I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.
-Dwight D Eisenhower
Chapter 12: Brutality and Stupidity
It was the scream that woke him up. Inoichi's blue eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, but that was when the pain struck him. Ah, he had been hurt hadn't he? His most recent memories raced through his mind and then he realized: he had never defeated Aoi. The scream was from a girl. Kei!
Inoichi ignored the pain as he hurried up from his position on the ground. His peripherals caught sight of Shikamaru lying against the wall. The boy was in a rough shape, but he was breathing and didn't appear to be in any immediate danger. Inoichi stared straight ahead to where Kei was huddled on the ground with her hands over her mouth.
Just over the rocks, his gaze caught the cryptic sight of unmoving legs and a pool of red, blood. Naruto? Inoichi broke out into a hurried scramble as he climbed over the boulders that were blocking the cave entrance. His worst fears were not confirmed thank goodness, but instead he saw something truly awful.
Naruto was collapsed over Aoi, but his hand was still knotted around the dead man's throat. Just under the boy's hand, Inoichi could see the telltale brown scorch marks from chakra burns. "Don't tell me... Oh no..." The boy had gone into a Kyuubi form. Shoot, Sarutobi had even warned him about this! He had been bullheaded enough to think that he'd be able to stop the boy if the time came, but he hadn't even imagined being incapacitated at the time. Aoi had died for his mistakes.
The unconscious twelve year old had a steel senbon protruding from his neck, obviously the work of the shocked girl. He slowed himself into a crouch and knelt down beside Kei and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Shh... It'll be alright. Let's just get you over to the house, hmm? Satoya-san will be waiting for us with news of her husband I think."
Kei made no response and instead just sat there quivering with her eyes clamped shut. She didn't think she could bring herself to speak because the effort would prove too much for her stomach. Instead she gave a weak nod and let herself be pulled up from the ground. She wavered on her feet as she stood, but regained her balance and barely choked out, "Help Shikamaru. I'll be fine."
She bit out the words quickly before closing her mouth again. The words were muffled under her hand, but Inoichi got the message and gave a kind nod. He was secretly in a furious panic, but he couldn't just show worry to his students. They needed a strong hand right now.
He gave Kei a comforting squeeze before turning back to Naruto. He quickly slid the senbon out of the boy's neck and paused for a moment before smoothing out the boy's clenched fingers so he wouldn't be choking a dead man. He hauled Naruto off the corpse and dropped him by the rock face before turning back to the boulders that surrounded the entrance. Naruto didn't look like he was in immediate danger and Inoichi had seen in the file that the Kyuubi could help with the rest.
He climbed back into the cave and dropped down to the dusty ground. The faint evening light filtered into the space and cast a shadow over Shikamaru. Shikamaru wheezed in and out as he leaned against the rock. All of the jutsu had been a really bad idea and he was sorely regretting it now. He only had to attach himself onto one shadow and it was stupid to attempt two.
His eyes dropped as he stared weakly at the ground. His brain was a swirling mess. He couldn't think straight and he darn well couldn't see straight. A mix of colors met his vision as everything became a huge moving mass. A bit of red met his eyes and Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly. Why was there red there? A hand shook him slightly and all Shikamaru could tell was that he was being moved. He wasn't quite sure who was moving him though. It wasn't Kei, she hadn't been wearing red.
Perhaps it was Inoichi - Shikamaru had seen him dressed in his red outfit a while ago. A faint echo met his ears and Shikamaru got the feeling that someone was talking to him. He opened his mouth to explain that he couldn't understand, but no voice came out. He was just too weak. His mouth closed again. The black haired boy bobbed back and forth a few more timed before secure arms wrapped around him and pulled him up.
Shikamaru lurched back in the arms and was limply carried out into the sunlight. The sudden change in light blinded him for a moment as he shut his eyes. Now that he thought about it, he was really tired. Perhaps he should sleep. Yes, he had always liked resting anyways. "Don't fall asleep on me, Shikamaru-kun! Keep your eyes open!" The words came much closer now.
His eyes silently drifted back open and he looked up into his sensei's face. "Ino...ichi-sensei." Shikamaru breathed out wearily. He was just so tired. Why couldn't he sleep like he always did? Before he had said he slept to conserve energy, but now he had to regain it.
"Just stay awake until we reach Satoya-san. She'll fix you up a bit and then we'll see about getting you to sleep, alright?" Worry was laced through Inoichi's voice. He didn't like the way Shikamaru was drooping. The boy had used more energy than he had and it didn't take a medic nin to know the boy was almost out of his reserves. Ninjas could die from running out of chakra. Shikamaru was too young and too promising for that to happen and it most certainly wouldn't happen on Inoichi's watch!
Kei had reached the house before the duo and was just being let in as Inoichi came up with Shikamaru in his arms. "Satoya-san, do you have a first aid kit?" Inoichi breathed out hurriedly. The woman was standing horrified in the doorway, but the words snapped her back to the present.
Noriko nodded and flung the door open before scurrying away. Inoichi forced his way past Kei and looked around the small room. Sometimes he cursed small houses because they never had couches. "Upstairs!" Inoichi called out and headed over to the stairs. His back screamed at him as he heaved his way up the stairs. He wasn't as young as he used to be. This reminded him of why he had quit for Torture and Interrogation all of those years ago. He wasn't nearly as fit as he used to be.
He lugged the barely conscious boy up the stairs with Kei wobbling behind. His hand gripped the railing tightly as he stopped mid-flight for breath. Inoichi steadied himself and finished the trip up the stairs before heading over to the wall where he had previously rolled out the cots. He was thankful now that he had taken the time to set everything up earlier.
He dropped onto one knee and laid Shikamaru down on the cot. "Don't fall asleep yet, Shikamaru-kun. Satoya-san will be right back with the first aid kit. Let me treat you first before you pass out." Inoichi's blue eyes glinted with worry. He noticed Kei finally crawl her way up the stairs. A hazy look was in her eyes as she dropped down on the cot near Shikamaru.
It was then he remembered that his genin were a trio. He still had to get Naruto! He bit his lip. "Kei-chan, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but can you try and clean Shikamaru's injuries when Satoya-san comes? I need to fetch Naruto-kun." A terrified look entered Kei's eyes at the sound of Naruto's name, but she nodded anyways.
Inoichi frowned slightly at the response, but shook his head. He couldn't blame Kei much. Naruto had his hand around Aoi's neck and it was obvious what had transpired while he was unconscious. He wobbled up from the ground and walked past Noriko as she came rushing up the stairs. Inoichi looked back over his shoulder to see the woman bending over beside Shikamaru. Clearly the two of them would be able to help fix the boy up a little bit.
The jounin hobbled down the stairs and towards the open door. As he exited he heard the sound of shuffling feet to the side. Inoichi, still wary after the attack, whirled around to see two men coming towards him. The younger of the pair stepped forward and said, "My name is Ibu Sadao and this is Sanjo Yori. We were two of the miners that got trapped under. The blonde haired boy got us out so we want to be able to return the favor. What do you want us to do?"
Inoichi sighed in relief. He looked at the young man with a scrutinizing eye. The red head didn't look as if he'd injured himself too badly. He was layered thickly in black dust, but there was no blood on him. Yori was tall and strong and didn't seem to be as tired as his companion. They would definitely make his job easier.
"Ibu-san, Sanjo-san, my team got injured during the fight and I need to take care of them. Some boulders fell in front of the mine, but I'm not sure how far the damage goes. Nor do I know if all of the miners got out. Can you make sure everyone is safe?" Sadao nodded his head in the affirmative and tapped Yori on the arm before silently waving towards the mines.
"We'll get the rest out. You've already done enough for us." Ibu never said the words, but Inoichi could hear the thanks in his voice. Inoichi could only wish that he could apologize for ever causing all the trouble in the first place.
"Thank you." Inoichi smiled weakly as the two men broke off into a run towards the mines. There wouldn't be any time to waste in a situation as delicate as this.
The man slowly followed after the two. He watched as they climbed quickly through the gap between the rocks. They disappeared from his view and Inoichi turned his attention to the two bodies outside of the cavern.
He walked up to the unconscious boy and hauled him up from the ground. "They make kids out of different stuff these days." Inoichi said with a wince. He hunched down so Naruto would fall over his shoulder and stood up. The blonde boy dangled over Inoichi's shoulder limply and for once, Inoichi was glad that he was unconscious. The boy would need as much sleep as possible if he was to deal with waking up.
Inoichi cast a look to the side at Aoi's corpse. He had grown used to the sight after all these years, but Naruto was early to have his first kill. Inoichi personally didn't have his until he hit 16 after he had become a chuunin. Inoichi shook his head despairingly. He didn't look forward to when the boy woke up. There would be a lot of reconciling and Inoichi was sure it would not be pretty.
He brought the boy back to Masaki's house and climbed up the stairs to where the rest of his genin were. Shikamaru had finally been allowed to rest and was dozing peacefully on his cot while Kei hovered near. The girl was shaking violently and seemed to be on the edge. Inoichi remembered that she disliked participating in the taijutsu exercises and this was probably why. She was afraid of death and injuring people.
Inoichi dropped Naruto down on one of the empty cots and watched Kei carefully as her golden eyes tracked Naruto's every movement. It looked like she would be the first one that he'd have to talk to. Inoichi rolled Naruto onto his back so he could sleep soundly before he moved to sit by Kei.
The jounin sat silently to see if Kei would be the one to begin the conversation, but was met only with silence as Kei continued to stare at the unconscious form. Inoichi sighed and said, "Kei-chan, do you want to talk about it? When I was a young boy it helped me after the first incident like this happened." Inoichi carefully worked his way around using the word kill. It was enough that she saw it, but he was certain that if he talked explicitly on the matter that she would get even worse.
"Itscared me." Kei replied quietly. "It wasn't Naruto-san. I know it wasn't. It was the Kyuubi wasn't it?" Inoichi froze at the answer. He had expected that he would need to explain the Kyuubi to his team, but never did he think they would discern it on their own. It just goes to show this was what you get when you try to make an information gathering team.
"Yes, Kei-chan. It was. Don't confuse the Kyuubi for being Naruto-kun. It's already enough that he had to live with the demon inside of him. Seeing his friends turn away from him would hurt him even more." Inoichi said comfortingly.
"It spoke, you know. That was the scariest thing about it. Its strength could have only been from the Kyuubi, but a part of me felt the emotions were still from Naruto-san. It only went after Rokusho-san after it saw what he did to you and Shikamaru." Kei wrapped her arms around her knees and brought them to her chest. She hid her face in her knees as Inoichi contemplated her words.
No one really knew how the Kyuubi thought. Was the Kyuubi an extension of Naruto's will or was it a separate entity on its own? None of the other nations had been very willing to share information and Kushina had never gone out of control since she was older when she was sealed. Inoichi bit his lip. From how Kei described it, the Kyuubi had a will, but it felt things that the real Naruto also would have felt. It would make it much easier to confuse the two if they thought alike.
"That may be true, Kei-chan, but when Naruto-kun awakes, please try to comfort him. He will blame himself for this ever occurring and he needs strong people by him at that time." Inoichi said softly, but he was cut off by a harsh glare from Kei.
"I know that Naruto-san needs help, but would it hurt to think about the others in this situation? Both Shikamaru and I were conscious at the time and we watched as Naruto-san murdered someone! We're only twelve, Inoichi-sensei. Coming to terms with something like this doesn't happen at a moment's notice. I'm still trying to get used to the thought that Rokusho-san is dead and that there is a monster inside of my friend." Kei ranted, her voice nearing hysterical at the end.
"Before I start worrying about how I should act in front of others, I need to take care of my own thoughts." Kei ended with a sigh. She buried her head back in her knees and let out an audible moan.
Inoichi frowned and wrapped an arm around Kei and hugged her quietly. He'd forgotten about how all of his other genin would respond to this. They were all going to be torn apart by this and only heaven would know how it would all turn out. He looked over to Naruto to see that the boy's blue eyes were already open.
Naruto stared at the ceiling with a dead look in his eyes. The Kyuubi takeover was always a conscious thing. It was weird to watch his own body act, but not being able to control any of it. It may have been weird, but it was purely disgusting to see himself kill someone. His right hand flexed unconsciously. He could still feel Aoi's flesh under his fingers and it made him feel ill. The worst thing was that under the bloodlust craze he could distinctly remember enjoying it.
It was, he could say, fun. Fun was supposed to be running around and playing tag on the playground. Fun was not watching the life fade out of someone's eyes. It made Naruto feel warped. The bruises from the fight with Aoi didn't seem to matter anymore. The aches all over his body felt dulled as he stared at the wooden ceiling. All he could feel was sadness.
"Naruto-kun? Are you awake?" Naruto heard Inoichi's voice from the corner of his consciousness and he turned his head to look at his sensei. When he saw Kei looking at him from beside Inoichi, he immediately turned away to look at the opposite wall. Kei had seen him like that. She probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Accursed Kyuubi.
"It's alright, Naruto-san. Just... Give it time." Kei's quiet words met his ears, but Naruto could tell they were filled with doubt. "I just need to collect myself. I know that wasn't you so don't be sad." Naruto ran his tongue over his broken lip in thought. She said it would be alright, but people rarely meant what they said and it still didn't get rid of the guilt in his heart.
"I'm sorry, Kei-chan." Naruto wanted to say sorry to one other person, but that person would never be able to hear him. He knew it was stupid because Aoi was going to kill them, but Naruto couldn't help feeling this way. The man had already surrendered to them. He had been in need of immediate medical assistance. There was no way Aoi could have been a threat to them while he was like that, but still Naruto had killed him.
Deep in the back of his mind, Naruto knew that Aoi would have been sentenced to death anyways. Not only had Aoi betrayed Konoha and stolen an artifact, but he had attacked Konoha ninja whilst invading Konoha territory. There was no way he would get away scot-free, but it didn't make Naruto feel any less guilty. Death by trial was so different than death by strangulation.
Stupid boy, if he was going to die anyways you just saved him the trouble of waiting. Stop sulking like a brat and celebrate your first kill. It's a momentous occasion after all.The Kyuubi hissed inside of his mind. Naruto clamped his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He wouldn't give in to the demon, he definitely wouldn't.
Oh come now. You aren't telling me that you regret my intervention? Without me your friends would have all died! You should be on your knees thanking me!The Kyuubi growled out in irritation. Naruto didn't know what to say to that. It was true; Kei and Shikamaru surely would have died unless Kyuubi had intervened. But Naruto still couldn't believe that what the Kyuubi did was good. He had still killed a man, no; Naruto and the Kyuubi killed the man.
"Naruto-kun, just get some more rest. You're still tired from the ordeal. Kei-chan, you should do the same, alright?" Inoichi cut through Naruto's thoughts and smiled weakly. His penetrating blue eyes stared at Naruto for a moment. Naruto had been twitching and going in-between frowning and smirking. It was an unnatural thing and Inoichi was sure it was the demon's fault.
Naruto looked up to Inoichi and gave a small bob of his head in assent before lying his head back down on the ground. "Forget about everything and just let yourself sleep. It will do you good." Inoichi soothed as he patted Naruto softly on the head. No matter what Naruto would do, he would always be just a child in Inoichi's eyes. The jounin would always seem him as the boy that had been in for countless psych exams and always brought a smile to the most hardened T&I member's face. Not even this would change that.
The moment for the first kill had come early, but it was expected. Things always changed during missions and Inoichi had thought he would be ready for it when the time came, but it was still as sudden as ever. Inoichi frowned slightly. Ino was the same age as these three. No doubt she would see her first death soon if not kill on her own. Inoichi bit his lip. It was still too young.
A few minutes later, a soft knock on wood direct Inoichi's attention to the stairs. He quietly got up and walked away from the three sleeping genin. They all looked so peaceful now. It was a peace that would end when they awoke one more.
Inoichi snuck away from the cots and walked down the stairs where Masaki and Noriko were waiting silently. Inoichi nodded a greeting as he made his way down the steps. Masaki pointed to the table before walking over to take his own seat at the table.
"We wanted to thank you for what you did today." Masaki began. "We know this wasn't a part of your mission and you weren't required to do this for us. We can't repay you immediately, but we can negotiate a settlement with your Hokage for payment over time." Masaki nodded solemnly before looking back up towards Inoichi. "This is the best we can do since we have to repair the mine and make sure it is stable before we can send money elsewhere. I am sure you understand."
"I do, Satoya-san. That will be perfectly acceptable, but please do not feel burdened in any way to rush the second payment. It is an extra-charge and it will be dealt with accordingly. I'm sure the Hokage will open correspondence with you as soon as possible. We need not worry about it yet though. We have yet to complete the mission we were originally assigned here for though. Would you mind if my team rests for a few days longer to recuperate from their injuries?" Inoichi asked pleasantly. Talking to clients about money was about as delicate as handing over a declaration of war. Act too nice and they think you're a sucker. Act too mean and they'll attack faster than the blink of an eye. Interrogation was ever so much simpler.
"We also want to thank your team for what they did. I think it's incredible what they did, especially for just being children." Noriko added in with a soft smile. She put a hand on her husband's shoulder and said, "I feel that I can speak for the women of the village when I say we are eternally grateful for their work in bringing back our men safely."
Inoichi twitched his lips upwards and replied, "I'm sure they will be glad to hear it." Well, I guess they solved my test after all.
Ha! I bet you all forgot about Inoichi's secondary test didn't you? (; I'm glad you're all enjoying this fic! I'm going to try and update once a week on Saturdays at 10pm, but it depends on how my life is and how my beta's life is. At most, I'll be a day late at Sunday at 10pm. I'll definitely be here though! This will begin next week. (:
Special thanks to Pokepikachu1 for betaing me and to RamenKnight for the PM! It helped me come up with some important plot concepts for later in the story so it is greatly appreciated!
Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me what you think! (:
p.s. I'm so sorry guys! This has been giving me heartburn because it just won't load! I'm sorry if you thought it updated and it didn't because I've tried nearly 4 times so far to no avail. Forgive me!