Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Here's chapter 3, hope you like it. It's more of a filler kinda thing, as I move from one plot point to the next, which is my weak point I feel.
Criticism and reviews are really appreciated.
Naruto kicked himself, disgusted at his own thought process. He had let his imagination get the better of him.
Sh-Shoot them?
These were people. People like him, like Sasuke, like Sakura.
The officer had uttered the word quietly; too quietly for the civilians standing twenty metres away for him to hear, but he seemed to have forgotten about Naruto.
"Shoot them?!" Naruto repeated loudly, anger dripping from his face as he stared with disbelief at the office who still loomed imposingly over the Sergeant and his
men. Unlike the officer's voice however, Naruto's carried on to the group who heard him clearly.
Their anxious looks were replaced with one of sheer terror and bewilderment.
They remained collectively rooted to the spot.
The officer turned abruptly, eyes flashing red. He point a finger at Naruto then, noticing Sasuke, thought better of it and returned to the guards. Naruto briefly wondered why Sasuke's presence had stopped the man who clearly knew little fear from shouting at him.
"I said, shoot them!" he repeated, still too quietly for the group to hear. His voice seethed with rage; he was used to getting his way.
"But Baki-"
"That's sir to you!" he spat venomously, "Now do as I say!"
Slowly the Sergeant and one of the two soldiers raised their rifles to point at the group whose faces were slowly becoming more and more petrified. The reluctance on the soldier's faces was evident by their gritted teeth.
One guard, however, didn't raise his rifle - the youngest of the three who had passionately argued they be let into the compound at the start of this confrontation. He instead stared at Baki, a resolute look in his eyes. The officer turned slowly, his large powerful head pivoting as if a lighthouse until it reached its destination.
Naruto could see the man wither under his gaze and for a moment Naruto thought he might cry.
"Shoot them," he said again, far too calmly given the situation. The man didn't move, still trying to hold the officer's gaze, but Naruto could see him visibly begin to weaken.
"Shoot them!" Baki screamed this time, bringing a pistol out from under the arm which was concealed by his coat in one smooth motion, pointing it directly at the man's head.
Things happened very quickly after that.
The group of civilians hearing the officer shout the command for the first time panicked, breaking like a heard of deer scattering in all directions.
"No!" Naruto screamed, seeing the inevitable and tears welling in his eyes. How could they do this?!
He charged forward, but Sasuke's strong arms held him tightly. And he knew in that second why.
They would just as soon kill them, too.
Eyes watering, the younger soldier raised his rifle in the direction of the fleeing people. Naruto beat his arms against Sasuke, bucking like a wild bull. I have to save them! I promised myself!
Tears fell down his face as, stilling, he finally gave up the struggle.
He wanted to help them so badly but he knew deep down he couldn't. He knew what would happen if he tried.
But that didn't make it right. "Damn you Sasuke," he sobbed.
Why is he protecting me? Why does he care?
He averted his eyes, biting back the torrent of tears.
The clatter of rifle rounds marked the end of the group's panicked flight.
In the silence that followed Naruto heard spent rounds clatter to the floor, filling the large empty hallway; a sickening reminder of what had just passed.
Sasuke released Naruto from his grip awkwardly. Stepped away from him.
Sobs shook his whole body as she stared with venomous hatred at the officer who stood a few metres from him. He wanted to attack him, to tear him apart. To make him feel what he felt. Words wouldn't do the job.
Behind Baki, the officer who had ordered this atrocious act, the younger of the soldiers fell to the floor, repulsed by what he had just done. The other two soldiers crouched besides him, trying to comfort him. The officer in charge turned, walking towards the pair.
"It was for the best," he started. Holstering his gun, he flung his coat onto his arm. "They would have been a threat to us all, especially the women and children."
He still would have launched himself at the officer as he strolled past if it weren't for Sasuke, who put an arm on his shoulder. It was an awkward, unnatural action, as if it was something somebody had told him you could do. But it made Naruto understand. He just wasn't sure what.
Was it that the man was telling the truth? That he would have been killed, and still would be?
Once Baki had gone, Sasuke took his arm off Naruto's shoulder abruptly, as if touching something he didn't want to be in contact with for too long. As if he didn't know what he'd do if he was in contact with him for too long. He turned, walking the way the officer had departed.
"Wait!" he cried after Sasuke, torn between wanting to hit him for stopping him from helping the people or crying on his shoulder because of what had just happened.
"Where are you going?" Scrambling after the fleeing Sasuke, Naruto knew what he had to do.
He caught up with him, spinning him around until he had clasped a hand on each of his shoulders and was looking directly into his eyes. The look on Sasuke's face told Naruto that he was nervous about something that was about to happen; scared of where it would lead; something he wanted to happen.
So he feels it too.
He leaned forward. Sasuke's eyes fluttered closed. Sasuke's facial muscles relaxed, as if giving in to some internal desire.
"We need to go out there!" Naruto whispered, determined. Expecting a look of great respect from Sasuke, at the sheer bravery of what he had just suggested, he began to feel the horror of what had just passed slip away.
Sasuke's eyes opened sharply, flashing red, the look on his face changing immediately. He pushed Naruto's arms from him.
"Idiot," he snarled, before marching off again.
Naruto stepped back, confused.
What the hell? He's not coming with me?
"You - you coward!" he screamed after Sasuke. Naruto decided not to follow him. He was reminded instantly of the teenager in the tube carriage.
"I don't need you!" he shouted again, trying desperately to get some face back. He couldn't let Sasuke seem better than him.
He made his way back to his dorm, downtrodden by Sasuke's reaction, but equally angry with the man for not trying to help.
He went the long way back to this dorm, hoping to walk off some of the anger he had accumulated in the past ten minutes. He prayed he didn't see Baki again. He didn't know how he would react.
---
I'll go tonight, Naruto decided once he had returned to his room. He couldn't let the guards know - they would try and stop him, he was sure of it. He couldn't stay here, that was all he knew. His mind was still sickened by what had passed. He was still angry at himself.
I should have pushed Sasuke away! I should have been stronger!
I need to make preparations... Naruto was unsure of what he would find out there. On his way back to the room he had asked three military personnel what the hell had happened, and they genuinely seemed not to know. He needed food, water, a way to keep warm and a flashlight. That was all he'd be able to get his hands on anyway.
He made his way to the company kitchen, near the mess hall. It was small and didn't serve a great variety of food, but this place had obviously been built to survive a nuclear attack, so had a lot of canned food. Is that what this is? A nuclear attack?
Naruto's thinking was cut short as he passed a pair of officers engaged in hushed discussion.
"...got in down by the vent system up in east wing," the officer began.
"We held 'em off, don't know how long this dump is gunna last though. The quake really took a lot out of it."
The second officer seemed to agree with that he was saying, and nodded knowledgably. "It looks like it wa-"
The officer noticed Naruto passing and nodded his head. "How you doing son?" he said cheerfully.
Naruto smiled and nodded, telling him he was doing great, before hurrying off in the direction of the mess hall. He felt a mild tinge of anger. they reminded him of Baki.
I can't let them suspect a thing. Naruto was already getting worried that Baki may guess at his intentions.
Why did he get the feeling this place wasn't as safe as they would like him to think? His thoughts went back to Sakura and her child; he hoped they would be okay once he left.
He managed to charm the mess officer into letting him take a large supply of food, using the excuse that he was an expert in the field trying to discover exactly what was going on, and that he'd be the first to know his findings if he helped him.
Expert in what? Freaking loud explosions?
When Naruto got back to his room he lay back on his bed. He felt like a hero; a bold adventurer. He felt proud. He would not let anybody else die.
He awoke at 1 am, hushed his watch alarm quickly, and scampering out of bed, he set off. He had already formulated a plan: the vent system in east wing. He beamed recalling how he'd picked up that information off the guards.
He wished Sasuke had seen him, spying. A small part of him worried about Sasuke instinctively. He still wanted to know why he had called him an idiot and why he had been so angry. The idea that he would never know saddened him greatly and he half considered turning around there and then to search the man out.
A wave of anger from what had happened early made his mind up for him.
He should have helped me!
He crept though the quite halls carefully, because even though it was early morning there were still quite a few guards out on patrol. I mustn't be seen!
Through luck alone Naruto managed to avoid detection and arrived at east wing. He imagined the service room was where they had got in. At a guess Naruto also assumed that east wing was exactly the same as west wing in design.
Naruto began searching for the door when he heard a shout from around the corner. Rounding it cautiously, Naruto saw a women and her child.
Sakura! he thought. What are they doing here?
He smiled, but his expression changed quickly when he saw what was going on. Sakura was chasing after her son, who looked as if he was in pure terror.
"Wait!" she cried, imploring him to stop. "Wait!" Naruto's heart moved. He had never heard such raw emotion in a scream.
She caught up with her son in a few giant bounds, and held him so tightly to her Naruto was scared she might smother him. Naruto saw the boy's face. Pure unbridled terror.
He emerged, walking slowly towards the pair, to see that she had started to rock backwards and forwards with him again. He could tell she was almost as scared by the way her son was acting as he was by whatever it was that had driven him to this state.
"Is... Is he okay?" Naruto asked. Had the gas affected him?
Sakura seemed surprised to see Naruto here, but glad at the same time. She tried her best to hide the fear in her voice. "It's this place. He's been like this since we got here. He doesn't like it. We need to get out of here."
Naruto's face lit up. This was his chance to be the hero.
"Come with me!" he declared, "I'm going right now, I've been planning it all day. I'm going to save everyone I can."
Sakura looked at him, and began to...laugh. She forced herself to stop when she realised he was being serious.
"You're kidding, right?! That's madness. You won't survive five minutes out there, whatever out there is! You don't even know if out there still exists!" Naruto could hear the panic starting to rise in her voice. Obviously this was the first time she was coming to terms with it.
Naruto kneeled down next to the pair and paused. "I... I think I know what your son's going through. I feel the same, something doesn't feel right down here." He stood up again and cast his eyes around the hallway, catching sight of a door at the end of the room marked 'Ventilation maintenance room'.
"Besides, you just said yourself that you wanted to leave this place," Naruto said distractedly.
"I didn't actually mean it!" She looked shocked that he had taken her seriously. "Having my son cry himself to sleep every night is one thing, but having him dead is entirely another!" The panic in her voice began to be replaced with passionate anger.
"Get real Narugo! This isn't some action movie, where you'll go out and save the day! I saw a convoy of military come in the other day, similar to the guys who brought us in, and half of them were dead and the other half looked like they'd never sleep again!"
"It- it's Naruto," he mumbled.
She stood up, picking up her son who seemed to have exhausted himself sobbing quietly as they talked. She turned on her heels and stormed off with a flick of her hair.
"Goodbye Naru-"
She never got to finish. A colossal force shook the entire building, coupled with another almighty roaring noise.
It's happening again!
Naruto was thrown gracelessly to the floor as the entire structure creaked. It was as if someone was prising open the earth's crust. Naruto felt the whole building shift. His ears started to scream in pain again, but thankfully they seemed to be further away from whatever the source was than they were before.
The lights began to flicker. He was thrown back into the tube.
The dead women, the teenager, the hands, the gas. Sasuke.
No! he shouted internally, gritting his teeth he pulled himself to his feet. I refuse to let anybody else die. He jumped to his feet and ran towards Sakura who was huddled over her son. He threw his mask back onto his face, which previously had hung around his neck form earlier, tugging at her sleeve.
"We have to go!" he roared. It was evident by the look on her face that she could barely hear him, but she decided to trust him. He pointed at his mask and she followed suit, forcing the other one on her terrified son.
Pulling her to her feet he charged down the hall, and grabbing the handle of the door, he yanked it open. Shouldn't someone be guarding this? he thought. It made little sense that somewhere that had earlier been under attack should now be left unguarded. His heart sank. Did this mean they'd sealed it?
The building felt like it could collapse at any second, massive chunks of grey concrete beginning to fall around them.
Through the door sat a ragged hole in the wall, a few planks of wood propped against it, but it remained unsealed. Naruto decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, scrambling through the whole and pulling Sakura with him.
Through the hole lay a narrow passageway with a vent system on one side and a mess of wires on the other, the tunnel stretching into the distance. Flicking the flashlight on he carried on, at a walking pace now. Strewn across the floor were pieces of concrete and other hazards. Wires crept out at all times, trying to trip him.
The tunnel went on for about three hundred metres, at the end opening out to a small chamber. Naruto cast his eyes around. Similar to the design of the whole facility this was obviously the end of the road: a small concrete shell with a grating on one wall, the vent system rose to the surface here. Naruto could see a small hole next to where the vent shaft exited, a small shaft of moonlight peering shyly through.
Damn it! Naruto thought. Where did they get in?
"Now what?!" Sakura screamed at him.
Suddenly the shaking stopped, the noise subsided and eerie silence followed.
Naruto froze: the click of a gun being cocked stopped him in his tracks.
He heard a merciless laugh and the officer from earlier, Baki, emerged from the shadows holding a pistol, pointed directly at Naruto's head.
"I'm surprised you fell for that'n boy!" he cackled with laughter. "You honestly think they'd talk about that kind of stuff with you walking along? You're hardly a discrete looking chap."
Naruto's heart plunged. His stomach turned. No, he thought in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. With sickening realisation he realised it made sense. The lack of guards, the fact that he'd been given food so easily. How could he have been so stupid? And to lead Sakura into this trap with him?
He felt a sudden flash of rage, aimed mostly at himself.
The anger that had tormented him all day bubbled to the surface and he clenched his fists, feeling his nails bite into this skin. Blood ran down his hands.
The officer noticed this. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you son, not that it makes any difference. You ain't getting out of 'ere alive." He beamed.
"That gas shoulda finished you off. If it wasn't for that black haired fella of yours..."
This doesn't make sense!
"But knowing the kind of person you seem to be, you try anything funny, I'll shoot her first." He laughed as he watched this hit him.
"I never understood you people..." He continued, spitting on the floor. "Caring for another human being?"
Naruto snarled angrily at him. Think Naruto!
It suddenly all made sense... the way they'd got there so quickly with the gas masks... the way they'd killed those people; his gut instinct... What is going on here?
"All humans do is take take take, they never give anything back. You're one of those suckers who has it all taken." He grinned again. "I, on the other hand, gladly take it."
He couldn't think. He was frozen to the spot. Tears began to well in his eyes.
"Now you're responsible for the death of a women and her child. It would have been better if you died on the tube really, wouldn't it?"
Naruto saw red again. This time he didn't stop. Tears burned down his face, and he screamed, rage coursing out of him. He charged towards the officer; saw the pistol swing around to face him.
He closed his eyes.
He heard the crack of a pistol shot being fired.
Naruto stood still, his ears ringing. Am I dead?
He opened his eyes. Sasuke stood in front of him: a smoldering pistol in his hand.