Chapter II
The Abduction
I continue my crazy race in the village. I'm focused on nothing else but my goal of reaching Naruto's apartment as soon as possible. The sword of Damocles hovers above the head of my pupil, heedless of danger. Since my lamentable failure, that of rescuing the darkest of the three, Sasuke, I promised to myself: "never again." I clench my fist and my heart is animated by a devouring fire; the adrenaline is flowing through my veins, blinding my judgment. I don't even think of finding reinforcements. My priority is Naruto.
I don't know why, but I'm hit with a bad feeling that makes me uneasy; anxiety overtakes me and sabotages my thoughts. I am used to locking away harmful and intrusive emotions in a corner of my mind … but this time, I can hardly manage it. Nevertheless, this doesn't slow me down. A bead of sweat slide on my temple. I still keep my composure despite the panic that tries to take over.
I'm close; the building in question falls into my field of vision. One last jump, and I land on the neighbouring building, in front of the bedroom window. Considering that Naruto had just returned from a mission, exhausted in every way possible, I expect him to be in bed…
However, what I see pinches my chest with pain.
Naruto isn't reacting, visibly unconscious. A man dressed in a black blending into the darkness picks up the teenager, holding him by the waist with just one arm. When he turns his head, I recognize the headband attached to his forehead; it's the same engraving as the shinobi I faced a few minutes earlier, that of three intertwined triangles.
Without further ado, I jump and propel myself forward. I prepare to break in by smashing the window into a thousand pieces. It all happens in a fraction of a second. In my momentum, my stern eye meets the amber ones of the enemy. His gaze is haughty and serene; he's in no way worried about me. Although a mask similar to mine hides half of his face, he has an evil grin on his lips. He's taunting me with a sneer; it makes my hair stand on end and my blood boils in my veins.
He can laugh. In any case, he won't escape me!
Unfortunately, I feel way too late an enemy presence above me. I hardly see a black entity that strikes me a blow with all its might and I barely have time to brandish my arms to protect my head. The force of the blow is such that I am violently propelled to the ground which bursts under the impact, raising clouds of dust. The shock tears me a complaint of pain and my lungs expel the slightest trace of air in them, momentarily incapable to breathe.
'Imbecile!' I grumble to myself while filling my organs with oxygen.
I didn't feel its presence at all… No. It completely eluded all my heightened senses, as if it had erased itself from the entire universe and appeared at the last second to attack me. If I hadn't protected myself in time, with the power of its devastating blow, it would have knocked me out…
As I get up, deformed nightmarish hands armed with gigantic, inhuman claws grab my throat and pin me firmly to the ground. The deadly nails dig into my skin, piercing it effortlessly and releasing my blood which returns to the earth. These fingers tightly tighten their grip and grind my now sealed trachea; I suffocate with excruciating slowness. By survival instincts, my body begs for air by opening its mouth wide … in vain.
Once the clouds of dust dissipate, my heart jumps in my chest when I contemplate this supernatural and inhuman entity that is strangling me without mercy. This being of absolute blackness on which a macabre and deformed smile is drawn seems to me to be a shadow coming straight from the realm of limbo. His white, empty eyes pierce me to the deepest of intimacies and send a shiver of dread down my spine. Never in my life have I seen such a thing. I don't know why, but I sink into a nameless terror.
Hardly, I grab its hands with mine in order to repel this demon from me… However, I pass through, as if it were intangible and inaccessible. At the same time, ebony tentacles come out of its body and wrap themselves frantically around all my limbs to immobilize me and reduce me to helplessness. Quickly, I can no longer move; its formidable strength is atrociously strong and unshakeable. The lack of air makes my struggle pitiful and useless. Little by little, my strength leaves me.
I understand that this thing is absorbing my chakra.
A black cobweb forms on my retina and spreads to obstruct my vision. I am losing consciousness and thinking requires commensurate effort. Every second is now counted. If I don't find a solution quickly, not only will I not save Naruto in time, but I'll have to resolve to be saved myself.
Those evil hands continue to crush my throat, and my face heats up. These appendages of darkness compress my muscles and prevent blood from travelling through my veins. My breath is extinguished as my vision blurs. My chakra is stolen more and more and if it continues, I won't have much left. I've lost track of time since this entity took hold of my neutralized being. I feel as if I were experiencing a waking nightmare, a phenomenon of nocturnal paralysis, thus confronted with a demon born from the dark and evil abyss of which there's nothing I can do…
I am suddenly struck with an epiphany.
This thing is like a shadow and the light repels the shadows and beings of darkness and night. I don't have much energy left, but I don't have any other idea in mind. If that fails, I'll sink to maybe never wake up again.
Hit or miss…
Without wasting a second, I gather my last gradually siphoned strength; I mould and focus my elemental chakra in my right hand, changing its nature into lightning. A ball of white-blue energy forms in my palm. My Raikiri sends out many murderous and luminous lightning bolts in all directions, followed by a high-pitched melody similar to the song of a thousand dying birds.
The effect is instantaneous.
This entity of absolute black immediately detaches itself from me with a shrill howl. This odious and horribly high-pitched cry pounds my eardrums until I get dizzy, and I quickly clap my weak hands on my ears. As I breathe in loudly to calm the pain of my burning organs, I glimpse this thing with holes all over its body thus falling apart until there's nothing left to hold any shape. It vanishes into nothingness and silence, without leaving the slightest trace of its existence.
A meagre scarlet discharge slides over my lobes and I am subjected to violent tinnitus which last excruciatingly in time, disorienting me for the time of a breath. The crisis over, I jump to my feet. My legs wobble and I don't care. I silence my suffering and I soar high. With the help of two jumps using the walls of the buildings, I reach the window, which I smash with all my whole being to enter the room plunged in dimness.
To my misfortune, I note with horror that the room is empty. Even relying on my nose and my panicked eye, I don't perceive Naruto's presence nor that of this enemy; there's only me, silence and loneliness. I am bitten with worry, a cold sweat beading on my temple. Nevertheless, I doubt that they are far away; I am sure they are still around, in the village.
I grab a kunai to cut my thumb. I do a series of hand seals, then I place my hand on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A white cloud manifests and accompanies the familiar sound of a successful summon. With his small size, his brown fur and sporting his blue jacket and his forehead protector on his head, I recognize my most faithful ninken, Pakkun, who then appears before my eyes.
"What is it, Kakashi?" he asks, nodding and waiting for my instructions.
"Find Naruto's trail and guide me to him," I order, barely keeping my composure. "An enemy has just kidnapped him."
He nods and sticks his nose to the ground to sniff the smells in order to find their traces. My completely unleashed heart twists my chest, shatters the walls of my rib cage. In a paradox of patience and impatience, I watch Pakkun search the four corners of the room. After what seems like an interminable time, he turns around to face me.
"So?!"
"I'm sorry, Kakashi," he says, shaking his head grimly before sitting down. "I do smell an unknown smell and that of Naruto, but only here. The track leads nowhere. It's as if they had vanished."
"What are you talking about? I saw them in the bedroom, not long ago. This guy… He must have entered somewhere."
"That's exactly the problem. It would seem that he entered the room as mysteriously as he left," he cautiously retorts. "Otherwise, we would already be on their trail."
I fully trust Pakkun; no reason not to believe him although I remain skeptical. Consumed by doubt, I search the apartment, in case the intruder has erased his scent and found another entrance. I glance at the broken window, and it's still locked. I check the two doors leading outside, including the other windows. The same. No latch has been forced, and there's nothing abnormal. No sign of any break-in. On the floor of the room, there are shoe prints almost imperceptible to the naked eye. These marks of soles differ greatly from those of Naruto and besides in the room, I don't find any elsewhere.
As my faithful canine companion told me, this individual came as mysteriously as he left.
I have to accept the truth.
Naruto is gone…
And I couldn't do anything to save him.
The sky bursts. A wild lightning splits the air and illuminates the room for a breath. My organ of love is breaking in two in this tiny torso which no longer allows my lungs to function properly. By futile desire to silence the pain, I bring a hand to my heart; I try to tear it off in a phantom gesture, digging my fingers into my skin.
Unable to support my own weight, I crumble and collapse to my knees. In my helplessness, I lower my fist to the ground, again and again, while ranting at myself. I curse my weakness and come to hate myself. Curled up in a ball, my useless body is seized with incessant tremors.
Whether it's Sasuke or Naruto… I'm too late … once again … again and again. I am too slow, too weak; a monumental disappointment and I am weighing my words. I failed to keep my promise, and I am confronted with the extent of my mistakes once again.
If only I had listened to my instincts… If only I had come to inquire about Naruto's condition by inviting him to Ichiraku to change his mind… If only I had stayed in the neighbourhood, even if it meant continuing to wander aimlessly… If only… It's all my fault. I could have done something to prevent this tragedy, but I did nothing. I am pathetic and again, that is a euphemism; there are no words to express this miserable performance which drowns me in its shame.
'What a pathetic sensei I am! What a pathetic shinobi I am!'
