickly shunted off in the spot where the trapdoor was. Her parents must have replaced the rug back on the spot.
She heard her mother speak, her tone frantic once again, "What the hell is going on Sai, what is all this?"
"It's the Raikage's answer," her father's deep voice responded, sounding just as shaky and frightened. "Dammit, why did I have to be so stubborn? I shouldn't have gone and complained to them, not after what happened to the other village."
Suddenly, the sound of cracking wood could be heard as someone seemed to be hitting the door very hard.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," came a very malicious voice that was muffled slightly by the door.
The wood that once held the door gave way, with smashed beams blocking out yet more light from the floorboards. Megumi heard her father scream what seemed like a war cry as he heard his footsteps quickly cross over to the door. Her father's voice was quickly replaced by a wet piercing noise follow by the gurgling sound she had heard earlier. A demented laugh filled the house, as the red stuff seeped through the floorboards and stained the dirt below a dark brown. She heard a hard thump from above, and yet more of her precious light was blocked out.
'What's going on,' she thought, 'this isn't funny. I'm scared, I'm scared.' Tears were beginning to well in her eyes, but she remained silent. Fear was gripping her now; her veins ran ice cold as the emotion shot through her body.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Set looked down at the eviscerated man on the floor before him, approving his own handiwork. He shot his head up, admiring the woman in front of him.
'Another young one,' he thought to himself. He slowly clutched the mask on his face and pulled it off with one hand. He licked his lips eagerly, his long tongue, tracing a complete circle around his mouth.
The woman backed against the wall, a large knife held in her shaking hands. Set's lips curled as he smiled, revealing his jagged teeth. He suddenly stood up straight and walked slowly towards the woman, still holding the mask in his hand. His arms were positioned in an expectant embrace, seemingly ready to hug the woman.
She rushed at him, thrusting the knife towards his chest. He caught her by the wrist and squeezed hard, causing her to drop it in pain. He relinquished his grip, and she went back against the wall again, her eyes wide with fear. It was this moment that Set enjoyed most, watching the spirit break slowly before his eyes; the helplessness overwhelming them. 'Its like poetry in motion,' he thought to himself.
He reached down and quickly grabbed her ankle, pulling her on to her back. He placed his foot underneath the sword the man had attacked him with earlier and brought it up within his reach. He stood above her, his legs crossed in a 'V' over her. She was shaking horribly now, her arms crossed over her body in a defensive position. He placed his mask on the floor, and bent his knees so that he was on her level. He grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her whimpering. She struggled in vain to throw him off of her, but he stayed in his position. He brought the sword up with his other hand, the point aiming at the woman below him.
Her eyes grew even wider as she struggled even more to throw Set off of her. She tried to scream, but the pressure of his hand was too much and she only succeeded in making a slight gurgling noise.
"A true masterpiece," said Set, before he plunged the sword through the woman's chest.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sword came through the floorboards, missing Megumi by mere inches. She shook violently, backing quickly away from the blade. She heard her mother's body convulse against the floor, swishing and swaying the light that broke through until finally she stopped. The red liquid was slowly making its way down the edge of the blade before slowing dripping down the tip, forming a small pool beneath it.
It was too much for her to bear, and she began whimpering.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Set replaced his mask on his face and went towards the door. He suddenly heard a sound coming from beneath the floor of the house, and smelt a foul odor coming from beneath as well. He slowly trotted over to where the woman laid, the sword pierced through her. He knelt down, looking through the cracks in the floorboards.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Megumi could see the man trying to look down at her. She hid in a corner and attempted to make herself as small as possible against the ground. Suddenly, a fist came through to the ground beneath, and she screamed openly. It grabbed at open air, where she had been seconds previously.
"I know you're down there," said the voice again, "There's no use hiding girl, you might as well make it easier on yourself."
She backed farther away from the hand, until she hit a mound of earth and could go no further. The hand backed away from the hole, only to make a new one closer to her position. He was in reach now, grasping for her, his hands only centimeters from her face. She could feel the heat coming off of his hand, and see what the red liquid on them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Set!" said Julius in a distressed tone, "Come on we've got to go now!"
"I'm a little busy brother," he said, continuing to paw at thin air.
Julius pulled Set violently away from the hole and turned him around to face him. "We've got to leave NOW!" he said, even more distraught than his last sentence.
Set eyed him oddly, but before he could ask the question Julius spurted out, "The Cloud ANBU are coming, 3 of them."
"What?" replied Set, his tone similar to his brother's now, "but the Raikage said that we would have all night on this one."
"I realize that," replied Julius, "but I know what I saw, we have to go now!" He pulled at his brother's wrist.
Set was furious, suddenly he pulled his wrist from his brother's, "Lets just kill those bastards and be done with it," he said, his voice filled with rage.
"ANBU are off limits, you know that. Besides, if we get caught and one escapes we lose everything we've worked so hard for," replied Julius.
Set seemed to be contemplating the decision and then reluctantly nodded at his brother. "Fine," he said. He quickly pulled two explosive notes from his belt and placed them on the walls of the house. "But it's such a waste," he said before quickly exiting the house and the village with his brother.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Megumi heard their footsteps quickly leave the floor. She was still shuddering, staring at the hole which seconds before had held an arm that was threatening to kill her. She breathed in small hiccups, as she cried silently, still not moving from her position. Suddenly, a large explosion came just in front of her. She covered her ears to dampen the sound and screamed as loud as she could...
A/N: A few of you have pointed out the thing about Chouji being skinny. I think its funny personally, but you raise a good point. I touched on it a little in what Chouji says, but I guess I should have extrapalated on it. I'll try better to make what I'm trying to say clearer. Criticism is always welcome so thanks for the review, to everyone who reviewed it. To anyone who read it, you're cool too.