V8 ch 2
Gai and Anko's mission to the Sound Village
He ran down the hall of the fortress, his heart racing as he tried to stay away from the black shadowed man. His small hands tried to open the shoji screens down the hall, but they wouldn't budge. Idai felt the air thicken around him. It was looking for him; he knew it.
The seven-year-old form of Idai Tatsumaki ran down the halls as fast as he could. He turned to run away from the source down another path when he felt it getting closer. The fortress was unlike any other he had seen. It was full of paths that led to dead ends, or ran endlessly. There were no people here at all. It was always night. There was no way out of the house - no windows- or voices. He scurried to hide under a table that was against the wall.
Idai curled up on the floor as he covered his head from the sounds that were drifting to his ears. He wanted to go home. What was this place? He shut his eyes tightly trying to calm his racing heart. "I want my dad," he said with a shaky voice. "I want my dad!" Idai screamed when he felt the table overhead moving away. It was sliding on the floor.
I have to move! I have to run or it's going to get me! Idai forced himself to rise. He took off trying to find another place to hide. He had no choice. He was only a boy. Whatever was after him wanted him badly. "Stay away from me," he screamed as the noise deafened his ears.
Idai's body jerked hard as he laid on the floor of the room he was confined to. His eyes were staring straight ahead, not wavering. He didn't hear the door being unlocked, or see a figure step in. Idai's face grimaced totally unaware he was reacting to what was happening to him mentally.
Naruto crouched to where he could see Idai better. The boy jerked again several times. "What's going through your mind, Idai? Where are you in there?" Naruto placed his hand on the boy's head. He moved the long red hair out of his face. "Masaru misses you terribly. He's not the same at home. I'm trying to find a way to help you. Please hold on." Naruto painfully watched Idai jerk and his face grimace again. He stood slowly with his eyes focused on the boy. He walked backwards making sure the demon wasn't fooling him.
Naruto closed the door slowly. He locked it from the outside as a precaution. His eyes kept watching the boy laying on the floor, his mind astray. A poof happened next to Naruto's feet. An orange toad named Gamakichi was watching him. "I want you to watch over him. Can you do that for me?"
Gamakichi stared at the Hokage. "You can't be serious. The demon has overtaken that boy. He's trapped in his own mind."
"There has to be a way to get him back. He hasn't given up completely. The demon is not always the one who looks back."
Gamakichi grunted. "I suppose I have no choice, but to do as you ask." He watched Naruto turn away to walk down the hall. "You could at least leave me a deck of cards or something," he shouted rather annoyed. Gamakichi crossed his arms. "Just my luck. How do I end up babysitting a confined demon?"
Onari sat on her knees as she looked at the bowl of water on the tray in front of her. She placed her hand over it to where it hovered. Onari closed her eyes, concentrating. Sh could see the water in her mind. Onari tensed her arm as the chakra moved down to the palm of her hand. She forced the chakra out with a powerful thrust. The sound of shattering porcelain caused her to frown. Onari opened her eyes.
"Too much force," Ryu said as he replaced the bowl with another. "In order to perform a chakra push, you have to be gentle. This bowl represents a person's chest. And… you've just mortally wounded someone."
"Onari is not sure about learning this technique. Is this for Daiya, or something else?" She watched Ryu pour half the amount of water into the bowl.
"I'm teaching you this for a lot of reasons. It's what I was taught by Izumi to help Daiya. Yet, I've found other uses for it. As you've demonstrated, enough deadly force can kill someone. But what happens," he said as he placed his hand over the bowl," if you nudge it a little?"
Onari saw the water in the bowl pulse and ripple slowly. She tilted her head. Ryu was able to focus his chakra correctly. "Ryu, are you preparing to be replaced if something happens at the exam?"
Ryu took his hand away to place it in his lap. "Summons aren't allowed for the Chuunin exams, Onari. We can't use any of the celestials. It has to be our own personal strength against another's. and if it comes down to it, I want your brother to be covered. I promised to look after him. Enough explanations." He looked up at her. "Back to training."
Anko and Gai transformed their usual forms to mask their identities. They had been watching a couple who lived outside the sound village for some time. The farmers were of particular interest to them. During the night, they had swiped a cart full of vegetables in order to enter the sound village undetected.
Gai glanced at Anko. "I hope this plan of yours works. If they detect us, we're in a lot of trouble. We won't be doing Idai any favors."
Anko walked with Gai towards the entrance. Two guards were standing there with blank expressions on their faces. As Anko moved her hand to initiate the cart, one of the guards moved forward to inspect her and Gai. Anko was passing as a pregnant woman.
"You should take it easy walking with your husband to market. The streets are busy this time of day. Wouldn't want to injure a future sound-nin," the guard said. He picked up a vegetable to inspect it further. The guard pocketed it once he was satisfied with what he had found. He sorted through a few baskets to get one of his partner. "Let them pass."
Anko and Gai walked slowly past the guards. Anko had to keep in mind she was six months pregnant to play her role well. Until they were a fair distance from the entrance, she kept in check of her attitude and mindset. "A husband wouldn't let his wife walk to market with the condition she's in."
Gai glanced at her as he set the cart down next to another man selling cloth. "It was your idea. Now I can't leave my post and neither can you. It would look strange for a husband to leave his pregnant wife alone."
"Don't worry, I'm way ahead of you," Anko said as she saw a young woman pass. she moved behind a sheet Gai had lifted to shade the cart. Anko formed hand seals. She created a clone of her pregnant self behind the sheet. The clone moved from behind the curtain to help Gai mask the real Anko. Anko transformed into the young girl she had previously seen. When she had the opportunity, she slipped into the crowd.
Gai and the clone resumed putting the sheet over the cart. He had to stay in character. As the clone moved to sit on the edge of the cart, Gai began trying to sell vegetables. He hoped Anko would be able to find something out about the Tatsumaki clan.
Anko had no idea how big the sound village was. It was nestled deep in the forest amongst rivers and lakes. Anko moved slowly, at first, to gain the feel of the area around her. It was unusual for her to be this deep in enemy territory. She wondered how she was going to ask around about Idai's clan.
Her eyes searched the buildings for a clue. Idai's family was ashamed of him. They sent him away after he failed the entrance exams. She stepped away to avoid children running into her. However, Idai had had the demon placed in him long before that. His father had died trying to save him. We know now that his mother was very ashamed of Idai and her marriage. Was Idai sought after because of his father? Anko had a feeling Idai's mother, Yukihara, had allowed her son to be taken as a way to restore her clan.
Maybe she thought by changing Idai, that it would make her own status appear greater than that of her previous husband. Anko thought some more. She tried to get her clan to be more powerful by placing a demon inside of her son. Idai's father wanted him spared from such an act. He was against it. So the mother probably went behind his back - and that is how Idai's father got killed.
Anko tried to picture in her mind the father-son relationship that had existed. Idai had adored his father. If Yukihara had been jealous of their bond, she would have sought to destroy it. Anko found the woman to be quite disgusting, in her own opinion.
She approached a random shop and pretended to be interested in the objects before her. Her hands traced over the items. It wasn't long before a man approached her to ask what she liked. For a while, Anko commented on the beautiful pieces made by the artist. She praised the colors chosen for the stones in a particular necklace. "They are simply beautiful." Her eyes found a simple gold necklace with a turquoise pendent at the end. She lifted it carefully to inspect it. "This one will be perfect for me."
The vendor praised Anko's fine choice. "This necklace was connected by hand. Each ring was carefully fastened," he said as he took the necklace from her. "I'm sure your family will cherish it always. That will be 140 ryo."
Anko reached into her pocket trying to keep a smile on her face. The vendor was taking her for a ride. As she handed the money over, Anko talked a little more about the people she had seen. Soon she had the vendor talking about life in the village. He mentioned how he sold most of his jewelry to the Hamamoto clan.
Anko lifted a bracelet to examine it. "What of the Tatsumaki clan? Do they not buy any of your beautiful jewelry?" The vendor placed the necklace in a bag before he handed it over. He seemed to avert his eyes as he moved jewelry pieces around.
"The Tatsumaki clan does not often visit the market. They send their servants out to shop for them. Why are you interested in them," the vendor pressed. His eyes met hers with a serious gaze.
"I only assumed an artist such as yourself was popular with the clans of high power in the village. Your talents are wasted on commoners," Anko said trying to keep an authoritive tone. The man was regarding the truth in her words.
"If a young woman, such as you, notices it then it must be a bad omen," he commented about her low status. "It is not easy to get business with a clan - any clan. The opportunity only arises when a servant recognizes the craftsmanship put into an artifact. If the master is searching for something that interests him, the artist gets sought out by the clan. However, one does not often speak easily of the Tatsumaki clan. Watch your tongue," he said gruffly.
Anko thanked the man for his 'kindness' before she departed. It was unwise to ask further questions. The vendor was already suspicious why a young woman was interested in that clan. She retreated back to Gai. Anko pretended to be interested in the vegetables as her clone pretended to be sleeping against the cart.
Gai gestured to a set of potatoes down the line. They were away from the curious eyes of the vendor next to him. "What did you find out," he asked softly. He had to know if Anko had been successful.
"The Tatsumaki clan does not associate outside the walls of the clan. Servants are the ones who shop in the market. It may prove harder to locate them than we thought. Also, don't ask around about the clan. The vendor I talked to was very suspicious." Anko paid Gai for a few potatoes before she walked off.
Gai watched the clone rise soon after to disappear behind the building. He had to find out about the mysterious Tatsumaki clan. They couldn't risk asking around. However, they still had to locate where the clan resided. We'll wait until night fall.
Naruto awoke to a red toad jumping on him. He sat up quickly to see Gamakichi sitting on his stomach. "What's wrong? How did you manage to get out of the building?" Naruto had resealed it once he was outside.
"Boss, the boy is worse! He was screaming when I was trying to sleep. So I looked through the window to see a black shadow blanketed over him! It molded with his form," Gamakichi said as he waved his amphibian arms around.
Naruto threw the sheets off of his body. He hurried to grab his robes as Gamakichi scrambled to get out of the sheets. Soon he followed him out of the room quickly. Naruto hurried out of his sleeping quarters to the living area. "How did this happen? If the demon overtakes him fully, he could destroy every villager in Konoha!"
Masaru Uzumaki was awoken by the frustrations of his father. He rubbed his eyes sleepily before he sat up. Masaru rose tiredly out of the bed to walk down the hall to investigate. He could hear his father talking about Idai to someone. Masaru stopped short before he entered. His heart was running away with him.
"Boss, there's only one thing you can do. If you end the boy's life, the demon won't have a host. Once it has nowhere to go, it can be dealt with," Gamakichi said. He watched Naruto place his hand over his face frustrated.
"I won't harm Idai unless there's no other way," Naruto said with difficulty. "We have to give Anko and Gai a chance to find out what the connection is. It's the only way to understand how to break it."
"There's no time! Any much longer and the boy's chakra will be completely used up. The demon will have the ability to gain his body for his own purposes," Gamakichi said as he eyed the Hokage. "His chakra is almost depleted."
Masaru's eyes widened. He left the hall quickly. He had to go to Idai's prison. He had to confront Ryokuzu against the wishes and orders of his father. He had promised Idai to help him if there was no other choice.
Idai stared at the ground as he leaned against the tree. "I want you to take care of Yanagi and Kiba, Masaru. I can't be the leader for Team 6 anymore." He closed his eyes as the voices echoed in his mind. He wasn't able to understand what they were saying to him anymore.
Masaru stood in front of Idai, his eyes never leaving his form. "You can't give up! I'm not going to let you! You have to keep fighting it!"
Idai opened his eyes. "I'm so tired, Masaru." His face started to show the fatigue he felt. "I'm always fighting Ryokuzu. He tries to get me around every corner," Idai said with a faint smile. "He's not as clever as he thinks he is. You guys are what effects him the most. He wants me to be alone…. But I still have you guys."
Masaru grabbed onto Idai. "I won't let him get you, Idai! That's a promise! I'll end it before he has the chance to hurt anyone!"
Idai only stared back at him for a moment. His body felt heavy and eyes started to droop. "Thank you," he said softly. His head lowered and body started to slump towards Masaru.
Masaru caught him. He lowered Idai to the ground where his back was against the tree. "Idai?" Masaru felt for a pulse. At first, he thought his friend was taking a short nap. It wasn't until hours later did he realize Idai wasn't coming around. "Idai, come on, wake up. It's time to get up. You can't sleep here," Masaru said shaking him. "Idai, please," he begged. Masaru had no choice but to get up in a panic to find someone to help him.
Masaru ran to the building where Idai was imprisoned. He approached it slowly, his guard up. Masaru walked around the building until he found the back where he knew Idai was. He placed his hand upon the wall. The markings upon the structure appeared as a warning. "I know you can hear me. You're always listening, aren't you? I won't let you have him. Whatever the cost- whatever it takes, you will not gain Idai," he said sternly as he gritted his teeth. Masaru could hear something moving inside. He placed his ear on the wall to listen.
Ryokuzu dragged the chains along the floor as he approached the wall. He smiled wickedly. "I already have him, son of the Hokage. Small children can't outrun darkness," he said laughing.
Masaru hit the building with his fist. His knuckles started to bleed. "I challenge you, Ryokuzu! I'm not afraid of a coward who hides in a person because he doesn't have his own form! You're nothing more than a parasite!"
Ryokuzu growled. "Hasn't anyone told you it's unhealthy to challenge a demon?" He moved Idai's arm back, increased his strength and sent the boy's fist through the wall.
Masaru watched the hand come through the cracked wall. It latched onto his shirt. He gritted his teeth as Ryokuzu slammed him against the structure. Masaru placed his hands on the wall to push away. "You're still a coward," he said gruffly. He watched the seals upon the building fade. "What the hell?"
"If you haven't noticed due to your slow mind, I've become stronger. Mere seals cannot hold me," Ryokuzu said as he broke Idai's other arm through the wall. He latched onto Masaru. "You have an appointment with me. Let's not be tardy!"
Masaru yelled as he was pulled forcefully through the wall. He tumbled over several times before he landed on his stomach. He spit blood out of his mouth as he sat up. Ryokuzu appeared more frightening than when he had seen him before. Idai's face appeared distorted. His arms and legs were longer - more muscular. His eyes were fully black. "I'm not afraid of you," he shouted angrily as he stood.
Ryokuzu went for the Hokage's son with increased speed. He slashed at the boy's face, his nails raking along the delicate skin. As the boy yelled, he punched him dead in the stomach. Masaru scrambled backwards as he coughed. "There's nowhere to run. You're trapped."
Masaru stood again to narrow his eyes at Ryokuzu. "And so are you," he said lowly the moment he activated the Byakugan. Demon or not - he still has Idai's body. I can see the chakra points! Masaru went for Ryokuzu with his heightened sense. He whirled around to a void an attempted hit at his face. As he came around, he felt Idai's fist hit his side. He latched onto the wrist to turn the arm. Masaru shoved the arm back as he turned sideways to avoid a kick.
Ryokuzu heard the commotion coming from the main entrance. He laughed at the boy as he started to whirl around blocking Masaru's hits. "You amuse me," he said as both of them ran sideways trying to hit the other. Ryokuzu jumped to the ceiling. He turned his head around to watch Masaru throw a kunai at him. Ryokuzu moved along the ceiling like a spider to avoid it.
Masaru yelled in outrage as Ryokuzu relished in the defeat. He turned around to see his father with Gamakichi and Shikamaru Nara coming through the iron door. His father was surprised as ever to see him.
Naruto looked at his son before he saw the hold in the foundation's wall. His eyes lifted to see Ryokuzu on the ceiling crouched sneering at them. "Masaru, explain yourself!"
"I refuse to let him have Idai! I promised to end it before it happened!" Masaru reached behind his back to precede unclipping the large shuriken on his back. As his father yelled at him to stop, he threw it straight at Ryokuzu.
The demon sunk into the ceiling the moment the large shuriken hit. He watched the two males move to guard the hole. The boy was still out in the open. Their forms appeared black as the foundation turned yellow in his eyes. He snickered as he watched them go to full defense. "I like it when humans keep their appointments," he said letting his voice echo.
"If he escapes, we're in huge trouble," Shikamaru said. He eyed Masaru. The blond haired youth was searching frantically for the demon.
Naruto gritted his teeth as he formed hand seals. He touched the floor of the structure. Symbols appeared on the floor around his form. The symbols began to move up the walls and to the ceiling. Naruto watched as Ryokuzu was forced out. He came flying out of the wall. Ryokuzu hit the floor hard. "So that's where you were. You're not the only one with tricks up his sleeves."
Shikamaru had completed his hand seals by the time Ryokuzu was thrown out of his hiding place. "Shadow possession!" His shadow shot forward to link with Idai's. "You won't be moving now. You're caught."
Ryokuzu yelped as Shikamaru lifted him off the floor . "What is this?" The man was controlling Idai's body and not him. His head turned to see Masaru glaring at him.
Masaru Uzumaki moved swiftly to hit the valuable chakra points on Idai. Ryokuzu's face turned to shock as the chakra flow was stopped. He stood back as his father approached the demon.
Naruto tied Ryokuzu's arm and legs together. Just when the demon tried to smile at him, he added paper bombs to Idai's body. He crouched to hold a slip of paper between his fingers. "One attempt to break the rope and the bombs go off. You want Idai's body for your own cruel ambitions. Sorry, but you won't be getting it that easily." Naruto raised his form. Ryokuzu screamed in anger. He escorted Masaru out.
Outside the building, Masaru stared hard at the foundation. He heard Shikamaru speaking to Gamakichi while he guarded the broken wall. It would take some time to patch the wall. Masaru soon looked up at his father's strict gaze.
"What you did was careless, Masaru. I don't know what reasons you had to confront that thing, but they aren't good enough," Naruto said strictly. "Ryokuzu only needs to kill someone close to Idai for Idai to lose. The torment of him losing a valuable friend would be enough to send him over the edge. You walked right into his trap."
Masaru lowered his head ashamed at himself. "I'm sorry, Dad." He didn't feel his father place his hand on his shoulder. Masaru looked up. An apology wasn't going to get him out of hot water.
"You've cost yourself the Chuunin exam," Naruto said as his son's eyes widened. "As it stands, you won't be participating." He meant every word of what he said.
"I have to or Yanagi has to forfeit, too," Masaru exclaimed.
"You should have thought about that before you decided to act rashly," Naruto said with his fatherly tone. "You will have no extra training with Yanagi or Kiba as part of your punishment. You'll also be in bed before Niru and be expected to help her with her homework. Once training is finished for the day, you will be cleaning the buildings in the village until I state otherwise."
Masaru's heart sank. His father's punishments were as severe as Sasuke's. "You could have easily lost your life against Ryokuzu. The torment you face at not knowing how to help Idai, is nothing compared to what your mother and I would feel if we had lost you." Naruto gestured for his son to go home.
Masaru Uzumaki shuffled home with his father's disappointment weighed heavily on his shoulders.
Anko and Gai moved quietly through the shadows of the night. It had taken numerous attempts to find out where the Tatsumaki clan was located. Villagers didn't speak freely to curious people about the clans in the village. Gai had had the idea of following the servants they encountered in the market. It had proved to be a difficult task. It had taken them three days to find the right ones.
Gai approached the gate of the Tatsumaki clan slowly. He touched the huge doors gently. Inside this place were answers they needed. He glanced at Anko as she walked backwards towards him, her eyes scanning the area.
"The only way to search the area with less chance of getting caught is to slip into something less revealing," Anko said with a smirk. She poofed into a mouse. She took one last look at Gai before she slipped under the gate doors. Anko scurried to hide under a pagoda. She sniffed the air as her ears perked up to decipher any signs of movement.
Gai flew over the gate doors disguised as a moth. He fluttered straight over the pagoda Anko was hiding under. He managed to clear the landscape without a problem. Gai approached one of the houses cautiously. It appeared to be where the servants quarters were. He moved on.
Anko scurried past the houses, her head moving from side to side. The Tatsumaki clan was one of the larger clans in the sound village. She stopped to see steps going up a hill. The main house must be in this direction. It's usually the last house guarded by other houses. She climbed the steps slowly.
Once Anko got to the top of the stairs, she threw herself on the ground with her heart racing and lungs heaving. Mice have it the worst. She turned her head to see the main house before her. Anko didn't know where to start. If the clan was ashamed of Idai failing the exams, his identity might be erased from the family records. She moved to find a hiding place out of the moonlight as the doors opened.
Anko hid in the bushes as she watched a woman with long black hair descend the porch. The woman's eyes were dark, expression placid, as she moved slowly through the area. Anko watched the woman stare at a place on the ground. The woman lifted her hand to point at the space before she pointed down the steps. Is she sleep walking?
"Go. Leave this place. No one wants you here. You have disgraced our family!" The woman bent over as if she was picking something up. She made a throwing gesture towards the steps. "Do not return! Death will befall you, one way or another."
Anko swore the woman was delusional. She watched her move away from the steps slowly. Anko poked her head out of the bushes to see a boy no older than five-years-old watching the woman from the porch.
"Mother, you are sleepwalking again," the boy said with a certain dignified manner. He walked to Yukihara to place her hand upon hers. "If Father catches you out here, he'll lock you in the closet."
Anko followed them as they entered the house. She
slipped in unnoticed. Could this woman be Idai's mother? Did he have a half-brother he knew nothing about? She kept after them until the boy stopped. Anko hid immediately behind a statue.
Daisetsu turned around to look at the dark hall. His dark eyes searched the area. "Utako, you're supposed to be in bed," he said seriously.
A five-year-old girl stepped out from a large ceramic vase. "I was worried about mother," she said as she put her hands on her hips. Utako moved her long black hair off her shoulders. "You have no right to boss me around. We're the same age."
"Do as you like then," Daisetsu said as he opened the shoji screen to escort their mother inside. He coaxed her into laying down before he left. He glanced at his twin as he closed the screen. "Mother was having one of her delusions again."
Utako skipped on the floor with her arms out. "Good night, brother," she said as she moved past him. He was intently watching her. She had to be careful, or he would wake their father. Utako went back to her room slowly. She sensed someone following her. Utako grabbed a bowl in front of her, turned around, and threw it. She saw a mouse try to escape. "Hey!" She started to chase it with the bowl until she caught it.
Anko came close to poofing into her normal form to scare the girl. It wasn't until the child asked if she wanted to see a secret, did she calm down. Anko watched as Utako lifted the bowl to smile at her. She eased her body.
"If Daisetsu sees you, he'll use you for target practice," Utako said. She was the non-serious one compared to her brother. Utako went to her room with the mouse in her hands. "Mother has been sleep walking for years. Ever since we were little. Father won't tell us why she goes to the same spot and does that. If you ask me, they're hiding something."
Anko was placed on the floor of the girl's room. She remained still as the girl kneeled towards her. In a way, Utako reminded her a bit of Idai. Her attitude was carefree, yet observant and clever.
Utako placed her hands on the floor. She knocked a few times on the wood until she heard a hollow sound. "I found a hiding place last year. I haven't told Mother or Father." Utako removed the wood by pulling on it with all of her strength. It popped loose. "See?" Utako pointed to the objects in the space below the flooring.
Anko peeked her head over the side to look. There were child's toys and drawings crammed into the space. Anko watched Utako show her a drawing. It showed a boy crying in a black circle. Another person was lifted into the sky colored in red. Anko's eyes softened. Is that Idai remembering his father's death?
Utako traced the people in the drawing with her finger. "My room used to be someone else's. this boy is sad," she said as she pointed to the drawing. "I'm not sure who this is, but look! There are toys in here, too." Utako took out a wooden brightly colored fish. She also removed an old stuffed doll of a ninja. The clothes on the doll were faded and dusty. Its eyes were also missing. Utako laid the doll next to the picture. "It looks just like the person in red."
Anko finally started to put the objects together. Someone had hidden Idai's belongings in the hiding spot to keep them out of sight. Whoever it had been, couldn't forget him entirely. The drawing depicted his troubled state of mind over losing his father. Anko suspected Yukihara had to be the culprit. The woman's delusions were caused by her own personal guilt over throwing Idai out. She probably thinks Idai is dead, just like his father. I wonder how she would react if she knew he was still alive, in an enemy village.
Utako sifted through the stash to take out a black bracelet made of strange stones. There were markings upon the stone in white. "Do you know what this is? It's a protection charm." Utako slipped the bracelet on. She heard movement in the hall. She quickly sprung up to put everything back into place. Utako ran straight to her bed and threw herself on the futon.
Anko's ears heard someone approach outside the room. She saw the shadow through the shoji screen. Anko darted to hide under the comforter on the futon. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a man with long black hair tied into a ponytail enter the room. His eyes were searching the area slowly.
"You'll be scrubbing the floor as soon as dawn hits, Utako. You're not supposed to be out of bed," Etsuya Tatsumaki said. He left the room.
Anko had to get back to the rendezvous point her and Gai had set up before entering the village. She scurried to find a way out of the room before her mission was interrupted. Anko managed to escape through a hole in the wall she followed through the walls to the outside world.
Gai moved his eyes over the kanji of the mission report. The report stated how the ninja had investigated another clan involving plots against the Tatsumaki. The plots had been dealt with under the strictest penalty of death. He put the scroll back into the box.
Gai crouched low as he heard movement coming from outside. He unsheathed a kunai, his eyes darting around. Gai moved quickly to hide behind a stack of boxes. He kept his ears alert. He heard the shoji screen open down the hall. Gai saw a shadow moving on the wall in front of him. At one point, it stopped. He narrowed his eyes expecting the person to alert the clan he and Anko were there. But as Gai prepared to attack, two boxes fell over in the room beside the one he resided in. Gai scrambled, moving his body to open the screen that led into the next room. He expected to find someone in there rooting around, but as his eyes searched the area, there was no one in there but him.
Gai went to the boxes that had fallen over. There didn't appear to be any signs of anyone breaking into the room, or messing around with things. He wondered what had caused them to tumble. He approached them cautiously.
Gai carefully lifted the top off a certain box underneath. The kanji written upon it was in faded red. He couldn't make out what it said. Gai sifted through the box to find pictures of man with short white hair wearing sound village-nin gear. The man was only shown from the chest up. Could this be Idai's father?
Gai's fingers dusted off the objects in the box. They appeared to be personal objects of the ninja. He found a metal scroll case that was locked. He shook it to hear the scroll rattle inside. Gai slipped the metal case into his vest. He sorted through the rest of the box only to determine its contents to be unimportant. Gai closed the box once he was finished. He put the two boxes on top of the one he had been searching in. he quickly and silently left the servants' quarters. He slipped through the night undetected.
Anko met up with Gai outside of the sound village at their meeting point. She approached him cautiously as they stood on the opposite side of the river where she had found Idai nine years ago.
Gai took the metal container out of his vest. He stared at it for a moment before he lifted his head to acknowledge Anko's arrival. "I found this in a box located in the servants' quarters that weren't being used. It has to be important - the locked case says it all." He took out a kunai to pry it open.
"Be careful opening something like that. It could very
well be a trap," Anko warned as she stood her distance. The case could be locked simply because it held poison, or a bomb. One had to be cautious.
Gai was determined to find the answers linking Idai to Ryokuzu. As the metal lock broke, he opened the casing. Gai lifted the scroll out of its confinement. He unraveled the scroll. His eyes started to read about the past that hindered the future.
"On this day, the Tatsumaki clan gives authority to the following: Yukihara Tatsumaki to seek council with the superior leaders, in order, to engage her son, Idai Tatsumaki, in a demon summoning ritual. This ritual is to be performed under the guidance and secrecy of the clan in hopes of strengthening its future members in power over weaker members and clans.
By no accounts will the ritual be interrupted upon the penalty of death to the interrupter. If the ritual fails to be performed, or is interrupted, the binding process shall be broken. The demon will gain all of the power residing in the individual mentioned to become a host for the demon." Gai looked at the scroll with disgust.
Anko approached him slowly. She placed her hand upon his arm. "They sacrificed Idai to strengthen their clan. It was the same with Gaara and the Hokage. Yet, the ritual was interrupted by Idai's father. It sounds as if Ryokuzu was meant to be a tool for Idai to use."
Gai put the scroll into his vest. "Now Idai has become Ryokuzu's tool. We haven't learned much. I fear the effects it's having on his mind and body will break Idai to no return. There has to be a way to separate them without losing Idai."
Anko knew the options were limited. They had to have faith in the Hokage's ability and skills to help rid Idai of the demon he possessed. As they began to head back to the village hidden in the leaves, Anko could only hope the Hokage had found out more than they had. She glanced at Gai as they moved through the trees. The moonlight revealed the heavy burden upon his face.