IMPORTANT: Just to give you a heads up, I am going away for a multiple day vacation in just over a week. I will try my best to post again before I leave but I cannot make any promises and I will not update while I am on Vacation so you may have to wait until almost October for the next update. Sorry but it cannot be helped. Now enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 30 Water
Shikamaru took a deep breath as he sat behind the broadcast system that Orochimaru had put in years ago in this base. The system worked by having a communication dish rise up from the lake just high enough to break the surface of the water at low tide. It was more advanced than the standard one that stood a few miles outside of the town, that one lacked the strength to reach the sand village where he hoped that Temari was still alive and still human. Standing behind him was Fu and watching the other monitors was Sai, a black curtain had been set up so that Demons if they intercepted the broadcast could not see anything more than the two of them and a black curtain.
"Shikamaru Nara calling Sunagakure." said Shikamaru over the same communication channel that they would normally use in the Leaf. He got nothing but static, he tried again and got nothing but static. He would not stop until he got ahold of her or until the communication window closed. Finally on the fifth attempt the static shifted and then slowly the image of a dirty worn out woman dressed in ninja gear. Her face was worn and an extremely tried look with multiple dark bags under her eyes. Those eyes widened and a smile crossed her face.
"Little boy?" inquired Temari as Shikamaru's heart rose as he looked at her face.
"Well she seems to be human," added Fu as she did her job, since she could see through demon hedges it was theorized that she may have be able to see through it even through a broadcast. It was a theory but it the best they had.
"What are you talking about and who is she?" inquired Temari
"A refugee from Takigakure," explained Shikamaru "Temari listen I don't know how much time we have, the Leaf has fallen."
"Damn, it the flu got the Leaf too we have lost contact with so many villages because of the flu." stated Temari
"No, we were attacked the flu is a set up." said Shikamaru as Temari blinked. "I know it is hard to believe but it was all a set up by ancient demon races and they are trying to remove humanity and transform people into their kind."
"I have heard stories about that," admitted Temari
"You have?" inquired Shikamaru surprised.
"I have heard a lot of stories about what is going on, there are stories about stockpiles of the cure in the Leaf or whatever other village you want to put there. There are stories about that a person can cure themselves by doing something sick and morally wrong such as eating the flesh of someone who lived through the flu." explained Temari "Demons from the underworld claiming people's souls is one of the common ones but I chalked that up to religious nutcases. You are telling me that is true?"
"It is, you need to get your village ready to defend yourselves." Stated Shikamaru "Bronze hurts them use it."
"Shikamaru…there isn't a Sand village to defend." said Temari as she fought back the need to cry. "The only reason why I am even here is in case you tried to contact me. Most people are either abounding the village or trying to get what they can from her before leaving."
"The Sand is gone?" inquired Shikamaru as the woman he loves nodded her head solemnly.
"It fell apart two days ago when Gaara died." explained Temari as she held back tears at the loss of her brother and her leader.
"How?" inquired Shikamaru "He lived through the flu."
Flashback
The Wind was howling out of the North, in the distance a massive cloud of dust heading toward them a clear sign that in a few hours that the entire village. Temari looked up at the storm and judges that they had between two and three hours before it became impossible to see your own hand in front of your face. Normally this time of the year sand storms where so common that it was the most hated time of year but this year it has allowed their village to last as long as it had. It slowed down the spread of the virus because it limited people's movement and allowed the government to make plans to isolate the infected.
"Yes that worked for a while." Thought Temari but that had only slowed it down and had not stopped it. They were just holding it together; they didn't know how long it go on. Unless one of their quarantines held or if the number of people dying went down they would break. To make matters worse they were running out of food. The land of wind was not a garden full of food like other nations they relied on imports to supplement the little they grew along the coast. The coast was the first to be infected and the first to fall; there were no farmers in the field to pull in the harvest and no traders to bring it to the village. That meant next to nothing was coming into the village and a lot of hungry people.
"Without Gaara we would have fallen apart long ago," thought Temari as she looked at her brother standing next to a food cart handing out food to hungry people. Standing around guarding the food and her brother was as many ninjas as they could spare from maintaining the quarantines and removing the dead. It was not enough in her view because of the threat of a riot as hungry people tried to get more then what they had to give.
"Gaara we need to move on to the next block!" yelled Temari as the last of the thankful citizens an older man pushing his mother in a wheel chair came and took a single bag of flower from the cart.
"He should have left his mother at home." said one of the chunin guards beside her.
"Likely worried about someone attacking her while he was out." Explained Temari as the cart began to move down the streets toward the next block. They were halfway there when a powerful explosion ripped through the air, it sent Temari flying against a the stone wall of a nearby building.
"Get the food!" yelled a man's voice as Temari opened her eyes to see a scene of panic, people with their faces covered where running up and grabbing bags of food from the back of the cart before disappearing. The cart was burning and large shards of wood where spread out across the cobblestoned street. Slowly she got up her head ringing, she reached back to grab her combat fan when she stopped. There lying on the ground a shard of wood sticking out of the back of his head was her leader and her brother.
"Gaara." stumbled Temari stunned but he was already gone, the explosion had sent a shard of wood into the back of his head. An inch or two either way or he would have been fine but he was dead.
End Flashback
"But that can't stop a dumb luck." Explained Temari as with a shake of her head, she was worn out and showed it. "He was out trying to protect a shipment of food when a raid broke out, he was standing next to a food cart when a paper bomb went off and a shard of wood got him. We could not save him and because of him this place broke down even more then it had before. It is a state of panic outside."
"Alright if you can't make a defense there then we need to meet up," said Shikamaru as he looked at a map. "Meet me in five days at the largest town in map grid U8."
"Will do." confirmed Temari as she looked at Shikamaru with a rare loving smile that took his breath away. "I will be there come hell or high water."
"So will I." confirmed Shikamaru as he took a breath. "Temari-chan…"
"I know, save it until we see each other face to face Shikamaru-kun." Said Temari as she cut the link.
"Grid U8, that is an island in the middle of the southern ocean." stated Fu as she studied a map.
"She and I have worked out a few codes over a channel we don't fully trust and it may be simple but she knew that grid U8 meant grid F3." Stated Shikamaru as Fu blinked. "U is the sixth letter from the end of the alphabet and F is the sixth letter from the front and 8 minus the 5 which is the day I gave her to meet is 3 and F3 is the grid location for this city."
"And what happens when some demon figures that out?" inquired Fu
"By the time they figure that out Temari will be here and this bunker is well hidden and they would assume that I wouldn't bring her right to me and instead find a location to meet up with her away from my base." explained Shikamaru. "Also this place doesn't have the systems needed to broadcast to the land of Wind so this place wouldn't work for a base anyone with a brain would look somewhere else for the place we were hiding."
"Makes sense." stated Fu "Let's hope this woman is worth the risk you put all of humanity under."
"She is." confirmed Shikamaru before adding to himself. "To me she is."
Back in the Leaf village Lee moved back and forth in a hospital isolation room, he kept looking at himself in the full-length mirror, which covered almost one whole wall of the white washed room. He knew that it was a one-way mirror and such someone could be looking at him through the opposite side of the mirror. He did not know if someone was on the other side but in his heart he did not care, he moved back and forth. He suddenly stopped as he realized that he was moving back and forth like a big cat, he growled showing his new sharpened teeth and went back to what he was doing.
Standing on the other side of the mirror was Shizune, she looked at Lee on the outside he looked like a slightly thin Bakeneko most of all for a lion type Bakeneko which generally packed a lot of muscles on their quick frame. Lee had at least put on some pants and a shirt but he was not doing anything that was normal for a newly turned person. He was not exploring what his new body looked like and felt like, he wasn't smiling as he looked at himself in a mirror no he hated it. This should have been impossible but the fact that Lee was even alive should have been impossible.
"Little Shizune how are you doing." said a voice as Shizune turned to see her uncle rolling up to her in a wheel chair, he was still recovering from the attempt by Tsunade to kill him with gas and his fall out of the window to escape the gas.
"I have been better." admitted Shizune to her uncle.
"I heard they haven't found this Iruka of yours." said Dan "But take heart we will find him in time."
"And he will likely hate me," stated Shizune as she looked at Lee "He already hates me and what he has become."
"That shouldn't be possible, the change makes people love what they become for a couple months and by then they are so use to being a demon that they accept it." stated Dan "That is the backbone of the world we are building."
"And yet, brain scans show this isn't the case with Lee." stated Shizune as she looked at the reports which sat on the clip board she was holding.
"How could that be?" inquired Dan
"I don't know but this means Lee could try to hurt us or he may hurt himself because of depression because of the change." explained Shizune "In sense Lee is a human in a the body of a Bakeneko and on top of that he is a trained ninja."
Kakashi and Rin moved away from the Namikaze house, their sensei had offered them a place to stay until the situation in the Leaf became more stable. The two of them would have to share sleeping mats on the floor of either the living room or the basement. Being pregnant Hotaru was given the pull out couch in the living room, the spare bedroom wasn't finished and Naruto's and Meiko's room where both lacking beds and smelled of fresh paint.
"So we have to go to a gym to take a shower?" inquired Kakashi
"A shower that will not kill you or me," explained Rin as she pointed toward her flaming body, "Living fire what do you think will happen if I take a normal shower?"
"Nothing good and I am lightening." stated Kakashi "And electricity and water don't mix."
"No they don't." explained Rin as they moved toward a former gym, the demons had taken over the building. The former gym had been used first as a refugee center and then as a field hospital but now, it was being used to provide basic needs while the village got back on its feet. Showers and beds had been set up along with free food and a place to find loved ones. They moved into the lobby, which had seen better days and followed the signs toward the shower area for Rhyuu and Kamis.
"Why do they have separate showers for those two races?" inquired Kakashi
"Because those two races are themselves separated by their elemental type," explained Rin as they moved up to a blue and white Rhyuu demon who was sitting behind a desk.
"You two need showers?" inquired the Rhyuu
"Yes." confirmed Rin as the Rhyuu went on to explain how the shower works and apologized.
"Sorry but we are kind of full so unless you want to wait until another section is open you two will have to share a pair," explained the Rhyuu
"No problem." said Rin
"Ok, number 9." ordered the Rhyuu as the walked past her and down a long hallway and until they reached a room marked number 9. They entered to find a pair of stainless steel booths, the booths where themselves split into pairs and did not seem to have any showerheads of any kind.
"Get in that one and undress." ordered Rin as she pointed toward one of stalls, which were empty. Kakashi followed Rin's led as she stepped into one of the booths and started to undress. She was faster at it because he got his shirt stuck on his head by getting it snagged on his horns. He stepped into his shower and turned his head to look at Rin, he could not see anything above her shoulders but it was enough to make him happy that she could not see what was happening below his waist line.
"Now do you see the buttons on the wall," said Rin as Kakashi looked around; there was no showerhead or anything that could visible show where anything could come out of. The entire stall was made out what had to be some kind of stainless steel. Along the wall were small buttons with different symbols on it. "You need to press the blue on that looks like a lightning bolt."
"Simple enough." confirmed Kakashi as he moved to press the button; he stopped as he heard a rush of hair. He turned toward the source only to see blue white flames shooting up around Rin. He fought down a stream only because he saw that she was running her hands through her hair like a person would with a normal shower.
"Living flames, so she would like something like that." Thought Kakashi as Rin washed herself in a fire that belonged in a blowtorch. Wondering what will happen Kakashi pushed the blue lightning bolt, for a moment nothing happened then he saw multiple little holes open up in the metal side of the stall. Then before his eyes, bolts of lightning began to strike his body. The sensation was unlike anything he had experienced, it felt so strange but so good. He could feel dirt being blown away from his body. He did not know when he finally hit the stop button but when he did he found Rin was out of her stall.
"There is a towel dispenser on the outer stall," explained Rin at first Kakashi was confused until he saw that his body was actually shooting off small bolts of lightning. He stepped out only to see multiple different towels dispensers.
"Which one." said Kakashi as he looked at the multiple different towels.
"Hold on, get something to cover yourself I use a different one then you," ordered Rin as Kakashi grabbed his cloths and held it over his privates as the door Rin stepped into the stall. Kakashi's eyes widened she had not bothered to get dressed instead she held a silver towel which looked like a fire blanket was wrapped around her body at the breast line. Kakashi could not help but look at her, she did not have the largest breasts he had ever seen she had the body of a dancer smooth and graceful.
"You use this one." stated Rin as she held out a silver towel.
"Thanks." said Kakashi as he reached for the towel and accidently dropped the towel. Rin's eyes flicked down to his hardened manhood. He wrapped a towel around him as he tried not to think about what he had just done. "Sorry Rin."
"Don't be." said Rin as she bit her lip.
"Was that…want in her eyes?" thought Kakashi
Samui had finished checking out her new demon Rhyuu body in the mirror and had noticed a slight slim covered her body. She sniffed it and gaged at the smell, it was only in some spots and seemed to be residue of some kind from her change. Deciding the best way to get rid of the substance was the easiest take a bath. She gathered up her things and went into the bathroom she shared with Karui. She was half-tempted to try the door that led into Karui room to see if it was locked.
"They put a bar over my door they likely put on over hers," said Samui with some anger in her voice. "They don't trust me, because of what I am now. To bad for them."
She turned her gaze toward the bathtub/shower, it was just long enough for her to lie down but her wings would be an issue. To her amazement, her new wings folded in on themselves so that they ran down her back just like the reinforced spin, which ran down her back. She started the water and turned the water temperature toward hot out of habit. She put one of her now three-fingered hand into the water only to pull it back it was boiling hot
"What the hell is this place trying to burn me alive," cursed Samui as she turned the water temperature down, and down and down until she found a temperature she found conformable. That is when she realized that she had turned it all the way to as cold as it could be and she still felt it was slightly too hot. An idea crossed her mind as she lowered herself into the cold water; the water went up to her neck and the tips of her new feet poked out of the water. It was still slightly too hot for her likely an idea came to her as she raised her hand out of the water, she focused on it for a moment as ice began to dance in her palm. She lowered her hand back into the water and as she did, a thin layer of ice began to form on the surface of the water until the bath looked more like the North Sea then a traditional bath.
The temperature was now just right as she closed her eyes and began to enjoy her bath, she did not know when she fell asleep but she did and when she did, her head slipped down into the water. Normally this would wake a person up but it only caused Samui to relax more because as she sank lower into the ice water slits along the side of her neck opened up and she began to breathe under the water.
The kitchen in the base was attached to the dining area, it was not only a large room with long wooden tables and benches set up. The room was dark aside from a couple lights by the doors and by a long severing table, which led back into the kitchen area. Karui walked into the room only to get hit by the smell of cooking, her belly rumbled as she moved toward the source of the smell. Sitting at one of the tables was a man she had not spoken to one on one yet, Kiba Inuzuka.
She moved toward him only to see that he had a large piece of smoked fish on the plate along with some simple white rice. In front of him was a large bottle of a golden liquid, which he poured into a smaller glass before taking a pull from the glass.
"If you want something to eat, there are still a couple of fish out there," said Kiba as he pointed toward the severing table. "Seams that everyone wants to do their own thing right now, so it is eat whenever you want."
"I have no problem with that," said Karui as she grabbed some dishes and a glass before picking up a fish for herself and some rice. She placed her tray across from Kiba before picking up the bottle, which was about 3/4th full of a golden liquid.
"Please tell me that is some sort of alcohol?" inquired Karui as she poured some of it into her own glass; she could already smell the alcohol.
"Yes, Fire Whiskey one of the strongest…" started Kiba only to have Karui down the drink in one go. "Damn and I thought I could throw it back."
"Maybe on a normal day I wouldn't have done that but…" started Karui
"It is far from a normal day." finished Kiba as he took a sip from his own drink. "It hasn't been a normal day since this whole thing started."
"You are right there," said Karui as she took a bite of the fish, she nodded her head. "Damn whoever cooked this did one hell of a good job."
"Thanks, I plan to smoke a brisket tomorrow, 18 hour cook for that," explained Kiba as he played with the simple white rice. "Too bad I can't cook anything else to save my life, but Hinata said she will handle that."
"Hell simple rice was hard to come by in our village." stated Karui as she drank some more, this time she did more slowly. The Whiskey had a smooth feel but had one hell of a smoky taste. "Now we have so much it is kind of strange."
"Well we have so much because we raided a whole village who's people are likely either dead or turned into demons." Stated Kiba "Kind of makes you wonder what the point is."
"What do you mean?" inquired Karui
"I mean what is the world going to be like after all this is done? Somehow I don't see the world going back to the way it was before, too many lives have been loss too many people have done horrible things just to survive." explained Kiba as he took a drink.
"Yes, I saw a couple of women fighting over a dog because they wanted it for it's meat." Stated Karui as Kiba gave her a look.
"You don't have to cover it up, we have all done something horrible you where one of the women fighting over the dead dog weren't you." stated Kiba as he looked at the red haired woman straight in her golden eyes.
"Yes and the dog wasn't dead yet," explained Karui as Kiba nodded his head.
"I have seen just as bad, back in the early days I saw an old man maybe sixty or seventy year old get beaten by a woman because he was eating from a can of baked beans." stated Kiba.
"And why didn't you stop her?" inquired Karui as the young man got a distance look in his eyes.
Flashback
Kiba was breathing hard as he turned the corner after the woman he had just seen beat an old man bloody with his own cane. He had been stationed on the far corner when it happened and he had lost her for a moment but it was not hard to follow her path. He jumped over piles of trash, which was as tall as he was; an open door leading into an apartment building told him where she went. He stopped at the door and strapped on his oxygen tank and mask so that he could breathe without risk of infection. He followed the sound of metal scrapping against metal up to the second floor to a small apartment. The door was opened and as he entered, he pulled a kunai. He was waiting for the woman to jump out at him like a wild animal but when he moved through the apartment toward one of the bedrooms he found something that made him drop the kunai.
The woman he had just seen beat an old man for a can of beans was kneeling by a little bed, the bedding had flowers on it but it was now stained red with blood. The walls where a bright happy pink and had multiple drawings on it. Lying on the bed was a little girl maybe five years old, it was a horrible sight for anyone to see. Her face was covered with huge golf ball size blisters that where on the edge of exploding at any moment.
"It's ok, eat up." Said the woman with tears in her eyes as she scrapped the bottom of the can with a metal spoon which she feed the little girl. "Mommy is here, eat you will get better soon."
"Mommy it hurts." Said the girl in such a weak voice that sounded like a whisper but it was clearly all she could say.
"I know sweaty but it will get better I promise." said the woman as she reached under the bed to pull a long kitchen knife. "You will see Daddy soon and your sister."
"What about Stormy?" inquired the girl
"Your cat will be there too." Stated her mother as she finally noticed Kiba, she looked at him through tears filled eyes. "I will come with you once this is done."
"You don't have to do this." said Kiba
"Yes, I do." said the woman both of them knew what she was going to do and that the girl was beyond saving. "This is our home and this is where…."
"Not that I meant." explained Kiba as he picked the kunai back up. "You don't have to do this."
The woman cried before nodding her head.
"Mommy who are you talking too?" asked the girl as Kiba moved around to the other side of the bed. The boils around her eyes didn't allow her to see him which was good because all her focus was turned on her mother not him.
"No one dear, close your eyes and go to sleep," ordered the woman
"Will you sing a lullaby?" inquired the little girl as her mother began to sing a lullaby to her. Kiba held in his tears as the woman sung her daughter to sleep before kissing her forehead. She looked up him with deep blue eyes, before nodding her head.
Kiba closed his eyes for a moment before bringing the kunai down on the girl's neck. He hit the base of her spin which killed her instantly and as bloodless as he could reasonably do. The woman began to sob as Kiba cleaned the kunai before leaving the room.
"Thank you…." Said the woman in-between tears as Kiba reached the door as he passed by the kitchen on his way out the door, he saw the remains of what had to be Stormy on some of the dishes.
End flashback
"I got back to the old man and I told him about the little girl and the mother giving her last meal." explained Kiba "He spat on me and told me why waste food on those who are already dead."
"Well at least you didn't make her kill her own daughter." said Karui "That is something."
"I was talking with a team that went to collect the dead girl's body and turns out the mother hung herself from the ceiling fan after I left," added Kiba as he took a long drink "Didn't make a damn difference."
"It did to her, it made it easier for her." added Karui
"Well this makes it easier for me." stated Kiba as he took another drink.
"Me too." answered Karui as she took a drink of her own. "I am kind of luckily my mom died on a mission three years ago and my grandmother passed away in her sleep last year, so I didn't have to see any of my family member died. Saw a lot of friends but that is true for everyone."
"And I am lucky because none of my close family members died from this flu." stated Kiba as Karui's eyes widened. "Yes, my mom, my sister hell my close cousins all came down with the flu but lived."
"What about your father?" inquired Karui
"Ran off when I was nine." explained Kiba "I haven't seen him or heard anything about him sense. My mom scared him off."
"She must be one scary woman." laughed Karui
"You have no idea." confirmed Kiba
Naruto had finished setting up the room, as he liked it; it was not much just a simple bed that he had taken from one of the stores. It was made out of wood with built in draws where he placed his cloths and other items a simple headboard held a lamp and the bed was better than the one he had back at his apartment. He had a desk with a chair and against one corner, he had a sofa that cost as much as he had gotten in a month to live on before he became a ninja. He did not mess with painting the walls and the lamps and ceiling light was enough for him. He was finishing up and was about ready to go to the bathroom and take a shower when he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
"Shit." cursed Naruto as he moved toward the door which lead into the bathroom which he now shared with his Demon sister. He knocked on the door, which only got his sister to yell through the door.
"I am taking a bath!"
"Damn it." cursed Naruto, his sister must of heard him since she added.
"Go to the hot springs, it will be almost as good as a bath." advised Meiko as Naruto moved away from the door. It actually was not that bad of an idea, only that the base hot spring was unisex so bathing suits was required. He grabbed his suit, which he had grabbed in the city above him and headed out the door.
Unaware of who was heading her way, Sakura put her own cloths in one of the lockers built into an adjourn room to the hatstrings. It was a rather simple locker room a couple of benches with lockers built into the wall and down the center. A simple curtain allowed it to server as a locker room for both men and women. She put her cloths away and headed into the springs themselves, she let out a groan of complaint.
On the island only a few minutes away by boat was a world famous natural hot springs a place of luxury and were people would spend thousands to spend just a few hours at and this place was cheap. It had bad looking fake rocks along the walls; there was not even a false stone front down in the pool only concrete with tiles. There were seats along the walls of the 10x10 pool of hot water; steam was already filling up the room masking the room. A fake waterfall did come down one side of the room where the pool butted up against the far wall.
"At least Orochimaru sprung for that." Said Sakura as she removed the towel and placing it on a rack entered the hot water. It felt so good as she entered the water, it was just deep enough so that the water went up to the midline of her chest. She slowly knelt down letting the water rise all the way up to her neckline before going all the way under. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the hot water on her body. She heard only the rumbling sound of the waterfall not the sound of a locker closing in the other room. When she came up, she moved toward a spot on the far wall away from the door.
"I have to talk to Naruto-kun about the situation with the demons." Said Sakura outload to herself as she took a seat on the beach by the waterfall. In a siting position the water came up to her shoulders.
"What about the demons?" inquired a voice as Sakura's eyes snapped open and she turned toward the door, she could see through the mist and instantly cursed herself for speaking outload. Naruto was standing there by the door was the man she had just added the kun to only a few seconds ago.
"Naruto, I didn't hear you come in." stated Sakura
"Well I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." laughed Naruto with a smile that warmed Sakura's heart and caused butterflies to fill her belly. "What about the demons?"
"Wait why you aren't in the man's hot springs?" inquired Sakura
"Because Orochimaru is a cheap son of a bitch and only put in a single one," explained Naruto with a slight laugh as he opened the towel which he had wrapped around his waist to show an orange swim trunks with black flames around the bottom. "That is why I am in a swim suit."
"And he looks good in one." added Inner Sakura as Sakura's green eyes flicked down to the orange swimsuit with black flames along the bottom. He was built like a swimmer powerful but not over the top, he had muscles and while he didn't have a six-pack it was close enough to make no matter.
"I hope you are in one too Sakura-chan, if you aren't I can leave." said Naruto as Sakura blushed.
"I am in a suit," said Sakura "I just forgot."
"That is fine." said Naruto as he got into the water and did almost the same thing she did, dunking his head to get his hair wet. "My sister is using the shower so that is why I am here, but that still is avoiding the main issue what about the demons?"
Sakura took a breath and tried to figure out how to say it.
"Fuck it, Tsunade always say to get to the point, Naruto your parents said they couldn't come to you because someone in the Leaf would kill you." said Sakura "I was talking with Meiko and I know who it was."
"Let me guess Iruka-sensei." stated Naruto calmly as Sakura's eyes widened. "I knew it had to be someone who had was close too and who I would trust that limited who it could be. The 3rd was out because if the demons had access to the Hokage back then they would have done this whole thing a long time ago. That left Iruka-sensei, Ayame and her father. Ayame and her father wouldn't get them the information they needed from the ninja core while Shizune was gone and why put two spies on the same job it is waste so it had to be Iruka."
"Damn, he figured that calmly. He is wrong but he did it rationally," thought Sakura "He is maturing."
"I can't believe that Iruka would betray me but it is the only one that made any sense," explained Naruto "It would give the demons access to the ninja core of the Leaf and he did sleep with Shizune."
"Wait, he did Shizune always denied that." Inquired Sakura
"That is what he told me, something about some medical conference." confirmed Naruto as he dipped a towel into the water and placed it on his head. He moved to the corner beside to Sakura, he leaned his head back and let the towel rest on his head. "Still he betrayed us all."
"Actually as far as I know he didn't." said Sakura as Naruto took off the towel and looked at her. "It was Ayame and her father."
"What?" inquired Naruto as those deep blue eyes blinked in surprise.
"Meiko said that Ayame's father came by to rub the fact that he knew better than your father does in his face," explained Sakura
"That doesn't sound like him; he was always kind and made sure I had food in my belly. People used to boycott his stand but he kept doing it. Don't know where he got the money to keep it going while I feeding me for whatever I could pay him," stated Naruto as his eyes widened in understanding. Suddenly red chakra became to pour out of him; the chakra was so hot it actually caused the water to turn to a slight boil. His eyes turned too silted between blinks and he slammed his fist against the water causing a large splash. "Those sons of bitches they only feed me because they could have poisoned my food at any moment. They were only there to stab me in the back if the order came down. Damn, I even though Ayame had a crush on me for a while."
"Um…maybe you missed the hints but Ayame isn't interested in men she is interested in women." explained Sakura as Naruto started laughing, slowly the chakra faded away and his eyes turned back to normal.
"Well I always bad at telling when someone liked me like that and when they didn't." explained Naruto "Remember what is her name Tamaki, I thought she had a crush on me when she had it for Sasuke and Shion, I thought she wanted to be friends but she wanted to have my child."
"Add Hinata to that." thought Sakura
"Add ourselves to that." Added Inner Sakura
"Well I wonder how many of them are still alive?" said Naruto in a sad voice.
"I don't know about Tamaki but last reports were that the Land of Demon was holding out pretty well compared to other nations but they have a small population and a lot of isolated temples which may not have been touched by the virus." said Sakura "But those reports are old."
"A lot of the reports are likely old." added Naruto "I wonder if Ayame and her father where demons who all else were demons all along and who has already been turned? How many people have been lying an wait to bring down humanity?"
"No way to really tell, we don't really know if your parents are alive after that chakra explosion." added Sakura as Naruto nodded his head.
"I try not to think about that, but I don't know how to explain it but I am almost sure that the answer is that they are alive." stated Naruto "Foolish I know, I believed my parents where dead for years and now I know they are alive with no evidence."
"It is only natural; I believe my parents are alive." added Sakura as her thoughts turned to her own parents.
"Well they were out at sea so they could have avoided the flu," stated Naruto with a reassuring smile, Sakura shook her head. "What is wrong?"
"At the hospital we found that the first couple who brought the flu here came from the cruise ship my parents went too." explained Sakura as she looked down at the steaming water. "Their ship was infected before they even got onboard; they were likely among the first victims."
"Or they could have gotten it on the docks or in a shop at the docks, not on the ship itself." added Naruto in a vain attempt to raise Sakura's hopes.
"Thanks for trying but the simple answer is normally the right one, my parents walked onto an infected ship." stated Sakura "This flu is scary good at infecting people at least we are all semi-safe down here, we all have made it through the flu."
"Sakura-chan, I have to tell you something." Said Naruto as he turned to look at her and she did the same. Their eyes meet as he took a breath. "Sasuke has a the flu."
"What?" inquired Sakura
"Karin has some healing ability that is keeping him alive and he has some hedge to keep up appearance of being healthy." explained Naruto "Sasuke says he has to keep using Karin's healing ability to stay alive and she wants him. I am sorry, maybe when you find a cure you can get him back."
"Why?" inquired Sakura "Karin is welcomed to him."
Naruto blinked as he looked at her.
"Things change Naruto," explained Sakura as she took a breath. "Looking back I was such a fool, Sasuke is a cold unfeeling monster he has always been like that. I fell for a false front and I believed that I could change him and you can't change someone as dark as he is."
"You can change him Sakura-chan, with someone like you who can't lose at getting the man you want." Said Naruto "The man you deserve, you just have to take action and I am sure he will come to you."
For a moment nothing happened, Naruto was about to say something when Sakura moved. He thought she was leaving the hot springs when suddenly he found the woman of his dreams sitting his hips. She was wearing a simple red bikini which held what he had always guess to be C cup breasts behind them. They where trimmed with white and while simple the red worked great with her green eyes. Her green eyes where burning with something he had not seen before, wanting.
"Sakura-chan?" inquired Naruto his body shaking even as his manhood hardened and his mind filled with ideas that would have belonged more in Jiraiya's books. "What…what are you doing?"
"I am taking you up on your advice, Naruto-kun you said to go after the man I wanted." purred Sakura as she looked into Naruto's eyes. Those deep blue eyes where as wide as dinner plates as he tried to figure out what to do, she did not know when she started moving but she did. Slowly she moved his lips toward his and placed a kiss on his lips. At first, he did not return the kiss which caused a spark of fear in the pit of her stomach then he started to return the kiss. More than that his hands which had been resting on the bench moved to her side, he rested them on her sides not wanting to go someplace that would cause this to end.
Slowly she pulled away to get a breath but was still close enough for their foreheads to touch, for a moment both of them forgot about the outside world that they were in an underground base, that they were trying to find a cure to a deadly flu, that demons where taking over the world and turning people into demons. None of that mattered only each other and this moment right now. This time Naruto moved in first and planted a kiss on her lips, she then guilded his hands down to her waste near the strings that held the bottom of the suit on. When they separated for the third time, it was Sakura who spoke up.
"Let's head to my room." whispered Sakura into his ear as Naruto's heart began to race like a racehorse, but before he knew it, he stood up with Sakura in his arms and began to move across the hot spring. She yet out a yip in surprise but didn't resist as he began to carry her across the spring.
The two of them where kissing like made people as Naruto began to carry Sakura across the hot springs toward the stairs once there they could go to either his or her room and go from there. Nothing else really mattered as Sakura ran her hands through his hair, her legs where wrapped around his waist and his hands where on her but holding her up. Suddenly his foot hit a raised drain at the center of the hot springs; he fell forward as both of them crashed down into the hot spring.
"Shit." cursed Naruto as he broke the surface, Sakura had broken the surface a few seconds before him. Her pink hair was dropping over her eyes. He half expected Sakura to be angry but instead she laughed.
"What is that saying? Throw some cold water on that or something along those lines, it isn't cold but it works" laughed Sakura as she moved the hair out of her eyes and stood up and moved on her own out of the hot springs. Naruto watched her get out of the water, the liquid sticking to her skin and the red fabric of her swimsuit.
"Damn it. I can't believe it is over, I can't believe it even happened." cursed Naruto to himself as Sakura got out of the water, she stopped at the last step and turned to look over her shoulder. For a moment Naruto just looked at her, she did not have the large breasts of Hinata or even the legs of Ino, but she was perfect all the way around. Shapley womanly legs, a strong ton stomach, an ass to die for, a well-endowed chest and her eyes, he loved those green eyes and the pink hair. Everything worked together so well, and for a moment he wondered if a goddess had somehow appeared in front of him.
"Naruto-kun." said Sakura in a purr as she licked her lips "My room ten minutes."
"10 minutes." confirmed Naruto hiding his disappointment at the wait, he failed.
"10 minutes." confirmed Sakura as she gave him a playful smile that sent a chill down his spin. "It will be worth the wait."
Well I hope you liked this chapter, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I think you know what is going to go to happen next chapter. Until then next time please keep reading. Thanks Wilkins75.