Chapter Nine
Naruto was quiet as he stood near the makeshift barricade. His brows knitted together. After a moment, he leaned forward, pressing his ear against the wall.
"..."
His lips thinned. "I really can't hear anything. I doubt those meat sacks would just leave us alone after chasing us all the way here."
Standing up, Naruto walked away while rolling his shoulders. His eyes landed on the two girls before returning to the blocked off doors.
Alright. This was nothing like the kiddo school fights he had before. This was serious, they're up against a bunch of monsters for crying out loud. Stuck in a world different from theirs. One member from the group was separated from us, but the missing student that Yosuke was looking for showed up.
But... Naruto bit his lips. He closed his eyes looking as troubled as ever. 'I don't know where Yosuke is at or even if he's alive at all. Saki is tired as hell too, there's nothing to drink or eat in this place, just alcohol.'
The blond then snorted, for a second, a split second, he thought about guiding the group to take a sip of alcohol to quench their thirst. He knocked the side of his head in amusement. Yeah, like getting drunk was the very thing they needed in a place like this. Hehe.
'It took a whole lot just for me and Chie to even get through the streets. We took out two of the five that were chasing us, but with Saki here, and with her not being able to move... one of us would need to carry her. Carry her through the streets while the other would be free to fight. Maybe. Maybe if...' Naruto groaned.
Think, Naruto. Think.
Wait. Naruto paused. There were also the two Shadows that were chasing Yosuke. If Yosuke was, no, he... he should be fine. 'Yosuke... huh. He has to... If he was fine and if we were to meet up somewhere down the road, and the two Shadows from before were still chasing after him, then there would be at least five Shadows, two from him and three from us, that we would need to fight against.'
"Tch." Naruto gritted his teeth. He moved away from the barricade to look around the liquor store. Chie was smart with that bottle, if it weren't for her, we would have been sitting ducks for the Shadows' next meal.
Was the glass bottle the best weapon they could find? True, it's sharp, but even glass, no matter how sturdy it is, is fragile when up against brute force.
There gotta be something else that he could find. Something useful, something that could really hit them! Naruto's eyes darted left and right as he walked.
He soon found a door in a hallway, close to the restroom, near the left corner of the store, "Saki. What's the door through the hallway down here?!"
No reply was answered back, Naruto asked again.
"Uh. Saki said that's another entrance that leads to the outside through the alleyway!" Chie informed.
"Got it!" Naruto nodded at the door. "This route could be useful later on..."
With the girls, turning back to Saki, Chie asked with a concern look. "Are you okay?"
Saki was massaging her head at the story she was just told. Her appearing on the Midnight Channel, going into the tv screen at Junes, coming across the strange room...
She looked at Chie with an odd look. A walking plush bear that talks? "Maybe, you got it wrong? Teddie? A talking bear? You sure it wasn't just some weirdo wearing a costume?"
"Oh oh no." Chie shook her head, though, she can understand Saki-senpai's confusion. "Trust me, he's all real and stuff. He stood up like a man, had the fur of a bear, and the annoying voice of a toddler!"
Saki still had a questioning look on.
Chie winced. "Not biting, huh? Um. Oh wait!"
Snapping her fingers, she gestured to her glasses.
"See..." Chie carefully removed her glasses, squinting at the cloud of fog in the room. At least, in here the fog is somewhat lighter. "We got these glasses from, Teddie. These glasses are the reason why we can navigate through the fog."
She extends them towards Saki. "Try them on, Saki-senpai. Putting them on will give you a clearer view as if the fog wasn't there"
Saki took the glasses. She looked above and around, inspecting them with a look of concentration, but other than the odd ugly yellow shade it has, they looked completely normal.
With a look of hesitation on her face, she glanced at Chie's smile before placing them on. A couple of blinks later, she let out a gasp, just like what Chie said, her vision became much clearer, and the fog that floated around the room dissipated.
Saki was stunned. "Wow... I-I can see! It's almost like the fog was never here to begin with."
"Uh huh. Exactly!" Chie smirked. "Although that dumb plush of a bear was annoying, he really helped us out. These glasses got us through the road as we ran, that's why we're still alive." she raised her hand out.
Saki looked at Chie's stretched hand in confusion. She lifted her hand up and clapped it against her hand.
Chie, upon receiving a clap from Saki, twitched her lips. "Um, yeah, about those glasses. I'm gonna need them back."
Saki looked at Chie with hesitation.
Chie clicked her tongue. Her hand remains outstretched, her expression patient but firm. "I understand, Saki-senpai, I really do. But with you not being able to move, it will be me and Naruto who will be on the lookout out on the road, especially with the Shadows. I need those glasses, but don't fear..."
She looked at Saki with the most confident of smiles. "Your underclassman, Satonaka Chie, is here! I'll protect you and be your eyes. You can count on me!"
Saki was quiet.
She chuckled. "Protect me? My underclassman is so cute~" she slowly took off the glasses, fingers gripping them slightly.
Call her selfish, but could someone really blame her? If some treasure came out of the sky saying that it has powers that could potentially save her, of course she would keep a tight hold of it.
Besides. Saki sighed as she passed the glasses back to Chie, who was thankful. Chie was right. A part of her wanted to retort that she could walk on her own, but who was she bluffing? She could barely stand. Her legs were so tired and sore from all that walking.
That and, as a senior, as a senpai, she too had her pride. How could she possibly steal from her cute underclassman?
Saki pouted as Chie adjusted the glasses. "Alright. Alright. You better protect me, Chie, or... I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of my life!"
"Snrk..." Chie put a hand in front of her mouth, covering up her smile.
The two exchanged smiles and then Saki's attention was drawn to Naruto who was mumbling as he investigated the place.
Seeing Naruto working so hard, Chie shook her head, getting up to help out.
"Hey..." Saki asked softly.
"Hm." Chie stretched, turning her head to look down at Saki.
Saki looked up at Chie. Her eyes were unsure, lips parting before closing. After raising the courage within her to ask, she spoke in a trembling voice. "Be honest with me. Do... Do you think there's a chance... that Hana-chan is still alive?"
She watched as Chie flinched at her question.
Chie lowered her face away from Saki. Her own eyes troubled.
There was a moment of silence before Chie turned and gave a thumbs up at Saki, her smile grinning from ear to ear revealing her teeth. "Yosuke? Of. Of course he's alive! Y-You should know how persistent that guy is, and remember you still owe him that date to the movies. There's no way he would miss out on that, for sure. And, and even if he's down, I'm sure that he would get back up and then come to us spouting how his day went and all. Hahaha... ha."
Saki grew a bit teary. "Y-Yeah. You're right. That dumb idiot. Going through all this trouble to find me, thinking I'm in danger just because of that one scene on the Midnight Channel. Making a noise out of everything... I... I still owe him that movie at least! I..." tears started falling, she fiercely wiped them away.
Chie's eyes grew soft.
She bent down, pulling Saki into a hug.
Saki closed her eyes, pushing her face deep into Chie's chest, feeling her warmth.
"We'll get out of this for sure." Chie said with a strained smile. "I know we will."
"Yeah." Saki muttered. "We will..."
At the other side of the liquor store, Naruto was quiet as he listened over the conversation.
In the corner of the room, he noticed a partially concealed door that was hidden behind a stack of old crates that had bottles in them.
Naruto moved the crates one by one until a brown door with a silver knob was shown in sight. Naruto muttered to himself, "Let's see what we have in here..." he opened the door and in it was a small closet space that was dimly lit up with a flashing bulb over the ceiling.
He frowned, seeing that the only things in it were cleaning supplies. Entering the room, he rummaged around even on the dusty shelves.
Naruto pauses for a moment when he felt something just at the edge of his finger tips. He rolled the object and picked it off the shelf, revealing it to be a long metal pipe.
A smile rose. He tested the weight, gripping it with his right hand, tossed it in the air before grabbing it. He bumped it against his other hand in a series of beats.
Once more, he looked around the room for a final time, and to his frustration, other than this, there was nothing else in the room that was useful.
"This would do." Naruto commented as he swung the pipe in a few practice swings, the speed causing the wind to make a whipping sound.
With one final glance around the room, Naruto heads back to the main area where Chie and Saki were at, the metal pipe now a weapon in his hand.
"Yosuke, you better be alive, you jerk! You better not die on us."
The chase went from the Arcade Room all the way to Jeans Local, the room was was the very description of a chaotic mess. The clothing racks were overturned, clothes ranging from coats, shirts, all the way to jeans were flung across the floor in tatters.
The group of mannequins that were posing in swimwear were broken, their body parts scattered around the room.
"I know you're here..." the Shadow croaked as it stared down at a mannequin head that rolled to it's feet. Shadow Yosuke tilted his head before grinning viciously. All it took was one stomp from a front leg to shatter that head into tiny tiny pieces.
Shadow Yosuke croaked happily.
"Come on. Aren't you tired of running away? Well, I'm not surprise. Since that's all you do in your life. Hahaha!" the figure connected to the Shadow's back, waved his arms out while laughing, as if enjoying a show.
"Come out. Come out, wherever you are."
Shadow Yosuke crawled forward, unaware that the person of his little game was hiding behind a counter.
Yosuke was trembling, wincing as he held his left side in pain. During the chase, he miscalculated a jump which caused the Shadow to tackle him with its massive body. He avoided being crushed, but the impact was enough to knock the wind out of him.
He tried to get his breathing under control, his quick, shallow gasps gradually lowering. Crap crap crap. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. He came across a stranger that looks exactly like himself, claiming himself to be his shadow, and then it became a monster and started chasing him!
Yosuke gritted his teeth. This was really a fucked up situation.
"I hear you... croak..."
Yosuke's pupils dilated when he heard heavy footsteps and loud croaking moving closer to his location.
"I can hear your heart beating, beating out of fear. What? So scared that you peed yourself? I know where you are. You can't hide for so long, might as well come out and face the music... Huh. You still aren't moving? then..."
"No... crap... no, please don't..." Yosuke squeezed his eyes shut before opening them.
"... I'll move to you!" from the center of the room, Shadow Yosuke leaped through the air and jumped on top of the counter in a menacing posture. The jump itself vibrated throughout the room.
Shadow Yosuke leaned over the counter, four eyes peering down with two smiles.
Only to blink when they saw an empty spot.
Angry, Shadow Yosuke stood up on his hind legs, grabbed the counter, tearing it off from the floor and proceeded to toss it away, flying through several racks of clothing before stopping as it crashed itself into the wall, creating a large hole.
Holy shit!
That was the word that appeared in Yosuke's mind after seeing that sight. Right before his shadow-self got to the counter, he scrambled away quickly and hid under a nearby clothes rack. From his hiding spot, he witnessed in pure terror as the shadow tore the counter with strength alone and tossed it.
If he was there, he would have been road kill by now.
Shadow Yosuke came up and slapped a shelf away, sending a shiver through Yosuke.
Yosuke held his breath, not even risking a move, and this was how spent the next few minutes. Keeping quiet like a frightened animal as the 'Hyena' in the room kept slapping away racks and shelves left to right.
The sound grew closer and then farther like some kind of horror game. A horror game that Yosuke wants no part of.
And then, something happened that caused Yosuke's heart to drop.
That something was the stopping of objects being thrown.
Yosuke held his breath in. His fingers clenching and opening.
What happened?
Why did it stop?
Did... Did it go away?
A spark of hope rose before it quickly died as soon as the Shadow spoke in his distorted voice.
"I hate dad. He's the whole reason why we're here..." Shadow Yosuke said as he slowly hopped around.
Yosuke's eyebrows were raised.
Why was it...?
Then, to his further shock, he heard voices.
Voices that weren't his or his shadows.
"So, the outsider came from the big city? Tch. Why can't they just leave us alone?"
"The Hanamura family are a bunch of trouble makers. You better stay away from them, especially the manager's son since he's attending your school."
"I hate Junes! Junes ruined everything! My business, my pals business, all shut down and full of ghosts!"
"Junes thinks that they are better than the rest of us with their fancy gadgets and food!"
"Hanamura Yosuke? A no-good thug, just like his father!"
Yosuke closed his eyes painfully to drown the voices out. He was already hurt physically, the last thing on his mind was getting his ass kicked mentally.
More voices, young, old, elderly, male, and female spoke in unison, each voice getting louder and louder. Yosuke couldn't pinpoint the location. It sounded like the voices are coming from every corner of the room.
As the voices got louder, Yosuke's body was shaking. His body wanted to get away from the voices, wanting to get away from the danger, he... he wanted to get away from it all!
Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or the anger from hearing the voices, Yosuke made a decision.
His body was shaking in anger and fear, bursting out of his hiding spot with a scream, charging towards the entrance, legs moving forward as his arms swung.
Shadow Yosuke happily turned and finally saw his prey out in the open, running like a headless chicken while screaming as pathetic as he could be.
Both faces, on the frog and on the body attached, had sinister grins.
"There you are!" Shadow Yosuke's powerful hind legs propelled himself forward, already covering and closing the distance between the two.
Yosuke ran as Shadow Yosuke was on his tail.
How the hell will he get rid of this monster?!
Chie hopped back and forth. Her eyes focused as her leg muscles tensed.
"Hwua!" with a cry, she kicked a foot out, snapping the lower portion of the broom, knocking the brush and some wood bristles away, leaving a sharp edge at the top of the stick.
The tomboy took hold of the now brushless broomstick, weighing it in her hand. The stick was also long enough to give Chie both reach and leverage. It's a stick from a broom in the end, sure, but it was a weapon fitted for combat now.
Her eyes glinted with satisfaction, then to Naruto and Saki's surprise, she twirled the broomstick, moving it above and behind her, spinning as she threw it in the air. It landed on Chie's free hand as she lifted it by the handle top, with the sharp edge pointing directly outwards.
"Look at this! A perfect weapon for a perfect kung fu warrior!" Chie ran a hand through her hair, smirking at her audience. "I guess all those kung fu movies weren't for nothing."
Naruto and Saki twitched their lips.
Chie, suddenly feeling positive, walked up and patted both Naruto and Saki on the back. "Don't worry you two, if any Shadows get in the way, I'll... wah-bam!" she thrusted her weapon, "or I'll give them one of this!" she spun and karate chopped the air, "or some of this!" with one leg on the ground, Chie, without any effort, lifted her other leg high into the air as she kicked out, making it reach next to her head.
An action which caused her skirt to lower due to gravity.
Naruto turned his head away with a blush.
Saki gave a tired smile out. "Nice work, Chie, you're pretty clever... please stop destroying my family's property."
Hearing Saki-senpai's high praise, Chie lowered her leg, rubbing her nose in embarrassment.
"I, um, wow." Naruto praised awkwardly, he held onto his metal pipe with a shy look.
Hearing Saki giggle, Naruto sent a glare in her direction before sighing.
"Well, with my metal pipe, Chie's broomstick, and Saki's large forehead..."
"HEY!"
"... at least we have our own weapons to defend ourselves against the Shadows." Naruto said.
Saki, annoyed at Naruto's comment, asked where her weapon was.
"I found this broom in a gap between the walls and the booze over there." Chie pointed out.
"I found this pipe in the cleaning supply room, other than that and a few liquid products, there was nothing else." Naruto grunted.
"There was another broom, though." Chie hummed.
Saki's eyes sparkled.
"But..." Chie pointed behind her with her thumb, at the doors, "Its currently being used to prevent the Shadows from eating our brains out."
And then that sparkle shimmered out of existence.
"Saki. Be straight with me. You think you can walk?" Naruto asked.
"I... I can't, I'm sorry." Saki apologized.
But action speaks louder than words.
She went to stand up, just for her legs to wobble like jelly mid-way, she would have landed on the ground if it weren't for Chie, who caught her just in time.
Naruto frowned.
"What are you thinking?" Chie asked, her expression tensing.
"I think... alright." Naruto turned to the two. His face as serious as ever. "Outside there should be at least three of those things strolling about, and while they're not here..."
Seeing Saki and Chie's confused looks, he stated. "I'll be blunt with you two, I think... I think we should change locations."
It was silent until Saki spoke out, "Huh?!"
Her face was pale and weary. She glanced at Naruto as if he had suddenly turned crazy. "C-Change locations! Why?! C-Can't we just stay here? We have the barricade up against the doors!"
Naruto winced at her loud voice. "I... I know it's safe..." he rubbed his forehead. "But for how long? The Shadows already know that we're hiding out here. If we can just change to a different place, we'll be safe for the time being. And not only that, but how long do you think we can stay here? No food, no water. By then, the Shadows would be the least of our worries if we can't even find a way out of this place."
Chie's brow furrowed. She laid a hand on her stomach. "No food or water? We'll starve and have no more energy..."
"That's right." Naruto scratched his chin. "How long are we gonna last? By then, we'll just be too tired to move and end up exactly like, Saki."
Saki was quiet. Her face was conflicted with the decision of leaving. "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Naruto's eyes closed. "Chie, I need you to carry Saki. If anything, I'll be at the front and-" he was caught off by the sound of banging against the doors.
"Shit." Chie cursed, her eyes wide at the barricade shaking.
"W-What's going on?!" Saki tried to stand up only for her legs to buckle under the pressure. She looked in the direction of the two doors. "Why now of all times?!"
Naruto's pupils dilated when the banging turn into repeated knocks. "Shit!" he raised the metal pipe.
Chie also placed the broomstick in front of her, biting her lip nervously.
In front of them, the barricade was shaking back and forth until a snap was heard. The broom that was originally placed between the handles of the door snapped.
"They're gonna break through!" Naruto shouted.
Saki was quivering.
Chie was shaking slightly.
No way.
Was this how things are going to end?
Chie didn't get to watch or read the new kung fu series that just came out last week. She was never going to taste her mom's home baked meals! And her promise to Yukiko will-!
No... No! Saki held her head. Was this how she was going to die? Die from being eaten by a bunch of monsters! Surrounded by fog, never to see the light of day. She has so many things she wants to do! Hang out with her friends, annoy her brother at home and outside, watching flicks with her mom, proving... her father wrong...
Naruto was glancing at the scared girls.
Then his gaze glanced back to the shaking doors.
He tightened his grip on the metal pipe, giving a wry smile. "Alright, guys! Change of plans!"
The two girls stared at him.
"Listen. I'll go through the back door in the alleyway and hold them off and while I distract them away from the store, you two need to get the hell out of here as far as possible. Find somewhere to hide, like we did in the bookstore, Chie."
His words apparently made both Saki and Chie horrified.
"What?!" Chie stomped her foot. "No way! W-We can't just leave you here! There has to be-!"
"Damn it, Chie!" Naruto snapped causing the tomboy to flinch. "We don't have time. If I don't go out now, they will be busting in through the entrance AND we're all dead! Chie, from our race before, you're faster than me! Saki can't walk, so I need you to carry both her and yourself to safety!"
"Besides..." Naruto stared at the shaking barricade, putting the metal pipe over his shoulder. "I'm strong, and tough. I can handle these clowns! I... I can buy you guys some time!"
"Do you even hear yourself?!" Saki burst into tears from the stress. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Having Naruto, a person she literally just met, stay behind while she and Chie escapes? That's so... so stupid! "There's got to be a better plan. We can't just-" she was interrupted when the banging became even more fierce, and suddenly two more sounds joined into the mix.
Chie turned back to the entrance with wide eyes. No way. All three of them were crashing against the door?!
Naruto lowered his head, a shadow casting over his eyes. "Chie..."
Chie looked between the barricade and Naruto before yelling in frustration. She ran and bent down, easing Saki over her back.
Saki climbed onto Chie, her eyes never leaving Naruto.
Chie stood up, wobbly before steadying her balance. She held Saki on her back, her arms underneath her legs, while Saki also held onto the broomstick Chie made as her weapon.
The two girls were shaking, their eyes getting all teary.
"Is there really no way?" Chie asked, her lip trembling.
"Naruto..." softly said Saki.
Despite the situation that they were in, Naruto couldn't help but give out a big stupid grin across his face. "Don't worry. You can trust me! I've fought high schoolers and adults before!"
"But these aren't people..." Saki argued.
"You... You idiot," Chie muttered. "Promise me?"
"Huh?" Naruto blinked.
The Shadows' hysterical laughs came from a crack that was made between the doors.
"You said it yourself!" Chie shouted. Her hands unconsciously gripping Saki's thighs, causing the girl to flinch. "When Uzumaki Naruto makes a promise. He's always sure to keep his word!"
"Chie..." Naruto's eyes soften.
"I-Is that your motto?" Saki straightened her back, glaring at Naruto through her tears. "Then if you're a man, a real man, you should stick by your words! Got it? Make sure you get back to us in one piece or I'll... I'll.. I'll be really angry!"
Naruto smiled. One hand on the metal pipe while the other hand was behind him. "I promise I'll come back."
Seeing this, the two girls smiled brightly.
Naruto was serious in making that promise. The girls were sure of it. But unknown to them, the hand that was hidden from them all and behind the prankster's back had his fingers crossed.
Seeing that the barricade was inching back more and more, Naruto took one last glance at Saki and Chie, then he ran straight to the hallway without any further hesitation.
He slammed the door open, entering a pitch black alleyway before scrambling towards the open street.
He ran further up and turned. His eyes were focused. And sure enough, there they all were. All three of the Shadows were hitting the doors with their bodies, floating back before charging.
'Buy them enough time. You can do this!' Naruto gritted his teeth. Do something that not even his bastard of a father would do.
Help others when they were in need!
"Hey! You giant floating sorry excuse of a pair of nutsacks!" Naruto stood out in the open. Jumping, screaming, waving his arms like a mad man. Anything in order to get their attention onto him!
The Shadows, that were initially attacking the doors, began to turn to Naruto's direction.
'Bingo!' Naruto brought his hands up to his face. "That's right! Here I am! An all-out Uzumaki on a dish just waiting for you to feast on!"
He turned and spanked his ass. "Come and get me, you losers! I'm right here! Chase me if you can!"
All three Shadows licked their lips before grinning. They floated away from the doors and started speeding up towards Naruto.
"Come get me! Hahaha! Chase after me, you bastards!" Naruto laughed with crazy eyes, booking it. He turned back as the liquor store was getting farther away, and the Shadows were getting closer and closer.
He opened his mouth. "Chie! Saki! Stay saaaaaaaafe!"
Back in the store, as Naruto's voice was fading off into the distance, Saki was covering her mouth, her tears freely falling.
Chie fiercely wiped at her tears. She couldn't help but cry. But crying would affect her vision and glasses, and that was the last thing she needed since only she can see through the fog and not Saki-senpai.
"Come on, Chie. Stay strong, stick to the plan. Hide somewhere. Hide somewhere safe." she took a deep breath, trying to ignore the crying sounds of her senpai. Her heart was beating, mind was racing.
She was concerned as hell for Naruto right now, considering the fact that he's leading them all far away from their current position.
For a second, her mind traveled back to Yosuke.
With the events that suddenly sprung up, Chie couldn't help but glare. What was she glaring at? Nothing in particular. But her mind however was focused on Yosuke making both her and Naruto fall through the tv.
They found Saki-senpai by accident, sure, but...
But they're still in this mess because of him.
Chie muttered to herself in anger. "Yosuke... if you're alive after all of this. You're getting a piece of my mind for taking us in here..."
Atop of her, Saki was shivering, wiping away her tears as well. S-She has to be strong. She couldn't move, and she can't even see through the fog. But she can at least serve as Chie's second pair of eyes, looking out for any danger.
"Chie, w-what, where do we go now?" Saki was visibly shaken at seeing her underclassman, especially the transfer student and Yosuke's friend, practically sacrificed himself for them to escape.
"A-Alright." Chie spoke after a bit. "Get out of here, hide in a safe place... the bear? Teddie!" Chie suddenly gasped.
"Teddie? What about him?" Saki asked.
"I-I remember!" Chie's mind rewinded back to what the bear thing said.
Teddie said that he lived here. He lived in this place, so that must mean that Teddie must have a way to get out of here!
"That bear said that he lived here!" Chie uttered, her brain processing faster as ideas popped up. "He gave us these glasses to see through the fog, so he might have, no, must have found a way to exit this place and get back to the real world!"
Chie gripped Saki's legs as she hurried to the left corner of the store, where the restrooms and the door leading to the alleyway were at. "If we can find him! Then... Saki, hold on tight!"
"Got it!" although she was confused, she had an idea on what Chie was on. She gripped Chie's shoulders while balancing the broomstick on top of her legs.
But right when Chie was about to barge through the door, to the duo's growing horror, voices started appearing right behind them.
"I wish Junes would go under..."
"It's all because of that store..."
"They're taking away our businesses! We're shutting down because of them!"
"Junes... I want it to burn!"
As the voices became known, Saki and Chie looked around in bewilderment.
… What in the world was going on now?!