Hey guys. sorry I haven't updated in a while, school has been pretty hectic this week. I've been mostly studying and living off of cappuccino's I get from Starbucks. But anyway, I do appreciate the reviews. They aren't much but they gave me some good ideas to work with. Also I did make a mistake which one of my readers clarified. Chomei is a boy and Kokuo is a girl.
Han's POV
Wherever the men were taking Han and Fu, he figured that Sejio-Ro wouldn't be any better than the village outside of Takigakure. Although this place was much better when it came to appearance. The entire village was surrounded by a massive and tall tree that seemed to reach the heavens. Inside was even more appealing. The houses were made out of limestone and wood and the rooftops were either in a pagoda style or dome shaped, the floor was mostly grass except for the occasional stone floor. As Han walked down the pathway they had taken he saw several people turning to look at the two. Some of them took double takes and whispered among themselves.
Han didn't really care. He was more focused on finding a way to escape the tree. He scanned the area. He figured maybe he'd be able to burst through the tree and leave with Fu, but his steam armor gloves had been burnt off when he had fallen into the flames and any attempt to leave forcefully would fail. Not to mention Han was practically dragging himself across the village. There was nowhere he could really go. Han had lived a long time in solitude. Just the birds chirping around him and a small little shack in the middle of the woods. Then he left. He figured maybe there was something out there for him. Just waiting for Han to grab it. Well, the only place that decision led him to was fire, pain, and capture.
Han glanced over at his new acquintance. She was staring straight ahead and the large mansion at the back of the tree which stood like a giant among the average houses. She seemed to not really be looking, like she was lost deep in thought. He imagined with seeing her father again, she wasn't in the greatest mood.
"Well, Fu. We're almost there, excited to see daddy again?" The leader of the ninja asked. He had a ecstatic expression on his face. Han had the urge to punch him right then.
Fu didn't answer, "Oh come on. Don't give me the cold shoulder." The leader whined.
"When I get out of here I'll make sure I come after you first, Rehto." Fu said in a low tone.
"How frightening. The little bug thinks she can squish us." Mako laughed.
"Douche bag..." Fu grumbled. Mako instantly turned toward her and glared. He began to inch toward her and Han almost moved to protect her. Another figure stopped Mako before Han could. He was dressed in a white robe tied with a black sash. Sea foam was painted on the fabric. His face seemed stern and angular and his reddish hair contrasted Fu's mint colored hair greatly. He seemed like he was a handsome fellow but there was a dangerous look in his eyes that Han didn't like.
"I suggest you don't hurt my daughter, Mako. There'll be consequences." The man said with a menacing hint.
Mako's features softened and he stepped backwards, "I understand Master Sejio-Ro."
Han watched carefully as Sejio-Ro looked him over. He didn't seem impressed, "And you are?"
Han didn't answer. He had a feeling if he gave his identity away to him, there would be a lot worse things done to him. Sejio-Ro smiled.
"I guess you're more of the silent type aren't you?" He suggested as he circled Han, "That might be a problem. So you'll cooperate...won't you?"
Sejio-Ro looked him in the eyes and Han froze. He felt as if his body were crumbling. He watched in horror as the people surrounding him turned into pools of blood that began to envelope him and harden. Han was in the dark, lonely and immediately shocked and frightened. He couldn't do anything, his steam armor was gone.
He blinked and the world returned to normal. His head began to pound and his doubled over. He vomited with a sickening grunt. His vision began to blur as he tried to look up at the monster that had just appeared.
Naruto's POV
Naruto stood in front of Lady Tsunade's desk. His stomach was rumbling and his urge to jump out the window and head directly to Ichiraku's for four bowls on the spot. But he head to stay hear watching Grandma talk all day.
"So I'm sending Team Seven to the site of the disturbances to inspect them." She explained.
"Does anyone know what it is?" Sakura asked.
"The ANBU agents I sent there a while ago haven't come back. I don't know what's going on. Returning ninja have inspected the sites and not even them have came back." Tsunade replied.
"What if the problem we run into is too much for us to handle? It sounds like this enemy is strong and..." Sai stopped. His eyes grew wide and he pointed to the window behind Tsunade. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, Sai? Everything okay?" He asked.
"Naruto, you idiot! Don't you see that wave of water in the distance?" Sakura pointed out.
Naruto squinted and finally saw it. It was high in the air for a second but immediately crashed back down. He was smart enough to know he was dealing with some sort of water release ninja but you only saw those kinds of water release if there was a major battle going on. Naruto was curious and at the same time a bit afraid. Tsunade looked at Team Seven, "Enough standing around and enough questions. Get there now! Or else god help me I will send you all back to the academy!" Tsunade ordered.
"You got it, Grandma!" Naruto yelled. He rushed out the door and down the steps. Sakura and Sai close behind, both trying to stop Naruto. Naruto burst through the front doors and began to jump onto the building and over them, one by one. He got the feeling that whatever was going on was exciting. Even now he felt a tingling sensation in his stomach.
He landed on his feet at the end of the village gates. He looked back and saw his teammates in hot pursuit. They landed next to him, Sakura looked angry, Sai on the other hand...looked the same as he always did.
"Naruto, you can't just go charging into the area like that! You could get yourself killed!" Sakura lectured.
"I didn't even go! I decided to wait for you. Lay off will you, Sakura?" Naruto asked.
"We don't have time for your little quarrels. We must be getting to the area Lord Hokage detailed." Sai intervened.
"Alright, alright. Let's go." Naruto said.
He began to run outside of the gate and toward the forest area, Sakura and Sai close behind. Naruto looked in the distance. He'd left Hinata in his apartment after he'd gotten the news from Sai. He was glad the pale boy hadn't decided to mention anything. He just hoped what he was about to rush into wasn't going to be a worst-case scenario. Naruto didn't particularly enjoy running away and returning to fight the next day.
"What do you think we're dealing with? A rogue ninja? Bandits? Spies? We get a lot of those these days." Sakura wondered.
"I just hope we get this done and over with real quick. I have other things I need to take care of."
"Like your "equipment". Right?" Sai asked. Naruto looked back at him with murder in his eyes. Sai frowned.
"Since when do you have stuff to take care of? Does this have to do with training?" Sakura asked, ignoring the previous comment.
"Just...stuff." Naruto answered. He stopped at the end of the dirt path where the green forest began. Naruto almost collapsed when he suddenly felt a wave of pain roll over him. He clutched his stomach and almost threw up. Something's in my stomach! He thought as he felt a sort of tugging pain. It was like a chick trying to free itself from an egg. A sort of sharp feeling that wanted to poke through his stomach and itself be free. Naruto was dimly aware of the crash the came from a close distance. He fell to his knees as the pain grew worse.
As he kneeled on the ground and Sakura and Sai began to try and help him, he realized with terror that his stomach was exactly where the seal should be. The seal for keeping the Nine-Tails at bay.
Yugito's POV
Yugito awoke to a bright sun shining on her face. It was directly overhead now. She felt as if she'd been trampled by an avalanche. Her head pounded and her whole body was in pain. The wound in her midsection had begun to bleed again. She tried to get up and fell back down quickly after feeling a numbing pain in her arms. She figured she had broken something but she had no time to worry. She looked around from her spot. If she had remembered correctly, she'd fallen down a hill from a carriage and almost died. She wondered if the other Akatsuki members had survived the crash.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted the body. It was nearby what remained of the carriage. Pieces of wood, metal, and dead horses. She recognized him from his gray hair. If he didn't have that, Yugito wouldn't have even known it was him. His body seemed to be completely out of shape. A metal rod had pierced his chest where his heart should be and his arms and legs were bent at an awkward angle. One of his arms wasn't even attached to his body anymore. His whole body was bloody and beaten.
But Yugito had seen worse. She looked around for the other one, Kakuzu. He couldn't have been that far away. At that moment she felt a tickling sensation on the soles of her feet. She looked down and saw two black tentacles trying to grab her. They seemed weak and withered. As if they were dying.
Yugito, you need to run. Matatabi whispered.
I can't. I think my whole body his broken. Yugito responded desperately trying to get a few inches away from the tentacles.
I will heal you but you need to get up. Matatabi informed.
Before Yugito could say anything back, the pounding in her head faded away and her wound stopped bleeding with a sizzle. The pain in her arms vanished and with it, her confidence came back. She moved her arms and there was no pain. She got up although her legs were still painful. She looked around. She was in a clearing and surrounded by trees in every direction. At least she had some sort of cover. She looked and saw Kakuzu's body. It was worse than Hidan. His body had been ripped in half but there was no blood. Only tentacles connecting to repair the damage that had been made. Yugito stumbled back as his head turned to look at Yugito.
He opened his mouth, "Don't you dare run. You know I'll come after you. You can't kill us...ever."
Yugito felt true despair. Even Hidan seemed to be stirring. These Akatsuki would chase her forever, hunting her. If they couldn't die what was she to do? No one could run forever. She'd worked so hard just to gain the respect of her village. Now everything she worked to achieve would be gone. She'd live her life on the run. Her life would stop right there.
Stop it Yugito, now. You can worry about life later. Right now these Akatsuki are here. In front of you. They will kill you. Run! Run! Matatabi shouted.
Yugito decided to take her advice. She began to run as fast as a bad leg could go. She dodged trees and vines and anything that might come between her and escape. She had a good head start. It would take a while for the two to completely regenerate. Enough time for her to lose them and find help.
The pain in her leg eventually went away as well. She broke into a four-legged run now, her fingertips digging into the earth to pull herself forward.
She knew no matter what that she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop running, or else she they would catch up and that would be the end. She began to speed up frantically running through the dense forest. Yugito, in the back of her mind, wondered if this was only the beginning of what was to come.