Booya! I, Blue Lone Wolf 2574, have returned! And I come stronger and maybe cooler than ever with a mighty disclaimer and an even mightier next chapter! And if one must know, like any other, I'm just making all this up as I go! If you think I'm good, then I'll feel great and want to converse; if not, well… then you've just got issues and I just won't really do anything… yeah… anyway I disclaim Naruto and cast as my own since I lack such cool art skills for such a wondrous creation.

Pairings have yet to be decided, but I'm pushing toward Naruto and Sasuke getting together. Yeah, this story might be a yaoi in the end.

"iii" speech

iii thoughts

iii spirit/demon speech NOT A DEMON!!

Chapter 3: City of Lost Societies

Spinning in a large tube made of flowing color, howling wind and bright peculiar lights took up Naruto's vision as he and his target tumbled along, struggling to get a firm and unrelenting grip on the other in the hopes of taking control of the situation. After what seemed like hours, the creature finally hissed angrily, "You may have followed me to this place and saved your other companion but your faith in saving this one is futile. Face it boy, your friend is lost and when I reach my master… he'll never remember you or anything else."

Naruto glared in horror at the thing and its words. No way was he gonna lose to this poor excuse of an opponent as well as the only person in the world that actually understood him for him. And nothing else. Naruto felt the anger stir and grow, his vision changing to blood red, his whisker marks becoming darker and his nails growing into claws. Astonished by this unusual result, it struggled even harder to avoid getting mauled to death and taking control of the now very pissed off super human who relentlessly hung onto it for dear life as they flew through the anomalous tube of color and light.

His power is as enormous as the rumors have suggested… but to disappear so long ago only to show up stuck in the body of a seventeen year old? How the hell did that happen? I can wonder about that later, Master will punish me for losing my latest catch, but how can I get rid of this… thing before it tears me to pieces? Hmmm… wait, I know. Seeing his chance for escape coming up, it grinned in triumph and maneuvered to meet it. Looking ahead, Naruto saw why the thing was so happy about. Another light had appeared, only different from the rest. It was large and coming fast. "End of the line." It cackled at him, reaching with its free hand to touch it. Fingertips reaching then touching the light's surface, the radiance started to spread like water from a new river, consuming everything. Naruto couldn't help but scream in panic as the light started to grab hold of him as well, making it harder for him to move, to breathe. As if by some form of magic or unspoken word, light turned to dark and he saw nothing else.

--Konoha village--

It was early morning in the hidden village, and things were already buzzing with activity: Sakura, Haku and Kakashi were gathering the Rookie Nine as well as the Sand Siblings to go on what seemed like the most dangerous mission since the war with the Sound (1): rescue two boys from an unknown fate and an inhuman enemy of grim proportions, as well as killing intent. It had nearly been 24 hours since Sasuke's capture and Naruto's constant pursuit of the captor, and preparations to leave were more than ready to go.

--Flashback: mission briefing--

Gaara, and his two siblings waited in their chairs on the left side of the room, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji somewhere in the middle of the room, while Hinata shivered in a corner as Kiba bragged loudly, his dog Akamaru barking to agree every once in a while, Shino standing close by in silence. Neji and Tenten were unfortunate enough to listen to Master Gai and Lee's rants on youth and power, Neji trying to emotionlessly ignore the idiots while Tenten just sweat dropped at the density of the room and Neji growing annoyance at their queer teammate and teacher. Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi mingled with the group, Kakashi looking slightly unnerved and worried. It had been several years since the war with the Sound village, the Sand joining with the Leaf before the Kazekage could try anything aggressive against the Third. Gaara had been appointed as kage, but had shown up anyway, leaving someone else to govern the hidden village while he and his brother and sister were away.

"If I could have your attention." The Third said calmly over the loud conversations taking place. Once silent, he continued. "Thank you. Now for those who don't know, Konoha has been receiving reports of people disappearing under strange circumstances." Pausing for any reactions, he only met silence, knowing nods and grunts of affirmation. With that he continued, "but recently there has been a most disturbing event since Orochimaru's attack on this village: it seems a strange human-like creature was encountered by Team 7on their way back from a recently accomplished mission, wounding one, capturing one and pursued by one. Due to injury, Kakashi was forced to bring Sakura back for medical assistance, while Naruto went after the thing to retrieve the remaining member-"

"Wait a minute! You mean to say that Sasuke's been captured and that idiot Naruto was sent after him! Are you INSANE?" Ino screeched, rudely interrupting the Hokage in mid sentence. Growling in anger at the outburst, Kakashi finally snapped. "Silence Yamanaka! Naruto is more capable of strategy and strength than even I can imagine when push comes to shove. But say such an insult and interrupting your Hokage during this hour of need is shameful and disrespectful."

Eyes widened as the one-eyed man spoke, the Hokage not even bothering to stop him, letting the poor teacher let off some steam. "I've challenged this thing, and it found me as no contest or threat. So if you want to test my judgment on the matter, go ahead and say things you probably don't mean!"

Ino stared at him in astonishment, then surprisingly kept her mouth shut, hanging her head with new-felt shame and guilt. "Anyone else?" Kakashi said, searching the room with his visible eye. "No one?" silence. Pure and complete stunned silence. "I see. Hokage-sama?"

"Thank you Kakashi, I'll take things from here." Nodding, Kakashi sat down, sighing exasperatedly. Being up all-night and wondering about the future could do such a thing to a person. "Now, as I was saying," the Third stated, thankful for no further interruptions, "according to Kakashi, has reported that the creature was moving north east, towards an area between the Sand and Leaf villages. So it's with such knowledge that I send those in this room to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto, all in the hope of getting them back in one piece and alive if that helps. Anyone who wishes to withdraw from this mission you may raise your hand."

The Third waited for hands to go up, but found none. When about to speak again, Iruka, who had been in the corner listening to the meeting, rose and spoke. "I too will go. I may have duties here, but I also have duties to Naruto. I see him as a son, and I will not abandon him in this hour of need! Please Lord Hokage, I beg of you, let me go and I will do what's necessary to get them both back."

Everyone stared in shock at the pacifist teacher, all of whom knew that Naruto meant a lot to the man, but enough to where he's willing to go where certain death is imminent? Now that's dedication for ya! Blushing lightly, Iruka sat back down to avoid all the unwanted stares. The Third chuckled at the man's bravery to speak up without asking. Finally he answered. "I understand your enthusiasm and I appreciate your need to assist. So I will allow you to go Iruka, and all of those here willing to go are to be ready in one hour. Dismissed!

--One-Hour Later-

Leading the way through dense forest, Kakashi was well under way in remembering where it had all started. Coming to the very part of the road he and his team had been traveling back home on, he stopped and let everyone spread out to investigate. The nasty smell was still there, making Gaara, Temari and Kankuro grimace at the familiarity of it. But regardless, everyone felt like gagging. Even Akamaru was sneezing to relieve his sinuses of the offensive odor. Kiba was holding his nose in disgust, his eyes tearing up, his sense of smell more accurate than others, turning and growled in a nasal and angry tone, "Is this it? That things' smell?"

Kakashi and Sakura nodded in unison, reluctant and nervous, uncertain on the condition of the opponent and their missing teammates. The group could tell the two were tense, knowing it was possible the creature still being in the area. Looking and sniffing around, Kiba and Akamaru investigated the scene for a possible trail. Yipping in excitement, Akamaru ran to the northwest, following a slightly obvious path of the gross stench and signs of battle, struggle and, if anything, Naruto's well known stupidity. What they found next proved that theory wrong. With the in genius use of the Kage bushin (2) and evasive tactics, Naruto had obviously avoided the reported fire attack, some hits, misses, and close calls. Deep imprints in bark of branches and tree trunks, even the ground itself leading them down a tell-tale path of determination and emotion, feet and hands enforced by an ancient power gradually released during combat. The younger generation stared in wonder at the display of long days of training paying off. The elders knew otherwise. Is this the power of the Kyuubi? Or just his own chakra entirely? Guess only time will tell. Iruka thought in wonder, giving the marks and imprints of his former student a closer look.

Coming across the known battle area (where Sakura and Naruto tried to kick its ass), the search party spread out to examine the events of the previous day. Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan (3) to try and find any possible trace of their suspect that could be trailed further. It seemed fruitless, at first. Shikamaru had moved to the far side of the clearing, walking lazily, staring in boredom at the ground only to find so shocking, even someone like him would freeze in shock. Choji noticed the strange actions of his teammate and approached all the while munching on a bag of chips – --;; a bit inappropriate don't you think? Man, how inconsiderate – "Hey Shikamaru, got anything?"

When he didn't respond, Choji walked to stand next him calling out, "hey! You okay? What's-?" he never got to finish his sentence before seeing the sight before his friend, dropped his chips in shock and horror, and then commenced in screaming bloody murder.

"KUSO!! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD--? HOLY SHIT!!! I think I'm gonna be sick… EW gross!" with these words, Choji ran to the nearest bushes and added the smell of vomit to the already foul air. Shikamaru only stood there and shivered at the unearthly sight. Gathering around, the group regretted their curiosity. On the ground where the first bag had been said to have fallen was not a pile of discarded cloth, but what appeared to be the hollow skin of an unknown form. Whether it was human or animal was hard to tell, only that it smell nasty, looked horrid and decaying, and was sewn together poorly to fit a full grown adult or several children inside.

Iruka turned away, nearly losing his own lunch as well, Sakura had gone to stare at nothing, pale as a sheet while Ino and lee attempted to console her. The bloody mess that had once been a strange and alien mass of cloth also troubled Kakashi. If this is what the bag was before, than how did it change to cloth? But that's impossible, no one can make changes like this, unless… we'll have to ask him face to face. Shivering at the thought, Kakashi turned and headed in the direction he'd last seen the thing go. Gai turned to see the one-eyed man walk away from the scene and nearly shouted in his annoyingly passionate voice. "My rival Kakashi, where are you going?"

This question caught everyone's attention, causing all to turn to their appointed leader as he stopped in mid-stride, his back turned to them. His response was clear and grave. "Everyone finish up and get ready to head out. Leave that thing there, and burn it that's necessary. Whatever it was earlier was meant to subdue its victim for whatever it intended to do. How and why it was cloth when we last saw it is beyond me, but getting emotional now will hinder our progress."

He turned to them, what they saw shocked and scared even the toughest there. His only visible blue was of cold steel, his expression angry and disgusted. "Whatever this creature is capable of, I've seen but that's probably just a small sample of what horrors our new foe is proficient of ensuing on its opponents. Maybe even those that get in the way." He paused in his speech, saw their expressions and sighed. Calm down Kakashi, now's not a good time to go psycho on everyone. Finally in a smoother tone, he turned and continued. "hurry up and let's go. We don't know how much time those boys have. You're welcome to burn or bury that thing, but time is running out and we should get going. Got that?"

Sounding off affirmations, the group put themselves together (with the help of a fire jutsu to get rid of the thing on the far side) Akamaru was once again sniffing around for a new trail. Finding one, he whined and tried to hide in Kiba's coat. Shino and his bugs shifted uncomfortably. Amongst the footprints and scurried pace of the newfound trail before them, were puddles and various splatters of blood. "This blood's been here since yesterday," Kiba commented, trying to calm his canine companion.

"And?" Asuma questioned, speaking for the first time that day.

"And it's Naruto's. and by the amount, I'd say the wound is deep. If not treated soon…" he trailed off, a rare look of worry contorting the dog boy's face. The Jounin there turned in surprise and accusation at Kakashi, whose expression had gone grave again.

"You sent a wounded teenager after an unknown force of gods know what without any consideration to his health? What were you thinking Kakashi?" Iruka roared fiercely at the older man. Unexpectedly, Kakashi glared at the other man and snapped "I had no time to think Umino. I had a student in a sack held by the enemy, another suffering from a strange spell of sorts even I've never seen and the third I sent to retrieve the other, all the while unaware of his condition since the smell of his blood mixed with that of the that thing that attacked us in the first place. Now if you'll excuse me sir, I'm going to find my students."

He stomped off, followed by Sakura and those who didn't want to make the situation worse. Iruka stood rooted in shock and self-guilt. Seeing everyone else disappearing in the distance, he sighed and jogged to catch up having the grace to hang his head in self-shame. Little did he know of the all-new problem sauntering silently behind them.

--With Naruto: the previous day—

Cold air brought Naruto back to consciousness, lying on the freezing ground, practically spread eagled on unknown turf. He stared in confusion at a gray sky, filled with pieces of fluttering white. A wind blew, making him shiver at the ungodly temperature and lift himself off the soil. Getting up proved to be initiatively stupid but necessary. Slightly dizzy from blood loss, his crystalline eyes took in the terrain. Grey sky clashed with dark red, off white, and cool gray buildings standing tall on a floor of pale, translucent white snow, ice and frost. A dark form was starting to fade in the distance in front of him, limping in the freezing cold, blood discoloring the snow. Its footprints were obvious and easy to follow. Thanks to the Kyuubi's power, most of the cut had healed and the blood had stopped flowing out of the large slash across his abdomen. Hey Kyuubi! What's the deal? Why aren't we healed all the way yet?

Shut it brat! I'm trying hard to get rid of it, but it refuses to heal. Whatever was on that thing's blade is hindering my ability to heal us. Let's kill it before it gets away with your little crush. The fox added snickering to himself at his host's discomfort.

He's not my crush dammit! He's my teammate and I'm following orders from Kakashi-sensei. Nothing more and you know it! Naruto struggled to keep the pink on his face from showing, regardless of them being alone. He'd tried to ignore his newfound feelings for his rival, only to find they came back full force at so much as hearing Sasuke's name in some random conversation he was unfortunate enough to overhear when walking somewhere or at his favorite ramen stand.

Yet you mind and heart says otherwise brat, you two need each other, I can tell. You've been hiding it for too long. If its time to show it, its now or never. Kyuubi countered, fully understanding the denial. I'm sure he'll accept you if you just tell him how you feel. You never know, he just might feel the same.

What do you know? Naruto growled, the blush spreading.

Lots of things kit, lots and lots. Now move it before it gets away, no way it can beat us that easily?

Like hell! Naruto roared, his anger returning, embarrassment forgotten. With the thought of victory, Naruto charged after the departing form. Performing familiar seals, he shouted "Kage bushin!" bringing forth nearly twenty Naruto-clones, all surrounding the creature now fresh in their sights. "Charge!!" they roared, attacking from all sides.

The creature had managed to leave the unconscious fox boy on the ground behind him after having to drag the infernal pest nearly halfway across the city upon their arrival to the other side of the Great Door. Limping slightly from the new wound in his leg, it cursed at its clumsy escape. It glared at the gash in its leg and the kunai sticking out of the wound. Master definitely won't be pleased with me, but the good thing is, I finally got the red-eyed brat as a fairly good price to pay for my troubles. Hopefully that pest won't—

"Charge!!"

--get up and come after me… shit.

Turning to find more than one opponent (even they all looked the same), it shouldered the bag and growled in true frustration. "Your attempts to save him are growing tiresome you little whelp. Leave now and I'll spare your miserable little life."

The Narutos' kept coming, ignoring the warning entirely. Smirking, it raised an eyebrow (does it even have any?) its sinister voice cutting the cold air like a well-sharpened knife. "Fine, have it your way." Raising its free hand, it grinned its ominous grin shown only once before. "Demon Art: Space Chapter: Time Distortion (4)."

Realizing at the last minute, Naruto-clones tried to maneuver out of the spells' path, only to just get caught anyway. They froze in mid-air, their clothes, hair, skin, and other features becoming discolored to a cool gray or dark blue of sorts (choose one). Hanging motionless, the clones' expressions showed surprise, horror and anger. Whether or not the last one was pointed at the offender or himself was hard to tell, but the glare was plain to see on the usually carefree face. Snickering happily, it turned and continued to walk away, going this way and that to avoid the levitating figures saying, "Until next time…. Uzumaki."

--Later: with the search party—

Akamaru ran along the forest floor, reluctantly but eagerly following the trail of their friend's blood. It had been several hours, and by the looks of things, Naruto had managed to pursue the creature at an amazingly strong and rapid pace in probably half of that time. Since the event in the clearing close to ten miles back, the group had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. The only conversation conducted was mainly comments on change of direction and the distances between each attempt to slow the thing down. Iruka had been especially quiet, looking unnaturally pale and slightly gaunt. They left the poor chunin to his thoughts, it was rare he saw anything in relation to gory scenes, and the sight of it was probably really kicking in by then. Little were they aware of the shadow that had gone up his leg not two hours before, traveled like a snake on fire up the man's leg, hip, stomach, chest, then across the face and into the ear. It occurred in five seconds flat, giving him no time to think or react. It hid its trail well by having its new host to trail behind the group pretending to be in a minor state of shock.

Two and half hours later, the search party came across the umpteenth clearing (seriously, how many does a forest need anyway?), the sun was setting, and everyone was growing tired of the supposed goose chase. Before anyone could complain, Shino gasped, pointed and nearly shouted, "Look!"

Searching for the object of attention in the fading sunlight, what was seen amazed them beyond words. Floating in the air, suspended by nothing, was the great vortex (as mentioned last chapter). Its color and essence swirled lazily, eerie glow contrasting with its surroundings, casting small shadows from the rocks and mini plant life in the area. To ruin the moment (heaven help us) Gai decided then to do his 'thing' –authoress shivers in disgust—"Come my friends! Our uncertain future awaits us! And if luck is on our side, VICTORY! HAHA! BY THE POWER OF SPIRIT AND YOUTH, I SAY ONWARD!!"

Dutifully saluting, Lee was the only one who responded to the disgusting man's antics. "Sir yes sir!"

Sweat dropping at the sadly unavoidable scene, the rest managed to back away from student and mentor as they did… what they usually do…(yeah, I don't know, would rather not know and I don't think you'd want to know either). The only one unaffected by this chain of events was Iruka. He looked paler than before, and was staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact, seeming to shiver uncontrollably. Temari, since she was closest, tried to talk to the older man. "Iruka? Iruka-sempai? Are you all right?"

This question caught everyone's attention, even Gai's. At first, the chunin did nothing, proving unresponsive. It wasn't until she tried again that the affair got a whole lot worse. He turned to face the group, his left hand grabbing Temari's extended arm harshly and twisting it to where it threatened to break. His eyes were empty and unfocused, only to change to an unnatural shade of green with cat irises, lime green goop flowing from his right ear, its influence spreading like a curse seal (like Sasuke's, only different). His skin unnaturally pale, ears becoming slightly pointed, he grinned in a way only Sakura and Kakashi had seen once before.

"No worries," Iruka/it said in a voice that definitely wasn't Iruka's. "Your friend can't hear you, but I'm just fine."

Uh-oh. Looks like the remainder of Rookie Nine and instructors have their hands full of a whole new dilemma to weigh on their minds. Apologies Iruka fans, but as I said, I'm pretty much making this up as I go, and getting our favorite chunin in a hostile situation just seemed like an appropriate twist. Anywho, its practically close to tomorrow and I need to wrap this up. But I have reason to celebrate: this is the longest fcking chapter I've written so far. Wootness. Seven to eight pages on Microsoft. Accomplishments galore. No worries my readers, chapter 4 is well under way, where I will hopefully repent for my wrongdoing of Iruka. Tip: don't write a story to heavy metal music. It hurts the ears, unless you're trying to stay awake long enough to finish the inconsiderate bd. Classical or oldies are usually the way to go. And on to notes:

1) I decided to kill of the Third somewhere later in the story, unlike everyone else. Yeah, thanks for ruining the plot guys. My means of obtaining such access to the future Naruto story is very limited to each one that comes out. So yeah, Tsunade shows up later to become the Fifth. I didn't really realize my mistake in the story line until the mentioning of the Sand Siblings and on how they were involved in killing the Third. Man, do I feel stupid. But no worries, I'll fix things later.

2) Kage Bushin: from what I've read, this is the alternative name for the one I'm used to seeing in the manga. I'll just one or the other here and again. No worries people.

3) Byakugan: the kick ass bloodline limit of the Hyuga family. Yeah the Hyuga has only one 'u' in it. Man I'm picky; okay I'll shut up.

4) Demon Art: Space Chapter: Time Distortion: my own work at its evilest. Do I rock or what? This piece of nasty work obviously makes time bend to the users' will, in this case, for time to stop until a certain point is reached. Personally, this spell is going to be used in a novel I'm trying to write, so you guys can't use this like have. Mine, baby, all mine. Deal with it.

Next chapter:

Chapter 4: Battles, Snow, & Sadness

Will the group find a way to free Iruka of his new 'friend'? Will Naruto ever get free of that weird spell and somehow retrieve his rival/teammate (/crush?) and whatever the hell happened to the Jewish cows and their bar mitzvah? Find out whenever I'm done writing the damn thing! –sorry, very tired. It's like eleven at night right now and it sucks. Sleep. Must have.--