Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sunagakure
April 13, 2010
"You sure have a serious face for someone that clearly had a really good morning."
Confused, Naruto stopped an arms length away from man and dog. Even without senjutsu, Naruto knew Kiba's most frequented spot. Nine times out of ten, both could be found out here in the forest surrounding the village.
"Huh?"
With an exasperated sigh, Kiba pointed to his own neck. It took a moment to click before Naruto gave a short chuckle, absently tracing the red mark right below the curve of his jaw.
A low whistle left his feral friend's lips.
"She sure did a number on you."
Naruto grinned, the comment momentarily parting the dark cloud the mission had placed over his mood.
"She was happy, 'ttebayo. I proposed this morning," he admitted, tapping a reddened cheek suffused with happiness,"We're getting married, dattebayo."
"Married?!" Kiba exclaimed.
Akamaru barked a few times.
"Right?!" Inuzuka agreed.
"Uhhh, right what? You know I can't understand Akamaru like you can, Kiba-."
A claw tipped finger clipped his words short.
"When the hell did you even buy a ring?" the feral shinobi questioned.
"Ahhh...hmmmm," he hummed, trying to remember the date, chin clasped between thumb and forefinger.
He snapped his fingers as his hazy memory cleared.
"Almost two years ago, around Hinata's birthday."
"T-Two years ago?!" came the outraged response, "And you didn't tell us about it?"
"Uhhh, I didn't? I could've sworn I did," he said, uncertainty and nervousness coating his voice, "o-oh yeah, now I remember, it was Ino, Sakura and Tenten."
"You tell the women, but not the guys?"
"What's the big deal Kiba," Naruto blustered guilty, "you guys probably woulda made fun of me for it anyway."
"Of course we would've!" Kiba confirmed without an ounce of shame, "and once we finished, we'd have gone for a celebration drink!"
Crossing his arms, looking fairly put out, the dog loving nin muttered, "Maybe would've chipped in and paid for a drink or two for ya."
'Chip...chip in?'
That stingy mutt could outright buy him a drink.
Naruto's deadpan expression was response enough to that comment, but still, he couldn't help a follow up. It deserved one, he thought.
"Jee, you're so generous Kiba." he proclaimed, voice dripping sarcasm.
"Hmph, I already know that without you telling me," the hound using shinobi quipped, "When we hit the bar to celebrate, once you've let everyone know, you can pay for your own damn drink."
Naruto sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, dattebayo."
He really did feel a bit bad though. He'd told the female counterpart of their group because they'd asked and he'd had the ring with him. After that, with his own team to look after, worrying about the village, the peace treaty, the shinobi world and how to even approach his lover with the intent of marriage had kept him occupied that it had sort of slipped his mind...for almost two years...
"Sorry, Kiba," he apologized sincerely, "I wasn't hiding it or anything, somehow, it just never came up when we were together. That's no excuse but-"
His childhood friend waved it away.
"Forget it," he huffed, "we all know scatterbrained is apart of your ensemble. I'll pay for one drink and that's it. You're on your own for the rest and you fall outta your chair again, I ain't picking you up."
Naruto laughed, and just like that, the slight was forgiven.
Such was the way of men.
"So what did you want then? You sure as shit weren't coming here to tell me you were engaged looking the way you were."
Reminded why he'd sought him out, Naruto turned serious once more.
"Mission. We gotta leave now. I'll give you the details once we pick up Lee."
Without further comment, Naruto leapt away, and without question, Kiba and Akamaru followed. A slip into senjutsu pointed them in the direction of their spandex wearing friend. Outside a supermarket. A stop initiated by the fellow shinobi with him no doubt. With an acrobatic flip through the air, Naruto touched down before the nin in question.
"Yo." he said by way of greeting.
"Naruto-kun. Good afternoon." Lee replied.
"Naruto," Choji greeted, munching sharp smelling chips, "What's up?"
"This idiot's getting married, that's what's up." Kiba announced, dropping next to the male in question.
"Married!!" the pair shouted.
Naruto sighed, then glatred at Kiba.
"Yeah," he confirmed, "and before you open your big fat mouth, Kiba, I'll admit, I forgot to tell you guys when I first started thinking about it. I bought the ring a while ago-"
"Almost two years ago." Kiba supplied with a careless shrug.
Lips pursed, glare maintained, Naruto placed both fists on his hips and continued, knowing Kiba wasn't finished by a long shot.
"And was trying to figure out how I wanted to propose-"
"Never once asking his best buds for help."
Exasperated with the needling, Naruto slapped a palm to his forehead.
"I proposed to Hinata this morning, she accepted obviously, I forgot to tell you guys about it before hand even though I kinda told Ino, Sakura and Tenten and now this douche," he chucked a thumb in the direction of douche, "is butt hurt. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys either."
"That's alright, Naruto-kun," Lee said, "I'm merely happy Hinata-san accepted."
Choji nodded.
"Yeah, it okay Naruto."
"Really?" Naruto smiled.
"Sure. You'll be picking up the bill for the barbecue engagement celebration party though."
Comically crestfallen, Naruto exhaled. He'd expected nothing less. He really had botched it, not letting his friends in on something so huge.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, 'ttebayo."
"Anyway," Kiba pipped up next to him, "We gotta go. Lee, mission time. You geared up or do you need time?"
"I'm always prepared!"
"Then let's go, Naruto's gonna fill us in on the way."
xxxxxx
"Did you hear that, Yui?" a dark haired woman whispered.
She stood in the dark shadow of an alleyway, listening in on the conversation being had by one, Naruto Uzumaki.
The Uzumaki.
She'd just happened to see the dashing, blonde haired hero leap from a building as she and her friend Yui were leaving a shopping boutique.
"Yui!" she hissed again.
Her friend had been right behind her when she'd pulled them from sight in order to listen as he spoke. It was so rare to get that close to him without pushing through a crowd, or risk looking an absolute fool trying to talk to him when he had Hinata Hyuuga standing next to him. Everyone knew he'd simply summon a look alike or multiple look alikes to deal with the interference depending on the size of the crowd if he wasn't of a mind to talk, before scooping the Hyuuga heir from her feet and making their escape.
"Yui!" she called a little louder, seeing as the object of their affection and admiration had already left.
No response.
She turned.
Yui sat on the dirt path beneath her, looking as though she'd collapsed where she stood.
"M...Married?" Yui repeated quietly.
"Y-yeah, that's what he said. To Hinata-sama naturally."
"Married???"
"It was bound to happen, Yui. You know what they say. The Hyuuga Princess has the Hero of the Leaf wrapped around her finger."
"MARRIED?!"
The woman sighed, knowing what was coming.
"NAURTO-SEMPAI!!!! WHY!!!!"
"Suck it up Yui," the woman shushed, looping an arm and dragging the woman down the opposite side of the alley, "let's go and inform the fan club. Naruto-sempai is officially off the market."
"Naruto-sempaiiiiiii." Yui whined.
"I know, I know, poor you, Yui. Get in the heartbreak line."
xxxxxx
April 16, 2010
Naruto wiped sweat from his brow.
Damn it was hot.
One thing had certainly not changed about the Land of Wind. The sun was unmerciful.
He felt like the blazing sphere was sitting on his shoulder, that but for the sweat slipping down his, he'd have caught fire by now.
It was absolutely scorching!
Having long divested himself of his awesome yet heat conducing jacket, he was just about ready to strip his gray mesh off next. Along with Kiba, Akamaru and Lee, the three day journey to the Hidden Sand Village had been an exercise in misery, a seemingly endless run across the vast sand sea that was the desert. The sand was barely any cooler. When they'd first began their run across the desert, the burning bits that launched into his sandals had brought an unbidden wince to the sweating jonin's face. Now, he wasn't sure if he had gotten used to the discomfort or if the sand had seared the nerve endings, but he didn't feel the heat there anymore.
Not that it mattered now.
A new bane had taken its places.
No slacker when it came to fitness, it usually took a lot for him to complain, even to himself, however, his thighs were screaming.
Running on land was worlds away from running over ever shifting sand.
The nights were just as rough. It was cold as hell when that sun went down, sand wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing to sleep on, and when dawn broke, the trio spent several minutes shaking stray grains from some very embarrassing places.
Something large and looming began to take shape before his eyes as he crested a dune. He squinted, trying to make out what it was then gave a relieved sigh as it became clearer.
Salvation had appeared just over the horizon.
"Kiba, Lee," he called to his companions, "we're here."
Seated, or rather, half hanging from his large canine companion, Kiba righted himself with effort, also having divested himself of everything but his shirt, pants and shoes.
"Finally," he huffed, "I'll never understand how anyone, let alone a whole village can deal with this level of heat."
Akamaru whined in agreement.
"Surely over time and with great perseverance the people of Sunagakure have learned to adapt. It is a lesson in endurance I too learned from Guy-sensei."
Lightly sweating and look wholly unbothered by the strain of sand or the inferno in the sky, Lee hadn't removed a single item of clothing too cool off.
Not that he could...
Naruto was sure he didn't even wear underwear under that spandex.
Turning his mind back to the mission at hand, the team lead reached for the jacket slung over his shoulder and inserted first one arm, then other into the sleeves before zipping it up. As much as he loathed something heavier on his skin, it couldn't be helped. If he could already see the Great Cliffs that lead to the village, then those on watch could certainly see him and his group. He was a representative from Konoha, he wanted to make sure he looked like it.
Grumbling briefly, Kiba followed his lead, redressing himself before hopping from his friend's back.
Six shinobi stood three to each side of the gap and many more lined the inside. It was a show of force and wariness that Kakashi had warned about.
The momentary pause it gave him cleared immediately the moment he caught sight of the Kazekage. His former Jinchuuriki brethren stood fully decked out in the uniform designating his Kage status. After clearing the gap, Gaara moved several feet from the guards.
"Naruto." He greeted warmly when the three man and one dog squad reached him.
Naruto couldn't help the small smile that curved his lips.
"Gaara," he greeted just as warmly, "It's been a while huh?"
The two clasped hands. Gaara's ice blue gaze moved to the bandaged arm and hand.
"Yes. I last saw you at the hospital not long after the war ended."
"Ahh, has it really been that long?"
Gaara nodded.
Their handshake and conversation ended.
"You're here to investigate the signal."
Naruto nodded.
"We'd like to start as soon as possible, 'ttebayo."
Turning, Gaara gestured to the towering rocks.
"This way."
Even though he'd thought to get to business right away, after the things Kakashi-sensei had said, he couldn't help but ask.
"Hokage-sama said-"
"What he told you was true, Naruto," Gaara confirmed, "but even I, as Kazekage am not at liberty to speak of it further."
Naruto lapsed into silence before opening his mouth once more.
"If you ever need-"
"The Leaf is an alley to the Sand," the sand shinobi responded, again, reading his intent, "We will not hesitate should we need assistance and by that token, the Leaf should feel free to do the same."
Reassured, Naruto nodded even though his red headed friend couldn't see the gesture.
"Glad to hear it, dattebayo," then softer, for the ears of the Kazekage only, he continued, "if you need me, Gaara, just call for me. Wherever I am, I'll get here as soon as I can."
"Naruto, even with the shinobi world as it is, you never change. I know, better than most, that if I ever call on you, you'll come to my aid. Never once have nor will I ever doubt or wonder if that remains true. You were my first friend. The one that changed the monster I was in my younger years. Your words are wasted here."
He stopped, then turned, his once emotionless face during those younger years, was expressive and warm.
"I knew that, the day you saved me, and I know that even now."
Naruto grinned but refrained from any more personal conversation. They were led into and through the village and immediately, the vibe sobered all three Konoha nin. There were sadness, strain and even distrust on the face of the Hidden Sand people.
Some whispered.
Some pointed.
Others watched with thinly veiled accusation in their eyes.
While the buildings were all intact, the surrounding citizens looked ravaged...tired...despairing. It hurt him to see the same looks on many of the few children hiding behind pant legs and skirts. Yet even among this serious and uncomfortable atmosphere, many bowed their head to him, offered thanks for his service and a smaller few took several photos.
It was such a strange combination of light and dark.
They were lead inside a building, given water and refreshments while they waited for the escort to the coordinates. Naruto guzzled the cool water in his cup with a gusto he rarely had for water. It seemed like he couldn't wash away the thirst the desert had forced upon him no matter how many times he refilled his cup. He knew his bladder would pay for it later, but he was hard pressed to stop.
"Things seem...pretty bad here." Lee commented into the quiet.
Naruto looked down into his cup. That sadness from earlier unfurling in his chest.
"Yeah." He agreed, bringing the cup back to his lips.
"Their village looks perfectly fine from the outside," Kiba put in, "but the looks on their face...they look just like the people that live outside of a Hidden Village."
They all remembered the breakneck pace they'd been dispatched to help the surrounding Fire Country, the hellish scenes they came upon, the carnage, that many had not seen since the war, littering the streets of defenseless villages.
It made him sick thinking about it.
Remembering it.
The door opened, two familiar faces and one unknown entered.
"Kankuro, Temari, hey." Naruto greeted, rising from his plush seat.
"Hey, Naruto." The puppet master returned.
"Naruto," Temari replied with a formal inclination of her head, "This is Riku, he'll be your guide."
Much shorter than the woman introducing him, Riku looked fairly young, certainly younger than anyone in the room. Garbed in the standard issue wardrobe of the sand, the dark haired youth bowed formally.
"Nice to meet you. It is my honor to be your guide, Uzumaki-sama," Riku began, "You have my deepest gratitude and regards for your efforts against the Akatsuki and the recent war."
Used to the formal sometimes fawning greeting of strangers, Naruto swallowed the discomfort of being in the spotlight again and returned the bow.
"Thank you, 'dattebayo. Nice to meet you too."
"And you all as well," the young man said, rising, "Lee-san, Kiba-san."
The pair returned the comment with corresponding words.
"Please, follow me."
With Riku leading, the group walked down hall after hall, passed shinobi and citizens before finding themselves in the rear of Sunagakure. They halted in yet another large opening much like the one at the entrance, and in the shade it created, the Kazekage stood once more, minus the cap.
"Riku will guide you close to your destination, from there, you should be able to make your way there on your own," Gaara said when they reached him, "good luck to you."
"Thank you."
Riku started to lead the group into the inferno when Naruto stopped.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Naruto bumbled, retracing his steps back to the Kazekage and his siblings, "I got engaged a few days ago, 'ttebayo."
Surprise then happiness suffused the Sand leader's face before he smiled.
"Congratulations, Naruto. Please extend my congratulations to Ms. Hyuuga."
"Yeah, same from me, Naruto." Kankuro smiled.
"Congratulations, Naruto." Temari echoed.
"Thanks you guys," the blonde Uzumaki grinned, "And...I know things are really bad now...and I'm not sure when the wedding will be since we haven't had time to figure all that out but...if you're able to make it, Hinata and I would love to have you all there, 'ttebayo."
"If it can be arranged," Gaara said, "we won't miss it."
Temari nodded.
"The moment you two set a date, send word to us immediately," she requested with a smile of her own, "We'll be there if we can."
"I'll let you know soon as I can," he promised.
He turned, then called a casual goodbye over his shoulder as he jogged to catch up to the others waiting, "See ya."
The quad and dog moved at a much more sedate pace than the trio and dog had move to reach the Sand Village and as they walked, Naruto, Kiba and Lee answered some of the question their guide had about the events that took place during the war. His assessment had been right, at twelve years old, Riku was only a year younger than his youngest team member, Tani, and it showed. His curious genin's had asked him many of the same questions Riku was asking now.
By the time they reached their destination, Riku was less formal with the group, even smiling here and there.
"This is as far as I'm to take you."
Naruto took in the swirling dust, miles of sand and small spots of man made shade. Big, billowing tarps held in place by tall metal poles dotted the golden terrain.
"Hokage-sama received a layout of this area down to its most minute detail. As long as you have that, a compass or a good sense of direction, you shouldn't get lost. The tarps will act as a guide until you reach the outskirts."
"Outskirts?" Lee questioned.
"The boundary before you cross over into the Desert of No Return. There are signs to warn you about that place long before you reach it, but please make sure you pay attention to the map. The sands can play tricks on you at times, even those of us born into this land can become it's victim."
Naruto nodded, reaching for one of the parchments in his shinobi bag behind that Kakashi had given him.
"Thanks Riku."
"I'll leave you to your investigation then. Farewell, Naruto-sama, Lee-san, Kiba-san."
"Man, we're always the side show when you're around," Kiba complained as they watched him walk away, "Naruto-sama this and Uzumaki-sama that. It's not like you were the only one fighting the war."
Lee opened his mouth.
"I already know what you're gonna say and I don't wanna hear it."
"It's not like I ask for the attention, Kiba," Naruto chuckled, holding the map out to view, "I can't exactly run away from everybody all the time, or disguise myself as you so nobody notices me."
"Oiiii..." the slighted ninja warned.
Though there were very few left, the Uzumaki name in general was generically revered among the nation and beyond now. Even in Konoha, that reverence had been reaffirmed with the red armbands bearing the Uzumaki crest that more than half the shinobi in the Hidden Leaf employ now wore. Connecting shinobi together with its very symbol.
"We got a few miles to go," the team lead murmured, effectively ending the banter, "but at least we have those tarp things now."
"Thank whatever deity exists for that." Kiba quipped.
Sure enough, as they made their journey, the shady breaks along the way were a godsend. It was at least tolerable in the desert now.
About an hour later, Naruto stopped.
He looked left and right, nothing as far as the eye could see.
"This is the spot Hokage-sama wanted us to check first."
Lee shaded his eyes, looking left to right as he had.
"Are you sure, Naruto-kun?" the taijutsu expert questioned, "I don't see anything anywhere, not even tarps."
"You sure you don't have the map upside down?" the Inuzuka questioned, hoping down from Akamaru.
Naruto wordlessly handed the map to show his friend, knowing his studies and Hinata's tutelage had taught him not only how to hold a map, but how to read it at a jonin level. He was sure they'd followed the right path.
'Naruto.' Kurama prompted.
'I know.'
Stilling, focusing, Naruto slipped wordlessly into senjutsu and immediately found a hit. Orange, frog shaped eyes opened as confusion bloomed. There was something here. Under their feet, far below the sand. What it was...he couldn't even describe. It had no presence and yet it held mass but if felt strange. It was like those intangible spots he'd sensed around the time this situation began, but even this was different. It was incredibly solid and unlike the ghostlike presence the times he'd felt its disturbance, this one had a tangible location.
There was something else.
A trail, almost like a smear in the sand.
"There's something here. It's below us."
His comrades ceased their map fumbling and moved to either side of him.
"Under the sand?" Lee asked.
"Where else would it be?" Kiba huffed, "Want me and Akamaru to make a tunnel down?"
Naruto shook his head.
"There's a trail, over here." Naruto stated, walking towards it as he spoke.
They climbed a sand dune, then another before the sensory nin stopped again. Squatting, Naruto reached out a hand and swept sand away.
Something shiny and round glimmered.
He touched it. Surprisingly, it felt cool. Immune to the heat in the sand and sky. It almost looked like a button. He pressed down to confirm.
Sure enough, it sank and just as slowly, the sand before them collapsed inward.
Naruto rose swiftly to his feet, preparing for whatever he had started by pressing that mechanism.
A metal door pushed through the yellow grain then slid open.
The feral members reacted immediately. Kiba gagged and Akamaru whined, turning his nose from the dark hole. It was a moment before the others in the group found out why...a very brief moment. The overwhelming stench denoting death, gut churning rot and something else worse than the two combined wafted from the secret entrance's depths. Bringing a sleeved forearm to his mouth and nose, Naruto fought the nausea in his stomach, the bile in his throat.
It was, without a doubt, the worse thing he had ever smelled in his life.
On the battled field, he'd smelled blood, charred flesh, and the sweat of thousands upon thousands of shinobi. In the villages he'd been dispatched too, he'd smelled the decaying remains after a horrible death from tsuchi. Ino's purging...
None of it, not one scent compared to this.
He was nearly losing the battle with his belly when something white entered his field of vision.
"Put this on, Naruto-kun." Lee commanded, his own voice slightly muffled.
Taking the mask, Naruto wasted no time in fixing it over his mouth and nose. He turned to take in his comrades. The same egg shell colored masks covered their lower faces, one had even been elongated to cover Akamaru's.Wiping tears, Kiba straighted from his slightly hunched position, unfolding his arms from his middle.
"Before the war started..." he began, taking short puffs of air as he explained, "the Inuzuka were...working on masks especially for our sensitive noses...for situations like this...to avoid having our smelling advantage become a disadvantage."
Straightening fully, he gagged once, twice then breathed in behind his mask before seeming to calm.
"I keep a few on me just in case."
"Thank goodness for that." Lee sighed.
"I can only imagine what's down there that smells like that."
Naruto didn't even want to imagine.
"I'll go in first. Kiba, you and Akamaru take the rear," Naruto directed, "you may not be able to rely on your nose to guide us but you still have better hearing than us."
Wasting little time, the Leaf hero began the descent. Light flickered above then hummed to life. They were nearly two minutes in the enclosure when they flickered again. Whatever powered them seemed to be failing. The dirt ground below their feet gradually become descending stairs. The further they went down, the more spacious the tunnel became until...
"What...what is this?" Naruto questioned aloud.
Hallowed out the width of a very minuscule country, a deserted underground village lay nestled within the man made cavern. The buildings were far from modern, constructed entirely of a deep brown rock, the windows were covered with ratty wood shutters, its walkways slightly muddy. Just as was present at the entrance, the lights above flickered and inside the abandoned homes and business place, it was even worse. It highlighted the blood coating the walls, silhouetted the limbs hanging from open windows, doorways and even roofs.
Cadavers, both human, jubokko and otherwise lay rotting. Their twisted faces, headless torsos, legless bodies and spilled insides in various stages of decay.
"What the hell is this?" Kiba repeated, seemingly too shocked to have heard the same question moments before.
He couldn't even begin to speculate.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the other thing Kakashi-sensei had given him. He brought the small rectangle to one stunned blue orb, pressed the button and waited for the low click before hitting it again. Atop the long staircase, he could see nearly the whole of this underground village. He could only hope there was enough lighting from the glitchy devices above and the flash from his camera to see everything clearly.
When he took it back to Kakashi-sensei, they'd be able to see the scale of this place and send enough shinobi to do a more through search than the four of them were about to do.
"Do you sense anyone, Naruto-kun?"
The blonde jonin shook his head.
"No...but that presence is here. I can still feel the trail."
On high alert, they continued down into the cesspool, stepping over corpses and stray body parts, avoiding stagnant pools of crimson.
"Some of these...bodies...it doesn't seem like much time has passed before they were killed..." Lee observed.
He'd noticed it too.
How some blood splatters were dark and flaky, others bright red and glistening. A few minutes, a few hours, a few weeks, how long ago varied from one horror scent to the next. Seeing that some of the slaughter here had taken place minutes before had the sensory ninja checking, double checking, triple checking for enemies or survivors, of both, there were none. All that was left, was the mysterious trail guiding his way. It led them to the very back, almost to the solid rock that was apart of the carved bowl the town rested within. Unlike the almost primitive buildings they'd passed, this one was modern, had steady lighting and was slightly less damaged than the surrounding area.
Bringing the camera up, as he'd done through their trek through the ghost town, he snapped a photo before securing it back in his ninja pack. Reaching out, he pushed one of the shattered glass doors with a careful hand only for it to fall, clanging loudly against dirty tile.
"Shit." He murmured, stepping over the fallen metal frame.
"This place is the only building that looks like it was built this century." Kiba scoffed.
"It looks like a hospital, but it looks too small for that." Lee chimed in.
They crossed the reception area, walking passed the semi-circle desk and through the double doors behind it. A long hallway, dirty and damaged stretched far down before splitting into turns, one left, one right. There were doors lining the passage, and big glass windows.
Inside, were beds, tools, and equipment.
"A science lab?" Naruto wondered aloud.
"Seems like it." His bushy browed friend agreed.
Whipping out the camera again, Naruto snapped left and right, then continued on. They took a left, walked a while, took another left then a right. Metal doors, thicker, more secure, were at the end of the hall. Unlike the entrance doors, when he pressed, they didn't budge. His fist at its center sent them careening inward. Another hallway. A few turns later, an elevator.
After prying the doors apart, Naruto looked in.
It was dark. So dark he couldn't see how far down it went. Lee moved to his side, a flashlight in hand. It parted the darkness, and reflected on something shinny. The cart was at the very bottom. It wasn't far however.
"Guess we have to make our own way down, 'ttebayo."
Naruto leapt into the shadowy hole. His sandaled feet were loud against the metal. Similar sounds rang out around him. The light came back.
"There's a little hatch here." Lee said.
Kiba made short work of the slab and Naruto dropped into opening. This time, the doors were open. They stepped through the twisted metal and immediately, Naruto recoiled. Within the confines of his mind, Kurama echoed the reaction.
"What? What's wrong?" the Inuzuka demanded, concern lacing his tone.
"Naruto-kun?"
'Something foul lived down here...' Kurama growled.
It was the epitome of the word.
Foul.
Dripping in the darkest of human emotions and beyond. It had the consistency comparable with the carnage above ground. The invisible sensation was smeared on the walls, pooled on the floor and even dripped from the ceiling. In his sage state, it was overwhelming. Akin to the sharp odor that had nearly knocked Kiba and Akamaru over. It was sticky, disgusting....alien.
It made his head ache, his stomach knot.
"Oi, Naruto!"
"There's..." he searched his brain for a way to explain, swallowing the urge to retch, "there's some kinda...left over presence down here. It's like the trail I was following but its...worse, dattebayo...way worse."
Reaching for the silver railing poking out from the wall, Naruto bent slightly at the waist, trying his best to process the smog he was enveloped within. He brought the back of his hand to his mask covered mouth, swallowed again then continued.
"Kurama can sense it too...he says something foul lived down here."
"Something foul?"
Naruto nodded.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" Lee questioned, "Should we turn back and report to Hokage-sama."
The whiskered male shook his head. He needed to see, with his own eyes, what this was. He was the only one that would be able to sense this intangible sensation anyway.
'Then get a hold of yourself, Naruto,' his nine tailed friend commanded, 'This presence will only worsen the deeper we go.'
With a mental nod to his partner, Naruto straightened. Sweat dotted his brow, but he stiffened his spine.
"Let's go."
"You sure?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah," he said, moving forward, "I can handle it."
Akamaru whined but fell in line behind beside Kiba.
Plexiglass, caked in dark crimson from the inside and out, painted an eerie scene as they walked. Naruto blinked a few times, the blurriness in his eyes exasperating the headache pounding at his temples. He was adjusting to the nausea in his belly, swallowing the bile that rose to the back of his throat, but the pinpricks along his skin, the skating over his nerve endings that he couldn't place was slowly driving his mind to panic.
'Calm down...' Kurama urged.
'I know, 'ttebayo. But that's easier to say than do...you're on edge too, Kurama.'
The kyuubi didn't deny he too was struggling. They shared a bond. Naruto could feel his friend's distress as keenly as his own. It felt like they were slowly drowning. There wasn't enough air...enough room to breathe.
'There's something wrong down here...or was down here...'
The sensation hadn't leveled out yet, it was only increasing. Almost as if whatever had spread it's filth along the corridors was still around.
'I don't think we'd be able to keep going if it were still here.' Kurama admitted, 'but it was here recently enough to leave behind so thick of an aura.'
"Want me to take over the pictures, Naruto-kun."
Clearly, Kurama wasn't the only one keen to the Jinchuuriki's struggle. Without a word, Naruto reached back for the camera and held it out behind him. Lee took it and began snapping away.
'It's there.'
Up ahead, three doors down, an darkened aperture. The metal that had once covered it lay on the ground in front of it.
Naruto swallowed.
He could almost see the gunk slinking out of that passageway. Blue orbs squinted. It was slight, but the air around it looked...distorted. Translucent waving, thin and curving, billowed from within, out into the hall. It was similar to the waviness heat created, like out in the desert.
"Kiba...Lee...do you guys...see anything coming out of that doorway?" he questioned, pointing it out.
Lee shinned the light and both shinobi paused a few moments before answering.
"I don't see anything, do you? Akamaru?"
The canine in question whined.
"I don't see anything either, Naruto-kun."
"You seeing something?" the scruffy Inuzuka asked.
"Yeah..."
Even in the light, he could see it. He didn't know why the others couldn't but he'd long accepted that there were things sage mode and his status as Jinchuuriki afforded him that others wouldn't be able to discern. Which status was currently enabling him to see this...whatever this was...was a mystery at the moment.
"What?"
"I can just barely make it out but...it looks like heat waves I think."
"Heat waves?"
Naruto nodded, "Like when we were out in the desert."
Pain lanced his eyes. He closed them then slapped a hand over them. His head throbbed again.
"Naruto?"
Rubbing the watering orbs, reached up to massage his temples next.
"I'm fine, 'ttebayo."
"You sure as shit don't look fine."
He took a few breaths. The mask made this harder to bear. He already felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Naruto!"
Without answering, the team lead straightened again then moved.
"Don't be stubborn, we can come back later." Kiba called after him.
"We need answers now, Kiba," Naruto called back, "I told you, I can handle it, 'ttebayo. Trust me."
A beat passed, a huff, then foot steps following along with a last grumble. When he reached the doorway, he questioned his own words. His eyes rolled briefly into his skull and darkness dotted his brain.
'Naruto!' his nine tailed friend barked within the confines of his mine.
His eyes snapped forward and the cloudiness in his brain slowly receded.
'Anchor your consciousness to me. You won't be able to go any further without passing out.'
He reached mentally for his friend, gripping that presence that was Kurama with his own. There was a minute sensation that felt like his skin was being ripped from his muscle before it disappeared. Then the yawning sensation that had nearly swept him from his feet became a heavy, yet bearable drumbeat against his flesh.
That tiny sensation that had felt like he was being skinned...it had come from Kurama...his friend was in a hell of a lot more pain than he was.
'Kurama-'
'Save it...Naruto...' Kurama grunted, 'Move. I can only do this for so long.'
He wavered briefly, teeth clenching against the urge to stop his friend's suffering. He moved, fighting the left over sensation crackling over his flesh.
'Thank you, Kurama. I'll get you out of here as soon as I can.'
Inside, dull light illuminated an office. A computer sat smashed, a wheelchair knocked over and beyond that a plexiglass window.
Anxiety knotted his gut.
It had been in there, whatever it was.
He moved, resisting the wail of his body pleading with him to turn back. At the transparent glass, he looked down into the pit below. His world narrowed, the scraping of Akamaru's feet on the tile, the clicking of the camera behind him, Kiba's verbalized thoughts floated from his mind. Blood soaked soil, limbs and the remnants of what looked to be...a tree. It looked old and frail, skinny in a way that looked like someone had pieced it with a straw and sucked its nutrients out. It was naked, not a single leaf graced the spindly, almost fleshy branches.
Something else was happening, however.
There was something faint vibrating beyond the glass.
Melodious...inhumane...a sound he heard in his brain rather than his ears. It was below the range of a whisper, and yet it grated with the voracity of a trumpet. It wasn't being produced, however, it was...left over...
Like...alien residue.
Agony washed over him, splashing here and there like spilled acid. Naruto back peddled, raising trembling hands to his cranium, certain the hard structure was moments from splitting.
'Ku-Kurama...'
Silence.
Kurama was there, he could feel his presence below the screaming torture in his brain, but the nine tails wasn't answering...or couldn't answer.
'Kurama!'
The kyuubi was focused on that frequency. Transfixed, as though he were in a trance. Naruto felt his legs buckle, the weight Kurama had been carrying bearing down on him. A hard hand gripped his arm and he was suddenly launched into movement.
His ears cleared.
"...enough, Naruto!" Kiba barked, "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm taking you outta here! We'll report to the Hokage and he can decide what to do."
He didn't argue as the worried, angered Inuzuka hauled him out of the room, deposited him on his back when they got to the elevator then hoped from wall to wall until they were clear of it. Once back on firm footing, he slid from Kiba's back, only for the aggravated chunin to throw his team leaders arm over his shoulder and continue carting him out. By the time they made it back through the village and neared the stairs, the beating in his brain had dulled to a low throb.
The nausea had cleared, the bile was gone and the pain merely simmered.
"I can walk, Kiba..." he murmured at the base of the stairs, "Thanks, dattebayo."
"Thick headed idiot," he grumbled, detaching himself from his friend, "I told you not to over do it."
"Sorry..." he mumbled,
"You okay, Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah...thanks guys."
'Kurama...' he called.
Silence.
'Kurama!' he bellowed, 'Answer me, 'ttebayo! Are you okay?! Oi, Kurama!'
'Stop shouting...Naruto...'
Relief washed over him.
'You're alright...What happened?'
Quiet followed the question. He knew his friend hadn't lapsed back into that trance again, he could sense the fox spirit sorting through feeling and thoughts, trying to put his experience into words.
'That song...'
Blonde brows crinkled.
"Song?" Naruto echoed aloud.
'That vibration you felt...it was a song. I've heard it before I think, but I cannot place where. It connected to my very essence...and held me there.'
"Held you there?"
"Something happened to Kurama? Naruto-kun?"
Naruto nodded and his teammates said no more, waiting for the two to finish conversing. It didn't happen often but it did happen. These seemingly one sided conversations. His circle of friends, and even the towns people of Konoha were intimately familiar with what being a Jinchuuriki meant and took his habit of speaking aloud to Kurama in stride, some even telling him to say hello to the once fox demon, though Naruto told these greeters that Kurama could hear them just fine. Kurama, of course, always declined to respond let alone return the greeting.
There were very few the kyuubi regarded worth his time and acknowledgment and way too many he felt were below it. Short of an emergency, which hadn't occurred since the war, Kurama didn't really talk to anyone outside of the other tailed beasts, his Jinchuuriki and his Jinchuuriki's "mate".
"What kind of song was it? What did it sound like?"
He could feel the bijuu bristling.
'It's not a sound you can replicate with notes.'
"Then how do you know it was a song?"
He wasn't making much sense.
'Nothing down here makes much sense.' Kurama pointed out.
Running a hand through his short locks, Naruto released a soft breath.
"You got that right, 'ttebayo."
'Shukaku said he heard a song before he disappeared.'
Cerulean orbs widened.
"Hey that's right! And the Desert of No Return isn't far from here. Riku said the outskirts were only a few miles away from it."
'He had to have been drawn here.'
Naruto turned and measured the distance between the entrance and what he could see of the farthest wall of the wide rockface surrounding the village. This town, the lab, it extended below that deadly place. He was sure of it. His stomach clenched. Considering what he'd gone through, what Kurama had experienced down here, his worry for the tanuki increased. They hadn't seen any sign of the sand spirit down there, but it was too much of a coincidence to ignore the effect this place had on them, the proximity to the Desert of No Return, the "song", there was no doubt.
Shukaku had been near here at the very least.
Shino had reported so...but whatever had happened here clearly hadn't ended his life, because the insect wielding shinobi had also reported Shukaku had left the area.
"He left here alive but...something might be wrong with him," the team lead ruminated aloud, "when you heard the song, you weren't able to do anything, maybe it effected him another way if he'd gotten the full amount rather than the left over we got."
'It's possible," he speculated, 'That song was coming from that tree we saw.'
That gray, gnarled perennial plant filled his mind.
"There was so much going on at the time, I couldn't tell where it was coming from, dattebayo," he rubbed his forehead, "Are you sure, Kurama? What kind of tree sings?"
"A singing tree?" Lee questioned.
"Oi, Naruto, how's about filling us in at some point?" Kiba complained.
Turning to the physical people in front of him, Naruto dropped his hand from his head.
"Uhh, yeah, it's not really gonna make sense though." He warned before launching into a confusing tale even he could barely understand.
After, he could tell by their faces they only understood a fraction of what he'd described.
"Like I said, it doesn't really make a lot of sense, most of this information is based on what Kurama and I felt and experienced. We need to head back to the village and report this."
"Shouldn't we report this to Gaara-sama as well? This village is within Sunagakure borders."
Naruto shook his head.
"We're not allowed to share details of this mission with anyone but the Hokage. It goes no further than that unless we get authorization, 'ttebayo."
Though they nodded, he knew the other's felt as he did. The Leaf and Sand were allies, Gaara was Naruto's friend, it didn't feel right to leave without telling him, of warning him that something lurked beneath their sands, but that's exactly what they were going to do.
What they had to do.
"Let's go." Naruto commanded, taking the massive staircase at a jog.
At the very least, he could hurry back with this information. The sooner Kakashi-sensei knew about it, the sooner Gaara would know about it.
"Are you sure you're okay to travel, Naruto-kun?"
His head felt too big for his shoulders, and tension had tightened the muscles along his spine and neck, but he'd be damned if something that minuscule would keep him from moving.
xxxxxx
Harsh, bitterly frigid wind blasted the dark hair from its resting spot over his left eyes. Turning his head slightly from the elements, Sasuke pushed the heavy door as far as it would go. Nothing had changed from the day before.
White as the eye could perceive and a snowy gale that never seemed to calm.
There was no sign of the Otsutsuki that had attacked him last time he'd entered Kaguya's dimension, nor of the puppet master that had interrupted their fight.
He reached beneath his cloak, making sure the scroll he'd discovered within the palace walls was tightly secured to his body before he walked out the door and into the freezing elements. It was Kaguya's, written in a language he couldn't decipher. He was taking it back to Konoha for analysis and hopefully decoding. Whatever was in it, he was certain that it'd give them more information on the Otsutsuki and maybe even Cyilo himself.
Despite the seriousness of his mission, he'd had this sensation in his chest since he'd found it.
Part elation.
Part fear.
He was returning...home.
For the first time since the war. He couldn't say he'd completely "found himself" in the years he'd been away and he was well aware he had many more years to repent, however...he couldn't help but wonder type of reception he'd receive...from the village he'd wanted to destroy...from the comrades he'd turned his back on...from the woman that loved him...
He wasn't sure, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
It'd be easier if he didn't care...
It was when he hadn't cared. These feelings, this anxiety, it hadn't existed in his rampaging years, as he liked to refer to that hellish period of his life.
But that other sensation. The wistful, hopeful, excitement that lay in his chest hadn't been there either.
Naruto, the friend that meant the world to him, was in Konoha. Sakura, a woman that cared for him in a way no other had before was in Konoha. Kakashi, his mentor, the teacher that had tried his best to teach him a lesson to spare him learning the hard way, was in Konoha. His roots, the memories, blood sweat and tears of the Uchiha was in Konoha.
Whatever treatment he received, justified as it was, he knew he was just fine bearing it's weight for those people, those memories he could find only in Konoha.
There was no need for hesitation, and he would not do so.
xxxxxx
Hinata sat across from her father at the kitchen table she and her lover shared, the tea cup in her hand forgotten.
"What...what did you say...father?"
Hiashi stared back at her. His eyes resolute, face stern.
"I'm here to speak to you about your mother."
xxxxxx
Now I know Naruto wears a regular shirt under his uniform usually, but that's not smexy to me >.> I liked his mesh shirt from Shippuden better so I changed it.
So what are you guy's thoughts on this chapter? What did you like? What do you hope for next? Any of the puzzle pieces starting to form a picture yet? XD Let me know!
Also, what tf is up with the fact that we know nearly zero about Hinata's mother??? I just thought about that when I was doing a rough draft for the wedding and I'm like...where tf is Hinata and Hanabi's mom??? We only see her once in the anime, and it's mention that she was kind by a young Hinata but that is IT. She is never around and I don't think she's even mentioned again. I've tried getting info online and google is like, "yeah fuck you, I don't fuckin know." Lol. So I've come up with my own scenario for it, but I didn't want to be conventional about it, so we'll see what you all think about it in the next chapter.
Anyways, I'm done here. Already started the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed. Please be sure to review!
Laters~
Sessakag