(Warning: The following is a non-profit fan-based product. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Please support the official release of the manga and anime series)
Chapter 2: Alone in the dark
"Alone" The words reverberated in Tatsumaki's head like an echo in a cave. "W-wait, what did you just say." Tatsumaki clearly couldn't comprehend the nature of the words that had been laid before him. "I mean just what I said," Tenzo said unwaveringly in his resonant voice, "I'm going to leave you here for three months. You have to survive on the provisions you have, and the natural resources around you. If you come back to the fire temple before your three months are up, or if you don't come back at all, you will be rejected as my student, and banished from the fire temple." This was inconceivable. Why would Tatsumaki's own mentor leave him in a foreboding wilderness such as this? It couldn't be possible. "Ha-ha-ha." Tatsumaki managed to laugh hesitantly. "Had me going there for a minute sensei. Now how 'bout we go back home now, it's getting sort of chilly." "Tatsumaki, I'm afraid that this is no joke. I wish you the best of luck though."
Tenzo proceeded to meander into the thicket of gargantuan plants as the sun began to rapidly set, engulfing the sun light in an envelope of darkness. He stopped for just a moment to look back upon his student, "Oh, and one last thing I forgot to mention. If you can't figure out the meaning of this training, then you will also not be welcomed back." He then cocked his head, turned back, and retreated into the blackness of dusk. "W-w-wait stop! Sensei, come back!" but Tatsumaki's ploy was useless. With the moon slowly ascending the horizon, Tatsumaki charged head first into the massive leaves of the low set jungle brush. In a futile effort, he frantically searched for his teacher. Occasionally he tripped on a tree root, his own scarf that reached to the forest floor, and in one instance, on a giant tail, who's owner scurried away to fast to be fully seen. After he stumbled, he regained his composure and went on in his pursuit. "Sensei! Sensei! Come on, I know this is some kind of joke! Listen; if this is about the whole bucket thing I'll never do it again. I'll even clean the floors of the temple with my toothbrush. Just please come back out."
THUMP! Tatsumaki banged his head on the forest floor, sending up a flurry of leaves and twigs, as he tripped over another titanic root. As he lie sprawled on the ground, he did something very odd, which would never be expected of a ninja. He cried. This was not an unusual thing for Tatsumaki to do. Ever since childhood, Tatsumaki had often cried to alleviate the constant stress of his life, earning him the nickname of, the crybaby ninja. Because of this flaw in his character, his companions continuously ridiculed him. But the reason for his tears was not so much the pain of his fall, it was more of the realization that he had been abandoned, and by his own sensei no less. Tenzo was the only man who had supported him through out his insufferable life, and brought him to the fire temple for his extensive training regimen. The only people who had cared for him as much as Tenzo were his nurturing parents. He recalled as a small child, that on a depressing day at the academy, he would come home and his mother would make him red bean soup with extra mochi. And he remembered his father's firm, yet soft grip on his shoulder when he consoled him. But those memories were far off and hazy. So all Tatsumaki could do, was to sprawl out on the forest floor, and bawl into a soft patch of moss.
(Meanwhile: From Tenzo's point of view)
Tenzo traversed soundlessly under the cover of the jungle canopy. He was far off from the location where he had left Tatsumaki. He contemplated deeply on his actions. "Usually I wouldn't leave him alone on account of the danger of what's inside of him. But since this is an isolated area, there won't be any civilian casualties if it's released into the open." Tenzo came to a small clearing where the trees parted just enough to reveal the pale image of a crescent moon in the night sky. "I just hope that for his sake, that it's not fully released." Tenzo then went on into the faint glow of the night, and pulled a tiny object out of one of the compartments of his flack jacket. He turned it over once, carefully examining it. "But then again, I'll always be close by, watching." He then held up the item to the flickering moonlight, the object was a miniscule tree seed.
(Meanwhile: Back with Tatsumaki)
Tatsumaki, having gotten over his grief, decided to make the best of this dire situation. If he was going to survive in this critical environment, he had to work with the little rations he had. He sat cross-legged on the ground, which was covered with immense fallen leaves from the trees. Before him lay his pack, and his utility pouch. He sorted through his supplies, seeing how many essentials he had packed. In his pack he had stashed his rationed food supply tied up in a parcel. Most of it had diminished over the extensive journey through the mountains, but Tatsumaki was sure that he could survive on the abundance of fruits that grew on the trees. He also carried multiple sealing scrolls, a canteen, and a map of the surrounding area that Tenzo had supplied to him. He turned his attention to his utility pouch, which held his extensive collection of weaponry. Sifting through the pouch, he found he had twenty shuriken, fifth teen kunai, five smoke bombs, five flash bombs, and ten exploding tags. But he also carried one more weapon. Held by a harness to his belt hung a kusarigama, a sickle attached via a chain to a weighted iron ball. He held this specific item close to him as a memento of his father, who had given it to him on the day of his graduation from the academy. With only these weapons, he had to defend himself, for three months, against the forest dwelling animals. And whatever other dangers that lay in this harsh landscape.
Re-packing his things, Tatsumaki came to the conclusion that he had to set up a camp. Turning his attention to shelter, he began to gather a bundle of logs-which were actually the enormous twigs that had fallen from the canopy-off of the forest floor. Once he had gathered enough, he used the local vines as a length of rope to mesh the logs together into a makeshift hut. The difficulty of this task increased when the logs kept falling apart before they could be tied together. But this problem was quickly solved when Tatsumaki simply used a coating of sticky mud to hold them together at the seams. Finally using the fallen fronds of a nearby palm tree as a roof, and as a doorway curtain to keep out cold air and wind, Tatsumaki had his shelter. It was a simple structure about three feet in width and length. Wiping the beads of sweat off of his forehead, Tatsumaki looked proudly upon his newly established shelter. Only upon the completion of his arduous task, did Tatsumaki recognize his gripping hunger. So he decided to make a small fire-not too large as to attract any unwanted guests-to cook the remnants of the leftover meat in his parcel.
But little did he know, as he sat happily chewing his meal, that he was being watched, by two piercing white eves, from the shadows of the jungle.
(Meanwhile: At Akatsuki HQ)
During the meeting at the summit of the mountain, one of the dark projections, which was the one of a dark skinned man with sharp animal like claws, shuddered in the middle of the conference. He spoke in a static like voice, as if being interfered with by electricity, as did all of the projections in the meeting room. "Leader-sama, I've pinpointed the location of the kyubi. Shall I retrieve it?" The leader on the bed ceased his conversation with the projection of a young man with spiky hair, and a patch that covered his left eye, to focus on the dark skinned gentleman in the corner of the wide bedchamber. As did all the members of the meeting, who turned their heads in attention to the man's statement. "No. Cough! Cough!" The sick man said in a groaning, inaudible tone. " That would interfere with our plans. I shall give you permission to keep monitoring him, but you have no authorization to capture him. Understood? Cough! Hack! Hack! Cough!" The man in the corner growled, obviously unhappy with his assignment, bearing a row of jagged fangs. "Yes, leader-sama!" he said through clenched teeth and fists. "As of here this meeting is adjourned. I have the utmost confidence you will not fail. Or otherwise you will suffer the consequences." Obisso said, who was posted at his master's bedside. He then weaved a tiger seal, and the projections flickered and then vanished out of thin air. Leaving the two men in the room, alone.
(Meanwhile: With Tatsumaki)
The first orange rays of sunlight were beginning to paint the fronds of the jungle canopy. The last of the dying embers of Tatsumaki's campfire were going out. And simultaneously, Tatsumaki himself was sleeping in his jungle hut, using a giant leaf as a blanket, with a large glob of spittle dripping out of the corner of his mouth. With the sound of the gargantuan bird's chirping and squawking, Tatsumaki began to stir from his slumber. "Ughh, I don't wanna get up now mom." Then reviewing his environment, and recalling his situation, Tatsumaki wiped the spittle from the corner of his mouth. "Well, I might is well go out to get some breakfast." He then emerged from his hut, pulling back the palm frond that served as the doorway. Foraging for food was an easy task, considering the colossal boughs of bananas, coconuts, mangos, and papayas, and countless other fruits that the trees bore. The hard part was finding a way to reach them. Tatsumaki pondered his decisions. Then slapped his forehead at the apparent obviousness of the solution. "Of course! How could I be so stupid?"
Sending a burst of chakra to his feet, Tatsumaki placed the sole of his sandal on the trunk of an immense banana tree. He then placed the sole of his other sandal on the trunk, without removing the other foot. His body vertical, he began to walk up the trunk of the tree, slowly reaching the branches, where a rather large bushel of bananas grew. Drawing his kusarigama to cut the stem of the bananas, Tatsumaki began to feel tremors in the ground beneath him. Losing his focus, Tatsumaki's chakra control vanished, making him fall off of the tree trunk, and on to the quaking ground below him. Tatsumaki took a fighting stance with his kusarigama, but it would be utterly useless against the approaching threat.
Bursting out of the trees came a hulking boulder, perfectly round in shape, and rocky brown in color. This being slightly reminiscent of a movie Tatsumaki had seen, (AN: I couldn't help but make an Indiana Jones reference. XD) he knew that he could take only one affirmative action, to run. Rapidly picking up speed, Tatsumaki turned tail and ran. "Ahhhhhh!!!! I'm gonna diiiiiie!!!" Hearing the pounding of the boulder behind him, Tatsumaki increased his speed to the fullest. In the upheaval, Tatsumaki neglected to pull up the tassels of his blue scarf. As a result, he tripped over it, and fell to the ground at the mercy of the on coming boulder. "Oh sh*t!!!" Tatsumaki cried out right before the boulders inevitable impact. But as the rock rolled over him, it made a disgusting squelching sound, as it rolled away, leaving a brown muddy trail in it's wake. And as the spherical object rolled off, it left Tatsumaki behind, completely unharmed. Tatsumaki, who had covered his eyes right before the contact of the boulder, removed his hands from his eyes to review the damage. But the only difference was that Tatsumaki was now coated in a sticky brown residue. "What the hell is this stuff?"
He then cocked his head in the direction that the mysterious globe had rolled off in. Behind the boulder, which had been blocked by Tatsumaki's frontal view, was an enormous purple-shelled beetle with green tints. With giant pincers and three slender legs protruding from each side of it's body. With its two hind legs, the beetle rolled the boulder like a colossal soccer ball. As it rolled it made a disgusting squelching noise while jungle fronds stuck to its gooey surface. Staring at his brown stained jacket, Tatsumaki took his index and middle finger, and scraped off a sample of the residue that had stained his clothing. Taking his fingers to his nose, he sniffed the sample thoughtfully. He sniffed it two more times to take in the putrid stench of the slime. With a tone of absolute horror, Tatsumaki screeched so loudly that the brightly colored birds in the trees flew off in terror. "It smells like sh******************t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Because the mammoth insect that was rolling the ball of brown substance, was a dung beetle.
(Meanwhile: Back at the fire temple)
In the calm of the early daybreak, a young woman sat atop one of the fortified walls that enclosed the courtyard of the fire temple, reading a yellow bounded book. The girl looked as if she were seven teen or older. Since a thick red scarf and an overgrown crimson jacket covered her chest, it was difficult to discern whether she was male or female, but her face showed obvious feminine features, she also wore a skirt that cut off at her mid thigh, with black high heeled boots. The paperback volume she was reading bore the title of yaoi paradise. She read aloud, blushing, as she read a passage. "And then Hiro said 'I love you as he...' oh my." She said blushing a deep shade of red as she went on reading the paragraph in her head. "I see you're still reading those perverted books, Uten." The girl on top of the wall shuddered from the surprise of the unexpected voice. Placing a bookmark where she had left off, the girl named Uten turned her attention away to the source of the voice. Leaning on the base of the wall beneath her, was a teenage boy in a blue kimono. His spiked hair was the color of a deep ocean blue. On his belt in its scabbard was a katana, next to an assortment of cutlery knives in separate belt loops. "What's wrong with you? Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's impolite to eavesdrop on a pretty young woman?"
"Well nobody's gonna know you're a girl if you keep wearing baggy clothes." Said the teenager with a concealed laugh in his voice. "Koten, you mother f*cker! I'm gonna take your katana, and use it to cut off your di-" But she was cut off in the middle of her disgruntled rant by a deep nasally voice. "Will the both of you quit your fighting?" It was Tenzo, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Koten, Uten, the two of you have been arguing since the first day you came here." Uten jumped from her perch on the wall, landing with the grace and balance that only a ninja could display. "Sensei, he was stalking me! That's the creepiest thing a boy can do." "Well she was reading her pervy books on holy ground." The two of them continued their debate as Tenzo rubbed his temples in frustration. Regaining his stoic demeanor, Tenzo said, "You know, they say that people who argue with each other have a strong attraction to one another." The two teens ceased their arguing as a deep shade of crimson spread across their faces. "As if!" they both shouted in anger.
"Now that I have your attention. Koten, you shouldn't be antagonizing Uten so often." Koten looked at his feet disappointed. "See Koten, sensei is on my side." "And Uten, it is extremely offensive that you would read..." It was then in turn Tenzo's turn to blush in embarrassment. "That sort of book in a place as holy as the fire temple." Uten then looked despondently at her feet as her teacher scolded her. With both of the teens saddened by their lecture, Tenzo placed a firm hand on each of their shoulders. "But that doesn't matter at the moment. What I came here to tell you was that Tatsumaki has momentarily left the temple." Uten, looking up, responded quickly. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen the little twerp around lately. Why is that?" "I've taken Tatsumaki off of the temple grounds to pursue an extended training session." Tenzo said in his nasally voice. "Well if that's the case, what does it have to do with us?" Koten said questioningly. "That's simple. I'm going to assign you a new training method." "What's it gonna be? Is it the same as Tatsumaki's training?" Uten said eagerly. "No, it's something far worse." And meanwhile, in a distant country, giant hungry animals surrounded Tatsumaki. Who were all dying to swallow him whole.
(Well, that was chapter two. If you liked it, feel free to comment or criticize on it. I'd also like to deeply thank Juno Tartini, kakashi8890, and Cyber-Porygon for reading, and actually favoriting my story. I am gratefully indebted to you guys, and hope that I can keep you as dedicated readers. And remember: This is a fan-based product. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Please support the official release of the manga and anime series)