Chapter 18: Kidnapping or Missing-Nin? The Children Disappear!

-Hinata

I got up early and made breakfast. I knew Kiku had been piled up with Jounin work. I was glad Naruto had taken care of my own. I looked around for eggs and bacon, beginning to fry them up. That was when I noticed the house was quiet. A little too quiet. One quick peek to make sure they're okay wouldn't hurt, would it? So I stealthily slipped down the hallway, peeking in to Kiku's and Ayame's bedroom.

But what I saw I wasn't expecting.

Evidence of a struggle, small dots of blood, and a note. I ran to pick up the piece of paper. It read:

Don't worry, your children are in good hands.

The only thing I want from you is Naruto.

More technically, the Kyuubi inside Naruto.

Deliver him by 4 p.m. this afternoon to the old Uchiha meeting area or you might just find your children dead inside your home tomorrow.

Don't be late.

I wanted to cry but I knew it wouldn't do any good. We had to rescue our kids!

I looked at the note again, trying to decipher the handwriting. It didn't look like anyone we knew. So this had to be real. I crumpled the paper in my fist. They came overnight and just took them? We didn't even wake up for it?

"Ohayou, Hinata!"

I stayed still.

"Huh? Are you alright Hinata?"

"No."

-Aki

When I finally woke up I was inside a dark cave. I looked around, rubbing my eyes. "Ichigo-kun? Mori-kun?"

"You're finally up."

I jumped at the sound of a new voice. "W-Who are you?"

"Madara. Madara Uchiha." Uchiha? That was the clan that…

"Are you Sasuke's brother?"

He laughed and I failed to see how that could cause him any amusement whatsoever. "No. I'm the founder of the Uchiha clan." Founder!

"Then you should be dead!"

He laughed again. "Haven't you ever heard of the immortality Jutsu?"

"No…"

He kept on chuckling. "You're so naïve. You don't even know about the power sleeping dormant inside you."

"Of course I do." He seemed to be taken aback. "Of course I know about Anzu!"

This time he sighed. "Not the Demon Fox. Your eyes."

"My…eyes?"

"Why should I explain anything to you? You wouldn't even understand if I did."

"Please tell me!"

He just laughed. "You're so gullible." And disappeared. My eyes have a special power? But Ichigo's and Mori's look just the same. Does that mean they have it too? Anzu-kun.

"What is it, Aki-sama?"

Are my eyes special? Do I have some sort of visual Jutsu?

Silence.

Hey, Anzu! Don't hide anything from me!

"I can't tell you."

What do you mean you can't tell me?

No response.

I sighed. Seriously, when is she going to stop hiding things from me? I took a closer look at the room around me. Where was everyone else? Had I been abducted alone? I got up and began to walk, and walk, and walk. There seemed to be no end in sight so I just sat down and pulled my legs to my chest. Somebody…please save me…

-Kiku

"What did you do with them?"

"Nothing."

"Give them back!"

"Kiki, he's on the other side of a barrier that we can't break, getting angry won't help anything. He's just trying to get us to fight amongst ourselves."

"You're right, Ayame-san." I calmed down and asked him again, "What did you do to them?"

He smiled a sort of sinister smile. "I really did nothing."

"Don't lie to me!"

"Don't let him work you up."

"Just…let me see them, at least."

"He's gone."

I looked up to see a blank stone wall in front of me. I couldn't stand it anymore. He expected us to just wait around and do nothing! Then a brilliant idea flashed into my mind. Sora-kun.

"Yeah?"

Are you ready?

"Yeah, go ahead."

Alright. Akugan.

"Alright, I think we made it."

Sora appeared beside me. "Yeah, I think we did it."

We ran to where Madara was standing and I stretched out my hand to where the barrier used to be. It went through. "Yes!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my excitement.

"It's too early to be celebrating, who knows what else we could encounter?"

"Yeah, you're right."

And we continued to run in the World of the Dead.

-Naruto

"Someone took them during the middle of the night?" I asked Hinata.

"Yeah, and they want you in exchange."

"You've got to be kidding me. What kind of idiot would think they'd actually be able to make a deal like that?"

"Obviously a very powerful one.

"Yeah." I continued to run toward the meeting place of the Uchiha. "Uchiha…" I wondered aloud. "Could it be…that Madara is holding them?"

"Most likely," she sighed from my shoulders.

Hey, Kyuubi.

No response.

Kyuubi.

Again, no response.

What was this? Hey Kyuubi. If you're there, say something!

Silence.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked after awhile. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," I said, bewildered. "I don't know what's wrong but I can't get Kyuubi to talk to me."

"Then let's stop. If we have to fight Madara, you need Kyuubi."

"Yeah." I stopped and set Hinata down. Getting up against a tree, I slowly slumped to the ground.

I didn't waste any time. I ran to the large room and found the Kyuubi.

"Hey, Kyuubi, you asleep or something?" I called out.

Not a single flicker of recognition. This was no prank.

I ran up to him, slumped over, ironically like a sleeping baby fox. He was curled in a tight ball. I reached out and patted him on the head like a rabbit. "Hey, Kyuubi-kun."

Nothing.

At this point I started to panic. Not only was there no recognition from him but his body was cold, the exact opposite of what he was normally like: burning hot. I didn't know where on his giant body to check for a pulse so I went to his nose to check his breathing.

No sound, no air.

Was this how a bijou dies?

I decided to use my Uzakugan on him, just to check. But after using it, I passed out myself, and his last words were conveyed to me:

"You will die by the end of the day. You're children are kidnapped, save them. He cannot resurrect the 10-tailed beast since I myself am dead. Do not hide this from Hinata, those children need a mother. The triplets have amazing skills. And you, being the child of the prophecy, may be able to come back to this world. We'll see if we can cut a deal with the Dead Demon. I will be waiting for you in the afterlife. Do not let me down, Naruto-kun."