Spectral Illusions (Naruto fanfic)

Spectral Illusions Chapter 14

Silence had never been such a louder sound before. It rang through the darkness indefinitely, neither person making a move. Kakashi swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt a drop of sweat trickle down his brow. Who was this? Why did he have the horrible feeling that this person was familiar?

The eyes stared back at him, never waving, not even to blink. He'd never came face to face with such a threatening glare before, but it was made so much worse by the bright crimson of the Sharingan.

They stood like that for an eternity; both shinobi standing facing different directions, but staring at each other, each kunai pressed against the opponent's throat.

"...is this what one would call an impasse?" Kakashi asked, his eyes keeping contact with theirs.

They remained silent. Their eyes flickered down for a moment, before back up at his eyes.

No more was said. The kunai held by his opponent pressed against his throat, digging into the material of his shirt. He made sure he returned the favour, and they cringed ever so slightly as he shifted where the kunai was placed.

'We're getting nowhere...' Kakashi thought, swallowing. 'Who is this? Why do they have the Sharingan? Is it possible that Orochimaru kidnapped an Uchiha before the massacre?'

He soon discarded it as impossible. The only Uchihas he knew who escaped the massacre were Sasuke and the perpetrator himself. There was no way this was an Uchiha from before the massacre, either. The Uchiha clan would have filed a missing persons report, surely.

"Maybe we should reconsider our situation..." He said, and ever so slowly pulled away his kunai. He trusted this person to do the same, otherwise, there was a good chance he could lose his life here. "Let's have a mutual trust for a few moments."

A whole minute passed. Slowly, he felt the kunai draw away from his throat, to which he heaved an internal sigh of relief.

"Where is Mayako?" He asked, looking straight at the pair of Sharingan in front of him. It was probably a bad idea to do so, but he did it anyway.

He got no reply. His hand balled into a fist in slight annoyance.

"Where is Mayako?" Kakashi repeated, to get no response yet again. "Where is she?"

To his utter surprise, the person in front of him dropped to their knees, screaming in agony. His eyes grew wide, but he knew not what to do. Help them? Ask what was wrong? Demand them to stop their stupid act?

What surprised him most was the name that they cried out to for help. It was his name, over and over again, pleading, begging to him for his assistance. What was stranger yet was that it was a woman's voice, and it didn't sound overly familiar.

Next minute, the door flew open. He turned quickly, gripping a weapon and readying himself for attack. To his surprise, the two cloaked men who stepped into the cell didn't even glance at him for a millisecond; they went straight to the woman, each grabbing one of her arms, and yanked her from the ground. She screamed and fought, but was unable to shake off their grip.

They dragged her from the room. Startled, shocked, and a little bit curious, Kakashi followed. Why hadn't the men noticed him? Why didn't they so much as spare him a glance? He even tested waving a hand in front of their faces. Either they really couldn't see him, or were amazing at pretending he didn't exist.

The screaming continued. He could barely see anything in the dim lighting, other than the pale, battered skin of the woman through her tattered clothes. What was happening?

Finally, they came to a stop. One of the men unlocked a heavy, metal door, pulling it open. The woman pleaded and screamed for them not to do whatever they were planning, begging them to have mercy. Ignoring her completely, they thrust her inside the room, shutting her into complete darkness. Without a single thought, he dove in after her before they slammed the door shut.