"The goal for this task is to find and retrieve the three scrolls of Eternal Suffering I have hidden in various places throughout the area. Bring them back before the gate closes and locks you in. You have one hour. Don't bother coming back unless you've got a scroll in your hand. Good Luck." Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets after waving them out into the abandoned cityscape and the large digital clock projected in the sky began to tick.
"Sounds easy enough..." Naruto had hoped, but he already learned that no matter how easy the instructions for the tasks were there would be nothing quick or simple about it.
"Knowing Kakashi, we are all probably going to die." Shikamaru shrugged and began making his way through the streets, observing everything with a bored look on his face.
"Wanna stick together on this one?" The blonde nudged Sasuke as the rest of the competitors began going separate ways.
The Uchiha thought for a moment before speaking. "Our chances of survival go up if we stick together but our chances of finding the scroll are greater if we spread out."
"Which one is more important to you then?"
Sasuke scoffed. "Fine, I guess we can try sticking together on this one. It worked out last time."
"Don't sound so excited, Teme." the blond rolled his eyes at the Uchiha before following him down the abandoned street.
They began searching through rubble and dilapidated storefronts for any clues as to where the scrolls might be hidden. They found nothing but dust and cobwebs, much to their frustration. Naruto looked up at the time in the sky to see that fifteen minutes had already passed. His shoulders sagged at that fact. He stopped to think analyzing the tall buildings that surrounded them when a figure caught his eye.
"Hey Shika, you wanna team up with us?" Naruto shouted out to the half breed that had scaled the side of the five story building and was now sitting at the roof edge staring at the sky.
"What are you doing? You trust him enough to team up with him?" Sasuke questioned the blond.
"He knows Kakashi best and he's wicked smart, you ass. If anyone can figure out where the scrolls are hiding and what else is in store for this task it's him." They shifted their focus back to the Sloth competitor.
He seemed to be gazing at them almost indifferent, before he waved them up to the roof. For whatever reason the lazy man agreed to it and they stood on the rooftop blankly trying to figure out what their teammate was looking at, as Shikamaru went back to watching the clouds pass by.
"Umm, so any ideas where to start looking?" Naruto spoke after a minute.
"Shhh" The half breed laying on the roof silenced him and threw a bored glare his way. He closed his eyes and seemed to have opted for taking a nap instead.
"Ok, I don't have time for this. Naruto, we have to find those scrolls." Sasuke huffed and began to walk off.
"Good luck. There's over eight hundred buildings in this abandoned city, you really think you'll be able to thoroughly search them all in time?" Shikamaru didn't once open his eyes as he addressed the Uchiha.
"Better than just laying around, taking a nap."
The half breed shrugged at Sasuke in response. "I'm multitasking."
Naruto sighed at the impatience of his friend. "C'mon Sas, don't be like that. Give him a chance will ya? He's one hell of a strategist. I know that for a fact, he trained with me for a few weeks."
"Tch." The raven haired man frowned but stayed put, tapping his finger against his hip rapidly in aggravation.
"The three scrolls are on complete opposite ends of the city. Being able to collect them all individually is a challenge and as a team is impossible, however all we'll need is one scroll." Shikamaru finally stood and dusted his pants off.
Naruto scratched at the back of his head as he thought, "But I thought Lord Sloth said we needed to get a scroll to cross…"
"Right, a scroll. He assumed we'd all be working individually. There was nothing about working as a team though. It's open for debate and possible that they'd let it slide since he didn't bother to explain that or say we couldn't work as a unit. In any case we can see how much time we have after capturing one. We may be able to snag another, depending on how much resistance we face and how fast we are."
"Resistance?" Sasuke raised a brow at the word.
"You didn't think that they'd just have the scrolls out in the open, unguarded now did you?"
"Damn it." Naruto swore. That hadn't occurred to him in the slightest.
Shikamaru scoffed. "Alright, Naruto you're physically the strongest of us three and Uchiha, you've got that lightning affinity..."
"How'd you know about that?" Sasuke furrowed his brow.
"People talk, shadows whisper. You'd be surprised how much you hear when you take a nap around others." The sloth contender smirked.
Naruto burst out laughing and praised the strategist. "Clever, dude!"
"Shut up, moron." The Uchiha groaned.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll play to our strengths. Don't get ahead of yourselves. The scroll at the water tower is the closest one to us. Let's head that way."
They ran across the city at a mild pace, trying their best to stay in the shadows as per Shikamaru's plan. The water tower was fenced in by a tall ten foot chain link gate. Shika disappeared for a moment and returned with a large industrial floor rug from a nearby shop.
"Naruto give us a lift, careful not to hurt yourself. Blood would be very bad right now." The sloth competitor said as he tossed the rubber bottom of the carpet to hang over the barbed wire so they wouldn't cut themselves as they easily climbed over.
The blond hoisted them over the fence before leaping up with strong legs to pull himself across and landed softly next to them glancing around. He shuddered as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. "Anyone else get the feeling we're being stalked?"
"We are. Don't make any sudden movements until we grab the scroll." Shika calmly continued forward to the large steel ladder that lead to the top of the tower.
"My head is telling me don't ask but I'm gonna ignore it like I always do and ask. What exactly is following us?" Naruto whispered harshly.
Shikamaru let out a small quiet laugh. "It's Kakashi's test, dumbass. What do you think?"
X-X-X-X
"Ya know, the being chased by deadly creatures thing is becoming a little overkill" Naruto huffed as they booked it down the street away from the hounds that were quickly gaining. They had only found one scroll but a pack of ten hounds swiftly descended on them almost as soon as they had grabbed it.
"Fuck finding the other two scrolls. We'll be lucky to out run these fuckers in time." Sasuke tossed the scroll to Shikamaru. "I'm gonna try to get a few off your backs. Keep running." The Uchiha abruptly leapt up to the building, running along the brick walls. He turned and threw a handful of daggers hitting several hounds. Unfortunately it only slowed their pace, their focus unyielding as they chased the scroll.
"Anything in that big brain of yours about how to get them to stop?!"
"I can't just call off a kill command! Kakashi is the only one who can do that."
"We have company." Sasuke jumped back down to run alongside Naruto and Shikamaru.
In the distance two familiar figures were approaching followed by a another massive pack of vicious hounds.
"Shit" Naruto swore, his legs ached but he didn't dare slow his sprinting pace. Sasuke had hurt enough of them that they were all limping somewhat but the pack behind the Hyuga and Sakura was triple the size of what they were being chased by. He glanced up at the clock in the sky, five minutes before the gate closed. They had to make it.
"I think I've got an idea. Sasuke can you try to take out some of the horde chasing the girls? We'll need to thin the pack as best we can, or at least slow them down. See if the Envy girl can help you. Be ready to use your lightning when I tell you." Shika spoke rapidly. Sasuke nodded and bolted over placing a firm grip on his katana.
"Naruto, you take the scroll and go to the gate, we'll be close behind. Get the Hyuga to follow you. I'll take care of making sure they don't get through the gate before it closes. Put up a barrier just in case."
The blond caught the item tossed to him and waved over for Hinata to follow him. She didn't hesitate as Sasuke and Sakura began taking on hounds from a distance as best as they could. Shikamaru dashed ahead and deliberately released the fire hydrant at the end of the road soaking the street with the gushing water. Naruto willed his legs to carry him just a little further feeling the adrenaline pump through his body and carry him through. They crossed the gate, tossing the scrolls to the floor and slowing their pace to catch their breaths. Naruto turned back, placing his hands out and muttering an incantation Gaara had taught him, he hoped it was powerful enough to keep out the hounds should they escape past the others. His eyes danced across the city scape to watch Sasuke, Sakura and Shikamaru follow through with the rest of the plan. Once they crossed the building Shika was waiting as Sasuke turned back around and charged his body with lightning, slamming his hands down into the flooded street. Dozens of hounds cried out as they were electrified, falling over in limp piles.
"That was a close one, huh?" Sakura cheered as she crossed the gate and turned to a still breathless Hinata and Naruto.
"We only got two scrolls." Sasuke grumbled as he approached them.
"Shit! Well maybe.." Sakura began.
"There's only one minute left. You're stupid if you think we can find it in one minute and go through that all over again." Shikamaru yawned, joining them across the gate.
"Or it could come to us." Hinata pointed back out to the figure headed their way followed by at least a hundred ferocious hellhounds.
"You've got to be kidding me" Shikamaru threw his head back and groaned.
"Fuck" Naruto breathed out.
He was still out of breath. His mind began working to try and figure out the best way to help the man. If he ran out there there was no guarantee he'd make it back before the gate shut but he knew that couldn't just leave him out there to be killed by hellhounds. Before he could take a step Sasuke uncharacteristically bolted back into the cityscape towards the Greed competitor.
"Hold the gate!" Sasuke shouted.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Hinata yelled out as the warning alarm began blaring and the heavy metal gate above them began to drop down.
Sai stumbled as a hound bit at his heels and crashed into the cracked pavement beneath him with a shout of surprise. Naruto heard a strangled yelp come from the monster as Sasuke plunged his sword through the beast before it could rip Sai apart. He took on several as they continued to try and attack the now injured candidate, growing more ferocious at the smell of spilt blood. Pulling the half breed back up, they stood back to back weapons drawn against the massive hoard. It didn't look good for either of them.
Naruto watched the gate continue to drop further. He ran up to stand beneath it, outstretching his hands above his head and gripping the bottom of the massive iron gate, acting as a wedge to hold it open as best as he could.
"Ah, shit. You guys are so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and dashed back out swiftly jumping up to the buildings.
"No worries guys, take your time. This isn't heavy at all." The blonde sarcastically grunted under the immense weight. His knees were giving out, the adrenaline from before long gone and the pain began setting in. The protective ward from before was wavering too, Naruto was unable to keep both the gate and the barrier up. He watched it flicker out, straining to hold the gate up longer.
"I got you." The pink haired girl took place next to Naruto and began to work at keeping the gate open. Amazingly he felt the weight lessen significantly and the gate lift a tad as she pushed up against it.
"Sakura!" A whip cracked out as Hinata jumped to protect them from the stray hounds that found their way to them. The Hyuga worked at keeping them at bay but the numbers were rapidly multiplying. She swung one around and tossed it away from the gate as another tried to charge her. She quickly jumped out of the way and swung her weapon around to catch its feet and send it reeling back against a wall with a whimper.
"Hurry the fuck up!" Hinata angrily shouted as yet another attacked her.
Explosions sounded from the opposite end of the city as Shikamaru appeared next to Sasuke and Sai. "We gotta move. NOW!"
They placed Sai between them as he slung his arms around them and let them carry him to safety. More explosions rang out as the buildings began imploding and toppling over, crushing the beasts beneath them. It felt like a lame slow motion scene from a cheesy action movie as Naruto watched everyone run back away from the exploding buildings and raging hellhounds in the distance. Except the explosions and hell hounds were rapidly approaching too, and he felt the weight of the gate begin to crush him despite Sakura helping take the burden of it. Hinata crossed the threshold and pulled Sakura back at the same time Sasuke ducked under the gate yanking Naruto once Sai and Shikamaru were in the clear. The metal slammed closed with heavy thud and the sound of everything else ceased.
They all lay on the floor, breathless and exhausted. Sai was the first to speak.
"Thank you." He winced as he sat up, and began trying to stop the bleeding from the bite on his ankle.
"Ino would have killed me if you died. I really didn't have a choice." Sasuke frowned and glared at Naruto who was giving him an amused look.
"Well, I vote we never do that ever again." Naruto slowly moved into a sitting position, assessing the physical damage of the task.
"I second that." Sakura began rolling her shoulders as the turned to the Hyuga. "Thank you for saving us towards the end there." She smiled as Hinata simply nodded and flushed.
"Well, well. Congratulations. You got all three scrolls in the allotted amount of time without anyone dying and you managed to even work together. I'm pleasantly surprised. Although you were a little harsh on my dogs." Kakashi appeared in the middle of the group.
"A little harsh? They were trying to kill us. We reacted perfectly fine if you ask me." Hinata crossed her arms, obviously annoyed.
"Alright, well the test was supposed to try and put you all against each other to fight for the scrolls but you seemed to have seen through that and it looks like everyone got to work as a team. I'm rather impressed, I suppose. Good work. The reapers will post the scores sometime tomorrow."
Three tasks down, Naruto sighed in relief. Just four more to go. Other than the typical danger from the trials there was nothing else that seemed to be giving him a sense of impending peril. No more strange outbursts of power or odd out of body feelings. Maybe his mother was wrong about this one, maybe he would survive just fine. The blond smiled at the hopeful thought before returning to where his mentor waited. Maybe he'd be ok after all.
X-X-X-X
Pride leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes. Shisui had finally been able to decrypt the flash drive that Kisame had given him, and the information he found on it was well worth it. Now he just had to find a way to strategize a counter to what the Order was doing. The demon himself had found only one physical file in the restricted access area of Hell's records and it was not much to go on. They only referenced Kyuubi as a mysterious demonic power source being wielded by one of the first fallen angels that followed Lucifer. The digital files however were most helpful, as they went into why the Order would be seeking its power. It seems like they are planning on taking this ancient beast from wherever it lay dormant and basically using its power to reinvent the mortal plane, eliminate the imperfections and create a perfect world order. It was a lot to think about and right now the demon couldn't stand to be in his desk a moment longer. Itachi gathered his things and left his office deep in thought about everything he had found out last night. His phone buzzed in his pocket as he entered the elevator and pressed the ground floor.
"Hey."
"'Tachi. Are you coming home already?"
"I just left my office."
"Ok, well the brat's driving me insane. Please come tell him to stop eating my stash of sweets before I strangle him."
"He does it on purpose to annoy you."
"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Shisui shouted in the distance at, Itachi assumed, his younger brother.
"I wasn't anywhere near your computer, stop being such a shit head." Sasuke's voice groaned in the background.
Of course, Shisui had an ongoing feud with his brother. "I am going to put you both in time out on opposite sides of the house."
"Like you could ever really punish me.." The demon on the line teased lightly . "The reason I called you. Remember that file you found from the restricted fates paper record entry of the Kyubbi but thought it wasn't helpful?"
"Yes..."
"I cross-referenced it with the online database I hacked into and found something. The reason it didn't make sense was because it was only a part of it. The file did not include the full text. It's not really an event that had passed per say, we were looking in the wrong area. It's a prophecy foretold by several clairvoyants, and there's a list of the people who have had the similar prophetic vision. It seems that the prophecy is missing from the online records so all I could get were names and dates." It was hard not to hear the slight glee in his husband's voice at his discovery.
"Who are they?"
"It's only three people but the record seems to have them all having visions recorded pertaining to this Kyuubi. Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, Senju Mito, Uzumaki Kushina..."
Itachi froze for a moment, slightly thankful that he was still in the elevator. His mind connected the dots with what Minato had told him when Naruto had first come to hell, how all of this was coming into play. All of a sudden he understood why it was more than a coincidence that he was summoned by the half breed in the first place, and perhaps the real reason why Kushina was silenced.
"Wait, as in Naruto's mother?"
"I'm almost certain. Only way to be sure is to see her file, which is kept in records on the mortal plane with the High Witch of New York since she wasn't a demon. If the dates of her visions match up with the dates connected to the Kyuubi prophecy then maybe we have a lead as to exactly what those visions were and we can better prepare a way to counter the Order."
"Right. Are you also getting the hunch that this may have something to do with the visions pertaining to Minato's son as well?"
"I was hoping it was just me…"
"I need to call Gaara. I'll be home in twenty minutes." Pride hung up abruptly as the elevator doors opened. His mind was whirring around the possibilities. Could this be why Naruto's mother never wanted her son to know anything about his demonic half? Was it because he was connected to finding what the Order was after? It could have just been one of many visions she had, completely unrelated to Naruto's danger in hell. The demon frowned, his gut telling him that was not the case. He reached his car and slammed the door shut, dialing Gaara's number as he peeled out of his parking spot.
"Yes."
"Where is Naruto?" Itachi asked with a little more force than normal.
Wrath paused for a moment, obviously put off by the intensity of Itachi's voice. "With me. What happened?"
"I have to disclose something to you. Are you in a private place?"
There was a slight sound of shuffling and a door closing before the demon responded , "Yes."
Itachi made his way home, weaving through the light mid day traffic, "Naruto may be in some serious trouble. I believe certain members of the Order may soon come after him."
"What do you mean?"
"It's complicated and there are a few pieces missing but I'm positive at least for now there are going to be some problems. I need to talk with Minato and Shisui to completely piece it together. Are you at home?"
"I am. What do you need me to do?" Gaara sounded slightly off as he waited for instructions from his commander.
"Just don't let him out of your sight for now. I'm going to need some help from your witch, she has some files we need."
"I'll contact her."
"We can meet on the mortal plane in two hours, it's easier to talk there."
Wrath simply grunted in affirmation before hanging up.
X-X-X-X
"Who was that?" Naruto looked up from his seated position on the training floor when Gaara walked back in.
"Itachi. We'll be meeting up with some people this evening." The demon took his place again on the floor cushion across the blond.
"You look worried." Blue eyes filled with concern as the redhead crossed his legs into a lotus position.
Gaara frowned slightly before shaking his head. "We may have some trouble soon, but for now let's focus on this." He lightly gestured to the bowl that sat between them.
Naruto sighed softly but closed his eyes once again in concentration. They sat in silence for a while as the demon studied the torn pieces of paper in the old ceramic dish. He was hoping Naruto would be able to pick this technique up without issue before heading into the fourth task. They had been working at it for a few weeks already to no avail.
"Nothing is happening again. Maybe I just don't have the ability to manipulate demonic energy like that?"The half breed peeked open one eye to watch his mentor.
"It's possible. Some half breeds never awaken that ability and if they do sometimes they don't have a specific affinity for energy types. However, you are a direct descendant of a cardinal sin. The chance of that is highly unlikely." Gaara watched the half mortal furrow his brow with that response.
"Then what am I doing wrong?"
"You may be overthinking it a bit. You already have a basis down so it's not that you aren't able to manipulate the energy. I think it's more of an issue with you connecting with the energy directly. This is similar to the incantations I taught you. The ones you use to open locks and create protective barriers. That's energy manipulation with words as a medium. With affinity and things of that sort, you skip the medium and connect straight to the demonic power source. Usually it will then manifest in a specific nature phenomenon that you are able to control and utilize for defense or offense." Wrath nodded to the bowl as the bits of paper flew around in a small whirlwind. "After you get the hang of one you can gain control over other affinities."
The redhead snapped his fingers and a large flame engulfed the paper shreds and turned them to ash.
"So if I can get incantations down then I should be able to get this down too."
"Logically, yes. But you also just might not be ready yet. It took me a while to get it down."
Naruto groaned, "How do I know if I'm ready? I can't wait a few centuries. The tasks will only get harder and having a weapon I can call on whenever I need would be really useful."
The demon shrugged, "There are some things you shouldn't rush."
The blond frowned and stayed silent at that piece of advice.
"You're probably subconsciously blocking the connection somehow, I'm not sure what's blocking you though. Maybe Shizune can help see what it is."
"Yeah? I'm down. I would also be nice to visit with….her again."
Gaara knew he wasn't referring to the witch with that statement. He stood and picked up the bowl to set it on its shelf. "Of course. I'd like to say hello to your mother again as well."
Naruto smiled brightly at his mentors response and jumped up to plant a kiss on his cheek before running upstairs to change clothes. Gaara shot off a text to Shizune, still smiling from the sweet contact of Naruto's lips on his face.
Gaara: Your assistance has been requested.
Witch: You can ask for a favor without sounding like a robot you know. :(
Gaara: I'm not the one who's requesting it.
Witch: I'm scared to ask…
Gaara: Don't fuck up.
Witch: What the fuck kind of shit advice is that?!
Gaara chuckled to himself as he tossed the phone onto his bed and changed into a pair of old jeans and a long sleeved maroon shirt. A dance of light from the top of the dresser caught his eye, silvery iridescent colors taunting him. He grabbed it and sat at the edge of his bed once he was dressed for a moment, letting his head process just what Itachi could have meant. He frowned as his mind tried making connections in regards to the Order that would definitely put the halfbreed in danger. He had hoped the tasks would be the only life risking event for Naruto, but he knew their luck wouldn't run that far. The blond had proven himself so far, plenty enough to stand his own if need be. But the Order, they were something else entirely. If they came after him there was little Naruto could do to stop them on his own. Hell there was little Gaara could do short of demolishing both heaven and earth to stop the Order.
"Is everything ok?" Naruto was crouched down in front of Gaara, face full of concern.
The demon was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice when the halfbreed had walked in.
"No. Unfortunately there's been another problem thrown our way." The redhead sighed as he held his gaze into blue eyes.
"What happened?"
Wrath tugged Naruto up and pulled him into his lap. He unclasped the simple silver chain and gently hooked it behind the blonds neck. The figure in his lap quirked a brow in question and looked down to find the protection dragon scale hanging from the necklace.
"Oh, I had wondered where that went." a big smile flashed across his face as Gaara offered a fond smile.
"I had planned on giving it back to you just before the fourth task but due to certain circumstances, I think sooner is best."
Naruto's face fell at that comment. "What happened, Gaara?"
The demon lifted a hand to brush some stray hair that had fallen into Naruto's face as he spoke, " Itachi called earlier. He has a suspicion that the Order may target you for some reason."
"Me? What for? Of all the competitors I would figure they'd go after Sasuke or Hinata. They are way stronger than I am at this point."
"I don't think it has to do with the competition" Gaara admitted
Naruto seemed thrown off track by that. "Then what the hell would they want me for?"
Wraths hands trailed down to find defined hips, thumbs circling around the bone that protruded a bit. "Itachi and Shizune are going to help us figure that part out tonight. I need you to promise me that you will not leave my side from now on."
"Are these Order guys really all that bad?" a hint of unease filled the question.
"Naruto, they will easily tear apart anyone who gets in the way of accomplishing their twisted goals of order and balance."
The halfbreed shoulders slightly sagged as a worried expression found its way onto his face. Gaara watched him frown as he mulled over the demons response.
"Hey, I will do everything in my power to protect you. Your father, Shizune and Itachi won't let them get you so easily either. I need you to be aware and keep your guard up but don't feel like you're alone in this. You have lots of support."
"I know. It's not that. I just get so tired of having things thrown my way just when I've started to get used to the turn my life has taken, you'd think fate would get tired of fucking around with me." the blond stood back up.
"Well, I can't say that I blame it. You're just so fun to fuck."
Naruto snorted in amusement as he headed down the stairs and towards the elevator doors. "Then you might wanna tell it to back off, fucking me is your job now."
X-X-X-X
Gaara stood in front of Kushina's grave, listening to Naruto talk to her about his tasks so far and how he managed to make it through them in one piece. The halfbreed rambled on, Gaara chiming in only to correct him on how it actually happened, and yes that was a stupid thing to do. Naruto huffed and proceeded to tell the demon to shut up and let him finish telling the story.
Wrath rolled his eyes in mock annoyance before allowing Naruto to continue. He willed his vision to sharpen and the image of Kushina came into view. He watched her spirit as she hovered around her son, something wasn't right. She was frantic, fidgety and her spirit was blurry. Wrath blinked a few times and leaned back against her tombstone to observe how she fussed around her son obviously upset. Naruto looked back at the demon after a moment and paused mid story to ask why Gaara was staring.
"Something's not right. She seems upset."
"Wait, what?" Naruto looked around at the empty graveyard as if it would give him some form of clarity
"Your mother. She seems distraught. She won't stop pacing around you." the demon gestured to the spirit that was now standing right behind the blond.
Naruto shot the redhead a look as if he had just sprouted seven heads. "Wait, you mean you can see her?"
"Of course, I can see her. I'm a demon." Gaara sighed as if it should have been obvious.
"Where is she? Can she see me? Why can't I see her?"
"Calm down. She's right next to you, and yes she can see and hear us. Once you become a full demon you'll be able to see the spirits of the deceased too. Not that it's all that great, you'll be thankful you can tune them out when you want."
A large smile spread across the halfbreed face as he looked over to his side. "Holy shit, all this time I kind of just wondered if she was even listen- wait, she's upset? About what? Was it something I said?"
Gaara shook his head, she had seemed anxious not angry. "No that's not it."
The woman frowned deeply at the demon before touching the dragon scale that hung around her son's neck and disappeared.
"Won't she tell you what's wrong?" the blond asked.
"I can't communicate with them like that. Only witches and clairvoyants can, unless you've got an Ouija board hiding somewhere. She left anyway, we should probably do the same. Spirits talk, it might not be safe here." Gaara began walking toward the exit as the half breed whispered a quick goodbye and followed closely after his mentor.
Gaara was tense and firmly grabbed Naruto's hand as they walked through the city and onto the train. Being in the mortal realm was easier to talk, but also easier for someone to catch them off guard. The demon scanned the car as they sat on the filthy seats of the subway, waiting for their stop as an image of Naruto's mother played back in his mind. If she was distraught then some sort of news had rippled through the spirit world, Shizune would be able to tell them. He'd bring it up with Itachi too, just in case. Regardless, it only solidified the tension of Naruto being targeted.
The ride was silent, only the sound of the train on its tracks and the occasional cough or sniffle from the other occupants. Like they could sense the paranoia in the air, some unseen force advising them against making too much noise. He felt Naruto lean into his side, arms wrapping around his bicep and tanned cheek resting at his shoulder. He had seen the blond do that once before, many years ago during one of his first visits with Minato, an unsure child seeking comfort from his mother.
"You ok?" The demon whispered into the mass of golden hair at his side.
"My anxiety has decided now would be a good time to kick in" his voice was low and muffled, face pressed firmly into Gaara's arm.
"How can I help?" Wrath was now hyper aware of just how many people were on the train and how slow it seemed to be going and why were these cars so damn small in the first place?
The half breed squeezed his arm tighter, "Just don't leave me."
"Never" Gaara placed a firm hand on Naruto's thigh for reassurance. "The next stop is ours, it's close to Shizune's. Would you like to get to someplace private?"
A definite nod was felt and the next five minutes felt like an eternity before the train pulled into the station and the doors opened, releasing them from the narrow prison. Naruto clung to the demons side as he guided him up the stairs and down a block, familiar storefront greeting them with a flicker of the front lights against the darkening evening.
Shizune acknowledged them with a small wave and raised eyebrow at the sight of the halfbreed. Gaara requested someplace private and the witch quickly nodded and lead them upstairs without another word.
"Take as much time as you need, I'll make some tea whenever you're ready." the door shut behind her as she exited, leaving them alone in her small bedroom.
Gaara sat on the bed, arms still clutching tightly to him. He reached over and pulled the halfbreed into his lap, adjusting to an embrace as the blond still buried his face into the soft material of the demons clothing. Gently rubbing circles at Naruto's back, he worked to steady his breathing. "Its ok, Naruto. Breath with me."
A shaky breath was let out by Naruto, like it was being held so tightly his lungs would break. After what seemed like years the breath steadied and his hands no longer shook in the death grip they had on Wrath's shirt.
"I'm sorry", Naruto finally spoke after some time.
Gaara didn't move, arms still wrapped around the figure in his lap. His chin rested on the blonds head, he protectively gave a small squeeze as if he could draw Naruto into himself and protect him from the dangers life seemed to enjoy hurtling his way.
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault."
Naruto was silent again for a while longer, fingers absently tracing patterns along Gaara's form. "Thank you for staying with me."
"I promised I would." the demon pressed small kisses into the top of Naruto's head.
"Yeah, but still. Thanks for not breaking that promise."
Blue eyes looked up, still filled with uncertainty but strong in the resolve to not dart away when Gaara gazed back. Slowly the blond stood, clearing his throat and taking in a deep grounding breath. "I'm good now."
Gaara simply nodded and guided the blond out into Shizune's kitchen. She had some light music playing from an old record player at the table in her tiny living room, the familiar saxophone melody of Take Five drifting into the rest of the apartment. They sat at her small table as she set mugs of hot herbal tea before each of them and plopped herself down across from them.
"I'm assuming we are waiting for more guests?" she grabbed the deck of tarot cards from the middle of the table and began shuffling.
Wrath nodded as he took a sip of tea. He glanced over as Naruto seemed entranced by Shizune's shuffling skills.
"Naruto also has a question to ask you."
The blond gave a small jump at the sound of his name, azure eyes turned to face the demon questioningly.
"He's having some trouble with energy manipulation." the demon stated and Naruto remembered the other reason for coming to see Shizune.
"Oh, yeah. I can't do it for some reason. Every time I try I just feel… stuck?"
The witch paused mid shuffle, considering the information for a moment. She then held the deck out for Naruto and motioned for him to take it.
"Give it a shuffle and focus on the feeling you have when you try to manipulate energy directly."
Gaara watched the halfbreed cautiously take the deck and messily re arrange the cards. His brow furrowed as he concentrated while he shuffled. Three cards fell out onto the table and Naruto paused to pick them up.
Shizune hand shot out to stop him. "No, leave them. Keep shuffling"
Naruto continued as instructed until one more card fell and the witch told him to stop. She grabbed the deck back and turned the cards over to reveal what they were. She frowned and threw a pointed glance at the demon before sitting back in her chair.
"We aren't mind readers. Care to share with the rest of the class?" Gaara bit out and returned her glare.
"It's not anything that I didn't already know, I'm just disappointed these cards weren't more helpful." She grumbled before turning the images around so the halfbreed and demon could get a better look.
"What does it mean?" Naruto stared at them, absolutely lost.
Again the witch looked over at the demon, this time it was softer. "It means you've been through a lot kid. You have some hindrances that are causing you trouble."
The demon could tell from the tone of her voice she was giving a half truth. There was much more to it.
"Huh?" Naruto was obviously still confused.
"Be honest with him Shizune. He deserves to hear the truth." Gaara stared at her until she caved, waving at him to stop.
"Fine. Naruto, these are very harsh cards. They all mean struggle, conflict and heavy burdens of some sort. The nine of swords signifies anxiety and distress, ten of swords means hopelessness, destruction or being pinned down by a multitude of difficulty. The first card is a reflection of you, the second is your past."
Naruto stiffened a bit, Gaara slid his hand under the table to rest on a denim glad thigh. A small anchor for the unrelenting truth that he was sure Naruto was already aware of.
"The third and fourth card are your present and future, respectively. The devil is a card of bondage. I'm pretty damn sure that this is why you are having a hard time with your energy manipulation. There's something blocking you from achieving it, but the only person who can confront that and free you, is yourself. The tower is a tough one. It's change, to put it nicely. Lots of change through turmoil." She sighed again and took a sip from her own mug as she watched the blond mull over his reading.
"Will it be a good change?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
Shizune shrugged, "That's up to you."
"I agree with you, that wasn't very helpful." Naruto admitted as he intertwined his fingers with Wraths, resting their hands in his lap.
Gaara knew Shizune pretended not to notice as she picked up the cards and shuffled them again. He frowned as she held them out to him.
"No." He pushed them back to her with his free hand.
"You never let me read your cards anymore. Where's your sense of curiosity?"
He rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Oh that's right, it died right along with your sense of humor. C'mon, take that stick out of your ass and amuse me. Just this once." The witch pouted and held her hand out once more.
Naruto smiled at that last comment, trying to hide it as he sipped his tea.
"Why do you care so much about my cards?" The demon groaned.
"Would you just shuffle and pick already."
Begrudgingly Gaara grabbed them and neatly gave it a few shuffles before Shizune grabbed it back hastily and spread them out in a row before him.
"Pick two."
The demon sighed and pulled out random cards, holding the stiff material between his fingers. The witch nearly ripped them from his hand and threw it face up on the table staring at it in total concentration. Gaara grumbled at her impatience, but was interrupted as Shizune burst out into a fit of laughter. He turned to Naruto and sighed.
"This is why I never let her read my cards."
They both watched as she wiped tears from the corner of her eyes, pausing in her laughter to toss the cards down in front of them for the demon to see. Wrath stared back at two cards he knew well, they were present the last time Shizune had did a reading for him centuries ago. She had laughed then too.
"You still haven't changed, Ichibi. When you fall, you fall hard." She spoke through giggles.
"Fuck you." He tossed the cards back to her as embarrassment colored his cheeks.
"What did he get?" Naruto looked over at the woman across from him.
"Don't you dare tell him." The demon stopped her before she even began to explain.
Shizune gave an apologetic smile to the demon that turned into an evil grin in record time. Just as she opened her mouth to speak the buzzer rang, notifying them that there was someone at her shop door.
"Oh, the rest of the party is here." She jumped up and scurried downstairs, in a rush to escape the murderous glare Gaara had set on her.
That witch was a pain in the ass most days.
X-X-X-X
Itachi was greeted by a familiar woman at the door to the old store front.
"Lord Pride, it's been a while." She ushered him in with a polite smile before taking notice of who trailed behind.
"Brat, it hasn't been long enough." She smirked as Sasuke followed his elder brother into the building.
"Hn." Was all the shorter figure responded.
They were led upstairs and into a kitchen where Gaara and Naruto were arguing about something in hushed tones. Wrath held two cards of some sort out of the blond's reach but quickly pocketed them when he noticed other people had arrived. Itachi curiously arched a brow only to be met with a look that could kill from the red head. Pride let a small smirk play on his lips as he took a seat at the table.
"Sasuke?" Naruto smiled despite his obvious surprise to see the Uchiha there.
"Hey" The younger Uchiha greeted and occupied the chair next to the blond.
"So, to what do I owe this great pleasure my Lords?" The woman yawned out.
Itachi pulled out an index card from his pocket and set it on the surface for the witch to see. "There are some prophecies that I am having trouble looking up. I believe these may be related to some sort of plan the Order is running. Unfortunately I am led to believe they may require Naruto to fulfill their goal."
"Oh" She took the note from the table and read over the names.
"I assume Gaara explained that part to you Naruto?" Pride watched the half breed shift in his chair as he was addressed.
"Yeah"
Itachi noted he did a good job at hiding his unease. The half breed kept a straight face, looking more annoyed by the situation than anything else.
"Mito and Hagoromo… Those are fucking ancient. I don't have their files but I do have some books and scripts on their prophecies. They are going to be in the storage closet downstairs. Would you boys see if you can find them? They should be in one of the boxes." Shizune smiled at the two half breeds expectantly.
Sasuke sighed but obeyed and tugged the blond down the stairs, shooting the three in the kitchen a knowing glare over his shoulder as they descended the steps.
"Now, Uzumaki I do have." The witch commented once the half breeds were out of earshot. Shizune tittered into her living room and opened a large filing cabinet that was nudged into the corner by a messy desk. She began searching through the labels for the right information, Itachi watched her fingers dance over the file folders as she muttered to herself. "Uzumaki, Uzumaki... Ah! Here she is. She had visions as well as automatic writing so there's quite a bit."
A massive file was pulled out and dropped on the table before them with a heavy thud. The faded brown folder was worn with time and weight, Itachi pulled it to him and opened it. The first page was a profile, basic information on the clairvoyant in question. Name, date of birth, address of residence listed below a picture of a beautiful woman with flaming hair. Notes and other descriptions on her skill sets and life were added in pen, scribbles and post-its adorning just about every available space allowed. The tabs organized the file by years and pages filled with writing were stuffed in between each one, a chaotic disarray. Both demons blinked at each other for a second and Gaara's fingers twitched momentarily before he turned back to the witch and began reprimanding her for not having more organized files.
Pride brought his attention back to the documents while the other two bickered, scanning for the year Shisui had told him was the last account of a Kyubbi prophecy. It was difficult to make out some of the handwritten scrawl, but so far nothing about a Kyubbi was popping up as he flipped through the chaos of paperwork. The demon was already beginning to figure out what to do should they have to go back to square one when a bright orange sticky note caught his eye. Large script " Key to Kyubbi? Naruto?" written across it was clear as day and the demon frowned knowing he would not like what he was about to read. The page it was attached to was coffee stained and worn, like it had been folded and re-folded multiple times. A dozen colorful notes were attached to the worn paper and the margins were filled with writing in multiple colored inks, like someone kept coming back to it over and over, trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces.
The demons eyes read the page and then re-read it again. He looked over at Wrath who had ceased his argument with the woman and was now watching him intently. Itachi passed the prophecy over to him and remained silent as Gaara read it out loud.
"The time will come to pass, the dawning of sanctification,
Behold the key, Born of a prophet and ire of hell itself,
He paves the way for the end to come,
The Kyubbi unleashed shall dispel the realms of man and those beyond,
Evil incarnate cowers in its destruction.
Woe to the gatekeeper who stands in its way,
Woe to the key, son of justice,
He shall be devoured by the beast,
His destruction shall show no mercy,
Salvation will turn its head.
Hell shall break the seal,
Heaven shall hear his agony,
Earth shall be wiped of all impurity,
Chaotic redemption by the hand of vile means,
The Kyubbi reborn shall slaughter the divine authority.
Angels shall fall,
Demons shall revolt,
Mortals shall bend the knee,
Hail to the host, Hail to the key,
Son of utmost depravity. "
They sat in silence for a long moment, nobody willing to speak. Itachi shut his eyes as Gaara scowled at the document in hand. This was why Kushina had tried to keep Naruto from anything related to hell, she had figured it out. She was trying to prevent her prophecy from coming true, prevent her son from becoming the key. Shizune finally spoke, gaining understanding of the situation.
"Son of a prophet and ire of hell…. Naruto is the key to this Kuybbi then." She absently drummed her fingers on the table as she spoke.
"This is why she had tried to keep him from anything hell related." Itachi responded, "She was trying to prevent the seal from breaking."
"Has it broken yet?" Gaara still had an ominous look lingering on his face.
Shizune shook her head, "I don't think so, but there's been some talk in the spirit world. Everyone is antsy. All they say when I try to ask them is that, 'It's almost time'. Could they be referring to the seal?"
"Possibly. It would make sense. We went to visit Kushina's grave earlier today, she was frantic. It could be that they sense it's impending." Wrath noted.
"So then what's the main goal? Why try to control this destructive power? They want to wipe out humanity?" Shizune had pulled out a cigarette from her pocket and offered the box to the other two figures at the table.
Pride declined but watched as Gaara took one for himself, lighting both of them with a snap of his fingers. "It seems that way. I take it they feel that humanity has become too corrupt so they wish to use the Kyubbi to purge it."
"Sounds like something the Order would try." Smoke spilled from Wrath's lips as he agreed.
"Why didn't they just take Naruto before then? I understand now they can't because he's protected by the reapers law and all that tournament crap, but before, he was just a normal kid." The witch gestured as she spoke.
"I don't know." Gaara sighed and flicked the ash into a small ceramic bowl on the table.
Itachi began reading the small notations Kushina had made on the paper, most of them were trying to connect the dots between the key and her son. A few were strategies of how to best keep him safe and prevent the inevitable, nothing of great assistance was found. He continued to flip through the rest of her file, skimming over the all of her prophecies in hopes of finding anything else related. The last few entries were interesting, more dated like a journal than random bits of spastic writing like the majority of the file was. He read as she had noted multiple dates, with weeks in between. Soon they became days apart until it was consecutive. His eyes darted to the last entry at the bottom of the page.
"The same vision every day, won't leave me alone. It's a warning, must protect Naruto. Nothing I do changes its outcome, they will come for me, for him. I have no time. I can't warn Minato, they will be watching him too. Please forgive me, Naruto you deserve better."
"What happened to Kushina? Do you remember the last time you saw her?" Itachi interrupted whatever Shizune had begun saying.
"Hmm… It was the day before she was murdered I believe. She seemed tired, like she hadn't slept well but aside from that everything was normal. She brought me the last pages of her file, bought some things from my shop and left. Nothing seemed out of place."
"What did she buy?" Pride's eyes narrowed. Kushina had known she was going to die, he was certain of it.
Shizune tapped her fingers on her chin as she thought for a second. "It was a fugitive charm and a location glamour if I remember correctly."
The sound of footsteps on the stairs jolted them from their train of thought. The half breeds approached carrying small stacks of books and scrolls with them. They dropped them down on the table as Sasuke grumbled about the state of that closet. Itachi stood and wandered over into the cluttered desk in the next room, ignoring the confused looks from his younger brother. He flipped through the stacks of papers and files until he found what he was looking for, rolled up in a corner. He rolled it out, laying it on the table where the others sat. Sasuke hastily removed the stacks of books to make space as Gaara and Shizune shot each other looks of curiosity.
"What are you doing?" The witch finally spoke when he began to rummage through the trinkets on her windowsill altar.
He handed her a box from the window and gestured to the map. "Can you perform a locating spell?"
"Locating spell? Sure, but what does that have to do with anything?" The witch opened the box and took out the glass marbles.
"You think it's still active." Gaara had the same idea as Pride.
"I do. That's why I was summoned, they couldn't locate him to bring him to hell so they had to figure out another way. It had to be someone who wasn't looking for him." Itachi mused.
Wrath nodded, as he ground out his cigarette in the ashtray "Clever. They must have figured out a way to manipulate the energy so he would create your sigil."
Shizune slowly raised her hand as if she was waiting for permission to ask the teacher a question. Gaara merely raised a brow at her. "Can you please explain to the rest of us dimwits what you're going on about?"
"Itachi thinks that the whole reason Naruto ended up in hell was because of the Order." Sasuke huffed out. "It was all planned from the start. Your hunch was right."
"Huh?" The blonde blurted out and furrowed his brow.
"Shizune if you would, try a locating spell to find Naruto." The dark haired demon ushered her closer to the map on the table.
The witch spared a glance at Gaara who nodded in approval. She shrugged and placed the round glass objects on the map of the city, concentrating hard as they slowly began rolling in a circular pattern. Pride watched her close her eyes and extend her hand above the map, the sound of glass against the table intensified as all four pairs of eyes observed the witch expectantly.
"Inveniō", perfect red painted lips muttered.
The marbles continued to circle the map, never ceasing their movement.
"What the fuck?" Shizune opened her eyes and stared at the table. "Inveniō" She tried again with the same results.
Itachi hummed with interest as the witch argued with her seeking orbs.
"Inveniō, you little shits. He's sitting right there!" The woman grumbled as they continued their circling path, mocking her lightly.
"So she placed the the glamour on him, how much you want to bet she placed the charm on him as well?" Gaara scoffed.
Itachi looked over at the blond who was watching Shizune with amusement although still seemed like he was not fully comprehending what had just happened. "That's probably why he was moved around so much as a child. Fugitive charms displace you in the event that those looking for you have found you. They were never able to get their hands on him so they had to find another way."
"Alright, but what are we going to do now? We can't just ignore this and hope they go away."
Gaara was right, they needed a plan of action. "Take a look at the older prophecies. Let's see if we can find anything different. If they plan on bringing this dormant evil to purge humans then they will need to somehow transport it to the mortal realm. That's going to take a lot of energy. If we can figure out how they are planning on doing it then maybe we can find a way to stop them."
Wrath and Shizune became eerily quiet as the stared straight at each other, unblinking.
Shizune spoke first, "You don't think?"
"It makes sense. Why else move it all the way to a secluded location?" Gaara all but jumped from his chair.
"The ley line would be more than enough energy.." The witch continued.
"Fuck, why didn't we see it before? They have been planning all this for years." Wrath curled his hands into fists.
"Ok, I'm sorry but I'm super lost. What is happening? Did I miss something?" Naruto finally spoke up, voice slightly upset at the fact that he was unable to keep up.
All eyes hesitated momentarily before settling on Gaara. The demon frowned and began explaining what they had found to the blond.
"Naruto, it seems that the reason the Order is after you is because you are the key to an ancient demon called Kyubbi. Your mother had a vision about it and tried to protect you." He pulled out the prophecy from the folder and handed it over to the blond. "You being in hell will release this seal, that was why Kushina was so adamant about you knowing nothing of your demon half. She also placed a charm and glamour on you so they wouldn't find you. It may be the reason you were moved around a lot after her passing. The charm was keeping you safe from them."
"We also believe that the whole reason you summoned me was the Order's doing as well. It was the only way they could get you to hell to break the seal." Pride added in.
"Also they will be using the portal as a means of transporting the Kyubbi to the mortal realm. Last year Gaara and I found out it's seated on a strong ley line and in a secluded enough area that they could get it in without much noise." Shizune grabbed the map from the table and began to roll it up.
Itachi watched as Naruto was now quiet, considering everything that had been told to him. It wasn't fair, but life rarely ever was. Hopefully with this information they would be able to get a few steps ahead and prevent anything from taking place. With any luck they could take the Order down quietly, but that was a long shot. They wouldn't back down without a fight.
"What do you need me to do?" The half breed finally spoke, determination set in his face.
"Well we are betting on the fact that they can't get you now due to the tournament and they still need you to break the seal, so they will most likely be watching and waiting until it is over or the seal is broken. For now we plan and keep our eyes open. You still have tasks to get through." Pride began to pick up books and pass them out. "We also need to check these old prophecies for anything relating to the Kyubbi."
There was a slight collective groan from the half breeds and the witch as they accepted the scrolls and leather bound texts from the demon to search through. Itachi shared a knowing glance with Gaara, it was going to be a long night.
