Disclaimer: This is a disclaimer. Imagine what is supposed to be here.
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
Sai frowned at his sketchbook, which now contained a dark smudge from where his brush had struck the paper a little too violently. The shaking and rumbling of the zeppelin, the humming engines, turning propellers, roaring of wind, the yelling of men, and the distant hissing of fire and steam was so loud that he could barely paint a stroke before he was interrupted by someone or something.
'How annoying,' he thought. He turned his head slightly at that thought. That was what he was supposed to think, right? He couldn't actually say if he was annoyed or not. It was becoming difficult to paint, and so he decided he'd stop. There was no point in painting crude pictures. He glanced around. All he saw were strange men, lounging about, laughing occasionally, all deep in conversations that Sai did not understand. He wondered why they laughed at some of the comments they made—they weren't really all that funny, were they? What was so funny about comparing the backside of a horse to one's mother? He knew the term was something like "banter," or perhaps "joking", but what was so amusing about it?
He didn't understand.
He sighed. Oh well. There were other things to do. He stood, walked over to the railing, and peered over the side, where he saw a sea of clouds as dark as ash. They were smooth, and looked almost like stone, which was odd. He couldn't see anything beneath them. He quickly lost interest, and looked to the side. Naruto was standing a few yards away, gazing not down, but across, towards the sunset. There was a funny look on his face.
From the books Sai had read on facial expressions, he guessed it might be rapture.
He walked over, stopping beside the boy and then following his gaze into the horizon. They stood there a moment, neither speaking, until Sai remarked, "Is it really that rapturous?"
Naruto broke his gaze, and turned to the side, frowning. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"That look on your face. It was…rapture? Why do you look at such a common scene with that look?"
"It's not common," Naruto muttered. "And I just like flying. The sunset's only half of it."
Sai stared at him, head cocked. "Ah. I see." He turned back to the sunset, and silence fell again.
"You're a very strange boy," Sai said.
Naruto snorted. "Coming from the guy with the weird-ass smile on his face all the time."
Sai turned to Naruto with that painted smile. "Oh, what's wrong with it? I'm told that's what teammates are supposed to do—smile at each other."
Naruto didn't look at the boy directly. He scowled. "Not with a smile like that, moron. It's creepy, and I don't like it." He glared at the boy. "It's like you've never smiled before, or something."
"I haven't," Sai said, still smiling.
Naruto stared. "Huh?"
"Smiled. I haven't learned how until just recently. I learned it from a book; I spent a long time practicing the smile they had in the book." He cocked his head to the side. "I'm told it's a good likeness."
Naruto stared at the boy, frowning deeply. "What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped.
"How should I say this?" Sai said, with false wistfulness. "I have no emotions. I am incapable of feeling them." His lips curved again. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is it so strange?"
Naruto scowled deeply at the boy. "Are you nuts? Of course it's strange. Everybody has emotions. What the hell is wrong with you?" He turned away. "How the hell can Yamato-san expect me to get along with you?"
"Because he's watching me," said Sai, smiling. "He is suspicious, and so he requested the Hokage place me on your team."
"What?" Naruto turned back to Sai, who was smiling again.
"The Hokage is suspicious of my leader, Danzou-sama; she suspects he is a traitor. So she put Yamato-taichou as someone to look after me. He met me before, and tried to make a show of being interested in my development. You see, I am part of a small ANBU special forces team, called ROOT. He, I believe, was trying to play the role of the caring senpai." Sai gave a very false laugh. "Is that not strange? I don't believe he knows that I know the true reason. He thinks that I, along with the other members of ROOT, are planning a betrayal of Konoha." Sai shrugged. "I don't know what he is talking about."
"Why are you saying this to me?"
Sai laughed. "Because teammates should trust each other, right?"
Naruto stared at the boy for a moment in surprise, which the returned to familiar annoyance. He huffed and turned away. Sai did not.
"I think it's obvious that you do not like me, hmmm?" he said.
Naruto scowled at him. "Geez, what gave you that idea?"
"You never smile at me, and you always seem short-tempered when I am around. I believe those, along with your raised voice and harsh tone when speaking to me, are signs of dislike. You narrow your eyes when you look at me, and adopt a 'scowl' or a 'frown' when you do. You call me insulting names such as 'moron' and 'weirdo'. Is that enough?"
Naruto snorted again. "You learn that from a book too?"
"Yes."
"Hmph."
Sai looked at Naruto a while longer. His smile returned, and he cocked his head to the side, leaning forwards.
"Is it because I am not Uchiha Sasuke?"
At first, Naruto did not react. He stared forwards for a few more moments, drinking in the last few moments of the sunset. Then he looked at Sai with such a look of raw, pure hatred that the boy leaned away, as if afraid of being burnt.
"What did you say?"
Sai smiled again. "I have heard a lot about him. He was once your teammate, wasn't he? Until he ran away, and joined Orochimaru's village of the Hidden Sound… Otogakure. It seems you have a long battle with him beforehand, in which you lost." He opened his eyes slightly from his smile. "Is that not right?"
Naruto glared at the boy. "Shut up, moron. You don't know anything." His anger subsided slightly, and he roughly turned away.
"I know quite a bit about it. Though what I don't understand is why he did not kill you."
"You wouldn't understand."
"Probably not," said Sai. "But you seem angry again. Is it because you feel angered that he defeated you?"
Naruto turned to look at him slightly. There was no anger is his eyes now, or at least that's what Sai thought. But his eyes were much different from before. Sai didn't understand what he was looking at.
"No. It's because that bastard abandoned something good that he had for something completely pointless. And I'm going to prove to him how stupid he was in doing that, when I go to the Hidden Sound and drag his sorry ass back to Konoha, like I promised I would." He straightened his back, and continued to stare at Sai coldly. "Somebody like you could never understand that."
"But is he not a missing-nin, now? Your enemy?"
"Shut up. He's not an enemy—he's one of the closest things I've had to a brother. He's one of the only people who's ever been able to understand me." Naruto then glanced away again, leaning back onto the railing.
Sai watched him for a while.
"Interesting. But I find one thing very strange, and possibly contradictory in your words."
Naruto glanced back at him. "Oh?"
"Yes. While you are here, doing all of this, and completing missions for another world, why are you not doing what you have promised? Do you not believe you are strong enough to defeat him?"
Naruto grit his teeth. His eyes blazed. "Shut up. I'm stronger than that bastard; I know it. I'm stronger than you, too."
"Perhaps," said Sai. "You are certainly strong, but neither of us have shown our true strength yet. And you know nothing of Uchiha Sasuke's development, correct? How can you know you are stronger than him? And if you are not—then how can you expect to bring him back?"
"Why the hell are you asking me this?" Naruto snarled.
"I am curious," said Sai. "And are teammates not supposed to know about each other's pasts? I can tell you mine if you like, though there is not much to say. I like drawing and painting, and I once had a brother who is now dead." He smiled. "That's all."
The air was getting colder, as night began to fall. They would be touching down just before dawn, though it would hardly matter what time of day it was where they were going. Naruto turned swiftly away from the black-haired shinobi and began walking in the other direction.
"I don't know how Yamato-san expects me to work with you." He cast a look over his shoulder. "I don't think I could ever get along with someone like you, who wears that smile all the time. I can't trust someone, who doesn't hold anything for their family or friends; those are the people I hate most." He stared back at Sai. "And if you get any of my friends hurt 'cause of that stupid attitude of yours—then I'll kill you myself."
The boy vanished beneath the deck, into the cabin, where he would attempt to get some sleep before dawn arrived. Sai stood standing there for a long time afterwards, his gaze directed towards the dark horizon.
He was not smiling.
"This is as far as I take yeh," Matthias said. The zeppelin master gave Naruto, Yamato and Sai a bow, his long red coat flowing in the wind. "Naruto knows where to go, so just follow him. Don't forget, though; put on yer masks when ye get to the Plagueland borders. Can't miss it—the Argent Dawn has a little camp there that you'll be able to rest in fer a while. Anything beyond that is the Plaguelands; though you'll know it when you see it."
"Thanks old man," said Naruto, smiling cheekily.
"Shut it brat," grinned the captain, giving a flourishing bow. "I'll beat you in that new game you taught me next time; I'll practice!"
Naruto snickered. "I can't wait! I'll trash you the same as before!"
"You're on!"
Matthias gave them a final wave before returning to the zeppelin, which rose up and into the pitch-black and venom-green clouds above. Though used to the sight, Naruto felt a stab of loneliness when Matthias was gone. He shook his head of it, and turned around, frowning.
"I think we go straight," he said.
"You think?" Yamato asked, calmly.
"Yeah," Naruto said. "We're by the shore, and there should be a small road somewhere in that forest ahead of us," he pointed for emphasis. Ahead of them lay a towering forest of dark green pines, that looked particularly gnarled and nasty. Behind them was the shore, which led into waters so dark that they appeared black. The grass was a strange color—almost blue in sheen, and was short and rough. The smell in the air, evident to all of them, was of decay; Yamato wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"They live around here?"
"Yeah," Naruto said. "Wait until you see where they live proper. It's creepy." Naruto looked about again. "Yeah, forwards. I'm sure of it. I can almost smell the Undercity."
"Undercity…" said Yamato. "Where they live?"
"Yeah. Cool name, huh?"
Yamato sighed. "Yeah." He paused. "What game did you teach Matthias-san?"
Naruto snickered. "Shiritori. I'm bad at it, but he's even worse! And I don't think he'll get better, either."
"Nor do I," said Yamato, rolling his eyes. He glanced at Sai. "Ready?"
The boy nodded, and smiled.
They began to walk, starting out at a normal pace as normal humans might, and then progressing into a jog, and then a run. When they reached the trees, they leapt into the canopy, leaping from tree to tree, only disturbing them for a moment. They found the road Naruto spoke of only a short while later; it wasn't much of a road, however, and seemed little more than a small pathway where no trees had taken root. The air inside the wood was damp and smelled of mildew and rot. The ground, when they touched it, was sodden and they kicked up pieces of it when they lifted off again.
Naruto led them along this path for a little under an hour. They spoke little during that time, for they had nothing much to say. Yamato noticed the slight tension between Naruto and Sai, noting that it was different from normal. He'd have to ask Naruto about it later.
Finally they left the trees, entering a dark field. The road led in two directions at this point, one down a hill, where the smell of smoke and sounds of civilization came from, and another led around towards another hill, which obscured further view of the area. Naruto stood in thought a moment, nodded, and then took the latter path. They moved slower this time, Yamato coming to the front, Naruto the middle and Sai lingering in back. They scaled the hill, getting a view of the area. Yamato's eyes widened at the scene before him.
To his right was a small town spread out in the confines of a little valley, surrounded by the hills and the dark forest they had just arrived from. It was clearly inhabited—for there was a smell of roasting food and charcoal, and Yamato could see many figures moving; yet it seemed a ruin as well. The houses were in varying states of disrepair, some with holes in the roofs, others with no roofs at all. Some had no chimneys, yet smoke still wafted out from them, through the holes. There were a few completely intact houses—the largest one of them looked quite new, though that was most likely due to the decay around it.
To his left was an even more impressive sight. It was the gates of a gargantuan castle, or what remained of one. The gates were smashed and old, and the stonework looked ruined. The broken parts and scorch-marks lingered from some long ago battle; it was a monument of defeat. But rather than appearing melancholy, it gave off an awful presence, as if it was not as truly dead as one might first think. And sounds came from it; distant, yet sounds nonetheless. He could not say what sounds they were; but any sound in such a ruin was cause for alarm. He glanced at Naruto.
"Is that it? The Undercity?"
The blonde nodded. "Yeah." Rather than looking distressed, he appeared cheerful. "Let's go! They're probably waiting for us!"
"How do you know?"
"Sylvanas-baba is like that. She's kind of like Tsunade-baba only a lot more paranoid; so she'll probably have whomever's traveling with us come outside. So all we gotta do is go in the main entrance and wait." He nodded to himself.
"What is that town behind us?" asked Sai.
"Brill," said Naruto. "I've been there once, and it's nicer than it looks, you know."
"Why are the buildings like that?"
"They don't like change. 'Sides, they don't need to worry about rain or heat in this place. The clouds are always like that, and don't hold moisture or something like that. The people we're going to meet'll probably explain that to us." He pointed. "So let's go!"
Yamato nodded once, and they took off down the hill. Yamato already knew that he did not like this place. It didn't feel right.
It didn't take them long to reach the front doors of the castle. Naruto led the way through a small passageway and into a massive courtyard, as ruined as the outside appearance. A destroyed fountain sat in the middle, its statue in pieces around it, no water flowing through it. On either side of the courtyard were stairs that led into other parts of the city, which lay behind closed stone doors, flanked by statues of armored kings of Lordaeron. At the end of the courtyard was a drawbridge that led towards a pair of larger stone doors marked with complicated symbols and barred by debris.
Oddly the place had no smell. It did not smell of mildew, rot, and other forest scents, as outside. The smell simply vanished when they crossed the threshold of the gate. But the air was colder, and the strange sounds of activity had grown louder. Yamato knew they were coming from below him, but it sounded all around.
Then another, nearer sound drew his attention—a door creaking open, across the courtyard, one of the wooden doors adjacent to the massive stone ones.
"Oi!" Naruto suddenly called out beside him. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Is that any way, brat, to talk to a queen?"
The words were hardly shouted. They floated across the courtyard and sounded in Yamato's ears as if the woman was standing right next to him. He tensed, and watched one of the most beautiful and frightening women he had laid eyes on walk towards him, flanked by two figures, and followed by one more. These figures were draped in black, their bodies completely obscured.
"You haven't changed, brat," Sylvanas Windrunner said. "And you've brought new friends." Her eyes went to Yamato. "A forest-frolicker," then to Sai, "and…someone interesting."
Yamato stepped forwards, one eyebrow raised. "I am Yamato, leader of this team. You must be…Sylvanas-sama." He gave a polite bow. "It is a pleasure."
"For one of us, I'm sure," she said. "I don't like your eyes, boy. The eyes of the ignorant offend me."
"I don't understand," said Yamato. "But forgive me if I've offended you." He bowed again. An unfriendly smile crossed Sylvanas' face.
Naruto stepped forward. "Did you get Kira-chan's letter?"
"Yes. Has your world decided to involve themselves in the petty politics of this one?"
"Yeah," said Naruto. "But fat lot you know about that, baa-chan; you haven't done anything since Stormwind was destroyed. I thought you were a part of this alliance."
"You know above all that I prefer to keep to myself. You are still so young, boy. And I have had many things to do; things that in the long-run you will thank me for. Let's move on. I'd like to keep this meeting short." She smiled at Naruto's disgruntled glare.
"I assume you're here to introduce our companions, then?" said Yamato.
"Yes. But there is only one introduction to do, now isn't there?" She smiled coldly at one of the cloaked figures. "There is no need to hide yourselves any more, Fenritt, Myrdraxxis. You are known well enough."
One of them immediately pulled off the hood. Yamato stepped back in that instant, his eyes going wide when he saw the face of a corpse, not a man. It had sunken black sockets for eyes, pale grey flesh all over a skeletal-thin face, no lips and a mouth that seemed perpetually to smile. Only Naruto's shout stayed his hand.
"Fen! Myrdraxxis! It's you guys?"
"And how, brother," said the one who had revealed his face. "Good to see you again! You've brought friends, eh? Hope I didn't scare them."
Naruto glanced at Yamato. "Course you didn't. I told Yamato-taichou about you guys before we came. I kind of thought you'd be our guides!"
"We were specially selected for it," grinned Fen. "We get along with you the best, I suppose. Right Myr'?"
The figure to Sylvanas' right, who remained cloaked, said nothing.
"He's just shy," said Fen, with something of a smirk.
Myrdraxxis snorted. "Shut up," he said.
"Which one of you is the medic, then?" asked Yamato, glancing from Fen to the shadowed one, Myrdraxxis.
"Neither," said Sylvanas, stepping to the side, her ivory eyes glinting in delight. "Hisari, would you introduce yourself to our guests?"
She did more than just that. The figure gave a soft, feminine laugh, and suddenly bolted forwards with incredible speed. From his cloak shot a long, gleaming sword, curved and tinted red. He thrust it out, aiming it straight for Naruto's heart.
Naruto reacted an instant before being struck. He ran forth and clapped his hands around the flat of the oncoming blade and flipped over it and his attacker. He drew his sword as he did, twisted in mid-air, and landed behind the figure, drawing his sword across its neck and grabbing the figure roughly around the chest, pulling it towards him. He dug his feet into the ground, and attempted to lift the attacker off his feet when he noticed something very odd.
There was something soft, with a touch of firmness, about as big as a grapefruit in his hand. He inspected it further for a few seconds frowning and forgetting for a moment where he was. His opponent too has stopped, and had even lowered her sword.
Naruto swallowed. "You're a girl…aren't you?"
His attacker looked back at him. He saw a flash of deep emerald eyes and a beautiful face, twisted into a look of pure anger and revulsion.
"Yes."
"Crap."
"Let go."
"Yes ma'm."
Naruto immediately pulled back, holding his hands as far from his own body as possible. The girl turned, shrugging off her cloak. Beneath it was an extraordinarily beautiful figure dressed in blood-red plate and chain mail, which scarcely covered her chest. Her head was perfectly shaped, with a narrow, feminine jaw, long, pointed ears, perfect platinum hair, and glowing green eyes.
"This," said Sylvanas, smirking, "is Hisari Sunfire, Blood-Knight of the Sin'dorei, in your tongue the Blood Elves, of Silvermoon City. She will be your 'medic' for this mission."
Yamato glanced at her. "A pleasure, then."
"I'm sure," the girl said, beautiful lips distorted by a scowl. Yamato sighed.
"She's cute, but a handful," muttered Fen. "Believe me, I know."
"Be quite, peon," Hisari said.
"Yes ma'm."
"Why is she here?" Naruto asked.
"She is one of the many Quel'dorei who will be joining me here in the future; she will soon become part of your alliance, as well, brat. I intend to introduce their leader to the little princess when we meet in a few days."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Really…? How come we've never heard of them before?"
"They have fallen on desperate times, recently. They need the power of this little party to resolve a few of them."
Yamato glanced from the beautiful "Quel'dorei" back to Sylvanas. "Is there anything else, before we leave?"
"Only that I wish you luck in exterminating those nasty little ants. It will be a long time coming, I think. Brat; this is perhaps time to make full use of the power I gave you last time. It will be far more effective than this one's trees."
Naruto nodded with a frown. "Sure."
"Then there is nothing else to say. I have important business to attend to."
Sylvanas then strode towards them, and past. She stopped by Sai for a second, and whispered something in his ear. The boy's face showed nothing. She then continued to walk, up one of the staircases to the side of the courtyard, towards one of the stone doors. It began to open as soon as she arrived, parting enough to let her through, and then closing. The courtyard was veiled in perfect silence for a few moments after her departure.
Yamato glanced at Naruto. The blonde turned to meet it, then shrank back when he saw the monstrous intensity of every negative emotion the young man could muster into a single look.
"Don't do that to me again."
Naruto shivered, nodding and backing away. Sai smiled and chuckled at the reaction, which drew Fen's look to him.
"What'd Lady Sylvanas say to you?"
The boy smiled. "That's…a secret!"
Yamato sighed deeply, and then glanced at everyone. "Very well. Then let's go, as quickly as we can. I'd like to get to this place, Stratholme, now." He looked at Hisari. "And as we travel, I'd like a good explanation of your abilities. I also want your complete cooperation. If that's not possible, than say it right now."
"It is possible," said Hisari. "But only just. I dislike humans as much I dislike men. It is unfortunate that you three seem to have both qualities. But I will cooperate, as I have been ordered to. Shall we go, then?" She walked past them, her hips swaying, her smile as twisted as Sylvanas'. Yamato frowned after her.
He did not like this one bit. He exchanged glances with Naruto, seeing total agreement in the boy's eyes.
But they followed the girl out of the castle, and north. Towards lands darker than any of their imaginations could conceive of.
The Plaguelands.
Sakura awoke panting. White-hot pain burst through her arm as soon as she tried to sit up, but she did not cry out. Sweat poured down her face and body, making her shirt stick to her chest, and her mind feel fuzzy. She had been dreaming awful dreams, ones that though she barely recalled, lingered in her heart, opening an age-old wound that she had chosen to ignore for some time.
"How could you Sakura? Forget me? Focus all of your attention on that miserable weakling, Naruto?"
She shook her head violently at the unbidden words. Sasuke's voice had come to her so suddenly that she felt sick. So had his face, which was both similar and different from what she had remembered it to be; she had seen him as he once had been, with his sullen, sunken eyes that burned crimson at times; and then she had seen him completely new, older, yet indistinct and hazy in form, except for his eyes. They remained that awful, burning, bloody, scarlet with three small tomoe circling the pitch-dark pupil.
The Sharingan.
She whipped her forehead, and glanced around. The room was empty, a guest-room that Kira had prepared next to Kylia's. It was cozy and well-furnished, and some servant or another continually stocked the fire so Sakura didn't have to.
Sasuke's words terrified Sakura, and hurt her too. But she knew in some way that it was true. She had, in some way, been trying to deliberately forget Sasuke. The mere mention of the name had once sent her mood spiraling downwards, but through time and distraction she had dulled it to its mention produced a minor ache. She had gotten sick of the pain that his name had brought, so she had tried, perhaps not to forget it, but push it away; bury it deep within her for a later time. She had done it more, perhaps unconsciously, since Naruto had returned, as he had mentioned Sasuke little.
She clutched at her face with her good hand, trying to stop tears from forming. She beat her leg in anger and frustration, all at herself. She was cruel. She was disgusted with herself. And she did not know why she had continued to do it. She felt then a sense of urgency. She would not sleep much the rest of the night, clinging to this deep worry that any second Orochimaru might steal Sasuke's body and prevent him from ever returning to them, or her. So when dawn arrived, rather suddenly, she was still awake, and could do nothing but slip out of her bed. She showered quickly, and then dressed and made her way down to the Great Hall, where she would be dining with Benedictus, Kylia and Kira, as she had for the past few days.
They were already there when she arrived, but had not started eating. It was a custom, she supposed, as she was usually the last one to arrive. She took her seat beside Kylia, who greeted her with a smile. She smiled back, said good morning, and helped herself to the breads, meat, eggs and rice (which had been added by Benedictus, perhaps to make her feel more at home) and began to eat.
"Your treatment will continue this afternoon," Kira said from the other side of the table. They only sat at one end, for it was a rather large table, meant for banquets and feasts. "How does it feel?"
"Alright," Sakura said. Without the use of anesthetic, which before had been soaked into her bandages, her arm now hurt constantly, but with each treatment, it hurt less. She had already had two. According to Kira, she had at least five more.
"I am curious," said Benedictus. "You are also a healer, are you not? What is your area of talent in it?"
"Healing jutsu, poisons and antidotes, slight anatomical corrections, I suppose," said Sakura. "Tsunade-shishou taught me ways to heal with the littlest influence possible, such as pressure points, or ways to let the body heal without extensive healing. Medical jutsu can't solve everything."
"Too true," Kira said, with a nod.
Though she might have been hearing things, Sakura did not like her tone. "But potions have their limits as well, and they have greater side-effects. Unfortunately my master knows only a little about proper potions. I understand the theory very well, and given instructions can produce any sort of medicine that is needed."
"Yet you focus mostly on antidotes?" asked Kira.
"Those are the most common injuries treated by shinobi, as poison is a very common weapon. There's rarely a need to counter any other sort of affliction that cannot be healed by time or jutsu."
"I see."
Sakura frowned at the girl. Kira continued to eat normally, not looking the pink-haired shinobi in the eye. Benedictus watched them both.
"How much of the city have you seen, miss Sakura?" he asked.
"Mostly the places Naruto has been," she said. "That's the main street, the graveyard, and some of the outskirts. I've been trying to find him a ramen shop that rivals Ichiraku's, or at least is as friendly and personal. I don't think I will, though; it seems that miss Eliza and her father were the only ones that could."
"So he told you of them?"
"Yeah. I'm glad he continues to visit them, but I think he needs to let go. He'll end up like our teacher, Kakashi-sensei."
"Why?" asked Kira, looking up again. "He can pay his respects as often as he likes."
"Of course. But he doesn't have to stare at their graves for hours. Paying his respects can be just thinking of them. Besides, Naruto's at his happiest when he eats ramen." She recalled every time she had seem him eat. She smiled at the thought.
Kira nodded. She returned to her food. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence.
When the meal was over, they each went their separate ways. Kira went to find Sir Eric to get the day's reports. Kylia went on Kira's orders to the infirmary to begin the preparations of Sakura's potion. Benedictus went to the Cathedral, to do whatever an Archbishop did. Sakura went to wander, and think. This time she didn't go on her hunt for a ramen shop. Instead she simply ambled the streets in thought. The urgency of last night had died a little, but it remained constantly in her mind.
They had to save Sasuke. They had to do it soon. Why were they in this place, anyways? What were they doing here, instead of looking for signs of Orochimaru and Sasuke? Another question nagged her as well, though it was out of place: why did she argue, however subtly, so constantly with Kira?
The girl had done nothing wrong. She had, overall, been very nice to Sakura. Yet, they differed in opinion on many issues, and most strangely, all of them seemed to concern Naruto in some way. She was reminded of Ino and the constant bickering. Except Kira was a real princess, rather than one who thought she was. But of course they differed on many other things as well, the majority of them relating to medical knowledge. This was bound to happen, as both had such extensive and differing training in the matter.
But what Sakura disliked the most was that Kira seemed to think that Naruto would always be there.
It was not a bad thing to hope that. Sakura had once relied almost solely on her teammates and teacher to handle things. She had learned later to handle herself better, and though she relied on Naruto when he was there, she did not hope for it. That would be foolish. Kira continually said: "Naruto did this…" and "Naruto will do this…". It was like she relied on him, and only him. She did not mention this to the girl, but she thought that Kira needed to learn a valuable lesson concerning this. Naruto would not always be there. In the distant future, he probably never would. This was not his world. Konoha was, and always would be.
She went for her treatment a little after noon. This time she stayed silent during it. Kira would remove the bandages and after a bit of prodding, would apply a purplish salve to the wounded area, which would cause her arm to scream in pain for a few minutes, and then calm itself. The overall pain would be decreased, and she would be able to move her arm a little bit better. Kira was silent as well, and made no offer to say anything to the girl, save what was needed. Sakura found that when she didn't speak, she was a lot more agreeable. She was likeable, even. She was a very pretty girl, as well, something that continually reminded Sakura, especially concerning the size of Kira's chest. Though roughly the same age, Kira was at least a bra size bigger than Sakura.
'That's probably it,' she thought as she left, having spoken only a word or two to Kira. 'She's got bigger breasts than me. It's just jealousy."
She continued to dwell the rest of the day on those thoughts. She suddenly wanted more than anything for Naruto to come back. She wished she could be there with him, so that she could help him end his mission that much quicker. They couldn't stall any longer than they already had.
They had to get Sasuke back. She…they just couldn't lose him.
They arrived at the Argent Dawn outpost a mid-afternoon, though it was hard to tell. It remained as dark as it had that morning. The outpost was very small, composed of about twelve medium-sized tents that lay to the left of the large road that traveled between two large, rocky hills. Ditches had been dug near the road closest to the hills, which were filled with rows of deadly pikes. Four scorpion siege weapons rested behind these, pointed slightly up, so that the pikes did not hinder the deadly projectiles they threw.
Hisari strode boldly between the pikes, as four men dressed in grey and black tabards hurried to the front, barring their path. All of them wore large helms that kept their faces hidden. They did not draw their weapons and instead shouted for them to halt.
Hisari stared at them, looking disgusted. "Out of my way, humans. This is not a time to anger me."
One of them stepped forth. "What is she doing here…? And with such…" he looked back at the others, "…strange company? What is your purpose here?"
"Is it not obvious?"
Yamato walked forward, past Hisari (at whom he shot a look of contained fury) and up to the man. "Forgive her. I have interrogated her for the last few hours about her abilities. She does not like men, and least of all human men, so you can see how this would rile her up. My name is Yamato. We are here on orders from Kira-hime of Stormwind."
The soldier stood silent a moment, and then nodded. "I see. What orders might have brought you here?"
"Those are not for you to know."
Another of the men stepped forward, clearly angry. "Answer his question."
"I do not have to," said Yamato.
"You are about to travel into an extremely deadly environment," said the first man, ignoring the second. "You are human. If it were just the elf and the Forsaken behind you, then it would be a different situation. The Plaguelands themselves claim more lives than its denizens, so you must understand. These orders must be of the utmost urgency for you to warrant entering that place."
"They are. However, we need a bit of rest, and during that time, I can give you as much information as I can warrant. Naruto, didn't you say you knew somebody here?"
Naruto nodded. "I think so; if she stayed, at least. She might have gone back to Stormwind with the others." He approached the first man. "Oi, ossan, do you know have anybody working under you named Maya?"
The man glanced at Naruto. "Yes, we do. Do you know her?" At Naruto's nod, he stepped back, and thought a moment. "Very well. Come with us, and rest a bit. I'll locate Maya." He glanced at Hisari, Myrdraxxis and Fen. "Will they be coming?"
"No," said Hisari.
"We will," said Fen, gesturing between him and Myrdraxxis. "Just a minute." He turned and went to Hisari, muttering something to her that no one else could hear. Her face did not change, and she merely snorted.
"Who is she, anyways?" Naruto muttered to Fen, as they walked away.
Fen sighed. "It's a bit of story, so I'll tell you later. There's a reason they call her kind the Blood elf after all."
"…Are you?"
Kabuto tilted his head to the side. "Sasori-sama?"
"When did you feel my jutsu release? Do you remember who you are?"
"Yes," said Kabuto, slowly. He regarded the black-cloaked form of his master. "I remembered just a few hours ago. I came immediately, as I remembered the meeting we would be having."
Sasori tilted his head to the side. "You don't seem surprised."
"By what, Sasori-sama?"
"My appearance."
Kabuto knitted his brows in confusion. "I don't understand? Is that not another puppet form?"
"Perhaps. But perhaps it is my true form. I have always used Hiruko in our meetings. Don't you remember?"
"O-of course," said Kabuto, frowning even more now. "Do you not believe me, master?"
"Where is Orochimaru?"
"In our most recent base," said Kabuto, pushing his glasses up. "We change bases every few weeks; we have them situated all over the Sound, Rice, and Tea Countries."
"And Uchiha Sasuke is there as well?"
"Yes. His training is going well; he is becoming as strong as Orochimaru, perhaps even stronger."
"I see."
There was a sudden breeze, which ruffled Sasori and Kabuto's cloaks, and made Sasori's bell tinkle. There was silence for a moment, complete silence, as if the creatures and sounds of the forest were listening in rapt attention to them. Kabuto drew his cloak tighter around him, waiting for Sasori to speak.
"I'm curious," the puppeteer then said.
"About what…Sasori-sama?"
"About how you can possibly conceive of me being so stupid."
Kabuto took a back-step. "W-what?"
Sasori's glossy eyes shined from beneath the straw hat. "I created the jutsu that controlled you, and made you forget. I know everything about it. What I don't know is how you thought you could one-up me by planning an ambush during this meeting. Did it not cross your mind, you fool, that I could sense when my jutsu was cut? I didn't bother releasing it, because I couldn't. The strings had been severed. Now where is Orochimaru?"
Another breeze tinkled the bell.
There was a hollow thud as steel struck chakra-soaked wood and pierced straight through. Sasori went still, his glossy eyes during down to see the sword, erupted from the sternum, soaked in blood.
"Here."
Orochimaru's golden, snake-like eyes bored into Sasori's back. He clutched the hilt of a deadly straight sword. His tongue fell from his mouth as he sneered hideously at Sasori, his face half-obscured by his greasy black hair. "Hello, Sasori."
Sasori's body shuddered a bit. "Orochimaru."
"So you knew, then? I am not surprised. You were always that clever. But then why did you come? Were you ordered to assassinate me?"
"Perhaps," said Sasori. "Perhaps not. Whatever the case, would I really tell you?"
Orochimaru's eyes glinted demonically. "I suppose not." He pushed the sword in deeper. "This is the first time I have seen blood come from you, Sasori. Could this really be your true body?"
"You were my partner for many years, Orochimaru," Sasori's suddenly head spun around, facing the man directly. His eyes were wide, and there was even the barest trace of a smile on his face. Orochimaru recoiled.
"Surely you should know better."
Sasori's face suddenly melted away. What replaced it was a featureless white doll, in the shape of a human, dressed in a black cloak and hat. Orochimaru roared in fury, ripping his sword from the clay doll and leaping away as the figure swelled and the exploded. The middle of the bridge shattered in a blast of heat and force, and the rest collapsed, unable to bear its own weight. Orochimaru was flung backwards with exceeding force, smashing through a large oak tree at the edge of the forest, and crashing into the ground. Kabuto was launched in the opposite direction and landed roughly on the ground, spitting blood and gasping.
Orochimaru flipped over onto his stomach, and got up. He hissed in fury and pain, as the entirety of his back was now burned and ruined. He still gripped his sword, Kusanagi, tightly. He looked about him.
"Clever, Sasori. Was that your new partner?"
"No," a voice whispered to Orochimaru's right. "My former partner. He should be dealing with the traitor at this point, along with my new one. They are both fools."
Kabuto stood shakily to his feet. He was burned as well, but not nearly so badly. But his ribs were cracked and he had likely injured his lungs. He began to concentrate chakra into the affected areas, feeling the pain ebb. At the same time he listened, and waited.
"I can hear you," he said softly. With the barest visible movement he drew a kunai and flung it upwards to his left. It struck a tree, and the explosive note attached ignited, and burst apart, sending a figure robed in black streaking from the canopy of the forest to the earth before Kabuto. The figure wore a straw hat that obscured his face, and the black cloak of the Akatsuki.
Kabuto smirked coldly, and drew another kunai. The figure didn't react, instead scoffing and complaining loudly: "Sonofabitch…didn't feel a goddamn thing…yeah."
Orochimaru hissed, and suddenly became limp. His skin became sunken and baggy, and appeared to fall from his bones like melting clay. There was a hideous ripping sound, as a pair of arms tore through Orochimaru's chest, ripping away the excess skin. A head and clothed body followed, and Orochimaru became whole once more, completely uninjured. He kicked the shed snakeskin to the side, turning to face his opponent. "You look the same, Sasori."
"How would you know?"
"As you said, we were partners. Surely you should know better?" The snake-like man sneered coldly. "How have you been?"
"Bored. I had some fun a few weeks back, but it didn't last long."
Orochimaru chuckled. "How is my old affiliation, then? You seem a bit closer to your goal, from what recent news dictates."
"Yes. And you seem as far from yours as can be. Ready to give up yet?"
Orochimaru laughed. "Never."
Sasori stepped forwards. "Then I'll play a bit with my old partner. It might be fun."
Orochimaru lunged. Kusanagi tore through a centimeter of black cloth as Sasori dodged to the side, flinging out a hand. There was a bright flash and a stream of white-hot flames erupted from the center of Sasori's hand. Orochimaru fell to the ground on all fours to avoid it, whipping his head up and spitting a long, stream of disgusting, poisonous green liquid.
'Hitokuisan no jutsu!''
The lethal vomit gushed in a wide arc, but Sasori dodged it with nimble steps, lashing out with his other hand this time. But instead of flames came a series of flickers, made only visible by the shining moon above. Orochimaru leapt to the side, but was not fast enough; for his arm was suddenly caught within a small net of gleaming wires, and with the force of his leap, the wires, deadly sharp, bit through flesh, muscle and bone. Orochimaru howled, twisting himself momentarily free as his entire left arm was minced in a cloud of dark, hideous blood. But he was stopped once again—Sasori's wires were now wrapped around his entire body, freezing him in time, in which he glared at Sasori with the force of a basilisk.
But a moment before Sasori could end his former-partner's life, Orochimaru's body—blood and all, became dark and sludgy, becoming nothing more than a half-formed pile of mud. Sasori was alone for a moment; but he knew that Orochimaru had not fled.
'Katon: Karyuu Endan!'
Sasori was suddenly blanketed by a swift, meteoric column of flames, created by a laughing Orochimaru from above. He stood at the highest branch of one tree, gazing down in merciless joy upon the hellish lake he had created. It did not matter to him that Sasori would undoubtedly survive.
"Sasori!" he called.
There was silence.
"Sasori! I have a proposition!"
"What is it?"
Orochimaru did not jump when Sasori's bored voice drifted suddenly from behind. "Join me. Become a member of the Hidden Sound. Or at least betray those fools you work with now. What good are they to you?"
"They provide me with many additions to my collection," the puppeteer said, perched on the branch behind Orochimaru.
"Something that I can easily offer you as well, and more," Orochimaru said. "What allegiance might you hold to them, anyways? Your power is great, so why join with others; with your personality I thought you'd see it differently."
"Can it possibly be something else? Perhaps, as I suspected, you haven't discovered how to use it, have you?"
Orochimaru stiffened.
"I was right then," Sasori said. Though his opponent could not see it, there began the barest hint of a smile on his face. "You haven't learned how to use it then? With all your power and genius, you still have failed to recreate the jutsu that only our Okashira can do. 'Shidenotabi no jutsu'.
"The jutsu that can take you to the otherworld."
Kabuto launched the kunai at the cloaked figure. It was easily dodged, as he expected, but it allowed him time to retreat. He dove into the dark forest, making hand seals as he went. A second later he vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing atop a tree overlooking his fighting area. He immediately spotted his attacker, near the edge of the forest, in the very same spot. He had not moved since, and that gave Kabuto an opportunity to look at him.
The man had blonde hair, tied in a topknot. His skin was smooth and flawless and extremely pale. A considerable lock of hair covered one eye, and the other was a glossy, bleeding red. Of the rest of his face, Kabuto could not tell, as it was covered by the high collar of his cloak.
He drew a kunai with expert deftness and attached another explosive seal to it. An attack from such a distance would certainly not hit, so he'd have to get closer. He bounded from his perch and fell soundlessly to the ground, kicking off it as soon as his full weight had landed, propelling him towards his opponent. He made a seal with his hands, and then thrust one out—a tendril of blue erupted, forming into the shape of a five-foot long blade, which encompassed the whole of his hand. He burst from the trees, striking out with this hand.
'Shosen Yari Jutsu!'
The jutsu struck his opponent's back, right above the spine. It caused him to jerk forwards, as the chakra traveled straight through his skin and into his organs. Kabuto then threw his kunai, so that it struck the man's right shoulder with a deep, wooden sound, far too hollow for human flesh. But he jerked back anyways, and fled as the exploding tag activated, engulfing the man in a cloud of fire.
Kabuto smiled with vicious pleasure, like some demon, of both the conquest and the sight. The smell of liquefied flesh reached his nose, making him shiver. The sound that it had made, however, puzzled him—they were Akatsuki, some of the most dangerous men to have existed—he would not be caught off guard should this man decide to reveal himself as something more than human. It would be expected.
"Fuck…I'm alive…yeah."
The man stepped from the flames, with one hand extended, at the end of which was a gaping mouth, which appeared to be devouring the fire that surrounded him as if it were a delightful snack. The man's eyes blistered with fury, but it did not extend past that; his face was as smooth and cold as carved ice. He glanced at his hand, and his lip curled slightly, marring the sculpture.
Kabuto frowned. It was not surprising, though he did feel disappointed. It must have conveyed itself on his features, for the man glanced at Kabuto. "Fuck off," he said. "You're dead."
Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Am I?"
"Yeah. I don't even know how to use this body well, and I know that much. But the real problem is that bastard's real partner…yeah."
"What?"
The ground beneath Kabuto exploded. A dark blur shot up, grabbing his ankle as it went; he found himself flipped upside down for a moment, spotting an inverted orange and black face, perhaps a mask, before him, which cried "Yo!" before flinging him ten meters away along the edge of the cliff. He smacked the ground twice, before stopping, and his vision went hazy and his stomach turned.
His glasses cracked.
Deidara stared coldly at the figure, but said nothing. The man, dressed in the same cloak as he, but who wore a mask shaped like an orange whirlpool, tilted slightly to the left of his face.
The figure giggled. "Deidara-senpai! Why didn't you kill him? Sasori-senpai made you a lot better than before, didn't he?"
"Fuck you…yeah," Deidara said. "Kill him, moron."
"Why don't you?" the man asked, in a petulant singsong tone. "Oh, he's getting up!"
Kabuto stood shakily to his feet. He tasted blood in his mouth. But more importantly, he found that his vision was slightly hazy in his right eye. He reached up at felt that no glass remained in the frames, and he realized that he had no extra pair on him. The Akatsuki members stared at him, perhaps waiting for him to attack, perhaps just discussing something—he couldn't tell, for he suddenly couldn't hear anything. He felt calmness descend over him, in that sudden, absolute silence; and he took this time to glance up, towards the moon. But he didn't so much look at the moon as the midnight sky about it.
The darkness was so lovely.
He grinned. Were there any word better, or worse, than insane, it would be used to describe such a grin. His body shook with a silent laughter, but his eyes were completely different than that. The masked figure backed away. Deidara did not. Kabuto reached up and took off his glasses, his mouth moving, but no sound coming out.
His vision turned crimson.
Like blood.
Orochimaru said nothing.
"I thought as much; you still have the ring, don't you? Or did you dispose of the body that it was on? Either way, it doesn't matter. You will never be able to use the jutsu without the ring. Even if you put on the ring, you know what would happen. So your source of ultimate power is gone, isn't it? You were always the one to travel to that place to learn every trick you could. Isn't that how partly how you devised your own body-transferring jutsu? It's amusing that you think I'll betray this organization because you yourself can't cross the veil." His eyes narrowed a little, and the hinted smile became more mocking. "How sad."
'Mahouhappa!'
There was a ripple in the air, and Orochimaru's body seemed to explode in a severe blast of bright, white light. Sasori was flung backwards by the sudden burst, disintegrated the trees around him in a wailing crash. Sasori fell to the ground, landing as nimbly as a cat, and Orochimaru pursued with swift, awful vengeance. Sasori looked up to see the snake-man's eyes glittering with a vile, monstrous hatred—so utterly inhuman, and so great that had he been any other man, he would have lost any will to fight. But Sasori was not any other man. He flicked his right hand, sending the razor wires after Orochimaru.
'Enkoudate no jutsu!'
Orochimaru spat a stream of fire, which coalesced around him in a protective cocoon. The wires struck this instead, and melted from the intense heat. Orochimaru landed roughly, the fire dying, and thrust out a hand. From his fingers erupted a stream of hissing green snakes, as thick as baseball bats, and long as flagpoles. Sasori jumped back, but the snakes moved quickly and were able to catch hold of his arms, biting deep into his body and then coiling themselves around him. Orochimaru leapt forward in the blink of an eye, his mouth opening wide, dispelling his long, pink tongue. It flew forwards and wrapped itself around Sasori's neck, choking him. The snake-nin's mouth then opened even wider, as a serpent's does to swallow prey, and from it a gleaming sword erupted— Kusanagi. The blade pierced Sasori's left cheek, going upwards and erupting from the back of his skull. Orochimaru drove it so far in that his mouth was mere inches from Sasori's waxen flesh.
"Sad?" the snake-nin whispered. "There's nothing sad about it. Without those necessary feelings—hatred, for example—Sasori, you're as much a puppet as those dolls you play with. I just thought I could take the strings that bind you to them, and use you for myself. You are sad, Sasori. I am more a puppeteer than you will ever be."
Orochimaru wrenched his head to the sides, severing the top of Sasori's head. Orochimaru then placed a hand on the man's body and hissed: 'Gaibakuha no jutsu!'
The snake-nin released his grip and fled. Sasori's body did not fall immediately, standing still and shuddering in its final moments of life. It then blew apart, tearing asunder the forest around it in a ferocious blast of heat and force. The blast expanded in a hemispherical cloud, and the force traveled as far as the cliffs, some of which shattered and crumbled into the river far below. Everything within the cloud vanished into oblivion.
Orochimaru was gone. Kabuto suddenly cocked his head to the side.
"Another time, then." He covered his eyes, and vanished in a swirl of smoke.
Deidara stood, the battle over. He glanced at his right arm, which lay four feet from the rest of his body. He felt no pain, and was unsurprised by the lack of blood. He scoffed. "Like that's not happened before."
"Doesn't that hurt…Deidara-senpai?"
Deidara glanced back at the other Akatsuki member, his replacement, Tobi, who lay on his back near the edge of the forest, having been struck but once by their opponent. His eye narrowed coldly, making Tobi quail beneath it, and fall back into his false slumber. "It was tactics! Tactics!" Tobi cried.
"Shut up, Tobi," another voice said.
Deidara sneered. "You only have two-hundred ninety-nine now, Sasori-danna. How many of your toys are you going to use up before you start fighting your own battles?"
A bell tinkled behind him.
"The time may come. And you're wrong, Deidara—I have three-hundred."
Deidara scowled, and then looked at his left hand.
It remained open.
"So you do."
Done. Again, took a bit longer than normal, but I'm doing my best. Let me know if anything about this chapter was confusing, and I'll clarify. I don't think there is.
Thanks to Frankto for the sweet translations!
See you guys next week!
General Grievous
My brother:
Now comes the question, with the introduction of Blood Elves, where're the Draenei?
Noz
Scroll of Seals:
Shidenotabi no jutsu (Literally "one's last journey; death; journey to the other world" Technique—I've used the latter definition, and while death is implied, it isn't in this case)- The jutsu which allows the Akatsuki members to traverse the veil between Azeroth and the Shinobi World. Requires the special ring of the Akatsuki.
Mahouhappa (Arcane Explosion): Produces blast of force which annilihates anything around the epicenter, or the person who uses the jutsu. Very powerful, but consumes enormous amounts of chakra.
Enkoudate no jutsu (Fire Shield Technique): 'Nuff said.
Hitokuisan no jutsu (Flesh Eating Acid Technique): Again—'nuff said.
Shosen Yari Jutsu (Mystical Palm Lance Technique): Longer version of the chakra scalpel effect of the Mystical Palms technique (Shosen Jutsu)