NOTE: THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WAS RECENTLY REWRITTEN. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT AFTER THE 18th OF JULY, PLEASE RE-READ IT.
Naruto awoke to a familiar smell.Food.His mouth started to water as he lay in his bed, thinking about his top 50 favourite ramen flavours.About that time time his stomach roared loud enough to scare the local fauna into hiding, and Naruto remembered that the most important step in the process of eating, was actually EATING.He practically leaped off of the bed, and stalked down the hallway. He followed the intoxicating aroma down the web of hallways, finally finding the source of the smell. He peeked around the corner, and his eyes grew to the size of saucers.He had stumbled upon the mess hall, and was now gazing upon a table with nine places, each plate topped with generous helpings of bacon and eggs. (Author Note: Bacon and eggs may not be exactly Japanese, but come on, it is insanely delicious.)Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he started drooling. Was this a dream? Naruto thought to pinch himself, but thought that wouldn't be enough, so he gave himself a punch in the face.After picking himself off of the ground and reminding himself punching oneself was not always an intelligent idea, he proceeded to skip happily into the room, and pulled out a chair, not even for one second wondering where the food came from.He sat down and started wolfing down the food on one of the plates.Nearly as good as a decent ramen. Nearly.About five minutes into the meal, everyone else trudged into the room, wiping the sleep out of their eyes, then staring wide eyed at the food.Most of them pinched themselves except for Shikamaru, who had been spending too much time with Naruto and, subsequently, punched himself.The only person who didn't look phased was the small girl, Yuki. She calmly sat down and ate with the rest of the group.For the first time, Naruto got a decent look at her. She was quite short, and had bright blond hair, cut short to around her neck, which contrasted well with her brown eyes. She was wearing a black shirt with a black outline stripe, and a pair black pants, also with pink outline. She was wearing a strange pair of boots, with an odd attatchment on the back of them.After about ten minutes of munching, Shikamaru leant back in his chair and patted his stomach. "This is great, you make this Naruto?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief."No, it was just here this morning." Naruto muffled with a mouthful.Everyone sopped and stared at the food with fear all of a sudden. They were ninja, poisened food wouldn't exactly be an unusual occurance."Guard cooks."Yuki answered, settling their worries. "He's good at it too."An image of Guard in a pink apron with a spatula popped into Naruto's head, and he snickered to himself."Speaking of which," Sakura said, looking around. "Where is he? Doesn't he eat?""I know him better than anyone else." Yuki replied. "And he's still a mystery to me.""Well, You might as well tell us what you were doing out here." Digit asked. "You couldn't have been just, 'passing by'.""Actually," Yuki said, sheepishly. "Guard and me were going to Konoha..."Sakura furrowed her brow questioningly. "Why would you guys come to Konoha?""Awhile ago we started getting jumped by those Dusk guys, and Guard said it wasn't safe for me to travel with him anymore." She looked a bit glum at this fact."So he decided he would send me to the Hidden Leaf village, to get trained as a ninja.""That ain't so bad." Naruto claimed with a cheesy grin. "Once we get Konoha back, I'm sure the Hokage'll take you in.""You think so?""I know so"While all this was going on, Hinata, who had been quietly nibbling at her food, couldn't help but notice that Cat, who was seated next to her, looked frustrated, and a bit queasy."Cat? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit ill." Hinata asked, with worry.Cat looked up at Hinata, and she could just make out the faint outline of a face past the hood."Oh, I'm fine, I just swear I know Guard from somewhere.""Maybe you just got a nasty bump on the head or something." Hinata replied with a comforting smile."Maybe." Cat said, sounding distant. [I hope you are right Hinata. If it was him... Wolf wouldn't handle it...]The breakfast was immediately broken by Guard entering the room.All eyes were on him. Naruto also noticed Guard for the first time. He was tall, about six foot, and was wearing a black, hooded, knee-length overcoat. The right sleeve had a zip around the shoulder, which intigued Naruto to no end. He was wearing the same boots as Yuki, if muh larger."We should head out soon." He uttered.It was like he flicked a switch. They all remembered why they were here, and stood up, going off to prepare for what would be the wierdest rescue mission of all time.
"Well, this isn't exactly how I pictured my Sunday going." Shikamaru announced, gazing upon the frothing whirlpool. They were now standing upon the spot where Konoha used to stand, and looking at the 'vortex' Before leaving, Bear had made sure that the four leaf genin recieved Dawn cloaks, but none of them had put he hoods up.."So... how does this work?" Naruto asked."As long as you guys are within about ten metres of me, you should pop out the other side. We should only be under for about half a minute before the jutsu kicks in." Yuki explained."And if it doesn't?" Wolf questioned."Then you die." Guard said, earning a chorus of nervous swallows from everyone."Everyone, link arms." Bear ordered. They all grabbed the person next to them by the forearm, and lined up by the edge, Cat on the end, then Yuki, who was of course with Guard, then Bear, Wolf, Sakura, Shikamaru, Dexter, Naruto and Hinata on the other end.Wolf breathed out deeply. "Ready?""Ready." Came the reply."Three..."Everyone breathed deeply, digit was muttering to himself, praying by the sound of it. Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand, and he gave her a wink."Two.""If I die, it's gonna totally ruin my day.." Shikamaru muttered."One"They all took a leap forward, and plunged into the dark water, and were sucked down.Naruto opened his eyes, looking around. Everyone had their eyes closed, clinging tightly. He saw bubbles shoot past at insane speeds, and nearly punched himself again. This was so surreal.As they descended further, Naruto could feel suction pulling them outward. And he could feel Hinata's grip loosening. His eyes shot open, and he saw with horror that Hinata was losing consciousness, she hadn't taken a deep enough breath before they jumped in.Naruto tried desperately to grip at her forearm, but they started to accellerate rapidly downwards, pulling her further away.Naruto clung desperately, feelig his lungs burning as he too begun to run out of breath. [Hang in there Hinata. Please...]Then the chain broke.Naruto realized that they had failed.Just as Naruto's vision began to haze, and he swallowed a mouthful of the black water by accident, he felt the water fall upwards and away from him, and suddenly the gravity changed.He realized they were out of the water, and they smacked down onto the rough ground.He got up on his knees, and coughed up what felt like a litre of the foul water. As he sucked in del breaths, he opened his eyes. He saw Hinata.She wasn't moving.Naruto stumbled over towards her, and fell down beside her.He felt for a pulse, it was faint, and he couldn't hear her breathing."Shitshitshitshit.. Stay with me Hinata..." Naruto said. He places two hands across her chest and pushed down repeatedly.It wasn't working. Naruto put his head down, closed her nose, placed his mouth over hers, and breathed out as hard as he could.Hinata coughed, and naruto pulled her to her knees, and she coughed up alot of water.Naruto panted heavily, as Hinata began breathing again."Don't -huff- ever do that -huff-again." He said with a grin, pulling her into a hug.Hinata didn't reply, just blushed a deep shade of red, and returned the hug.After they had recovered enough to stand, they surveyed their surroundings.By the looks of it, they were in some sort of forest, but it didn't seem right. There was no sound of any birds whatsoever, and the trees didn't even rustle."What happened?" Hinata finally managed, recovering from her embarrassment."Something went horribly wrong," Naruto answered, looking around. "Where the hell is everyone else? More importantly, where the hell are we?"
Sakura pulled herself off the ground,thoroughly soaked.She looked around, and saw bear, who was lying down, sucking in deep breaths, Shikamaru, who was pulling his hair off of his face, unamused, and Wolf, who was sitting up, his hood matted down on his head, dazed. They were on the edge of a line of trees, and in other direction was a barren plain."Hey, good news," Shikamaru announced. "We're alive.""Wolf chuckled. "That we are Pineapple, that we are...""What happened to everyone else? Where's Naruto? Where's Hinata?" She asked worriedly. Had they not made it out?You were between me and Shikamaru, so you didn't know," Wolf answered."The chain broke, that Hinata girl nearly started to drown, and he lost his grip on me trying to get a better hold on her. I saw Yuki simply lost her grip on guard, so she and got swept away, and Guard just let go of Bear to go after her.""So, they just got sucked into the vortex?Shikamaru asked in disbelief."No," Bear said propping himself up on his elbows. Otherwise we'd be dead. They probably got deposited somewhere else in this god forsaken place.""And where is this place exactly?" Shikamaru asked, wringing out his hair."Not a clue. Wherever it is though, Yozaji is no doubt near by."
As soon as Cat broke free of the water, she felt someone grab her and slam her into the ground. She opened her eyes, clutching her stomach, and saw a Dusk Acolyte holding a knife to Yuki's throat.Facing him was a VERY pissed off Guard."Let her go. Or die." He growled menacingly.The acolytle giggled maniacally. "Boss-man sez nab the lil' girl, dead or alive, so the way I sees it, Ive got the leverage here." He said, smiling cruelly.Guard stopped in his tracks. He looked down at Yuki, who was putting on a brave face, even though she was crying."Its okay Guard, you tried." She said, sniffling."I'll find you. I won't fail again."The acolyte cackled again. Bit late for that Innit?" He used a shunshin, and disappeared.Cat looked around and realized they were in some sort of canyon, the walls stretching up for about fifty or so metres.Guard turned to the left, screamed in anger and punched the canyon wall. His fist cracked the whole area, some of the cracks worming their way up higher.He was breathing in and out through clenched teeth, seething "They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us. If the others hadn't dropped off of the chain, they would've ended up here too." He said angrily, his fury was palpable.Cat noticed that this was the most he had spoken since she had known him. "So, what's the plan then?" She asked him.He reaches into his coat and pulled out two kunai. "Im going to get Yuki back." He jumped up, dug the kunai into the cliff wall, and began climbing the wall using the kunai. He looked back. "Well? You coming?"Cat fed chakra into her gloves, and four claws scythed out. She jumped up and dug them in, right next to Guard. "Right behind you."
Well, it appears that my story has lost most of it's fans. I dunno why, but it's making me very sad, as you can imagine. So if you honestly do like the fic, then please give me a review coz I really don't know if you guys like this, or if you think the story sucks. Anyways, I'll get to work on next chappie soon, but I'm working on a NaruHina fluff Oneshot, so it might be a couple of days.Review pplzSS-60 SiX
Naruto awoke to a familiar smell.Food.His mouth started to water as he lay in his bed, thinking about his top 50 favourite ramen flavours.About that time time his stomach roared loud enough to scare the local fauna into hiding, and Naruto remembered that the most important step in the process of eating, was actually EATING.He practically leaped off of the bed, and stalked down the hallway. He followed the intoxicating aroma down the web of hallways, finally finding the source of the smell. He peeked around the corner, and his eyes grew to the size of saucers.He had stumbled upon the mess hall, and was now gazing upon a table with nine places, each plate topped with generous helpings of bacon and eggs. (Author Note: Bacon and eggs may not be exactly Japanese, but come on, it is insanely delicious.)Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he started drooling. Was this a dream? Naruto thought to pinch himself, but thought that wouldn't be enough, so he gave himself a punch in the face.After picking himself off of the ground and reminding himself punching oneself was not always an intelligent idea, he proceeded to skip happily into the room, and pulled out a chair, not even for one second wondering where the food came from.He sat down and started wolfing down the food on one of the plates.Nearly as good as a decent ramen. Nearly.About five minutes into the meal, everyone else trudged into the room, wiping the sleep out of their eyes, then staring wide eyed at the food.Most of them pinched themselves except for Shikamaru, who had been spending too much time with Naruto and, subsequently, punched himself.The only person who didn't look phased was the small girl, Yuki. She calmly sat down and ate with the rest of the group.For the first time, Naruto got a decent look at her. She was quite short, and had bright blond hair, cut short to around her neck, which contrasted well with her brown eyes. She was wearing a black shirt with a black outline stripe, and a pair black pants, also with pink outline. She was wearing a strange pair of boots, with an odd attatchment on the back of them.After about ten minutes of munching, Shikamaru leant back in his chair and patted his stomach. "This is great, you make this Naruto?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief."No, it was just here this morning." Naruto muffled with a mouthful.Everyone sopped and stared at the food with fear all of a sudden. They were ninja, poisened food wouldn't exactly be an unusual occurance."Guard cooks."Yuki answered, settling their worries. "He's good at it too."An image of Guard in a pink apron with a spatula popped into Naruto's head, and he snickered to himself."Speaking of which," Sakura said, looking around. "Where is he? Doesn't he eat?""I know him better than anyone else." Yuki replied. "And he's still a mystery to me.""Well, You might as well tell us what you were doing out here." Digit asked. "You couldn't have been just, 'passing by'.""Actually," Yuki said, sheepishly. "Guard and me were going to Konoha..."Sakura furrowed her brow questioningly. "Why would you guys come to Konoha?""Awhile ago we started getting jumped by those Dusk guys, and Guard said it wasn't safe for me to travel with him anymore." She looked a bit glum at this fact."So he decided he would send me to the Hidden Leaf village, to get trained as a ninja.""That ain't so bad." Naruto claimed with a cheesy grin. "Once we get Konoha back, I'm sure the Hokage'll take you in.""You think so?""I know so"While all this was going on, Hinata, who had been quietly nibbling at her food, couldn't help but notice that Cat, who was seated next to her, looked frustrated, and a bit queasy."Cat? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit ill." Hinata asked, with worry.Cat looked up at Hinata, and she could just make out the faint outline of a face past the hood."Oh, I'm fine, I just swear I know Guard from somewhere.""Maybe you just got a nasty bump on the head or something." Hinata replied with a comforting smile."Maybe." Cat said, sounding distant. [I hope you are right Hinata. If it was him... Wolf wouldn't handle it...]The breakfast was immediately broken by Guard entering the room.All eyes were on him. Naruto also noticed Guard for the first time. He was tall, about six foot, and was wearing a black, hooded, knee-length overcoat. The right sleeve had a zip around the shoulder, which intigued Naruto to no end. He was wearing the same boots as Yuki, if muh larger."We should head out soon." He uttered.It was like he flicked a switch. They all remembered why they were here, and stood up, going off to prepare for what would be the wierdest rescue mission of all time.
"Well, this isn't exactly how I pictured my Sunday going." Shikamaru announced, gazing upon the frothing whirlpool. They were now standing upon the spot where Konoha used to stand, and looking at the 'vortex' Before leaving, Bear had made sure that the four leaf genin recieved Dawn cloaks, but none of them had put he hoods up.."So... how does this work?" Naruto asked."As long as you guys are within about ten metres of me, you should pop out the other side. We should only be under for about half a minute before the jutsu kicks in." Yuki explained."And if it doesn't?" Wolf questioned."Then you die." Guard said, earning a chorus of nervous swallows from everyone."Everyone, link arms." Bear ordered. They all grabbed the person next to them by the forearm, and lined up by the edge, Cat on the end, then Yuki, who was of course with Guard, then Bear, Wolf, Sakura, Shikamaru, Dexter, Naruto and Hinata on the other end.Wolf breathed out deeply. "Ready?""Ready." Came the reply."Three..."Everyone breathed deeply, digit was muttering to himself, praying by the sound of it. Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand, and he gave her a wink."Two.""If I die, it's gonna totally ruin my day.." Shikamaru muttered."One"They all took a leap forward, and plunged into the dark water, and were sucked down.Naruto opened his eyes, looking around. Everyone had their eyes closed, clinging tightly. He saw bubbles shoot past at insane speeds, and nearly punched himself again. This was so surreal.As they descended further, Naruto could feel suction pulling them outward. And he could feel Hinata's grip loosening. His eyes shot open, and he saw with horror that Hinata was losing consciousness, she hadn't taken a deep enough breath before they jumped in.Naruto tried desperately to grip at her forearm, but they started to accellerate rapidly downwards, pulling her further away.Naruto clung desperately, feelig his lungs burning as he too begun to run out of breath. [Hang in there Hinata. Please...]Then the chain broke.Naruto realized that they had failed.Just as Naruto's vision began to haze, and he swallowed a mouthful of the black water by accident, he felt the water fall upwards and away from him, and suddenly the gravity changed.He realized they were out of the water, and they smacked down onto the rough ground.He got up on his knees, and coughed up what felt like a litre of the foul water. As he sucked in del breaths, he opened his eyes. He saw Hinata.She wasn't moving.Naruto stumbled over towards her, and fell down beside her.He felt for a pulse, it was faint, and he couldn't hear her breathing."Shitshitshitshit.. Stay with me Hinata..." Naruto said. He places two hands across her chest and pushed down repeatedly.It wasn't working. Naruto put his head down, closed her nose, placed his mouth over hers, and breathed out as hard as he could.Hinata coughed, and naruto pulled her to her knees, and she coughed up alot of water.Naruto panted heavily, as Hinata began breathing again."Don't -huff- ever do that -huff-again." He said with a grin, pulling her into a hug.Hinata didn't reply, just blushed a deep shade of red, and returned the hug.After they had recovered enough to stand, they surveyed their surroundings.By the looks of it, they were in some sort of forest, but it didn't seem right. There was no sound of any birds whatsoever, and the trees didn't even rustle."What happened?" Hinata finally managed, recovering from her embarrassment."Something went horribly wrong," Naruto answered, looking around. "Where the hell is everyone else? More importantly, where the hell are we?"
Sakura pulled herself off the ground,thoroughly soaked.She looked around, and saw bear, who was lying down, sucking in deep breaths, Shikamaru, who was pulling his hair off of his face, unamused, and Wolf, who was sitting up, his hood matted down on his head, dazed. They were on the edge of a line of trees, and in other direction was a barren plain."Hey, good news," Shikamaru announced. "We're alive.""Wolf chuckled. "That we are Pineapple, that we are...""What happened to everyone else? Where's Naruto? Where's Hinata?" She asked worriedly. Had they not made it out?You were between me and Shikamaru, so you didn't know," Wolf answered."The chain broke, that Hinata girl nearly started to drown, and he lost his grip on me trying to get a better hold on her. I saw Yuki simply lost her grip on guard, so she and got swept away, and Guard just let go of Bear to go after her.""So, they just got sucked into the vortex?Shikamaru asked in disbelief."No," Bear said propping himself up on his elbows. Otherwise we'd be dead. They probably got deposited somewhere else in this god forsaken place.""And where is this place exactly?" Shikamaru asked, wringing out his hair."Not a clue. Wherever it is though, Yozaji is no doubt near by."
As soon as Cat broke free of the water, she felt someone grab her and slam her into the ground. She opened her eyes, clutching her stomach, and saw a Dusk Acolyte holding a knife to Yuki's throat.Facing him was a VERY pissed off Guard."Let her go. Or die." He growled menacingly.The acolytle giggled maniacally. "Boss-man sez nab the lil' girl, dead or alive, so the way I sees it, Ive got the leverage here." He said, smiling cruelly.Guard stopped in his tracks. He looked down at Yuki, who was putting on a brave face, even though she was crying."Its okay Guard, you tried." She said, sniffling."I'll find you. I won't fail again."The acolyte cackled again. Bit late for that Innit?" He used a shunshin, and disappeared.Cat looked around and realized they were in some sort of canyon, the walls stretching up for about fifty or so metres.Guard turned to the left, screamed in anger and punched the canyon wall. His fist cracked the whole area, some of the cracks worming their way up higher.He was breathing in and out through clenched teeth, seething "They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us. If the others hadn't dropped off of the chain, they would've ended up here too." He said angrily, his fury was palpable.Cat noticed that this was the most he had spoken since she had known him. "So, what's the plan then?" She asked him.He reaches into his coat and pulled out two kunai. "Im going to get Yuki back." He jumped up, dug the kunai into the cliff wall, and began climbing the wall using the kunai. He looked back. "Well? You coming?"Cat fed chakra into her gloves, and four claws scythed out. She jumped up and dug them in, right next to Guard. "Right behind you."
Well, it appears that my story has lost most of it's fans. I dunno why, but it's making me very sad, as you can imagine. So if you honestly do like the fic, then please give me a review coz I really don't know if you guys like this, or if you think the story sucks. Anyways, I'll get to work on next chappie soon, but I'm working on a NaruHina fluff Oneshot, so it might be a couple of days.Review pplzSS-60 SiX
