The screaming winds died downward, the ceremony near its end. The heavens darkened, a shadow crossing their breadth. The labyrinth's center, a high dark room arched and domed, glimmered.
"The answer is obvious, right? I have to save him, no matter what the cost is to myself." Naruto walked forward. His hand touched the floating body. "I'm going to do it no matter what."
"You are correct. Your choice was certainly—expected." Shishi shrugged his shoulders. "It is immaterial, in the larger scheme of things."
"Oh yeah?!" Naruto turned. "I haven't forgotten you or what you did to my friend. So I'll tell you something else, for your information. When all this is over, I'm going to find you. And when I do I will beat you, no matter what!"
Shishi blinked. "Beg pardon?" He stared at Naruto with eyes that glimmered and glittered.
Gaara's motionless body collapsed to the ground. The two shadowy figures faded from view.
Naruto grasped Gaara's waist. An orange flash of light flickered around his body. He disappeared rapidly, vanishing in a flash.
Shishi remained silent for a long moment. After a pause, he began to laugh, quietly. "You, beat me?" His hand touched his chin. "I hadn't heard that you had such a good sense of humor. That seems to serve, I think. Yes, there is no other way to describe it; you have a sense of humor. Truly you are that man's proper disciple." He looked upward, his laughter fading on his lips. "Regardless, I should be going as well." His body vanished, flickering out of existence with nary more effort than the winds of time.
Labyrinth
The black sword crashed down into the ground beside Kōju. The earthen arena shook, waves of pressure and light soaring toward the skies from the blasting sword.
Kōju gritted her teeth. Even when I hit him dead on, the only thing that results is sparks. What is his body made out of?
"Your power isn't bad, but you'd need another type of power to fight me." Seijutsu frowned. "I've had enough," he stated after a long pause. "Shikamōto, aren't you out yet?" He glared at the dirt. "It's just dirt."
Shikamōto gritted her teeth. No, you damn idiot. Unlike you, I can't crawl out of this hole instantaneously.
Kōju growled. I can't get past him; I can't fight him—what am I supposed to do here? I'm not dying!
"If you can't do it, that's fine too." Seijutsu raised the black blade. "I'll execute you by myself." His arm gripped the sword more tightly, his bicep tensing as he prepared to slash downward.
Kōju's eyes widened. This guy is seriously going to kill me, right here? How? How can this really be my end? It's not fair at all! I still haven't earned my Good End yet!
Silver light blasted downward.
Seijutsu's brow furrowed. His stance froze as he turned toward the doorway, his eyes narrowed.
I got a reprieve? How? Why? Kōju's hands dripped with sweat
"Let's go." Shishi stood near the exit, his hand against his mask. "We got the answer we were looking for."
"The answer?" Kōju demanded. "What are you talking about?"
"She has spunk, I'll give her that." Seijutsu grinned. He sheathed the sword and walked toward the doorway. "So it's sufficient, then?"
Shishi nodded. "What would you rate her power at?"
"A. Lieutenant rank at best. Probably third seat." Seijutsu briefly glanced over his shoulder. "Not bad for a ryōka either way, though."
"I see." Shishi nodded as though this made perfect sense to him. He turned toward the doorway.
"Wait! What answer did you get?" Kōju demanded sharply. "Why are you just leaving?! Answer me!" She clenched her fist, her heart feeling intensely futile.
"He will serve as an opponent to the new world. Though he is not the highest-quality, he is certainly capable of opposing me to his last breath." Shishi turned. "If we meet again, I won't intercede in your death." He knelt, grasping Shikamōto's arm and pulling her out of the dirt.
Kōju looked after the pair with eyes filled with futility.
"Right. The weird guy from earlier." Shikamōto sighed. "You know, if you really are Seijutsu's buddy, could you convince him to be a bit less rude? Also, what happened to Mizuki?"
"He's dead." Shishi tightened his grip on Shikamōto's arm. His hand grasped Seijutsu's shoulder. "Goodbye, young ryōka woman."
The trio disappeared in a trifling moment, practically beyond understanding, as quick as someone snapping their fingers.
Kōju frowned. "What just happened?" She rubbed her temples. "I feel like everyone's having a conversation I'm not part of."
"Shinigami." Sasuke emerged from the darkness, her gaze stern. She rested the sword in the scabbard. "I came here to help out Naruto, but it seems like it's too late."
Kōju briefly glanced at the sword. "What do you mean?"
"He teleported out. Couldn't you see that?" Sasuke sighed heavily. "That moron. Never wants to let us try anything."
"I don't know that I blame him. I know I'm not as good a medic as Tsunade, but I'd put less-than-even odds on being able to heal what they did to Gaara." Kōju exhaled. "Even if I had more time than I do now, I think it'd be pretty dangerous."
"Based on what?" Sasuke questioned. Her brow furrowed.
"Damage to chakra coils. Essentially, the ritual removes the spirit of whatever affects it."
"So to begin with this mission was hopeless."
"Not exactly. I think Tsunade figured that we might be able to take out one or another member of the group, and maybe while we were at it get some info, too." Kōju sighed heavily. She rubbed her temples. "Well, we've done that—they're after Naruto, specifically."
"That does give us bait." Sasuke tapped her chin, a faint, mischievous smile crossing her face as she glanced toward Kōju.
"You wouldn't!" Kōju declared, glaring at Sasuke.
Sasuke's smile faded slightly. "No. You're right; I wouldn't. At the risk of sounding sappy, you guys are the only people left I can call family." She frowned. "That being said, why Naruto, specifically? Sure, the Nine-Tails is strong as all hell, but that doesn't make her a better pick than, say, the Eight-Tails." She sighed heavily. "It doesn't make any sense, no matter how you look at it."
Kōju sighed. "I don't know, and I don't want to guess. I knew that before you brought it up, so I wasn't going to mention it until we got back. We have to find Tayuya, Sasori and Soyokaze."
"They're alive, in a manner of speaking." Sasuke's lips curled upward. "But that's all. A manner of speaking." She hesitated. "Let's go."
Labyrinth
The hillside brush shook under the influence of a stiff wind. The dry sticklike scrub poked upward through the side of the mountain.
Itachi delicately adjusted his fingers on Tayuya's left eye socket. "All done." He removed his hand from the eye.
"Che. Could you have made that hurt any fucking less?" Tayuya chuckled. "I barely felt a thing just with that."
Itachi nodded briefly. "You should go back to the light," he stated in a quiet voice. "I must return to my role."
"Kill you later." Tayuya saluted offhandedly. Her brown eye narrowed. She faded away from the view of the others.
Itachi returned the salute with more gravity. He departed into the shadows.
Tayuya straightened. "Okay. From here, the others are probably heading down the mountain, so let's start with that." She walked out of the scrub and into the light.
Labyrinth
Light penetrated the mountain, issuing through the single central passageway created by a few swings of Seijutsu's sword. Sasuke and Kōju walked forward apace, each keeping an eye on side tunnels warily.
Soyokaze stirred briefly at the sound of an approach. Their blue eyes glimmered, shocked by the arrival. "Did we win?"
"No. Gaara's been extracted, maybe dead. I don't know." Sasuke exhaled. "Probably dead, depending. If we could send a message to home I'd be able to answer you a hell of a lot better. As is?" She shrugged her shoulders.
Soyokaze nodded. They leaned back on the ground. "I will not ask one of you to carry me. I know it excessive, particularly for one who has failed so greatly on the lines of battle as I." They rested motionless against the ground. Blood pooled across their robe.
"Hah?" Kōju scowled. "I'll do it! No matter what! You are one of Team Seven, now, so if I were to leave you here it wouldn't count at all." She knelt, seizing up Soyokaze's body. She staggered. "Uff. You weigh more than my sword!"
Soyokaze remained silent. Their eyes demonstrated a strange kindness, as though they were pleased with the respect given to them.
Sasuke stifled a laugh at Kōju's commentary. She glanced upward as she approached the beginning of the desert trail.
"Yo. Just made it back." Tayuya waved offhandedly. She stood so that only her right side could be seen. "We good or screwed?"
"We'll know once we get back." Sasuke continued along the trail, her expression distant. The golden sword glinted at her side.
Tayuya's brow furrowed. She glanced at Sasuke's side. "Hey, was she always a sword fighter or is that something she just fucking picked up?" she whispered to Kōju.
Kōju shrugged. "I don't think so. She's probably picked it up, though it might not help much."
The group continued forward, descending into the blinding-white hot desert.
Sasori lay motionless against the sand. His red hair glimmered in the sunlight.
Kōju started. "Who's this?!"
"Sasori." Sasuke raised her hand. "Not an enemy. Well, you did fine, I guess," Sasuke muttered. "Sorry about lumping—"
"Does it appear as though I am the sort of person to hold grudges over people disliking me?" Sasori asked idly. He leaned against the side of the tree branch.
"To be blunt, yes," Sasuke replied shortly.
"Well." Sasori sighed. "That's probably true, but I'm in need of healing at the least. I can let bygones be bygones for this reason."
Sasuke nodded. She glanced toward Kōju. "You got it?"
Kōju nodded.
"What became of Naruto?"
Tayuya's eye widened. "Holy shit, that's right. Where is he?"
"He teleported with Gaara's body. Beyond that—" Sasuke shrugged.
The group started the long trek across the desert, carrying themselves with complete silence.
Labyrinth
The medical facility glimmered with reflected light from the sun peering in through the windows.
"If you leave this bed once before I say you're done healing, you're going to have more than a highly-damaged chakra system to worry about." Tsunade glared at Naruto flatly. She glanced at a clipboard, her expression still serious.
Naruto nodded meekly. "Yes, ma'am." He leaned back in the bed, adjusting the bandages wrapping up his waist.
"As to you." Tsunade's voice softened as she glanced toward Gaara. "Please stay in bed for at least a week or two." She set down the clipboard. After a long pause, she glanced toward the door. "If you can do at least that much, it shouldn't be a problem."
"What's the news on my sentence?" Gaara asked quietly. He didn't seem to have slept at all since his recovery. His eyes were reddened by blood veins and various other traits.
Tsunade hesitated. "Don't worry about that right now," she stated after the hesitation. "Just focus on getting well."
Gaara remained silent. His eyes stared, absolutely dead of emotion, up at the ceiling.
"For the time being, I'm also confiscating these." Tsunade held up the bag of tags. She stuffed the bag down into the desk drawer.
"They came in handy, didn't they?" Naruto demanded harshly.
"They also nearly killed you and released Genkuro to ravage Hidden Leaf once again." Tsunade's eyes narrowed. She sighed. "I understand your feelings. I really do. But Naruto, you can't keep risking your life like that."
Naruto scowled. He didn't answer.
Tsunade looked away. "At any rate," she continued, "Team Seven has more than earned S-Rank credit for this mission. Even though everything went wrong, you managed to recover the target alive and breathing. With that said, you won't be going on missions for a while." She cleared her throat again.
Naruto nodded.
"Tayuya seemingly lost an eye. Sasuke's eyes are dark—I'm worried he'll try pursuing his brother again. Kōju is exhausted. The only good news I can give you is that Soyokaze has been promoted to a permanent member of your team." Tsunade smiled. "So that's something, at the least."
Naruto sat upright. "What?" He stared in shock at Tsunade. "What do you mean, they got approved?"
"They requested it and got it approved. They'll be acting effectively as your bodyguard." Tsunade smiled.
Naruto frowned. "That's unusual, right? I mean, a multinational shinobi team. You know."
"In the extreme. The first time it's happened to my recollection." Tsunade cleared her throat. "I need to meet with my counselors. If you don't mind." She rose to her feet and exited the room.
Gaara glanced toward Naruto. More than anything his eyes looked tired, somehow lacking the fervor and heat of his younger years and ancient memory.
Naruto smiled. He didn't say anything, waiting for Gaara to speak first.
"I'm going to make a break for it." Gaara spoke in a quiet voice, his eyes like burned-out embers
Naruto's eyes widened.
"I'm alive, but I know better than to think that I'm free. My village wants me behind bars." Gaara paused. "Or dead. And since Blood Prison has been effectively wrecked, Blood Prison is almost certainly out."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "Wait, Gaara. I'm not going to let you disappear. You're like me." He held out his hand as though frozen, seeing only the fading of a friendship.
"Yes, I am." Gaara smiled. "I'm not going to become a bandit in the wilderness. It's not as though I'll kill people; I had enough of that in the prison. I think I'll wander. I can find a different place for myself to fit."
"Your sister and brother will miss you." Naruto's brow furrowed. "What were their names? Um, uh."
Gaara snorted. "I've never said thank you to them for a single Vizier-damned thing. Not once. I wish I had the chance now, but resentment doesn't fade away like mist in the morning sun." He looked toward Naruto. "If you do meet with them again, thank them for me. As to me, I have to leave."
Naruto's expression grew serious. After a long pause, he asked, "Are you happy to be alive?"
"I'm alive. Happiness isn't something that's easily measured, so I don't know that." Gaara looked toward Naruto with the same red-rimmed eyes that had terrified him long ago. He held out his hand.
Naruto hesitated. After a pause, he took the hand. He shook it awkwardly.
"I am grateful, though. Your assistance in this matter is a big deal." Gaara climbed out the window, forcing his foot against the cornerstone of the building.
Naruto watched Gaara go without moving from his bed. He rested his head against the pillow. He thought about what Shishi had said, what Kūkyo had said, and his remaining dream of becoming Hokage, and wondered about his future.
The door suddenly burst open.
Naruto glanced upward in shock.
"Heya, Naruto! Just found where you were. Took forever." Tayuya groaned loudly. A neatly-embroidered eye patch covered her left eye. "Kept getting followed by someone bitching at me not to interrupt the healing process or some shit like that. Here you go." She passed a tray of sweets over the bed.
Naruto picked out one of the sweets. Chewing slowly, he swallowed the taffy-like sweet. "This is nice, but what are you doing here?"
"Wishing you well! You know? What friends do for each other?" Tayuya grinned. "I mean, ain't it nice 'n shit to have a beautiful buddy like me deliver an ero-nin like you gifts? In bed, no less?"
"It's rather uncomfortable." Naruto sighed. "You're usually, ah—more abrasive?"
"I can start insulting you too, if that makes you more comfortable." Tayuya shrugged. "Didn't know you were into that, though. I guess I can try."
Naruto's brow furrowed. He sighed heavily. "Seriously. What's going on?"
"If I'd been better at my job, you might not be in this hospital bed," Tayuya replied frankly. Her brown eye narrowed. "Based on the briefing you gave, the guy was probably vulnerable to genjutsu. If we'd interrupted the ritual, there'd be no need for you to teleport, so fuck me with a damn rake."
Naruto blinked. "I don't think that's healthy."
"In a manner of speaking. I don't mean that literally. And 'cause of that, I'm pissed at me. Fuck me and everything I stand for with a Vizier-damned rake, because I couldn't protect one guy." Tayuya glanced upward. "You know?"
Naruto cleared his throat. He didn't want to continue talking about that issue. "Where's Sasuke?"
"Training in the woods, probably. She hasn't put down that sword, and she even talks to it sometimes." Tayuya groaned. "I swear to heaven it's like Muramasa or some shit. We might have to stage an intervention."
"Mura—what?" Naruto questioned. His head tilted to one side.
"You know? Crazy bastard who forged the Seven Swords of the Hidden Mist? That guy?"
"Oh, that Muramasa," Naruto remarked. He looked intelligent as best he could, which largely consisted of placing one hand on his chin and looking heavenward.
Tayuya raised an eyebrow. "Eh, whatever. You've earned a break from me ragging on you. Hope you like the sweets." She turned toward the doorway.
"OUT!" Kōju burst into the room. One of her arms rose, flapping like a menacing mother hen. The other arm hovered behind her back. "Naruto needs bed rest! Out!"
"You're just jealous you can't snuggle with patients," Tayuya remarked, grinning as she leaned against the wall near the bed.
"OUT!" Kōju repeated fiercely.
"Bye." Tayuya waved and walked out, her pace rapid and balanced. Her grin broadened as she closed the door.
"Hmph. I thought she'd never leave." Kōju glanced over her shoulder, her expression annoyed. "Anyway. Naruto. I got you some healthy supplements." Kōju's cheeks flushed as she set the basket down on the table. "Eat these about once a day, and—if you recover enough to go on a date, I'd appreciate it." She patted Naruto on the shoulder and hurried out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Naruto sighed heavily. "I don't even get what's going on any more," he remarked aloud. He glanced outside the window briefly.
On a nearby tree branch Soyokaze hung, holding themselves upright with one arm. "Seventy-seven. Seventy-eight," they recited as their arm pulled them up.
Naruto's brow dripped with sweat. "Yep. Not a clue." He lay back in bed, resolving to sleep for a long time to recover his sanity.
A/N: Next week I'll be taking a short break for personal reasons. As usual, thank you for reading.