Hey people, I'm back and better than ever, well at least I think I am. Um as you all know this is my fourth chapter. You guys really helped me out with the last chapter, I mean my review count went all the way from sixty-six to one hundred and twenty. That's almost double and when I saw it, I was all like, "yeah!"
Ok so far from what I've seen, I don't think people want this to become a Naruto/Yugito pairing. Right now most people are saying that they want this to become either a Naru/hina pairing or a Naruto/fumina fic. So as of now, Naru/yugi is officially eliminated from the running. I've also noticed something that I find rather intriguing. Until recently I had not noticed that people liked my two OC's that much, I actually thought that I didn't do a good job of incorporating them in them into the story, but the readers have told me otherwise. So for everyone who has complemented me on the development and presentation on the two Fumina sisters I would like to say thank you, I really appreciate it.
Alright, so I won't hold you back any longer, I just have to say a couple of things before you continue on. For one, expect some, key word "some", action in this chapter, um, I plan to keep things fairly simple and for all those who have either commented on it or have been thinking it... yes Anko will get into trouble.
Well other than that, I've got nothing more to say except...
Enjoy and if you don't, you'd better have either money or some form of gummy snacks.
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Crimson Dawn: Uzumaki Naruto
Why is it that there can never be such a thing as the perfect ninja? Why is it that a ninja can never be born without any bizarre qualities, it is a simple fact that there is no such thing as a ninja who is both competent and normal. But why, why can't shinobi of the hidden Leaf just be normal, what is so wrong with being nondescript?
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi, released a long and intense sigh as he stared into the nervous face of one of his more outre Nin, Mitarashi Anko. Sure she was competent, oh she was very competent as a kunoichi, that he would not doubt for even a second. But she was just to eccentric, in other words she was one of the stronger Nin of the village and of course she wasn't perfect.
Anko sat, completely still, her legs firmly pressed together with her hands attached to her lap. She could tell that the Hokage was pissed, any moment now he would explode.
"Anko, so let me get this correct... first off you brought you two Genin in the forest of death, injured one of them, then left the other to fend for herself?" His intertwined fingers were just barely over the bridge of his nose, Anko knew what that meant, he was really serious.
Any moment now....
"W-well, when you say it like that you make it sound so bad." She mentally slapped herself, very aware of what she had just said. Her body cringed on its own, when the Hokage's eyes opened wide with what she thought was frustration, or maybe it was rage. Either one would be detrimental to her and maybe to her rank as a Jonin.
Kaboom.
"Then how do you want me to say this Anko! Are you aware of what you did? Bringing to Genin into the forest of death on their first day, what were you thinking?!" His tone of voice made it sound more like a demand rather than a question. Most likely it was; to her it felt like he was commanding her to tell him.
Behind him the night stood still, a blanket of black linen draped along the sky. His window was open, bringing in a rather chilly breeze, perhaps that's what was making her cold, she hoped. "I-I just thought that they needed to get a taste of actual danger, that's all..." she finished off lamely. Right now it was as if she were the academy student being lectured by her Chunin sensei, well, Sarutobi was "The Professor" so in a way they both fit the their roles.
The old man slammed his palm on his desk, the wood cracking on impact. "No Anko, that's the thing you were not thinking! What good can possibly come from bringing two fresh Genin into one of the most dangerous places in the entire village, did you not think that there would be consequences?"
Anko was silent, actually at the time she wasn't thinking about the consequences at all. She looked off to the side, her face carrying a look of shame. She hoped that her students weren't as strict as the Hokage was, she didn't want to be placed into an odium because of one little slip up. Maybe it wasn't that little...
As of now, she was at a loss for words, she couldn't think of anything to say to the old man, it was more like she didn't want to.
"Well?" Sarutobi asked once more, his subordinate's silence spoke volumes. Anko was obviously ashamed of herself, both she and he knew it. He waited, letting the silence hang in the air like thick fog, it was broken when Sarutobi's finger began tapping the table in a steady rhythm. It was an old habit but then again he was an old person and he never could fully get rid of it.
The beating of skin against wood served as a sanctuary for Anko. She concentrated on the sound, she absorbed it, right now anything would be sufficient enough, she just needed something to take her mind away from the fierce glare Sarutobi was giving her.
But then another sound, broke the silence, drawing her conscience away from her self-induced concentration. Sarutobi sighed, yet again.
"Anko, I'm ashamed, you do realize that, right?" His tone had died down, it was calm now, but she could tell that he was not and neither was she. "People, lose their positions as Jonin sensei for mishaps like this, and you are no exception."Anko's eyes widened.
She knew what that meant, she would lose her position as a sensei. OK that wasn't good, she had never really practiced tergiversation before but right now she would use it, right now she needed to be deliberately ambiguous... either that or she would beg.
"No no, please, Hokage-sama, this is m-my first team, I promise just give me one more chance. I won't screw this up!"
"And how do I know that you won't?" The rasp in his voice made him sound slightly condescending. "I will keep this under wraps Anko but I will not keep you as a sensei, however, I am not so sure that your two students will want to keep what you did completely esoteric.
Now was definitely the time to beg. "No! I-I can prove it to you, I can. Just give me one more chance, I will prove it to you!"
"Silence!" He raised one hand, promptly silencing her. When the the silence ensued he could still hear her, was she whimpering?
Anko pressed her palms together, placing them over her head. He hadn't expected this. He mentally sighed to himself, she was a good ninja and she could teach those girls a thing or two. However, as always the good shinobi always had a flaw and Anko's was her tendency to take things to the extreme. He couldn't really trust that she wouldn't do something like this again, however, he couldn't really be certain that he would find a better Jonin for those two.
Anko was trained in the art of interrogation and deception which led him to wonder whether or not her little break-down actually held any veracity. But nonetheless, she was the perfect Jonin for the two, if he recalled her students were both Fuminas. He was very aware of the genius that the Fumina clan possessed and it was because of their clan's intelligence that he thought Anko would be the perfect sensei for them.
The intelligence of a Fumina plus the art of deception, equaled one dangerous nin or in this case two. But maybe he was wrong.
Anko's whimpering ceased, and she did the unexpected. With her hands still placed above her head, Anko dropped to her knees, dipping her head down. Sarutobi could only see the top of her spiky bun sticking up over the edge of his desk. He heard one simple word.
"Please." That must have been hard to do, especially for Anko. He was convinced now, she really meant it.
Anko had never once thought of getting to her knees for any man, however, now was not the time for her to hold on to her pride, she really wanted this job. There was a pause and noting happened, she contemplated on saying something else but was stopped when Sarutobi spoke.
"Anko stand up... I will let you keep your position." Like the sun, Anko's head popped up from the horizon of his desk, her face bright and cheerful.
"R-really, Oh thank you Hokage-sama, thank you," she pounced him, drawing him into a tight embrace, "thank you!"
No air.
"Let.... go." He said, feeling himself plop back down into his seat, the air rushing back into his lungs. He cleared his throat. "I'm only doing this because, of your students. True you may put them in danger, which you won't do anymore, but your skills are a perfect match for two girls of their heritage. So in other words, I'm only letting you keep your job because your student's are Fumina, had it been anyone else, then I would stripped you of your position with no questions asked. So do not take this as me showing you compassion, because I am not, I'm merely looking into what would benefit your pupils the most. And unfortunately, that is you.
Hey, that was good enough for her, shit, screw compassion, she had her job so she was happy, not to mention immensely grateful.
Anko's smile grew wider know, she would prove to him that she could be a competent sensei, starting tomorrow...
With a wave of his hand, Sarutobi sent Anko on her way. Before leaving the gave one final squeal of delight.
"Thank you, I won't let you down!" She said before happily making her exit, all Sarutobi saw was a flash of purple hair fly through the door before it closed.
He sighed once more, taking out his pipe and filling it with tobacco, he lit it and took a long drag. The smoke left his lips in the form of a shimmering ring. "Anko, you're a good ninja but you're just too eccentric at times.... I'm much too old for this shit."
With that he gave one final puff before turning back down to the mountain of paperwork strewn out on his desk. Looks like he'd be working through the night.
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Naruto tapped, his left ear, the small radio emitted a brief amount of static then a quick bleep. "Naruto here, I am in position, perimeter north, covered, over." The cool chill of the night air brushed against his neck, his hairs stood on end like a porcupine on the defensive. He wrapped himself in his own arms. Boy, it sure was cold today.
Static. "Good Naruto, circle your area once more, over." Saito's voice sounded slightly energetic, like he was excited.
"Taichou, why is it that The Third has only sent us five to patrol the entire perimeter of Konoha? I mean we're in Fire country, which is much too large for one team to handle, over." He crouched down , wary of an owl flying overhead, looking down he saw nothing but darkness. Carefully, he sat down on the branch he was using for support, but of course he had to be careful unless he wanted to fall five stories through the air. Sometimes Naruto thought of the trees in Fire Country as being too high, but their height was probably what was keeping Konoha the Hidden leaf village.
There was a giggle and Yukari's voice sounded over the radio. "Oh please, why would he do that? We're not the only one's patrolling the perimeter, over."
Loosely dangling his legs in the air, hunched over placing his chin withing his two palms. He flipped over, now hanging upside down. His hands were now hanging limply, his fingers pointed at the forest floor, if there even was a floor; he was so high that he couldn't tell anymore. "Really, over."
"Yeah, there's probably two more teams other than us patrolling, over."
Naruto swung back and forth. "Hm, that makes sense I guess," he paused, "So on missions like these what do you do, if there's no action? Over."
There was a brief pause, the forest instantly sprang to life with the sounds of the many woodland creatures resident to this forest. Man, this was so much different from the Forest of Death, no giant tigers, no monster snakes, nothing at all, just your normal little regular creatures. It seems that when you left Konoha's Forest of Death everything else just seemed really boring.
"Well, we do what we're doing now, over." Yukari said.
"What you mean talk, over." Naruto asked, if this was all that he had to do on patrol missions he could clearly tell that when he became an official Anbu member this would definitely become a perfunctory duty. "But talking is boring, over."
Naruto regretted saying that. "Then why don't you shut your trap and maintain radio silence like all the other newbies, over!" Sakai's voice crackled into Naruto's ears, it felt like someone was stuffing paper into them. He winced from the sudden change in volume but then his lips curled into frown, which was really a smile considering that he was upside down. That was funny, was Sakai still made about that little mishap earlier?
Well as of now, Naruto was bored and needed to find a way to entertain himself. He guessed that teasing a future comrade would serve as a great source of entertainment. "Oh, you seem to be angered, what, did all the other noobs trick you into a genjutsu as well, over?"
That comment sparked a series of laughter from the rest of the team, their voices shrouded in the static of the radio. He heard Sakai grumble at that one. "Shut up, you just got lucky, over..." Sakai muttered.
Naruto chuckled, that really did get his mind off his boredom, he would have to make fun of Sakai every time he got bored. "Sorry man, I'm just bored that's all, over."
"Whatever... over." Naruto chuckled once more, he had come to realize something; the Anbu were actual people with actual feelings living actual lives. Despite their rank and the many fallacies and dogmas surrounding them, the Anbu were just like normal people... well almost like normal people. He needed to be honest with himself, being an Anbu member did not seem so bad to him, it actually seemed like it would be... fun. But Naruto knew that he and his robot mind could not jump to conclusions so easily, after all there was much more to being an Anbu Black Op. There would be times were he had to be serious, times where he had to make life and death decisions, and then times like this where the members of Anbu were at their closest to being normal ninja. He would just have to wait and see.
Well, his waiting would have... to wait. Naruto's ear flicked, there was something there, something approaching him. He tapped his ear yet again, "Guys, I'm picking something up, it sounds like someone is approaching me," he took out a kunai and dug it into the trunk of the tree he hung from. It was an old trick that The Third taught him, a way of amplifying vibration by using a single kunai and applying some chakra. His hand clutched the kunai tightly, feeling it budge with movement once and then once more a couple of seconds later. "By the feel of it, this guy is not moving very fast, over."
"Good work Naruto, see if you can get a visual, we'll stay on standby, over." Naruto cut the communication. See, this was one of those times where he needed to be serious. He was still hanging upside down, however that did not hinder his vision, he could still see just as well as he could right side up.
His eyes went to work, peering through the darkness. From what he could feel this potential enemy was directly in front of him, considering his elevation the perpetrator was probably lower than he was but in front of him nonetheless.
A few seconds later Naruto espied a white clump of hair through darkness, his eyes widened. "No way, that bastard, I knew that there was something odd about that man." Naruto clenched his teeth, he knew that the man could not see him, however he could clearly see the man. He was coming in slow so Naruto would have a couple of seconds before he had to act. And what was that that he was holding in his hands?
He tapped his radio. "Everyone, converge on position, this person is one of ours, over."
"He's from Konoha, who is it, over?" Saito asked.
"Mizuki." Naruto replied in a low whisper, aware that Mizuki was getting closer. "He's holding, something in his hands... a scroll... wait that's the scroll of sealing." Naruto paused, "I don't know what he's doing with that scroll however I'm going to find out." Naruto then released a bit of the tension in his legs. He would have to time this correctly, no room for mistakes here. He waited for Mizuki to get a bit closer and then released all the tension in his legs, allowing his body to smoothly slide off the bark.
The radio crackled in his ear. "Naruto... wait don't approach him, follow him, if he gets to close to Hi no Kuni's border then approach him." Naruto sighed. Well he could have said something earlier.
"Too late for that." He whispered, his body plummeted like an eagle about to catch its prey.
With his eyes tracking the traveling form of Mizuki, Naruto was intrepid, "I'm moving in to intercept." Mizuki would have no clue of what hit him, Naruto's plan was simple, intercept, immobilize, retrieve, and interrogate. As of now, step one.
Naruto held his palms out, the wind whipped his face... if he timed this one correctly then he should land right on top of Mizuki. Mizuki drew closer, where Naruto was almost directly above him, ready for the inevitable pounce that would follow.
Only when his body was a few feet away from him, Mizuki noticed someone coming from above but it was much to late to react, he was still airborne.
As expected, Naruto's body collided with Mizuki. With a firm grasp on his shoulders, Naruto drove the both of the down toward the ground. He mentally chuckled at his teacher's futile attempts to break free, he laughed aloud when Mizuki stopped struggling and simply settled for yelling at the top of his lungs. Phase one, intercept, complete.
Now it was time for phase two, immobilize. He dug his knee into Mizuki's back, feeling his body budge every time they hit a branch, the snap of wood was then soon followed by a harsh thud as they hit the ground.
Mizuki groaned, he felt the pressure on his back leave him. His entire chest felt like it had just caved in. Quietly he lay there, not caring for the little snippets of grass in his mouth, all he cared for was the pain, oh the pain. He had broken... something, everything? He pushed himself up with his hands, and inspected the scroll underneath his body; at least the scroll was still intact. This would have been a lot easier if he had just tricked some student into doing for him, but almost everyone past the exam and those who didn't pass were completely useless.
"Twuah," the particles of grass and dirt left his mouth in a mass of red fluid. Well that was great, now he was bleeding, if anyone was onto him, then he probably could be followed by an Inuzuka and their pesky ninja mutts. Hopelessly confused Mizuki sat upright.
"Where are you!" He spat into the air, several minuscule strands of hair covered most of his eyes, giving him an almost feral visage. He didn't know who this fucker was, but he must have been strong, for he did not feel any other presence until he was tackled to the ground. Mizuki asked again, "Where are you!"
A chilled breeze brushed past him, a premonition warning him of what was to come. And although Mizuki could not portend the future, he knew that whoever it was that stopped him, the bastard, would show himself.
"I'm here," Said a voice from behind him, it sent chills down his badly damaged spine. He ignored all pulses of pain and was on his feet, he turned, his hand grasping one of the two fuma shuriken latched to his back.
There was nobody there. "Mizuki, you only brought two Fuma shuriken, my my, that won't be enough." Mizuki tightened his grip on the steel behind him.
"W-who are you?" Slowly he began back away, until his back hit the trunk of a tree. Nobody would sneak up on him from here.
"You want to know who I am?" Mizuki grimaced, this time the voice was coming from...above. He looked up and all he saw was the dispersing dust of someone moving away, this person was fast. "Well then come take a look." This time the voice sounded like it was in front of him and it was close, very close.
He glanced down, a pair of vibrant blue eyes bore into his eyes. He gasped, before he could say anything his entire body thrust backward and his head smacked against the unmoving tree trunk. His vision went fuzzy.
In front of him a mass of yellow wavered before his eyes, this person was a blond and had blue eyes. For some reason he found it hard to breath, as his vision returned to him could only begin to discern who it was pinning him to this tree.
His eyes widened, the boy's hand clutched his throat tightly. "N-naruto... ?"
The boy did not answer, he only slammed his head back against the tree, causing his vision to waver yet again. "What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, his teeth clenched, he was obviously angry.
Who the hell was he talking to, he may have taken him by surprise but Naruto was still a mere Genin, there was no way he could stand up to Chunin like himself. But as Naruto picked him up and tossed him several feet away, Mizuki was beginning to think otherwise. "You should not have done that, Naruto!" Mizuki wailed as he slipped off one shuriken and hurled it at Naruto.
He watched the blade as it sailed through the air, heading directly for the young Uzumaki's face; his eyes widened when the shuriken cut right through thin air, embedding itself into a tree trunk.
Mizuki's arm was still extended, still remembering the feel of the over-sized shuriken leaving his fingertips, his breath was harsh and scratchy.
Truth be told, Mizuki had never had a limb broken before, that would end soon. There was a whisper of wind and Naruto was next to Mizuki, his hand already latched onto the Chunin's wrist. Bringing forth his left elbow, Naruto bashed Mizuki's arm, breaking it at the joint. The man screamed in pain.
"Fuck you!" He hissed. The world went spinning and Mizuki found himself on his back, how he managed to hold on to the scroll, he didn't know. Naruto slowly walked into his view, moving into his ken like a ghost.
Phase two, immobilize, complete. Naruto's eyes, flashed down to the scroll that Mizuki still held in an airtight embrace.
"Fuck you... wh-what are you?" He said.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." he responded before giving him a good punch to the face. "Now, what are you doing with that scroll?" He grabbed him by the neck, "Who are you working for because I'm damn sure that it's not Konoha!"
Mizuki coughed, a smile on his face. "I'm not telling you anything... y-you demon!"
"Demon?"
"O-oh you don't know...hahaha... I guess the Hokage hasn't told you yet. Yes, you're a demon, do you remember the nine-tailed fox that attacked the village twelve years ago?" Naruto nodded. "And do you notice how people always glare at you?"
Naruto nodded once more. Mizuki's smile grew intense. "Well the reason they do that is because.... the Nine-tailed fox is inside of you!" Wait for it, wait for it, wait for the surprise...wait where is it? No gasp, no yell, the kid's eyes didn't even move; Naruto simply sat there... then a smile crept on his face.
"What, was I supposed to be surprised, you really expected me to be gripped by some unknown form of consternation? You really thought that I would feel dread, thought that I would suddenly be stricken into a fear-induced paralysis? Well let me tell you something... sensei, what else is new? I've know about the Kyuubi for almost six years now, there is no way that I would be surprised at anything you tell me!" He punched Mizuki again and then grabbed the scroll, tossing it aside. He still wasn't finished.
Phase three, retrieve, complete.
"Now tell me, who... are.... you working... for?" Mizuki was silent, daring not to say a word, the complete denial of his ephemeral victory had placed him into a state of shock. How long did he say he had known, who was this kid? The Naruto that Mizuki knew back in the academy was just some orphan boy with average skills who was completely nescient about the entire existence of the Kyuubi no kitsune. Apparently he was wrong and Naruto was much more than that.
Naruto growled; he slipped out a kunai and jammed it into Mizuki's shoulder, bringing the man out of his shock. "Talk, or else I'll make you go through the most excruciating experience of your life!"
"H-how do you know that I'm even working for someone?" Now Naruto was beginning to get really annoyed. That whole anger thing before was just to scare the man, you know the old good cop bad cop routine.
"Don't play dumb with me sensei, I know that a worthless Chunin like you could not have gotten into the vault by yourself, you had an accomplice, who is he?"
"Mizuki!" Naruto's head clicked when he heard someone's voice in the distance. No way, there was no possible way the he was involved in this. With disbelief Naruto's eyes locked onto the scarred face of Umino Iruka.
"Iruka?"
"Naruto...you caught him, I've been trying to catch up with him for miles." He sounded tired, like he had been running for a while, "You can let me take over now Anbu are on their way."
Naruto eyed the man carefully. "I know," he said standing up, "my team is coming." He turned his back to the Iruka, casting an inspecting eye over Mizuki's tattered body. There was a glint in the white-haired Nin's eyes.
Mizuki, being aware of who was standing behind Naruto, smiled on the inside. He watched carefully as Iruka slowly and silently pulled out a kunai, raising it above Naruto's head. Well the boy did say he wanted to know who his accomplice was.
Quickly Iruka brought the blade down, and right before the tip made any contact with skin it stopped. Iruka stood there frozen, like a block of ice. "What, did you think that I didn't notice you?" Naruto asked Iruka, right before the man toppled over. "Tch, there's no way that you're the Iruka, the Iruka I know wouldn't have stayed so calm when he saw this."
Naruto crouched down, giving Iruka a quick look up and down. As if he was staring at a reflection in water, Iruka's face shimmered, revealing the face of a brown-haired shinobi. Something caught Naruto's eyes, his headband had the symbol for Otogakure carved into it. Slowly, Naruto brought his gaze back to Mizuki.
"Your accomplice I presume?"
"H-how did you?"
"I have my ways." Naruto responded. "So, the sound village huh? No wonder you were heading up north, hm tell me, were trying to make trade with someone?"
Mizuki said nothing. That was fine with Naruto, he could come up with the conclusion on his own. He just had to think...who in Oto could possibly make selling Konoha out worth while? There were only a few candidates. For one, that person had to be powerful, immensely powerful. A couple names came to mind but finally there was one that stuck out the most.
"Orochimaru." Yeah that was it. Naruto could tell by the way Mizuki's eyes lit up upon hearing the name. "Am I right?" Alright the jig was up, excepting defeat Mizuki slowly nodded.
Naruto chuckled and then looked up and smiled, "They're here;" he said it in a sing-song tune as if he was teasing Mizuki. Four Anbu dropped down from above, all landing silently. That was a surprise, he had expected them to do that thing where they randomly appear out of nowhere.
After this he would have to make sure to ask Saito to teach him the secrets of spontaneous materialization that seemingly all Anbu possessed a mastery of.
"Naruto I'll take it from here," said the Anbu in the tiger mask. From Mizuki's perspective, the tiger was the leader and somehow, Naruto was part of this team.
"Hai," Naruto said before taking a step back. All five of them loomed over his damaged body, something bad was about happen.
Naruto, jauntily jammed his hands in his pockets and looked away.
Phase four, interrogation, commencing.
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Shino closed his eyes, moving a bit in the framed bed. As comfortable as they looked, hospital beds could be a real pain to lay on, especially on the lumbar region. His finger barely curled outwards as he rest his hand on his chest. He felt a small tickle on the backside of his hand, he knew what that meant.
One of his kikai bugs, one of the smaller ones, had crawled out onto the tip of his finger. It sat there, apparently staring into the endless dark void of his black glasses. He had not really said anything about it but he always thought that his kikai were too small.
Perhaps he would cross breed, hopefully it would result in a larger insects. The small insect then buzzed, bombinating madly like it was irritated about something. A few seconds later Shino nodded.
"Oh you're cold." He said glancing at the open window. He wasn't cold but apparently the colonies inside him were; it was actually times like this that made him feel gravid, like he was pregnant or something, caring for these bugs was caring for an unborn child.
He made his way over to the window, keeping his hands placed over it and ready to close it. A nice breeze hit him followed by an infuriated buzz coming from within his jacket. He slid the glass window shut and locked it, now all he had to do was wait for the nurse to come and release him.
Click
Shino quickly turned his head, behind his glasses his eyes widened, but only a little bit.
When a short yellow-haired nurse walked in, Shino's eyes lowered. "Oh Shino-kun I can see that you're feeling much better."
Shino nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Yes, my adversity has substantially lessened in comparison to yesterday, I'm feeling much better." The nurse didn't answer; he contemplated on whether or not she even understood him. But when she nodded and smiled, he cast the subject off. Most likely she had no clue what he had just said.
Blonds, sometimes they could be so... unaware of the world around them, although Naruto seemed to be very prescient, given his hair color that is.
The nurse took a glance down at her clipboard and slipped out a pen from within her pocket which coincidentally just so happened to be placed on her ample chest, not that he looked at it or anything.
"Well, Shino-kun, it says here that you have permission to leave, I just thought that I'd come up and tell you." She said, giving him a smile.
"Thank you." He said simply. The nurse gave him a curt bow and slipped back out through the door. He turned back to the window. He hadn't noticed it but subconsciously his hand had made its way to the side of his head, the exact spot where Naruto's foot smashed into.
Although that had been one hell of a kick, Shino couldn't help but think that Naruto was holding back... after all the boy was part of the Anbu Black Ops. At first Shino did not believe, he was gripped by something, denial, skepticism? All he remembered was waking up to the sound of two voices speaking: Naruto's and Kurenai's.
When he heard them speaking he didn't move at all, he did not want them to know that he was awake. It was just his nature to do things that way, to be aloof and undetectable at almost all times, the way of an Aburame. Fortunately the stoic Aburame's temperance payed off and he obtained some surprising information.
Naruto's voice was a clear as a bell. Shino heard everything, the small black scroll, the Anbu only map of Konoha, and last but not least he heard Naruto mention his captain. He could tell that Naruto was hiding something and his suspicions were confirmed the night before. Technically, he should be thanking Naruto, if Naruto had not given him that shot to the head Shino probably would have had to expend more energy into divulging what the boy's secret was. So in a way, it was Naruto who accidentally helped him; he was Shino's unwitting accomplice that helped him uncover the mystery of Uzumaki Naruto.
However, there was still one more part of that mystery that Shino still hadn't figured out yet and that was how Naruto became so strong. The mystery was still on; and after he left the hospital he would have to approach Naruto and speak with him about that. Hinata would have to know as well, most likely she was necient on the subject.
It was still morning, from what he heard Naruto was only meeting his team, he should have been home by now, hopefully. He needed to find Naruto and quickly.
Shino glanced at the door, that was the way out. Right now all he needed to do was check out and leave the hospital, yeah that was the right way out. Then he glanced toward the window, but this was the faster way out.
In a flash, Shino's hands went into motion, unlocking the window and sliding the glass up. His body squeezed through, much like a mouse hurrying through its hole and Shino was in the air, well more like falling through the air.
The wind blew his dark hair up and he was forced to secure his glasses so that they didn't fly up off his face. It was only a three story drop, nothing hard for a ninja, but just so he wasn't noticed by the people below, he pressed his hand against the wall, then his leg, as of now Shino was sliding down the side of the hospital.
Releasing a suppressed grunt Shino pushed off the wall, he was airborne and heading for the rooftop of a small building. He pulled his legs in, and as he hit the stone roof, tucked himself into a roll before rising to his feet. He looked down at the villagers below, none of them seemed to notice, good, at least he could still go places without being seen.
It was a good thing that this rooftop wasn't slanted or else that little roll just now would have left him belly up on the street below.
Now there was no time to waste, he needed to find Naruto, he needed to know more about his teammate and temporarily sate his insatiable curiosity . Extending his arms, Shino released a small mass of insects, the strain kikai that could actually fly. With a wave of his hand he dispersed his loyal kikai, the small cloud of insects becoming nothing but air before his eyes.
With that he turned and bounded away, his next stop being Naruto's apartment.
xxxxXXXXXXXXxxxxxx
Sarutobi Hiruzen had never thought that he'd ever be so tired that his face felt as if it was glued to his desk. As of now, his right cheek had lost all feeling, numb that was the word, he cheek was numb.
The previous mountain of paperwork that had kept him up throughout the night had died down to a small hill. He let out a tired yawn, another all-nighter, that was the life of a Kage.
Paperwork, paperwork, and what do you know... more paperwork!
It was morning and the new light of the sun flooded in through window's behind him, washing a pleasant warmth on the back of his neck. He smiled, grateful for the sun's gift, then his eyelid cracked open.
Someone else was here, and he knew exactly who it was as well, his presence had become all too familiar for Sarutobi not to know who it was. With his head still on the desk, The Third asked cleared his throat. "Naruto-kun is that you?" He knew that it was but he just wanted to hear his pupil's response.
"Sleeping on the job Ojiisan, you know that's not good for your image." Naruto's voice chimed in front of his desk. A simple 'yes, it's me' would have sufficed but he really couldn't expect anything else from Naruto, besides, strangely, that response brought a smile to the old man's face.
"I know, I know," Sarutobi said, hunching himself onto his elbows, he then raised an eyebrow at Naruto's expression. "What is it?" Naruto pointed a finger at him, "What, me?"
He nodded, a smile creeping on his face. "Your face, looks like you had a nice power nap there." Naruto said chuckling. Confused the Hokage brought one of his slender fingers to the right side of his cheek. He ran his hand over his skin, pausing when he felt the dry crust of aged saliva.
Nasty.
Sarutobi chuckled once more, wiping away the spit on his cheek. "So how was your first mission as an Anbu?" Sarutobi asked, leaning in. He was vastly interested in his student and grandson's first experience.
"I encountered Mizuki." Naruto said without preamble. That caused the Hokage's eyebrow to raise a fraction of an inch. That traitor Mizuki, last night he had made off with the scroll of sealing. Fortunately he was caught and brought back to Ibiki. When he heard that it was Naruto who caught him, it pleased him greatly to know that his subordinate could be so proficient in the actual field, but he couldn't be certain that Naruto would perform so well in the future, after all Mizuki was only a Chunin. Naruto would be going up against much stronger opponents in the future, he would just have to wait until then to see how the boy performed.
"I'm aware of that Naruto, your tone tells me that there is something else, is there?"
Naruto nodded. "Yes, he had an accomplice from Otogakure." Sarutobi nodded.
"I am aware." That old habit resurfaced and Sarutobi found himself tapping away at his desk. "Is there anything else?"
"In fact there is, Mizuki had been trying to steal the scroll to deliver it to someone, and I'm pretty sure that I know who the person is."
Sarutobi crossed his fingers, placing them over the bridge of his nose, much like he had done with Anko. Now he was serious. Naruto's mind may have been young but it was definitely sharp, as a result Sarutobi never took the boy lightly whenever he had presented a theory to him.
"Who?"
"The one person who could actually benefit him in Oto," Naruto stuck a finger in the air and let his words hang in the air for a bit. He wanted to draw out a reaction. "Orochimaru, The Snake Sannin and ex shinobi of Konoha."
Unfortunately there was no reaction, just the steel expression on the Hokage's face. He never really could figure out how the old man could keep a straight face after hearing the most disturbing of things.
Naruto went on. "When I asked Mizuki who he was working for he did not say a word, however, as soon as I mentioned Orochimaru's name, Mizuki's reaction was... more than immediate to say the least."
Sarutobi stayed silent for a while letting the words sink in, he glanced down and saw his reflection in the polished wood of his desk. Orochimaru, his old student, the same student who betrayed Konoha and defected to a life that was... less desired. His eyes then went back to the boy in front of him. Naruto, his current and most promising student, the boy he cared for the most out of everyone in the village.
Hopefully he wouldn't follow in that snake bastard's footsteps, it was a wonder that Naruto hadn't become tainted considering how he was treated by the villagers.
"Naruto... are you sure?"
"As sure as I think I can be." He responded.
"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?"
Naruto shrugged, his expression fading to nonchalance. "My team and I interrogated Mizuki, but unfortunately we couldn't get anything else out of him, we could not figure out his motives. We do know however that there are more people, according to Mizuki, there is one other person who is working for Orochimaru and that person is somewhere here in the village."
"Did you discover anything specific about him, like gender, age, height, hair color?" Naruto shook his head.
"Sorry Ojiisan, apparently Mizuki doesn't even know... or at least that's what he got us to believe, he said that all he knew was that there was someone else hiding in Konoha. Any specific details about that person are out of reach...for the moment."
"Well that moment should be over soon, I'm sure that Ibiki has already done his job and we have our information." As if on cue there was a knock at the door. Sarutobi sighed. "Yes, who is it?"
"Ibiki, Hokage-sama. I wish to speak to you about Mizuki and his betrayal, I have some information that I think that you might like."
The old man nodded, bringing forth his hand and motioned for Ibiki to come in. Directly afterward the door swung open, revealing an aged man in a black trench coat, the bandanna on his head matched the color of his coat.
With wide eyes Naruto blinked rapidly, moving his gaze from the Hokage back to Ibiki and then back to the Hokage.
How the hell did he just do that? Was that like some weird mystical ability that you acquired once you reached the rank of Kage. He brought his hand up in a very academy student-like way, his mouth was open.
"How did you-," he was cut off by Sarutobi's hand, yet another mystical power of the Hokage, the power to silence people without even uttering a single word, useful but mysterious.
"Save it for another time Naruto-kun." His gaze turned to Morino Ibiki, the best in the interrogation business, truly there was no other like him. If not for his attachment and importance to the Konoha Interrogations department, Sarutobi would have requested for him to train the two Fuminas instead of Anko, however he strongly doubted that Ibiki would have even complied to such a request.
"What is it Ibiki?" Now it would be time to test that theory of Naruto's to see if it was actually the truth and not just a theory. The ragged man cleared his throat taking a look at Naruto. He seemed to be fine with Naruto hearing this, maybe he had heard of the boys power, maybe he knew all along.
"Mizuki, I know who Mizuki was trying to get the scroll over to, it was-"
"Orochimaru?" Sarutobi said, cutting him off. A scruffy eyebrow bent over into an arch as Ibiki raised his eyebrow.
"How did you know Hokage-sama, that information was just now uncovered a few minutes ago. How could you have possibly known?" He stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. "Excuse, Uzumaki, I would like to speak with the Hokage in private."
Crinkles formed on the old man's forehead; a signal went off in Naruto's head, and he turned to Sarutobi frown. The boy waved his hand, "That's alright, I was just leaving. I've got somewhere else to be." Naruto said giving Ibiki a curt bow. "I'll talk to you later Ojiisan." He left the room, throwing up his hand lazily.
XXXXxxxxxxxxxxxXXXX
"Wow, you did a pretty good job, Touha-san!" Naruto said staring at his reflection in the gleaming mirror placed at the back room of the Gekkani Clothing shop. He twisted his body by the waist, getting about as good a look at his back as he possibly could.
"Oh please, call me Gekkani!" The old tailor replied cheerfully. He stood behind Naruto, a smile on his face, his hands placed behind his back.
The pose of a wise man; Naruto knew because he had seen the Hokage in that same pose so many times before. Speaking of the Hokage, damn that Ibiki, barging in during their conversation. He should have killed him right there on the spot. It still irked Naruto that he did not know what they were planning for Mizuki, he wanted a chance to talk to the traitor and he might have gotten it too.
If Ibiki the Interrogator hadn't knocked on the door.
"So, Naruto, you like it right. I hope it matches what you had imagined it to be."
Naruto nodded, "Hell yeah it does!" Naruto replied still checking himself out. "So how much will this cost me? It'll probably be a fortune judging by the feel of this material. By the way what is this thing made of?"
In the reflection of the mirror Naruto could see that Gekkani's face had taken on a brilliant smile.
"It's a very high quality fabric, a hybrid material. A delicate threading of strong para-aramid synthetic fibers and gossamer."
"Gossamer? Spider silk?"
"Yes, believe you me, spider silk is stronger than it looks, its tensile strength alone is superior to that of normal grade steel." Naruto raised and eyebrow to that, as if he didn't already know that.
"What else?" Naruto asked. If what Gekkani is saying was true then this material shouldn't have felt this comfortable, even with the silk it should have felt like it was chocking the life out of him, so then why did it feel so... nice.
"Along with that, this fabric has been interwoven with a layer of nylon, thrice to be exact." Woven three times, impressive, this must have taken forever to make.
"I'm impressed." Naruto said concisely.
"I knew you would be." Gekkani replied.
"So any word on the price."
Silence, the buzz of a dying light bulb created a suspenseful air.
"It's free."
"What? Stop joking around, whatever the price is I can pay," it was true, he was stacked, the Hokage made sure of that, " I can't just take something like this from you without giving you anything!"
The smile on Gekkani's face was still there. "Don't worry, consider it as a gift from me to you. Trust me, I'm not losing anything in doing this so you need not worry about my business... just be sure to mention my name to your Anbu buddies, okay?" So that was his game, still it was a game that Naruto did not mind playing for Gekkani was quickly becoming one of his more... likable associates in the village.
"Sure no problem, I can do that," Naruto said, quickly turning away from the mirror. Gekkani followed him to the cashier's desk, where Yoru gave Naruto a salty glance, however Naruto simply ignored the man and glided past him toward the door.
"Hey aren't you gonna pay for-." he was silenced when Gekkani placed a hand on the burly man's shoulder and shook his head. Yoru simply growled at that, apparently he was VERY aware of how much that outfit costs, considering that he was the one who had to go out and find the material for it.
Throwing his hand in the air, much like he had done in the Hokage's office, Naruto stepped out of the clothing shop. His snug new attire hugging his body tightly, bliss... oh wait no bliss, at least not yet, he still needed to go to one more stop.
The Hospital.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Sanae woke up, forcefully, her shoulders felt weird, like they had been fondled with over and over again. And not the good kind of fondling, no that was called a massage, this was more like rough groping. Forcing the images of massages and shoulder abuse out of her mind she opened her eyes.
And she gasped, was she seeing things or was she just looking at a mirror? It seemed to her that an exact likeness of her was staring right into her face. 'Am I looking at me?'
No, wait that was her mother and those were her mother's eyes. Sanae had always believed that she looked a little bit too much like her mom, she believed that she got about everything from her mother while Konoe took a bit more from their father. That was probably the reason why Konoe was the one whose hair had the natural red tint, she got it from their red-head of a father.
She blinked a couple of times, glancing away from her mom. "Alright Mom, I'm awake now can you stop that." She came to find out the the weird feeling in her shoulders was due to her mother...who had been trying to wake up... for what reason, she didn't know. In front of her eyes, she could see her sister laying in the clean hospital bed, her expression peaceful and serene, Sanae smiled on the inside. She bet that hospital bed felt really nice to lay on.
Oh, if only she knew.
Next to her in a chair was their father. The moment came up and Sanae glanced at Konoe's dark auburn hair and then to her father's shoulder length bright red hair. Yeah, Konoe definitely got it from their dad.
Her mother then sat back in the whiter than white hospital chair, which was parallel to hers. "Sorry." He mother spurted out, "You hadn't moved an inch for the past hour, so I got kind of worried.
Not even taking her glance to her mother Sanae just released an odd drone from within her throat that-- in her mind-- meant "It's Ok." Had she been that tired that her body, even while asleep, was still too tired to move?
"Sanae," Her father's voice cut through the air, "your sensei... what is her name again?" He sounded angry, like he wanted to hit something... or someone.
"M-Mitarashi Anko." her words came out a low mutter. Her father then groaned, slapping his head with his hand making a loud "smack"! Apparently he knew of the reputation that followed Anko in the village.
"I want to speak with her," he said simply.
"Wha-... um you want to speak with her?" Her acting was horrible, which was stupid, why would she even try to play dumb with her father, Fumina Youhei, of all people? He was probably the last person she wanted to play dumb with, he could spot a lie from a mile away.
"Yes, and I know that you know exactly why I wish to speak to her." He said. That was what she was afraid of. She knew how protective her father could get when it came to her and her sister, she just hoped that Anko-sensei would be ready for it.
"I do, but," he voice cracked with a loud rasp, "I'm sure that it wasn't on purpose."
"I don't care."
"Daddy, please."
"Honey, don't get so worked up, it was an honest mistake, an accident during training." Thank Kami for mothers. Despite being saved by the maternal bell, her father continued still.
"I don't care if it was an accident, if anything else were to happen would you just register that off as an accident, a lot of accidents occur on the field however that doesn't matter because in the end someone gets hurt. And that someone just so happens to be our daughter."
"Just drop it" she said.
"I won't" Her mother then gave her father a certain look, one of those looks that said "drop it or else it's the couch".
"Fine, I'll drop it but I still want to speak with Anko, just to set some things straight, okay?"
"Ok," Her mother replied.
There was a ruffling of clothing followed by a soft groan, Sanae widened her eyes. "Mom, Dad, ... I think Konoe's waking up." All heads shifted toward the hospital bed, all eyes gazing down upon the now shifting form of Konoe. She crinkled her nose as if she wanted to sneeze but the crinkles disappeared and she relaxed.
"Konoe?"
Her sister's eyes opened, blinking rapidly, swaying from left to right. Konoe sat upright and stretched her arms. "What are you guys doing here... she paused, "wait what am I doing here? Last thing that I remember was," she angled her chin up into a thinking pose, "getting slammed into that tree."
Sanae cringed, damn, why did Konoe have to go and open her big mouth. "Slammed into a tree! What, Sanae why is it that you did not tell me." He turned his dagger glare onto his daughter, piercing right through her.
"I-I didn't want you to worry to much about us."
Her mother shook her head, "Oh Sanae."
She knew that not telling her father about how Konoe had gotten hurt was a bad idea, but still she did not. Well now all she had to do was face her father's wrath, oh wait, she had almost forgotten her father did not know where they had there little training session. If he were to ever find out that they in the forest of death all hell would break loose, not only on Anko but on her as well.
It would be better to keep that one to herself, hopefully Konoe didn't open her mouth again.
"Sanae why di-" Her father's voice was cut off by a sudden tap at the door. Now all heads turned toward the door.
"Come in," her mother said.
The door knob turned, slowly, too slowly, so slow that it was in fact painful for Sanae to watch it rotate. As the burnished brass turned clockwise, Sanae repeated the same four words in her head.
'Please don't be Anko!' The tension in her legs built as she pressed on her thighs, digging her palms into them.
'Click'
The hinges of the door creaked and the door swung open. She closed her eyes shut. "Don't be Anko, go away, don't step in!"
"Oh Naruto-kun, how are you?"
Naruto? Oh Naruto, what a relief. Never had Sanae been so happy to hear her mother call out Naruto's name.
She opened her eyes, and couldn't stop them from widening.
Oh....Naruto....
Well she had to give him one thing, he knew how to make the color orange look stylish. Standing in the door way was Naruto; he wasn't in the stuffy jumpsuit anymore, neither was he going simple and wearing just a t-shirt. His new attire, in Sanae's perspective, fit him much better.
He wore a tight black and dark orange top, the black fabric on his sides seemed to cling to his body seemed to cling to his body while the orange in front was seemingly attached to him. Every muscle was defined clearly, jutting forward an a couple inches or so out of the fabric. Black, covered his arms, stopping a little bit past his elbow, from the elbow to the wrist Sanae could see the diamond pattern of a fine mesh undershirt. He wore black pants made of the same beautiful material that the top was made of, they were not as tight as the top. They seemed to be more loosely fitted but they still hugged his legs nonetheless.
Drooling, who's drooling, she wasn't... anymore.
Like this Naruto actually looked a little bit more like... an Anbu member, at least one with style. The design of his outfit looked very similar to the grey and black outfits that were standard issue to all Anbu, the only difference was that Naruto's outfit looked cooler and was obviously higher quality.
"Whoa, looking sharp Naruto, going somewhere?" Her father's tone once harsh tone had died down, now calmer, softer. He seemed to get that way whenever Naruto was around, as soon as that blond bush of air was within eye shot her father's face instantly brightened.
"Nowhere but here." Naruto replied almost instantly, pointing both fingers at her father who returned it with a double point of his own.
'Oh gag me,' Sanae thought to herself. Her father Naruto's sense of camaraderie had been acceptable at first but now or days, it actually annoyed her more. It was like her father suddenly became a teenager again when Naruto came around, funny but annoying all together. Sanae knew why he acted this way though, it was simple.
He was going through a mid-life crisis, given that it was at age thirty-two. For a while the two traded words, talking about things that Naruto had dubbed an "inside" thing. She hated it when they spoke about "inside" things
Naruto's baby blues flicked toward Konoe, who hadn't looked away yet. "Man, first day and you're already in the hospital?" He said, shooting a smile her way, he bowed to their mother gave him a smile.
Her father snapped back to reality, switching from teenager to senior citizen, or that's what he thought of himself when really he wasn't all that old.
"Yes, their sensei, if I can even call her that, did that to her."
"Yeah I heard what happened." Naruto replied.
Naruto raised an eyebrow when the red haired man suddenly inhaled sharply, giving Sanae a quick glare. Did he just say something that he wasn't supposed to?
'Stupid Naruto.'
"Anyway, Konoe, how are you feeling?" Naruto said.
"Fine, my back is starting to feel better now, yesterday the nurse told me that with some rest I should be out by this afternoon." Well it was only ten o' clock, she still had a couple more hours of sitting in that deathtrap called a hospital bed.
"Well that's good to hear, I just thought I'd drop by to see how you're doing."
Sanae eyed him carefully, 'Alright Naruto, enough with the friendly banter, no more preamble, aren't you going to tell Konoe about how you rescued me and that you're an Anbu member?" Why was he wasting time? Had he forgotten, hardly, that definitely wasn't it.
She then paused, glancing around the room, spotting the two anomalies in the equation. Her parents! Naruto said he would tell her and Konoe everything, did that mean that he meant he would tell them and only them? Was he hesitating to speak... because of her parents?
"You know, it's kind of weird you know, how both our teams have one member in the hospital." Naruto said.
Konoe tipped her head to the side as did her father. "Oh, that's right you don't know. One of my teammates, Aburame Shino, got hurt yesterday while he and I were sparring. I kind of hit him on the head a bit too hard."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I was actually on my way to go visit him right now, but I took a detour to see Konoe first."
Their mother smiled, "Well that was nice of you Naruto-kun, but I'd hate to keep you away from you teammate, so you should go see him."
Naruto nodded a smile on his face and gave the Fumina family a quick bow before walking toward the door.
Sanae eyed him with undisturbed concentration. What was he doing, why was he walking away? In her mind she begged him not to walk out the door, yelling out numerous "don't go's" and "wait's". She wanted him to stay, she wanted him to tell her more, to tell everyone more. Naruto needed to explain himself, but apparently he felt that he did not at that very moment. Konoe needed to know as well, she didn't even now the importance of what was going on around her, how one of her best friends was stronger than what she could even begin to imagine.
Hopefully he would explain afterward but knowing Naruto, he would find away to avoid them, much like he had done in the past.
'Don't go, stay here and tell me everything!' Her words were unheard, trapped within the confines of her mind where they were audible to no other person but herself.
And like that Naruto was gone, his backside disappearing from the doorway.
Stupid, why did he do that?
Outside Naruto sighed, that was wrong, very wrong and he knew it. He didn't want to tell them, well, he did want them to know, but he just didn't want to tell them. He wanted them to see his power actually, he wanted them to experience exactly who he was and until then he would refrain from speaking to them about anything concerning his hidden skill.
His sandal squeaked like a mouse as he turned the corner onto the hall that held Shino's room.
"Here it is." Exactly where he had been yesterday, room 206.
Knock knock. Well that was odd, no response? 'Well it is Shino after all, maybe he's asleep. I'll just check.' His hand grasped the brass handle, the same cold icy sensation flooded through his hand like it had when he grasped the door knob to Konoe's room.
He opened it, slowly, and poked his head through the doorway. His eyes widened.
"He's gone, how is it that possible the nurse said that he hadn't checked out yet and he has no other tests scheduled for today so..." Naruto's voice trailed off as his eyes locked onto the open window, a portion of the ultra-white curtains was hanging out of the window, fluttering in the wind. The room was dimly lit.
That just screamed suspicious. Making his way over to the window sill Naruto noticed something about the room, nothing was out of place as if it hadn't been touched. On the very edge of the sill, Naruto could see a dark scuff, there was something odd about it, the scuff had a pattern to it.
That's because it wasn't a scuff at all, it was a footprint. Open window, footprint left behind, room perfectly intact, definitely suspicious. Bringing his head forth Naruto popped his head out the window, he glanced down.
"So Shino used the window, huh," his gaze stopped when it met the flat gray stone roof of a small building below. Most likely where his teammate landed. That posed one question, why did Shino used the window? It would have been so much easier to just checkout of the hospital and leave through the front door.
Why leave through the window, that kept people thinking that you were still in the hospital. Then his mind brought back a memory, a memory of what Mizuki said, that there was one other Oto agent still hidden in Konoha.
Bing! Conclusion!
Was that person Shino? Leaving through the window to stay undetected and not checking out of the hospital, keeping people thinking that you're still there. That sounded like something a spy from another village would do, especially if that person was trying to get somewhere within the village without being noticed. But there was no way, no way in hell that Shino was the culprit.
Another question comes up, maybe this person isn't the real Shino, for all he knew the real Shino could be tied up somewhere, gagged and bounded in a closet... or even worse.
Dead.
When did the bastard make the switch, was it while Shino was in the hospital by himself, or was it before that, before he was even assigned to a Genin team. He needed to find "Shino" and he needed to find him quickly, he couldn't be so sure of himself as of now, he needed to confirm that the Shino was the culprit.
But just as Naruto was about to jump out the window and try to find his teammate, he heard a voice, a voice that stopped him.
"Can I help you?"
Shit, why now of all times?
Naruto turned around, slowly. Standing in the door way was a white-haired boy, he looked to be around seventeen. Draped over his body was a white lab coat, a doctor's standard issue attire. The white material hung low, going just past his ankles the lab coat bore a striking resemblance to the curtains behind Naruto.
"Well, what are you doing here?"
"I was looking for my friend," Naruto said not missing a beat, "he was supposed to be in this room, can you tell me if he was moved to a different room or if he was having some tests done right now?"
The boy looked down at the clipboard in his hand, he pulled a pen, tracing the paper with it. "What's his name?" He asked, his hand quickly dashed up adjusting his glasses before dashing back down to the clipboard.
"Aburame, Aburame Shino." Naruto replied.
After a few seconds the boy looked back up, "No, it says here that he was released this morning, your friend is gone."
"But the nurse at the front desk told me that he still hadn't checked out of the hospital yet."
"Well that's odd," the boy muttered, he curled his two fingers twice at Naruto, motioning for Naruto to follow him."Let's check on that shall we."
Naruto nodded, exiting the room, not before making a double take at the window once more.
"By the way, my name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto."
".....Kabuto, Yakushi Kabuto, now let's see if we can find out what happened to that friend of yours."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shino tapped the back of his knuckles against Naruto's door. This had been his fifth time coming here for the day. There was no answer.
Shino sighed, he was not home. If he was not home, and he was not anywhere else then where was he? Where could Naruto possibly be in the village? Even with his sentry insects scouting a rather large radius, Shino still could not find out where his blond teammate was. The Aburame genius couldn't figure out... for once, where could he possibly have gone to, from the sky it should not have been this hard to spot a head of hair that was a blond as Naruto's. Why his bugs still could find no trace of the boy only aided in annoying.
Once his thought one of his insects found Naruto, much to his displeasure, the winged kikai led Shino not to the blond head of Uzumaki Naruto but to the blond head of Yamanaka Ino. Boy what a bother that was.
Who knew how hard it would be trying to track an Anbu member. Now how did that sound coming from a Genin?
Naruto wasn't home, it wouldn't hurt to check now would it?
Shino slipped his hand on the doorknob, a black blur flew out of his sleeve and into the keyhole. Now came the hard part.
It was called breaking and entering.
Shino kept a stolid visage as the sounds of crunching metal sound at his fingertips. Seconds later the black blur buzzed back up Shino's sleeves and he opened the door with an audible click.
What was he doing, breaking into Naruto's house, it was stupid he should have turned around and left right there. But he didn't he just kept on going, pulled in by the curiosity that no Aburame dared disobey. He wanted to see what type of things that Naruto held in his possession, anything that could have led to his teammate attaining so much power, if it was in the small apartment, then Shino would find it.
Shino moved about, searching through the little shelves and cabins, even the bookcase. Hopefully Naruto would not come home, if he did then Shino knew he wouldn't be able to hide.
Right now he was treading in dangerous waters, for now there weren't any sharks, but he didn't know how long that would last.
He said not a word, as he rummaged through Naruto's personal belongings. This place looked fairly normal, Shino hadn't seen anything worth his time yet, no scrolls, nothing.
He let out sigh, where was everything? Shino moved into another room, Naruto's room.
"These appears to be his sleeping quarters, not very impressive." True, he had expected more.
Well, back to searching.
However, he let out a light gasp when he heard something, something that he really did not want to hear. It was probably the last thing that he wanted to hear.
Someone was knocking at the door, that was bad, why now? He still needed more time, more time to search, more time to investigate.
He hear a voice, female, it sounded muffled but Shino could still hear it. "Naruto...it's me, Kurenai!"
Kurenai of all people was at the door, for what Shino didn't know. "I'm here to tell you to meet the rest of the team at the training ground around noon...huh, the door's open? He cringed, well on the inside anyway.
"Naruto, did you know that you left the door unlocked?" Her voice sounded closer, like it was inside, she... was inside. Well at least no he knew he couldn't get out the way he came in.
Now Shino knew that he had no more time, he needed to get out of there and he needed to get out of there fast. His eyes shot frantically darted around until they finally stopped.
The window... luckily this time it was open, Naruto thank you for your forgetfulness.
Taking one foot forward, he tiptoed toward the window.
The floorboard underneath him creaked , loudly. "Huh, what was that? Naruto are you in there?" Oh come on, could anything else go wrong? When she heard the sound of approaching footsteps his breathing quickened.
Okay, screw that keeping a level head shit, now was not the time to be an Aburame, now was the time to be frantic! Quickly and as quietly as he could, Shino moved toward the window. As soon as his foot hit the window sill the door knob twisted.
Dammit, he still was not out, he needed more time! Shino's legs moved almost at mach speed and with as little sound possible, half of his body was out of the window when the door swung opened. No good, he couldn't make the jump, if he did, Kurenai would still see him and probably try to follow him and he seriously doubted that he could outrun his sensei. He was confident in his skills but not that confident.
"Naruto?" Kurenai said as she stepped inside her pupils room and she instantly grimaced. "What a mess" she said shaking her head. "Well I guess he's not here, I guess I'll just have to keep looking," she said turning around.
She was completely unaware of the boy holding his breath outside, standing on the edge of Naruto's apartment two stories in the air.
When he heard his teachers retracting footsteps, Shino released a relieved sigh.
It was over.
"Hello Shino-kun." His body tensed up as he looked up, to see his sensei, standing right beside him, the only difference was that she was standing sideways, in fact one could say that Kurenai was standing off the building. She was literally clinging to the side of the apartment as if she would a regular street. "Mind telling me what you're doing here?"
Feeling the hot tickle of nervousness hit him, Shino uttered out the only response that he could.
"H-hello Kurenai-sensei."
Yeah... smooth.
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Hinata sat up on her bed, man was she bored. The team was supposed to meet again today after Shino got out of the hospital, around noon. She picked up her clock and scowled, it was only ten forty five!
Hinata groaned, bringing a pillow up to her face and falling back onto the lavender sheets of her bed. For some reason she felt like there was something else going on around her, something big. Something that would be a perfect plot builder for a story and she was being left out of it.
Still she could do nothing about it, all she could do was wait.
Letting out one more groan she said, "I'm so bored!" She literally screamed it into her pillow, so it came out as only a muffle.
One hour and fifteen minutes to go before she was freed from this boredom.
As she frequently heard Shikamaru always say , which she completely agreed with at the moment.... "What a drag."
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Thank you, thank you. I'm finally done with this chapter, sorry for the wait, if any of you thought it was that long of a wait, I hope this makes up for the time missed.
Haha, I bet nobody was expecting to see Kabuto in the chapter... huh, huh did I do good or what?
I hope I did. Okay, so I'm going to be concise and curtail the rest of this author's note. All I have to say is that the next chapter might not come for a while, because I am studying to get my learner's permit so I can finally get behind the wheel of a god forsakened car! Ok and I hope that I get some feedback for this chapter, I think I went a little crazy with this one, despite there not being a lot of action, and I REALLY want to know what you guys think of it. So as of now I'm at 121 reviews, let's see how far the meter raises with this chapter. Oh and by the way, I want to thank everyone who reviewed my third chapter, you guys almost doubled my review count, and for that I'm am ever grateful.
So anyway, until next time
Thanx
Latr
Next chapter: Storm Center
GrIm'S sTePpIn' OuT.