Spectral Illusions (Naruto fanfic)

Spectral Illusions Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The constant echoes of droplets hitting the ground was a background noise ringing in Kakashi's ears. It helped him focus on the task at hand, rather than letting his mind wander to what he may or may not find.

He was alone; he didn't know where the others had went, and he had no memory of ordering them away from his side. Thinking about it now, he had no memory of anything but this long, dark corridor. Obviously he knew who he was, and what he was doing, but whatever had occurred before the events leading him here were long gone from his mind.

There was nothing to do but walk. The walls never changed, nor did the ground, and the corridor seemed like it never wanted to end. He continued walking, and the dropping water didn't seem to waver in volume, even as he seemed to walk further from the source of the sound.

The only thing he allowed on his mind at the moment was one name. One name, made up of three vowels, and three consonants. One name with a total of six letters. He refused to let his mind wander further than just that name. If he began to think about the person the name belonged to, he wouldn't be able to continue.

It had seemed like minutes, but several hours passed as he walked. The corridor had still not ended, yet he continued to endure, forcing his body to keep pressing forward. His steps grew sluggish, but it was only from growing laziness; he did not feel tired at all.

Each step brought him closer to something. What it was, he did not know. Each step brought him nearer to his goal, and hopefully, the end of the irritatingly-long corridor.

It was dark. He could only barely make out his own hands in the dark. There was a possibility his Sharingan would help see, but even after he'd pulled his headband up, all he could see was darkness. This was odd; this had never happened before. Kakashi could always rely on his Sharingan.

Every time he faltered, and told himself it was pointless to continue, that name would appear once again in his mind. It was difficult to keep going when there was a good probability that he would find what he would loathe to see. There was a good probability she was already dead.

His pace had slowed to a very small fraction of what it had been when he first started at the beginning of the corridor. Tiredness had creeped up on him, catching him unaware and leaving him breathless. As he fought to catch his breath, he stumbled into the wall beside him, leaning on it for support. He had not been so tired less than a minute ago, surely. Where had this sudden exhaustion come from?

His head snapped up at the sound of a voice. It was distant, but he could hear it. He forced himself off the wall, stumbling further down the corridor, still panting for breath.

His eyes widened when he heard the voice again, this time closer, and clearer. It was female; most probably a young woman, and she sounded very distressed. What troubled him most, however, was the fact that several screams followed her shouts for help.

A few more steps forward...more screams. Five more forward...more screams, this time louder, closer. Ten more forward...coming from the other side of the wooden door in front of him.

Kakashi listened for a moment or two, waiting. His breathing had stilled, and he leaned towards the door, hoping to gather some sort of intel on the events going on in the room next to him before charging in.

The next scream made his heart speed up considerably, made his eyes grow wide, and his logic to fly straight out of the window. All this time...how could he have not recognised the voice? How could he not?