Success is mine once again my faithful readers! For here before your very eyes, on your computer screen is –wait for it drum roll -- chapter 4! Righteous! I'd like to give thanks to those who read and reviewed my past work (if you care) and very special thanks to Anime Faery (a.k.a. Anna) for doing such and becoming my first would-be pen pal/internet friend/fan person… thingy… anywho, I Naruto own not disclaim I do for loser I am I talent without. (Haha Yoda talk haha)
"iii" regular speech
iii thought
iii spirit/demon conversation
Chapter 4: Battles, Snow & Sadness
The would-be Iruka grinned the unnatural grin, the green goop oozing out of his right ear, eyes wide and filled with insanity. The group braced for any attack he might make, but the Sand Siblings had other plans of their own. Kankuro went left as Gaara went right, Temari flipping herself in the possessed mans' grip to where her arm was facing the right direction. Cursing at its new situation demon/Iruka threw Temari at Kankuro almost too harshly for anyone's liking, perfectly evading Gaara's sand attack. It zoomed toward the middle of the group, seeming to become a greenish blur with Iruka's head attached, wild animal eyes darting, insanely grinning mouth drooling like a hyena about to get the best meal of its day.
He/it nearly hit several people before charging straight for Kurenai. Shino and Hinata tried to block, only to find the move was false, leaving them empty-handed. The blur that was Iruka rocketed to a different spot entirely, grabbing Neji and pinning him back-first into a nearby tree, pulled out a kunai knife and held it to the teenager's throat.
"Gotcha." It/Iruka cackled in the inhuman voice it possessed. Neji struggled to move, but was actually surprised that the man was able to hold him down. He glared as it/Iruka continued to snicker at his venture to be free of this mans' grip. "Face it human, you're trapped, and there's nothing you oryour little friends can do about it."
"Who and what are you? What have you done with Iruka?" Kakashi barked at their would-be team member. It angered him to have not noticed how strangely quiet his koi had been the past several hours. True, they'd been arguing a lot since his honestly forgot their anniversary (who knew he was honest), but that was no excuse for him to get careless, especially when the one thing that had brought them together in the first place was missing in action.
"Foolish man," it/Iruka chortled at him, angering him further. "I am the one you call Iruka. Only difference is… I'm in control and he isn't." With that, it/Iruka continued to laugh like a maniac, the voice coming from its mouth sounding not even close to human at all. "What do you mean by that? What have you done to him?" Kakashi growled dangerously, his visible eye narrowing in fury.
"Oh-ho! Feisty aren't we? Don't worry that little brain of yours, One Eye, your precious companion is all up here." It said, pointing to his own brain with his free hand (while holding Neji down with the other). "But to tell you the truth, One Eye, you and your parade came right when I expected to be alone for quite some time." It/Iruka sighed, mockingly showing signs of past boredom. "Luckily enough, this one was straggling along like a whipped dog. Seeing my chance, I, as one would put it, dived right in. He tried to resist, only to find how futile it was." It/Iruka snickered at its triumph over the chunin, quickly went serious with the insane grin plastered in place. "He still struggles, you know, and oh how he struggles like a worm! Just hearing his threats pointed at me are hilarious to hear. But that's not the point right now. The point is, … I've found two things of great worth, this boy and this body in which to take back to my master who I'm sure will be most pleased with my success."
It/Iruka laughed, its voice booming to echo like thunder. The drool continued to drip like water of its/Iruka's face. Strangely enough, when it hit the ground, it burned like acid, causing a new wave of the rancid scent they'd been dealing with the entire way to the clearing (seriously, how many of those are there?) "But I guess that's beside the point," it said suddenly, shaking everyone out of their thoughts.
"To tell you the truth, this white-eyed brat may be as useful as a nail without the hammer. Which is why…" it turned back the Sand Siblings. "I ask you Shukaku… will you follow and serve the master on the other side of the door before us," indicating the vortex on the opposite side of the clearing. "Or shall I take the pleasure in killing you and those present to see the sight you enjoy the most?"
Gaara squirmed, trying to fight off the demon inside of him who practically screamed in earnest to blood shed. Controlling his breathing, he finally answered, "No, and I am not Shukaku, I am Gaara of the Sand. And it is you who will perish before this day is through."
"Oh no, my little sand raccoon. You forget. I just so happen to be inside on of your comrades who I'm sure you'd rather not so much as try to harm, bringing your little plan to a stand still. Now, is that your honest answer?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Too bad. So sad. I guess you leave me no choice." Releasing Neji from his bone-breaking hold, it/Iruka started to become a blur of color and motion. Not to attack, but to retreat. Somewhere along the line, it had come to the conclusion that if Gaara refused to comply, it'd have to find a means of making him change his mind. If the opposite, it'd probably have the time of its life ridding any world of close to 15 people. Heading straight for the vortex, it/Iruka moved almost desperately toward the only exit in sight, trailing acid-like drool the entire way (isn't that gross? But that's how I made things so deal with it). Finally after what seemed like hours, the search party was set into action, awakening limbs to assume their functions in chasing the creature that was once Iruka. And Kakashi was right on his tail, gaining with each step taken. With a desperate jump, it/Iruka lunged at the swirling eddy to disappear in its mysterious depths followed shortly by Kakashi and any other person close enough to keep up with their pace.
Color, light, and sound met them as they followed their comrade in arms to whatever fate had in store. (Déjà vu no?) Ino nearly screamed as she spun out of control, struggling to make sure no one looked up her skirt. Temari, Hinata, Kurenai and Sakura were having the same problem, trying to avoid the hungry eyes of any hentai's in their midst. Gai was rambling about God knows what once again, Lee going along with it and Shikamaru trying not to doze off in the lazy pull of the strange portal. Choji looked dizzy, spinning in semi-lazy circles in midair as Tenten tried to help in his attempts to reposition himself. Kankuro, Gaara, Shino, Neji and Kiba (Akamaru back in his jacket) tried not to bounce into each other (or anyone else for that matter), attempting to catch up with their teachers to assist in snagging the runaway culprit that was once Iruka. Another light appeared before them, proving to be the only other exit. It/Iruka practically slapped its limbs to its sides, shooting forward and disappearing in a flash of illumination. Following suit, the search party attempted to catch up to their would-be cohort, letting the future throw its best shot at them.
--Other Side--
Snow, cold icy snow met them head-on. Cold air, gray skies and even danker buildings of stone and glass stood tall and domineering over them. Freezing cold caused them to shiver, watching their breath float away as the vortex spat them out in twos or threes at a time. Flakes of heavenly white drifted down in lazy swirls through the air, bringing the ground to their attention. Akamaru wiggled out of Kiba's jacket to sniff the day old trail still scratched into the unbroken surface of the white blanket. Barking in enthusiasm, Kiba smiled and congratulated his furry friend. "What is it Kiba?" Shino asked from where he stood shivering in the cold, despite the fact that his clothing should be keeping him from doing so.
"Akamaru said that thing and Naruto were here yesterday. He wounded it somehow and by the looks of the pace, they shouldn't be too far off!"
"Yeah but looks like we've got bigger problems. Check it out." Asuma growled, pointing to the road ahead. The Iruka imposter had come to a halt not thirty paces away, trapped between two new figures, one in the way of a fairly miffed and concerned Kakashi. The rest of the group ran over to assist the one-eyed man only to stopped be a commanding voice.
"For your own safety, it is unwise to approach. Back away now, and remain there until this conflict is concluded." The figures seemed to say in unison, sounding more like machines of war rather than human beings. Tall and lean, brown slightly curly hair tied back in small tails, the two young warriors faced their new prey in a mix of defensive and offensive stances, prepared, alert yet at ease with the knowledge that it was cornered. Hawk masks hid their faces from view, one black with a white circle, the other the exact opposite, their uniforms of long sleeve brown shirts, brown jean-like pants to match (with even I don't know how many pockets) and black sneakers planted firmly on the cold concrete with matching katanas at their backs (1). The creature that was Iruka looked pissed and hissed angrily. "You two again? And to think we got rid of you months ago! Dammit how many times will it take to get you to just die already?!"
"As many times as needs be, if necessary. Try all you want, we dare you. It's going to take more than just little pieces of scum like you to take us down. Now, shall we begin?" they snickered mockingly, crouching further into their stances.
"Oh and what are whelps like you brats going to do to me? You do understand that if you try to kill me, you try to murder the one I've so successfully conquered." It/Iruka smirked raising an eyebrow at its opponents, daring them to attack.
"Such is probable, but also avoidable with cooperation. Surrender now and conflict can be avoided. Agree? Disagree?" they questioned, voices and tones matching in an almost daunting manner.
"Hmm… disagree." 'Iruka' moved forward for the umpteenth time, hoping to avoid the two blocking his path. However, Lady Luck must've been away at the spa when it comes to this creature's day, for it didn't get very far. The two masked men practically flew across the landscape and tackled him, going through each other and their target. Black on white tumbled away expertly from the front, holding a form close while white on black harshly tossed a drooling figure into the nearest building, causing a dent several inches deep and several feet wide. Advancing, White on black prepared for a counter. The thing rose, back hunched, green eyes filled with insanity, crooked mouth drooling like an overheated dog's. It let out an angry scream as it charged, only to get clotheslined; roundhouse kicked and then sent flying a second time that day. Reaching into one of his many pants pockets, White on black pulled out a note and a jar of some kind. Throwing the note, it hit and stuck to the creature's abdomen making it completely motionless. Opening the little vessel, White on black pointed the opening at his target and said some strange words too quickly and softly to catch. Screaming and yelling insults and other colorful words, its form stretched and dissolved, heading straight for the jar. Once all inside, he snapped the lid back on, marked it with a Sharpie from one of his other pockets and put them both away in their respective locations.
Meanwhile, Black on white gently laid the figure he held down on the ground as Kakashi rushed over to observe in as to whom it was. Thankfully, it was Iruka, back to normal and unconscious. "Will he be alright?" Kakashi asked almost instantly, eager and afraid of the answer.
The young man turned to him, his golden-green eyes staring back in kindness. "Any mental or physical damage has yet to be determined but your friend should be fine in a matter of hours." They could hear the smile in his voice as he chuckled at Kakashi's worried expression. "Worry not Red Eye, your companion just needs rest and some guidance in remembering past events. Nothing I haven't seen before."
They stared in shock at him as Kakashi began to stutter. "H-h-how did you… when did you…what-?"
"I've seen this before too." Black on white said cheerfully, eyes smiling and understanding. "Some eyes see better than most as one can see." He chuckled as his own dilated to cat pupils with golden irises to match. Gasping and backing away, they prepared for attack but he waved it away. "Somehow I knew you'd do that, but I'm only dangerous when I want to be and she isn't going to have us attack you unless provoked."
"Wait. She?"
"Yes she. And we don't want to attack you. You seem too nice for such things."
"But how-?"
"Partnership."
"Say WHAT?!"
"Equality on nearly every level. Compromise. Agreement. Peace and harmony. Travel buddies, battles allies, counselors, advisors, teachers or just friends in general; you name it, it's probably one of the many things we can be. Two beings as one, or just two people altogether, just stuck in the same form every once in a while. Now if you'll excuse me, I must see if your friend truly has a clean bill of health."
Eyes back to their enchanting golden-green, the teenage warrior proceeded to kneel beside the unconscious man, checking his breathing, pulse, looking for breaks, fractures and all that other healer bull crap. "Hmm."
"Well?" Asuma called from where he stood, tired of standing around and doing nothing. Finishing his examination, the warrior then proceeded to do something unusual: he started to rotate and relax his right arm. "What are you doing?" Neji growled, impatient at this man's odd actions.
"Patience is a virtue my friend. If you will allow me to concentrate, I can conclude my analysis of your cohort here and maybe clarify in as to his exact condition. Ah, here we go."
What they saw next would be etched into their brains for life. Without so much as puncturing the clothes or the skin, Black on white reached with his right hand into Iruka's chest, causing the area where his limb protruded from the unconscious form to ripple almost like a drop hitting the surface of a puddle. Bracing the ground from where he knelt, the masked man cautiously edged his limb from shoulder to shoulder, the neck, the stomach and pretty much everywhere in between. White on black had long since walked over to investigate the procedure after scouting the area a bit, stating in annoyed monotone, "Anything?"
"Nothing yet, but- fuck." Black on white muttered. Alert now, White on black moved a little closer. "What? What'd you do this time?"
"Thought too soon that's all. And maybe then some."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning he's okay but… there's something else in here."
"You're kidding right?" he groaned. "Another one?"
"No, they're clean. It's just… I don't think it was supposed to wake up this soon ya know."
"Oh geez. Please tell me… you didn't… oh crap. What's the status?"
"Well, it seems to be, as one would say, be hatching as it were."
"Hatching? What the hell are you two talking about?" Sakura roared, her inner self, rearing its angry face at the two who jumped and nearly backed away in surprise and self-preservation. White on black stepped forward, practically towering over the pink haired girl "Do you want me to do the same to you as I did the one who did this to your friend? Well… do you?" he growled, voice becoming deeper than it naturally was, almost god-like. She backed away, eyes tearing up as she hid behind Ino. "Brother! Enough! Their friend needs our help and your lashing out at them will serve no one. Now back down now."
Turning on his companion, White on black growled eyes flashing dangerously as the sound broadened to that of a lion or a bear. "Brother. Down." Black on white countered firmly, confidently staring back into the anger filled eyes of his partner. Grudgingly, White on black moved away until he was next to Black on white, sitting next to him on the snow covered ground. Turning his back to them with an indignant grunt White on black crossed his arms and went to staring at the snowfall to the ground behind them.
"That's better. See, that wasn't so hard now was it?"
"Humph."
"Okay then. Now to clarify in as to what was being discussed: your friend here has a new friend of his own."
"Like the one from before." Kakashi queried, his single eye narrowing suspiciously.
"Actually no. The one that was in him before was a mind-bender, a true demon. This one, however, is nothing close to that of which possessed your comrade." At this news, everyone sighed in relief. "This one is new, yet to experience and what not."
"What the hell does that mean?" Asuma exclaimed, his cigarette threatening to fall from his mouth. And to think we were in the clear. Kakashi thought in exasperation. How can this get any worse?
"It means that this spirit, and I do mean a good one, must've been in the mind-benders' possession when it took over your friend. He left it behind somehow when we tackled him, totaling cleansing it before any of the mind-bender's essence rubbed off on the yet-to-hatch spirit egg."
"So there's nothing wrong with either of them? Can't you get it out?" Shikamaru said, speaking up for the first time in this chapter. The fact that this conversation wasn't really going anywhere was starting to piss him off a little.
"Yes and I could have gotten the bloody thing out had I known it was in there maybe five minutes ago." Black on white said in frustration, trying to move the phasing limb oddly caught on something in Iruka's chest/abdomen. "That and it doesn't want to leave."
"WHAT?" they yelled in surprise and rage.
"It doesn't want to leave." He said calmly as his double flinched slightly at the onslaught of sound ringing in their ears. "Or at least it's scared to."
"What's your point already?" White on black growled, turning around a bit to look the other in the eye. All this bickering was giving him a headache. And to think it would just be a simple scouting session, but NO… it just HAD to turn into a conflict with a mind-bender, and now a group of people from gods knows where crying their eyes out over some guy with an egg in his chest that's causing even MORE problems. And to think I could be training right now. Ugh I hate my job.
"My point is, Brother, is that this little guy and/or girl is fresh from the shell, thinks I'm going to kill it or other and if that's too much for you: it thinks that it's in its match."
This piece of information wasn't really taken well, or well absorbed for that matter. His words were met with stunned silence, mouths open and gaping, jaws on the ground. Actually confused, Temari stepped forward as Black on white started (once again) to free his hand from the despondent spirits' grip. "What do you mean by match? Is that a good thing?"
"It means, my good lady, that this little one thinks that this man is meant to be with it like me and my brother here, since we have one of our own. Whether it's good or bad all depends on the situation. Right now, it's bad since this one knows nothing of so much as spirit control, care, or training for that matter."
"Training?" Kankuro piped up, wanting to know more on this matter.
Sighing, he turned to his opposite "Brother, do you mind?"
Seeing no escape, White on black turned around fully to face his audience, all of whom he was sure he had their full attention. "Some spirits are easy to get along with and becoming one yet two parts of a whole is effortlessly done within a time span of several weeks, days, if really lucky hours, and if truly lucky beyond compare, a matter of minutes after the person and spirit first meet. Others, on the other hand, are extremely powerful and hard to maintain a decent relationship with of any kind. But this especially a concern if the spirit is a new-born (like the one in your friend), particularly if the person who happened upon him or her is completely clueless in as to how to handle such power or how to tell the poor thing that they're just as new to the union as they are. A lot of relationships are established after one or the other has some knowledge in as to handle certain types of spirits, all varying in power level and element."
"Elements?" Gaara asked, briefly interrupting and not really wanting to be left out of this strange subject. Controlling Shukaku better was starting to become a new goal.
"I knew you would ask that." White on black said, tone never going above that of boredom and cold superiority. "Every spirit, regardless of size or function, has a specific element, but can be trained to handle other elements in relation or completely alien to the original or multiple originals that come naturally to the spirit in question.
"But I'm sure you've guessed that not all pairings are by choice. In fact, some are out of necessity. If the spirit is weak, wounded, or near death, (sometimes the other way around) and someone willing to bear their presence for a while comes along, talks it over, spit shakes on the sucker and you've got yourself a temporary travel buddy. From what I can tell by the likes of you Red Head, is that your joining isn't by choice either."
"And what can you do about it?" Gaara growled, angry now that a complete stranger was messing with him. Before conflict could arise again, Black on white intervened. "I'm sure we can talk about this later, what we should be focusing on now is getting MY FUCKING HAND OUT OF THIS GUY!"
His words were surprisingly harsh, but White on black found this amusing. "Oh what's the matter? Been caught too long?" a smirk could be heard in the taunt.
"Just shut up and help me pull dammit. I think I got a good grip on this thing and you actually chatter boxing for once in your damn life isn't helping."
"Is that how it is? First you want me to talk like a five year old on sugar and now you want me to put a sock in it? Who knew my own brother could be indecisive? Someone call a doctor 'cause I think he's finally cracked!" White on black practically snickered though his tone of voice remained somewhat devoid of emotion.
"Oh just shut it and pull." Grabbing his arm with both hands White on black pulled on his partners' limb, both bracing against the ground, Black on white regretfully using his foot as a means to keep Iruka from coming up with him. This action created the water-like ripples to appear as the limb was being extracted –finally! We're getting somewhere! Wootness! —After thirty seconds of pulling, the two were thrown back at the last tug. White on black let go and flipped, searching his pockets as his opposite tried to right himself, his right hand holding a black silky ball of fur, its four limbs and tail trailing behind the body like tails on a kite. Successfully pulling out another jar popped the lid off and braced for a struggle or something in comparison. Black on white, having come to hold the little creature like baby, walked over and, with professional hands, gently held it to the opening of the glass vessel, whispering words too complicated to catch.
Almost like mist, it dissolved and flowed into the bottle followed almost immediately by the lid closing up the only means of escape. Stretching and flexing his right arm, Black on white walked back to Iruka's unconscious form on the snowy street. "Well that was pleasant." He muttered, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Will he be okay?" Kakashi asked, uncertain and almost fearing the answer.
"He'll be fine. A little memory problem here and there, but nothing too serious."
"Memory problem? Here and there?"
"The last few hours or so. Chill, he's not going to die. But he just might if we don't get him off the ground anytime soon."
Realizing this, Kakashi took responsibility by picking the chunin up bridal-style. –Awe how cute! Don't they look great together? —"Thanks for your help, but I think we'll be going now for I have two missing students to look for."
"Would one of them be blonde, wears orange, with blue eyes and can make more of himself?" Black on white piped up as the group began to walk away. Surprised at the accuracy, Neji was the first to respond with a raised eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"
"Follow us and see." They replied in unison, seeming to smirk behind their masks, turning around and started to navigate the snow filled streets of the gray city. One hour of walking, several turns, mix-ups, heated arguments with sweat drops to match, and close to five streets later, they came across the scene of the hour. Yep. You guessed it. Naruto, clones and all, were still suspended in midair, angry and surprised expressions frozen on their faces as they tried to escape an unnamed attack. "What happened here? Why aren't they moving?" Kurenai asked, red eyes wide at the slightly discolored figures floating motionless like airplane models hanging from some little kid's ceiling.
"Simple. Time distortion spell. Whoever or whatever attacked this kid must've been a real powerful caster."
"Who? It was a thing. End of story." Kakashi growled, irritated at being reminded of the monstrosity.
"Well sometimes it actually matters just who it used to be. Such information really helps when you know who's fallen in action, whether or not they're aware of their situation, and just how powerful they are, were, or just how powerful he/she's become due to the unnatural transformation." Black on white said matter-of-factually as he casually ducked under a Naruto clone a little too low for comfort.
"The energy here. How can this still be active if the caster isn't around anymore?" Neji queried, his Byakugan activated as though to try and decipher the bizarre enchantment before them.
"That's the thing about these kinds of spells. It'd probably still remain active even if the caster's dead or on the edge of passing over. I heard a story on how one of ours was stuck in a spell like this for nearly five years. By the time he got out of it, he kept on blubbering about a mission that he was supposed to finish but had been done and over with five years before." White on black stated and left it at that, seeming to stare thoughtfully at a clone closest to him, literally tilting his head at it. "Can you guys get him out of it? I mean you cured Iruka-sensei, why not him?" Lee asked, despite himself and his curiosity. It seemed that they were getting these two strangers to do everything for them, and having them do more was probably really pushing their nerves.
However, Black on white just laughed. Not a harsh or insane laugh like the ones they'd been hearing lately, but one that sounded perfectly human. "Well that all depends, would you like to do the honors brother or shall I?"
"No way. Done enough for today."
"Awe. Is someone cranky?" he said mockingly.
"Do that again and I'll show you what it's like to see everything upside down. The hard way."
"Hard way?"
"Yeah. Through your ass."
Leaving it at that, Black on white moved to the center of the crowd of clones giving everything one last look before saying. "You guys might want to move away from this spot. Things might get a little ugly."
Sure that everyone had moved, Black on white –don't worry, they have names it's just no one's asked yet. Man, this sucks—brought his hands together as though in prayer. His mind was obviously occupied by a single thought, because he somehow ignored Gai and Lee rant on about youth and power while everyone sweat dropped and White on black seethed in annoyance at the ridiculous display he was forced to witness. Slowly a wind started to pick up and created a tornado effect around the Naruto clones and Black on white in the middle of the street. Electricity began to spark, melting the snow only to freeze again in the air. Swirling faster and faster, the spinning ice/water obscuring their view of Naruto clones and the masked warrior. It all ended with a boom and (ironically) a flash of light. Looking back, everyone was relieved to see the masked warrior had gone to stand over one of many dazed and close to drooling Naruto clones. Popping out of existence, all but one of the clones dissipated, revealing a confused fox boy.
"Naruto!"
Wriggling out of Kakashi's hold, Iruka unsteadily went to practically glomp his would-be son. Surprised to see the older man but happy to see a familiar face, Naruto accepted the hug. "Hey Iruka-sensei! Shouldn't I be the one attacking you with hugs here?"
"You really had us worried Naruto. Iruka especially. We came all this way to find you. Can you tell us anything about what happened here?" Kakashi said in his normal tone, pulling out a copy of Come Come Paradise. Unbeknownst to them, the two masked strangers watched this exchange of hugs, worry and affection with curiosity. Neji didn't miss the slight tilting of their heads or the questioning look in their mysterious all-knowing eyes. Knowing Iruka, he was close to tears with worry and relief. Actually thinking back, Naruto distinctly hit the rewind button in his brain (Naruto can think? Who knew?). "All I can get is me attacking him with my kage bushin and then POW! Nothing. Next thing I know, I'm here, lying on the cold hard ground with this guy staring at me. Who is he anyway?"
"Why hello to you too. To tell you the truth, I'm the one released you from that nasty little predicament you were in. Can you remember anything else from your little experience?" Black on white said with a friendly wave, his mind still contemplating what the exchange between man and boy was about.
"Actually, there is one other thing…"
"And that is?"
"It knew my name."
"What?" White on black exclaimed, approaching for the first time to look Naruto straight in the eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Uh… yeah I'm pretty sure." confused, the group watched the two masked warriors walk away to converse in private. It went on for a minute or two, with strange hand signals and reactions to what was said by the other. Somewhere in the middle of it, they paused and turned their heads like dogs to whistles, looking this way and that as though searching for something none of them could see. Three minutes later the two walked back with an air of tension and attentiveness that wasn't comforting. Movement was quick and urgent. "Is something wrong?" Kakashi queried, his eye narrowing to see if he couldn't find the problem as well.
"We need to move out. Been here too long. Your attacker may just have returned with reinforcements. Caution must be taken." White on black growled under his breath, angry with himself for being careless and unwary of the possible situations to come. Affirming his condition, Naruto took to helping Iruka in standing who also accepted assisted once again from Kakashi. Akamaru whined from inside Kiba's jacket burrowing further into hiding. A whistling noise caught their attention, growing louder and louder above the howling wind. Finally the whistling came to an abrupt halt followed immediately with the sound of something being blown to bits. That something being Black on white's head exploding to oblivion, sending blood and guts all over Shino, Hinata, Gai, Lee, Tenten, Neji, and Kurenai. White on black cursed explosively, turned toward the left and hissed dangerously. "You bastards. You'll pay for that."
"And what, pray tell, are you going to do about it?"
Standing before them was the one figure Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura had hoped to never see again. The thing chuckled at their discomfort. "Did you really think I'd leave you hanging? Come now fox brat, did you seriously think I'd let such interesting prey escape? To be truthful I'll have much pleasure in tearing you limb from limb."
"Who are you and where's Sasuke?" Naruto roared despite his slight trembling in awe and fear of facing his past foe once again. Its laugh echoed menacingly cut was interrupted by White on black coming between him and its previous opponent. "If you want to fight, take me on since you enjoy killing brothers so much. If you can kill the youngster can you take on the elder?"
"That's a fairly good question. Can you?"
Astonished, they all turned to see Black on white standing up from where he'd fallen even though his head was still kind of gory. Head practically in half, he stood regardless of his condition, mask in pieces on the ground as his head put itself together. Clean face, straight nose and strangely happy smile met Gaara's gaze as golden green eyes met his. Irises cat-like for only seconds said enough. Head and hair restored and falling free, he turned to face his would-be assassin. The only one to not react was his opposite, an intimidating energy surging and screaming for release. "Brother. If you'll allow me?"
"All right but I'm sure we want him alive this time. He may have something these people need. As well as ourselves."
"Are you sure? He did attack you and nearly succeeded in killing you."
"True. Okay, but not too much damage and in one piece. Busted and broken, but not in bite size pieces. Agreed?"
"Good enough." Suddenly blurry, the lone masked figure ate ground between himself and the creature in nanoseconds striking relentlessly like there was no tomorrow. Keeping up proved to be a difficult task, their movements hard to monitor especially since the creature was having difficulty itself. Slash, cut, slash, slice, jump, dodge, slice, slash, stab, slash, parry, strike, slash, cut, cut, cut, dodge, stab, cut, slash. It was almost like a dance, the creature struggling to remain standing bleeding and gasping gashes and cuts large and gushing out nasty discolored ooze. It glared at its smug abuser. Dodging another attack and bypassing him completely, it ran despite its condition at Naruto. Ninja after ninja tried to stop the things' rampage, only to get tossed aside like rag dolls, falling in heaps on top of each other. Dodging and trying to wound it further with a kunai knife, Naruto tried to push it back and away as two blurs came to help, masked or not. The cut across his chest brought back past problems for the fox boy, starting once again to bleed profusely. Stubborn as he was, Naruto refused to back down even with the two strangers coming in from the things' flanks. Katanas elevated to strike, the two charged right in, completely ignoring Gaara's Sand Coffin technique coming in from behind. All three hit at once, a bright light, great wind and flying sand sending all to the ground.
Then all was quiet. Getting up, even Gaara gasped at the sight before them. Standing in silence, the two strangers were frozen in their stances, the thing between them nothing more than a dusty dried up corpse (with certain parts obviously sewn on –yeah isn't it gross--) with clothes barely even considerably labeled 'rags'. Pulling back blades, the clothes skeleton fell to the snow with a distinct plop, turning to dust frequently as the cold wind blew. Temari chose then to speak up, her words choked with uncertainty and fear, like when her brother got angry. "What just happened? What did you do to it?"
"Surprisingly nothing, yet everything that was necessary to ensure its certain death and/or demise." White on black said calmly sheathing his sword walking down the street, ignoring any stares that came his way. Nodding, his opposite followed but turned and practically smiled saying, "You should get that looked at Naruto-san, why don't you come with us? Being sitting ducks out here won't make things any better you know? That attack probably got us some attention from any allies that befriended that thing. Luckily its not far before we get home, we were headed there before we met you and I'd suspected we'd be late today anyway. Coming?"
Astonished at the carefree grin on the face that had been so serious before was baffling and strangely disarming. Slightly dizzy from loss of blood, Naruto couldn't help but nod. The grin widened, eyes seeming to glitter mysteriously in mischief. Waving for them to follow, he jogged to walk beside he counterpart, falling into step and despite the sudden difference between the two, they looked exactly alike. No wonder they mentioned they were brothers. Iruka supported by Kakashi and Naruto taking help from Kiba, Akamaru yipped in excitement and ran ahead, tail wagging at the thought of a warm place to nap. No one really noticed to the snow beginning to fall again.
Yay! I finished chapter 4! I rock! And it's only 11:30 at night! Damn I need sleep. Anywho, this is the second longest chapter I've written so far. Eleven pages. Eleven! Including all this shit at the bottom. Which makes twelve. Yeah it sucks but an authoress must speak with her readers somehow. Well I thank any and all for any past reviews and compliments, and I can't help but be honest in saying that chapter 5's gonna take a while. Writers block is creeping back and I feel even more pessimistic and depressing than before. Maybe lack of sleep, or my life sucks, or maybe it's because I've been waiting for two of my favorite authors (Dhampir and Kyuubi-kun) to update their stories and reading the same thing over and over is kind of aggravating. On with notes:
1) The appearance of the two mystery characters is easily explained: they're from a book I've been trying to write for some time now and to me, they're a pair of sexy beasts (not as sexy as Sasuke of course but maybe just as good)
Next chapter:
Ch 5: What Just Happened?
Looks like Naruto and the crew just got away from a nasty experience but not without a scratch or two to show for it! And what's with the two crazy sword-wielding crusaders? Well, I'm not telling! Hahahahaha! You'll have to wait until the next time I update with: Chapter 5: What Just Happened? No flames please. That means you Coalar.