Magnus: Well, here is the begining of a new arc, hope you find it of your liking, I'll explain more of the characters during this mission, as well as looking on the interaction between another screwed up team, you didn't thought that Sakura was going to get along with Shino and Kiba, did you?, well, enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, as well as anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic, Reiko Zonbolt is owned by Kage Bijuu, and the other OCs belong to me

Chapter 15

Silent Hell – Part 1

Edward Elric was eating happily on the Ichiraku Ramen shop, where he and Naruto were currently on their third bowl of ramen, after all, it was Naruto's day of eating ramen, since his father only allowed him to eat this blissful food one day at week, in order to ensure a good diet full of vitamins and proteins for the rest of the week, Ed was eating it because he just found it much more tasty than bread alone

"So, Ed, how did it felt to smash the Uchiha with Mallet-sama?", Naruto suddenly asked, earning a snickering from the alchemist

"Oh, it felt so good, I may make it a weekly sport!", Ed replied happily, he hated the word 'chibi', and he made it clear when he mercilessly beat the Uchiha heir, and half of the population made a mental note on not teasing the alchemist about his height

"Can I join next time?, I promise not to break Mallet-sama!", Naruto asked while snickering, he was an addict to mischief and fun

"Sure, but you should stop making me angry, you should look for another hobby while Hinata is not near you", Ed replied, for he knew that Naruto only teased him when he was stripped of his soon-to-be-wife

"Ok, ok, I'll stop, but is still funny when you make those SHORT rants!", Naruto said, while making emphasis on the word 'short'

"NARUTO!!!", Ed yelled, and Naruto laughed, and it was then that another figure entered the shop

"Hi!, I heard that here the remen is delicious!, I want one big bowl!, huh?, what are you doing here Al?", The young man asked surprised

"WHAT?! AL?! WHERE?! WHO ARE YOU? FROM WHERE DO YOU KNOW MY BROTHER?!", Ed asked like a machinegun, any information about his brother location was invaluable

Hokage's office, a few minutes later...

Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to relax, he just had more than enough visits for the day, and it wasn't even midday, first a beaten Kakashi and Sasuke, the first asking for a written permission to get a legendary weapon from the Uzumaki merchant, the second, asking for the Alchemist to be punished for beating him, both cases negated and kicked out of his office, then it was Sanger Zonbolt, asking for permission to carry a wedding between two genins, he barely managed to convince him to wait until the kids reached an age of 15, and then several family heads came at the same time asking for their kids to learn the art of the 'Elric Clan', even the Yamanaka offered their younger daughter to be part of the Elric clan, just to pass the art of alchemy on their blood too, and after he managed to kick everyone from his office, he started to smoke, letting his vice to relax his sore nerves, until the intercom sounded

"Hokage-sama, Elric-sama want to hire a team for a mission", the secretary voiced, and Sarutobi sighed

"Let him in", Sarutobi replied, and soon, Ed entered the office

"What do you need a team for, Elric-sama?", Sarutobi asked, usually, the Alchemist didn't need any help to make his job

"I got notices of my brother's whereabouts, I want to hire a team to bring him to this village, of course I'll go with this team, as you know, he and I have trust issues", Ed explained

"Before we decide anything, from who did you got this information?", Sarutobi asked, getting ready to her the most dreadful name that could come along with the word information

"Oh, right, it was from someone who traveled with the merchants, his name is Desmond Miles, ad he just got hired to work here on Konoha for a time, however I forgot to ask where is he working at", Ed replied, and the Hokage seemed to relax greatly

"Very well, and where is your brother at?", Sarutobi asked in a better mood than before

"In a town called Silent Hill, is located to a day and half to the south, I believe that a team of genins will enough, but whatever you decide will do, I'll pay as much as you ask, Hokage-sama", Ed stated

"Actually, money is not what I'm interested in, you'll see, there are many clans interested in your art, which I actually understand that is quite unlikely that someone here can learn it, but they demand you to take either an apprentice, or getting married to a girl of a clan, to ensure the continuity of your art among the village", Sarutobi explained, while Ed started to eye twitch, and as Sarutobi noticed this, he decided to further explain

"Don't worry, Elric-sama, you won't be forced to marry or teach to someone you don't want, so, while you are recovering your brother, I'll check for candidates to be your apprentice, and you'll select only those that you consider worth trying, but you must take at least one if you want to avoid to be the target of sevaral hormonal girls that would like to add your alchemy to their clans... like that Harunos", Sarutobi warned, and Ed paled at the mention of the pink haired girls

"Ok, I understand, so, can you assign a team so we can leave at once?", Ed asked impatiently, and Sarutobi started to check some papers

"Hmmm... it seems that all the teams with clearance to leave the village are busy right now, with the exception of team 7... well, I don't think they'll mind the walk, besides team 8 is already there purchasing some books for my grandson, so, you'll be assigned team 7 to escort you there", Sarutobi stated, knowing that the boring town had nothing that could represent a danger to anyone

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, I'll go for them immediatly, so we can depart today", Ed replied, while taking the singed papers that approved of this mission, as Ed left the office, a though assaulted the Hokage's mind, and soon he called his secretary

"Search for a man named Desmond Miles, and bring him to my office", Sarutobi ordered, there was something that just didn't seems to be right about all of this, he may be becoming paranoid, but it was quite impossible for Ankiseth to not being involved on this

Meanwhile, in Silent Hill...

Kurenai and her genins were just finishing their shopping, they managed to get all the books that they were told to purchase, half of them were very educative, with topics about human anatomy, medicinal and poisonous herbs, and some very rare fighting style books, the other half were novels about either heroes or criminal investigation, Kurenai couldn't help but to feel that the honorable grandson was going to have a very good education

"Kurenai-sensei, can we visit the church after we finish this?", Sakura asked, thing that her teammates hated a lot

"I suggest against it, we should return to the village as soon as possible, this is a mission, not a vacation", Shino said, in a very unfriendly voice, he really wanted her to be lost in action

"Yeah!, Shino is right!, besides, why do you want to go to that place?, are you from that religion?", Kiba asked, he too hated the pink haired banshee, but unlike Shino, he wanted to actually place the bitch in her place by his own hand

"No, I don't even know what religion they practice, but I heard that they sell some love potions that really works", Sakura replied with a gleam on her eyes

"Really?!, oh!, then we can spend a little more time to check those, I mean, for shinobi investigations, you don't know when that could come in handy?", Kurenai said, for she wanted to test that on certain bearded Sarutobi, and with a loud sigh, the boys followed their sensei and the banshee, and as they approached the church, some kind of mist started to rise from the ground

Back with the Hokage...

Sarutobi eyed the man in front of him, no more than 25 years old, dressed as a mere civilian, with no body language of being capable of anything related to shinobi skills, he even had the hood of his hoodie down, showing that he had very short hair, so normal that it was impossible to him to be part of a mayor plot, so normal, that it was startling

"So, I heard you are new around here, Desmond-san, also I heard that instead of becoming a citizen you have chosen to work as a helper for someone of this village, care to tell me who he is?", Sarutobi asked, and the man nodded

"Of course, Hokage-sama, my new employer is called Ankiseth Uzumaki, it was a nice coincidence that he was posting a note that he wanted to hire a helper when I was passing, he has offered me the longest contract I've ever signed on my life, and is quite well paid!", Desmond replied, and Sarutobi paled, his mind was remembering that 'Coincidence' and 'Ankiseth' doesn't go together

"And the information you gave to Elric-sama was delivered after or before your meeting with your new employer?", Sarutobi asked, while trying to see if this man was something else

"It was before, but I don't understand why do you ask", Desmond replied, and Sarutobi relaxed

"Nothing of importance, you can go back to your employer, and stay out of trouble", Sarutobi finally said

"I will be good, you don't have to worry about me", Desmond said while leaving, closing the door behind him, and leaving the Hokage to his thoughts, Sarutobi was about to lit up his pipe, when a small bit of information startled him

"Is just my imagination or that man didn't make a sound while moving?... I think... I'm becoming paranoid, is not like everyone is connected to that man, right?", Sarutobi said in a low voice, and suddenly he shivered, and reached for a bottle of sake, and took a small sip, and deciding that he didn't need more to kill that thought, he returned it to it's place, and decided that paperwork was not so bad after all

In some place, between Konoha and Silent Hill...

"LET ME GO!, YOU OVERGROWN MOUNTAIN OF MUSCLES!, LET ME GO!", Ed shouted with all his strength, for Lee was carrying him over the shoulder

"I thought you wanted to get there as fast as possible", Lee said

"He is right, you said we should hurry up to catch up with your brother, and since you have short legs...", Anko teased, for she truly enjoyed Ed rants

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE CAN HIDE BEHIND A SESAME SEED?!", Ed ranted as only he knows how to do

"She hasn't said that, and you aren't that small", Hinata said in a cute voice that prevented Ed from ranting at her

"Yeah, besides, it's your own fault, if you had drank milk while a kid, you wouldn't have this height complex", Naruto said in a mocking, yet friendly, voice

"Lee, put me down in the ground please", Ed asked with almost no emotion, and Lee allowed him to stand in the ground

"Naruto, I think he is angry", Anko said, since she witnessed the beating that the Alchemist unleashed in the Uchiha brat, she knew it wasn't something to take lightly

"You think, yet I know, but for the pipsqueak to have revenge, HE NEEDS TO CATCH ME FIRST!", Naruto said, while evading just in time the wrath of Mallet-sama

"RUN NARUTO-KUN, RUN!!!", Hinata shouted while giggling for she knew that in the end, this was only a game between these two

"At least they are running in the correct direction, lets follow them, it would be really bad if any of these two trips and falls on their heads", Anko said while laughing, and then they started to follow the two blondes

After some minutes, Naruto and Ed reached what looked like the ruins of an old curch, by now Ed was panting and sweating, not for lack of physical condition, is just that no human is capable of overcome Naruto's unlimited stamina and energy, so, he decided to call a truce

"Hey, gimme a minute, I don't have unlimited stamina like you", Ed said

"Sure, catch your breath, then we can run again when you feel like it", Naruto offered, and Ed gladly accepted, so, he went to one of the half standing pillars that were still there, but as he sat in the floor, he and Naruto heard something cracking

"Uh-oh", Ed muttered startled, for he felt the floor beneath him was what was making that sound

"Ed, don't move, I'm gong to reach for you, stay calm, and everything will be alright", Naruto said startled, for only God knows how much the Alchemist will fall if the floor breaks, maybe a few inches, maybe it was a bottomless hole

"I'm calm, I'm not moving, just make haste", Ed replied while maintaining his calmness, until a fly landed over his head, making the floor cracking wildly

"OH SHIT!", Ed shouted while the floor beneath him broke, making him fall into the darkness

"ED!, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!", Naruto shouted while looking thru the hole, and soon, Anko, Hinata and Lee arrived

"What happened?", Anko asked, worried for the safety of the alchemist

"I'M OK!, I JUST NEED SOME LIGHT HERE DOWN!", Ed voice sounded from beneath, and team 7 looked at each other

"Ok, we are going to go down for you, don't move!", Anko shouted, and then team 7 jumped down, once there Lee decided to repel the darkness

"LIGHT OF THE NORTH STAR!!!", Lee shouted while rising his left fist, and a ball of bluish light formed, illuminating the are, but temporary blinding the others, and this made Ed to trip and fall over something hard

"Sorry, I should have warned you before using this, Ed, are you ok?", Lee asked, while looking at the alchemist, who had his eyes wide open, staring into grey ones,

Further inspection revealed, that Ed was over a girl in a very awkward position, with his lips pressed against her, yet this only lasted for five seconds, as Ed stud up with lightning speed, and upon he stud up, the girl stud up too, she was dressed on something that looked like an hybrid between a dress and a battle armor, her skirt was open in the front, revealing sleek legs, covered into stockings, and yet, her skirt was being supported by some kind of metallic structure, her head was being adorned with a bonette, and her face, even while looking angelical, showed no emotion

"Greetings Master, thank you for awakening me, what are your orders?", the girl asked in a very sweet voice, while looking at Ed

"Master?, why do you think I'm your master?", Ed asked, by now team 7 could only stare doumbfounded at the scene, for the short alchemist was trying to reasoning with an unknow girl that was already calling her Master, thing that no male in Konoha would pass up

"Because you awakened me, and only my Master can do that, by logic, you are my new Master", the girl replied, and as Ed looked at her with a curious expression, Hinata activated her Byakugan, noticing exactly what she was not

"Well, first, stop calling me Master, you are making me look like the pervert men of Konoha, my name is Edward Elric, but you can just call me Ed, and second, I would like to know your name, if you have one that is", Ed stated, while doing his thinking pose, as if analysing the girl

"Of course, Ed, my creators called me Ashlotte, however, as my Master, you are free to rename me", Ashlotte replied, and after this answer, Ed claped his hands, and reached to hold Ashlotte's face, while placing his forehead against her, of course Ashlotte bended her knees to allow this, but she didn't resist, and the scene looked utterly cute in the eyes of team 7

"KAWAI!!!!", they shouted at the same time, while taking some photos of the moment

"What does that means?, never mind, Ashlotte, you are indeed a masterpiece, your creators did a great work on you, but I felt some design flaws that I'll correct when we get a chance", Ed stated, and Ashlotte nodded at this

"Ok kids, what is going on?, because I don't understand anything", Anko asked, she was getting tired of being outside of the events

"This girl is made of steel and gears", Hinata replied, earning a stare from the snake lady

"She is a robot, but we have lost enough time here, we have go for my brother, remember?", Ed asked, getting some nods from the genins, but not from Anko, who was still wondering who the hell was this girl

Silent Hill, two hours later...

Sakura was running for all she was worth, the only thing in her mind was to get out of the mist, she didn't look back, or to the right or left, she just kept running straight forward, the only other thing on her mind was to not allow the monster that was chasing her to get closer, the last thing she wanted was to be cut in half by that horrible serrated blade, so, she kept running, and soon she found the end of the town, just a little more and she'll be able to get out of this nightmare, she was so engrossed on this, that she failed to see the little stone in the way, a stone that made her to trip and fall on her face

"OOWWWW!!!"

Sakura shouted on pain, she wanted to complain and cry over this, bt she knew better, she had to get out fast, she was about to rise from the ground, when she heard heavy steps behind her, in a reflex she turned around, but wished to never have done that, for she saw the monster, a humanoid creature that was very tall, with a greyish skin, an apron that looked as if made of human flesh, it's head was covered by a dark Pyramid-like helmet, with no holes for the creature to see, and it was holding a serrated blade over it's head ready to slain the pink haired kunoichi, who only could scream as the monster moved the blade to kill her

BANG!!!

The sound of Casull brought hope to Sakura, as she watched the blade being deflected from it's course, imbedding it on the ground at her side, soon, a multi-color blur passed her, severing the hand that was holding the serrated blade, just then something pulled her with great force, taking her away from the danger, while she looked at Lee, descending on the monster, and unleashing a brutal combo that launched it at a great distance, and to finish it, the sound of claping hands was heard, and soon, where the monster landed, a massive quantity of spike raised from the ground, impaling the monster, killing it

"Sakura, what happened here?, where is your team?", Anko asked to the pink haired kunoichi, who would be already running away if not for Ashlotte, who was holding her as if she hasn't any weight

"We must escape, we are in grave danger!", Sakura shouted, tears pouring out of her eyes

"Sakura of the Haruno, where are your brothers in arms and your instructor?", Lee asked in his regal voice, while holding the blade of the fallen monster, thing that made Sakura to pale and shiver in terror

"ANSWER!", Naruto shouted, while pointing Casull to her forehead, thing that made Anko proud, for she believed that everything was allowed to get the required information

"They are dead, THEY ARE FUCKING DEAD!, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!, JUST LET ME GO!, I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THEM!!!", Sakura shouted with tears coming out of her eyes like rivers, and this information startled Ed and the others to the core

Magnus: Hope you liked this, and I want to ask you what do you think about the characters on this story, just don't say they are messed up, for that is the main idea, lol, well, see ya in next chapter!