Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or Type Moon
000
The morning was cold and humid.
Thick fog clouded his surrounding, painting his vision with a dull, pale gray.
A flickering of orange, not two feet away from him, marring the ghostly color of the morning. It was the small fire he had made to ward off the cold air, although it wasn't that effective but it had helped him to sustain his body heat just to the minimum to avoid hypothermia.
Everything was in complete silence.
Not even a faint rustle of leaves or the quiet hiss of the shifting air could be heard.
It was as though every voice in the entire world simply vanished.
Above his palm was a plain dagger, floating in mid-air as if suspended by invisible strings.
By now, Naruto could, at least, understood how it worked.
Its capacity to levitate itself was possible seeing that it turned the chakra it minutely sucked from him that ability.
What kind of material it was made from, how it precisely worked, what more potential did it possess. He didn't know, he wasn't from an Intelligence department to begin with.
But, whether it would lead to a war, massacre or a genocide, or it would bring to an everlasting peace to Elemental Nations were a different questions.
The answer to those were a simple yes.
And he didn't care even a tiny bit about any of that.
Why should he? Worrying stuff like that was like worrying about whether tomorrow would be raining or not.
A useless notion.
People lived and died every day even without even the involvement of this strange weapon.
A thief killed a passerby so he could eat.
A mother murdered a bandit to protect her children.
Or even a country sacrificed their soldiers to avoid a war because of their superior's mishap of information.
It was simply not his problem how his client would use it. People lived and died everyday, if he bothered with small things like that, he couldn't do his job, could he?
You would call it heartless or callous but he preferred to call it as being prudent.
Saying that, he just disappointed that this mission was this simple.
"Ouch..."
Naruto grimaced as a fleeting, sharp pain pierced his head.
Wincing, he could hear a voice echoing.
"Yes, I promise. I'll fulfill it, no matter how."
The feeling was as if his heart was twisting and writhing.
Just when the voice became really unbearable, making him almost throw up, it dissipated as quick as it came.
Ever since last night, that kind of voice would pop put in his head here and there, as if trying to remind him about the dream and the illusionary promise.
And his reply to that was, so what?
Even his dream was real didn't mean he had to oblige with it, especially to comply with nonsense like promises.
If only the dream popped up ten years ago he would probably be bothered by it, but right now, he wouldn't give a damn about it as his life was solely for reaching the goal he so dearly wished for.
Only that, nothing else mattered.
Clenching the short katana for a moment, Naruto stuffed it into his vest pocket when he noticed the girl began to stir.
000
The salty smell of the humid air stirred her up. Opening her eyes, she found that mist was blurring her vision. It took a while before her eyesight adjusted themselves.
Groaning a little, she tried to wake up but failed. She fell down in the midst of her try, gasping as a sharp pain echoed through out her body. The soreness of her muscle was weighting on her body, restricting her movement.
Her body felt very heavy as though her body had became a giant rock.
"Yo, wake up already?" Someone asked blithely.
Ignoring the stabbing pain, she turned to the voice with much effort to find a blond man sitting by the fire.
He was a shinobi, there was no mistake about it. His posture even though appear to be relax didn't give away any opening. Observing further, his nonchalant visage didn't cast off an intimidating radiant around him. He was around 6.2 feet and had a spiky blond hair. A green vest hugged his chiseled body pronouncing further the standard Konoha's Jounin get up he wore, a scratched-leaf headband was around his left biceps. Despite his mesmeric blue eyes and imposing figure, what would draw people to notice him would be his whiskers-like birthmark on both of his cheeks that resembled a fox.
Danger!
Even before she noticed his slashed-headband, her instinct had been screaming at her that from the very first glance of him.
Furthermore, he was also her enemy from the previous night. A criminal that was labeled with 'Kill on sight' and 'Approach with caution' in Bingo book, an S-rank, and also the hero from the previous Akatsuki war and the only surviving Jinchuuriki left beside her sensei, Killer Bee.
Uzumaki Naruto, the man who had slaughtered thousands of his kind, a murderer, a betrayer, a monster.
That kind of inhuman sobriquet was given to him as justification to his infamous reputation and inhumane acts against humanity.
"Akkh!"
Samui tried to stand but her body failed her again as she fell down hard.
"Aren't you so lively? Did something good happen?" Naruto said. "And 'till when you wanna keep glaring at your savior? I even get into trouble healing you all night. Is that really how people in Kumo show their gratitude? Most rude."
Samui glared at him.
Opening her mouth, she tried to speak but found that her throat was too dry so instead she let out a fit of cough.
The girl tensed as Naruto moved.
But instead, he picked up a bottle on the ground and walked toward her. Crouching down, he offered her the bottle to drink.
"Here, drink" The missing-nin offered.
The silver-eyed woman only watched him and the offered bottle emotionlessly. Her mask-like expression didn't falter even a moment.
Perhaps he wanted something from her, but nothing was making any sense to her. He obviously controlled the situation here. If he wanted to rape her, he would had done so or he wanted information from her perhaps but there's no way he would know that she had any for him since she actually had nothing valuable or useful.
He should had just leave her in the temple last night but he raised his possibility of getting caught by taking her along with him so it was only logical that he wanted something from her, and that something was probably important enough to him that he wouldn't mind risking himself.
The question was what did he want from her. Everything he did just wasn't rational and gave no benefit from her point of view in fact if their roles were reversed, she would had escaped by herself without second thought.
There was one other possibility in her mind, but that possibility would never apply on a criminal especially a mass murderer, who killed both guilty and innocent indiscriminately, like him.
"It's not a poison. Why would I poison someone I'd worked my ass so hard to heal" The Uzumaki take a gulp from the bottle to prove his point. "See?"
When he offered her the bottle again, and tried to help her drink, the kunoichi snatched the bottle, flinching at the pain from making a sudden move.
Naruto just looked at her amusedly.
Glancing at him for a moment, the girl took a cautious whiff of the content. It took a while before she decided that it wasn't a poison and took an elegant sip.
"I'd like to say that it's an indirect kiss but obviously you don't care, right?" He jibed.
She indeed didn't care as she didn't stop from her drinking but the shut-up-you're-annoying look spoke clearly of her feeling about him.
Putting away the bottle, Samui returned the stare to him, scrutinizing him once more.
Making a smile that felt hollow, Naruto began.
"It's been a while since our first meeting, hasn't it? My first impression about you was very striking that it's very hard to forget about you." Naruto shook his head "No, no... that's wrong, it's my impression to your team that's striking or rather the beating your barbarous teammate gave me when we first met was literally striking. People just couldn't forget such a memorable first meeting. How's them by the way? Karui and Omoi, right?"
Samui didn't answer.
"Oh yes, they're dead. My condolences then, but that could also mean you're doing a solo mission right now... aren't you?" He continued mocking her, as if he merely read some data from a file. No feeling whatsoever.
"C'mon... Don't glare at me like that. I'm just saying, why would you get attach to friends bullshits or whatever. People is a solitary beings to begin with."
"Is that why you kill even your own teammates?" Her soulless stare was unrelenting as she said that.
To Naruto, it was a statement more than a question.
"Meh, why did you bring that up? Shouldn't you instead thank me for ending that war? You guys don't even care anyway as long as the objective is achieved. That's how we do things, right?"
"Aren't you the one who's been saying nonsense? Keep telling that to yourself but you know that's just a big fat lie. When a person die, they take away a piece of you with them. This has nothing to do with being a shinobi."
Naruto's expression was hard to decipher.
But a moment later, he laughed. "Hahaha, did you tell me that you're actually get sentimental about it. Hahaha, this is rich! A person who is touted as the perfect definition of kunoichi still believes in that childish thing."
Naruto laughed so hard that it made him very hard to breathe.
But, the girl was startled as she didn't understand it either, the reason why she lost her coolness and said that.
Did it because this man look really pitiful?
"But, Samui of Cloud..." He continued as his laughter subsided. "Don't act like you know anything about me. So I appreciate it if you stop your preaching, and start thinking why did I save you?"
"The same to you, Uzumaki Naruto. Don't act like you know me. What make you think that I'll help you with anything?"
Naruto grinned.
At last. It would be better if they talked business from the beginning.
Just a simple negotiation.
"Let's state the fact in our current situation, shall we? First fact, you're injured; a Kumo kunoichi injured in a rival country. Second fact, the temple of that said country was infiltrated just a night before and their prized item which on the level of national treasure was stolen. Third fact, Lightning and Water country was never in the best term to begin with, and for all I know, the two countries signed the treaty to maintain the political power of Five Great Nations. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what I'm trying to point out."
Samui's grey eyes narrowed angrily at him.
Naruto returned it with a huge grin.
"There will be a total blockade around Land of Water thus getting out by normal way is impossible, but as the Anbu commander you should know a way to round this blockade to Land of Lightning. I need you to lead me to there and you will. I can just leave you here but I'm offering you a chance to avoid another war. They say, if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. It's a win-win situation, isn't it Lady Anbu?"
"Why should I agree? All your talks about war is just a baseless thinking and I could just tell them about your existence if Kirigakure interrogate me."
"I can't believe you're that naive." He used a chiding tone "Do you actually believe what you're just said? If you do, wake up, this is a real world not a beautiful fairy tale in those fancy novels. Let me tell you what will happen to you if I left you behind. You'll get tortured and even though you tell them the truth, no one would believe you because they need a scapegoat which is you, who conveniently is a foreign and suspicious kunoichi, the same person who illegally sneaked into their temple. A little twist here and there, and you'll get another brewing war between your beloved village and the Land of Water."
"But the choice is all yours, I couldn't force you to choose my way, could I?"
Naruto remarked, sarcasms dripping from his tone.
Samui would never cooperate with a criminal, especially the one whom even called a monster by his own village. The girl had the pride and arrogance as a powerful kunoichi.
Suddenly, the couple tensed.
Their surrounding was the same as before. Thin mist was drifting lazily in the forest, obstructing the morning sunlight, but something told their instincts for the incoming battle. Chakra signatures were fast approaching their direction. Without doubt, they were belong to Kiri shinobi.
"I don't have the luxury to wait. So, you're in or out?"
Yes, she had the pride and arrogance as a powerful kunoichi, but she also had the coolness to disregard those emotions.
Gritting her teeth, Samui nodded.
Instantly, she started to feel a headache. She just almost passed out from the humiliation.
Naruto reached to his pocket and took out a small pill case. From it, he took out a soldier pill.
"Here." He tossed the bitter supplement to her.
Samui caught it, and after she swallowed it she tried to stand up but before she did that, Naruto, in one swift motion, had picked her up bridal style.
The kunochi stiffened.
"Insolence! Put me down! What do you think you're doing!"
Who the hell he think he was, touching her like this without her permission.
"Oi, oi, stop, hitting me"
Tightening his hold around her while ignoring her protest, he dashed off through the misty forest in a blinding speed.
000
Chapter 3
Escape from Mist
"One who betrayed should except betrayal."
000
A port town was not the right term to describe this place because it felt more like a slum than an actual town.
A single dirt road leading up to the port, at each side there were old looking buildings, its structure looked like it could crumble down at any time. A thin mist strolled through the place at lazy pace. There were lots of beggars, lining up at the side of the road, indiscriminately ranging from young to old. They had anxious looks as they kept glancing discreetly at their direction.
From the moment Naruto stepped in the town, he knew something was up.
The feeling of being watched had been accompanying him ever since they arrived in this place.
He could shrug it as simply his feeling but the Mist shinobi was very famous for their silent killing technique. You just wouldn't know it until you're dead. This was one of the main reason, besides its numerous diversity of bloodlines clans, why Mist was able to be considered as one of Five great hidden villages.
And his instinct was right yet again.
Stopping abruptly in the middle of the road, the girl in his arm looked up at him questioningly, but Naruto ignored it as his eyes laid ahead.
A man, wearing Mist insignia, stood in the middle of the road. "By the order of the Daimyo, both of you will be taken into the custody of Mizu no kuni. Surrender peacefully. Fail to do so, we will resort to take a drastic measure"
Taking that as a cue, shinobi began to show up from their hiding place. Soon enough, the small town was filled with them. From the roof to the alley, Kiri nin were all over the place.
Silence engulfed the area. The tension was as high as ever. It was the man who ordered them to surrender to break the silence first.
"Uzumaki Naruto and Samui of the Cloud. What a strange combination. Who would have thought that the much feared and revered as Kumo Anbu commander would cooperate with a criminal."
The girl in his arms made a disgust scowl. Apparently even the thought of being with him irritated her. On the side note, though, why was this guy talking so much?
"And a S-rank? What an exaggeration, you're nothing but a scum and a sad excuse of a person. Why else your own village despise you so much? Monster? More like a dirt, and you even dare thinking to become the leader of your village. Know your place, demon."
Something's odd. Naruto knew that much, the kiri nin was baiting him to make a first move.
"You don't agree? Well, it's too late anyway. You should at least savor the taste of silent killing."
His blue eyes widened as Naruto dodged as fast as he could but it was too late. A kiri nin had managed to sneak on him from behind and stabbed his shoulder, though it was supposed his neck if he didn't move.
Naruto staggered and dropped the kunoichi. Spun around, he did a roundhouse kick. Merely an inch before it hit, two shinobi had moved to behind him and run their swords through his body.
The first Kiri shinobi took this as an opportunity to impale him on his chest.
Naruto could only looked down at the edge of the katanas that skewered his body. The cold metals, buried inside his body, hold him in place. Blood started to fill up his throat, some of it escaped from the side of his mouth, painting his lip with red as if he was wearing a lipstick.
It was as if those katanas sucking away the warmth, his body started to feel cold.
"D-dammit..." Naruto cursed himself for not realizing the attack until it was too late.
Samui tried to move her body, but it was futile. Her body refused to follow her command.
One of the Kiri nin walked to her then, without preamble, cut the muscle of her four limbs.
"Akkhh!"
Blood spurted out from her limbs.
"You won't need those anytime soon." He coldly ignored her pained cry. Sending a brisk nod to his subordinates that had their swords buried in the missing nin, he looked back at the woman on the ground.
A second later, a head rolled off of a body. Warm, crimson liquid squirted out furiously like a water sprinkler as if trying to paint the white mist with red.
The Kiri nin crouched down, grabbing a fistful of her blond hair, forcing her to look at him "You don't have to glare at me so much. I only need one of you to be interrogated so it's only natural to dispose any excessive baggage. No hard feeling."
Samui spat on his face.
He remained unfazed and slapped her face, but was surprised when he instead saw her grinning disturbingly.
"Do you really think I could be killed so easily?"
The kiri nin widened his eyes as her figure flickered into her blond counterpart. Quickly looking ahead, he watched the corpse of the missing nin poofed away.
Naruto laughed "Hahaha... No hard feeling right"
He winked.
000
Miles away from the shore of the Land of water, a wooden boat was heading towards the mainland. Both of its passengers were watching the black smokes from different locations rising up, tainting the whiteness of the mist in the distance.
The blond male had a smug grin as he heard another blast in the distance.
"Pretty clever, isn't it?"
"So that's why we didn't meet any Kiri shinobi on the way to the port. You used couples of Kagebunshin and Bunshin daibakuha as a decoy." Samui spoke with a prudent tone of voice as if she read it from a file. "What will you do next?"
"It's not I'll do, it's what you will do next. I've hold a part of my bargain, now is the time for you to show me the place."
"I see." Samui nodded. "Then do you have any map? I'll show you the exact coordinates with it."
Naruto turned around. Crouching a bit, he was about to grasp for a map.
"Eh?"
He gasped in disbelief as suddenly he felt a piercing cold in his chest, as if another experience of his clone rushing back to him.
"Ha...ha..." Naruto chuckled a bit.
But...
This feeling of being stabbed were just as his thought, belonged only to himself.
The sharp edge of a katana gleaming red at the peripheral of his eyes, as though looking down at him, prod out of his chest.
He thought he had checked her through to dispose all of her hidden weapon, it looked like he missed one.
"I missed your vital spots on purpose." A breathy voice whispered at his ear. "You've got barely 2 minutes before your blood begins to fill your lungs and drown you."
His consciousness started to fading away.
"You've never answer my question from before. Why did you kill your own teammates?"
"I,is-" Naruto gasped as he spoke. "Is that really matter?"
"It's jsut because I can't stand your pathetic looks as if crying."
"Heh..." He was getting very hard to breath, like the air had turned into sand. Every time he breathed in, it felt like his lung was bursting. "It's simply because I'm twisted."
"Is your last word going to be another lie?"
Naruto didn't answer her, instead he glanced back at her.
"D,don't you wonder why did I save you?" He grinned, bloods seeped out from his lips. "I'll tell you the reason instead. It's because you're my decoy. Now, the Mist will also looking for you instead just me. Do you really think I would be that stupid asking for help to an enemy? Well, it's been really a pain in the ass meeting you. I hope I'll never see you again. Goodbye."
Samui's grey eyes opened wide.
BOOM!
Tremendous blast shook the dark open water as Naruto exploded.
The wooden boat and its surrounding was shelled to smithereens.
Far away, somewhere in Land of Water, the original headed to his next destination...
... with a victorious smile.