Chapter 20 Family or Enemy
The tension in the air was so thick that a knife would not have been able to cut it. Convincing Naruto and Sasuke that Meiko should not be restrained had actually gone easier then she had hoped. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with Meiko and Naruto seamed to borderline agree with him. Neither of them wanted to carry Meiko, which one of them would have to do if they were to restrain her, so Meiko was "free" but not free. She had all her weapons taken from her and aside from the cloths on her back she had nothing to her name. When they started out they exited and Sakura finally saw where they had been staying.
They were staying in a barn, which had faded red paint along the side; on top of a small nearby rise was the remains of a farm house. The burned remains of the house told her that somehow a fire had gone out of control and burned the house down. In days past if a fire broke out people would come to help put out the fire but those days where gone. Everyone was out for themselves, she wondered for a brief moment if the owners where still alive, then she saw a badly burned body lying in the tall grass by the house. That answered her question rather quickly; they passed by some goats grazing as they entered the woods.
"You know how to jump from tree branch to tree branch right?" asked Naruto to Meiko as they neared the first tree large enough to support their weight. Meiko blinked as she looked at her brother, it was the first time he was actually asking her a question.
"Of course." said Meiko
"Good." stated Naruto as he jumped up to the tree, "Sasuke led the way."
"Very well." said Sasuke before turning to look at Meiko, his eyes narrowed she looked human on the surface but they knew that under a hedge she was a demon. "Keep an eye on that thing."
"I will." confirmed Naruto "If she does anything, well we will cross that bridge when it comes to it."
"I just hope Karin comes near us, between Fu and your sister we now have more people with demon chakra in our group then human chakra," grumbled Sasuke as he turned away from the group.
"Well you are sleeping with her, what does it say about your…skills if she doesn't come." chuckled Naruto as Sasuke spun around and glared at Naruto. Sasuke's red and black Sharingan seemed to glow in anger at the insult. Naruto simply chuckled as his own eyes turned into slits.
"At least I get some dead last, you will likely die without even touching a woman without paying for it like Jiriaya had to." countered Sasuke as Naruto stopped chuckling and glared back at Sasuke.
"Boys if you want to have a pissing contest it can wait until we are out of the search area for any demons?" inquired Fu with a roll of her eyes before looking at Sakura. "Men."
"Those two have always been in competitive, I guess I shouldn't be surprised it went there." admitted Sakura "Come on let's get going."
Sasuke took the lead with, Naruto behind him alongside Meiko next came Sakura who was slightly to the far side of Meiko in case she tried to make a run for it. The last one in their small column was Fu who had the job to keep an eye on their rear and make sure that Meiko was not leaving a mark of some kind which could be used by an enemy force to follow them. Sakura however was more interested in watching the interaction between Naruto and his sister. In her minds eyes she dreamed of a storybook like union where the two long lost siblings embraced each other. The two siblings instead started running side-by-side but apart from a few glances, they did not say a word to each other.
Back in the Leaf Kakashi Hatake and Rin stood by the staircase which lead down toward the ANBU hospital where Guy and a handful of Leaf ninjas, likely mostly genin where hold up. They had been given them an hour to decide if they wanted to take up the demons on the offer of an escort out of the Leaf village.
"What will happen if he doesn't take the offer?" asked Kakashi as he looked at the door leading down toward the ANBU hospital.
"We are going to burn them out," said the demon commander who was standing nearby to the two of them. He pointed toward barrels, which had been brought down. "That is full of oil; we will spill them out and then light them on fire. Using sealing Justus we keep the fire contained and then once they are all dead we move in and clean up."
Kakashi was about to say something when the door opened and Guy stepped out from the hospital. He had a kunai in hand and his eyes where scanning the area around him.
"Guy." greeted Kakashi
"Kakashi," answered Guy
"So your group is taking us up on our deal?" asked the commander
"No, I am." corrected Guy "The other's youthful fire has gone out."
"What?" asked the commander
"The others want to give up." translated Kakashi to the confused demon commander
"He has been like that since we were kids." added Rin as she looked at Guy and noticed a long dagger hanging from his belt. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the dagger, it had a polish fine oak handle. Most of the dagger was hidden but the top of it was clear, her eyes widened as she realized that he had somehow gotten his hand on a bronze dagger.
"I see you noticed my little addition." said Guy as he pulled the dagger, instantly Rin and the demon commander jumped back away from the bronze weapon. Maybe because Kakashi knew Guy so well or maybe because he had only been a demon for a few hours but he did not flinch at the weapon, which could burn him by just touching him. Kakashi noticed that the weapon appeared to be more of a show piece than anything else. It was far to shiny, that it would stand out on the battlefield, the edge didn't look that sharp and it had Guy's name and the leaf symbol engraved on the blade. "A little gift from one of my students, while most girls would spend their money on fine cloths or some other normal activity she collects weapons. She gave me this on the anniversary of our team forming."
"Sounds like something Tenten would do." admitted Kakashi "Where is Lee's, she normally gives one to everyone."
"I couldn't take his away, it is a sign of the bond between teammates." explained Guy as he put the blade away. "Also if I don't check in with them within ten minutes the men who are staying here will set off charges and destroy this place. Once I am outside the village I will tell them that I am out and that they can give up."
"Shall we." offered Rin as she gestured toward the exit. Guy stood in the middle with Rin and Kakashi on either side, a line of five demons moved in front of them with another group of five demons behind them. Aside from Kakashi and Rin, they all had their weapons out and ready to respond if Guy tried anything. They moved up the stairs and after a while they reached the main lobby. When they entered they found a demon holding a mop cleaning up a large pool of blood. The tiger stripped Bakeneko looked up in amazement to look at Guy.
"Guy?" asked the demon in amazement as Guy studied the man before moving on without saying a word.
"I knew that man, and now look at what you took from him." explained Guy as they moved out into the street. The whole village was still smoldering and reeked from the smells of burning flesh. In the column of smoke was still rising from a massive fire which was burning out of control in an outlying district of the Leaf village.
"Look at what your kind did to the Leaf," noted Guy
"We did this to the world not just the Leaf," answered Rin sadly, as they kept walking. The streets where beginning to fill with those who had just been turned, most seemed to have no idea what to do with themselves, others were looking for loved ones which had been separated either by the virus or the fall of the Leaf.
They pasted by a couple who were crying, both of them where now demons but they were different types of demons. One had become a Bai Ze, his deer like antlers making him stand out against the snake like skin of his now Nure-onna lover. His hand was on her stomach explaining to all that they were expecting a child.
"What about them, how are they going to be together?" inquired Guy "You have divided us into different groups, those two who love each other can't be together anymore."
"Not really." admitted Rin "A demon can be turned into any other type of demon but they can only turn two times in their lives. Well once I should say, human to demon seams to count as one of the turns."
"And what of the child?" asked Guy
"Turns with the mother." explained Rin as they kept walking, as they moved through the remains of the Leaf they passed by more fires. Unlike the fires in the distance these where control burns as demons tossed the dead bodies of the infected into the flames.
"What are you going to do to Lee?" asked Guy
"Personally I don't know for sure, likely they will study his blood to figure out why he made it and then transform him." answered Rin "Sorry but they don't fully trust me."
"And why is that?" asked Guy
"Because I am kind of rare, I wasn't born a demon and I didn't become a demon by choice." Explained Rin "I can see what they are doing and because I am no longer under the shadow of the change."
"The Shadow of the Change?" inquired Guy
"For a few months after the change it messes with your mind so you like what you see every morning and in time people just get used to it," explained Rin "I have been it long enough that effect of the change is out of my system."
"Then why did you join them? Why did you help bring down the Leaf?" asked Guy
"First thing, like almost everyone I didn't want to die and thanks to this man running a Choridi through my chest I have to take pills which they give me to live." explained Rin "Secondly I didn't want Minato and Kushina to lose their child."
"They did or haven't you noticed Naruto grew up without them." Countered Kakashi
"True, but he grew up…Shizune wasn't the only demon in the Leaf they would have killed Naruto if anyone had attempted to contact him." Said Rin as they passed by a checkpoint, a group of demons where taking down the bio hazarded showers. Since they were immune from the virus, they had nothing to fear.
"Who?" inquired Kakashi
"I don't know if it is limited to them but the people who owned the Ramon shop," confirmed Rin as they neared the outer wall. "Likely they weren't the only ones."
The massive gates were wide open as they neared it, where once a human ninjas stood guard now demons stood watching the gate.
"How much of the world is now under your control?" inquired Guy
"From my understanding they have taken all the major islands in the Land of Water, all of the land of Lightning, the smaller nations which separate Lightning from Fire and from her North." Explained Rin "There are humans hiding out in the woods and in small villages they haven't found but it is only a matter of time."
"You seam so sure." Said Guy
"Sadly I am." admitted Rin as she lowered her head. "They have been planning this for generations and nothing has stopped them yet."
Just then a group of demons carrying two kitsunes on stretchers ran past them.
"Minato-sensei, Kushina?" asked Rin stunned as she watched them be rushed past. "What the hell happened."
"Naruto." answered Shizune as she walked through the gate stopping right infront of Guy. "I see your taking our offer."
"I am." confirmed Guy as he looked at what Shizune actually was, her black fur and white highlights. "And you are a traitor."
"I know." said Shizune "But tell me wouldn't it be traitors to do nothing and let your race die out? I don't approve of the way they are doing it but I agree with the basic idea of saving our race."
"We shall return someday and when we do we will make you pay." Said Guy
"We will have to see." said Guy "Now stand aside."
Shizune said nothing more as she and the other demons stood aside giving Guy a straight shot out of the gate. With a burst of speed, he ran out of the gate only to disappear into the woods.
After hours of running and hours of the two Namikaze siblings not sharing so much as a word to each other. Sakura had watched them both carefully and the more and more she looked at the two of them the more she knew that they were siblings. Taking away the small differences based on gender and hair/eye color, they just seamed the same. Their bone structure while not a match was similar, along with the shape of their eyes. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her but she could have sworn that the two of them had some of the same mannerisms, they both rested against different trees in the same way with their feet hanging off the edge of the branch that they were sitting on.
"So how long until we reach where ever we are going?" asked Fu as she drank some water.
"It isn't that far but we will have to rest, we don't want to arrive tired and find that the place is overrun." stated Sasuke "Also the time before sunrise is a major issue."
"Where are we going?" asked Meiko as Sasuke spun and looked at her with hate in his eyes.
"That is none of your business," snapped Sasuke coldly.
"An old Orochimaru sound base." answered Naruto as he moved to stand behind his little sister. His eyes were locked on Sasuke and Sasuke's eyes were locked on him. "She is going to figure that out when we arrive anyhow."
"I guess." admitted Sasuke backing down to Naruto's point.
"Besides I am betting there will be a sign with the town's name when we get there." added Sakura.
"Ah…is it alright if I get something to eat?" asked Meiko
"Of course." answered Sakura before Sasuke could say something stupid. Carefully Meiko reached into a side pouch of the leg pouch. She pulled a small scroll and unsealed two rice balls with two small roasted fish. Instantly the air filled with the scent of roasted fish somehow judging by the smell they all knew that the fishes was fresh from the oven. Meiko picked up one of the fish using an attached metal holder and took a bite. That is when she noticed that all eyes were on him.
"What?" asked Meiko as she looked around at the confused older ninjas, an answer came to her. "Oh…dad developed a seal which allowed food to remain hot even months after they are sealed away."
"It isn't just that," explained Fu "That is the largest portion of food I have seen in weeks."
"Same here smells good," added Naruto as Meiko looked down at the simple meal. She picked up the fish she had not taken a bite from and handed it to her brother. Slowly Naruto reached out and took the fish and took a bite. Almost at once Naruto closed his eyes and moaned a bit in enjoyment of the food. "Oh this is so good."
Meiko smiled as she looked at her brother, she waited until Naruto had taken a second bite before laughing a bit.
"What is so funny?" inquired Naruto as he worried a bit that he had walked into a trap.
"It is just Mom had this whole first dinner planned out and here you are eating her home cooked food." laughed Meiko as Naruto stopped eating and looked at the food, now knowing that he was he eating his moms cooking for the first time. "Mom will be pissed with me for messing with her plan, I think she has been planning that out for years."
"I see." said Naruto before handing the food off to Sakura. When she took a bite, it was if she had just stepped inside the best rausturent, it was so good but so simple. The taste of lemon with herbs mixed into the light flicked batter which surrounded the fish.
"Wow." said Sakura as she took another bite before handing to Sasuke, he refused the fish but handed the fish to Fu. Like Naruto Fu moaned a bit from the taste of the food.
"It is just Fish," laughed Meiko as Sakura looked at Meiko. "Mom has made a lot better food then this, this is like a lunch for her."
"She sounds like Naruto-kun when she laughs." thought Sakura
"It is fresh which is more then what we can say in a long time," explained Naruto as Fu handed the half-finished fish back to him, he took another bite before offering it to Sakura.
"You should have the rest; it is your mom's cooking." said Sakura even as she licked her lips and her eyes locked on the fish.
"No, you can have it," said Naruto as he forced the meal on her, Meiko laughed as she watched the older people.
"You know I have more," laughed Meiko tapping at the pouch where the strolls where before looking at her brother. "Our mom loves to cook and she over packed my supplies."
"Maybe we should find a place to rest, the sun will be rising in an hour or two and that will make it easier to spot us from above," advised Fu "Those one with bird wings love to fly at dawn."
"The Air Kamias do love to life at dawn." confirmed Meiko "Something to do with the thermals making it easier for them to fly or something, truth be told I only paid half attention to that."
It took them about half an hour later to find another farmhouse, when they entered they found a perfectly preserved house. Everything was in place as if a professional was setting everything up for a photoshoot. The only thing which pointed to it not being a photoshoot, was the layer of dust on the items and the dead flowers by the door.
"What is that?" asked Meiko as she waved her hand in front of her nose.
"Oh…God." groaned Naruto as he looked a Fu. "Do you recognize that?"
"Yes." confirmed Fu as she looked around the house. "Do you want to check the upstairs or the downstairs?"
"What are they talking about?" thought Sakura, she did not smell anything and judging from Sasuke's expression he didn't smell anything.
"In a house like this, it is always the master one upstairs." confirmed Naruto as he moved upstairs.
"What is it?" asked Sakura
"You can't smell that?" asked Meiko "Do you have any sense of smell."
"Found her." said Naruto from upstairs, almost as one they moved up the stairs and passing by some bedrooms they reached the master bedroom. Naruto was standing in front of a closed door just waiting for the others.
"Sakura-chan do you think we have to worry about infection?" inquired Naruto
"Well considering we have all lived through the flu we shouldn't." explained Sakura as she sniffed the air, there was something in it. Hiding under scents she knew well, lilac and other scented fragments was something else. Her answer came when Naruto opened the door and instantly the room was filled with the smell a dead rotting body.
"Oh…god." exclaimed Meiko as she placed her hand over her mouth as she tried to hold down her dinner. She failed as she threw up into a wastebasket which was nearby.
"A floater." groaned Naruto as he moved into the room. There lying in a tub her body bloated from the water, was what used to be a human being. The water was filled with blood and puss as the nude women lied their, a blade resting on the bathroom floor.
"Those are a pain in the ass. I curse whoever came up with the idea that water helps with the flue." confirmed Fu as she moved into the bathroom after Naruto, she looked around the room. "At least she tried to cover the smell with candles and scented soap."
"And failed." countered Naruto
"How…how can you stand that smell?" inquired Meiko as she threw up again.
"It's all about what you are used to." explained Naruto as he reached for the pug, his hand going into the blood and puss filled water. He yanked the plug allowing the water to drain.
"Also the bath didn't overflow, that would have been a real mess." confirmed Fu as she handed Naruto a towel from the rack. He whipped his hands off before trying the sink, to everyone's amazement the water actually ran out.
"Damn, it is even hot," admitted Naruto before looking back. "Maybe we can get a shower in the downstairs bathroom."
"There is a dead woman lying there and you're worried about hot showers?" inquired Meiko as Sakura snapped out of the daydream of a hot shower.
"Dead bodies are common, hot showers aren't." answered Sasuke "So are we going to toss the body outside or what?"
"We will close the door and leave her," answered Naruto "We only had to check to make sure the water wasn't overflowing.
"My God, look at her face!" exclaimed Meiko as Naruto looked back and saw that the woman had once had a massive boil on her face, which had burst at some point. Through the blood and puss the white bone of her jaw was visible. "Is that normal?"
"It isn't uncommon." explained Fu as she reached over the dead woman and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. She placed it in her pack and turned back to the stunned Meiko. "I like the scent."
"And you are all just used to this?" asked Meiko as Naruto walked up to his sister and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That is the way the world is now, better get used to it little sister." said Naruto as he walked away, Sasuke and Fu followed leaving Sakura and Meiko behind.
"Why did he show me that?" asked Meiko as Sakura closed the door to hide the dead body. "Is he trying to be a jerk."
"Maybe a little." Admitted Sakura, she wanted to punch Naruto for what he said to his sister but then something hit her. "On the other hand he did call you his sister didn't he?"
Meiko's eyes widened as she ran her brother's words through her head.
"He did." confirmed Meiko as her eyes light up. "He called me his little sister."
"Let me talk to him." said Sakura calmly hiding her rage. "I'll find out what is going on."
The sun had risen over the farm as Naruto stood watch by the main window looking out over the overgrown front yard and the fields though a gap in the curtain. The sound of running would could be heard in the distance, Meiko was standing in the other room looking at all the family photos as Sakura walked up to Naruto.
"What the hell are you doing," Snapped Sakura as quietly as she couldn't while sounding as angry as she could. "You are treating your sister like crap."
Naruto blinked as he looked into those deep green eyes.
"I don't really know what you are expecting of me?" inquired Naruto "She is a demon, how am I supposed to know her."
"Yes, but first she is your sister and she had nothing to do with this." snapped Sakura as Naruto got up, the two of them where only inches apart and looking straight into each other eyes. "She is a child, she had nothing to do with this."
"We were doing missions at her age, do you think the world cares about that right now." Countered Naruto as his eyes turned silted for a moment, Sakura did not back down at the sight of those deep blue eyes she had come to love becoming silted.
"Do you even know how old she is?" inquired Sakura
"I am 14." answered Meiko's voice as both Naruto and Sakura turned to face her, she stood there looking at both of them. "My birthday is in May if you wanted to know that to."
"She is only about 4 years younger than me, she should have an idea about what life is like in the field." said Naruto turning back to Sakura.
"You could actually talk to me, I am right here." offered Meiko
"Talk to her, Naruto please?" pleaded Sakura as she did something she never did before, she kissed Naruto's check. "For me?"
"Alright." Confirmed Naruto still stunned by Sakura's actions.
Well I hope you liked this chapter, next one I am planning to focus on Naruto and Meiko. Until next time please keep reading. Thanks Wilkins75.