Chapter 8: Captured, Escaped, Captured, Escaped, Captured
-
Naruto ran from his friends and sensei, too afraid too listen what they had to say. Will he stop to listen, or will he be stopped?
-
Naruto ran, not caring as his skin was cut from bushes and thorns. The group of eleven traveled through the treetops, covering more ground. Kiba and Akamaru were able to keep up his trail. They traveled close to four hours, with Naruto running blindly.
He did not know he was about to fall into a mud pit as he jumped over a fallen tree in his way. He landed in and sunk up to his neck. The mud was too thick for him to swim across. He tried using his chakra, but found he was too tired to try. He lay in the mud catching his breath. He hurt all over from running. As he caught his breath, he looked around him, to see where he was.
He gathered his strength and forced himself to the side of mud pit. It took him twenty minutes to get across. He pulled out only the front half of his body and collapsed to the ground. He was breathing very hard, trying to calm himself and get his breath back. He got up and walked away from the mud pit.
The group caught up to Naruto and surrounded him. They came out of their cover from the trees and Naruto went on the defensive. He looked at them through burly eyes.
"Naruto, that is as far you go. Come back with us, we don't want to hurt you." Shikamaru said
Naruto started to growl.
"Just leave me alone, you don't care for me."
Kiba blinked when he understood Naruto. Naruto looked around him to find an exit through them. He knew he could not go up against Sasuke, Neji and Shino. Chouji was another problem as was Lee. Shikamaru, he did not know a lot about the shadow user, but did not want to be caught by him. The girls, he believed he had a chance with, epically Hinata. He looked at Sakura and Ino, who were standing next each other. They would be his choice as an exit. As he thought of his escape, the group moved closer to him, thinking this would cut his chances off.
Shikamaru started his hand seals to catch Naruto in his shadow as he looked away from him. Before he finished the last hand seal, Naruto bolted. Ino and Sakura did their best, but Naruto pushed himself through, with the girls falling down. He ran past them, giving the group a glance before he took off. The girls got up, getting the mud off their bodies.
"We had him, but that mud." Ino said
"It is okay, we can get him again. He is getting tired. The transformation could have taken a lot out of him and he has been running since last night. Let's go before he gets too much of a gap." Shikamaru said
The group took off after Naruto, hoping their plan would work a second time. They lost his trail after another hour of looking for him.
"That mud covered up his sent. I can't find any signs of him or even Akamaru." Kiba said
"Reason he would not stop for us, is that he does not see us as friends. We only recently got interested into Naruto as a friend." Sasuke said
They nodded and fanned out to look for a sign of a trail that he could have made.
-FOXED-
Naruto ran through the undergrowth of the forest. He paused long enough to figure out how to get some of the mud off. He ached all over. His foot hurt him as he walked to catch his breath. The mark on his arm started to fade. He looked around him, not for sure what to do. He heard running water and walked towards it. He got to a stream and started to drink. He lay down to catch his breath and rest.
"Why did this happen? I don't deserve this."
His head snapped up to his left when a twig snapped. He got up, backing away. Three people walked out. He saw that they had bows and arrows. One had a long stick in his hand. Naruto turned and bolted from them, but was hit by the man with the stick. It was not a stick, but a blowgun. A dart hit Naruto in the hind leg as he ran. He let out a yelp of pain. He decided to run back towards the others.
He started to slow in his run and tipped over his own feet, falling down. He lay on his side, breathing hard. He fought to keep his eyes open as his vision blurred. The three men quickly caught up to him. Naruto looked at them, before losing his battle, falling asleep.
-FOXED-
"This is strange. I never saw a fox this big." One man said
"Are you sure it is a fox." Another said
"Yes, it is. Let's get it back to camp. That tranquilizer dart wont last long." man one said
One man broke off a large tree limb. Another pulled out rope from his bag. They tied Naruto's legs together and slid the limb between his legs. The third man muzzled him. He open up one of Naruto's eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"His eyes are blue. I think underneath this mud, its fur is a yellow in color. He is an odd one."
"Do you think he is blind? Blue eyes usually mean bind in some animals." man two asked
"No, he has sight. He would have died a long time ago." man three said
Two of the men lifted Naruto off the ground, resting the ends of the branch on their shoulders.
"Nina is going to be mad with us. We have not been able to find a deer for supper." man one said
"She won't get mad with us much." man three said
"What of the fox?" man two said
"Don't know, Nina will be surprised to see it, I know." man three said
They walked on until late evening. They made it back to their camp. Four other people got ready to protect themselves, just incase. The women of the group, was the first to stand down.
"Ron that does not look like a deer to me."
Ron, man three, laughed.
"No, it is not. It is a fox."
She raised an eyebrow at him. She walked up to them as they sat Naruto down on the ground.
"I never saw one like this. Go wash off the mud off him before he wakes."
Ron nodded and helped the other two. The women went to her tent, going through her bag.
"Nina, what are you doing?"
"Looking for that collar I had bought before we left. I was hoping to get a dog to train. John, get me some rope."
Nina walked out of her tent, holding a three inch width collar. John brought her some rope. The three men returned with a wet fox. They set him in front of the campfire. Nina put on the collar and tied the end of the rope to a tree. She pulled off the muzzle.
"Got any plans with the fox?" Ron asked
"I don't know. We might want to try at the trade center on the island a few days from Wave. That pace would be good. It will just be out of our way on our return trip home."
"Well, I am off to bed. I will be glad to get home." Ron said
The group went to bed, taking turns for watch.
-FOXED-
The group of young ninjas stopped their search as the sun set. They were tired and had found no signs of Naruto, except finding the bandage. The jounin caught up to them.
"He got away from us and we lost his trail. It did not help, when he got covered in mud." Sakura said
"It is okay. We will start first thin in the morning. Rest up." Kakashi said
They made camp. They ate something small and went to bed, with the jounin taking the watch.
In the morning, the group woke up, still exhausted. They cleared their signs of camp and moved off in their teams, spitting up, hoping to find a sign of Naruto.
With the hunters, Naruto woke up before dawn. He hurt all over. He got up shakily and moved away from the campfire. He found he was tied to a tree. He jerked, trying to get free. He couched down when he heard movement. He saw six people around him.
"At least it is awake. Let's break camp and move out. We have three days to get to the ship. The clouds look thicker and it might rain soon" Ron said
The group started to pack their stuff. Nina walked up to Naruto slowly, holding a bowl. He moved away from her. She noticed he did not put weight on one of his legs. His nose twitched smelling the contents of the bowl. His stomach let out its protest of not being feed. She smiled and set the bowl down and walked away. Naruto stood there, not for sure what to do. He walked forward to the bowl and sniffed the contents. It was a mix of meats and vegetables. He was not sure, if he should eat it or even how. He saw that the group was watching him as they packed furs.
He stuck his muzzle in the bowl and it was like instinct that took over as he devoured the contents of the bowl.
"This sucks; it is like I knew how to do this, but what of the other part. Crap!"
He felt a tug and was dragged away from the bowl. He looked back and saw it was one of the men dragging him. He locked his legs and dug in to stay put. The man jerked the rope, but Naruto was not moving. A loud pop was heard and Naruto yelped as a whip made contact with him. He bolted forward, falling backwards when the man holding the rope pulled back. The man started to drag Naruto. He got up and followed the man.
"That was easier then I thought." John said
"John, pin him down. I think there is something in his paw." Nina said
The man pulled on the rope and walked forward. Naruto did not know what to do. He jerked trying to get free. The man quickly grabbed him by the muzzle. Naruto clawed at him, but was pined down by the man's weight. Nina walked forward with Ron beside her. He grabbed Naruto's back legs. He growled at them, struggling to get free. Nina grabbed his right front foot and pushed on the pad. He let out a whine as she examined his paw. She pulled out a small knife, enlarging the cut she found. She dug and was able to get the shard out.
"I don't know what it was, but it was in there for a few days. Lou, get me the medical kit."
A man walked up to her, handing her the kit. She opened it up, pulling out alcohol. She poured it on the cut and wrapped it up.
"Nina, you know he will pull it off." Ron said
"I know."
They moved off from Naruto and he got up. He tried to break free again, but was pulled to follow. They walked on. John had to jerk the lead to get Naruto to follow him.
-FOXED-
The Leaf ninjas were having trouble finding any signs of Naruto. They kept in contact between the radios, glad that they were powered by their chakra, unfortunately with Lee's limited chakra he had, his went dead within two hours. It was noon before they found any signs of Naruto.
"Kakashi, we found signs of Naruto. All it is pulled hair when he went through bushes and some paw prints." Asuma said over the radio
"Okay, we will meet up with you."
The groups meet up and followed what they could.
-FOXED-
The hunters stopped for a break. Naruto decided to try to make a run for it. He started to whine and tug at his lead, heading towards a tree.
"John, give him some slack, I think he needs to go to the bathroom."
"You don't know how bad I have to go. Damn, this sucks."
The man let him have more rope and he walked behind the tree. He hated it, but he used the bathroom.
"I don't think Kiba will stop making fun of me. What am I to do? I need to get away from them. Think Naruto, think."
He sat, with his ear twitching in irritation.
"I was able to use my chakra on the water before Kakashi-san knocked me out, but I had trouble with it."
His stomach let out a growl He was hungry. He let out a sigh, as a fly started to bug him, landing on his ear. It would come back, even when it was sent away when he twitched his ear. He was fed up and snapped at the fly, missed and bit his tongue instead. He gave a whine and let hit tongue hang from his mouth. He about hit his head against the tree, for not thinking of that earlier. He grabbed a hold of the rope and started to chew. He got half way through, when the women of the group came to him, bringing him food. He bit down, pulled with his might, and broke the rest of the rope. The women yelled to the others as Naruto took off.
He dodged around trees and through bushes, hoping the get away and fined the others. He jumped a fallen log, hearing a whistling sound. He was jerked back, falling on his back. He choked, trying to get breath. He looked back to see one of the men holding on another rope. Naruto got up, hoping to jerk the rope from the man. He yelped as a dart hit him in the shoulder. He jerked, getting the rope loose. He ran, looking for a spot to hide or even to see the others. He noticed he was moving slower until he was just walking. He stopped, unable to think of something. He wobbled on his feet and fell down on his stomach. He blinked, looking at a flower in front of him. He heard as old dry leaves crunched under someone's feet and heard familiar voices. Hinata knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on his head.
"How is he?" Kurenai asked
"O-okay, but he will be out b-because of the dart."
"Let's get him moved. Kiba, Shino, grab him and up a tree. I sense three people coming, fast."
The two grabbed Naruto's legs, Kiba his front ones, and jumped into a tree and quickly pulled the rope to them. Hinata and Kurenai followed as the three of the hunters came in the clearing. They stopped and looked around.
"His tracks end here. Where could it have gone?" one said
"Don't know. It should be out by now, with the dart and running around. Split up and find it."
The three moved in different directions. Kurenai could tell Shino and Kiba were have trouble holding Naruto. She motioned for them to drop back down on the ground. They did, with Kiba dropping Naruto. Kurenai grimaced slightly as Shino laid his half down. She reached to her radio and pressed a button.
"We found him."
"We will meet up with you in a few minutes." Kakashi said over the radio
"There are hunters looking for him. They must have caught him earlier and he escaped." she said
"Be careful." Asuma said
Kurenai walked to Naruto and pulled out the dart. She took the rope off and packed it in her bag. Akamaru barked and Kiba looked at the group.
"He says that Kakashi-san is coming."
Kakashi dropped down from the tress as Kiba finished talking. Sasuke and Sakura came right after him.
"Those hunters are heading back. There is a village not far from here. Asuma and Gai went ahead to get rooms at one of the hotels."
Kurenai handed him the dart.
"He was hit with this when we found him."
Kakashi sniffed it. His nose curled, but went unseen under his mask.
"Its potency will only last for a few hours, let's go."
Kakashi knelt down and picked up Naruto. He jumped to a tree with the others following him. The hunters meet back up in the area they were in and one was furious.
"He must have found a place to hide." one said
"Let's get the others." another said
The three headed backed to the others to help search for Naruto, not knowing someone else had found him.
-FOXED-
Kakashi, Kurenai, and their teams ran through the forest. It took them an hour before they stopped at the edge of the forest line. Kurenai contacted the others.
"Gai, Asuma, where are you?"
"We are at the hotel on the south side of the village. We are on the second story, the window is open." Gai said
Kakashi dropped down and ran along the ground with the others following. They made it to the houses and jumped to the rooftops. No one saw the group of ninjas make their way over the rooftops and into a window. Kakashi laid Naruto down on a bed. He saw that everyone was in the room. He raised an eyebrow to Gai.
"Only could get one room?" he asked in amusement
"No, but everyone wants to know how Naruto is." Gai said
He nodded as he sat down on the bed.
"Kakashi-san, tell us the truth. Is he the son of…" Ino asked
Kakashi held up his hand for her to be quiet
"I rather you stay quite about it for now. I want to tell Naruto what has happen first, then I will tell you. Why don't you all go out and get something to eat. See if you can't find a ramen stand."
Even one filed out. The jounin sat down on the beds as Kakashi looked over Naruto for any broken bones or wounds. He only found starches that were healing. He looked at the right front paw and saw it was completely healed. He took off the collar.
"The mark is gone Kakashi, what does that mean?" Gai asked
"I don't know. He should be waking up soon. I will stay here, go get something to eat. I will be sending a message to Jiraiya and Tsunade."
They nodded and left. Kakashi made a set of hand seals and placed his hand on the floor. Pakkun appeared.
"I see you found Naruto."
"Yes, I need you to take a message to Jiraiya and Tsunade, telling them we are in a village five days from Konoha. Jiraiya is at the hideout."
The summon dog-nin nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi got up and walked to the window. He looked around and saw many of the young ninjas at different shops eating or sitting together, talking. He looked to Naruto, who was curled up and still asleep. He walked up to Naruto and laid a hand on his head. He opened his eyes and looked at Kakashi who smiled under his facemask.
"Naruto, will you listen to me."
His eyes widen. He sat up and looked around, finding himself in a room. He moved off the bed, looking for a way out. Kakashi let out a sigh. Naruto slumped, with his ears falling flat to his head. He looked up at Kakashi.
"Take it easy Naruto. Let me tell you what has happen. The others know that you were the container of the kyuubi. They came looking for you and want to be your friends."
Naruto looked up at him at the words were and friends. Kakashi saw the puzzled look on his face.
"Let me explain what happen after I brought you back to the hospital."
Kakashi explained and Naruto was surprised at what happen. He remembered what the fox said to him. When Kakashi got to the part about the mark given to him, Kakashi only shrugged.
"It could have disappeared in this form you are in. Tsunade believes you can change back once you contact the two-tails. I also need to tell you something that was to be told when you turned thirteen. Your father was Yondaime."
Naruto snorted at Kakashi who furled his eyebrows.
"You knew?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. Kakashi snorted at him.
"You are not angry at him or us for not telling you?"
Naruto shook his head no. He let out a yawn.
"You get some sleep. I am going to get something to eat. Stay put, and I will bring you something later."
Naruto just curled up on the bed, falling asleep. Kakashi smiled slightly, knowing this ordeal was long from over. He left the hotel, locking the door. He met up with the other jounin.
"If you are here, he must have wakened." Gai said
"Yes."
"How did he take the news?" Kurenai asked
"Better then I thought. Damn fox knew who his father was."
Asuma chocked on his drank.
"He knew, how?" Kurenai asked
"I don't know we will have to find out later when he changes back."
-FOXED-
The young Leaf ninjas gathered up at a small park. They were quiet, unable to come up with a topic to discuss. They sat there for an hour with Sasuke, trying to stick a kunai under his cast, trying to relieve the itching. He gave up, unable to reach the itch site. He holstered his weapon and looked at the group.
"What are we going to do now?" he asked
Everyone looked around at each other. No one could come up with a solution and was unfamiliar with Sasuke talking.
"Just being there for Naruto will be enough. He is going to need friends."
Everyone brought their attention to Kakashi as he walked up to the group. The rest of the jounin followed him. Kakashi crouched down and looked to Kiba.
"Kiba, I need to know if you can understand different animals, besides your family's dog partners."
"I can understand some other animals of the dog family. I can understand what Naruto says."
"That is good. You can go see Naruto, he is asleep right now. I am going to go get him something to eat, and find him some cloths just in case he does change back on the way home."
Kakashi tossed the key to Sasuke. He stood up and walked from the group. The jounin followed him, talking about group training. Kakashi pulled out his book and began to read.
"I really hate your sensei Sakura." Ino said
"You should hate the one who writes the books. Jiraiya-sama writes them. He was the sensei of Yondaime and Yondaime was the sensei of Kakashi-san." Sakura said
She got up and dusted the dirt from herself. The rest got up and walked back to the hotel. They got to the hotel and found Naruto still asleep. They found seats on the floor and beds. They looked at each other, seeing who would wake up Naruto. Ino grinned and pushed Hinata forward.
"You do it Hinata-chan; you have a crush on him."
She squeaked at what Ino said. Laughter erupted through the room. Naruto woke up seeing them in the room. He noticed that Hinata had a beet red face and twiddling her fingers. His head tilted.
"Sakura, he is dense." Ino said
His eyebrows furled as laughter and snorts filled the room. Naruto sent a glare at Ino.
"Naruto, what did Kakashi-san tell you." Kiba asked
He looked at him, and he sunk down.
"I can understand you."
He thought how to talk to them and shrugged his shoulders.
"If eating came to me, why not this."
He just started to talk, hoping it would work.
"He told me that kyuubi fused its chakra with me. He told me who my father was, but I already knew."
The group heard low yelps and growls from Naruto. Kiba nodded his head and smiled.
"How did you find out?"
"Kiba, you will have to tell us what he said." Neji said
"Kakashi-san told him that the kyuubi merged its chakra to him. He all ready knew who his father was."
Everyone looked at Naruto who did a shrug, if it could be called one.
"I learned when ero-sennin was drunk one night, when we went to find obaa-chan. He sleep talked through the night telling Arashi that he will take care of me, just don't hurt me. I knew before. Who else had blonde hair and blue eyes like me?"
Kiba told them.
The door opened up with Kakashi walking in. He was carrying two bowls of ramen. Naruto looked at him and his ears folded down.
"We have to be careful. The hunters that were looking for Naruto are in the same hotel as us. So Naruto tell me, or tell Kiba how do you know of your father?"
Kiba smirked and told him. Kakashi let out a laugh.
"Oh well. Now I think all of you need to vacate this room. I plan to get a shower and go to sleep. You can play with the fox later. We will be heading home in the morning."
Naruto snorted as the group left. Kakashi set the bowls down on the floor. He got a shower and went to bed. Naruto ate the meal, still finding himself hungry. He went to bed feeling very tired himself.