Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto...he'd be my plushie.
Opening Notes: I had three different ideas about how to approach this chapter. In the end, none of them made it to the final product. What you have here is the result—a relatively generic thing while I collect my thoughts. Heh. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound very optimistic...
"Victory and defeat are each of the same price."
-Thomas Jefferson
Slowly, the clouds gathered in the sky, congregating around the site of the fateful battle.
And then, they began to weep.
"Rain," Kakashi muttered worriedly as he and Pakkun leaped from treetop to treetop. "Have their scents disappeared?"
The nin dog was calm. "It's all right. They're close." His nose caught the faint source of the persistent odor that had led them this far. "Over here!"
The partners agilely skipped down the cliff face of the Valley of the End to an exposed patch of rock 300 feet down. Pakkun sniffed around cautiously, his nose straining against the dulling torrents of rain.
"They were here," he growled, noting the barren surroundings.
"..." Kakashi was already scanning the area for more clues. He silently cursed the rain—without it, their job would have been ten times easier. One eye focused on the damages on both sides of the waterfall—two large, gaping holes that left ugly wounds in the cliff face. No doubt made by Naruto and Sasuke. The boys themselves, however...
Pakkun sniffed the air again. "It's no use," he said after a while. "I can't smell either of them anymore." He peered into the fog, half-hoping that both boys could just walk out and say hello. "What now, Kakashi?"
The jounin remained silent, one hand scratching the back of his head. Pakkun waited patiently.
"Chakra signatures," Kakashi finally spoke.
"..." If Pakkun had eyebrows, he'd be raising them by now.
"I can feel both of their chakra signatures. As genin, they haven't fully mastered the art of concealing it perfectly." He paused. There was something strange going on, though. Sasuke's chakra seemed...darker...more evil, as if it had somehow been poisoned...
Kakashi narrowed his eye. That was probably where Orochimaru came in.
Naruto, on the other hand, faded in and out from Kakashi's senses like an erratic heartbeat—sometimes flaring up with an intense roar...other times, dying out completely like a candle flame.
What the...
The fluctuations gave the jounin pause. He had been set on going after Sasuke—and rescue his student from Orochimaru's clutches to pound some sense into him—but he hadn't expected Naruto to get so...hurt. In his memories, the young genin had always been fast to heal, inhumanly strong and ridiculously energetic, thanks to the Nine Tails. Yet the boy he was sensing now...
Kakashi couldn't help but feel that something was terribly out of place. And he never doubted his instincts.
In a flash, the silver-haired ninja had leaped atop the river and was sprinting downstream at full speed. Half a second later, Pakkun caught up, panting slightly.
"What is it?" the ninken(1) asked.
"Something's wrong with Naruto," Kakashi said tersely. "We need to find him and take him back to the village."
Pakkun blinked. "What about Sasuke-kun?(2)" His most prized student...
Kakashi said nothing. Pakkun didn't press the issue.
Deep inside the woods, Sasuke trudged on towards Orochimaru's lair. He'd released Sharingan right after the battle, but his eyes still stung as if they were splinters digging into his skull.
He had finally killed Naruto—one of his best friends. Heck, one of his only friends, now that he thought of it.
At first, there had been shock...then a wave of emotions that dashed him to the ground and drowned him in their depths, over and over again. A gloating, self-smug triumph over his success. The raw guilt, gnawing at him like a wolf on a bone. Anger that the dobe was stupid enough to die so easily. And then...a strange, numbing calm.
He'd done it. He'd proven to them both that he was stronger.
There had been pain—even sadness, at first, but Sasuke had viciously pounded them into nonexistence. Shinobi were supposed to be emotionless tools—but for hatred, all other feelings were unnecessary baggage. They could not afford the luxury of grief in battle. His former classmates...those Konoha genin...living their lives in a peaceful village had softened them.
Naruto was an idiot. Sasuke reflected blankly. He allowed his anger to get the better of him...and lost the battle.
Obsidian orbs glared defiantly into the mist-laden trees.
I will never be that weak.
I will get stronger...and then, I'll kill Itachi once and for all.
Two fingers gently rested themselves on his eyes.
I wonder...
Absorbed in thoughts of revenge, the young Uchiha walked on, rain soaking him to the skin.
-Downriver-
The prone body of a young blonde genin laid sprawled on the muddy ground, soaked and shivering as he thrashed in throes of some terrible nightmare...
He was reliving those moments all over again—but this time, the pain was terribly, terribly, real.
Sasuke, his friend, looking at him through crazed Sharingan eyes.
The ugly marks of the Curse Seal marring his skin, twisting the triumphant smirk on his face to one of sadistic glee.
One hand held the Chidori, crackling with malicious intent. The other gripped Naruto by his cuff, suspending him a foot above the water.
He wanted to stop him, but his body wouldn't move. Twitching, he tried to lift his arm like he had done before, but found that it was useless.
"It's too late, Naruto!" Sasuke snarled, thrusting the crackling orb of electricity towards his heart.
Naruto felt his breath hitch as he prepared to intercept the attack—but his body remained paralyzed under Sasuke's iron grip.
And Naruto screamed as white-hot heat enveloped his heart, sending an explosion of agony through his writhing body.
"Gaaauughh!"
Blood spurted out of Naruto's mouth as he woke, coughing violently. He gasped for breath, realizing through half-dazed eyes that he had been washed ashore by the currents.
Naruto groaned, squinting as raindrops fell on his face. It was just a nightmare. It's not real. Not. Real.
But even so, his heart beat furiously, and Naruto instinctively covered it with one hand.
Damn it, where am I?
He was disinclined to move much after that last spat—besides, he probably needed the rest—and remained staring at the skies as rain drenched his face, piecing together the last moments of his consciousness.
There had been fire. A lot of fire, followed by a lot of pain.
Sasuke shouting at him. The sensation of falling through the air, feeling the taste of dirt in his mouth before the nauseating sensation of something snapping in the back of his head had sent him into oblivion.
What...happened?
Grudgingly, Naruto pulled himself to a sitting position and was greeted by a sharp pain lancing through his chest. Shit. It just won't go away. Now where the hell is Sasuke?
His ears strained to hear the roar of the waterfall, but the falling rain muffled his efforts.
ARGH! Don't tell me the bastard's on his way to Orochimaru already!
Naruto struggled to his feet, but hastily covered his mouth as more blood rose to his throat.
What the hell...?
Waves of dizziness washed over him. Naruto braced himself and closed his eyes, willing the spell to pass.
I can't stop now...I promised...
An image of Sakura's tearstained face rose in his memory.
Sakura...I'll definitely bring him back!
But right now he was having difficulty just standing.
Damn fox...why aren't you healing me correctly?
Naruto took a slow, painful step, drawing shallow breaths. He suddenly froze.
Oh, crap.
Blood exploded from Naruto's mouth, staining the ground a dark crimson. Naruto coughed and spat, trying to quell his rising urge to vomit.
Tsunade-baachan isn't here this time, Naruto thought. If I faint now, then...then no one will be here to heal me...
"AHHHHHHH! Stupid Sasuke! This is all your fault!"
Coughing wracked his system, causing Naruto to bend over and cover his mouth. The bitter tang of rust flooded his taste buds.
Stuck-up bastard. Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staining it red. Why did you leave us? Why did you abandon Sakura?
His legs began to tremble. Growling, he dug his heels into the soft mud, steeling himself to remain upright.
You're not going to beat me like this, Sasuke-bastard.
Panting with the effort, Naruto's eyes glazed over as he glared at a fixed point beyond the river.
Damn you to hell, Uchiha. What were you doing, pretending to be my friend so you could murder me? You bastard!
The scenery began to fade in and out like a badly tuned television. Naruto coughed, bringing up more blood.
What, am I leaking? He grimaced. Well, that's just great. Just great!
"Naruto!"
Hnn...who's that...?
Through the saturated mist, he thought he could see one...no, two figures, approaching him at high speeds. One was abnormally short.
...huh? That almost looks like...a dog? Kiba...?
"Naruto-kun, what happened? I could smell your blood from a mile away!" A second voice, from the smaller figure.
Akamaru can talk...?
Naruto had to blink twice when a familiar masked face suddenly loomed into view inches away from his own.
"You're badly hurt," one half-lidded eye was appraising him critically. "Lie down."
"K...Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto mumbled. "What...what are you...?"
"I came after you," Kakashi's eye grinned cheerfully. "Now listen to your sensei. I have to examine you."
"No." Naruto suddenly gripped Kakashi's vest for support, caught by a wave of urgency. "Sensei, you have to go after Sasuke. The bastard's on his way to Orochimaru—"
"!" Kakashi held Naruto up as the boy was set upon by a fit of coughing. He didn't bat an eye when blood flew out to stain his clothes.
I've never seen Naruto hurt this bad...how is he even standing in these conditions?
"Well?" Naruto rasped. "He's g...getting away. Go after him. Sakura—"
"Naruto, you need medical attention immediately," Pakkun interrupted. "We'll take you back to Konoha."
"I'll be fine," Naruto gave a bloody chuckle. "I haven't died yet, right, Kakashi-sensei?"
The latter was currently trying to determine the extent of Naruto's condition with his eyes.
He seems to suffering from internal injuries...but...what's this?
One eye narrowed in concern as it focused on a large hole in Naruto's shirt.
A circular tear...?
But his attention was quickly diverted as Naruto started to cough again.
"What happened, Naruto?" Kakashi asked urgently. "Who did this to you?"
Naruto was shaking his head, murmuring under his breath. Kakashi had to bend down to catch the words.
"...bastard...couldn't remember...knocked me out...Sakura-chan...ugh, stupid fox..."
Naruto's clenched his fists as he hissed. "Don't...let him get away..."
Kakashi kept a firm grip on the blonde as he slipped into unconsciousness.
So I came too late after all...
"Pakkun, I'm taking him back."
The ninken merely nodded and disappeared, having completed the purpose of his summons. In the meantime, Kakashi laid Naruto on the wet ground and started a physical examination. All ninja, whether or not they were medic nins, had basic knowledge of human anatomy. It was imperative for survival on dangerous missions.
His skin is unscratched. Kakashi observed. He applied careful pressure to the boy's chest, watching closely as Naruto's expression contorted into one of agony. Looks like he has a few broken bones...judging from the blood, they might have hit some organs, too. Not good. (3)
As he felt for a pulse, his eyes trailed back to the tear in Naruto's shirt again.
That hole...something about it is...off.
Excluding the ragged edges, the hole was perfectly round, about the size of a fist. Like everywhere else, the skin exposed underneath was unscratched.
I'll have to check it out later.
Cradling Naruto in his arms, Kakashi started walking up the side of the cliff, step by step.
It was, suffice to say, a long and arduous journey. He couldn't run for fear of injuring Naruto, but walking at such a slow speed meant he had to concentrate on where he was going, and it was hard to see any details on the drenched rocks. All the while, the rain fell incessantly on his face, trickling into his eye and half-blinding him. It made him half-wish that Pakkun was by his side to help him out—but after returning from a difficult mission to chase after his students and the subsequent run downriver to find Naruto's body (and it was a living, breathing, body—not a corpse, Kakashi thought over and over again, because corpses were dead and cold and Naruto was—Naruto was warm and glowing and very much alive so he wasn't as late as he'd feared), his chakra reserves had begun to take a noticeable dip. Although Kakashi was fairly certain that the return trip would meet with no obstacles, but he had no desire to undergo unnecessary risks with an injured student in his care.
By the time he reached the top, the rainstorm had dwindled down to a drizzle. The silver haired jounin paused to rest, reflecting on the bleakness of his surroundings.
Clouds, mist...and stone.
It was a desolate scene. Kakashi stared out through semi-lidded eyes, now regretting his decision to dismiss Pakkun. The journey back to Konoha would be lonely without anyone to talk to.
"...mrph."
Kakashi cast a startled glance over his shoulder to come face-to-face with a pair of bright blue eyes.
"Naruto?"
You're awake...?
Naruto blinked wearily, eyes glazed over with confusion and pain. "...get...Sa...sske?"
Kakashi was surprised, to say the least. Naruto was still obsessing over his teammate?
He hesitated before replying back. "Don't worry," Kakashi lied. "He's fine."
I can only hope...
Naruto seemed satisfied enough—and promptly closed his eyes.
Hidden amongst the foliage, Zetsu(4) observed impassively as the older shinobi raced back to Konoha, his student on his back. Naruto was out cold.
I am severely disappointed in you, Naruto. Zetsu frowned. You were defeated despite your status as the Nine-tails vessel.
A resigned look grudgingly settled over his features. Ah, well. The leader will want to hear of this development, nonetheless.
Sunlight broke through the clouds as the grass nin settled down to contact the Akatsuki.
(1) Ninken means nin dog in Japanese. A handy synonym. (u.u)
(2) Um, what exactly does Pakkun call Team 7? I'm not sure if there are suffixes or not, but I added them in this case since Pakkun is, well, their sensei's ninken. Now to figure out whether nin-dogs can really walk on water...hmm.
(3) Um, yea. I have no medical knowledge whatsoever. Just wanted to tell you that. (And the Internet wasn't much help.) Blame anything Kakashi did wrong on the fact that he is not a bona fide medical nin.
(4) Zetsu: The Akatsuki member who cosplays as a Venus Fly Trap on duty...oh joy...
Closing Notes: Ok, besides some minor changes here and there, this chapter was basically a recap from the anime. Never fear! I shall place in more twists as the story goes on...hopefully... ((proceeds to sweatdrop like crazy...)) By the way...that Sai character in the newest Naruto installment...is Sai a girl or a boy? The name is vague enough for both, as is the appearance, but he/she is also showing his/her stomach, which is kind of feminine for me. Knowing Kishimoto, it'll probably be a guy, but I have my fingers crossed for a tomboy...because that doesn't sound so bad, either. Guess we'll have to wait to find out...
((Wow, all this waiting for a chapter of nothingness. I feel proud! –commences crying tears of joy- So this is the power of youth!))
-A warm thanks goes to all who reviewed!-