AN: You thought you'd never see me again, didn't you? Well too bad, I'm alive!
I don't own Naruto.
A blond boy fell to the ground, panting in exhaustion. Besides him, his teacher watched him catch his breath after having finishing up their daily sparring match. He was improving. Slowly, but surely. It really was fascinating to watch.
"Naruto" He called out. Said boy looked up at the masked man. "Why did you ask me to train you all those years ago?"
"What?" The blond asked he sat up and crossed his legs. "What kind of question is that? Who wants to be weak?" He said with a small smile.
Kakashi shook his head. "That's not what I meant. You have a personal reason that you want to be strong. Tell me, what is your end goal here?"
Naruto's face lost its mischievous smile and was replaced by a slight downturn. "Oh, Itachi-san asked me the same thing a few years ago. I need to become strong for the village. I am its 'weapon', right?"
A frown appeared on the Jōnin's face and he reached forward to flick the blond on the forehead, who yelped in return. "This is what you think you should be aiming for, and while it is admirable, it's not how you truly feel."
Of course it wasn't how he truly thought. What kind of kid wanted to die for their village anyway? He wasn't sure what sort of goal an eight-and-a-something year old was supposed to have, but there was one thing that he was definitely certain of.
The world needed to change.
"I want to…" He began, thinking of a way to phrase it. "Fix things. I want to fix the world and make it stop suffering."
Kakashi stared at him with an intensity that the blond was unfamiliar with, almost as if he was searching his face for something. But soon, his eye curved up into a familiar smile.
"Then, I'll help you with that."
"Oi"
Kakashi was shaken out of his reveries as the eldest of them regarded him with a stern gaze. "Eyes up, kid. We're nearly there."
The Jōnin gave a grunt as he leaned up into a more comfortable position. "You know I'm 24, right?"
Jiraiya shrugged carelessly in response and focused his gaze ahead.
"I hope you're ready for what's coming."
Kakashi steadied his nerves, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he prepared himself for what was to come. "Oh, I am…"
"…That snake is going to pay."
—
"Sho? Is that really you!?" Naruto asked, relief washing over him after recovering from his shock. "Man, I'm glad to see you're safe! You wouldn't believe the past few weeks I had." He said in an attempt at a small joke as he weakly raised a thin hand to place onto his teammates' shoulder. "We need to hurry up and go look for Yuna, who knows where she could be at this p-Gaah!"
Sho lashed out behind him when he felt the alien touch on his shoulder. Who was this? Where was he? His mind felt completely fuzzy. The side of his neck was killing him too, what the hell had happened to him?
He turned and set his eyes on the struggling blond, who was slowly picking himself back up after having stumbled a distance away.
"What the hell, what gives!?"
"N-Naruto…"
The Jinchūriki looked at his teammate in confusion as he finally got a good look at him. Pale skin and a shaky aura that didn't seem to want to settle. It was like a vile spirit had taken residence within his body. Something was definitely wrong here.
Sho moaned in pain and clutched his head as an intense throbbing echoed inside his skull. "I-It hurts, make it stop…!"
The blond frowned and took a few measuring steps towards his teammate, alarm bells ringing in his mind urging him to be cautious. "Sho…What's going on?"
"Y-You…" Sho furiously rubbed at his eyes in desperation.
Naruto looked at his teammate's face with trepidation. He was getting a bad feeling from all this.
Slowly, black markings began to creep up the length of his neck and covered his face like a dark veil and with it came a manic grin. "You…Really piss me off!"
Sho shot forward at blinding speed and threw a heavy punch at the blond, who barely managed to bring his arms up for protection. Naruto was launched into the wall and gasped in pain as his fragile bones quivered under the strain. He didn't get long to recover as Sho was already in front of him, delivering blow after blow into his poor attempt at a guard.
"After all this time…I've finally surpassed you…" The grin remained plastered onto his face as he grabbed his teammate and flung him towards the other side of the room. The Jinchuriki painfully impacted against the brick wall and coughed up more blood. He bit back a scream as Sho jumped towards him and drove his foot into his stomach with such force that the wall collapsed behind him, sunlight now filtering through the cracks.
"Ngh-" Naruto gasped as the air left his lungs and several of his ribs cracked under the pressure. He wheezed and coughed as his diaphragm spasmed from the heavy blow, but he didn't get any time to recover when his teammate's fists bled to a dark brown and smashed back down into his stomach. Blow after blow, Sho relentlessly focused all of his anger and frustration into this moment.
Why? Why was he doing this? He didn't know. He cared about his teammate, but something was pushing him over the edge. Something dark and sinister, whispering into his ear. Maybe it was because he'd always been secretly jealous of him? Maybe it was because of all that they've been subjected to over the past few weeks? Whatever it was, he couldn't bring himself to stop.
It felt good.
One final hit and the battered form of Naruto was sent flying outside of the walls.
The blond's vision began to blur as he faded in and out of consciousness. He was too exhausted for this, and the pain was just unbearable. He wanted to close his eyes. He was tired, so damn tired. He just wanted to lie down and close his eyes, and let all of this be over.
"Wake up, you worthless ingrate."
'Kyuubi…Leave me alone. I'm tired of fighting.' He muttered pitifully.
Sho stared at his bloody hands and frowned. This felt wrong. He didn't feel any of the satisfaction he was expecting. He winced as the whispers from the mark on his neck turned to brain-rattling screams, making him clasp his hand against it to lessen the feeling.
A dark snarl sent a chill down his spine. "Are you giving up on your promise already? I suppose I should have expected this from a worthless human."
Naruto's eyes cracked open a tiny bit and looked towards the blue sky. A soft humorless chuckle escaped his lips, and he closed his eyes once more in acceptance.
"Yeah…Maybe I am worthless."
He was expecting a heated comeback from within, but all he was met with was deafening silence.
"…Then die like the rest."
With those final words, he felt the little amount of respect that the nine-tails held for him vanish, only leaving frigid desperation behind.
He was alone again.
The old man wasn't here.
His sensei wasn't here
His teammates weren't here.
Kyuubi wasn't here.
Kakashi wasn't here.
His parents weren't here.
The sting of betrayal from Sho and the nine tails finally made his mind snap. He couldn't count on anyone anymore. No one was there to hold his hand and save him.
It was him against the world.
Sho slowly made his way to his teammate. He didn't want to, but it was time to deliver the killing blow. There was no other choice.
'I'm sorry, Naruto.'
He picked up a broken part of a window and held it in his hand, ready to plunge it into his friend's heart.
The hand descended.
Squelch.
Sho bit back a scream as the wicked tip of a golden chain sliced through his palm and wrapped tightly around the rest of his hand and wrist in a gory display. His other hand desperately went to the links and pulled on them in an attempt to loosen its hold, but that hand too was caught by a second chain, and both appendages were forced in opposite directions, leaving him in a crude imitation of a crucifix.
Naruto's body levitated into a standing position, like a marionette being forced to its feet. Hateful red eyes bored into Sho's as a hazy shroud manifested around him.
"Naru-"crunch.
Naruto's fist impacted against Sho's face with such force that his head was nearly ripped off his shoulders and rattled the chains dangerously.
"I'll kill you..."
A few moments earlier...
Jiraiya held his chin in thought as he frowned at the base from a fair distance away. He and Kakashi had split off a few moments ago to cover more ground, and had both agreed that if they found anything looking even remotely close to Orochimaru or Naruto, they would alert the other with a flare of chakra.
"Knowing my old teammate, he probably has a few dozen hidden rooms. The quickest way would be to level the entire place, but I can't do that with Naruto in there."
He pondered that for a few more moments before scratching his head in frustration. "Ugh, why do you always have to make my life so difficult. He could have taken him anywhere by now. Maybe if I summon a few toads then I can-"
His danger sense went haywire as he hastily brought up a kunai to block a vicious looking sword. Staring into the yellow eyes of its owner, his eyes narrowed at the familiar face.
"Glad you could join the party, Orochimaru."
The snake charmer smirked and swiped at Jiraiya, who backflipped out of reach and landed a distance away.
"Jiraiya, what a pleasant surprise. It's been what? Three? Four years?"
"Not enough if you ask me."
"How amusing." Orochimaru re-sealed his Kusanagi blade and both dashed towards each other. Orochimaru opened his mouth wide as a snake shot out from within in an attempt to sink its fangs into Jiraiya. The toad Sannin easily moved out of the way and grabbed onto its head, pulling Orochimaru towards him and sending a high kick which was blocked with both arms.
'Kuh, I forgot how hard he hit.' The pale Sannin thought in distaste. Jiraiya sent a punch which Orochimaru weaved around and both began to trade blows.
'Tch. I may be physically stronger, but that doesn't mean a damn thing if he can just avoid them like this. Time to pick up the pace.' Jiraiya sent a low kick, forcing Orochimaru away and placed his hands in the tiger seal.
Earth Style, Great Mud River!
The ground beneath Orochimaru turned into a murky brown and it was all he could do to steady his feet and not fall over from the slippery slope. He extended his hand and snakes shot out from his sleeves, wrapping around a nearby tree branch and pulling him back to safety. Orochimaru frowned and his fingers blurred through seals in return.
Fire Dragon Bomb!
He inhaled deeply and breathed out a large stream of hot flames, which engulfed the toad summoner. Orochimaru stared at the fire with careful eyes, not believing for a second that the move had taken his teammate down. Sure enough, once the fire had disappeared, Jiraiya could be seen surrounded by a giant mane of needle-like hair.
Needle Jizo!
Jiraiya swung his head to use his elongated hair like a whip. Orochimaru moved out of the way and crossed his arms protectively when several hair needles shot out and encased themselves into his arms.
"Still as annoying as ever." Orochimaru said with a frown as he shook the needles out. Jiraiya gave him an insufferable smirk in return.
"Like you're one to talk."
Orochimaru glared back at his teammate, though before he could retaliate, the loud trilling sound of thousands of birds could be heard echoing all around the area.
"What is this incessant rack-"
"Raikiri!"
A blur of electricity shot past him and bisected him cleanly in half. Kakashi slid to a stop next a Jiraiya, Sharingan eye blazing at the two parts of the Snake Sannin.
"A fake?" Kakashi asked quickly, which made Jiraiya frown and shake his head in return.
"No, I was pretty sure that that was his real body."
"Then why do I feel like this isn't over yet?"
As if to answer his question, thick snakes slithered out of both severed parts of the snake charmer and reattached them together, making both leaf shinobi look on in disgust.
"You really are a freak." Spat out Kakashi.
Orochimaru glared back at him, seething rage bubbling behind his eyes. "So, a pesky newcomer has arrived…"
Kakashi stole a glance towards Jiraiya in alarm. "We need to hurry. You felt it too, didn't you?"
Jiraiya merely frowned in agreement and ground his teeth together in frustration. "Of course I did. I can only imagine what he's been put through. But Kakashi, I need you to prepare yourself. After whatever happened in that lab, he won't be the same boy from before."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes and he felt his anger rise ten-fold. Today, the snake would die.
"If you're done catching up over there, what say you we get this thing going?" Orochimaru said with a small smirk. That was all the incentive he needed. The Hatake prodigy moved towards the snake with such speed that he nearly lost his head with a kunai.
'Blasted kid, I don't remember him being this strong last I saw him.' Orochimaru ducked under a kunai swing and sent snakes from his sleeve to wrap around the offending arm. Kakashi in turn used his other hand to throw a punch at the Sannin's head only to have it caught, leaving him with both arms incapacitated. Orochimaru's mouth opened wide and the Kusanagi blade shot out to impale itself into Kakashi's head, but before it could make contact, Jiraiya appeared above them and slammed his heel down onto Orochimaru's head, snapping his mouth closed onto the blade. Kakashi delivered a strong kick to the snake's sternum forcing him to let go of his hand, and used a kunai to cut the snakes off his other hand.
Jiraiya jumped high into the air and flew through hand signs. "Kakashi, give me wind!" Wordlessly, Kakashi went through a series of seals as well, and both inhaled deeply.
Wind style, Great Breakthrough!
Fire Release: Flame Bullet!
The mix of oil and fire was fanned by the wind from Kakashi, and Orochimaru paled as a gigantic wall of flames descended upon him.
Both veterans watched the field on high alert, looking for any signs of the snake charmer. Soon enough, a large brown snake shot out from behind Jiraiya and rammed straight into him, knocking him far away into the distance. The snake's maw opened up revealing a severely pissed and severely burnt Orochimaru, who used the snake's momentum to launch himself at Kakashi. Several more snakes shot out from his sleeves once more, only kept at bay through Kakashi's expert use with the kunai and the Sharingan. In the end though, the sheer number overwhelmed him and a stray one managed to sink its fang into his arm. Kakashi ripped it out without a single thought, but the poison had already begun to make him feel sluggish.
Before Orochimaru could capitalize on that, he was blindsided by Jiraiya, who buried a blue spiraling sphere into his back. Orochimaru screamed in pain as the Rasengan grinded away at his skin and mangled the bones in his back, before sending him flying away. The toad Sannin landed next to the panting Kakashi and shot him a concerned look. "Don't die on me yet, kid. I still need you."
Kakashi merely grunted and retrieved a soldier pill from his pouch. It wouldn't cure the bleeding, but it would hopefully slow its spread enough to allow him to keep fighting. "Don't worry about me."
"Grrrr…That cursed Yondaime's technique. How I loathe it so." Orochimaru placed a hand against the trunk of a tree to steady himself and hissed in pain. Out of nowhere, fingers forced their way out of Orochimaru's mouth and split his jaw apart, revealing a second Orochimaru who slithered out of the shed skin.
"What the fuck?" Kakashi said in incredulity. Jiraiya just stared at his teammate in a mixture of sadness and shock.
"Orochimaru, to think that you are so far gone…"
"Kukukukuku, come now, Jiraiya. Don't tell me that this is enough to put you off."
Two dogs shot out from the ground and latched themselves onto the surprised Orochimaru. "Pin him down, Shiba! Urushi!" He flew through another myriad of seals and gathered electricity into his hand.
'That little…! When did he summon those!?'
Lightning style: Lightning Beast Hunting Fang!
A crackling hound made out of pure blue electricity blitzed towards the pinned down form of Orochimaru and ran right through him, severely shocking and paralyzing the pale man.
"Gwuaah!"
Faster than lightning, Kakashi rained down a storm of kunais that buried themselves deep into his body, making him spasm violently and scream out in pain. The hound exploded in a shower of sparks and kicked up a large cloud of dust which obstructed the two veterans' view.
"A little over the top, don't you think?" Jiraiya said blandly as he used his arms to shield his eyes from the wind.
The dust cleared to reveal a wooden log riddled with kunais, burnt black and torn to shreds. Kakashi suddenly backflipped away, narrowly avoiding a poisonous sword being held in his opponent's mouth. Orochimaru attempted to chase him down during his momentary lapse of focus, but only received a powerful wooden sandal in the face courtesy of Jiraiya.
Orochimaru rolled and tumbled, before he managed to right himself and skidded backwards onto his feet. He cursed under his breath and wiped the blood on his lips with the back of his hand.
'Had it only been Jiraiya, the it would have been easy. But with Minato's brat here I feel that it may be too much, even for me.' He casted a glance towards his base, and his frown deepened even further. 'Now would have been a good time for my ultimate trump card. Oh how I wish I could see the look on these fool's faces when I made them fight the one they hold the most dear, but that blasted mask seems to have gone missing.'
It was true. Once he'd heard of the interloper, his plan was to use the mask to summon the fourth and have him fight Jiraiya while he made his escape. Unfortunately for him, the artifact had disappeared during the confusion, and all of his other DNA samples were at his primary base.
"Enough of this. This is getting tiresome."
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and a veritable sea of snake barreled out, the number increasing and increasing until the three of them were surrounded by an ocean of brown slithering reptiles.
"Kakashi, with me!" Jiraiya called out. Both jumped high as the snakes converged on the location and were ready to swallow them, and the toad summoner went through more hand seals.
"Summoning Justu!"
With a large puff of smoke, a titanic toad was summoned beneath the pair, and both landed on top of Gamabunta's head. The amphibian looked up in annoyance at Jiraiya and puffed on his pipe.
"S'that you, Jiraiya!? I was enjoying, dinner, come down here so I can kick yer ass!"
"Now's not the time, 'Bunta." Replied the summoner in a serious voice. "Look who we're fighting."
That's when Gamabunta felt the slithering mass at his feet and saw the ocean of snakes. He made a sound of disgust and swiped at the ground with his giant tanto, easily clearing out nearly half of them. "I hate snakes." He said with venom in his voice.
Orochimaru chuckled and he too went through a flurry of hand seals. In a second, the great serpent Manda was summoned, much to the displeasure of the toad boss.
"It's always a bad day when I see yer ulgy mug, shitty-Manda."
"Sssssss Gamabunta, what an unpleasssant sssurprisse." Manda hissed and looked up at its summoner with anger. "Orochimaru, you better give me 500 sssssacrificesss to make up for thisssss."
"Of course, Manda." Orochimaru said in a placating tone. "For now though, let's rid ourselves of the trash once and for all."
"Hmph!" Gamabunta stomped on the remainder of the snakes and readied his blade. "s'just as well, I needed a new wallet anyway!"
—
Naruto stared at the suspended body of Sho with a passive gaze. A chain was currently holding him by the ankle, but the former Iwa resident was in too much pain to even attempt to free himself from it. The previous five minutes hadn't even been a battle. It was complete humiliation.
"Why did you do it, Sho…?"
Sho weakly glanced at his friend's face, and painful coughs forced their way out of his mouth once more.
"I…Don't know…"
Both were silent for a few moments, before Sho added;
"It was like…I was forced to do it. No…Forced isn't the right word." The chain suspending him slowly dropped him back down onto the ground. It's not like he had any energy left to fight anyway. Sho winced as his back made contact with the hard surface. Yep, his spine was definitely either fractured or outright broken. He would die without proper care.
"I've always wanted…To prove myself to you…To prove that I was stronger. But not like this…It was never supposed to come to this."
Naruto looked down in sadness. Weren't they friends? Friends weren't supposed to kill each other, even he knew that. "So, what now?"
Sho took in a deep breath. "Now…" He closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly. "You kill me."
That answer surprised the blond, though he wasn't sure what else he should have expected. Sho had always been way too proud for his own good. He thought that losing a battle was the same as forfeiting his right to live.
"I'm not going to kill you."
Sho's hand clenched tightly in anger, and it was all he could manage to hiss out his next words. "If you have the slightest amount of respect left for me, then you'll honor my decision! I've lost this battle, I've attacked a friend, a shinobi from my own village and lost. How can I live with myself after this? How can I go to the afterlife and look my father in the eyes knowing what I've done? What a weakling I am?"
Naruto chose to not reply, and watched as tears began to leak out of his teammate's eyes.
"I will never be the same. Not with this…This thing on my neck. I can feel it all the way to my soul, Naruto. I can hear it whispering to me…"
Sho took in a few shaky breaths and continued.
"I've lived my whole life thinking that strength is absolute. So, what am I without that? I won't even be able to fight anymore!" Even though it went unsaid, Naruto knew that he was talking about his back. That was irreparable."So that's why…" Sho tightly shut his eyes closed and shouted. "That's why you have to kill me now and let me die with dignity!"
Naruto didn't know what to do. He was pissed, he was tired, he was hungry, he was weak. He was not in the right state of mind for this. He didn't have it in him to forgive Sho so easily. To forgive him for turning his back on him and their team.
"I…"
A strong earthquake made him stumble and place a hand on the broken wall next to him. Several more rocked the earth before something big reduced half of the room they were in into smithereens. Something long and scaly, who's very appearance made Naruto sick to look at.
'I really hate snakes…'
The giant reptilian tail disappeared as soon as it appeared, and Naruto ran to the edge of the room where the outside world was clearly visible to see a massive toad and snake fighting it out.
'These are the biggest animals I've ever seen…Way bigger than the ones from the forest of death.' The blond said breathlessly.
The Uzumaki looked back at his equally perplexed teammate. "Sho, don't move." Sho made a face and Naruto mentally kicked himself for it. 'Of course he's not gonna move, idiot.' He placed a hand on the rubble and used it as leverage to vault over into the open air.
—
"Gaah, yer really starting to piss me off you shitty snake-skin!" Gamabunta swiped his tanto at Manda, who easily slithered out of reach once more. "Just stay still dammit!"
Atop the toad boss's head, Kakashi closed his eyes and maintained the ram seal to gather and focus his chakra. They were out of time, and with the way things were going now, it didn't look like they were anywhere close to finishing up. Jiraiya glanced next to him and gave Kakashi a weird look.
"What's up kid? This isn't the time for napping."
"Just keep him distracted Jiraiya-sama. I have a plan."
Jiraiya frowned, but relented. "Tch. Boss, keep up the offence!"
"What the flamin' hell do ya think I've been doing this whole time, you snot nosed brat!?" Gamabunta launched himself up high and attempted to pin the slithery bastard down but missed entirely. "Damn thing won't stay in place!"
This went on for several minutes until Manda managed to contort out of the Tanto's direction and twisted its body around Gamabunta, effectively pinning his arms to the side.
"Let go yer scaly bastard!"
"Kakashi, it's now or never!"
Kakashi stood to his feet and snapped his eyes opened, just as Manda's wide-open maw shot forward to deliver the final blow. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the black tomoes within Kakashi's left eyes shifted and morphed into a shape that resembled a three-pronged shuriken.
Kamui!
Reality bent and shifted, a giant vortex appeareing out of thin air and swallowed up the giant snake's head. Orochimaru cursed and quickly jumped off his summon right as a disgusting ripping sound resounded within the entire area. Manda's headless body contorted violently and showered the vicinity with purple blood, before finally laying still.
"D-Damn kid," Jiraiya said in a shaky voice and looked at his companion. "You had something like that up your sleeve this whole time? Why didn't you use it sooner?"
A cough was his answer and Jiraiya quickly caught Kakashi before he fell off the slimy summon. "Whoa, I guess that's why."
Gamabunta forced his way out of Manda's remains and furiously scrubbed all the blood off his body. "God-fucking-dammit I don't get paid nearly enough fer all this bullshit. I'm going home Jiraiya, ya owe me one!"
Jiraiya nodded as Gamabunta disappeared in a plume of smoke. Both landed safely on the ground and Jiraiya quickly pulled out a chakra pill and fed it to the Hatake.
A soft rustle caught his sense as he quickly spun around, kunai at the ready. To his surprise, he was met with the tired and scrawny face of a mini-Minato. Both stared at each other for a few seconds, neither really knowing what to say. That is until Naruto noticed the form of Kakashi who was just beginning to push himself into a sitting position.
"Kakashi!" He said running towards him. Kakashi's head whipped towards the sound and was surprised when his semi-student showed up within his field of vision.
"Naruto!?" He said as relief washed over his entire body. "You're okay? I'm glad to see you safe!" His student looked to be all right, albeit skinnier and paler than the last time he saw him, and for some reason seemed to stay within arm's reach from him, but he shook it off. For now, all that mattered was that he was safe and to get out of here.
Orochimaru watched from afar with narrowed eyes, but a smirk slowly made its way to his face. 'Kukukuku…I was hoping to dispose of Jiraiya, but no matter. I have what I need.' He thought, pocketing a small object into his pouch before slowly melding into the ground.
Jiraiya swore under his breath once he felt Orochimaru's presence disappear from his radar. It looked like the snake would live to see another day after all. Setting his eyes on the duo again, he awkwardly approached them and coughed into his fist, garnering both of their attention.
"Naruto, was your team with you in there?"
Naruto's lips thinned out at that, and after a few moments, replied in a subdued tone. "Sensei is dead. Sho is inside though, I left him over there. But…I don't know where Yuna is. I couldn't find her."
Jiraiya frowned but nodded nonetheless. "I'll go look for them. Meanwhile you two get ready to move out. We have a long trek home."
"Wait," Kakashi said as he swiped his hand with a bit of his blood. "Take Pakkun with you." With a few more hand seals, a small brown bored looking dog was summoned into existence. Jiraiya nodded his thanks and, after having Pakkun sniff around Naruto's body; picked up a trail and went off, the toad summoner close behind.
Kakashi glanced down at his student, who looked to be avoiding his gaze. "Naruto…What happened in that lab? Can you tell me?"
"I…" Naruto hesitated for a bit before shaking his head. "I'll tell you later Kakashi-sensei."
The masked Jōnin nodded. "We need to hurry up and get out of here. Who knows who else might be lurking around." Naruto nodded, but suddenly felt a brief flash of dizziness. Looking over at Kakashi, he saw him nod again. "We need to hurry up and get out of here. Who knows who else might be lurking around." He said as he pushed himself up into a standing position.
"Wha...Kakashi, you said that already."
Kakashi gave him a strange look. "Did I? I don't remember."
Naruto stared at him in shock. Was Kakashi going crazy? Was he going crazy?
That's when a feeling of cold washed over the copy-nin, making him shiver as an uneasy sensation assaulted his mind. Unknown to the Jonin, the small blond next to him clutched his hands to his sides to warm himself up when he experienced a similar shiver. He had no idea where it came from, but it felt like something, or someone was watching him. Watching all of them. He attempted to take in a deep breath to steady himself when an intense headache assaulted his mind. Groaning, his hands moved from his sides to his head as his pupils dilated in shock.
Kakashi looked around, a nervous expression on his face. "Is it winter already…?" Turning around, he saw Naruto staring off into space and quickly walked back to him to place a hand on his shoulder. "Can you walk? Let's get moving." He gently pulled onto his frame and was surprised when the gesture tipped the Uzumaki over. He quickly caught him with both hands and stared at his frozen whiskered face in worry.
Jiraiya emerged from the remains of the lab with an unconscious Sho draped over his shoulder. "Is it me or did it just get a lot colder? I'm getting a bad feeling about this place." Just as he finished saying that, the cold vanished, and with it, Naruto's stiff body loosened in Kakashi's arms.
The copy-nin shook the abnormality of the entire situation and adjusted the blond onto his back. "Let's go, we've wasted enough time."
And with that, both Shinobi left, each carrying a Genin on their back.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
"Ungh…My head…" Naruto moaned as his tired eyes managed to crack open. After a moment of lifelessly staring up at the depressing ceiling of his mindscape, his body shot up when the memories from before came back to him.
"What…Was that back there…?"
He remembered…Remembering something? But…He couldn't understand what. He could understand, but he couldn't make sense of it. Those things that he saw…It was like his brain was physically resisting it, blocking it out, like it refused to acknowledge them.
At that moment when it got cold…It was just like when he used to practice his shadow clones…
He'd felt…Memories?
But…He hadn't made a clone in weeks…This didn't make any sense…
Looking up, he saw the fox staring down at him with intensity that he's never seen before. It wasn't anger, or annoyance, it was as if he was a something that he couldn't quite decipher.
"You." The fox growled out. "You're…Different somehow."
Naruto slowly picked himself up and frowned up at the fox. "Kyuubi? What do you mean by that?"
The greatest bijuu had an inkling, but it was soon disregarded when he searched around for another presence within his mind.
"No, I can still sense your other half." He said in a frustrated tone. If the greatest Bijuu hated anything more than humans, it was not understanding a piece of a puzzle. He hated being in the dark. "...Who are you?"
The statement came out of nowhere, making Naruto shoot him a weird look. "I...I'm me?" He questioned in an unusually subdued voice.
"Hmph." Kyuubi closed his eyes and rested his chin on his folded arms. "It doesn't matter. Leave, I must think."
Naruto's gazed narrowed. He had questions for the fox. A lot of questions. But now wasn't the time. He was…Much…Too…Tired…
The world around him blurred, and after several long weeks, his mind succumbed to blissful, peaceful slumber.
The first thing he heard when he came to was the loud beeping and whirring of machines at work. The first thing he felt was the terrible familiar feeling of a tube up his nostrils, which shifted awkwardly when his nose attempted to shuffle it out by reflex. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were the blindingly white walls of Konoha's hospital.
Seriously, why were they so white? That's not what a coma patient wants to see first thing when they wake up, couldn't it be a soft blue or a salmon pink? Or even better, a nice faded orange!
It took a few moments for his breathing to get back to normal again; his diaphragm had become erratic when he'd first come to. Weakly glancing down, he could see a few more IV lines running along the length of his arms. From the corner of his eye, he thought that he saw a blurry head popping in before leaving again. He soon heard a bunch of voices, though the words were too jumbled to understand them right now.
He hated this. It was like…That time.
A doctor of small stature and a kind smile walked into the room holding a clipboard. He was wearing big square-ish glasses and Naruto thought that he had a funny looking moustache.
"…Huh…?" He drawled out when he saw him call out to him, his vision and hearing slowly began to clear up.
The doctor smiled in understanding and repeated himself. "Good morning, Uzumaki-san. My name is doctor Briefs. Can you tell me how you're feeling?
Naruto slowly blinked and his eyes drooped closed once more. "I'm…Tired…"
The man chuckled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I need you to stay awake for a tiny bit longer so I can perform a few basic motor-skill tests, that is if you don't mind?"
Naruto tiredly nodded and forced his eyes open. The doctor placed his gloved fingers on his eyelids and carefully pried them open before shining a small light into his eye. The blond flinched a little as his pupil shrunk in response, but the doctor continued, doing the same to the other eye and nodding in satisfaction. Leaning away, he reached into his pocket and help up a pen.
"Can you follow my pen with your eyes for me?"
Doctor Briefs moved the pen about a few times and nodded in approval when he received the desired results. Looking down at his clipboard, he scribbled a few words on them and muttered under his breath; "Patient is aware and responsive…" He clicked his pen and placed it back into his shirt pocket. "Thank you, Uzumaki-san, you've been a great help. You may go back to sleep if you so wish."
'No need to tell me twice' Naruto thought in exhaustion. The sandman called once more, and he welcomed him with open arms.
—
The second time he came to was a much easier experience. He was still tired, but he didn't feel drugged out of his mind. Although. Those annoying tubes were still all over him.
He shakily pushed himself up into a seated position and attempted to pull the tubes out of his arms, but much to his annoyance, the machines began beeping and a nurse hurried inside the room.
"No no no!" She chastised quickly as she leaned over him and re-adjusted his IV lines. "Those are there for a reason, sweetie. I'll call the doctor over so just hang tight for now."
A few minutes later, Doctor Briefs came back in, his kindly grand-fatherly smile ever-present on his face. "Uzumaki-san, how great to see you up and about so soon. Your recovery speed is extraordinary." He glanced down at his chart and continued with an impressed nod. "It usually takes comatose patients months, sometimes even more to wake up, but it's been barely over a week."
Naruto nodded absently and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. Doctor briefs continued;
"A little longer to write some things in and you'll be free to go. I believe Hatake-san is in the waiting room as we speak, so he may bring you home once I clear you out."
Naruto slowly nodded again in thanks, and the doctor took it as his cue to fetch the masked man over. It wasn't even one minute later that Kakashi walked in, his usual book surprisingly absent.
"Yo" He said with an eye smile. "It's good to see you awake, Naruto."
Said blond didn't reply and stared down at his sheets. Kakashi's smile loosened a little bit but he approached him nonetheless. Poor kid was probably just still out of it, he reasoned to himself.
The doctor came back in and began to free him of his tube prison. First came the ones in his arm, then the strap around his bicep, then the pulse oximeter. Next came his mask and his tube, which made the blond take in a few satisfying and un-assisted breaths. It felt good to not have anything in him anymore. Soon after, a nurse came in with a few folded-up clothes picked from his apartment and one of those portable IV poles with wheels. "Just to help you out during the first few days" She said when she noticed his sour look. And with that, all save for Naruto exited the room to allow him to change in private.
A few minutes later saw Naruto and Kakashi walking out into the reception, with the former clutching onto the pole that connected his arm to it with both hands. The copy nin engaged into another discussion with Doctor Briefs while Naruto seemed to zone out again, though he could scarcely hear a few words here and there. Temporary suspension? Physical and…Mental Therapy? It all seemed a bit unnecessary. Why did he have a feeling that the next few weeks were going to be tedious?
After getting the go ahead from the kind doctor, both Kakashi and Naruto left the hospital. Naruto held onto his portable pole with a hand and obediently followed behind the copy-nin. After a while though, Kakashi slowed down a little so he could walk next to his semi-student.
"So, Naruto, how are you feeling?" He asked while pulling out his orange book from his pouch. After no reply, he sent him a side glance and decided to press on. "I'm sure you're feeling pretty weak right now, but after a few good meals and a little bit of exercise, you'll be able to continue your training."
"…"
"Also, I'm sure that you heard it back there but they're giving you five weeks off. Just so you have time to recuperate. You'll be required to attend some mandatory therapy sessions, both for your muscles and your mental state. I know you probably don't want to do them, but every ninja have to go through it when they come back from…Uh, missions that didn't go well."
"…"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck at the awkward silence. "For now, though, you have 3 days to rest and eat."
They arrived in front of Naruto's house and, after a little effort on the blond's part to walk up the stairs, Kakashi slid the key into the dusty door and clicked it open. He handed the key to Naruto as they walked in, who wordlessly took it and placed it inside his pocket.
"So…Are you fine with getting situated on your own, or…" The scarecrow trailed off when he noticed the small blond wasn't even facing him and walked off into his bedroom. He sighed and walked back to the front door. "Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me."
Naruto faintly heard the door click shut as he sat on his bed and stared off into space. There was…A lot on his mind right now. Trying to make sense of it all was only going to give him an even bigger headache.
He reached under his pillow, and a small, sad smile graced his lips when he felt the familiar feeling of his rough wooden little drum. He clutched it to his chest and continued to stare off into space.
Despite himself, he couldn't stop asking himself the same question.
Had Yuna been in those cells?
AN: So yeah, it's been a while. I can explain. I've recently started school again and my classes are in the evening, which is coincidentally when I used to write. So now I find myself with very little free time.
And I'll admit, I was putting off writing the start of this chapter. Yes, like many of you, I too dislike this arc. But it's a necessary one that will pave the road for this story. Now though, we should start getting back into Konoha stuff.
What motivated me to start writing again you may ask?
Spite.
And it's all thanks to you, guest reviewer that calls himself "painful".
"Wow. I see why you stopped writing this. This and last chapter killed the story lmao."
I don't kwow why, but this review spurred me on to start writing again just to prove him wrong, and the fact that he hid behind a guest user, thus stopping him from messaging him was only the icing on the cake. After three months of not writing, this made me write 7k words in 6 days. So thank you.
I want everybody to know that I have a clear ending in mind. Some of you will like it, some of you won't, but the way this story is going was always supposed to go that way. I will gladly accept criticism on stuff that doesn't make sense, and I will accept ideas and scenarios, but I don't plan to completely change the story to appease some of my reader's need of fanservice. I will not be writing a harem, I will not be writing explicit scenes, I will not bash characters/avoid interactions between specific characters/Kill off people because you "Don't like them".
That about wraps it up. See ya next time!