Four Letter Words
Story Thus Far- Naruto has killed a man using the Kyuubi chakra for the first time, by ripping out his heart. The prostitute he saved will do anything he asks; luckily all he wants is a stuffed fox. The Kyuubi seems to be going insane at the same time as its vessel. Iruka remains in the hospital practicing chakra control. The ANBU have crossed the border intent on killing Naruto, and Konoha's forest animals are plotting.
Chapter Six: Path
Leslie watched her blonde savior as he hugged the stuffed fox toy close. Soft fur tickled his chin and he smiled, warming the former prostitute's heart. He was amazing. Naruto, as he had introduced himself, brought her from deaths door all for the price of one doll.
The memory of that bastard's heart in his hands was especially sweet. Leslie would have never been thought to be the vindictive type, but seeing the life fade from her abusers eyes had kindled a righteous fury in the red haired girl. She wasn't quite sure where it would lead, but her angel of vengeance had pointed her on the path and she would follow it.
"Ne, Leslie-nee-chan. Thank you." Naruto whispered, still petting the plushy he held with obvious possessiveness. The woman had witnessed her angel growl at a drunk who almost spilled ale on the scarlet fox. She had no doubt that had the liquid landed the old man would be out, permanently.
"I'd do anything for my angel." Leslie answered meekly. Humans had to show the proper respect to higher beings or risk falling from favor. She didn't want that to happen.
Naruto paused and picked at a blood stained sleeve of his yukata. He missed his orange jumpsuit, but receiving the fox plushy made up for it. He turned Leslie's words over in his head. He couldn't remember hearing the term she used before, but it lacked the tone of insult that demon carried. It was more of an endearment. "What is an angel?"
Leslie blinked. Another test. She must have done something to merit attention, but clearly her old profession was getting in the way. The higher beings must be giving trials to test her faith.
Naruto and Leslie were walking to the town gates, with the latter in deep thought as she formulated her answer. What was an angel? If her answer was unsatisfactory would Naruto-sama leave? Would she be struck down by a sudden bolt of lighting? Leslie crossed her arms beneath her large breasts, careful not to knock her splinted wrist. What exactly was an angel?
There were the many different types of ethereal creatures. Vengeance and guardian the most prominent. Then there were the elemental spirits, not to mention the many yokai. Leslie's brow furrowed as her eyes followed the blue clad blonde. Clearly he didn't mind waiting, but she would have to come up with something before they reached the town gate.
Kin pressed against the tree; bark digging harshly into her back. With a complex but small application of chakra she slowed her heart until the two other genin candidates went by. Normally Sound trainees could detect the faint vibrations of breathing or heart beats, but Kin knew this and she had specifically trained in case there would ever be a need to assassinate one of her own. In the Hidden Sound personal attachments were frowned upon, and their leader was known for discarding tools he considered weak or useless.
There had been a time Kin would have admired the ruthless man. He was a ninja that didn't let morals or personal life get in the way of his mission. It was considered an honor to be part of Rice country's new shinobi village. To make the Land of Rice great and to serve the master... that was all Kin wanted. When the white-haired ninja had come to her orphanage and offered membership, sensing her 'potential', she eagerly accepted.
They never told her betrayal was the norm.
Kin grabbed a branch and swung herself up, trailing an incredibly thin wire. She zigzagged through the tree tops, creating a web of wire and bells. They wouldn't get her. She wasn't going to die for some old man's entertainment. She ran along a branch, cursing at the lack of cover. Using the branch like a spring board, she bounded off into the air.
Deft fingers wrapped the end of her wire to a thick needle, then hurled it into the selected position as she began to fall. Kin tucked and rolled, winching as a hidden kunai slashed her arm. She didn't know if it had been left over from last year or was placed on purpose but it had sliced nearly to the bone, leaving her left arm nearly useless. "At least I got the warning system set up..."
"Brother..." Gozu nudged the last of his family with his elbow. His eyes fixated on something beyond the bar the two missing nin were eating at. Meizu ignored his senior, favoring instead to eat his steaming cream of mushroom celery beef stew. Gozu sighed at his brother who jealously guarded his meal. Really, what kind of reputation were they making sitting at mom and pop booth slurping stew?
"Just like ma used to make." Meizu muttered as he inhaled the food.
"I'm glad dear." The old woman said with a smile while she pushed fresh baked bread over to the chunin. Gozu felt his eye twitch. He grabbed his brother's head and wrenched it in the right direction.
"Do you not see that?!" He demanded with metal gauntlet squeezing the younger's head. Meizu clutched his brother's wrist to aleve the pain and snarled. He didn't like being interrupted during food time. Whispered threats dribbled out of the chunin's mouth along with creamy soup. Brown eyes landed on two people turning around the corner or more precisely on the scroll one of them carried at his back.
Dried mud decorated the dark green scroll, which was itself held within a grungy orange net. The remains of a paper seal peaked out from the under the mesh. Faint chakra radiated from the scrap of paper, something that only the most important of documents had.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Gozu grinned under his breather mask, metal gauntlet clinking as he rose. "It's the Scroll of Seals. Come on. With it, we won't need to listen to that child-loving old man." He chuckled darkly.
The younger brother followed, pausing only to pay the kindly old couple that fed them. "Why would a kid have it? He could be dangerous."
"Idiot. He's a kid, looks maybe... eleven at the most. Short. Probably took it off the corpse of whatever ninja was transporting it. Easy kill, but I don't want trouble from the authorities. We can take him a few miles out of town."
Flashes of color assaulted the chunin's senses. Iruka immediately shut down his exercise, his chakra coming to a standstill within his body. It was mildly painful in both his retinas and his chakra circulatory system. He didn't think he'd ever felt so tired in his life.
"Iruka-sensei..." A pretty nurse admonished as she stepped into the room holding a cup of oblong pills. "You should be taking it easy. At this rate you'll double your time with us."
"That's alright." He whispered as he accepted the pills. The woman shook her head in aspiration as she filled the former pill cup with water form the bedside. Ninja's, always acting tough. Pushing themselves past their limits. At least he's not as bad as that Lee kid.
Iruka chugged the water and fell back, his head narrowly missing the bed board. "What were those?" He asked as body began relaxing. The nurse adjusted his pillow and answered that one pill had been anti-biotics and the other a sedative. He needed to rest. "I see. Then it's true what they say about you medics."
She paused. "What do they say about us?"
Iruka fought to stay conscious as the chemicals rushed through his system. That was the down side of being a ninja, his metabolic rate was extremely fast and the medicines were broken down and put to use quickly. They also had to be far more potent than for a normal civilian for the same reason. "Just that, you'll pound a patient into submission or tie them to the bed to make them do what you say."
Red crept to the woman's cheeks as she stepped back. "W-we haven't done that since Tsunade-Sama was with us!"
Something flickered in the chunin's memory. He lunged forward sloppily due to the drugs, but he managed to catch the nurses wrist before she left. "Please. Can you contact a puppet maker from the Sand? I would like to have a replacement made."
"If you wish it."
"Thank you." With that he gave into the drugs, half sprawled on the floor, and a bit of drool.
Ayumu went through the gates, his distain of the local populace evident. Prostitutes avoided him like the plague, their flattering smiles turning sour as they looked into his cold eyes. His ANBU mask had been stored away for the excursion into enemy territory. "What makes you so great, freaking ninja?"
He spun, hand grasping the woman's throat and pinning her against the wall. He couldn't stand the disgusting whores. Any respect he had gained for the demon spawn evaporated when they followed the trail to the city. "Have you seen a boy, yellow hair, about this high?" He asked his voice cold as steel. Some people never listened to reason.
The woman snarled, her long fingernails scratching at his hand. "Why should I tell you anything?" He started to get annoyed by her attitude and squeezed marginally harder. Fear flickered in her eyes as she came to the conclusion that he could and would kill her if she didn't cooperate.
"Child. Blonde. New. Have you seen him?"
"M-Maybe. Leslie-chan was walking around with a kid. Said he saved her from a rough client. He was blonde, had blue eyes. But kind of shrimpy."
The ANBU's eyes widened. The chances of finding a lead so soon were slim, but how many blonde kids were running around a brothel town? He released her, and the whore stumbled while rubbing her neck. She spat at the ground, before running to the safety of the crowd.
Ayumu pulled a Nokia, the brand of ninjas, cell phone from his pouch and dialed zero. One touch dialing did wonders for Ninja communication. Less breakable than radios, but expensive so that only ANBU got them. "Kanna-san? We may have a lead. Target was seen with a prostitute by the name of Leslie."
"Okay. Contact Yuukou, start looking for this Leslie."
"Right." In a blur his thumbs dialed Yuukou's number, and to his annoyance the only thing he got was a busy signal. His foot tapped against the wall impatiently. "Come on, come on. Pick up woman. No she doesn't care what color you've died you hair."
"I heard that, and take it as an offense."
"Shit. Yuukou. Where did you come from?"
The woman crossed her arms, tilting her head just so that the sun would shine in his eyes. She glared, he winced. "Did you even get a description on this Leslie?"
"..."
"Thought so. I'll take the shopping district- don't say anything! - and you can scout out ill repute town. Kanna-san is probably going through the city records as we speak." She calmly stated. Ayumu nodded absently as he tried to figure out why she didn't pick up her phone. Did he dial the wrong number? He didn't think so...
"Wait. Why do I have to search the slums?"
"Because you are an ass." Smoke clouds were the only thing that signaled her departure. Ayumu sighed. Running after a demon was wearing down his nerves, he just wanted to kill the thing and go home. There was no doubt in his mind that Rai wouldn't give up until the creature was dead, orders be damned. He was a good captain, the best he ever had, but the man had a nasty habit of refusing to quit until he finished what he started.
As Ayumu stalked toward the homes of prostitutes, pimps, and whores the crowd parted like silk away from his dark aura. Across the street a plushy vendor spied on the Ninja with a look of suspiciousness.
The dolls were whispering to him. His creations were warning him of near-by danger, a ninja. High caliber. He was looking for something. There are three in the city... looking for a demon... Multiple voices whispered in his head. "A demon?" He questioned the dolls, staring into the glass eyes of a turtle.
The spawn of a demon. Under the influence of demon. A murderer.
The cart began to vibrate lightly, metal wheels squeaking with urgency. "I suppose it's time to close up now, friends." The man told his cart. Just as he was beginning to tie down a canvas, something pulled at his leg. "Hello little girl."
"H-hi. Can I have the horsy? Mommy gave me money."
Not me. I'm not right for her...the bird. Bird. Bird. Bird.
"Why not this pretty red bird? That's real tail feathers, see how soft they are?" He questioned with a smile. The pig-tailed girl bit her lip in thought, small hands running down the smooth body.
"Okay."
Donna ran down the street, pushing people over out of spite. Her skirt flew up as she leaped a fire hydrant, causing several drunks to whistle appreciatively. Ignoring the hooligans, that were occasionally clients, she proceeded to head toward the center of the red-light district. Her blonde ringlets bounced cutely, at odds with the anger marring her features.
A manicured hand reached out to catch a wooden post, jerking her out of the pell-mail charge. After running at full speed for around five minutes Donna arrived where a building resembling an old hotel towered. Shaking and nearly out of breath, she pounded on an intricately carved door and demanded entrance. "Open up! I have to speak to Leslie-chan!"
Silver handles turned awkwardly, a rat-faced man poking his head out. "We're closed!" Before he could shut the door, Donna snagged his nose and pulled down, her eyes level with his.
"Let. Me. In." Angry fire burned in her brown depths and the doorman gulped, hastily moving aside. The self-employed prostitute didn't release his snosh until she was fully inside the building. "I need to speak to Leslie."
The small man coughed, motioning for someone to hurry over and handle the crazed whore standing in his entry-way. "She isn't here. Bitch left last night with a young boy and a corpse in her room."
"W-what?! But Leslie would never hurt a fly." Donna exclaimed in an accusatory tone. Heads poked out doors, curlers still dangling from locks. Room to room whispering began and the small man turned red. He took an umbrella from the hallway canister and waved it threateningly.
"Back to your rooms!" Female and male heads quickly disappeared, and Donna was beginning to get nervous. What had happened to cow the strong women of Tsuki's Flower? The girls that could take a beating and keep on fucking. She didn't think anything could cause them to listen to their bouncer. "It is none of your concern. Nothing happened."
"Yes. It is. They're some people looking for her, ninja I think. If they trace her back here you know what will happen, miniscule man." Donna used every bit of her pissed off women aura to intimidate the small man. Her eyes glared daggers at him, and passed a hand over her throat. The small man's eyes widened in shock at the bruise rapidly forming around her neck. Red and blue marks stood out against white skin in a faint imitation of a hand. "Do you think they will be so easy on you?"
He bit his lip and stepped back. "I suggest you leave whore. If they think you've warned Leslie, I'm sure they'll do more than that." Donna snorted as he reached behind his back for a small jeweled dagger. There was a code among her kind. If a price had been put on one of their heads they would do everything possible to help her. The small rodent looking man didn't scare her at all. On the contrary she could tell he feared her, for she could bring the ninja's to the establishment. Rice country largely ignored their town's activates because of the amount of money it brought to the economy, but if attention was drawn to the not-so-uncommon murders...
"Tch. Don't worry about me." Donna swept out the door with her blonde head held high like a queen. Her neck was exposed, and several of the women peaking out windows and doors of near-by brothels saw it. Energy was building. Something was going to happen, and bring with it a great change. Donna couldn't figure out why she had the sudden urge to scream to the heavens in defiance. Everything was changing. Looking around and seeing the nods of her fellow prostitutes she knew there was a storm coming. "You need to worry about yourself."
"Excuse me, Miss."
Donna turned, her breasts swaying suggestively. To her surprise it was the toy vender. Funny. I never figured him for a client. "Yes?"
He smiled and held out a rather odd looking plush turtle. It had three tails, and spikes showed up randomly on the soft figure. "Would you mind delivering this to a friend of yours? Leslie, I believe her name is." Donna felt like he was laughing at her. Still, she didn't want to stand in the dirty street all day. Hot cups of cocoa would do nicely at the moment. The drinks would sooth her throat and help recover lost energy from her mad dash to the brothel. On a whim she snatched the stuffed three tailed turtle and tucked it under her arm. "If I see her, she'll get it."
"Thank you. I was thinking of moving you see, and wouldn't have time to give it myself..." The man just chuckled at Donna's retreating form. Soon she was lost in the crowd along with the turtle gift. "Interesting. Do you really think it will work? Alone the turtle plush can do nothing."
It's not what Sanbi will do, but what he will inspire. All is going to work out.
"If you say so."
Kin wrapped a ripped portion of her skirt around her injury. Spit was a surprisingly good cleaner, if there was enough of it. Probably why animals lick their wounds. But I'm not an animal. The kunoichi slumped in exhaustion. Tending her own wounds proved to be much more difficult than another's. I need to start learning to become ambidextrous.
Thick thorny bushes surrounded her, though not all were real. Minor genjutsu was simple, though a master wouldn't even consider the genin candidate's method true genjutsu. Summoning five bushin, she then had her clones utilize the transformation technique to take the form of the plants that did grow. With ample cover she hoped some time could be spared for recovery. That was her plan anyway. Silently Kin rested an elbow on a rock, and closed her eyes. Occasionally the sound of birds chirping or fleeing alerted her to the whereabouts of her fellow candidates. It was surprising she didn't hear much screaming. Or begging for mercy. Her classmates must have been stronger than she thought.
Kin rested, focusing what chakra she could to the injury. Then the bells started ringing. Kin snapped her head up, seeing a wire shiver in warning. They were coming from the east. Cursing, the kunoichi started running as her transformed clones were dispelled with a blast of air. "Now, Now, Kin. You should have known better than to take a nap in the middle of a test."
She plucked a hair from her head, charging it with an amount of chakra so small they wouldn't notice. "Dosu. I guess I have to deal with those portable speakers first."
"Say what you want Kin, I might give you quick death if you agree to one thing..." Her former classmate sneered. Kin felt anger grow, in her current state it only helped. With an enraged scream she flicked her wrist, the thin hair practically invisible as it flew through the air; lodging into the boy's chest. He grunted and pulled the now limp weapon out, giving the girl time to run. The chakra burns from it hurt more than the piercing had. "I'll find you Kin! There's only seven of us left! We're all after you!"
Leslie stopped at the gate, her angel turning to face her with the fox held loosely. The whore looked up and prepared to take her test. "An angel is a creature known for drawing their power from the light and holy aspects of nature. They protect and defend, or provoke and attack. They are looked upon as great and wonderful. Higher than humans, angels can be benign or malicious toward them."
Naruto tilted his head and smiled. "So I'm an angel. Thank you." Unexpectedly he threw his arms around her middle, hugging tightly. Leslie blushed and ran her fingers through his golden locks, amazed at the smoothness of them. "I hope you achieve your goals, Leslie-nee-chan." Naruto broke the embrace and started off at a run, the fox plush safely stored in the crook of one arm.
Ramen filled his belly, and a new toy that was his and his alone created a feeling of absolute happiness inside that Naruto briefly forgot the misfortune that followed him. He met people who cared about him, and even helped protect a pretty lady! His conscience was actively helping out, and his promise was being kept. Iruka-sensei would be proud. Tan hands raised the doll to the sky, and human eyes thought for a moment they saw something different in the glass marbles that served as the toy's. "I think I'll call you Kyuu! Yeah! You'll be called Kyuu! Kyuu no Kitsune!" Naruto laughed at his own joke and continued running. If he kept up the pace he could be halfway to the ocean with the week!
Dirt was kicked up by the running boy, who took no notice of the two others following closely behind. He ran flat out with the scroll bouncing against his back, and if he wasn't careful a bruise would develop. Inside the blonde a demon stirred. It stretched it's limbs and yawned. Kyuubi distantly noticed the way it's prison bounced along but was in no way disturbed by it. After over a thousand years of life, the only thing that can alarm an ancient demon is kami-sama himself.
As per custom and habit Kyuubi scanned the immediate area. She noticed the mild increase of demon chakra her container could handle safely and clucked her tongue in satisfaction. Delving a bit further she snorted at the two strong chakra signatures tracking his vessel. No where near a level Kyuubi would worry about, still it was better to be safe than sorry. Cracking it's neck the Kyuubi prepared to contact Naruto. "Good morning."
Naruto smiled wider and speed up. "Morning. Did you see my present?"
Kyuubi concentrated for a moment as it's vessel's memories flooded it's mind. Laughing in amusement, Kyuubi answered. "Yes. It's very nice. You do realize you have a minion now?"
"Minion?"
"Minion is how we refer to a person who would serve you anyway you desire, with no regard to themselves."
"Leslie-nee-chan is my minion..."
"Interesting thought, no? I was just wanting to inform you of the two large and stupidly dressed males heading for you. One is getting ready to send a claw into your neck..."
"WHAT!" Shocked out of his haze of contentment, Naruto growled and jumped straight up. A large poisoned iron claw passed beneath him, which the ninja in training used to track his attacker to the tree's. Forming a familiar sign, Naruto summoned several shadow clones that headed into the bush to draw out the enemy. Kyuubi watched all this from the sealed cage while bloodlust grew. It wanted battle and blood and relayed this to Naruto, who was happy to oblige.
"Don't damage the scroll!" Gozu yelled in annoyance as his brother nearly cleaved the thing in two. He winced at the clinks that came from the claw retracting to it's home, and made a note to remind his brother to oil the chains more often. Naruto whistled and his clones withdrew several blades of varying usefulness, on account that some had seen more battle's than others. On cue, the shadow clones tossed the blades at random, forcing his opponents to come out of hiding. "Well kid, looks like you have some abilities." The older brother commented as he tossed a barrage of shurinken that dispelled the clones.
Naruto stared at them with wide eyes, barely controlled insanity could be seen dancing in them. Meizu glanced at his brother who was quietly observing the boy. "I think you were right. He is crazy, he talks to himself. Of course that only means this battle will be marginally more difficult than we thought. The crazy ones are unpredictable after all… shall we introduce ourselves?"
The younger brother stepped forward, though his mocking smile was hidden behind the gas breather he wore. "Meizu of the demon brothers. I'll sever that pretty little head of yours, boy."
Gozu rolled his eyes. "Gozu of the demon brothers. Older brother."
Naruto and his many brothers studied the two men with a critical eye that was starting to get on their nerves. Finally he rocked back on his heels, somehow never letting down his guard. "What is a demon?"
Had they been anything but ninja's, the two mean would have gone into mild shock at the statement. As it was the only visible reaction to the question was a slight narrowing of the eyes and a shift in stance. "You don't know what a demon is? What rock did you crawl out from? A demon is a creature with incredible power that uses it to kill. Like we are going to kill you for that scroll."
At the mention of taking his scroll Naruto's visage darkened. "You won't...I made a promise."
Meizu laughed. "Not all promises can be kept, kid. Like this one." Gozu wished his brother would shut up. He obviously wasn't paying attention to the sudden spike in the kids chakra.
Naruto felt his teeth rearrange themselves, and he opened his mouth. Blood poured out as two large fangs protruded from the cavity, and eyes turned to slits. With his gaze never leaving the two missing-nin Naruto bent down on all fours. When Naruto next spoke it chilled the blood of his opponents. "The voice in my head doesn't like you...and neither do I."
Naruto tossed Kyuu and the scroll off to the side of the road with a muttered, 'I'll be back', and charged the still stunned demon brothers. Lucky or not, Gozu snapped out of his trance and managed to block the claw swipe delivered to his face. What is this thing? Is it an unknown bloodline?! Gozu rolled to the side while throwing three daggers in succession, each coated in a vile poison that would eat away at the targets body like an acid if not washed out immediately. Naruto rolled in a mimicry of Gozu to dodge the projectiles, his sudden speed boost curtsey of his 'voice' giving him an unexpected edge.
Meizu snapped back to the present and performed some quick hand seals while the crazy kid was focused on his brother. Being Rice country, water was abundant in the area and with his jutsu complete the younger brother sent several water-based daggers toward Naruto. The blonde distantly heard his tenant warning him about them, to which he flared some of his own blue tinted chakra. Incredible heat evaporated the former Mist nin's attack, to the amazement of both nin. Naruto jumped to the side, screaming as Gozu's own claw chains wrapped around him when he dodged Meizu's. The poisoned metal slid over his skin and burned so much that tears welled up. "It'll be okay. Don't worry about it. Just get out of his hold before they kill you."
Forgoing rational thought, Naruto believed in his voice and ran straight at Gozu who was wondering why Naruto had not fallen to the ground screaming. Using his free hand Gozu took out a kunai and aimed for Naruto's throat. He didn't expect the sudden grip form behind. Crap! I thought we killed all the clones! A very physical blade closed in on Gozu's neck, and he saw his brother dealing with three clones on his own. Forced to release his captive to block, Gozu managed to kick the clone into a tree effectively dispelling it. He didn't expect to see the katana that the clone had been holding fly up and into the real Naruto's grip. The original blonde somersaulted into his landing, the metal bared.
Still close to the ground, Naruto ran toward his enemy while slashing widely with the katana. Gozu blocked with the hard case of his claw, thankful to the blacksmith that designed it. Meizu broke out of the shadow clone mob with a quick spinning kick. He rushed to help his brother while taking out an explosive note. "Gozu!"
His brother got away in time, and Gozu was about to berate his brother for nearly hitting him, when both went silent. Naruto landed right in front of them, clothes singed but otherwise unharmed. Red and blue chakra wafted off him like steam and he chopped off their feet in the blink of an eye. Naruto stood above them, sheathing the katana. "You tried to make me break my promise. I can not forgive you." Naruto's clawed hands aimed for the two men's hearts, but they defended as best they could. Annoyed, Naruto caught an arm and twisted resulting in a snap that excited his conscience.
"Their blood Naruto. Drink the blood." Whispered his voice gleefully. It believed that if the creatures dare challenge it's vessel they deserved a proper demon funeral. Where it was from, leaving a dead opponents body to rot was the ultimate insult. Naruto thought it strange, but obeyed the voice nonetheless.
"Oh god...someone help! A demon!" Meizu screamed and tried to crawl away. Naruto ignored the man, it wasn't like he could get far on bleeding stumps. Red rivers of blood stained the front of Naruto's kimono as he bit into the still beating heart. Fangs made it easy to rip into the tissue as Gozu breathed his last. Naruto wiped his mouth and delicately picked up the forehead protector. It bore a symbol the young blonde didn't recognize, four tilted wavy lines. Shrugging, Naruto filliped it around and carved 'Gozu' into the metal with the man's weapon. A trace of poison would be left in it but Naruto didn't care as he tied the ninja gear next to Aoba's.
Naruto practically danced over to Meizu, quickly disabling the man's arms as his voice instructed and pulling out the heart. Once again he ate it like one would an apple, watching the light fade from Meizu's eyes. "They weren't as hard as the last one."
"They were not up to his level. A chunin at most, I'd say." Kyuubi sniffed. There had been some strange coating on their foes weapons that was wreaking havoc with its containers system. Naruto's fingers twitched and he yawned as his teeth went back to their normal size and positions, a small amount of blood leaking from his gums in the process.
The boy watched his normally acute vision begin to go hazy and tipped to one side, stumbling, as he picked up the scroll and stuffed fox. "Conscience?"
"Hush! I'm busy… this is most disturbing." The Kyuubi paced back and forth as it sent wave after wave of chakra through its host's chakra system. Unintentionally the demon fox had only made it worse when it regenerated the wounds from the weapons, as it had allowed the toxin to spread much faster. Kyuubi snarled and retreated. It played a dangerous game now, as the life of both itself and it's host hung in the balance. The poison could not be flushed from the body, it was far to late for that with the original wound closed and the range of it. There was only one choice, and it was risky as well as painful. "Naruto, keep moving as long as you can. Doesn't matter where, but stay off the road."
Naruto tried to shake the cobwebs from his vision as he proceeded into the brush. "Why?"
"We will need a hiding place, if you collapse."
"Why would I…" Naruto began, but stopped his questioning when he felt his temperature rise. He felt like he was being cooked alive. Naruto closed his mouth and continued shuffling through the woods, and his mind started to go. The foggy images blurred together into bouncing bunnies and strange visions of reality. He was sick.
He kept walking as he day dreamed and the Kyuubi worked. He saw a vision of himself still at Konoha, and another where he fought a woman with long hair. He watched a boy with red hair murder another with red eyes. He felt the presence of thousands of small creatures coming together to fight against another. Leslie floated in his thoughts, but there was something different about her.
Naruto walked for hours, but when the shivering set in he fell to the ground in unconsciousness. The poison continued to destroy his body despite the Kyuubi's attempts to neutralize it.
Rai looked up at the house that the supposed Leslie lived in. It had a cracked window and needed a paint job. In fact most of the homes here needed a paint job. He sighed. Konoha was certainly unique, it didn't have a slums. The Hokage saw that everyone had the necessities, the fact that it caused him more paperwork only made one wonder why he bothers. Even the demon had been taken care of by that fact. Rai knocked on the door, and waited. The prompt arrival of the house inhabitant was surprising but he decided that one shouldn't judge a person on appearances.
Leslie smiled at the new person. "Hello. Can I help you?"
Rai nodded as his two subordinates showed themselves. "You were seen with a boy. Short and blonde, blue eyes. Ring a bell?"
"Yes! Naruto-sama was with me, he escorted me to the hospital earlier this morning to get my wrist fixed." She offered her splinted wrist as proof with the smile never leaving her face. The ninja shared a look, pondering what could have possibly made an injured woman so happy. When she referred to the demon vessel as Naruto-sama they had suspicions, very very wrong suspicions.
"Naruto-sama?" Code name Yuukou questioned delicately.
"Of course. He's an angel. What else would you refer to an angel as?" The smile left her face as she continued to study the shinobi. "You're not trying to hurt him are you?"
"No." Their thrid member remarked. "We want to kill him."
All pleasantness fled from Leslie's body. The three ANBU were surprised at the killing intent coming from the woman, who previously would have invited them in for tea. "You will not kill him. You CAN NOT kill him. Naruto-sama is an angel. He will rip out your hearts before you can stop him."
The threat was waved off by Ayumu. "Yeah right. Where did he go? Or is he with you?" Before he could enter the house Leslie blocked the doorway with her arm, glaring all the while.
"He left this afternoon by the north gate. I wish he hadn't, then he could kill you for your insolence." She grinned in complete confidence of her idol.
Rai turned and left. "Come on. It's no use. She's obviously insane. We got the info we needed anyway."
A young ninja stood on a tree branch looking over the city. He frowned for a moment, thinking. Wind tousled his long black hair. The ninja turned to his master, a missing ninja by the name of Momichi Zabuza. "Zabuza-sama, the demon brothers have not returned."
"No...they haven't." Cold eyes regarded the city of Takara with mild interest. "We will leave. If they aren't here they must be dead."
Haku was saddened at the news. He hadn't been on the best of terms with the two missing chunin, but they had been comrades. "Why is that?"
Zabuza shifted his large sword with a grunt. They needed to move. "Because if not, I will kill them for disobeying orders."
Two shadows of the night headed east, where they would make contact with the next client.
END.