Chapter 6: Far from Home
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Naruto sets foot on a new country and makes plans for his escape.
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Start date, November 3
Three weeks went by and a letter from the Moon ruler came back to Tsunade. It told her he will do all he could. It was not enough for her.
-captured-
Naruto woke up to someone opening the door to the small room he was in. He looked to find the men he meet in the forest and the one who kidnapped him.
"Come on kid, get up."
Naruto stood up. A man in red hair grabbed him by the arm and led him up on the deck of the ship. Naruto squinted his eyes from the harsh light reflecting off the snow. He was amazed at how much of it was on the ground. He hugged himself to keep warm. He was jerked to follow the red head and was lead into a small city. The clothes he wore did not give him any warmth. His chest still hurt him and he cussed at not having any shoes.
"Man, he stinks." Lou said
"What do you expect being covered in mud and not having a bath for nearly a month." Mike said
Naruto was brought to a three story building. He saw that hospital was written on it. He was lead in and the red head ordered for a doctor. One came up.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" a man asked
"Check this kid out and don't let him out of your sight. We will be back in a hour." he said
The doctor nodded and took Naruto, leading him to a room.
"Get a shower and I will be back. Don't think of even escaping. I will have a guard posted outside your room."
The doctor left the room and quickly shut the door locking it. Naruto looked around and only found a hospital bed and a small table next to it. He saw two more doors and guess one lead to a bathroom and another to a closet. He went to one door and found the bathroom. He entered and shut the door behind him, locking it. He stripped down and got a hot shower, happy to get the mud off him. He was glad to find soap and shampoo.
It took three washings to get his hair clean. He hated having the collar still on. He heard the room door open up and closed. The knob to the bathroom rattled. He frowned when the lock was undone and a nurse walked in.
"Out boy, you been in there long enough." she said
She left him with a pair of boxers lying on the towel rack. He stepped out grabbing a towel. He dried his body off and put on the boxers. He snorted as he looked in the mirror. He studied the collar, trying to figure out the clasp. The nurse walked back in the bathroom and grabbed him. She made a face at him and grabbed a dry towel. He was lead into the room and saw a doctor and the captain of the ship. The nurse made him sit on the bed and rubbed the towel over his head. He glanced at the captain as he talked with the doctor and winced when the nurse ran a comb through his hair.
"He suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. The medic on the ship repaired his lung and got his ribs back in place. He still has a fever." Moran said
The doctor nodded and walked to Naruto. He made Naruto pick his arms and pressed against his sides of his chest. Naruto clinched his jaw as the man checked him over. He did not like as the man's chakra entered into his body to examine him internally.
"He is fine now, just be careful with his ribs. He needs to gain at least ten pounds."
Moran nodded. He yelled out for Mike to come in. Naruto saw it was the red head man that answered. He carried clothes under his right arm. He dropped them next to Naruto.
"Sir, Lou is angry he did not get paid and that his earnings are going to the brat." Mike said
"Tell him tuff; he should have stuck to the original mission. I bet he did not get anything useful. The brat has to eat also. Kid get dressed."
Naruto took the long sleeve green shirt and put it on. He quickly put on the brown pants. Both were thick and baggy on him. He put on socks, finding them very thick. The shoes were brown and covered his toes. He grabbed a dark brown jacket and slipped it on. It covered his neck and he fought with the hood. He itched from the clothes being coarse. He looked at the captain who was staring at him. He was grabbed by the arm and pulled to follow.
"He is your charge until we get to the capital. You got our transportation?" Moran asked
"Yes sir, but we are still a horse short." Mike said
"Fine, the kid will have to double up with someone or walk. Lets move, we are already a week behind schedule."
Mike led Naruto out of the hospital. He looked around town, trying to find a route to escape or even grabbing a possible weapon. His nose twitched when he caught the sent of ramen. He tugged on the red heads sleeve. The man stopped and looked down at him.
"What do you want?"
Naruto pointed to a ramen stand. The man let out a snort.
"No, you will properly eat half of my pay. Now come on."
Naruto was pulled to follow. He crossed his arms and followed the man. He was lead out of the village to a group of people. They were waiting with wagons being pulled by hoses. They were busy securing items and placing tarps over the cargo. Moran grabbed Naruto by the hair and made him face him.
"You listen well. You behave and we won't have problems. I have no regrets breaking bones."
Naruto nodded and was released. The man pulled out a bandanna and covered Naruto's head.
"Let's move out! I want to get to the next village before sundown." Moran yelled out
Naruto was grabbed by Mike and lead to a wagon. A man brought the rains of a horse to Mike.
"This is the brat; he does not look like much. Lou says he is a ninja, I doubt it."
"Ron, don't do anything. Let's try and get this trip over with without too much trouble." Mike said
"Fine."
Mike mounted his horse.
"Kid, come here."
Naruto walked up to the man and was motioned to sit behind the man. Naruto looked at the horse. He never rode one before. He flinched when a man grabbed him from behind and sat him down behind Mike. Naruto gabbed hold of the man as he made the horse move.
He looked around and planed on his escape. He let out a yawn and covered his mouth when he started to cough. He was unconformable ridding. He started to listen to the group around him, but guessed it would be wise not to look like he was listening. He grabbed the hood of his jacket and pulled it over his head. He felt unconformable as he laid himself against the man that was assigned to look after him. He let out a sigh and faked sleep, hoping to come up with a plan.
-captured-
Naruto woke up to someone grabbing his arm. He heard chuckling and picked up his head. He noticed he almost fell off the horse. He glanced at a man that held his arm. He was pulled off the horse and set on the ground. He let out a yawn, never felling this tired before. He could not believe he fell asleep. He was lead to the side of a wagon and forced to sit.
"Stay put." Mike told him
He ignored the man and drew his knees close to his chest. He ached all over from ridding the horse and grumbled to himself from the slight pain from his side. He watched the people move around, pulling stuff from a wagon.
"I could escape now, but I doubt I will get far. I need to get this collar off, but the clasp I can't figure it out."
Naruto let out a sigh, which turned into coughing. He watched as Mike walked up to him and handed him a cup. Naruto looked inside and curled his nose.
"Drank it, it will help with your cough." the man said
Naruto did not believed him, but drunk the contents. He gagged and sent a glare at the man who laughed at him. He was given a sandwich and the man left. Naruto frowned as he ate. He thought of his options and found himself not agreeing with his decision. He would stay with them till he found a better time to escape. He looked to the red head man as he was yelled at to come. He walked up to the man, ready to be put back on the horse.
"You stay in front of me at all times. Now move."
Naruto let out a huff, but was glad to walk. He kept watch around him, going through plans in his head. He spat up a piece of broke off knife tip when he was coughing. He found it in his room on the ship. He brought his arms together and slipped his hands through his sleeves. He glanced around, hoping no one saw what he planned to do. He brought his right arm out of his sleeve, glad his jacket was baggy on him and for the high collar of the jacket and it was loose as well. He waited to bring up his right hand to his neck.
Once he felt safe, he brought his hand to the collar. He listened to the group behind him and found they were talking about politics of the different countries. From what he learned, Moon would be a place he would run to if he could get away. He was glad he looked at the maps on the ships, but now he wished they taught more in geography and paid a little more attention. He only knew how to get around different parts in Fire and to get to the Wave country.
He started to cut the collar, along the stitching. He still did not know how the clasp worked, but did not care about it. He stopped many times when he had to cough. He winced slightly as pain short from his side, every time he coughed. He smiled inward as he made quick progress on the stitching. He got the last stitch undone and frowned slightly when he cut himself.
He pulled the collar down, and was felling better as his chakra moved more freely around him. He looked out of the corner of his eyes, hoping no one saw the change. He racked his brain, trying to remember the jutsu he was working on. It had taken many threats from Tsunade to Jiraiya to send scrolls for him. In the end it was do it or face her God like strength. He smiled slightly when she taught him the secret behind her strength. He began a set of hand seals, hoping the jutsu he had develop on his own, work.
Everyone started to look around. They were trying to find a chakra signature. Thick black smoke started to come from all sides of them. Naruto fought to keep the jutsu up as the hoses started to panic. Mike, Lou, Moran, and many others, noticed it was Naruto.
"It is the kid, stop him now!" Moran yelled out
Naruto quickly added three more hand seals and the smoke turn a green hint. Someone yelled out stink gas. Everyone started to cough and the horses panic turned into a battle to get them to calm down. Naruto bolted through the smoke, holding his breath. He got to the forest and went to the trees. He ran, putting chakra to his muscles to add to his speed. He threw the collar away from him. He knew the distraction would not work for long or them following the collar. He was not sure if the seals would still affect him, once they were activated.
He ran, not even wanting to look back. He did not like the boots he was wearing. They were two sizes too big and his feet slipped. He jumped to a new tree and to his dismay he heard shouting behind him. He glanced back to see men and some women chasseing after him, through the trees and on horseback. He hated how thin the forest was and the size of the trees. It took extra chakra for him to make the longer jumps. He still had a lead on them. He ran out of forest and jumped down into a large clearing.
He took off once he stepped down on the ground. He put more chakra in his muscles. He got across the clearing and jumped out of the way as an arrow flew towards him. He forgot about the crossbows and longbows they had. He regretted doing this, but he poured more chakra to his muscles in his legs. His chest and lungs burned. He climbed a tree as three arrows came towards him. He took off at a different angle.
Naruto got farther away from his pursuers. He did not slow down once, not wanting them to catch up. He jumped to another tree. The limb broke away, sending him crashing down to the ground, braking tree limbs as he fell. He tired to stick to the tree trunk, but he could not get his feet to stick. He fell in a pile of snow that had accumulated, falling off trees and gathered by the wind. The hole he made caved in.
He lay their, not knowing how he was laying or even how to move. He heard a pounding noise, not for sure if it was his heartbeat or something else. He head muffled noise, like someone talking. He could care less if it was his pursuers, because sleep felt good now. He closed his eyes, falling into nothingness.
-captured-
Naruto's pursuers gathered close to a snow bank that came up to their knees. They cared less of how it happened, for they were only looking for the boy. They found torn pieces of cloth and broken limbs around the snow bank. Moran walked up to it and reached in. He found a boot and grabbed hold, pulling it towards him. He snorted when he pulled Naruto out.
"Damn brat."
He picked Naruto up and walked to the group. He laid him down on the ground and checked for wounds. He saw a deep bruising forming around the boy's left leg, where a patch of cloth was missing. He picked him up and placed him on his saddle. He tied Naruto's wrists and ankles and attached him to the saddle.
"There is a town not far from here. We will head there, while the rest will resume the trip." he said
Three of his men stayed with him, while the others went back to the trail they left. Moran sent a glare at Naruto as he led the horse.
-captured-
As the group moved off, a silver fox the size of a wolf poked its head out from behind a tree. It gave a whine and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
-captured-
Naruto woke up, not for sure where he was. It was not cold and he did not hurt. He recognized the red haze and looked up at the gates of the kyuubi cell. Crimson eyes opened up and looked at him. The two looked at each other, not moving from their spots. Pain filled Naruto as red chakra enveloped him. He cried out and as quickly as the pain came, it was over and he found himself in nothingness again.
Moran looked back at Naruto as they entered into the small village. His eyes narrowed, when he sensed a serge of chakra from the boy. He looked back in front of him. People of the village watched them with uneasiness. They looked to the horse being lead and saw a boy with his wrist tied behind his back, slung over the saddle.
Moran stopped at a small building with a healer's symbol. He tied the horse reins to a post and picked up Naruto. He walked in and women dropped what she was doing and ran up to him.
"What happen?" she asked
"Just get him healed."
He laid Naruto on a bed in the room and she bit her bottom lip. She saw all the cuts and burses he had. She examined him and bit her lip again. She looked at the man who was a distance from her, with his arms crossed.
"I think his right shoulder is broken and dislocated. Also his left leg is broken. I have to get hold of the healer that travels around. I can only tend to his cuts and burses."
"Do it. When he wakes, tell me. I will be at the inn."
He left the building and the women got busy treating the boy's cuts.
End date, November 3