Ink's Notes:
Yes I am aware it is 11:40 PM. No I do not care. Why do you ask?
Anyhow! I'm here with an update for you all, and also a notice that classes start soon for me so... well, it probably won't interfere with my updating, but my updates are sporadic as it is, so just a heads up, if there's a long period between updates, I'm either sick or busy with classwork. Just so you know. Well, shall we begin?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Over the course of the next week, the rag-tag group of one shinobi and four Grand Line pirates traveled through the Land of Rivers, stopped in Suna to visit Gaara and the rest of Vivi's friends there, and made their way towards Ishigakure, getting a crash course in Haki courtesy of Marco (with some help from Bepo) during their travels. It was only when they were leaving Ishigakure and they told the gatekeepers that their next destination was Amegakure that they got a clue as to where another person from the Grand Line might be hiding.
"Are you sure you want to go there?" one of the gatekeepers asked, glancing at his partner uneasily. "There have been some pretty nasty rumors about that place."
"Nasty rumors?" Vivi found herself asking, and the other gatekeeper nodded.
"Yeah. We've had a few travelers come here from there, and they all come with stories that are weird initially but line up too much to be coincidence," the gatekeeper explained. She gave the group a quick once-over, before leaning in and speaking in a hushed whisper. "Laughter echoing throughout the streets at night, people becoming suddenly depressed, and some people have even reported seeing body parts and strange ghosts moving into walls."
Sakura and Vivi exchanged glances, while Marco crossed his arms in contemplation. Carue looked terrified, so Bepo pet him to try and comfort him, although the whole 'being pet by a polar bear' thing didn't seem to help – in fact, it just made things worse, prompting an apology from Bepo when Carue attempted to hide behind Vivi.
"Thanks for the warning," Sakura smiled, lifting her hand, "But we're really just going to stay there for a night, and then move on. We should be fine."
Both gatekeepers seemed relieved by this, and waved the group on through. It was only when they were well out of earshot that all eyes went to Marco.
"…What, yoi?" he asked, and Sakura and Vivi crossed their arms.
"We saw you considering what they'd said," Sakura frowned.
"What do you know?" Vivi pressed Marco, and he sighed in response.
"Not much, to be entirely honest," he explained. "But I feel like I've heard descriptions that match those rumors before."
Sakura and Vivi's expressions brightened. "That means that the one causing them may be from the Grand Line!" Sakura smiled, clapping her hands together. "All right! Full speed to Amegakure!"
Carue quacked in terror as Vivi climbed onto his back and Marco turned to Bepo. "Say, can you run quickly on all fours, yoi?" he asked.
Bepo nodded. "I can, but my crew doesn't like it when I do. They say I'm too fast for them to keep up with," he hung his head. "Sorry…"
"No, no, that's good!" Sakura smiled as Marco transformed into his full Zoan form. Bepo looked at her in surprise and confusion, so she explained. "We've been covering more ground by having Carue carry Vivi and Marco carry me, so we were worried you might get left behind, but if you're fast on all fours then it's not a problem!" Bepo's face lit up, and before long Sakura found herself being hugged again. "Um, Bepo? We won't be able to go fast in the first place if you're hugging me."
Bepo hung his head and let go of her. "I'm sorry…"
Marco gently hit Bepo with his wing. "You apologize too much, yoi."
"Sorry…"
The phoenix sweatdropped. "Just try and be a bit more self-confident. You're on the crew of one of the Shichibukai, even if the World Government thinks you're their pet."
"Shichi…" Sakura blinked.
"I'll explain on the way, yoi."
Thanks to their quickened pace, the group arrived in Amegakure just as the sun was going down. When the gatekeepers asked what a Konoha ninja was doing there, they quickly gave them the cover story that Vivi had come up with back in Konoha – she was a princess from a faraway land who had hired a bodyguard from Konoha so she could explore the land without fear of being in too much danger. (Fortunately for their group, Marco had still been in phoenix form when they'd arrived.) The gatekeepers believed them, and they got directions to the nearest inn from them, a warning to stay away from the Southern District, and guest passes in case someone asked what they were doing here. When Vivi asked why they had to stay away from the Southern District, the gatekeepers explained that several residents of the city had reported strange laughter and suddenly feeling depressed while wandering that area, before passing out and waking up to find themselves in a different part of the city.
So after they dropped off their things at an inn on the edge of town, Sakura, Marco, Vivi, Carue and Bepo all made their way to the Southern District to try and find the source of these rumors. By the time they arrived there, it was dark out, so the group was sticking together, Marco having shifted back into his human form on account of the rain.
"I don't like the rain," Bepo whined, attempting to brush the water out of his fur. "I don't like being wet."
"Neither do I," Marco admitted as he scanned the area. "Might be because I'm a bird, or because I'm made out of fire, but I don't enjoy it."
Vivi laughed. "Speak for yourselves. I come from a desert island, so rain is always welcome," she smiled, twirling around. She then paused and turned around, lifting her hand to point and opening her mouth to speak. No sooner than she had, four strange ghost-like creatures flew out, each one flying through a different member of their party. The only one that didn't get hit by a ghost was Bepo.
Sakura, Marco, Vivi and Carue found themselves on their hands and their knees, feeling strangely depressed. Sakura complained that she was a useless shinobi, Marco mulled over the fact that he couldn't protect his family, Vivi whined that she was a terrible princess, and Carue quacked in a full-on depression.
Bepo looked between his companions, flailing around in a state of panic. "G-Guys!? Are you okay!? What's going on?!" he yelped, waving his arms around before holding his head as he tried to figure out what was happening. At that moment, he thought he heard…
He paused, freezing in place when it became clear enough to make out. He thought he'd been imagining it, but now he could clearly hear a distant laughter that was echoing from above into the streets around them. He looked around, trying to identify the source of the laughter, but due to the way it was echoing, he simply wound up looking around in a state of panic as the laughter became louder and seemed to get closer.
"Horohorohorohorohoro~"
...well, I think that's a pretty clear indication of who we're about to meet.
Krazyfanfiction1: It's a possibility, though fishmen probably won't be appearing in the Shinobi's world.
Cyricist001: Well, we'll see. I'm still working out how that's gonna go.
Allykrau: I feel like Naruto would be a terrible idea for recruiting half of these people, but maybe that's just me.
CrystalHeart27: I get the feeling another pinkette's about to have a life-size teddy bear soon enough ;D
rainwolf024: HERE IS UPDATE, ENJOY THE UPDATE
Skipper917: Thank you~
The Keeper of Worlds: Oh god I didn't realize that, that was a total coincidence - I MEAN THAT WAS TOTALLY ON PURPOSE, YES, TOTALLY.
Guest: This is taking place post-timeskip, so Ace is kinda... um... really, really really dead right now? um. sorry. ._.;;
See you next time!