Author's Note I would like to ask for everyone's forgiveness in the slow release of the last chapter. I know it has been quite a while since my last update, but I went through three very stressful and straining weeks. Now that it is all over I can continue writing my story, Letters In Blood, with very few pauses. The next few chapters including this will shift focus towards both Naruto and Sakura. Once again I am sorry for the delay, and I now present you with Chapter 7 of Letters In Blood.
Chapter 7: Beauty of the Beast
Naruto brushed against something cold and wet. He carefully opened his eyes feeling a great strain in order to keep them open. Surrounding him in all directions were rows of steaming pipes. He looked around for some entryway or some path that would lead him out of the room. As soon as he found one, he jumped up shocked that he had been sitting in a large pool of water. His opinion soon changed as he noticed that it wasn't just a pool of water, but that everything was covered by a layer of water that reached his knees. He looked ahead of him and saw an open pathway lined with pipes venting superheated steam. Naruto shuddered afraid of where he was. Without hesitation, Naruto ran down the pathway following the pipes.
Within moments Naruto stood horrified. He was standing within a large open chamber, but part of it was hidden in darkness behind a gigantic iron gate. The gate spanned the entire length of the room and looked as though rust had eaten away at it over the years. Carefully, Naruto approached the iron bars noting how each one was thicker than his thigh. Upon the center bar was a note, but Naruto couldn't quite make out what it warned or said. Then Naruto felt it. A pulse. Ahead of him he could feel a chill that seemed to be calling him. The feeling ran down his spine and through each of his bones until his entire body was victim to this cold, haunted feeling. As the boy looked up and into the vast darkness beyond the bars, he saw a pair of vile yellow eyes. The eyes of a beast.
--
The doctor, who Sasori learned was named Atama Gao, had quickly calmed Naruto's fever. However, the man had ushered both he and Kisame out while he examined the boy's body. Sasori sat in the corner of a room facing the door the doctor had forced him from. His leg continued to bounce as his tension rose. Sasori bit a finger worrying for Naruto's safety. Earlier, Sasori had looked at Kisame and asked him about the doctor, but Kisame new barely anything about the man besides his strange experiments on bodies. The doctor had a twisted history with his examinations, but he had been asked to work for Akatsuki as a medical ninja because of his skill with the scalpel. This did not relieve Sasori's tension, but instead added further strain to his worries.
Sasori sat up impatiently, knowing something was wrong. Several hours had passed by and no word had come from the disfigured doctor. Sasori slowly began to pace forward as his impatience began to get the better of him. Ever since he could remember, he hated waiting. Sasori felt time was wasted when he had to wait. The mood and disposition of the doctor hadn't helped him either. He swore that he would punish the man cruelly for making him wait this long without any word on Naruto's condition.
As Sasori continued to pace, Kisame shrugged and leaned his head onto his fist. He sat their waiting for quite some time until he began to get annoyed with Sasori's incessant pacing. Before he could utter a word or make an argument, a shadow appeared in the room. Zetsu fell from the ceiling twisting his body at the last moment to land on his feet. He lowered his head for a moment before taking a deep breath and lifting his eyelids. He looked at both Kisame and Sasori, who had stopped pacing the second he noticed Zetsu standing beside him, and began arguing amongst himself.
In a somewhat vicious voice, Zetsu hollered at Kisame, "Do you even know how long it took me to find you?" Zetsu continued ranting at Kisame for quite some time complaining about how Kisame didn't lead the two where he was supposed to. Finally he turned to Sasori and gently asked, "How is the boy?"
Sasori eased his tension a little, "I don't know, the doctor hasn't been out of the room in hours. I also haven't been able to feel any chakra within the room."
"That room is protected by several wards in order to protect those inside." mumbled Zetsu in response. "The only thing we can do is wait until the doctor comes out to speak with us."
Sasori instantly stepped up to Zetsu grabbing the man by the neck. "I am tired of waiting! I must know what has happened to Naruto. That boy means everything to me." Sasori continued to shout as he released his hold on Zetsu. "If you keep me waiting any longer, I'll kill you."
As Sasori backed away, Zetsu let a smirk dominate his face. Before he could say anything, the three men twisted as they heard a horrible scream. A scream that made their skin tingle and their heart stop. The scream came from inside the room. Naruto was in danger!
--
An orange rim of light scattered about the ground as the last glimpse of the sun sank low into the sky. Sakura sat with her knees held up to her face while a cool summer breeze shifted through the ragged trees surrounding her. Sakura's legs shivered upon the touch of the chilling breeze. She had been here for several hours, sitting and thinking. After Iruka had related his story of the boy, Naruto, Sakura had run to this park. It was the same park in which Naruto had protected her. She didn't understand why, but she felt a heart-wrenching loss whenever she thought of the boy's fate. He had been driven from the village and since then no news had reached any of the shinobi of Konoha of his whereabouts. Many assumed he was dead, but Iruka had promised Sakura the boy was still alive and well. Though it hadn't helped to ease her sudden pain then, thinking back at those words helped Sakura calm herself.
She tilted her head to look at the fading sky. Though there was still some light left from the sun, hundreds of thousands of stars already glittered overhead. The sight took the breath from Sakura's lungs. Another cool breeze swept through the park causing Sakura to grip at herself as the cool touch of the wind caressed her skin. She needed to return home for the night before her mother began to worry. As she got up from the park bench, she made a small promise to herself. Sakura would never forget the small boy that had saved her, and allowed her to smile. She promised she would find a way to save the boy that saved her.
--
Sasori slipped on the thick blood that drenched the floor of the darkened room. In the center of the room was a small table that supported Naruto. Sasori carefully walked through more puddles of blood as he attempted to reach Naruto's side. Over in the corner he spotted the sickening doctor. The man was clutching at his side, where his right arm should have been. Sasori looked around again and spotted the man's crumpled arm on the other side of the room. Just a few feet away was the doctor's leg lying limp and bleeding on the floor.
Zetsu quickly crossed the room to the doctor, whose face was contorted in fear. The doctor began to howl with laughter as Zetsu tried to bring the man to his senses. Almost instantly the doctor's head fell down, his chin resting on his chest. He was dead. Sasori glanced down at the boy and noticed that there were no cuts or bruises. In fact the boy was completely unharmed. However, the mark that Sasori had noticed earlier on Naruto's stomach carried a faint red glow. Sasori quickly covered the mark to keep it out of Zetsu's and Kisame's sight. Sasori gently lifted Naruto off the table cradling the boy's head against his chest. He gazed down at Naruto's face wondering what it was that had protected the child. He looked over at Zetsu and Kisame yearning for some sort of response to what had just happened.
"We probably won't ever know what occurred here." mumbled Zetsu with a sigh. Another voice that acted almost angry replied, "What are you talking about? The boy is alive isn't he? He would know what just happened." The other voice snapped back, "You are a fool, the boy was unconscious."
"So, what are we going to do?" questioned Kisame as he wiped some of the blood off his cloak.
"The leader awaits the two of them. We take the boy and Sasori to him."
Kisame howled with laughter, "And what about this doctor fellow who will clean up that mess?"
"We will have some of the underlings and attendants handle the investigation and clean up of what just transpired." remarked Zetsu as he was swallowed into a wall. "I trust you can take them to Leader's room, Kisame?"
Kisame simply nodded as he turned to face Sasori. He made a motion to follow with his hand, and led Sasori through several passages. As they continued walking through the building, Sasori noticed how the walls seemed almost alive. The lengths of the walls appeared to writhe and sliver moving back and forth in a set motion. Even the floor seemed to split itself apart and come back together again as if following the two men. A gentle wind brushed across Sasori's face upon entering into a new hallway. The hall was larger than it appeared. The walls and floors were all painted exactly the same, even the light hit each surface with an equal spread. The room disoriented Sasori causing him to kneel to the ground with his head spinning. The only thing that gave him focus was the large silver door at the very end.
Kisame helped the former sand-nin to his feet careful so that Naruto would not fall from Sasori's arms. They both inched forward, Kisame silent, while Sasori's heart began to beat faster until it gave the room a rhythmic melody. The silver door slowly opened revealing a bright light that blinded Sasori. Through the light Sasori spotted a dark figure shrouded in the rain. He looked at Sasori with piercing eyes, eyes that opened up the horror in Sasori's mind.