...Everyone loses their minds!
- The Joker
Bonds
Sakura inhaled deeply before pulling the wooden door open, hinges creaking lowly as it swung outwards. Light filtered into the dimly lit interior in the form of a singular slit creeping along the floor.
Stepping inside, she pulled the door behind her, the latch barely clicking as it shut. The air was stuffy and stale, but she was used to it by now. Being a book nerd had its advantages, despite what people thought. Her frequent visits to the Konoha Archive Library had prepared her for this very moment.
As she stepped towards the librarian's desk, he looked up from his literature and smiled at her. It was the sort of soft smile that's common between acquaintances. He had been working there as long as she had been coming there and she had affectionately come to know him as Ōkina with the big nose – only in her mind of course. She'd never have the heart to tell him he had a big nose to his face.
Her hands stayed neatly folded in front of her as she returned the smile and walked on into the library, continuing with her mission.
Jinchuriki. That was all she had to go on. She frowned, realizing it wasn't much, but it was something at least. With any luck, she'd be able to find something relevant in this seat of knowledge. There had to be something that talked about jinchuriki in here, right? Guess there was only one real way to find out. Time to go through the J's. Good thing she knew the place like the back of her hand.
One corner of her lips turned upwards as she made her way through the various bookshelves, scattered novels and histories walling her in on each side.
Visiting the library always filled her with a sense of wonder. Being surrounded by knowledge at every turn, decades of history and lore at your fingertips, the quiet only disturbed by the silent rustling of pages. A natural peace reigned in the quiet space, serenity baked into the very walls. The atmosphere would engulf you, wrapping you in the blissful states of being, but only if you let it. She had let herself fall into the ambiance many times before, and would surely do so again, but for now, she had a mission. So she walked with purpose, weaving through the wooden shelves, rounding the tight corners, ducking under the librarian working on a ladder. Focus.
Her pace slowed as she approached the section she was looking for, eyes scanning the shelves of books across various topics.
Iaido, she mused. No…
Her gaze moved sideways. Indra, Inner Gates...
She frowned, moving to her right and scanning backwards. A few books on jutsu, jonin...there!
Jinchuriki: An Overview
She grinned, lifting the book from the shelf and blowing dust from the cover. A fit of coughs escaped her throat as a cloud of dust combined with the already stuffy atmosphere to create a mixture of what felt like poison gas. Well, that wasn't pleasant. Shaking it off, she sat down and crossed her legs. Time to get to the bottom of this.
With a hopeful sigh, she wrapped her fingers around the top of the book cover and tugged gently. "Here goes," she whispered. A confused frown made its way onto her face soon after. Her eyes hardened briefly before she gave another firm tug to the cover and realized her suspicion was confirmed – it wouldn't budge. Frowning, she tried again, silent grunts and strained sighs leaving her throat as she pulled with all her might. Still nothing…
"Oh, you've gotta be freakin' kidding me..."
Annoyed grunts and disgruntled groans continued for a few more seconds before she finally stopped and slammed the book on the floor in front of her with a frustrated yell. "UGH!"
"Shhh," she heard someone say from some random part of the library.
She sat motionless for a few seconds then sighed, fingers massaging both sides of her temple. "I sound like freaking Naruto," she whispered to herself. She wasn't sure why, but she could picture him grunting loudly as he tried to open a book in the library. Scratch that, it was obvious why she thought that – because he'd actually do it. Jade eyes softened as the thought brought a faint smile to her lips. That big dummy. The smile faded as quickly as it came, her mind wandering back to a question that bothered her more than she cared to admit. Why did you leave me?
Her eyes fell shut for a moment before she sighed, dragging her hands over her face and reaching for the book again. There had to be some way to find the answers she needed. Why would a book even exist if it couldn't be opened?
Her hand was inches away from grabbing it when she jerked it back. The problem was staring her right in the face. There, on the cover, was a faint but noticeable inscription. What was that? Some type of seal? She studied it a bit longer then picked the book up gently, turning it towards a ray of light shining through one of the windows. Maybe she hadn't seen the inscriptions with the dust and all.
"What the heck?" she whispered, eyeing the strange marking quizzically. So that was the problem. She held the book closer then blew on the cover again, harder this time. The remnants of dust flew off in a whirlwind and she dragged her open palm across the cover a few times, revealing a now much more vibrant seal. It was written on white paper and had a red border all around. In large black writing, the word seal was written in Kanji, and not only that, there were a million other smaller Kanji characters all around.
Her eyebrows dropped and her bottom lip jutted out. Great. She didn't have any idea how to unlock this. Sure, she had great chakra control, but that wasn't anywhere near good enough. To unlock a seal she not only needed to know Fūinjutsu, she needed to know it well enough to crack someone else's seal.
A tired sigh left her lips before her hands slowly fell into her lap, book cradled in between. She lifted her eyes to the bookshelf and frowned. It was safe to assume that any other books on the topic would be sealed as well. Usually vibrant eyes appeared a pale green as she dropped her head once more. Another dead end. Somehow, someway, it all ended up the same. No matter where she looked, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find anything. She had flat out been given a clue and now she couldn't even follow up on it. The dim lighting in the library only made it worse, painting the situation in an even more somber light than she had seen it in before. The only relief came in the rays of light that filtered through the windows, illuminating the various dust particles and shining a light on her pale pink hair. In the silence, she wiped at her eyes, a few stray tears caught on her forearm. Not the kind that come from crying outright, but rather the ones that show up when you've exhausted every option, dotted every i, crossed every t, and still have nothing to show for your work. In the silence, she dropped her head, wondering if everything that was happening to her was someone's idea of a cruel joke. Or just fate; a sign that she shouldn't know...or that she didn't deserve to. She wrapped her arms around her knees at the thought, a silent sniffle escaping her nose.
"Why are you crying?"
Sakura's eyes widened slightly, her inner self making its way to the surface once more. This time, she replied, although lowly. "You know why."
"Yeah," her inner self mused. "I guess I do. Here's a bright idea. Fix it."
Sakura shut her eyes, entering the same black and white plane her inner self seemed to reside in.
"But that's the thing," she nearly snapped, eyes shut in frustration and rage. "I can't...just...fix it!"
"Why not?"
"Because everything I'm doing isn't working! I've been trying to figure this thing out forever, but I'm not getting anywhere!"
"Well, you better "get somewhere" fast. You've failed the team one time too many, and in case you missed the memo, you're about to fail Naruto...again."
Sakura dropped her head, sighing as her eyes fell shut in exasperation. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Fix it."
Sakura paused for a moment before lifting her head, water slowly pooling under her eyes, voice barely a whisper. "But I can't."
"You have to."
She shook her head slowly, frown deepening as she whispered the dreaded words again. "I can't."
"You don't have a choice."
This time she mouthed the words, eyes brimming with tears. "I don't know how..."
Her inner self shook her head, eyes cold. "If you can't fix this, then you're just as useless as everyone says you are."
The words had barely touched the air, but Sakura could feel her chest constricting, air struggling to make its way into her lungs, that sinking pit building in her stomach. With each breath, it got harder, her chest eventually rising and falling in short spurts. The surrounding black and white plain faded into a blur as tears started to sting the emerald eyes, each second blurring her vision more. She forced the tired eyelids shut in an attempt to block out the pain, but it was no use. The reality she had been trying so hard to run from now stared her dead in her face, and just like she thought, she had no defense. The first sign of her broken state was the choked sob that escaped her throat. It wasn't long after that she dropped her head, crying inside and out. In the black and white plane she was in, tears spilled onto the floor, and in the real world, singular drops spotted her shirt a darker shade of red.
At first, she thought the tears would stop, at least after a short while, but they didn't. They simply continued to flow, as if their origin were somewhere beyond herself. It was then that she came to the realization that it was all hitting her. Everything from the past few days – Sasuke knocking her out and leaving, her finding out Naruto had taken off in the middle of the night, this jinchuriki mystery – it was all setting in as bitter reality, and what had been bubbling at the surface for so long refused to be held back any longer. It was here and it was now...cold, painful now. In the silence, she hugged her knees closer, letting the sadness wash over her. She couldn't fight it, not anymore. Her weary soul had reached its limit; her will, the end of its resolve. So, she quietly lifted her head onto her knees, an agonizing reality setting in for the first time – she was alone. In that dark corner of the library, nobody saw her. No one heard her sobs and sniffles. The lifeless walls were her only audience. There was no one to witness her world falling down like thunder. No one to see that today was the day she finally crumbled under the pressure.
"Oh, shut up!"
Sakura's eyes snapped open in that very instant, the familiar voice calling out to her louder than she had ever heard it before. She shut her eyes quickly, returning to her inner mindscape. When she arrived, her suspicions were confirmed. There, a few feet away from her inner self was a black and white Naruto. He was standing in that same arms-crossed, pouty stance he used to do.
"Naruto?" she breathed.
"You're no help at all!" he continued, turning to Sakura's inner self.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Who gave you permission to live in here rent-free?!"
"I don't need permission." He pointed one thumb to his chest. "Because I'm Naruto freaking Uzumaki!"
"Naruto," Sakura breathed again, sniffling. "What are you doing here?"
"What? I can't help a friend out?"
"No one invited you." Inner Sakura stated.
"Oh yeah, well who invited you?!"
"Well, I-"
"ABABUBABJIWAE…" Naruto cut in, speaking gibberish.
"I'm tryi-"
"UBIMBOZAMBUHAE…"
The vein on Inner Sakura's forehead nearly exploded.
"I'm her!" she finally blurted out.
"Well, as far as I know, there's only one Sakura-chan, so scram!" And with that, he gave her a kick to the backside and sent her careening off an edge Sakura didn't know was there. An unsteady, "WAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" echoed in Sakura's mind for a few seconds before she heard a singular thud.
"ow..."
Sakura glanced at Naruto only to see him giving a wide-toothed, eye-closed smile and holding a thumbs-up as usual, more than proud of what he had done.
A few moments later, she walked over to the edge, looking over it cautiously. At the bottom stood her inner self, almost smaller than an ant from where she was. It looked like she was throwing some sort of hissy fit.
"Hey!" she shouted, fist raised and shaking in indignation. "You can't leave me down here! I won't stand for it!"
"Then you better get to climbing!" Naruto shouted down, hands on his hips as he looked over the edge.
Sakura peered over the edge only to see her inner self growling lowly, steam practically shooting out of her ears.
"Less growling, more climbing!" Naruto shouted down.
"You think you're so funny, don't you? Well, I'm coming up there!" she said, grabbing the rockface and starting her climb.
"It'll take you days to climb up here," Naruto shouted down. "You'll probably get tired and hungry and–"
"I'll let you know that I have an iron constitution! I can survive without food for weeks! Months even! I'll talk so often it'll make your brain hurt!"
Sakura looked over the ledge with her eyebrows furrowed, arms tucked in close to her body. What the heck was going on? She turned towards Naruto intending to ask but was greeted by the sight of him carrying a rock at least twenty times his size. "Hoint!" he yelled, chucking it over the edge of the cliff with a mighty heave.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Inner Sakura screamed, rushing to scramble back down. Unfortunately, it was too late. The boulder knocked her off the wall then fell neatly on top of her and silenced her forever.
SPLAT.
Sakura paused uncomfortably then swallowed. "That's a little dark…" she whispered, eyes peering over the edge apprehensively.
"Eh," Naruto waved. "She talked too much anyway."
"I'm not sure how I feel about that," Sakura said, arms wrapping awkwardly around herself.
"You'll get over it," he said, grabbing one of her shoulders.
"Wait, wait, wait," she said, pulling away. "Just slow down a second." Air rushed into her lungs as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Just breathe…
"Ok," she said, eyeing him cautiously. "What's going on here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto replied. "Inner Sakura is lame, so I replaced her with your number one fan!"
"...Huh?"
Naruto sighed then gently tugged her arm. "Sit with me, Sakura-chan."
She complied, albeit reluctantly, and let him lead her a few steps away. They both sat across from each other with their legs crossed, then Naruto spoke. His voice was soft, as opposed to his usual boisterous nature. "You were crying Sakura-chan. You know I don't like seeing you cry."
A spell of silence passed before she dropped her head, eyes softening despite the pain that could be seen in them. "But you can't see me, Naruto." Her voice nearly cracked as she continued, lifting her head to face him. "You're not really here."
"Why not?"
"Cause you're not." she whimpered.
"But I want to be."
Sakura sighed then dropped her head into her hands, falling silent.
After a short pause, he grabbed her hands and gave them a light squeeze, his voice light. "Will you let me be here, Sakura-chan?"
Silence permeated the atmosphere before Sakura frowned, turning away. It was unexplainable, the tug she was feeling at that very moment. Obviously, none of this was real, but despite that fact, she could still hear a faint voice calling out to her. "Just say yes, and everything will be ok." But why? she wondered. Why will everything be ok? Emerald eyes settled on the familiar whiskered face and her frown deepened. Why does Naruto make everything ok? Why not my parents, or Ino, or Kakashi-sensei...or Sasuke? Why is it him?...
"I meant what I said earlier," Naruto continued. "I want to be here, but I'm only good with it as long as you are... Can you be good with this?"
In the silence, she simply stared at him, emerald eyes searching cerulean for the answers she so desired. Time itself seemed to fade into the background as they sat there, legs crossed, hand in hand. Naruto's eyes were soft but patient, showing his willingness to sit through whatever she needed him to. And in her eyes were a simple reflection of the only thing she saw in his – unbridled determination and that same contagious spirit he always had. They were some of the most inspiring things she had ever seen. Maybe that was why it was him. Maybe those things gave him a strength no one else had. It had been so easy to take them for granted before, but now she was starting to see their value – the power hidden behind that contagious spirit, the endurance born from that positive attitude, the reward found in that unbridled determination. It rubbed off on you whether you knew it or not, and when it was gone, you knew you had lost something, something more precious to you than you had ever known. She wanted it back...
After what felt like an eternity, she inhaled deeply, lifting her head and smiling through the tears. "I'm good with it," she said, giving a determined nod.
Naruto squeezed her hands and smiled.
After a while, Sakura laughed to herself, a choked laugh through the tears. "What choice do I have anyway? You kinda just killed my other half."
Naruto chuckled lowly. "She's not really dead, Sakura-chan. I just did that cause I thought it would cheer you up. If you want I can bring her back."
Sakura paused, then shook her head. "No... I like this."
Naruto nodded. "Good."
With a deep sigh, she disentangled her hands from his, wiping at her eyes. "So what do I call you anyway?"
"Well, I'm Naruto, aren't I?"
"Not the real Naruto," she said, looking down softly.
He raised a hand to his chin. "Hmmm, I didn't really think about that. I guess I'm naturally Inner Naruto then, yeah?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "I guess you are."
"Of course, you could always call me Naruto-kun," he mumbled, hiding a cheeky smile.
"I'm not calling you that," she said, eyebrow twitching.
"Why not?" he whined. "No one will ever know."
"I'm not calling you that," she repeated, rolling her eyes despite one corner of her lips turning upwards.
"Ok, fine," he whined, jumping to his feet and offering her a helping hand. She accepted it graciously and stood up, brushing herself off.
"Just don't give up, Sakura-chan."
Flashing him a brief smile, she nodded. "Don't worry, I won't."
"Good."
As the silence dragged on, Sakura's breathing slowed, a state of being she had struggled to find for so long finally on the horizon. Calm.
For once, she could feel the inner storm mellowing out, like the turbulent waves of water steadily subsiding after a storm. The light feeling brought a smile to her lips, her eyes falling shut soon after, a smooth rush of air leaving her nostrils. The weight that had been so stubbornly hanging on to her finally lessened, the weary shoulders no longer needing to droop, the persistent hunch straightening out. In her usually troubled mind, she found a rare moment of peace. A blissful tranquility. A real calm. A silent stillness. It was nice...
She basked in it for as long as she could, not ever quite ready to let go, but eventually, she did, the blissful state slowly fading away. A moment later, a peaceful sigh left her lips, the final traces of the reverie carried away with the wind. She opened her eyes soon after, face hardening. Time to face reality. As nice as the thought of all of her problems melting away was, that wasn't the case. While it was true that she felt much better now than she had in a long time, it was also true that she still had her fair share of things to deal with. She couldn't spend all her time dreaming things were better than they actually were; she had to be realistic. Falling into a more stable state of mind was progress, but there were still a lot of questions she had no answers to, and maybe she never would. Her lips tightened. Maybe she had to accept that... Either way, there was still work to be done, but maybe she'd leave that for another day...
"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, eyes squinting in that weird way that made it look like they were closed.
She smiled softly before lifting her head to face him. "It's nothing. I've just got a lot on my mind."
"Aw," he whined. "I thought I was supposed to make everything better."
She smiled rather indulgently. "I guess not."
"Well, that sucks..."
"Don't take it personally," she said. "I just haven't had much luck finding answers to any of my questions lately. It's not your fault."
"Any way I can help?"
"Not unless you have answers."
Sighing dramatically, he dropped his head. "Sorry I couldn't help, Sakura-chan."
"It's alright." she smiled. "You've done plenty."
"Yeah, but still..."
She was going to give him a reassuring punch on the shoulder but stopped short, a very particular question making its way back to the surface of her mind. It was one of the questions that had been bothering her in her more troubled states of mind, and she had almost forgotten about it with the appearance of this...'Inner Naruto', but maybe it was about time for her to get an answer – at least as much of an answer as she could get from a figment of her imagination. Besides, he seemed eager to help anyway.
"You know, on second thought, there is one question you can help me with."
"Really?" he chirped. "Alright! What is it?"
She hesitated at first, eyes glancing towards the ground, but soon after, she lifted her eyes to meet his, ready to speak her mind. "If you're my number one fan." She paused, a sort of half frown marring her visage. "Then why did you leave me?"
The black plain fell quiet, the silence seeming to swallow them whole. A few seconds later Naruto looped his hands behind his head, tilting his eyes towards the black sky above, his thoughts a mystery only he was privy to.
Emerald eyes gazed upon the whiskered face solemnly, waiting for an answer. She wasn't sure how much of an answer 'Inner Naruto' had to offer, but it was worth a shot. There were many questions that plagued her after all that had happened, but this was one of the questions that troubled her the most. Sasuke's plan of leaving in search of power at least made sense. He had been chasing revenge for so long that getting him off that path was bound to be difficult, if even possible. But why Naruto would leave was still a mystery to her, so much so that a small part of her had started wondering if she was a part of the problem, if she had somehow contributed to pushing the people she loved away. The thought haunted her, remaining all too present at the forefront of her mind. It kept her up during the watches of the night and troubled her during the long hours of the day; there was no escape. A vague hope of resolution had hung on figuring out this jinchuriki mystery, but that hope had died as well. Now her only hope lie in a Naruto she had somehow concocted in her mind. It almost made her laugh to think of it. The sad irony. To have rejected someone for so long and to so desperately crave their presence once they were gone.
"I don't know really..."
Her frown deepened. "You don't know?" she said lightly.
He mused to himself for a bit longer then continued, "Well, I guess I kinda do."
"Well, what is it?"
His shoulders lifted in a simple shrug before he replied. "I guess I just didn't know you needed me so much... You or anyone else really." She noticed that one of his hands had lifted on its own, scratching behind his head like he usually did when he was nervous. "When you grow up how I grew up it's kinda hard to know how important you are to people unless they tell you."
Silence covered the two as Sakura assimilated the words, lips eventually curving downwards. The blunt answer had sent her into a bit of a daze, but eventually, she recovered, blinking herself out of her trance. There it was. This strange, made-up Naruto had somehow given her the answer she couldn't see sitting right in front of her, an answer that lie in the only place it made sense that it would – his past. That fact should have been obvious to anyone with half a brain. Unfortunately, she was too busy crying her eyes out to see the answer was right in front of her the whole time – he didn't know anyone really cared about him. To him, he probably wasn't even really hurting anybody by leaving. Heck, he probably thought he was doing everyone a favor. It made sense since he had a bad habit of thinking the absolute worst about himself. Sighing, she let her eyes fall shut. He truly was a big dummy...
Beryl eyes softened as the pieces started falling into place, a more complete puzzle now sitting before her. His whole life he'd grown up without so many things – no friends, no family, no real childhood to speak of. It was only natural that he grew attached to just about anyone he met. Being friends was a privilege for him, not a given. And seeing someone as family must have been the greatest privilege of all, hence his love for Team 7. Watching all of that falling apart must have been like losing the only family he ever had, his scuffle with Sasuke being the last in an unfortunate series of events.
As she watched the innocent whiskered face staring back at her, her frown deepened, a part of her realizing she had contributed her fair share to his inner demons. Most of it was when they were younger, but even when they were older she had done some things she wasn't too proud of. Like biting his head off when he didn't deserve it, or not standing up for him when she knew she should have, or using the fact that he liked her to her advantage. What were her excuses then? Eventually, she cast her eyes downwards, the very shame of the thought saddening her. Her fear turned out to be true in some respects. She did play a part in driving him away, right along with everyone else.
"Sakura-chan," he said, blue orbs full of concern. "You ok?"
She lifted her eyes to face him and forced a smile, hiding a grimace. It was much harder to face him now, knowing what she had done, and the impact it had. An almost nauseous feeling settled in her stomach as she looked at him, the whiskered face bringing to mind the worst parts of herself. The worst part of it was that with all she had done, she seemed to need him more than anyone else did. He was the one she whined to and had stupid conversations with when Sasuke was ignoring her, or laughed and joked with when Kakashi-sensei was late for the umpteenth time. And here she was again, using his memory of all things just to get by, clinging to the idea of 'Inner Naruto' to give her some sense of comfort...
It was then that she knew something had to change. Even if nobody else did, she would. The emerald eyes hardened, jaw clenching as she lifted her head. In her heart, she made one resolution to herself – never again.
With a hushed sniffle, she nodded and flashed him a lopsided grin. "Yeah," she said, rubbing under her nose. "I'm fine. I guess I just didn't realize you were that important to me either. But you are," she finished, giving him a light punch to the shoulder. "And don't you forget it."
Cerulean eyes had never been filled with so much wonder. Into the silence, he whispered, "I'm important to you, Sakura-chan?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "You are."
"You really mean it?"
"Yes, Naruto. I do."
It was then that the grin slowly broke out on his face, nearly all of his pearly whites coming into view.
"Alright!" he yelled, picking her up in a bear hug. "Sakura-chan likes me!"
"Cares about you," she corrected, despite her smirk. "And please put me down," she finished, milky complexion starting to redden.
"Hehe," he laughed, setting her down on her feet and rubbing under his nose. "The old Sakura-chan would've clocked me clean across the head. Maybe you do care about me after all."
"With how you're acting, it could change any second," she said, rubbing her hands down her clothes.
"Hehe, sorry, sorry."
She simply rolled her eyes, one side of her lips still turned up in amusement.
"But in all seriousness," he said, blue orbs meeting green. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."
Her response was a simple, but firm nod.
As the two of them stood there in the silence, she huffed, a sort of chortle escaping her lips. "Leave it to me to be sitting here talking to a figment of my imagination. I think I'm losing it."
"Hey, you and most of the people around here," Naruto replied. "Just look at Sasuke, he's running off to some freaky snake guy!"
Sakura dropped her eyes and looked at him with a look that said, "Really?"
"Too soon?" he winced.
"Yes."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not."
He paused then giggled. "Hehe, no, I'm not."
She simply rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, I can't help myself sometimes."
"I'm sure."
"Anyway," he continued. "Now that everything's settled, let's get back to the mission."
"What mission?"
"Getting that book open."
Pink brows furrowed as she turned more towards him. "But it's sealed," she replied. "A genin can't access sealed information without consent from someone of higher rank. I doubt anyone is gonna just do us a solid."
"Trust me, we'll get that book open, Sakura-chan." He rubbed his hands together and finished with a cheeky grin. "You just need some of my imagination."
"Do I now?"
"Of course you do." he insisted. "I'm not known as the number one most unpredictable ninja for nothing you know."
Pink bangs danced from side to side as she tilted her head upwards thoughtfully. "Ok," she acknowledged. "I'll give you that."
"Sooo," he purred. "Does that mean you're in?"
She paused briefly, letting the thought roll around in her mind for a bit. It was obvious to her what her answer would be, but she always found it fun torturing him in little ways. A moment later, she smirked, deciding he had rocked on his heels enough. "Alright, Naruto Uzumaki, you've convinced me. I don't know how, but you always do."
"Alright!" he cheered, a gleeful shout leaving his lips as he held out a closed fist and sported that same determined grin that belonged only to him. "Then let's get this book open, cause Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno don't take no for an answer."
The emerald eyes fixed on him as a determined smile began stretching across her own lips, jade eyes narrowing and filling with determination once more. Taking a deep breath, she nodded firmly then connected her fist with his own, a sort of newfound energy rushing into her – a will of fire.
Soft eyelids fluttered open soon after, emerald orbs waking up to the sight of the sealed book still cradled in her hands. Looking at the book felt strangely funny now. With her newfound perspective, the seal didn't seem all that intimidating. It was just an obstacle that had to be overcome, and it would be overcome. First, she'd try the normal channels, see if anyone was willing to help her out, if not...then she'd just need a little imagination. A deep sigh left her lips as she jumped onto her feet, standing tall. That book wouldn't be sealed for long.
The silent pit-pat of sandals resounded off the dusty floor as Kurama made his way through the crowd-filled street, one foot tiredly lifting in front of the other. There was the sun to thank for that. Despite his insane chakra reserves and stamina, the relentless rays of the yellow star had taken their toll on him. With a low growl, he tilted his head upwards, shielding his eyes from the tiny whitish-yellow orb. It looked so small from here...it sure didn't feel that way.
Frowning, he returned his gaze to the dusty street and shoved his hands into his pockets. The sun had looked so beautiful this morning, but now it had morphed into a much more oppressive version of itself. Sweat ran down the side of his face in random intervals, a wayward swipe removing the drops of perspiration every now and then. Couple the extreme heat with the fact that he hadn't had food for hours on end and it was easy to understand why he wasn't feeling so hot...or cold...or whatever. A tired glance at his surroundings revealed more of the same – old buildings, busy vendors, strange people, etc. He simply sighed, dropping his head. Looks like there was a little bit of everything except for what he needed...namely food.
"Still no food joints in sight," he grumbled. "Not even a pub..."
"Yeah," Naruto said tiredly. "I noticed that."
"Any bright ideas?"
"No..."
Kurama sighed then lifted his head and kept walking. Seems their food troubles had sucked some of the life out of Naruto as well. A light chuckle escaped his lips at the thought. Even the energy ball had lost some of its bounce. "Maybe I should give you back your body after all." he joked.
"No thanks. You can keep it."
Kurama chuckled lowly. "That's very generous of you."
"Don't sweat it," he replied dryly. "I'm probably not the best person to be making decisions right now anyway."
"That's exactly what I was saying," Kurama grinned. "All the better for you to just sit in there and let me handle things, am I right?"
Kurama held his head up, waiting for an answer, but no such answer ever came. In its place was a solemn silence.
"Naruto?" he questioned.
There was no reply.
Moments later, he heard a tired sigh leave the boy's lips, a silent slosh of water indicating he had rolled onto his side. A spell of silence passed before Kurama frowned. What the heck was wrong with him?
A few steps of awkward silence later, Kurama sighed, eyes dropping ever so slightly. Great. First I get poisoned, then I end up in some strange town, and now I gotta deal with whatever this is. Why did all this craziness have to start happening after I took over?
A disgruntled groan left his lips before he focused a portion of his chakra internally, a chakra formed Naruto appearing in the chamber soon after, eyes glowing a vibrant red in the surrounding darkness. Kurama blinked a few times as the usually thin slits in his eyes widened to adjust to the darkness. He squinted through the black, eyes momentarily struggling to focus. It didn't take long for his vision to clear though, the faint orange chakra bars aiding in the illumination of the cage. There was just enough light for him to see Naruto lying down and facing away from him. Into the silence, he cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ok, what's going on?"
There was a brief pause before Naruto sighed, body deflating as he sighed deeply. "I'm fine, Kurama."
Kurama huffed. "You don't sound fine. You sound like you're out of it and you're not even the one who has to walk in this blistering heat."
"It's nothing." Naruto insisted.
"You really expect me to believe that?"
Naruto was silent.
"You've been talking and singing my ear off for the past hour or so and a few minutes ago you just stopped. I thought you just got tired of talking, but I know you well enough to know something else is going on."
Naruto sighed before rolling onto his back, a band of ripples moving through the murky water. "I said it's nothing," he repeated.
"Come on, kid. We both know it's not nothing."
Kurama paused, squinting at the boy in question. "Is it cause I took over your body?" he asked. "Cause if we're honest, that was kinda your fault."
Naruto sighed, letting his eyelids fall shut. "It's not cause you took over my body, Kurama. I just told you that you could hang on to it."
"Oh..." he said. "Well, what is it then?"
Naruto remained motionless for a moment before a deep sigh left his lips. His eyelids fluttered open soon after, solemn gaze veering off into the black sky above. Kurama watched as the pale blue orbs moved from one spot to another, roaming aimlessly. Eventually, they settled on nowhere in particular, leaving the boy somewhere between a trance and a dream.
As Naruto's trance deepened, the chamber fell silent, and Kurama with it, his stoic form peering into the cage through the darkness. As time passed, he could feel the darkness starting to smother, the constant pressure building around his body. There was a time when the feeling took him by surprise, but not anymore. This had become a common experience over his many years with the boy, and it only ever meant one thing.
A heart-pounding moment of peril, a burning flash of anger, a real and true joy; he had felt every moment, the chamber somehow acting like a foggy mirror for the boy's emotions. In times of peril, senses were heightened, every slosh of water rivaling a waterfall. In times of anger, the darkness deepened, sources of light dimming until the cage was nothing but darkness. And in times of joy, the chamber appeared brighter, the darkness lifting ever so slightly, darkened shades of light somehow able to shine through. But this was a time of sorrow, so the darkness was smothering...choking...closing you in.
In the silence, Kurama dropped his head, eyes appearing a more pale red. "Wanna talk about it?" he said silently.
Naruto's lips tightened, eyes still resting on the black sky above.
"I'm not like those people back in Konoha," Kurama added. "You can talk to me."
Naruto's jaw clenched, but he remained silent, eyes still somewhere far away.
The silence dragged on as Kurama waited for a reply, but it didn't take him long to realize he was waiting in vain. Naruto would never say a word. Just like back home, he would keep it all to himself, letting it bubble beneath the surface. And then, one day, it would explode once more and history would repeat itself, and thus the unbreakable cycle of holding it all in and waiting for it to explode would continue. Kurama's lips curved downwards, much more than he was used to. Unfortunately, it looked like he'd have to wait for that fateful day before getting any real answers.
"Fine," he said. "Have it your way."
With that, he turned away, preparing to leave. "But kid," he called over his shoulder. The pause before he finished drew Naruto's attention. "You really should learn to talk to somebody."
At Kurama's statement, Naruto paused, eyes eventually falling to the ground. Kurama watched the boy for a brief moment then turned away. At least his words seemed to have some effect.
The chakra apparition was moments away from disappearing when Naruto's voice rang through the chamber.
"I feel like I made a mistake."
Kurama stopped short, a violent slosh of water echoing through the chamber as he spun on his heels, brows furrowing deeply. "...What?"
Naruto sighed. "I've tried, Kurama. I've really tried." He finally sat up in the cage. "I've tried to act like everything's ok and like none of this is bothering me, but look." A silent groan left his lips as he lifted his leg a few inches off the water. "I got ambushed less than a day coming out of Konoha. One day!" His frown deepened, voice serious. "My leg is half-broken, Kurama."
"Oh," Kurama whispered, a vague idea of what was wrong with the boy starting to form in his mind. "Well," he said, shrugging slowly. "I...kinda tried to fix it..."
Naruto continued, voice growing more and more agitated. "I ate a poisonous mushroom that almost made you barf me to death, we're currently melting away in some strange town I've only ever been to once with Pervy Sage, and now we can't even find anything to eat!" Naruto paused, taking a breath before lifting his hands to the sides of his head and rubbing at his temples. "I just feel like everything is going wrong..."
Kurama watched the boy for a few moments then dropped his head, the darkness hiding his frown. His suspicions were correct. The kid was finally starting to get in touch with reality. As inconvenient as the timing of this revelation was, Kurama couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming. Earlier in their journey, the boy had started complaining of how boring the forest seemed – that was the first sign. The luster was wearing off, the rush of adrenaline fading, the new smell getting old. In its place, the harsh realities were setting in; the ignorant bliss of what it took to run away fading, the adventurous vibe turning torturous, the hardships growing without measure. The only reason the boy's mind had been derailed from that train of thought was due to them being ambushed. Now that they had escaped, those concerns seemed to be back in full force.
"And I can't stop thinking about the fact that Sasuke left either."
Kurama lifted his head.
"I thought he'd be there for Sakura when I was gone, but now I know for a fact he's not." His frown deepened. "She's alone, Kurama. And the team has been blown even farther to hell than I thought it was."
"Well...she's still got Kakashi," he offered softly. "And some other friends...her family too..."
"That's not the same and you know it. Team 7 was a different type of family. Our lives were on the line just about every mission we had. We trusted each other, had each other's backs. Me, Sasuke, Sakura-" He stopped short, sighing. "There's a different type of bond when you trust someone to hold your life in their hands. And there were other things..." he whispered.
In the darkness, neither said a word, a sort of sobering silence settling between them.
"And now something's not right." he finished. "I can just feel it..."
The sobering silence settled over the chamber once more, a quiet stillness stemming from the lack of movement.
After the silence had dragged on for a while, Kurama sighed, lowering his head. "Well," he said silently. "I truly am sorry, but I don't think I can help you, kid."
A sad smirk flitted across Naruto's mouth. "That's alright, Kurama. I didn't really expect you to." His eyes returned to gazing at the sky as he finished softly. "You were right though. It was nice to talk to somebody."
Kurama eyed the boy sadly, not able to force a smirk of his own. It wasn't quite clear to him why Naruto being out of it bothered him so much, but it did. It made him feel uneasy, a strange discomfort hanging over him, a constant feeling of something being wrong nagging at his core. Troublesome, as Shikamaru would say. And besides the boy's mood being naggingly bothersome, it was madly confusing. Why was this bond he had with those back home so strong? This single question had behind it a string of other questions Kurama also struggled to answer.
Why did he have to leave a note? Why did he have to bring a picture along for the ride? Why was he willing to completely give up on his plan of running away and getting stronger if it meant bringing back some vengeful Uchiha? And why was he worrying about people back home from hundreds of miles away? These questions boggled his mind. Heck, he was living in the same body as the kid and he still didn't feel as close to him as some of these other people seemed to be. A small part of him was jealous, although he'd never admit it. The thought had crossed his mind a few times before, but he had pushed it away, refusing to admit that truth within himself; refusing to acknowledge that a part of him wondered what it would be like, having a friend that stuck with you no matter what. Someone who was loyal and would be with you to the very end.
"You don't have to try to cheer me up, Kurama."
Kurama blinked a few times before bringing his attention back to the boy in question. His voice was light against the backdrop of deafening silence.
"I'll be fine." he continued. "I just need some time."
Kurama's face hardened. "You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure... Thanks for being my friend though."
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Your friend?"
Naruto smirked lightly. "You were trying to cheer me up, Kurama. That's what friends do."
Kurama squinted through the darkness, pondering the thought. Much to his chagrin, he couldn't see the fault in the boy's logic. After a while, he settled for a low, "Whatever, I was just trying to help..."
"You shouldn't be so surprised," Naruto said. "If someone saves your life it's kinda hard to think of them as anything less."
"I guess," Kurama said. "Just didn't really expect you to say that, that's all."
"Why not?"
"Well, besides our other disagreements, there is the fact that I'm currently holding you hostage in your own body."
Naruto chuckled for the first time in a while, it was a low chuckle, but there nonetheless. A tired sigh left his lips soon after. "Truth is I don't really care, Kurama. I needed a break anyway. Besides, you being locked up all the time isn't really fair. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your shoes."
Following Naruto's statement, a dead silence passed through the chamber. It was unexpected and strange, but oddly comfortable, the two resting in a sort of peaceful solitude, a solemn silence that made it feel as if they had been friends for decades. In the end, Kurama smiled. Maybe the kid did understand. Soon after, he grinned, rubbing under his nose. "Yeah," he replied. "I guess so. A fox has gotta see the world, right?"
Naruto chuckled again. "Something like that."
In the silence, Kurama could feel the darkness starting to lift, the smothering air that had so stubbornly settled over the chamber slowly fading away. The stale air not as stuffy, the heavy darkness not as thick. A more contented state of being on the horizon. It was nice. Into the silence, he spoke, tone a bit more upbeat than usual. "Feel better, kid."
"Find food," Naruto smirked.
Kurama returned the smirk this time, nodding and vanishing from the chamber as quickly as he had come. Maybe the kid's not so bad after all...
Weathered fingers rubbed a purplish-black mushroom apart into chunks of varying size, eventually letting them fall into the open palm for examination.
"Kid's in for a rude awakening," Ryoshi said. "That is if he hasn't already had one...or multiple."
"A rude awakening?" Jento said, walking up to him and examining the contents of his hand.
"He should've paid attention in survival class."
Jento sniffed the mushrooms, then swiveled his head away in disgust. "Ew! These smell gross!"
"Yeah," Ryoshi agreed, thumb rubbing across the broken-up chunks. "That's because these types of mushrooms are poisonous." He nodded towards the floor. "As you can see, they grow in groups of five. I noticed that some of the groups seem to have some missing though, which means our orange-clad runaway probably ate some of them."
"Deadly?"
"No, not exactly. Damage to the insides is possible though. There's a natural poison in this particular brand of mushroom that can lead to disturbing side effects. The most common ones are nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea – particularly the explosive kind."
"That's freaking disgusting."
"Poop usually is."
Jento huffed. "Why are we tracking this kid anyway? Didn't you already say you sensed him somewhere around Kimyona?"
"I did."
"Why not just coordinate with Oritsu and take him down?"
"I want to see how good he is," Ryoshi said simply. "I didn't underestimate him before and I'm not starting now." His balled fist crushed the mushroom chunks before letting them fall to the floor. "Good thing I did too."
"Why's that?"
Ryoshi stood up with a grunt then started walking towards the nearby stream. Jento fell into stride alongside him.
"Because we're being counter-tracked."
Jento squinted, gaze still pointed forward.
"Notice that Mr. Uzumaki stuck to the branches to slow down ground tracking, and not only that, he even stopped breaking the branches he was traveling on so that anyone without a nose couldn't track him easily. Add to that the fact that he stopped here and bathed to knock us off his scent, and I would say Mr. Uzumaki is taking very active steps not to be found."
"Huh," Jento mused. "Makes sense. Remember how clean his apartment was?"
"I do, actually. It was uncanny."
"Wouldn't be the first time someone has counter-tracked us."
"You're right, and this is why I'm tracking him in the first place. In your experience have those rogues been easier or harder to capture?"
"...Harder."
"My point exactly."
The two of them reached the stream soon after and found Hageshi's lithe form relaxing near the water, paws laid out in front of him, an upbeat tune on his lips.
"Moretsu still hasn't narrowed anything down?" Ryoshi asked.
"Nope." Hageshi hummed. "Still out there somewhere."
"I thought his nose was light years better than ours," Jento said.
"It is," Ryoshi replied, lips curving downwards.
"What's wrong?" Jento asked.
Ryoshi squinted towards the ground, one hand rubbing the lightly bearded chin. "Moretsu's nose usually makes him more efficient. We've been in this area for over half an hour and he still hasn't found anything. If he's having trouble tracking down one target it's usually because there's more than one target."
"Sensory overload?" Hageshi suggested.
"Something like that," Ryoshi replied. "Sometimes his nose is a little too good."
"Then call him," Jento said. "He's probably wasting his time anyway."
Ryoshi thought about it then tilted his head in agreement. A sharp whistle left his lips soon after.
The rustling of leaves could be heard as the canine started making it's way back to its master, green brushes and vividly colored plants ruffling in the distance. The ruffling of the leaves grew closer until, at last, a wide-eyed wolf head popped out from a nearby bush. The chunky beast walked out of the brush panting rather heavily, nostrils flaring with each breath. In his mouth were a band of torn ropes, a broken seal dangling at one of the ends. Ryoshi squinted. Seems he had found something after all.
Ryoshi stepped towards him and crouched low, grabbing the rope. He took a few moments to examine it before turning to the chunky wolf. "Where did you find this?"
"Awittle raise array from here."
Ryoshi turned to Hageshi.
"He said a little ways away from here." Hageshi clarified.
"Did you find anything else?" Ryoshi asked.
"Yeah, hive nuisance."
"Five new scents." Hageshi clarified.
"As I suspected," Ryoshi said, returning his gaze to the torn rope. "He was ambushed."
"But got away." Jento finished.
"Remember I told you I sensed that dark power while I was entering the village?"
"Yeah," Jento nodded.
Ryoshi gripped the rope tighter. "It was the Nine-Tails..."
The four fell silent, an ominous air coating the atmosphere at the mention of the creature of lore.
"I knew it." Ryoshi finally said, rising to his feet. "They're working together. You can already see the two minds at work."
"What do you mean?" Hageshi asked.
"He's talking about the fact that our orange-clad runaway seems to display Chunin to Jonin level intelligence one moment, and the next he's as dumb as he dresses," Jento answered.
"Exactly," Ryoshi said. "No ninja is smart enough to counter track so effectively but so dumb as to eat a poisonous mushroom. Even if they weren't sure it was poisonous, they wouldn't chance it."
"Hm," Hageshi said, rising to his feet and stretching like any normal dog. "So what now,"
"Now," Ryoshi said, pulling a storage scroll from the green and brown camouflage patterned vest. "We save this to use as our freshest scent. We already know he's around Kimyona so we'll pick up the scent there." The ropes disappeared in a puff of gray smoke.
"So, we're heading to Kimyona now?" Jento asked.
"Yeah," Ryoshi said. "We've wasted enough time here already. I want to catch up to this kid as quickly as possible."
"Why the sudden rush?"
"After surviving a five-man ambush, I doubt he thinks he can survive out here alone. Even if they were on rocky ground before, him and the fox are bound to be getting closer. That being said, I don't want them to have any time to build any type of team chemistry." Ryoshi straightened up, clearing his throat as he tucked the scroll away into one of his vest pockets. "In other words, I don't want them to be ready for a fight...cause I'm gonna give them one."
Jento tilted his head. "Well, sounds like a plan."
Ryoshi turned away, setting his face towards the north. "When we get to Kimyona, we'll see if we can pick up a trail there. If not, I'm sure Oritsu will give us something to work with."
The canines nodded their agreement.
"Let's head out."
Author's note:
And so we reach the end of this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! I tried to imagine what a mental break would look like for Sakura and incorporate some of the ideas I had into it. Hope it turned out ok. Maybe, maybe not, but you live and learn - or better yet, write and learn lol. Thanks so much to all of you who end up reviewing. ^_^ Anyway, until next time ladies and gents. Peace.