A/N: Chapter 2! I really like this idea. Everything that is happening right now is just the beginning. There will be a few arcs, I just have to figure out which order they should go in. I have ideas, but I'm not sure how long this will last and I have no idea how to end it. Ideas maybe? Oh and the picture for the cover was done by Nemodemos on DeviantArt, I just added the title to it. Hope you enjoy! Cornontheaub
Sasuke felt that he was awake before saw it. If the throbbing in the back of his head said anything, then those kids must have a strong arm. A slow ache settled in place of the incessant stabbing pain he felt when he first woke.
When he opened his eyes all he saw was darkness. He could barely make out Kakashi's form tied to a chair next to him. He then took notice of the ropes restricting any movement. Even his fingers were tied so they couldn't move; whoever did this was either overly cautious or paranoid.
"Don't panic Sasuke. We'll figure something out." Kakashi whispered when he noticed his student awake.
Kakashi had woken what seemed like hours ago, but it could have been minutes. It was hard to tell time in never ending black. He had tried to reach his hidden knife, but however had tied them down had done a thorough job. It led him to believe that they had done this many times before.
He listened to the soft breathing of his student, glad that he was breathing normally and not severely injured. Scenarios played through his head, but the only conclusion to what they were there for was interrogation, maybe torture, but he didn't think the kids would be able to stomach that.
'But,' he though, 'you never know what they had to stomach living out in the waste.'
Both shinobi strained to hear anything outside of their cell, but the only sound was their quiet breathing.
Hours later Kakashi woke to the sounds of footsteps. He kicked Sasuke's leg as well as he could in his position to wake him.
"Wha-?" Sasuke moaned incoherently.
"Sh." Whispered Kakashi, "Someone's coming. Actually it might be two but the footsteps echo."
Both waited tensely as the footsteps came nearer until a click could be heard coming from the door of their cell. They heard muffled voices murmuring to each other. One was light, female, and the other was not deep but smooth and calm, male.
"How long have they been here Two?" asked the male. He seemed tired. His voice held exasperation and minor annoyance, like seeing to them was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.
"The Corps brought them here this afternoon. They've been in the cell for about 6 hours." Replied the female, or Two, according to what the male called her.
As the door screeched open light flooded in the cell temporarily blinding the occupants. Sasuke blinked out the glare from the light to see two blondes. They both were tall, the male only being a few inches taller than the female. He had on goggles and a trench coat with many ripped pieces of fabric hanging off that looked like tails. His clothes were typical of Scavengers, tattered and thrown together in an assortment: a waistcoat buttoned up over a bare chest, baggy pants tapped at the thigh and holding a holster with a gun, and large boots with steel plates on the toes. The girl was dressed more elegantly, but still dirtily. She had her long blonde hair tied with bandages into one tail that reached her hips, a purple corset with leather tied together under the bodice, and a black train that was short in the front and reached the ground at the back over small boots that concealed a gun whose handle poked out the top.
As he looked closer Sasuke could see whisker-like scars on the male's face, which looked ragged and painful, like someone had dragged a knife slowly across his face six times.
The male slammed the door shut, shrouding them all in darkness once more and grabbed an unnoticed chair in the corner. He sat in it backwards as the girl leaned against the wall and watched them with feline-like eyes. Sasuke thought he could see them glint like a predator in the night and it made him shiver subconsciously.
The male watched Kakashi and Sasuke patiently, as if he was waiting for them to start a conversation with him. Goggled eyes moved from face to face, waiting for one to pluck up the courage to speak. With a sigh he turned to the girl on the wall and said, "What do you think the city is trying to pull, going where they don't belong." He said it as if it was the most idiotic thing in the world for the city to expand into the waste.
Kakashi stayed silent and waited for either one to say something else. He had no answer for the question, for it was obviously rhetorical. With a mental sigh, however, he realized his student wouldn't realize and answer anyways.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Sasuke gritted out angrily. How dare these lowlifes talk about his city as if it was idiotic.
"Heh. Exactly what I said. You city folk have no business coming into the waste. You should just stay in your walls, safe." He chuckled a bit as he answered in a way that infuriated Sasuke even more.
"You disgusting Scavenger scum don't deserve to live on these lands. They belong to the cities and we have the right to govern them." Sasuke said condescendingly with a smirk on his face. He wanted to get the man angry, he wanted to see him infuriated like he himself had been moments ago.
The goggled man was quiet, Kakashi was afraid that his student had gone too far and the man was going to kill him, or both of them. What neither of them expected, however, was for him to throw back his head and guffaw as if what Sasuke had uttered was the funniest thing he had ever heard. The girl laughed along with him, her hand covering her face as she giggled.
"Hehe. Some government you have, kid. I don't recall them governing anything in the waste for thirteen years now." The male said, chuckling at first, but turning condescending towards the end. "I don't remember the cities being there thirteen years ago either, when the bombs dropped. Where was your government then?"
"They probably didn't want scum like you polluting us all." Sasuke spat as an answer. For some reason this man infuriated him more than usual, even for his uncontrollable temper.
The goggled man clenched his fists and let out a low growl, enraged with what he had said. Sasuke had gotten what he wanted, but seeing and hearing the blonde made him wish he hadn't.
"And what about the others. The hundreds of thousands stuck outside of those walls. What about all those children and families looking for sanctuary from the destruction? Were they all scum too? Every one?" He was beyond angry now; he was seeing red. His hand was twitching towards his firearm on his thigh. One shot and the disgusting raven would be dead and he wouldn't have to hear his bullshit any longer.
Both Kakashi and Sasuke were quiet. They had heard of and had seen what others called The Valley of Bones. Outside of the gates skeletons lied by the thousands, slowly turning to dust over the years. For miles bones circled the walls, ghostly souvenirs of those who cried out to the city for help, but were denied.
Two, set her hand on her friends shoulder. Silent support and a steady hand to hold him back from his thoughts on killing the boy, even if she wanted to herself.
"I was five," the man started. "Five years old when the threats were made. My parents ran for three days without rest towards Konoha."
"Hurry Minato, we're almost there!" A beautiful redhead named Kushina yelled to her husband as she ran.
"You know I've never been able to keep up with you. I've chased you since we were kids." He chuckled and sped up until he was beside his wife, flashing her a full grin. His thoughts filled with love for his wife and son, and a burning passion to protect them. They just needed to make it to the city.
"There it is! Konoha! It's as beautiful as they say, huh Naruto-kun." Kushina spoke with awe lacing her voice. She poked her son in his side as he looked with wide eyes at the shining skyline. They slowed to a stop and panted, out of breath from their long run. As they neared the walls they noticed the large amount of people crowding the gates and yelling.
"Please, take my child, let her in!" "There has to be room left!" "Please, save us!"
"What's happening Minato?" Kushina asked, knowing the answer but not wanting to accept it.
"ATTENTION CITIZENS. WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIECE, BUT THE GATES ARE CLOSED. THERE WILL BE NO MORE ACCESS TO KONOHA. STAY SAFE." An announcement was made as the gates bolted shut and a force field surrounded the top of the city, dooming those outside.
"They've killed us all," Minato said in a low voice. Angered, but resigned to his fate. Kushina wept softly into her son's bright golden hair. He held his mother and stroked her hair even if he didn't completely understand what was happening.
"Dad, we're not goin' to the city?" He asked while looking at all the weeping families from over his mother's shoulder.
"No Naruto-kun, we're not. We'll just have to find somewhere else to stay." Minato answered with a strained voice, but tried to sound happy for his son. Kushina's sobs became heavier when he spoke.
"My parents found an empty building where we stayed for two days until the bombs fell. Those outside the walls cried and sang together as the end neared. My parents held me in their arms and pleaded for me to live as they were burned into nothing from the radioactive heat. I survived under the charred remains of my parents and lived like they had asked." He spoke in a calm voice, one that betrayed no emotion, as if he was hiding it behind his calmness. Two squeezed her hand on his shoulder feeling his pain as she had survived a similar story.
"I found the few who survived and we stuck together. It wasn't until years later that my powers began to surface. I had taken the sacrifice of the people outside of the cities and evolved into someone even more powerful. A jinchuriki, the power of human sacrifice."
A/N: Sobs, I almost literally cried as I wrote this. I must be heartless, but it seemed to simple written on paper. Please review and tell me if this was good or not. Also tell me if the length is okay. I'll upload another soon I hope, if I can write with all these tears in my eyes.