Naruto: A New Direction
Chapter 1: A New Day Dawns with a Red Sun
It was a bright, clear day on October the 10th. People were enjoying the fine weather, strolling in the bright sunshine; it was a perfect day to be outside. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to enjoy the fine weather; Minato Namikaze was busy working up in his office stamping papers with his seal of approval and reviewing various mission documents. It was a boring and tedious job, but one that had to be done. Minato sighed as he placed another slip of paper on the slowly growing stack of completed paper work.
"There just has to be an easier way to do this," Minato said as signed another form and stamped another slip.
"Well, if you weren't moving so slowly, you'd be done by," Jiraiya said as he leaned against the wall, "I thought you were supposed to be the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, Minato. You should be breezing through those papers, especially since you've been at this for over a few months now."
"I know, I know, it's that just that I don't want to make a mistake is all. It also doesn't help with the fact that your wife left most of her paperwork unfinished when she retired; thanks to her lackadaisical attitude, I have to make up for her work!"
Jiraiya laughed. "Well, what can I say, when she gets in the mood for sake, there's no stopping her…unless you want to retire to an early grave."
"You know, the least you can is help me, sensei, seeing as how you nothing to do at the moment."
"Oh, wish I could, Minato…but I have other business to attend to today; I'm planning to meet with my contacts here in the Leaf Village."
Minato stopped in the middle of his paperwork and looked at his old sensei. "You're still trying to find out about Orochimaru; I though he had disappeared without a trace."
"That's what I thought too, but it looks like he finally decided to resurface after all these years," Jiraiya said, "and that's not all; there are rumors going around that a new ninja village is being constructed in the Land of Whispers and that this new village is lead by none other than Orochimaru."
"Are there any other details about this new village?" Minato asked.
Jiraiya moved away from the wall and walked over to the window before he started talking again.
"Not at the moment; although, some of my contacts have told me that Orochimaru has dozens of hideouts scattered all over the land," he said, "but I don't understand why he would suddenly want to start a ninja village, especially since he knows it will just bring more attention to himself. The only reason I can think of that Orochimaru would want to start his own ninja village is to attract other potential ninja."
"You mean potential test subjects, don't you?" Minato said.
Jiraiya did not bother to say anything; it was true he had known Orochimaru since he was a genin, a ninja-in-training, mainly through Orochimaru's brother, Yashagoro. But even he could not believe it when he learned about Orochimaru's abductions of Leaf Villagers and using them as test subjects in such twisted, inhumane experiments. He could still remember the horrid scene and the rancid smell when he found Orochimaru's secret laboratory underneath the Leaf Village. He almost puked at the sight; not wanting to dig up a terrible old memory, Jiraiya decided it was time to change the subject.
"So, tell me, how are things with Kushina?" Jiraiya asked.
"Hmmm, uh, well it could be better," Minato, said, "I have to admit, her constant late night cravings have been a bit of a bother…"
"Hey, I did warn you things were going to be difficult," Jiraiya chuckled, "it is just like when Tsunade was pregnant for the first time. Boy, what a handful she was…"
"Speaking of which, have you heard any news yet about your son, Jiyu? I thought he would've been done training at Mount Myoboku by now; I mean, it's been nearly—"
Minato was quickly interrupted when the door to his office opened and Kushina walked in, holding her massive belly with one hand.
"Hello, dear," Kushina said gently, "I hope you don't mind me visiting…"
"No, no, not all," Minato said, "but I thought you were going to stay at home today; I mean, isn't it straining for you to walk around, especially with that weight you're carrying…"
"Oh, Minato, I'm fine," Kushina said, "I just wanted to get some fresh air; I was going crazy in that stuffy, cramped apartment of yours. I thought we would be living in the Hokage mansion by now?"
Minato smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I am truly sorry, my dear; the mansion's still being renovated, so it will be a while before we can finally move in…."
"That's the same excuse you gave me over a month ago. How long does it take to finish a simple construction job? Sometimes I wonder if those construction workers are just simply dragging their heels in the hopes of getting more money out of this job."
Minato wanted to add a rebuttal to Kushina's statement, but it was impossible, for she was right on all accounts. Secretly, Minato knew a job like this should not take so long, especially since it had only started a day before he became Hokage. Minato knew that his wife was right and decided that now was that not the time for excuses, especially since he did not know how Kushina would react and how it might effect the baby. Also, Minato was starting frustrated with the delay as well.
"Listen, Kushina," Minato said, "I'll stop by the mansion today and find out exactly why they are taking so long…"
"And if they don't cooperate?" Kushina inquired.
"Then, they'll be getting more than a complaint from me, of that you can be sure." Minato's eye sparkled as he spoke, making Kushina giggle; she knew Minato well enough to know what he was planning.
"All right, I guess that is good enough for me…" Kushina said.
"Good, now would you please go back to the apartment and wait, please? I'm worried about both of you…" Minato looked at Kushina and then at her bulging stomach.
"Fine, I'll go…" Kushina sighed as she opened the door. "…Just don't keep me waiting too long dear."
With that, Kushina closed the door, leaving Minato with his sensei once again.
"Boy, she's stubborn," Jiraiya, said, "I sure hope the baby doesn't turn out like that!"
"Personally, I don't care about his personality," Minato said bluntly, "I just want my child to be happy and hearty; that's good enough for me. Now, getting back to what we were talking about earlier, you mentioned something about an organization you discovered while investigating Orochimaru…"
Jiraiya was about to speak when he was suddenly cut off by a severe cry of pain coming from the hallway. Minato instantly recognized the cry as Kushina's and leapt from his desk, scattering papers all over the place. Jiraiya quickly followed behind his student as they out into the hallway to find Kushina kneeling on the floor, crying out in pain, her hands holding her stomach.
"Kushina, what is it?" Minato asked as he rushed to his wife's side.
"Honey…its here!" Kushina said in a strained tone. "The baby…it's coming!"
"W-w-what!?" Minato exclaimed. "Are sure it's the baby?"
"Oh yeah, definitely," Kushina said, "unless, of course, this is the world's most severe case of heartburn…"
Kushina let out another deep agonizing moan as she felt the pressure in her stomach build. In less than a heartbeat, Minato scooped up Kushina in his arms and raced down the hallway at top speed, leaving behind a trail of dust and an astonished toad sage.
"Whoa, cough, and I thought he could only move that fast using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu…" Jiraiya coughed as he waved the dust away from his face. "Speaking of which, I wonder why he didn't use the technique? "
It was true that Minato could have used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to instantly teleport himself and Kushina to the hospital, but Tsunade had cautioned him that such a powerful jutsu could cause serious trauma to the unborn child. So, Minato ran as fast as he could, faster than even he could possibly believe, unknowingly causing a streak of panic along his path to the Hidden Leaf Hospital…
Tsunade took a quick sip of tea as she finished going over all the various medical reports—though her lips yearned for the sweet taste of sake. She had just finished the last report and placed it onto a pile; she then grabbed the files, placed them under her arm and walked off to deliver them to the reception desk to be filed. Tsunade arrived at the reception desk less than a couple minutes later and approached the receptionist.
"Ah, Lady Tsunade," the receptionist said, "Finished with today's paperwork, I see. I hope you didn't have any trouble?"
"Who me, nah, it was no trouble at all. I must admit, today's paperwork wasn't nearly as tedious as it usually was. The only serious medical emergency we've had today is a sprained ankle of some civilian. I think today is going to be a nice, slow, easy day; in fact, I'll bet all the spare in my pockets that there is not going to be one serious medical emergency at all…"
"Okay, it's a bet!" the receptionist replied teasingly.
Tsunade chuckled at the receptionist's playful response. She then started to take another sip of her tea, when the door to the hospital suddenly burst open, shocking everyone within the reception area and making Tsunade spit her tea and drop her cup at the same time.
"Lady Tsunade!" Minato cried out as he ran to her. "You've got to help me; Kushina's gone into labor!"
"WHAT!?" Tsunade exclaimed, "Well, don't just stand there, Minato; follow me, quickly, we've got to get her prepped for the delivery room. Come on…!"
The reception area was a complete and total mess as papers wafted in the air or laid on the ground. As for the receptionist, she just sat at her desk with a look of total surprise on her face…and Tsunade's tea. She could only sit there as she began to contemplate how she could've been right about their being an emergency today.
Tsunade and Minato raced through the hospital until they finally reached the delivery wing. Tsunade almost ripped one of the doors off its hinges as she led Minato to a bed where he laid Kushina down. As soon as she was on the bed, Kushina let out another painful moan as she felt another convulsion erupting within her.
"Minato, help me!" Kushina screamed. "It hurts so much; I can't take it…ahhhh!"
"It's all right Kushina, everything's going to be fine," Minato said, "she will be all right, won't she Lady Tsunade?"
"She will be as soon as you get out of here and allow me to do my work!" Tsunade said as she began to push Minato out of the room.
"Don't worry, honey, I'll be right out side waiting for you and the baby," Minato said, "I promise!"
With those last words, Tsunade shoved Minato out of the delivery room. And so, Minato waited…and waited…and waited, with only Kushina's screams of torment to signify that she was still in labor. As Minato waited for what seemed like hours, he suddenly remembered that Tsunade was doing the delivery on her own, with no other assistance. It was true Tsunade was a legendary medic with skills that would easily surpass ten doctors, but that did not mean she could necessarily do the work of ten doctors.
Minato was just about to go look for help…when Kushina suddenly became quiet, very quiet. At first Minato feared the worst, until he heard the most beautiful in his life: the sound of newborn baby, crying. In a short instance, Minato's heart filled with pride and joy as tears began to well up in his eyes. Minato wanted to rush into the room, to see his wife and his newborn child, but Tsunade had not given him permission to enter and knowing her legendary temper, if he rushed in their now, he would certainly catch it in the neck. After a few minutes, the baby's crying became softer and softer until it no longer echoed from the room. It was then that Tsunade exited the room, wiping the sweat from her brown as she slowly walked to the waiting bench and slumped down into it.
"Congratulations…Minato," Tsunade said into between breaths, "you are now…the proud father…of a beautiful baby boy."
"Lady Tsunade, I--"
Tsunade quickly interrupted him. "Save it; if you really want to thank me, you will buy me as many rounds as I want tonight at Happy Hour at the Fire Bird Bar. Do that and we'll call it even."
Minato gently nodded his head as he turned towards the door and slowly walked into the delivery room. Once he was inside, Minato could see his wife sitting up the bed, her hair messy from the delivery. In her arms, she held a small bundle wrapped up in a blue blanket. Minato was utterly speechless; this was the day he had been waiting for, he could scarcely believe it was true. Kushina starred at Minato and smiled.
"Minato, it's amazing," Kushina's voice was weak, but it still sounded lovely to Minato, "come here and say hello to your boy. Say hello to your son, Naruto…"
Minato carefully walked over to his wife, pulled a chair over to her and sat close enough to see his son's peaceful, sleeping face. It was true, Minato was a father and his son was beautiful; he almost couldn't believe he helped make this miracle of nature.
"Oh, Kushina, you're right, he is amazing," Minato could see his son had inherited most of his looks, like his spiky blonde hair which stuck out from underneath the covers. That was when Minato noticed something that caught his attention, something that he almost did not notice. "Huh, that's odd…"
"What's wrong darling?" Kushina asked.
"It looks like he has some marks on his cheeks…they make it look he has whiskers."
Kushina looked at her husband then back to her son and saw the marks Minato had mentioned.
"You're right, they do look like whisker marks," Kushina said, "but I think they're adorable. They make him look even cuter, don't you think so Minato?"
Minato shrugged. "I suppose," Minato, whispered, "I just hope people don't make fun of him."
"I'm sure he will be just fine," Kushina said, "by the way, you don't have to whisper. He can't hear very well yet; it will be a while before he can…"
"Really? Because it looks to me like he is waking up…"
Kushina looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms, feeling her newborn son stir, his eyes slowly fluttering open. As his eyes opened, he revealed his sapphire blue eyes; they were shaped like Kushina's but they definitely had Minato's shade. At first, Minato and Kushina remained silent and still—believing their son would start crying upon seeing them; it was true they had talked to him while he inside Kushina but this was the first time he saw them. But to their surprise, Naruto began to smile and cooed softly as he wriggled his arms free of his bundle and reached out toward them. Minato chuckled as a single tear trickled down his face.
"He knows who we are," Minato said softly, "He knows who we are. Kushina, this is amazing…"
"It sure is…" Kushina then looked at her husband and back at Naruto. "Hello, my little Naruto, I'm your mom…and this handsome man is your father. Welcome to the world."
Kushina then bent down and gently kissed Naruto on his forehead. Naruto giggled as Minato extended his finger and let Naruto gently grab on it; his grip was firm but also very soft and gentle. Minato was happy that his son could see him and his mother so soon. But it wasn't very long before Naruto once again drifted off to sleep and his blue eyes shut once again.
"Sleep well, my son," Minato said as he gently stroked Naruto's forehead, "we'll be right here when you wake up, I promise."
"Oh, Minato, that was so sweet," Kushina said, gently rocking Naruto, "I just hope he doesn't wake up during his examination. If he's anything like me, he'll be terrified of the doctors and those…sharp needles!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be just fine." Minato then noticed his son smile in his sleep. "Looks like he is having a very nice dream…I wonder what it's about?"
Naruto didn't know where he was, for he was still too young to understand the concept of hallways and lights. All he knew was that he was somewhere that felt familiar and safe to him, even though this was his first time here. He quickly became curious about this place and decided to explore; he gingerly began to crawl along the stone floor, though it did not seem to bother his soft skin. As he continued to crawl forward, he came upon a new hallway from which a bright light shined from. This light enticed Naruto and he quickly began to crawl towards it.
Naruto then came upon a large, decorated room; long silk tapestries hung from the walls, four tall stone columns stretched up into the darkness above, and numerous small spheres danced around the round illuminating it. In the very center of the room, there was a large red bed and on that bed sat…something. Naruto could not see it, so he crawled over to the bed to get a better look. As he approached, a low hum began to echo from the bed. As Naruto drew closer, whatever was sleeping in the bed began to stir and rise from its sleep. This creature had soft red fur, long pointy ears, gentle golden eyes, and nine tails swaying softly around it.
"Who is there?" The beast asked in a deep but gentle voice. The beast then looked down and saw the tiny boy before him, looking up at him with curious, innocent eyes. "Oh, well hello little one, who might you be?" Naruto answered with a simple coo as he reached out and tried to grab one of the beast's tails that swayed past him. "Would you like to go for a ride?"
The beast lowered four of his tails and gently scooped up Naruto. He then lifted the tiny little thing up onto his back, where Naruto gently grabbed onto his fur and nuzzled the beast's back.
"You like it?" The beast asked, "I'm surprised, you do not seem to fear me. So, you are my host, I see? I can only imagine what the future holds for you…but I do hope it at least leads me back to my brothers and sisters."
The beast watched as the child continued to lie peacefully on his back…
In the waking world, Naruto had already been moved to an open New Arrival room. Kushina and Minato stood on the opposite side of the window looking in on their son. Surprisingly, Naruto was the only newborn baby in the room; Kushina felt a little disappointed that her son was in there alone. It was a pity, but many of the newborns had already gone home with their parents. At least Naruto wouldn't be staying there for long; Tsunade planned to give Naruto a thorough examination so that his parents could take him home right away.
"He looks like a little angel, sleeping there as he is," Kushina said as she leaned against Minato.
"He sure does," Minato said; he then looked down and noticed Kushina's distraught face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I just have this really bad feeling something terrible is going to happen to him, Minato."
"Now, don't worry Kushina, nothing bad is going to happen to our son. I promise…come on, why don't go get something to drink."
Kushina reluctantly agreed as Minato lead her away to the vending machine down the hall. As they left, Kushina glanced one last time at her son's sleeping face, praying that her fears were unfounded. But as they walked away, two cloaked figures slowly approached the same examination window; they almost seemed to walk out from the shadows, their faces completely hidden by the hoods of their gray cloaks.
"So, this is the child of the 5th Hokage," the first figure said, "I only hope there are remains left afterwards, I'd love to see how he turned out…all nice and crispy."
"Will you just hurry up and do it," the second figure said, "the Yellow Flash may return at any moment. Just start it so we can leave!"
"Always in such a rush…very well. Farewell, young one, I do hope the darkness welcomes you with open arms…"
The first figure then raised his hands into an odd position. Suddenly, a ring of strange marks and glyphs began to encircle Naruto's tiny bed; as soon as the marks appeared, the two dark figures stepped back and vanished within the shadows once again.
Inside the special room, where Naruto now played with the beast's tails, the beast suddenly tensed up.
"This feeling…it's here too!" The beast said. "Or has it always been here? However it got here, it seems to be targeting the child…there is little time, I must protect the child." The beast then looked down at Naruto, almost expecting him to understand. "I only hope this works. His body is still young; I pray my power does not harm him…"
The beast began to focus with all of it's might before a strange golden light began to flow from it's body and out into the hallways.
Minato and Kushina soon returned, each carrying a can of his/her favorite drink in their hands.
"Do you feel better now, Kushina?" Minato asked.
"A little," Kushina answered, "but I still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong."
"Don't worry, Kushina," Minato said gently, "everything will be just fine. Come on, I promise you he will still be in-"
A tremendous explosion suddenly erupted into the hallway creating a giant blaze, which barreled through the hall towards Minato and Kushina. With little time to think, Minato grabbed onto Kushina tightly and instantly transported both of them into the streets of the Leaf Village, just outside of the hospital. Kushina was stunned for a few seconds before her senses finally returned. She looked back at the hospital and could see the fire already starting to spread up the side of the building. Once she realized where the fire was coming from, only one thought came into her mind…
"NARUTO!!!" Kushina screamed as she quickly got up and started to run into the hospital.
Minato immediately saw Kushina rushing towards the hospital and moved to stop her.
"Let me go, Minato!" Kushina protested as she struggled to break free. "I have to save Naruto! Let me go!"
"Please, Kushina, don't," Minato said as tears started to trickle into his eyes, "it's no use; the explosion came from his room…"
Kushina struggled for a few more minutes before finally breaking down and crying. She just couldn't believe it, only an hour ago, she had held her newborn son in her arms and now he had been taken away from her. It was just too much to bear; Minato was also feeling the pain in his heart, but he could not afford the luxury breaking down at that moment. There were still people trying to escape from the hospital. Even if his son was gone, he could not let others die as well. Working as fast as he could, Minato began to use the Flying Thunder God jutsu to teleport in and out of the hospital with injured patients in his arms.
Soon, a group of ninja wearing different shaped animal masks appeared and began to provide the Hokage with aid. Some helped with moving the patients out of the area while others began to use special water techniques to dose the fire. They were the ANBU Black Ops, a special group of elite ninja that helped with watching over the village. They had responded as quickly as they could to the crisis at the hospital. It was thanks to their swift actions that the fire was quickly dealt with and all the hospital patients and staff was saved…almost all of them, anyway.
After the flames had been put out, people started to gather around the hospital to witness the aftermath. Civilians had gathered around a ring of police barriers that kept the regular people back. Behind the barriers, a group of three young ninja were gathered around a distraught woman with red hair who still crying. Kakashi, Rin, and Obito had gathered at the scene to provide whatever assistance they could, but at this point all they could hope to do was calm Kushina down. But they could do little to stem the severe tide of anguish that flowed through Kushina, for she had lost her first son…there was nothing anyone could, short of resurrecting her child.
Elsewhere, Minato stood almost perfectly still as he looked over horror before him. There were charred pieces of wood and mortar around his feet, debris from the blast that had claimed his son's life. He was not alone either; Jiraiya and Tsunade were there as well, doing their best to try and comfort Minato, but they knew there was nothing they could do or say. Minato's grief was far too great; it seemed the only thing they could do was be there for Minato and Kushina. Minato eventually walked back to his wife and took her in his arms as he could feel a fresh wave of tears well up in his eyes.
The ANBU were currently shifting through the wreckage, trying to find the source of the explosion.
"How are you doing on you end?" A dog-mask ANBU called out.
"Nothing yet!" A hawk-mask ANBU responded. He continued to move away debris when something caught his eye. "Wait, what's this…? Oh my god; captain, get over here, quick!"
The dog ANBU quickly appeared near the hawk, as did the other members. "What is it? What did you find?"
"See for yourself," hawk said, stepping aside, "you're not going to believe this!"
Elsewhere, Kushina was still weeping over the loss of her son as Minato held her in his arms. There was nothing he could say to ease Kushina's pain, for it was also his pain too. It seemed there was nothing that could be done to ease their grief, until…
"Lord Hokage," an ANBU said, suddenly appearing behind Minato.
Minato released Kushina, not saying a word.
"Uh, I wanted to tell you…we found your son."
Minato instantly tensed up while Kushina only stopped crying for an instant before crying even harder. The last thing she wanted to see was the charred corpse of her son. Jiraiya and Tsunade had heard what the ANBU captain had said and was about to give him a piece of her mind. The ANBU quickly raised his hands in front to defend himself.
"Wait, please, it's…it's not what you think." A hush suddenly fell over the crowd gathered around the scene. "We found him…amongst the wreckage…but, but…well, just see for yourself."
The ANBU leader motioned for his subordinate to approach. In his arms, he held a small white bundle wrapped up nicely. Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all went in closer and watched as the bundle was slowly unwrapped…revealing Naruto's soft little face, sleeping peacefully. It was truly amazing; the flames hadn't even touched him and what was more, it seemed he had just slept through the whole thing. Kushina couldn't even believe it but her son was still alive; she then just watched as Naruto's eyes fluttered open, looking up into hers and Minato's face before starting to giggle. In a flash, Kushina took Naruto from the ANBU's arms and pulled him in to a tight hug, kissing his forehead while letting tears and cries of joy flow. It was truly a miraculous moment for her.
As for Minato, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, they were utterly stunned. Truly, the gods had been watching out for them from up above; Minato actually pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But it was true, Naruto was right there in Kushina's arms, giggling as his mother smothered him. Minato could hardly believe it; but Minato was quickly brought out of his reprieve.
"Excuse me, Lord Hokage," the ANBU leader said, "I think there is something you need to see…"
"Is it important?" Minato asked.
"Well…let's just say you need to see for yourself what we found." The ANBU leader said.
"All right, just give me a moment," Minato then walked over to Kushina and leaned down next to her. He whispered a few things in her ear before he turned to his sensei to also say a few things to him. As soon as he had spoken with them, he returned to the ANBU leader. "Now, what was it you wanted show me?"
The ANBU captain motioned for Minato to follow him. Minato was lead through the wreckage of the hospital room where Naruto had been found; it was so hard to believe that this sole room had caught ablaze so suddenly. As the Fifth Hokage sifted his way through the wreckage, he could see an area that had been cleared ahead—the ANBU captain was already there, waiting for him. Once Minato arrived, he saw something that shocked him; in the center of the wreckage was Naruto's baby bed, perfectly intact. What's more, the floor around Naruto's bed was untouched; it had formed a perfect circle around the bed.
"This is what I wanted to show you, Lord Hokage," the ANBU captain, "this is the area where we found your son, still sleeping. I'm afraid, though, that we have also discovered something most unsettling. From what we can tell…the fire originated from the area…around your son." Minato suddenly stiffened. "I know this may be for you to believe, but it seems that your son was the cause of…argh!"
The ANBU captain suddenly found himself pinned against a charred board by the Fifth Hokage.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Minato exclaimed. "My son did not do this!"
"I-I'm only telling you what we found," the ANBU captain choked, "the evidence just pointed to that conclusion. Please, Lord Hokage, I'm only telling you the truth…"
Minato held the ANBU captain for a few more seconds before finally releasing him from the chokehold. He could not believe this was happening; there was no way Naruto could have started this fire—it was impossible. The only other explanation was that someone had used ninjutsu to start the fire and chosen Naruto as the target; but if that was true, then how did Naruto survive such a blaze? More importantly, how did these perpetrators slip into the hospital, let alone the village, to commit this act? Minato's mind was wracked with concern, both for his family and his son. Minato was not the only one who was worried; Jiraiya, his sensei, had followed Minato, keeping himself hidden. He had followed at Minato's request, but did not like what he heard. If this leaked out, Naruto was sure to have a difficult with the citizens of the Leaf.
Little did Minato or Jiraiya realize that the guilty party was not too far away; two lone figures in strange cloaks stood atop a building, looking down at the scene below them. One of them had his fists balled as he watched a mother coddle her child in her arms.
"How can this be?" the first figure said. "That child should have been burned to ashes. There is no way he could've survived such a blaze! I can't believe this; how could we have screwed up something so simple?"
The second just seemed to stare nonchalantly at the group of people below.
"We didn't…" The second figure said.
"What?"
"We did not fail in endeavors," the second figure said, "true, we failed in killing the boy, but it seems we achieved another goal…"
"Okay, could you just give a straight answer for once. I swear, I hate it when you beat around the bush like that!"
"You just had to ask." The first figure growled as his body tensed. "It is true that we failed to kill the boy to cause fear and misery within the village, but it seems we have achieved one of our more pressing objectives. To answer you earlier question, you are right, there is no way that child could have survived such a blaze…at least, not on his own."
"What the hell is that supposed to—wait, do you mean that…?"
"Yes, it seems we have found what slipped through our grasp all those months ago. It looks as if the beasts have hidden themselves in our world."
"So what are we doing up here; we should rush down there and grab the little brat while we can!"
"No, that would be unwise. Our little…display has roused too much attention. The village will be on high alert now; besides, we cannot make ourselves known just yet. We still have much to do and prepare before we are finally ready to put our plans into motion. Besides, we have only found one of them…we still need to locate the others."
"So what, we're just gonna return empty handed?"
"Hardly…now, let us continue on our way; we still need to rendezvous with our contacts."
"Eh, do we have to; I'd much rather sink my teeth into some food. I'm starving!"
"The sooner we complete our task, the sooner you can…engorge yourself. Now let's go…"
And with that, the two mysterious disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace of their presence…
Next Chapter: A Day at the Park
Author's Notes: This chapter was a little bit tricky to write. I had to figure out how to introduce some of the chief characters without giving too much away. I also managed to give Kyubi a little cameo. While this chapter was a little difficult to write, I'm actually quite proud with how it turned out and I look forward to writing the next one.