Jiraiya held the puppy at arm's length, scrutinizing it carefully. The seal seemed to have been completely removed. With a satisfied grin, he set Chibi down and gave a pat on its head. "Well, Chibisuke, looks like you're alright nowーOw!" He tugged his hand away harshly from the small dog's little fangs, and gingerly rubbed the angry red bite mark. "Ungrateful little mutt."
"He never really did like you," Kushina commented, and he shot a glare at her. "What? It's true, isn't it?"
"You didn't have to say that."
Rolling her eyes, she set the stack of plates carefully on the cupboard. "Honestly, though," she huffed, now working on piling up the letters on the kitchen counter, "Where did he go?" Jiraiya raised a brow.
"How long has Minato been gone? I was hoping for a light spar with him, but..."
She threw the bunch of paper in a box, "It's been quite a while; a couple of hours, I guess. It's odd, thoughーHe doesn't have any missions." Kushina frowned, trying to come up with reasons to why he would be away for so long. "Have you checked the training grounds?"
"...No."
She stared at him exasperatedly. "Why not?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes elsewhere. On a fancy red flower vase.
"Lazy pervert." She sniffed, "I bet you've been sneaking around at the bathhouse again."
He chuckled at that. "Oh, you know me so well!"
Whack.
The inn they decided to stay for the night at is big, Naruto mused with delight, and apparently, they served good food. She read through the room service menu with wide eyes, almost drooling at the picture of their miso ramen. "Sakumo-sensei, can I order that?" She asked and pointed eagerly, and the adults chuckled in amusement. Kakashi merely sighed with exasperation.
"Sure, sure. It's pretty cheap, too." Sakumo smiled warmly, and faced the other three children. "What about the rest of you?"
"Same," Genma and Kakashi replied in unison, and the latter shot the other a glare. Genma rolled his eyes, but returned it with an annoyed scowl.
"Natsu-kun, what would you like?" Sakumo turned to the boy kindly, and Natsu shyly pointed at the fried rice.
"Alright, then we'll go order down at the lobby." The two adults stood up, and Dai gave his son a grin.
"I'm sure you won't, but don't give them trouble, Natsu." The boy nodded.
The door shut with a click, and Naruto lied back on the tatami floor in excitement. "Ramen, ramen!" She chanted with delight.
Kakashi noticed Natsu's wonder at why the girl was so happy. "It's her favorite meal," he explained simply, grabbing the younger boy's attention. "She's not normal with things she likes."
"Far from it," Genma said, rolling his eyes again.
Natsu looked at Naruto, then back at them. He grinned, finding them funny.
"Great," the Shiranui sighed, "now he thinks we're all weird. Thanks a lot for that, Naruto."
"No problem!" She sang, rolling around. She loved the smell of the tatami mats. "Guys, you should try this."
"Rolling like an idiot?" Kakashi wrinkled his nose, "No."
Genma agreed with him, much to Naruto's dismay. Natsu, however, joined her in the activity.
"I knew you'd understand, Natsu-kun!" She picked up her pace in elation, and the little boy had trouble keeping up.
Her two teammates stared at them. "...Idiots."
They would never find the wonders of rolling on tatami mats, Naruto thought with pity.
Sure enough, Jiraiya found the man in an isolated training ground. "There you are," he grumbled. Because of his apprentice, the sage was roughly bopped on the head by Kushina nonstop.
The Namikaze hadn't heard him, too busy attacking the wooden post. He went on sending punches, roundhouse kicks, then several wind blades. He repeated the same sequence over and over continuously.
"Your stamina sure is impressive as always, Minato," Jiraiya called out, catching the young man's attention. Minato landed from his last, forceful kick, and doubled over.
"Jiraiya-sensei!" He managed to say through his harsh huffs, whilst trying to suck in oxygen. Bearing his upper body's weight upon his left knee with one hand, he used the other arm's sleeve to wipe off the sweat on his face. "What... brings you here?"
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" The sennin exaggerated; truthfully, he had only checked out the baths and the Namikaze's apartment. "Want to have a little spar? It's been quite a while since our last one."
"Yeah, but will you give me a moment? I can't reallyー" Minato collapsed on the grass and gulped in air.
Jiraiya raised a brow. "What brought this on?"
"Mm. I've been a little... annoyed. Hokage-sama's keeping things aboutー" he rolled over, so he could discreetly see the other man's response, "ーNaruto away from me, it seems."
The toad sage's eyes widened a fraction at that. He hadn't expected for Minato to catch on so quickly, but then again, this is his apprentice. "Now why would he do that?" He asked back, swiftly covering up his reaction with his oblivious question.
He might have imagined it, but Jiraiya caught a sliver of relief in those blue eyes at his response. "Who knows?" He sighed, and turned over again on his back. "I plan on finding out, though."
"I trust you will," Jiraiya replied, feeling dread for the day when the man actually did; because he knew, he knows that the blond will not be kind once the time came. That man had suddenly become the stereotypical, overprotective daddy, and overprotective daddies are not pleasant when their little girl gets hurt. And so, it will be wise to savor the sight of Namikaze Minato vulnerably crumbled to the ground while he still can.
The famous member of the Legendary Sannin whimpered.
Kakashi peaked through one eye to scan the dark, almost soundless room. Good. The others were asleep.
Getting out of his covers, he snuck over to Naruto's side. "Oi, wake up," he whispered, nudging the girl. He prayed to the lords that she won't make a fuss.
"Hm... Kakashi?" She rubbed her eyes sleepily, "What's wrong?"
"Shh!" He pulled her out of her futon, "I have something to show you."
"Can't this wait?" The little girl yawned, before finally giving in to Kakashi's stubborn silence. "It better be good, Scarecrow."
The two crept out, being mindful of the other half of the room, since surely Sakumo wouldn't allow them to go out so late into the night. The children were in another side from the two adults, as there wasn't enough space to fit their futon all together.
"Wait," she stopped him once they were a fair distance away from their room. "Can you not hold my hand so tight? It kinda hurts..."
Kakashi widened his eyes once looking back to see that their hands were entwined, just as she said. He pulled his away roughly, as if burned. "Sorry." He started walking again, and glanced back at her expectantly.
Rolling her eyes, she followed after him, down the stairs, out of the lobby (and avoiding the receptionist's scrutinizing gaze). They stopped at the yard behind the inn, and Naruto looked around the small space of dead leaves and branches. "Even the trees are dead, too," she said frowningly. Haven't they heard of gardening before? "So what's got you pulling me outta there? Do you know how late it isーI checked the clock, and it said one in the morning."
"Give me a minute," he grumbled, and drew hand-seals carefully. Naruto widened her eyes; she recognized that sequence.
"Wait, are youーOh my God," she gave a quick squeal of delight at the sight of a tiny brown pug. "You are... You're the best." She looked up at him with wide eyes, "You summon puppies. Do you know how awesome that is?"
Kakashi faltered at 'puppies', then buffed his chest with pride. "The summoning technique is really tough, you know? One needs a lot of chakra to master itー"
"Hey, wanna see mine?" She asked excitedly, but was already on it. Kakashi could only stare, dumbfounded, as a wet, red toad appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Youーyou know how to do it too?"
"Yep! I've summoned larger ones, but I don't want to bother with using so much chakra..." Kakashi knew she wasn't boasting, butーstill. It only grated on his nerves even more. "Our summons can be besties!"
Kakashi could only watch vacantly as Naruto pushed her little toad closer to his pug. "What's your name, lil' fella?" She asked with wide, curious eyes down at the puppy, and gave a beaming smile. Almost as bright as her frog.
"Pakkun!" It replied, surprising Naruto with how high yet boyish the voice was. That's weird, she pondered inwardly.
Why did she think it would be different?
Snapping out of her thoughts, she tipped her head in a small bow, before turning over to her companion. She gave her little toad a pat, "this guy here is Kocchi! Well, that's what I call him, but his real name is..." Naruto gave Kocchi a grin, letting him finish.
"Kōsuke!" The cheerful creature saluted, and raised his webby hand. Pakkun seemed surprised, and for a moment, the toad and his master wondered if the pup didn't know what a handshake was.
However, he finally brought up his paw and shook the hand on their new friendship.
Only once the two summons began indulging in their own conversation did Naruto notice that Kakashi had disappeared from beside her. "Huh?" She looked around, slight panic quickening her heartbeat. "Oh, there you are!" She let a small, relieved sigh escape her once she sat next to the boy against the wall.
Naruto only laughed at his glare, and leaned on his shoulder. The two watched the stars in silence, letting time pass by.
Before they knew it, the two were snoring softly into the night.
His pale skin shone against the moonlight. "Is she the one?"
His subordinate straightened, voice tight and dripping with fear. "Y-Yes sir."
"Hmm..." The man didn't break his gaze away from the two resting children. "What is that rat plotting with a little squirrel, I wonder..."
"C-Captain! It is not wise to call him thatー" he abruptly stopped, pinned down by the piercing, golden orbs.
The eyes of a snake.
Red, slitted eyes snapped open, and Kurama growled low in his throat.
That unpleasant stench of serpent wasn't one he found unfamiliar.
He slammed down his claws against the floor, splashing away the warm water. There wasn't anything he can do now other than sitting around, trapped inside rusty, cold bars.
At least, those bars had stopped flaking. He had enough of it sticking onto his fur and irritating his skin.
Now that the brat was asleep, the air had become less tense, and more like it had been before the damn Hokage wiped away her memories. The seal that man had activated disappeared from its place on top of the one already stuck to the cage for the night.
"I know you can hear me," the man's exhausted, gruff voice called out to him. "You understand this, don't you? If you have even a sliver of care for this girl, Kyuubi, even just a little amount of the attachment she has for you, protect her."
Kurama turned back, and gave a lingering glance at the sixteen year old Naruto sleeping against the dark corner of his cage.
"When are you going to wake up, brat?"
He imagined her drowsy reply.
'Five more minutes, Furball.'
Where was she?
Everywhere she looked, turned, ran, blackness would glare at her. A hateful, dark, bitter blackness that never wavered, and pursued on suffocating her.
She ran and ran, but it still went after her. She stopped, tired, feet aching despite there being no ground to step on. She looked down, eyes wide. So how did she run?
She couldn't hear. She couldn't see.
Only feel.
She tried to wave the blackness that was barely within her reach away, until, before she knew it, she was surrounded completely.
Abomination.
Wretch.
Words she could not understand clawed their way inside her, until another one slammed its way in.
Monster.
She flew her head up with wide, fearful eyes, and it seemed to humor the haze around her. She drew her legs to herself, burying her head in her arms, covering her ears. Make it stop, she cried. Make it stop.
"...ruto." Monster.
She whimpered, her nails biting into the skin behind her ears and neck.
"Naruto." Demon.
She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Naruto!"
She snapped them open, and wide blue eyes reflected the worried face of Hatake Kakashi.
Minato watched his students intently as they worked on their training. Rin was practicing her magnificent chakra control, shakily walking up a tall tree, while her two teammates sparred using only taijutsu.
Gai was spectacular in that area. While Obito had the stamina and speed to keep up, it was fairly easy to see who would win the match. Minato smiled, and jumped down from the thick branch he had been sitting on. "Alright, you three, time to rotate!" He patiently waited for them to catch their breathes and run to him before stating the changes. "Obito, you'll continue practicing taijutsu with Rin. Gai, you'll be starting on what Rin was doing, chakra control."
"Hai, Sensei!" they chorused, and broke off to immediately commence their training again.
Minato chuckled, observing each of his students' faces. Gai's had scrunched up into a scowl as he faced his tree with determination, while Obito had a very noticeable blush on his cheeks. Rin, however, stood oblivious to the boy's frequent shy peeks.
The man inwardly took down notes on the performance of his team. Rin was lacking in taijutsu, even with Obito's exhaustion from his previous spar, while Gai had proven to be a young little master at the art. There were bits and pieces, though, that needed to be fixed, like Gai's habits of following instinct rather than mind. Not to mention chakra control, or almost anything to do with chakra is his major sore point. The only thing that the other boy in the team, Obito, needed to focus on at the moment, it seemed, is practice. The academy hadn't provided enough of that, it seems, but that's what the jounin sensei were for.
The other two were in a similar predicament as the Uchiha, and he knew that that won't be too much of a problem at all. The team was dedicated, hard-working, and hell-bent on seeing positive results. There was so much potential packed into his adorable little students, so much to let them soar high in the future, and Minato knew he could not ask for a better team.
He wanted to be the pillar that would guide them to the vast sky.
The girl's face contorted into one of anguish as she tried to meet his gaze. "Why?"
"'Why'?" He smirked, but his onyx eyes did not display the fire, the passion that drew her towards him in the first place. Now, the vacancy in them was painfully close to the water's coldness biting into her aching feet.
He ignored the silent plea in those sapphire orbs, and dived in once more.
"You finally woke up," Kakashi let out a breath to release his previous frustration and panic. "You okay?"
Naruto furrowed her brows, bringing a hand up to her head. She looked up at the sky, noticing it was lighter than it had been before. The sun must be waking up. "Yeah, just a small... nightmare." He frowned, noticing the small terror hidden in her eyes.
"It couldn't have been small if it's left you crying like this."
"What?"
Kakashi wiped away the tear tracks on her cheeks, surprising her. "It's weird to see you like this," he merely said, stubbornly looking away. "You look weird."
That tugged a slight smile on her lips, and she slowly drew a hand ruffle his hair. "You're so not honest." She gave him a tired but still radiant grin, "Thank you, Kakashi."
He grunted, and she glanced around, remembering why they were here in the first place. "Where's Kocchi and Pakkun?"
"There." She followed the direction he pointed at, and immediately cooed at the adorable picture the sleeping summons created.
"I've seen the toads sleep before, but never with a puppy!" She grinned, and whispered as she crept closer. "That's so cute!"
He sighed. Times like these are what reminds him of the blonde being a girl. The tomboy side of her was so prominent that he had forgotten of her gender sometimes.
He had to admit, though. The two summons were cute when quiet.
Naruto picked up Kocchi, and waved for the silver haired boy to do the same with Pakkun. "I thought of a really good idea," she said, excited.
"What is it?"
She pointed up at the wall of the inn they were staying at, and he caught her drift. "Good for an early morning training, right? Race 'ya."
Kakashi was already on it, and, after producing an indignant yelp, she ran after him.
"That's cheating! Scarecrow!"
When the two arrived at their room, they noticed that their futons had been puffed up to look like it had someone sleeping in it. Naruto quickly went inside to poke at the lump, puzzled, and she jumped at the tug on the back of her jacket.
She whirled around to see Genma glare a half open eye up at her, "You better be gratefulーI woke up three hours earlier than I was supposed to to save your lives."
"Eh?" She turned her head to see that the sliding door to the other side of the room was open by a mere crack, and realized that their sensei must have checked in on them earlier in the night. "Thanks, Genma!" She grinned, letting a sigh of relief escape her lips. "You're the best."
"I know." He got up and turned away from her pout to look at Kakashi. Raising a brow, he questioned expectantly, "What did you drag her out for?"
The boy huffed a little at the almost accusing tone. "Nothing much."
Genma's coal eyes shifted to Naruto, who gladly answered for him. He did help them, after all, so it was only right to return the favor. Plus, she liked to talk. "We went out to show each other our summons! See that puppy he's holding?" He glanced at where she pointed, and blinked. Kakashi did have a dog in his arms. "That's Pakkun, his summon!"
"So that toad on your head's yours?" He stated rather than inquired dryly. The girl's antics were always strange in a way, and most of all unusual. Like now.
"Yep! You catch on pretty fast, huh?" She grinned, "Guess you haven't dumbed down yet, gramps."
"Says the person who forgot her school bag at home."
"Hey. That was a long time ago!" She sniffed, "plus, I was new to the academy."
Rolling his eyes at her, he plopped back down on his futon. "If you count half a year as being 'new', then something must be wrong with your head."
"You know," Naruto began, pouting, "every time you talk to meーexcept for when someone else is with usーthere's always an insult in there. Sometimes hidden, often times not."
He stared at her as if she had grown two heads. "And you realize this now?"
Her eyes widened and she spluttered.
Kakashi, who had gone to the bathroom earlier, came back and found Naruto straddling Genma with a tight fist raised.
With a smirk under his mask, he said the first thing that came to mind. "You're pretty weak, huh?" The older boy glared, and his smirk grew wider.
"Lolicon."
Due to the racket that followed soon after, the two men woke up.
"The hell! You don't even know what that means, Bakashi!"
The first thing Sakumo expected to see in the morning was not this.
While little Natsu-kun shrunk back into the corner of the room cowering in fear, Kakashi was grinding foreheads with Genma making lightning spark everywhere. Naruto stood in front of the two, torn between watching on in excitement and putting an end to it.
"What sort of insult was that supposed to be? So lame!"
Irritation smacking its way to his temple, Sakumo jumped in and whacked the three on their heads. "What on earth are you doing?" He ignored Naruto's pitiful whimper, and glared down at his male students. "Go fold your futon, now."
He leaned back against the wall, already tired. At least Naruto had the sense to pack up her things before the chaos; if she hadn't, he wouldn't know what he'd do.
"You alright, kiddo?" He asked the client's son, who nodded, teary-eyed.
The boy was sweating bullets.
Sighing, he gave on his shoulder as comfort, and went to clear his futon away.
"It's been a while, huh?" Kushina said with a forced smile. "I came because I thought you'd be lonely; with your family being away and all."
She received no response, but she was already prepared for that. "Mikoto would come by soon. She had to do some family business and meet the clan elders, apparently."
The wind carries the whispers as it caresses her hair, and a grin lifts her face. "Don't worry, your little boy's fine," she assured her, and let out a small laugh. "Lately, Naruto-chan's been helping him get by. He talks more now."
A comfortable silence settles between them again, and Kushina gives a contented smile. "As always, I feel much better when you're around. Even now, you watch over us, huh?" She quickly brushes away a tear, and stands up from her crouch. "Well, I guess I better go now. I'll talk to you longer next time, 'kay?"
She lets her fingertips trace over the engraved name on the cold, stone plate.
'Hatake Miharu.'
Their group had been welcomed warmly by the new city's guards as soon as they explained their mission. Before they had, however, the men had eyed the Konoha shinobi with a scrutinizing, hostile gaze. Apparently, the city's entrance had been visited by thugs frequently, so the security has gone up.
Naruto and Natsu watched in amazement as men hefting up heavy cardboard boxes passed by them, and others neatly setting up wooden tables down the streets, while Kakashi frowned, bemused. What was all the fuss about?
"It looks like they're going to have a festival tonight," said Sakumo, who had been talking to a woman sticking up signs, as he came back. He grinned, before noticing that one of his students weren't with them. "Hm? Where's Genma?"
"He went to buy dango." Kakashi pointed, wrinkling his nose scornfully, and he muttered, "rich kid."
Sharply, Sakumo looked down at him. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
I swear, that boy was getting cheekier by the day, the man thought with a sigh. He turned to Dai, who was contemplatively gazing at a toy store. "Dai-san, how much longer would you like us to stayーDai-san?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, sorry about that." The client chuckled sheepishly, "I was just seeing what they sell. You were saying?"
Sakumo was about to ask again, but he caught something black flash in the corner of his left eye. "Actually, it's something we can discuss later." He turned to Dai with a pleasant smile, "I'll just be off to check on something. Please stay with my students, Dai-san."
Raising a brow, the man nodded, and trailed off to the kids. Soon, the smile on the Hatake fell, and he threw looked over his shoulder.
"I know you're there."
Sakumo took silent strides, not attracting any attention at all as he sneaked in between two shops.
He stopped short at the sight of a woman of pale skin, silky long hair, and striking, violet eyes. Blinking rather owlishly, he took in the fact that his and Dai's little spy was a young kunoichi.
A shiny, crossed out Suna metal plate attached to red cloth hung around her neck.
"So, may I ask for your name, miss?" She gave him a sharp, defiant glare. He gave a small, amused smile.
Judging from her staying at the spot and refusing to back down to the White Fang of Konoha, he deduced that she was either brave, or just very, very prideful. Maybe a bit of both.
The kunoichi gave a smirk as she watched him eye her.
And foolish, he concluded with a smirk of his own.
When Kushina entered the empty apartment with Chibi growling in her arms, she immediately knew something was wrong.
She set down the groceries, and searched the living room with a blank stare.
The window was fully closed. She had set it to be open by a tiny crack.
There wind today weren't strong enough to shut it. She knew so, since she had been jogging with the pup.
Furthermore, Chibi would never bother to growl so loudly.
Nonchalantly, she stepped into Minato's room. She touched the tiny slip of paper camouflaged against the floor.
It was warm. Her eyes flashed.
She went into her bedroom then, her steps rushed, fists clenched.
Sure enough, the seal she hid at one corner of the room's wooden floor was warm. She didn't bother to check Naruto's room.
Storming out and grabbing her jacket from the kitchen counter, she sped out of the flat.
Someone had sneaked into their home.
The festival was very lively at night. Naruto grinned at every stall they passed by, but it soon turned into a frown in her worry of losing Natsu in the midst of the heavy crowd.
Kakashi could only watch in horror as she took Natsu's hand in hers.
Natsu was a boy for heaven's sake. He can handle a mere crowd such as this one. Not many pushedーhe growled at the oblivious couple that shoved past him, and gave a shove backーso it wasn't like Natsu needed to hold her hand.
Genma watched his teammate gawk and glare at their client's son in sheer boredom. The festival was nothing more than a celebration for the opening of a new city, and it wasn't that big. "You're just like her dad," he muttered, and somehow, the Hatake heard him. However, after shooting him a scowl, Kakashi went back to burning a hole through Natsu's head.
Genma had met Naruto's father a few times. The whole team had assembled at the blonde's house and ate dinner to celebrate their official graduation and formation. Not to mention, he had heard all about the 'ghost' incident at the Test of Courage from Kakashi, who had been complaining nonstop to Sakumo-sensei.
He rolled his eyes as Naruto proceeded to drag their group around the place, going from takoyaki stalls to goldfish scooping. She had the decency to ask Natsu where he'd like to go, though, and, shyly, the boy pointed at a stall that sold chocolate-coated bananas.
"Oh! Good choice, Nacchan!"
Somehow, the way Naruto addresses the boy had evolved from Natsu-kun to Natsu-chan to Nacchan in a span of one and a half days.
Kakashi inwardly groaned at Naruto's expectant stare, and though he survived standing his ground for the first half of the minute, he ends up losing in their heated battle of glaring. Storming off and vanishing into the crowd, he was soon followed by Genma who wanted to buy dango.
Naruto grinned triumphantly, and turned to the boy next to her. "So where to next?"
As she happily lets Natsu lead her away, the blonde fails to notice the tall figure following their shadows.
Kushina didn't bother entering from the main door of the building and immediately dashed straight for the Hokage's window. She hopped and ran up the red walls of the tower, determined to reach the leader as soon as possible.
However, as soon as she stepped foot on the flat bit of roof outside the office's window, she realized someone was waiting for her.
She liked to think she recognized pretty much all of the masks the ANBU corps had in their arsenal, and the mask of the person in front of her was not one of them. Immediately on alert, she tensed as he began to stand straight from his slight slouch against the wooden wall.
"Who are you?"
She didn't get her response. "Hmm... You're easier on the eyes than I thought you'd be." He said, and though it was a complement, the way he phrased it grated on her nerves. "It's too bad you're taken by... Namikaze Minato, was it?"
"I'll ask again," she glared, voice as cold as ice. "Who are you?"
"Feisty, aye?" The eyes behind the holes crinkled up in twisted amusement. "Matches your hair perfectly, Bloody Habanero. I like it."
Annoyed beyond comprehension, she gave up on trying to get even just an inkling of this man's identity. "Get out of the way. I have places to go, people to see." She attempted to hop over the fence in front of the office's window, only to be pulled down by a strong arm around her waist.
As she let out an indignant squawk, he simply grinned under his mask, which showed in his voice. "Not so fast, Uzumaki. I have a mission, you see," he chuckled, "and that's to stop you."
"You know, sharing mission details is not very shinobi-like." She glared hotly, ready to just bite his hand off. "Let me go."
"Like I said," he sighed irritably, sick of her resistance. "I have been assigned to stop you. Good night."
"Whatー"
A sharp pain stabbed the back of her neck, and her vision turned black.
"They must have gone off on their own," Kakashi gave out a frustrated breath, glaring down at the two choco-bananas in his hands. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Now, now," Genma said, chomping off a mitarashi dango ball from his stick, "no need for such jealousy, Kakashi-kun." While the Hatake turned different shades of red, spluttered, and downright shivered at the honorific attached to his name, Genma noticed something sparkle a little way ahead of them, right at the mouth of the alley.
He walked towards it curiously until he realized that next to the object he spotted, a much smaller, barely visible thing was dropped next to it. His steps gradually quickened its pace, ignoring Kakashi's yell after him.
He stopped in front of the alley. His eyes were wide, reflecting the two objects on the dusty ground above all the shock and fear storming beneath.
The silver hairpin's sapphire shone, untainted by the soil.
Blonde brows furrowed, and the girl's eyes fluttered open. As she tried to adjust her sight, she frowns at the far ceiling. Her vision becomes clearer, and she realizes that she was in some sort of warehouse. The open windows of the roof trapping her away from the starry sky, the moon proving to be the building's only source of light.
Naruto widens her blue eyes when a tall, dark figure bends over her. The cold smirk on his face sent a shudder up her spine.
Naruto belatedly realizes that she couldn't move her hands, neck, legs, bodyーthey felt far too heavy. Her eyes swim in waves of fear and anxiety as they stare up at the man. His features were sharp and very young, as if he were in his late teens. Other than his pale complexion, everything about him was black. His ebony hair hung flat around his face, cut in a layered fashion and ending right at his shoulders. He had a handsome face, slender build, though now with his shadow casted over her they only made him seem all the more sinister.
He smiles, so brightly that Naruto starts to wonder if he wanted to help her.
"How are you feeling?" He asks. The flatness of his voice lashes out at her, and she despises herself for even thinking twice about this monster.
"Whatー" She coughed, and realized her shirt under the jacket was drenched in cold sweat. Unable to resist, she cringed.
It was almost as if he read her mind. "The effect of the small amount of drug I planted in you. I'll warn you now, it lasts for quite a while." He keeps up the false, cheerful smile. "It numbs your body, and for that to work it dehydrates you a bit. Not so much that you'd die, of course. You can move your neck, so don't glare with such hate."
"W-Whyー"
He ignored her. "The average percentage of water in a child your age is seventy-five percent." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, "If I have to guess, I'd say you lack about fifteen percent right now - not too much. Pretty generous of me, don't you think?"
She noticed movement from the corner of her eyes, and turned to see Natsu rolling over to her side. "Na-Natsu!"
Her brows knit together in worry. He wasn't drugged, was he? No, she thought with relief engulfing her form, after taking in his drowsy but moving state. His wobbliness was most likely from being knocked out.
"Ah, it seems like the young master's awake," The man chuckled, but his eyes were blatantly mocking the sight of the boy. "He'll be crying for daddy anytime soon, won't he?"
Even though it was only a twitch of her finger, he noticed it. Naruto glared up at him defiantly, as she tried to fist her hands. Her anger only flared up at the lack of success in such a simple act. "Who are you?" Her voice dripped with venom, taking the man back.
After his momentary surprise, he gave a small smirk of amusement. "So young yet so fierce." His eyes crinkled up. "It's common manner to introduce yourself before asking others for their names."
"I don't think poisoning innocent children is considered common manner."
He smiled, and his smile reminded her of a porcelain mask. "You do have a point, I admit. Well, I'll answer your questionーIt's not like you'll last long anyways.
"I'm a mere wandering shinobi, taking up rewarding missions. This one I'm on is particularly high in its cash."
Warily, she demanded he go on. "Not very patient, are you?" Running a hand through his smooth hair, he did as she wished. "My client is a particularly power-driven one, you see, and he seems to want to take over this village."
Her eyes widened, "What do you mean?" She paused, biting her lip. "Why are you telling me this in the first place?"
He raised a thin brow, almost amused at her question. "Out of boredom, girl, and don't you remember what I said just a moment ago?" He crouched, flicking her hair from her face in, what she already knew, was fake fondness. "You won't last long."
Oh how she terribly wanted to slap his cold fingers away.
"My client ordered me to lay low as to not arouse any suspicion, and who am I to object? That's where my boredom came from." He crouched, flicking her hair from her face in, what she already knew, was fake fondness. "I want the money, but I also want to have some fun. You seem to provide that, with your witty little responses and amusing faces, and I've grown sick of silence after watching you brats sleep the whole time. Now, do you want me to go on with my tale?"
She wanted to give a snarky 'no' just to get him to have even a bit of annoyance, something expressed on his face, but bit it back. She looked up at him expectantly.
"He plans on taking over the new city to have the money it makes," Sai says, walking over to sit on a wooden crate. "The city is very popular with its modern advancements and convenient structure, you know; many spacious apartments, department stores, all that, and so many wealthy families plan on moving in. Basically, a land of gold."
"He wants to destroy the city and recreate it as his own by using Dai's shop." He smirked, "And by destroying the city, it means breaking down Tanzaku-Gai from the inside. Interesting, no?"
She could only stare in shock, trying to soak in the information. He gives a little show of a crestfallen expression at her lack of response. "No reaction from you? That's not entertaining at all."
She grit her teeth, "You think this is all a game? Messing up a city?" Did he not see the bustling, excited people? Their happiness for their new home?
His eyes widened a fraction in mock-wonder. "Why, of course. What else would it be?" He curled one corner of his lip up, and stared down coldly. "Winner's get their prize, losers get their loss."
"You're a..." She tried to think of the perfect word. "Monster."
She regretted the moment she said it. As her mind was being pulled back in the nightmares of her dreams, he chuckled.
"Monster?" He tugged her hair toward himself painfully, smiling all the while. "Girl, I'm Sai."
Her eyes widened with shock that she didn't even understand herself.
While the man, Sai, watched her with a raised brow, her mind went racing in confusion. Why did the name seem to tug at her conscience so much?
As her eyes flicker over to meet his calculating stare, her heart pounded into her ears.
Whoot, finally done!
This was a hell of a monster to write :/ Sorry for the delay as usual...
Yeah, I won't make promises ever again. Holy, this is way over a month over due... Again, sorry TAT
I'll try to send the replies asap, but tests and clubs have been pressing hard on me lately, so no guarantees.
Thanks for reading, and I'll be looking forward to your feedback and criticisms :)
- By the way, I've been messing around with the plot (do I even have a proper plot line anymore...? ToT) once again, so there might be huge plot hole gaps that I fail to notice. If you spot one (or a possible one) please inform me. The last thing I want is to realize too late.