Chapter 11: Home at last.
The young teen found herself standing in a strange room. The room was almost empty except for the girl that was now standing there and a dim light that hung from the ceiling. Everything was blurry. There was no door in the cream-coloured walls and both the ceiling and floor were made up of smooth white tiles. Her bare feet felt cold on the tiled floor. She looked around, turning to see all sides of the room. There were no furniture, no windows, nothing but the dim light. Realizing she was trapped she ran to one of the walls and started banging her fist against it.
"Hey! What's going on here? Let me out!" Her voice bounced off the walls of the small room, echoing several times. The room was slowly filled with laughter. It was a sweet, calming sound. She spun around. In front of her there now stood a young couple, holding hands and laughing together. They didn't seem to notice her as she stepped towards them. The young woman opened her turquoise eyes and stared into the forest green ones of the young man as their laughter faded, both of them seemingly unaware of the dark haired teen that stood next to them. The teen reached out her hand, trying to touch the young woman's golden hair that came all the way down to her lower back, but as her fingers came into contact with the woman's image both the woman and the dark haired man faded into colourful swirls of mist. She stepped back as the mist slowly disappeared. Now the room was empty and quiet again, but not for long as loud voices filled the silence. This time it was only the sound of voices and on images appeared to match the sound. She couldn't understand what the voices were saying, but they sounded serious and agitated.
"What's going on?" She called out, but the voices didn't answer. She felt scared and confused.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" A strong sounding man's voice suddenly yelled. This was shortly followed by the blood chilling scream of a woman. The girl hadn't expected the scream and it shocked her so badly that it literally knocked her to the ground. It felt as though the room was shrinking, walls closed in around her. A baby's cries could be heard along with more laughter, but this laughter was dark and cruel as evil itself. The dim light flickered and soon all was dark.
"Don't worry" The dark voice said. Huge, icy-blue eyes appeared in front of her, staring at her. They were filled with hatred and rage. "It will all be over soon…"
Bara's eyes shot open and she sat up straight with a start. She was breathing rapidly and her clothes clung to her skin that was covered in a cold sweat. She sighed with relief as she realised it had only been a dream. She laid back against the large figure of Arashi and gazed up at the clear night sky, her heart rate slowing to normal. The campfire had been out for a while now and the only light was that provided by the moon and the stars. A light breeze played through the leaves of the trees and the only sounds that could be heard was the soft snoring of Arashi and the sound of the river as its water flowed peacefully through the forest.
The nightmare replayed itself in Bara's head. This had been the third time she had the exact same dream and no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't understand it. It was like building a puzzle but not having all the pieces. She put her hand in her jacket pocket, taking out the small wooden amulet that was responsible for all the trouble they were going through. Gently she stroked its surface with her fingers, feeling its shape as the wood seemed to turn in and out with swirls. It was hard to believe that this small piece of wood could cause so much trouble. She wondered what was so special about it anyway as she started playing with the leather string that was attached to the wood. She knew it had some sort of hidden power, but other than that it was a mystery to her two. Carefully she placed it back in her pocket.
"We'll worry about that when we get back to the village." She thought to herself. The sound of the river made her drowsy and soon she closed her eyes again, drifting off to a now peaceful sleep.
While they had been resting, the masked woman had been moving swiftly through the forest. She had found the trail of those she was tracking and had followed it through the night. Finally she couldn't go any further and she came to a stop on one of the wide branches of a tree. Putting the bag that contained the supplies for the journey on the branch's wooden surface she sat down against the base of the tree.
"Might as well rest if I'm planning to get them by tomorrow" She thought as she also took some time to sleep.
Short time skip:
Considering the speed they were traveling by they would reach the village in no time. After struggling for about five minutes to get Arashi to the top of the cliff the small group had been going towards the village at full speed.
"I can't wait to get there, I'm sure I'm going to die if I have to eat some strange root again." Naruto said as they leaped from one branch to another. A nice, steaming bowl of ramen was all he needed, at least that's how he felt.
"Okay, I understand that the herbs found in this area aren't so good and I'm looking forward to something nice to eat two, but you can at least be grateful that we had something to eat." Bara pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Is food the only thing he ever thinks about?" She wondered. "Besides, the first thing we should do once we get there is get someone to look at that arm of yours."
"Stop worrying about it, it'll be fine. And we are going to be there soon anyway so then we can get grandma Tsunade to look at it, okay?" He didn't want to complain. His arm had been feeling worse lately, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Bara only nodded in reply.
"Wait." Arashi's telepathic voice suddenly ordered and the large wolf came to a stop on a branch. The others stopped on a branch just ahead of him.
"What is it? What's wrong?" The teen girl asked as she turned to face her animal friend.
Arashi lifted his heads and started sniffing in the air around him. "We're not alone." He said with a growl.
"Really, are you sure?" Naruto asked.
"Positive."
"Can you tell how many there are?" Bara jumped from the branch she was standing on to the one Arashi was standing on.
"Not precisely, but there aren't a lot of them, most likely three or less." His ears moved around, picking up all the sounds around them.
Suddenly two kunai shot out from between the trees, heading straight for Arashi and Bara. Naruto jumped over to the branch they were standing on just in time to block the attack with his own kunai.
"Well it doesn't look like they want to negotiate." He said as the three of them stood ready. Bara graciously jumped onto Arashi's back and seated herself at the bases of his necks.
"All right! Whoever you guys are, show yourselves!" The blond haired teen called out. Nothing happened.
"Come on! If you don't come out, then we'll just have to go find you!" His threats were answered with two more kunai knives that flew towards them. He blocked them easily, using the kunai in his left hand.
"Now you're asking for it. Shadow clone jutsu!" He created five clones of himself.
"Um, Naruto? How are your clones going to help us if we don't know where the enemy is?" Bara pointed out.
"Oh, well, I didn't really think about that." The boy admitted.
"I sense movement over there." The wolf informed them, turning his heads towards the location where his ears had picked up sound. Another kunai that came from that location confirmed his suspicions. The kunai imbedded itself in the branch in front of their feet.
"Good, now that we know where they are, let's go get them." The Narutos said as three of them leaped towards the tree where the knives had come from. A human figure could be seen hidden in the shadows. "Gotcha!" One of the boys yelled as he launched his kunai at the figure. The knife hit its target in its abdomen, sending the figure falling backwards off the branch it had been standing on. "Got him." The boy said with a smile.
"Don't be so sure of yourself." Bara told one of the Narutos that was still standing on the same branch she was. Curious about what she meant one of the boys that was standing on a branch above the spot where the person had fallen peered down at the ground. Instead of a person there was a log on the ground with a kunai imbedded in it.
"Substitution." The boy realized as a kunai came from behind and stabbed him in the back, reducing him to a puff of smoke. Everyone else turned their heads towards the origin of the attack. There on a tree branch stood their attacker. The person wore a short green dress that was tied around the waist with a crimson ribbon. A black mask covered her face and a few locks of light blond hair stuck out from underneath it. The only part of her face that was visible were the two pale green eyes that moved around constantly, watching her enemy's every move.
"So, you finally show yourself. What do you want?" Bara called out to her.
"I think you know well what I want and I don't want to hurt anybody today so way don't you just hand it over." Even though she was talking loudly they could hear that her voice was normally soft and sweet.
"I don't think so, you're not getting anything from us." One of the blond haired boys yelled at their attacker.
"Well then I'm sorry, but if you won't give it to me willingly then I'd just have to take it by force." The young woman sounded almost regretful. "I'm sorry if you get hurt or killed in the process." She took out several shuriken and launched them at the two boys that stood apart from the group. One managed to dodge the attack but the other was struck and transformed into a smoke cloud.
"I'm afraid you're the one who's going to get hurt today." A Naruto said as the three of him that stood with Arashi and Bara moved towards the light haired female, forming a circle around her. "Get ready!" He warned before all four of him came running or jumping towards her, fists readied for the attack.
As the first boy came into reach the masked woman grabbed hold of his outstretched arm and used the momentum of his jump to swing him around, hitting one of the others with his body. Both of them turned to smoke and the two remaining boys, who had been running towards her and not been jumping, stopped in their tracks.
"You're a lucky one aren't you? Your clones seem to be taking all the damage while you stay just out of reach." Naruto couldn't tell if she was smiling or not beneath that mask. "But you clones aren't that hard to beat, are they?"
"We'll see about that." One of the boys said as he made a hand sign and created two more clones of himself.
"Big mistake." Their enemy said as she took out more shuriken. "Now I know which one is the real you."
The real Naruto blocked the shuriken that were thrown at him with his kunai, which he still held in his left hand. Unfortunately for the clone of him that had been standing on the other side of young woman she has sent one flying in his direction as well, and he hadn't expected it. Thus there was one less Naruto clone.
"Nice blocking, but let's see you block this!" Their foe yelled as she sent at least ten shuriken flying towards him at once.
The three Narutos blocked most of them and dodged the remaining few. One of those they dodged shot past them, heading straight for Arashi, who had refused to join the fight unless Bara or Naruto's lives were in danger, and Bara. Before Arashi even fully realized what had happened, the shuriken had already passed over his heads. The dark haired girl let out a small cry of pain as the blade cut into her flesh. It sliced quite deep into her left side.
"Bara!" Naruto yelled in shock as he noticed what had happened.
"I warned you." The woman sounded somewhat shocked herself, as if she hadn't meant to actually hurt anyone.
"I'll get you for that!" The blond ninja yelled as he got ready to launch another attack.
"Naruto, wait." The telepathic voice of the large wolf came from behind him.
"What?" The boy turned his head slightly to look at his canine friend.
"Bara is going to need help. You take her, get to the village as soon as you can. I finish this fight." The wolf answered, growling fiercely at the masked woman.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, besides I can't take her because if she faints along the way then I shall faint two and then we might both die."
Naruto nodded in understanding. With great speed he undid his jutsu, moved over to the branch Arashi was standing on, lifted Bara off his back and headed in the direction of the village.
The masked woman was about to go after them when Arashi leaped onto the branch she was standing on. His heads were slightly lowered, the white and black hairs on his back stood on end and two pairs of white fangs showed as he snarled at her.
"You're not going anywhere." He said to her as he slowly stepped forward. As he stepped forward she stepped backward. She hadn't expected to be fighting an enemy that was as big as the wolf. Hesitantly she took out a kunai and held it ready.
Without warning the beast in front of her leaped forward. He landed with his one paw on top of her, pushing her down onto her back. His fangs seemed to glow blue as his black head opened its mouth and bit into her right arm. With a sudden shock of pain and panic her left arm swung around, stabbing and slicing the wolf where ever she could reach. He backed off, his chest stinging where the knife has cut him.
"You're weakening. Soon you won't be able to defeat me." She said sounding relieved.
"I don't have to defeat you, I just have to keep you busy long enough for them to reach the village." He corrected her, but she was right. He was weakening just as Bara was, and if she were to faint, so would he.
"That won't be so easy. I won't let you stop me!" She snapped back, but he appeared to be giving her a strange, cocky, animal smile.
"Actually I already have."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you feel it, a tingling in your right arm?" The wolf asked as he stepped forward again.
The young woman gasped in shock as she realized that her arm was feeling strange. She stepped backwards again, keeping the same distance between them. "What did you do to me?"
"Not much, I just paralyzed you. It should be taking effect soon. Then you won't be able to move a muscle."
She stepped backwards again, but her limbs felt rigid and the movement caused her to fall backwards. Arashi walked forward and placed one of his front paws on her throat. He brought his heads extremely close to her face.
"You will be like this for a few hours, which should give them enough time. I shall let you go this once, but if you ever threaten my friends again… I will kill you." He lifted his paw off her throat. "You have been warned." With that he disappeared in a cloud of glittering, blue smoke. He hadn't shown it, but he was exhausted and completely drained of strength. With the last bit of power he had left he had transported himself to his own realm. Once there he howled, informing his pack that he was in need of them. And then he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Naruto held Bara in his arms as he set off towards the village, leaving Arashi to finish the fight.
"You don't have to do this, I'm fine." The girl protested.
"Don't be crazy. If we don't stop that bleeding soon you're going to die." He explained.
"But Arashi." She tried again.
"Arashi can handle himself. Now stop talking before you hurt yourself even more." He warned her as they moved forward. He was going at full speed. Slowly things surrounding them became more and more familiar. Bara's black jacket was now stained with a pool of blood that was still growing larger.
"She's not going to last much longer." He thought. "Hold on, we're almost there okay." He told her as they passed another familiar tree. "Please don't faint now, please don't faint now, please don't faint now…" Finally they turned onto the road that leads to the village gate and his hometown was in sight.
Kotetsu Hagane and his partner Izumo Kamizuki were both on guard duty that day. They were busy playing a game of cards when Naruto came towards the village with Bara.
"Hey, what's that?" Kotetsu asked as he noticed the trail of dust created by Naruto as he came speeding towards the village. His friend didn't even have time to react before the boy sped past them in a blur of orange, blond and black. Both men had to blink the dust out of their eyes after he had passed.
"I'm I seeing things?" Izumo asked his friend after his eyes could open again. "Or was that Naruto just now?"
Naruto leaped from rooftop to rooftop, heading straight towards the hokage building. His right arm ached and he was exhausted. Bara had already passed out from the blood loss and that meant Arashi was out two. Reaching the building he ran down the hallway, but he slowed down as he came closer to the office door. He was so tired.
Tsunade had been sitting at her desk when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Nothing happened. There only came another knock, not wanting to have any trouble she stood up and walked over to the door. Opening it she got the shock of her live. There stood Naruto, with a girl in his arms.
"Hi grandma."
I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to be updating for a while due to us moving.