"Ruka" one of the villagers said in relief as I shut the door behind me "our prayers have been answered!"
"Prayers" I said confused, as Konohamaru took Naoki from me and began freaking out over her unconscious body.
I had did what Naruto told me to do and took Naoki to the shelter where the rest of the villagers were being hidden; safe and away from Sora's furious attacks. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon sat in a corner; huddled around Naoki as they treated her small wounds. However, there was a group of men standing in front of me and they looked extremely worried.
"Yes" a man said hastily "we don't know what's going on out there, but we keep hearing cracking sounds! We think the rock from the Hokage monument might be cracking!"
Worried voices rang out through the entire building and I hurriedly calmed them down. The Hokage monument...cracking? If that's true then I need to get all these people to safety. I exhaled deeply and cursed Naruto out under my breath,
He has to deal with an out of control wannabe Jichūriki and I have to deal with hundreds of panicked villagers...typical.
"OKAY EVERYONE!" I yelled loudly as they all turned "WE ARE GOING TO EXIT THE BUILDING SLOWLY AND MAKE OUR WAY TOWARDS THE VILLAGE GATES! STAY TOGETHER AND REMAIN CALM! Konohamaru, you grab Naoki!"
Everyone nodded and I opened the door. Before I could take a step forward, a loud crashing sound rang through the air and a large chunk of rock slammed in front of the door; blocking the exit and making the building shake. A few people screamed and everyone yelped in surprise; clinging to each other.
Typical...
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and looked back at everyone as they slowly started to settle down. Over coming the shock of the incident that just occurred. I placed my hand on the boulder and pushed on it as it reminded firmly in place. I'm going to have to punch it, but with the way this building is wobbling I'll have to carefully manage the amount of Chakra I put into it.
"EVERYONE!" I yelled as they stared at me hopefully "I'M GOING TO DESTROY THIS BOULDER! THE BUILDING MIGHT SHAKE SLIGHTLY SO HOLD ON TO...um...EACH OTHER?"
They once again nodded and clung to each other, cringing, as they awaited the shaking of the building. Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon huddled in a circle and gripped each other; making sure to keep a firm grip on Naoki...here goes nothing.
I took a deep breath and infused my fist with Chakra as I punched the boulder as hard as I could. The boulder broke into thousands of pieces as the building shook dangerously and a few more people let out horrified screams. Once the shaking stopped, everyone let go of each other and I glanced outside.
Well that's not good...
Giant chunks of rock had fallen off of the Hokage monument and in the process they destroyed the staircase leading down to the village. I closed the door and turned towards the villagers as they stared at me with wide eyes. I hate when I have hundreds of people counting on me...it's so stressful.
"I saw the stairs Sister Ruka" Konohamaru whispered as he stood beside me "instead of having everyone panic, just tell them the underground passage would be safer. I'll show you the way!"
"Underground passage" I whispered back, glancing at him.
He nodded determinedly and I smiled as I ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Good stuff squirt. ALRIGT GUYS! THERE'S A FIGHT TAKING PLACE CLOSE BY THE STAIRS SO TO AVOID INJURY WE WILL ALL TAKE THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGE! FOLLOW ME! Grab Naoki, Konohamaru."
"Hai!"
Konohamaru grabbed Naoki and began walking off as I followed him and the villagers did the same. I could hear the sound of hundereds of worried voices behind me and I frowned. I'm going to get these people out of her safely; that's the least I could do. A loud crack issued from nowhere and a banging sound jerked everyone to their senses as the passage we were walking in shook dangerously and dirt from the ceiling fell in small clumps.
I heard a small whimper and looked to see a group of kids about 5 getting teased harshly by another group of kids around 12 or so.
"Ha, ha!" One of the older kids teased "scarey cat! If you keep acting like that you'll never become a ninja! One of the boulders will crash through the ceiling and smash you like a bug!"
One of the younger children squealed in fear as the older kids laughed and I frowned angrily.
"Is that any way to treat a fellow Shinobi?"
All the kids turned towards me in surprise as the older kids gulped nervously.
"You may seem strong and intelligent now" I said bitterly "but years from now, that same girl you were just teasing could be the Hokage. Whereas you'll probably reach Jonin level at the age of 20; with her intelligence she could reach it at 16. Never underestimate the younger Shinobi because they might just end up being your future comrades! The weakest children sometimes end up the strongest ninja! The children that were always teased and picked on could become a hero of this village. Look at Sakura! Look at me! Look at Naruto! I use to be that girl you just teased; I was small and afraid of my own shadow, but what do you see now?"
"A badass Shinobi" one of them muttered under their breath.
I smirked and nodded. Not exactly how I would have worded it, but I'll take it as a compliment all the same. The older children apologized to the younger ones and offered to give them piggy back rides if they got tired; which they did. I turned towards Konohamaru as he smiled and gave me a thumbs up.
"So inspiring" he said, faking tears "I think I might cry."
"Oh, ha ha."
*****
What seemed like an hour later we were still walking down the tunnel and people were getting tired, but they never complained once. They simply frowned in an exhaustive manner and continued forward.
"Konohamaru" I said tiredly "how long is this thing?"
"Ruka" he said yawning "I have no ide...I SEE A LIGHT!"
Everyone jerked slightly and stared straight ahead as bright moonlight gleamed through a large opening at the end. Cries of relief sounded throughout the passage and everyone began walking faster towards the light as Konohamaru smiled deeply. However, I was frowning.
"Something doesn't feel right" I said as Konohamaru glanced at me.
"You're just being paranoid Sister Ruka!" He said cheerfully "we'll all get out of her safety and Brother Naruto will be so happy to see us."
I exhaled deeply and smiled slightly. I'm just being paranoid again, of course.
"Yeah, maybe you're rig-"
BAM!!
A large chunk of rock broke right through the ceiling and landed at the feet of a villager as everyone screamed. The passage shook nonstop and I hurriedly rushed everyone towards the exit.
"HURRY!" I ushered as more and more giant boulder sized rocks began blocking the passage "EVERYONE GET OUT!"
Konohamaru stood beside me, helping rush people outside and soon everyone, was safely outside. A giant rock burst through the ceiling right on top of us and I infused Chakra into my hands before grabbing it. My knees buckled from the strain and I shook slightly as Konohamaru stared at me with wide eyes. Geez, this thing is at least 700 pounds!
"SISTER RUKA!" Konohamaru yelled "THE EXIT IS SO CLOSE! COME ON!"
"G...get o...out!" I said angrily as my knees buckled again and more boulders fell into the passage.
"But...!"
"TAKE NAOKI AND GO!"
Konohamaru jumped slightly and tears glazed his eyes as he nodded firmly and ran out of the passage; out of harms way. I sighed in relief and my legs gave out on me as I dropped to my knees and more boulders filled the passage. Man, this really sucks. I could hear the villagers yelling numerous things and I strained my ears to hear what they were shouting
"GET OUT OF THERE RUKA!"
"HURRY RUKA-CHAN!"
"THE PASSAGE IS CAVING IN! PLEASE HURRY!"
The rocks completely covered the passage and darkness engulfed me as I winced and pain and let go of the boulder I holding. The boulder slammed hard into my left leg and I heard a shattering sound similar to glass as I screamed in pain.
"I'LL GET BROTHER NARUTO, SISTER RUKA! DON'T YOU GIVE UP ON ME!"
I heard rapid footsteps running off and I tried to get up but I was trapped underneath the boulder. I winced in pain as the passage began caving in and the boulders continued to fill up the passage. I closed my eyes tightly; breathing through the almost unbearable pain and bit my lip.
My leg hurts and I'm so tired...I think....I think I'll just...
My brain felt fuzzy and before I knew it I was unconscious.
~Naruto's POV~
We all laughed as Sai continued staring at me in confusion. Now that the Nine Tailed Foxs Chakra is gone; Sora is fine and the village will be restored in no time.
Everything is fine now.
I heard running footsteps so we all turned to see Konohamaru running towards us, his face extremely pale and a scared look in his eyes. Konohamaru stopped in front of us and began panting heavily as he placed his hands on his knees.
"What's wrong, Konohamaru" I asked curiously.
"Ruka is in trouble! She was..."
I didn't let him finish his sentence. I leapt up and grabbed Konohamaru by his scarf as he stared at me surprised.
"Where is she?!" I demanded.
"Follow me!"
I nodded and Konohamaru ran off as I followed after him. Damn it Ruka, you always manage to get yourself in trouble somehow!
"Naruto" Sakura yelled as she watched me run off "you just got finished fighting!"
I ignored her and we turned a corner as we vanished from their line of sight.
"Ruka was helping all the villagers get out of the safehouse because boulders kept falling from the Hokage monument" Konohamaru explained while we ran "but as we were close to the exit the passage started caving in and Ruka got trapped! She managed to get everyone out safely except herself!"
Of course...
I tightly clenched my teeth as we arrived at the passage and I looked to see the entrance was completely filled up with rocks. The villagers stared at the passage in disbelief as some of them cried and others whimpered.
"Brother Naruto!" Moegi said when she saw me "Ruka is... WAIT DON'T USE THA-!"
"RASENGAN!"
I thrust the Rasengan into the boulders as they exploded and cleared a small path for me. The villagers all gasped in surprise and watched me with hopeful eyes as I looked around for a strand of silver or even a flash of gold.
Nothing...
My eyes glazed with tears and I swore angrily as my anger slowly increased. Ruka, you baka!
"Naruto" Moegi began "I was trying to tell you that...NO NOT AGAI-!"
"RASENGAN!"
The boulders exploded once again and my heart gave a jolt when I saw a flash of silver. I ran over to her and knelt down as her figure remained completely still. I tried to grab her and pick her up, but I was met with resistance and looked to see her left leg trapped under a boulder.
Stupid fucking boulder...!
"Please don't do that thing anymore" Moegi pleaded "it's so scary...ARE YOU KIDDING M-!"
"RASENGAN!"
I destroyed the boulder that was trapping Ruka and held her in my arms as she remained completely still.
"Ruka" I said softly, shaking her slightly.
She remained completely still and I checked for a pulse only to realize there wasn't one. Tears slipped down my cheeks and onto her shirt as I furiously shook my head.
"No!" I said wiping away the tears "I can't lose you Ruka...I just can't! Please get up!"
I felt my tears overflowing and I couldn't take it anymore so I cried deeply; still holding her as tightly as possible.
Why do I keep losing her?!
Am I really that weak?!
First Zabuza.
Then Haku.
Yuri.
Orochimaru.
Kabuto.
Myself!
Why can't I protect her?!
Why am I so...DAMN...WEAK?!
I cried harder as my whole body shook slightly in grief and depression. Suddenly, I felt something touch my hair and I looked up in surprise.
"S-Stop crying on me" I heard a soft voice say "i...it's gross."
My eyes widened in relief and I stared at Ruka as she frowned and slowly wiped the tears away from my eyes.
"Ruka?!"
"What?"
A large smile split across my face and without thinking I leaned down and kissed her as hard as I could. Her face turned red and she tried pushing me off, but I remained firmly in place and she gave up. I finally stopped kissing her and leaned my forehead against hers as we both took in a deep breath.
"Y-You realize once I get healed I'm kicking your ass for that" she said angrily.
I chuckled and lightly kissed her forehead as she blushed again.
"It was so worth it."
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Me: Hey guys! That's the end of chapter. 31! I hope you enjoyed it!
Ruka: *Groans and throws script before flopping on the couch*
Me: What's wrong?
Naruto: This chapter was insanely long Author-chan!
*Throws script*
Then to top it off, we had to restart three times because Konohamaru kept messing up his lines!
Konohamaru: Fuck you!
*Throws script*
I haven't been on stage in a while!
Ruka: So tired...!
Hinata: Ha!
*Throws script*
I didn't have to do anything except stand around and look fabulous!
Ruka: *Glares* That's kind of hard to do when you're the main character!
Hinata: Not my problem
Ruka: *Sends death glare*
Naruto: Story_of_Fate13 doesn't own Naruto!
Me: Later guys!