Second chapter is up. I'm getting a little apprehensive about this... Should I continue or not?
Shadows printed the walls of a grim fortress's interior. Echoes of taps on a solid surface pervaded the large, vacant room. A man with slicked back, brown hair in white clothing stopped at the center, turning back just slightly to beckon his guest to see what was in front.
"He is who you requested, correct?"
The visitor stepped forward and inspected who or what was presented to him. The man had long, dark hair and pallid skin, but his most identifying features were his eyes: sickly yellow and slit. A smile twisted its way into his elongated, pasty face as he reached his arm out to touch the one in front of him. His hand, which was equally as white and bony as his face, caressed the figure's hair. Long fingers grasped the fine locks before releasing them.
"My... You haven't changed since the last time I saw you. Perfect..."
The person rose from his kneeling position, revealing a nude body that was tall and muscular, but slender and, peculiarly, somewhat frail. His head lifted, parting strands of hair and revealing a set of pale green eyes.
"Master Orochimaru..."
In a cell chamber, the three captives were held inside, free of restraints. While Naruto and Sakura were unconscious, Sai managed to override the pain of his injury without too much difficulty. He observed that the room was empty with the exception of the three of them and took the opportunity to prop himself up against a wall. His abdomen was bleeding from the sword wound he received earlier on, dealt by an unknown attacker with elaborate black and white robes.
He shifted his glance at Naruto and Sakura, who were also bleeding freely on the wooden floor. "Wake up." he said, nudging Naruto with his foot. There was no response. He frowned; he wouldn't be able to wake them by being louder because the enemy might hear him. On the other hand, if he hit them to rouse their sleep, he might end up injuring them further. Calm words were the only way to go.
"Wake up, Penis-less, Ugly Hag."
As if the names were triggers for shock collars, both Naruto and Sakura bolted up with fuming tempers. His teammates flared and lunged at Sai's throat, screaming at him in the usual manner of reaction.
"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY-"
"YOU WANT ANOTHER PUNCH IN THE-"
"Forcing your diaphragm to work only makes you bleed faster," Sai said, slicing into the midst of their shouts. "and we've been captured by the enemy."
A long silence settled in the air after Sai made his statements, completely composed and normal in tone. His two companions fell back down, finally becoming affected by the pain that pulsed through their bodies; their injuries came from many different fights, and it was only then when they realized that they had burnt themselves out.
Sakura quelled her boiling temper by taking priorities. She pulled off her glove and scooted over to Naruto, raising her palm over his side. "Thanks, Sakura." Naruto grinned in appreciation, though it faltered a little when he saw that Sakura wasn't returning the gesture. She appeared troubled.
"My chakra's almost gone... I can barely close up this wound." Sakura concentrated harder, trying to squeeze out the reserves of her energy to complete the healing process. "Don't strain yourself on me. Heal yourself first!" Naruto urged, dismissing his own injury. Sakura gave him a wry smile at his concern. "Thanks, but I've been through worse than this." She recalled her fight with Sasori where she had not only been impaled, but faced various other hindrances (including poison) as well.
Naruto nodded reluctantly in understanding. Sakura switched her gaze to Sai, offhandedly asking, "Do you need help?" Naturally, her somewhat more indifferent attitude towards him was influenced by his previous comment. "No." Sai replied, displaying his smile.
Sakura winced as she felt the pain nagging at her, but she tolerated it for a while, crawling to the bars. She examined them closely before cautiously raising her hand to touch them. A spark caused her to suck in a sharp breath through her teeth as she withdrew from it. "There's a barrier here, but I'm not sure what kind..."
She turned her head when the door slid open. Two men in the same uniforms walked in and stood at the bars, sneering at the prisoners. Sakura glared slightly in return, quietly slipping back from the bars.
"Intruders, eh? This is the second time in a year!"
"They don't look half as impressive as the others that came before... not that they were very impressive either, heh."
One of them knelt down and moved his head closer, eyeing Sakura lecherously. "Heeey... This one's not so bad. You're a real hottie, Babe. Got a name?"
Naruto leapt up at the sign of flirtation at an instant, though Sakura remained in her position, inwardly both flattered and repulsed. "Hey! Quit hitting on her!"
The guard glanced up and snorted before having his eyes fall back on the girl. "How 'bout I make you an offer? I can break you out—just you—and we can play with each other."
Naruto steamed through his nose holes, charging at the bars and gripping them with his hands, only to be repelled by an electric shock. "Naruto, don't be so reckless!" Sakura reprimanded, frowning at his body that was knocked onto its back. She turned back around, putting on a smile for the man. "Sounds fair." Naruto jerked himself up at the agreement. "What?! Sakura!"
The guard rubbed his chin, smirking as he held his hand in front of the door. His companion intercepted. "What the hell are you, an idiot? Those other two will try to escape when you open the door!"
"Shut up, I got this covered. You can hold them back." He muttered an incantation before releasing the lock as the other guard grudgingly prepared to subdue Naruto and Sai. Thinking of himself as a charming person, he grinned down at Sakura and held his hand out to pull her up. Sakura smiled sweetly in return, accepting his gesture.
But as soon as she stepped out, she gripped his hand more a bit more firmly... crushing it. He yelped loudly, causing the other guard to pull out his sword in alarm to attack Sakura, but Naruto gained enough leeway to slip out of the prison. He punched him and his partner in the face, knocking them out momentarily. "Feh! Dirtbags." Naruto glanced around, only to find that no others came in to subdue them. "What's with this place? Security sucks..."
"Let's go while we can." Sakura said, motioning quickly to Sai. She stumbled a bit at her injury, but pulled herself up and escaped with the two of them.
To their surprise, no one was in the hallways as they ran, heading towards a notable exit. "Like I said, security sucks!" Naruto darted his eyes from left to right, seeing no signs of enemies whatsoever. "Something doesn't seem right..." Sakura murmured, but despite their doubts, the team successfully escaped the lax prison and ran out the door.
"How're we gonna find a way back?" Naruto asked as he ran, not even sure of which direction they should head in. Neither Sakura nor Sai had a chance to provide an answer when they were confronted once again. Naruto skidded to a halt, seeing a man with long white hair not too far away.
"Come on! Give me a break!" he growled, aggravated at encounter after encounter. Sakura breathed out and raised her fists while Sai pulled out his brush, ready to fight for the fourth time. "This is not your lucky day!" Naruto yelled, charging at the man of white.
"Naruto, don't be so brash!" Sakura warned, but Naruto was too irritated by the endless onslaught of obstacles to pay attention.
"Hasty as always... I thought your training taught you something." Before Naruto could attack the man in front of him, another walked out from behind him. "W-what…?" Naruto and Sakura stared at the person beside the "enemy" in shock while Sai watched in silence.
"K-Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto stammered.
It was indeed his masked team leader who appeared behind the white man, who did not say anything as of yet. Kakashi brought his hand to his neck, scratching it in a fashion that suggested he didn't know where to begin explaining. "This is going to be a lot to explain..." he said, sounding tired.
"No kidding. I'm not sure of what's going on completely, either."
The team whipped their heads towards the rooftops, seeing two other men: a flamboyantly dressed stranger and their other captain, Yamato.
"Explain." Sai said bluntly, beginning to grow rather irritable as well at the lack of understanding. The two jumped down from the top, landing beside Kakashi and the other man.
"Let's start off with introductions first... This is Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the 13th division." Kakashi gestured to the one with long white hair, who only nodded. "And this is Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of the 8th division." The designated captain pulled down his straw hat, keeping a lazy smile on his face in greeting.
"I know this is overwhelming, but now I need you all to come along. I promise your questions will be answered soon." Kakashi informed, turning his body to indicate that he didn't want objections. Naruto spoke up to protest, but Sakura elbowed him lightly in the chest. "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei means it. Be patient." Naruto chewed on his lip for a while, too edgy to fully accept the wait.
Sai didn't wait for either of them as he walked ahead, following the four older men to wherever they were taking them. Everything seemed so abrupt and chaotic from their standpoint, but it was unwise to rail against what fate already had in store for them. Grudgingly, Naruto followed along.
After a fair bit of walking, the three students grew weary. Kakashi noted their exhaustion and glanced at Yamato. "They've been through a lot today. It's a good thing they'll get their rest."
It wasn't long before the large group entered a large building. A girl with lavender hair jogged towards them, immediately noticing the three's condition. "What's this? Who are they?"
"Isane, have them properly treated while we speak to Captain Unohana." Ukitake instructed. The girl, Isane, seemed to hesitate for a moment, but decided to comply to her younger sister's captain. "Alright. This way, please." The lieutenant ushered Naruto, Sakura, and Sai in one of the rooms to be healed while the four stayed.
Kyoraku finally spoke, expelling air-ridden chuckles. "Why does this look familiar? Maybe intruders are a trend these days. It didn't happen too long ago with the subsitute shinigami, either."
"This is hardly a joking matter," Ukitake said, though his tone expressed the similar appreciation of irony. "This is going to be complicated..."
Kakashi placed his hands in his pockets and looked towards the room where his students were being healed. "Hopefully they'll understand. They've been through a lot already, and this only adds onto their problems."
Yamato leaned against the wall and nodded. "Yes. But they can handle it." he said with confidence. "They're tough kids."
With Naruto and company suddenly thrust into Soul Society with no answers, who knows how things will turn out? And what kind of dangers would they be facing?
Next- Chapter 3: Discoveries and Negotiations; the team gets filled in as answers are revealed. What? They're going to be assigned to squads?! Yamamoto declares that they are under Soul Society custody to work beneath the captains against a looming threat.
