AN: (Sorry for the shorter Chapter! I have so much less time now a days! I'll never give up on this story though! Chapters will be posted...eventually!)
Chapter 14: The Eyes of Darkness
The line that stretched for blocks to get into Club Gonza was loud and boisterous, with anxious partiers ready to get their late night session in progress. The bouncer at the front of the line was a large man with a nice suit and blocker glasses that looked ridicules in the middle of the night. He stood strong as pesky clubbers tried their best to persuade their way inside. They knew that the chances of ever getting into such an exclusive hot spot was damn near impossible, yet the line did not waiver in size as the party seemed to just flow in the streets with the loud pounding music of Club Gonza, giving almost everything they would need to have a good time… Now they were just missing the alcohol.
Naruto could feel the shaking of the base, even though he was still standing outside of the large, many-storied building. He had just made it the back of the line, panting from the effort of getting across town in such good time. He growled at how the line was so large and even worse… unmoving. Standing up on the tip of his toes, he tried to look to see how far he was out, but was still unable to see the end… or rather, the entrance to the club.
'Oh, fuck this!' Naruto thought with a growl before he began to sprint to the front of the large line.
He had no time to screw around and wasn't about to waste his opportunity to find out where Molly was being kept because of some drunks. He was surprised to see the large line was nearly half a mile in length. He would have questioned why the hell anyone would stay in such an absurd thing, but the fact that he had to keep dodging and weaving his way through dancers in skimpy clothing, making the most of it in the street, answered his question.
Making his way to the entrance, he caught sight of the large bouncer rejecting people trying to get inside. Naruto narrowed his eyes and picked up his pace; no dimwit brute was going to stop him… not tonight.
With a quickened step and the help of a shunshin, Naruto swept passed the guard without a trace and was still in stride, making his way to a set of large metal doors at the end of the hallway which he guessed led to the club itself. With a shove, Naruto pushed passed the doors and booked it right in the center of the dance floor, with a skid to halt his directionless sprint.
The immensely large crowed that swayed and rocked all around him made it hard to get his bearings. The large thumping music didn't help either, making it feel as if his ear drums were damn near about to burst. He didn't just hear the music either; the thumping of the base made his body shake with the tempo. It was nauseating to any sane or sober person, but as Naruto looked around at the people in his nearest vicinity… he could see no one was anywhere near sober.
Drunk women who seemed to be wearing nothing but bras and thongs danced next to guys who were as equally trashed.
Which actually helped jog his memory of an old lesson Ero-sennin had taught him years ago about the gathering of information.
'The bar! If there's anyone in this building that might know where the Lingerer is held up, it's the bartenders!' Naruto thought with a grin as his head swiveled around, trying to locate the nearest watering hole.
This was not an easy task, with the massive amount of dancing bodies and dimly flashing strobe lights all around the entire club. Frustration was an understatement at this point for Naruto, knowing his time was running short, but from a side glance as a small opening emerged in the crowd, he spotted the bar far across the room. He was immediately pushing and squeezing his way through the mob, not caring if he spilled a drink or knocked over a young lady as he did so.
They were all too drunk or high to tell what was going on, anyway. He could tell that by all the rolled back or smoky eyes he kept glancing into.
Finally reaching the bar, Naruto yelled as loud as he could to the barista that was right in front of him, hoping she would hear his cries over the thumping music.
"I was summoned here by the Lingerer!?" Naruto screamed, earning a raised brow from the woman across from him, who did not stop vigorously shaking her cocktail.
Naruto watched as she finished and poured her drink to a customer next to him, growling in anger with the thought that she had not heard him. Naruto was heaving up his air to attempt another shout with his hands cupped around the edge of his mouth when he noticed the sly smirk the woman now held as she placed down the shaker onto the bar top.
With a reach under the counter, it would seem she had pressed some kind of button or lever. Naruto watched carefully, not wanting to miss a single piece of information that might suggest his life was in jeopardy. The woman then leaned over the counter with a gesturing finger for him to come closer so they could hear each other better over the music.
As she leaned close into his ear, he could smell the sweat and alcohol such an atmosphere would leave on a person's skin. He tried to not cringe at the scent.
'Kiba would die of suffocation in a place like this…' Naruto thought with a choke.
"You made it with only 20 seconds to spare!" The barista yelled next to his ear with a hand clasped over her mouth. "He's located on the top floor, level 42! You'd best not keep him waiting!"
Naruto nodded, hearing that perfectly, and before she was even able to lean back over her side of the bar, he was marching his way back through the crowd towards the entrance where the elevators were located. The look in his eye was enough to make anyone who made eye contact, high or not, to get the hell out of dodge or face the wrath of the determined man.
'Molly…' Naruto thought with focused eyes, pressing the call button next to the elevator doors after having to push a couple making out against the elevators doors out of his way. After a moment the doors pulled open slowly per his request.
As he stepped into the small compartment, the doors slowly began to close behind him before a small hand reached forward and grasped the sliding door, making it retreat once more to open. The screech of the reopening doors made Naruto flinch with anger.
Naruto turned to scowl at the person holding up his ascension before a lump was firmly placed on his head from a panting woman with a now twitching fist. He knew that punch all too well at this point. He rubbed his new lump with a subtle "ouch" creeping past his lips. Lifting his head casually, he saw the bright blue eyes of who he thought it was glaring into his own. The soft blue orbs before him swayed up and down slightly with the heavy panting she was expelling.
He knew a nagging lecture was coming his way.
"Do you always leave people behind, or are you just always a dick!?" Ino hollered as she continued to glare at Naruto, who was still rubbing his head slightly with an upset pout.
"I only got here with 20 seconds left…" Naruto replied heatedly, letting his hand fall away from his healing head. "If I waited even a second for you or explained what was going on, I wouldn't have made it… I wasn't trying to just leave you behind."
"Nope! Wrong answer!" Ino yelled, not realizing she was standing in the doorway of the small metal box, not letting the elevator doors close for them to ascend to Floor 42. "The correct answer is, 'Sorry, Ino-Chan! I won't let it happen again!' You dick!
"And don't you dare ever use that tone with me!" she said with gritted teeth, pointing a finger at his chest, trying to hold herself back from putting Naruto through the elevator wall.
Naruto sweat-dropped and decided that he would let pointless arguments die and just get her ass in the elevator so they could get going. He was starting to wonder if this was why Ero-Sennin never dealt with women besides his basic needs.
Quickly grabbing her wrist and yanking her inside, Naruto pressed the level button labeled 42. The doors slid closed and the elevator made a small jolt before slowly making its way up. The thumping music of the club muffled and died away, leaving the blonde duo in silence.
Naruto made a quick glance towards Ino, who was quietly standing there with her arms folded. She let soft curses creep past her lips while occasionally throwing a glare towards the focus of her frustration.
He smiled slightly and winked.
"So… What happened to all your bags?" Naruto asked in a calm tone, knowing getting her back into a calm-minded state was best for everyone in the building.
"Sealed them for now," she replied halfheartedly as she pulled a scroll from her equipment pouch before placing it back once more. "I also contacted the rest of the platoon. They should be sweeping the rest of the building for added information while we talk to The Lingerer."
"Good!" Naruto said with a smile and nod. "Now please, try and remember to stay calm and collected when we're talking to him… We need the information, and you going off out of nowhere will ruin everything," he said half-jokingly.
Ino quickly turned with a glare as she jabbed her finger into the side of his face with a growl.
"Me!? You're just as loudmouthed as me! What if you fuck it up!?" she retorted, pulling her hand away with a grunted humph.
A soft chime rang out in the elevator, signaling that they had reached their destination. Naruto sighed heavily at the sound; he knew he wasn't going to enjoy this chat.
'Screw it… We will roll with whatever happens…' he thought dejectedly with a sweat drop as he walked through the opening doors.
The pair stepped into what looked like a waiting room. Two large men wearing black cloaks and matte black masks stepped forward to confront Naruto, who stood in front of Ino.
"Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf?" One of the guards asked in a calm, yet deep voice.
"Yeah…?"
The guard took a quick glance over Naruto's shoulder to Ino, who looked ready to handle any situation that was thrown her way.
"We are afraid that only you may enter to see the lord," the masked guard informed, earning a surprised look from the pair and deflating Ino's inner psych up.
"Why is that? There was no such requirement when I came here before with my master," Naruto replied with squinted eyes.
"The lord said to only allow you inside his perimeters. I am sorry... those were his conditions."
Naruto looked between the two men for a moment before turning to Ino with a fake smile.
"Alright, well, I guess I'll head in alone," he said, earning a half nod from Ino, who knew that it was time to be serious and stop arguing. "I'll be back soon with what we need, and then maybe you can help me with the bags?"
Ino gave a quick nod and a fake smile as well before walking over to the side of the room where a couch had been placed. Taking her seat, she watched as one of the guards led Naruto to a pair of doors on the opposite side of the room and escorted him inside. As the other guard took up his original position by the elevator door, Ino made a quick note of what Naruto had just told her.
"Maybe you can help me with the bags?"
She thought calmly, remembering old codes that the academy had taught genin for private information. Codes were used in even, practical speech so that ninjas with hostile ears in the area couldn't know the information that had just been passed on. Each village had its own references for code words, keeping things with other ninja edgy.
Recalling the code word 'Bags' from her old textbooks, she straightened herself in her seat and took a breath.
'Code 5467… Bags. The hidden meaning for death, or literal body bags…' she recalled with a bite of her lip. 'The information is easy to get, Naruto-kun; all you have to do is talk to the guy… But the assassination...'
Another pair of guards entered the room from the doors Naruto had just left through and began to discuss mindless things in a language Ino wasn't familiar with. She kept them in peripheral vision at all times as she mindlessly looked over the room.
'That's a little bit more difficult in a building like this. We can't just go gung ho and let jutsus fly with civilians in this building and bring the risk of literally bringing the roof down on top of them.'
Ino continued to nibble on her lip as she tried to think of some kind of strategic way about her and Naruto's situation without her brilliant teammate here at the moment to do the work for her.
"Sigh…" She moaned with an irritated defeat, wishing she could trade places with Shikamaru at a time like this.
'I can't even use my radio to contact him or the guards will no doubt see me… and I think going to the ladies room to do so wouldn't work out well either with these people.'
Ino pouted as she listened to the guards murmur amongst themselves.
'I hope you know what you're doing, Naruto-kun…'
"Raise your arms, please." A guard patted Naruto down and confiscated all of his tools and equipment, dropping it into a bin next to the guard's desk. They were surprised to find Naruto didn't hide many weapons upon his person. He was never the sneaky type in the first place.
"All right, he's clean."
After his quick search, Naruto was informed to go down the hall and enter the brown door at the end. Doing as he was told, Naruto casually walked down the long, white hallway. The soft echoes of his footsteps on the hardwood floor were the only sounds to be heard.
Making his way to the end, he reached and pulled the slab open, entering the office without delay. Taking in his surroundings quickly, Naruto scanned the room with a turn of his head.
A small single desk office laid in the center. There were no windows or amenities in the room besides the desk and a large office chair that was facing away from the door. The only person other than Naruto and the man who sat turned away from him was a guard off to the side.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the chair facing away from him, blocking his view of the man occupying it. He cringed when a raspy voice spoke up.
"It's been a…. a long time, hasn't it, Naruto boy?" an older-sounding voice said from behind the chair, just louder than a whisper. "How have you been? Still keeping up with your old Sensei, I hope?"
Naruto glared at the back of the chair and let his fist ball at his side silently. He knew losing his temper was the last thing to do right now, but just that the fact the guy was being so nonchalant on a topic Naruto was not very fond with.
"Cut the crap… You know damn well he's dead," Naruto replied as calmly as he could muster, the knuckles on his closed fist popping. "Information like that doesn't get past your prying hands."
A soft giggle rang out, making Naruto bite his lip with disgust. Maybe Ino would have done a better job at this, after all…
"Ah yes… but I just had… to hear you say it." The Lingerer said with a giggle and grin. "But I do hope you're okay… wouldn't want you getting discouraged, after all."
Naruto smirked, taking the bait on his comment.
"Na… don't have to worry about me," he retorted, malice in his tone. "Unlike you… I'm not a cowardly pussy."
This earned a loud, boisterous laugh from the man behind the chair, and Naruto waited calmly for him to gather himself.
"Big talk coming from a man who curled up in his home for half a year because his friend got axed," the Lingerer countered, feeling the glare on the back of his head.
"Ah, Naruto, you haven't changed a bit!" the Lingerer whispered through his giggles as he slowly began to turn his chair towards Naruto. "But enough with the flirting… Let's talk business."
Looking into the man's eyes for the first time in years, Naruto took in the visual of the old piece of shit before him once again.
"Seems you haven't gotten any younger, either…" Naruto retorted with a "fuck you" smirk.
The short, balding man had a nerdy personality about him. His stubby body, yet large gut, made him disgusting to look at. The suit he wore looked to be about a size too small for that belly of his. The black blocker shades he always had on, even at night, made it hard to get a read on his eyes. The perviness that just enveloped the man's personality was appalling. Naruto despised the man.
"Now, Naruto… What brought you to seeking me out once again after all these years?" The Lingerer asked with a sly smirk that Naruto had no interest in returning. "You here to try one of my beautiful… women?"
Naruto had to choke back a disinterested laugh.
"You owe Konoha an I.O.U.… I plan on cashing that in," Naruto informed with a new found calmness about him. "I hope you haven't forgotten the favor we showed you four years ago?"
This earned a glaring smile from the older man across from him as a soft giggle escaped his lips. He leaned forward onto his desk.
"Ah… Is that so?" The lingerer replied in a whisper, as he tapped his fingers together while keeping his elbows on the desk top. "So… How may I be of service to you, young Naruto boy?"
Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture that he slid across the table so that it rested in front of The Lingerer. As he picked it up to examine it closer, Naruto spoke up firmly.
"That's Molly Matsuni, as I'm sure you know…" Naruto said, earning just a simple quick gaze from the Lingerer, who placed the photo back onto the table with a huff.
"What about her?" the old man asked while he placed a cigar in his mouth from a drawer next to him in his desk, lighting it.
"Where is she?" Naruto questioned dryly, showing he was in no mood for games.
The smoke from the cigar began to fill the air.
The Lingerer leaned back in his chair and played with the stubble on his face, showing he was thinking of how to answer the question. This did not go unnoticed by the already ill-tempered Jonin.
"I don't know…" he said, dramatically shallow.
"Bullshit!" Naruto shot back as quickly as The Lingerer had finished. "A high value target doesn't just drop off the face of your radar, even with a kidnapping."
The Lingerer just held his stone calm face as Naruto continued to stare him down, daring for him to try something.
"You're a perverted old man who kidnaps young women for your bastard brothels. You know every single thing there is to know on a target you're after, and I damn well know she was on your radar. So enough of the crap!" Naruto said with a raised voice as he slammed his fist onto the desk top.
"So… Where is she, old man!?"
The Lingerer licked his dry lips nervously and took a glance off to the side to see that his guard was still there, just in case. He knew Naruto was no one to play with anymore, not since all that he had heard of from the war.
"You flatter me," he responded with a puff of his cigar, blowing it over into Naruto's face.
"But I assure you… I… do not know." The Lingerer's words were firm, but Naruto's ever growing glare was beginning to make him uncomfortable.
The cheesy smile was beginning to falter from the man's complexion with the deeper Naruto glared into his blocked sunglasses. He gulped a dry breath to calm himself.
"Listen… I want to help you, boy… I really do," the man pleaded with a fake concern. "But information like this is very valuable. I mean, something like this can't just be handed over, even when it's a repaid favor…" he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Naruto's fist tightened at his side… He knew the slimy prick was going to try and pull something like this.
"You owe us, Old Man!" Naruto shot back as he slammed his palm down onto the desk, making the guard straighten up a bit and The Lingerer flinch.
"I know… Why you think you even got my invitation in the first place boy? That was the favor being repaid right there…" the Lingerer replied with a snicker and shit-eating grin. "Now, the information… well, that you will get… if you give me something …in exchange."
Naruto could feel himself on the verge of trembling with rage, but the calm emotionless demeanor he currently held gave no warning of the danger that lingered within. Not even Naruto himself knew of what dangers laid within himself anymore.
"What's your price…?" Naruto growled out, trying to be calm, earning a devilish grin from The Lingerer who once again took to rubbing his whiskered face.
After a brief moment of humming, the man opened a desk drawer and picked up a remote, pointing off to the side of the room and clicking one of the buttons. A secret panel opened to revel a large, flat screen television, with many views of security cameras all around the building. The Lingerer cooed in delight as he flicked through the camera views before he eventually landed on the one he was looking for.
Naruto's hair stood on end as he stared wide-eyed at the person he saw in the security video. Although it wasn't the wide eyed look of shock…
"That girl you brought with you… She's a Yamanaka, correct?" The Lingerer asked casually as he licked his perverted lips, watching the young woman sit patiently in the receptionist's room.
The guard could tell that his lord was completely oblivious to the almost smothering amount of killing intent that had just spiked when the ninja before him was shown the security video of the kunoichi. It was almost suffocating… he was practically stricken down in complete fear from the feeling. What terrified him even more though… was that it grew… the more his lord continued to run his mouth.
Naruto stood motionless with his eyes hidden away from sight. The eerie calmness that the man was holding himself with… should have been a red flag for anyone who wasn't insane.
"She would make a fortune if I put her in one of my… well, let's say 'brothels,' to be polite." The shit eating grin he held only grew the more his perverted mind continue to run rampant with thoughts of her. "What's wrong, boy? You need the information, correct…? So, what do you say, then…? Molly's location… for that Yamanaka cum dumpster?"
The Lingerer had to flinch and close his eyes as a warm, thick substance splattered across his face.
"W… What the-"
He wiped his eyes and pulled his hand away, seeing the dark red liquid that seeped through his fingers. He shook in horror as he slowly looked up from his dripping hands to see his guard's chest had just been rammed through by a clawed fist. It happened so fast he hadn't even see the blow or his guard's sacrifice to keep him alive. He gulped as Naruto ripped his arm free from the man's chest, watching his guard's lifeless body fall to the floor In front of him, leaving a large pool of blood slowly seeping into the hardwood floor.
Without even bothering to look at Naruto, the Lingerer dove for a hidden alarm button under his desk in horrified urgency. But before he could reach, his desk was thrown against the far wall of his office. The sound of the wood breaking and crackling with the impact made the Lingerer flinch in horror. He turned to beg for his life from the man walking slowly towards him, but was only able to get out a spit and blood-filled choke as a hand gripped his throat. The claws dug into his skin, causing droplets fall to the floor as he was lifted into the air and pinned to the wall.
He could feel his windpipe begin to crack with the force. Blood seeped from the side of his mouth.
"Where is she!?" A darker, more graveled voice spoke from the blonde hair man that was pinning him effortlessly against this office wall.
The Lingerer opened his eyes and stopped his flailing to free himself. What he locked eyes with… made his skin shiver… and his blood run cold.
He had seen horrifying things in his lifetime; death, gore, torture… But the eyes that currently stared into his soul? They were the eyes of no demon… nor monster… They were the eyes of pure evil.
"I said, where is she!?" Naruto growled out with a hiss as he reeled his fist back and struck it across the face of the man in his hand.
The impact of the blow made the wall crack behind the Lingerer. He could feel the bones in his cheek and jaw shatter, making even more blood spurt from his lips, splattering onto Naruto. Reeling his fist back once more for another blow, Naruto was ready to strike again if he didn't receive an answer.
"P… (Cough!) Please have… m… mercy!"
Naruto punched the man again, feeling the man's skull splinter under his blow. The more this dragged on… the darker Naruto seemed to get.
"Where is she!?"
The gurgle of blood was the only answer he got for a moment. He was about to send another blow into the man, not caring if it killed him. He was completely without reason at the moment, overcome by his inner rage… and something else.
"(Cough)… West…. (Cough)… West Point!" The Lingerer choked out, feeling his lungs begin to fill with blood. "We last saw h… her (Cough) at West Point… a week ago! (Cough)… That's all I know!"
Right at that moment, a large group of guards burst into the office, holding swords and kunais. They had been able to hear the rattle of the blows that rang through the walls. They all got into a fighting stance behind Naruto, one even ordering Naruto to surrender and let the man go.
With a slow turn of his head, Naruto looked back at the guards over his shoulder. The eyes they saw sent chills up their spines. Those were not the blue eyes they had seen just moments prior.
Naruto snickered, and before letting the man in his grasp free, he closed his grip around the man's neck. The popping and crunch of their lord's neck made a few men flinch in disgust. Blood splattered out from the crushing squeeze, splashing the wall and coating the floor he dangled above. A lot of it sprayed onto Naruto, coating his arm and chest, and a couple droplets sprinkling on his face.
He dropped the man and fully turned to face the guards that shivered in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and snickered before beginning to walk towards them with a grin. A dark cloud began seeping over him like a coat, engulfing his body.
An alarm sounded off throughout the building.
-20 Minutes Earlier-
The loud thumping of the club music was beginning to wear down Shikamaru's patience as he waited casually at the end of the back alleyway, waiting for Sakura and Hinata to get the drop on the two guards watching the back door. They had arrived shortly after Ino had entered the building after Naruto, deciding they would scout out the rest of the floors.
"(Whistle)"
Shikamaru sighed as he pushed off the wall he was leaning on and began making his way down the alley after hearing his cue that the guards had been taken care of.
Approaching the two bodies laying in the middle of the dark alley as a lofting cloud of smoke drifted into the air, Shikamaru smirked. Having Sakura drop the unsuspecting duo with sleep pellets was a good way to avoid confrontation.
"Alright, well, that was easy…" Sakura said blandly as she and Hinata made their way into the minimal light from the dark alley.
Shikamaru simply shrugged as he waited on Hinata's assessment as she scanned the building quickly with her Byakugan.
"We're clear," Hinata informed as she let her eyes relax back into their smooth pale violets. "Only guards left seem to be on the upper levels of the building."
Shikamaru nodded and turned the knob to the door and made his way inside, followed by his companions. They were located in a white brick-walled hallway that had wires and piping showing. It broke off in multiple directions the further they followed the path.
"We need to find the server room. If we can get some information on the Lingerer's brothels, we can possibly bring his whole operation to its knees," Shikamaru spoke up, trying find the appropriate door.
"Servers are usually kept in the basement!" Sakura chimed in, earning a nod from Shika.
"E… Either of you any good with computers?" Hinata asked with a concerned look as she got the reaction she was afraid of.
Two deadpan stares.
"(Sigh)… We will do our best…" Shikamaru said in a mumble.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally came across the door they were looking for.
-Stairs-
After walking down 5 flights of stairs, the group finally reached the basement, finding it was surprisingly left unguarded.
"You'd think they would put more effort into protecting their information…" Sakura said casually with a deadpan stare.
Shikamaru simply shrugged, not bothered by the fact that it had taken less work than anticipated to get into the basement.
The damp, dark room was large, with hanging bulbs on chains being the only means to make heads or tails of the surroundings. Small towers of servers and computer storage stood in lines through the basement, with wiring running all over. Fans hummed in the stale air, working to keep the servers cool. It was a maze of technology.
"Where do we start in order to find what we're looking for?" Sakura asked with a pout as she glanced from one group of towers to the next. "I mean, I've used the hospital computers before but I've never… I guess, hacked one before."
"There has to be a monitor here somewhere we can use," Shikamaru said as he walked deeper into the basement, looking from right to left.
The stale, humid air was beginning to bother Shikamaru. He never understood how he always got stuck with the bothersome jobs.
"Over here!" Hinata called out, grabbing her friend's attention. In the corner of the room where she was standing, Hinata pulled a tarp away, revealing a small desk with a monitor and keyboard. She pressed the power button on the side.
The groggy whir of a fan and start up noise was heard as the small console fought its way back to life from its dust-covered restraints.
Jogging over, Sakura and Shikamaru smiled as the small screen came to life behind the dust covering it. Shikamaru sat down in the chair quickly and brought up the start menu with a couple clicks of the keyboard.
"Shit…"
"What?" Sakura asked with a raised brow at Shika's remark.
"This set up is years old… A basic search will take forever to find all the information were looking for," Shikamaru informed with a frown as he steadily typed away at the keyboard. "I'll try and focus on finding information on Molly first to at least help out if the meeting with the Lingerer doesn't work out, but I'm very doubtful."
"H… how long do you think it would take to find the information?" Hinata asked.
"Well, it's not even allowing me access to the information without passwords that I of course do not know… but it is telling me what information is in which memory tower," Shikamaru informed with new life in his voice.
"And what does that do for us?" Sakura asked, noticing the new pick me up in his tone.
"It means that I can just find out where the information on Molly is, or even the files on his brothels. Then we can simply steal the actual hard drive and memory from the towers here in the basement and hack in later back at the village," Shikamaru said with a grin, earning the same reaction from the girls behind him.
"Alright, then! Which tower are we ripping apart?" Sakura said with a new focus and determination.
"Tower 347 has some information on targets of noble families… I'll bet it has some information on Molly, as well," Shikamaru informed as Sakura ran off, looking for the computer tower desired to nab its hard drive.
"And it would seem tower 224 holds all the data on sales and purchases. So if we can just get ahold of those digital receipts, we can locate all of the brothels around the five nations!" Shikamaru said happily as he heard Hinata take off as well to find the desired tower.
Standing from his seated position in front of the monitor, Shikamaru reached down to push the power button to the screen before the loud screeching of an alarm jolted him from his relaxed demeanor.
EEP! EEP! EEP!
'Shit… Things are never easy anymore…'
EEP! EEP! EEEP!
Ino flinched as the alarm sounded off out of nowhere. The guards in front of her took off deeper into the building without hesitation while one stayed back and began walking towards her as she sat on the couch. Ino raised from her seat and locked eyes with the masked guard.
"What's going on?" Ino asked over the ring of the alarm. She could hear screaming and yelling from the guard's radio that was placed on his belt. It made the guard shiver as a blood curdling scream screeched through the device.
"Would seem you and your friend have outstayed your welcome! Time for you to go!" The guard yelled, grabbing Ino's arm to pull her towards the elevator.
Yet as soon as the guard grasped Ino's arm, she grabbed and spun herself so that she had bent the arm backwards. With her free arm, she threw her palm against the elbow of the twisted outstretched arm of the guard, breaking it with a snap.
The guard screamed in agony, but was put to rest from a twirling kick from Ino to the man's chin, knocking him out cold.
Regaining her balance, Ino quickly made her way to the door Naruto had left through earlier. Pushing it open, she found the guard's desk on the other side was empty and decided to head deeper into the compound.
As she made her way around a turn she halted to a stop as her voice caught in her throat. Her eyes widened at what laid before her.
'My… gods…' she thought with a short voice, looking over the havoc in the hallway.
Blood lined the walls and floor, dripping and running along its surfaces. Mangled and torn apart bodies strung throughout the hallways didn't make it an easy walk. The twitching of the bodies and severed limbs was enough to make any lesser ninja run for their lives. She walked carefully and slowly around turn after turn, only seeing more of the same as she progressed.
'N… Naruto-Kun… are you…?' she thought with shock, trying to find her way to her companion. She hoped he was okay… and that whatever did this, hadn't gotten to him.
Eventually, a bloodcurdling scream caught her attention from the hallway just up to her left. She could feel herself tremble for some reason. She didn't know if it was fear of what she would see that made it hard to breathe… or the wafting aroma of blood.
"N… Naruto-Kun!" she called out. As she rounded the corner, her eyes widened, seeing the one she was looking for. She smiled brightly about to call out to him before realizing with horror what was going on.
He currently faced away from her, but the blood she could see plainly dripping off of his arms made her quiver. She made slow, calculating steps towards him. She felt ashamed to be doing so… This was Naruto-kun, after all….right?
"Naruto-Kun… are you okay?" she asked softly, choosing her steps carefully.
She noticed how a black, demonic chakra was drifting around his right arm, slowly receding back towards his palm. It almost looked like his Golden Fox Cloak was enveloping his arm, but it was dark black… not gold.
She stopped a few steps behind him, waiting for an answer to her calls. He stood there, motionlessly… not even looking as if he was breathing.
"Naruto-Kun…?"
With a slow turn of his head to look back over his shoulder, Ino locked eyes with pure evil. Her breath caught in her throat and her shoulders trembled. These weren't the eyes of the Naruto she held feelings for… these were the eyes of a cold-blooded murder. Not even the eyes of Kurama could compare to the amount of hate.
The whites of his eyes were not white at all… but black. The irises weren't his deep, loving blue, but a matted dark red. His pupils had shrunken to a point, the way a psycho's would look. They were eyes of pure darkness.
"Y… you're not Naruto…." she whispered with a trembling voice, earning a snicker from the man across from her.
Their gazes remained locked for a few moments longer, neither of them moving. Ino was about to run, afraid that if she stayed, she would end up just as the guards around her had. She was about to make a move to run, but stopped when Naruto began to grunt and grab at his head in pain. She watched in awe for a brief moment.
Naruto's posture waivered after a few moments of what seemed to be fighting himself before his body slacked. He began to tilt forward as his eyes shut, showing his immediate collapse. The black chakra that encircled his arm dissipated as he fell forward, face first onto the ground. His chest now rested in a puddle of blood from one of the guards… or perhaps the last guard.
Ino judged whether she should flee or help the man that looked like Naruto. After a moment of debate, she sprinted over to the downed Naruto, kneeling down on the maroon floor, not caring at the moment. She was able to pick him up and cradle him in her arms, flipping him over.
"Naruto… Kun?" she whispered as she held his head against her chest, watching his calm face and smooth breathing… He had just passed out. She pulled back one of his eye lids to see his normal blue eyes rolled slightly upwards. She sighed in relief that he was okay, but also that whatever…. that… thing… was she saw in his eyes… was gone.
Picking up a midway earpiece from her access bag, she placed it in her ear and around her neck, clicking it on with a static hiss.
"Shikamaru! Shikamaru, are you there?" Ino called into the radio, trying her best to sound calm.
After a moment of only static, she got a response.
"Yeah, I am here; what's up? What was that alarm?"
There was a pause after that question as Ino looked around at all of the bodies and blood around her. She gulped back her quivering voice.
"You just need to get up here quick, okay? Y… you're going to want to see this yourself."
After a brief confirmation from Shikamaru, Ino turned off the earpiece and turned back to Naruto. Something flashing on Naruto caught her eye.
She noticed how the bandages on his right arm had been burned off, showing his pulsating black Sun mark on his palm. It eventually leveled out back to its normal, white form, but Ino still watched it with a held breath. The blood that dripped from his fingertips made her gulp.
'That damned thing again… was that where that black chakra was coming from?' she thought in concern, still holding Naruto in her kneeled lap.
She looked down with slightly trembling eyes as another movement caught her attention. She watched as fluttering eyes reopened to show the bright blue orbs she had known for so long. The dark black-red eyes were gone from his features.
"Ino-Chan? W… what happened?" a groggy Naruto asked as he slowly began to wake to his normal self.
Ino stared down at the man in her lap with shaking eyes and trembling shoulders. The confused and tired look he held on his face was the only thing keeping her grounded after all that had just happened in front of her. The blood that enveloped him and now her was beginning to dry.
'Naruto-Kun… What's happening to you?'
End Chapter 14