Chapter Sixteen
Discovery
May 21, 2009
"Kill me...please..."
Naruto paused as the agonized plea reached his ears. The jonin had just returned to the smoldering village, his clones dragging the unconscious creature a distance away. Several villagers had been brought over to a small patch of charred grass, a triage area to treat those with critical to minor injuries. The clones he'd left to clean up the other three stood next to their targets. They'd hog tied the unconscious beasts and taken them a good distance away from the remains of the raided village and his female teammates.
The two women were bent over the bleeding forms of the victims, their palms aglow.
The disgusting scent of burning skin and rotting flesh reached his nose, the smell putrid and overwhelming the closer he moved to the wounded. He swallowed, grimacing at the stench. It was worse than it had been the first time they'd encountered injuries of this nature.
The dead bodies hadn't smelled as bad.
He brought his forearm to his nose, his stomach rebelling, bile in his throat.
Sakura knelt over the bloody form of the elderly victim, her green glowing palms moving over his ravaged body. The man was twisting on the ground, shifting in pure, unadulterated torment. Wrinkled, trembling fingers clawed weakly at the medical nin, smearing dark crimson down her forearms.
"Kill me..." the man wheezed again.
The man was horribly brutalized. The side of his neck was torn and gushing fluid, black sludge oozed from his pores, sliding over his pruned skin. The telltale signs of seared tenketsu litter the right side of his upper torso, the coal colored spots standing out against his graying skin. His brown shirt was soaked in blood at his lower abdomen, the viscus liquid pooling beneath him. His ravaged face was contorted in agony, his brown eyes wide and bloodshot.
He was bleeding out, the hole in his gut leaking, the terrible wound gushing more than just blood. Bright pink chunks of his insides floated in the crimson pool, the bits of organ covered in a sticky black substance. The flesh sizzled, charring and dissolving where the dark spots touched.
The smell was atrocious.
He took a breath from behind his forearm, girding his stomach.
How Sakura could stand it, he didn't know. It was several seconds before he was able to compose himself, his mind revisiting the information he'd learned on the trip over the region. Over their journey, Sakura had talked in depth about the injuries these creatures left behind. The black, corrosive fluid they injected that opened tenketsu and melted major organs within minutes. The unknown substance contained thousands of microorganisms that died when exposed outside of the human body. The black liquid was impossible to remove, seeming to burrow into organic tissue inside the body and fusing into the very cells.
Once inside, it broke down everything it touched.
Seeing it for himself, however, was worse than he'd expected. More horrible than his mind had been able to imagine. Taking a stabling breath, he made his way to his friend's side, despite the stomach churning stench.
"Sakura." he murmured, his question implied in his tone.
The pinkette shook her head, fierce emerald eyes focused on the man beneath her palms. Lines of strain creased her brows, distress filling her gaze. Her hands were shaking, her throat working as she swallowed. Her hands moved over the male's chest, the glow brightening. The desperate, gripping hands of the man slid away, landing with a loud thump at his sides.
Graying, sightless eyes stared up at the sky, black sludge slipping from his nose.
The medical-nin froze, the glowing green fading from her palms. Sadness gripped his heart, both at the horrible death and the pain it brought his friend. The somber blonde knelt next to her forlorn form, placing a hand on her tense shoulder. Her eyes were dry but he could feel the hurt radiating from her body.
"Once that black sludge gets into their body, I can't repair the damage and I can't stop it. It repels chakra and liquefies their insides. Shosen jutsu, Saikan Chuushutsu no jutsu, everything we've tried is repelled. Using Katsuyu is useless, it makes her sick to touch it," Sakura admitted, her voice low and worried, "I may not be able to help anyone here."
Concern creased his brow.
Her eyes looked hollow, her skin slightly clammy.
He knew she struggled with the after effects of the war from time to time. On the rare occasions she lost a patient at the hospital, she would get like she was now. Emptiness would fill her eyes, her skin taking on a sickly pallor, depression coating her words. They all had battle scars, but he thought perhaps the kunoichi was among the most injured. He couldn't imagine having someone pass away beneath his hands over and over again. To reach out to the injured knowing there was a chance that person would die in his care no matter what he did. The helplessness of a scenario like that would eat away at his soul.
Neji's death had nearly torn him apart.
While he had been off fighting on the battlefields, Sakura and others like her had been cleaning up the remains, saving those that could be saved, watching the life fade from those that couldn't. Every death was a new burden packed on to her slender shoulders, weighing her down each time it happened, just as it was now.
It hurt him to see her this way.
There wasn't anything he could say that would take away or even dim the hurt for her, but he couldn't just let her move on without trying to ease her pain.
"I'm sorry," he began, "I'm sorry we weren't able to help him, but, its not your fault, you're doing everything you can to help. We might not have been able to save this man, but maybe there is someone here we can help, 'ttebayo. Don't give up yet."
She gave a small nod, her face grim.
She straightened slowly, her form listless, shoulders hunched. He watched her move to the rest of the wounded, lips turned down in concern, worry marring his brows. When they got back, he'd talk to her again.
He wasn't sure if he'd be any more helpful later than he'd been a minute ago, however.
Unable to assist in healing, Naruto turned instead to the source of the strife. He trekked over to his clones, checking to make sure they'd sufficiently incapacitated the monsters and had them firmly secured. He was a little disappointed that none of them would give him the opportunity to vent his frustration and forcefully put them back to sleep. Despite being unconscious, he kept the one he'd fought separate from the group. It was the only one that had its orb dislodged, and he remembered the change that had come over the creature the moment it'd rolled from his body.
He didn't want to lose a single beast this time.
His eyes moved over their forms as his clones gave him a run down of their brief battles. One of the humanoids looked more animal than human, his jutting jaw weighed down be a heavy set of lower canine. The bones of his face were sharp and angular, feral and almost feline. His lithe body was covered in soft pale hair. The other two were more human than beast. The shorter was frail and painfully emaciated, his mouth equipped with underdeveloped fangs, but no claw tipped his fingers or toes. The taller one was more bestial but he too could pass for human if he kept his mouth closed.
Hinata joined him later, her face weary and distressed.
"Hinata?"
"Two of the villagers are stable for now, but we need to get them help as soon as we can." she informed him softly.
"The nearest village is an hour away, and I don't think they'll let us back in their village. Especially with injured people." One of the Naruto's pointed out.
Hinata shook her head, moving to the beasts as she spoke.
"They need to be taken to Konoha," she clarified, her Byakugan activating, "They won't survive much longer if we don't find a way to stop the sludge from eating away at their organs. Tsunade-sama and the rest of the medical team might be able to figure out a way to help them. The victims aren't as critically injured and the small amount of the sludge is slow to reach major organs. It'll give the medical team a chance to study the function of the substance in real time and maybe they'll be able to come up with a treatment if not a cure but we need get them to the medical team quickly."
His clones moved closer to the tied enemies, watching carefully as the young woman deliver several rapid strikes to the torso of each downed creature. His other selves tensed, ready to knock the creatures into the ground if they made even the slightest move while she deliver the blows.
"They shouldn't be able to move any time soon," Hinata told him once finished, wiping her eyes with her fist, "At least long enough for us to return to the village if we leave now."
Concerned, he moved closer to her, his hand at her waist.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, its just, that color," she explained, hands dropping as the veins around her eyes faded, "It hurts to look at it. Their chakra...Its like the information in the file. I've never seen that color before and I don't know how to describe it. There's nothing I can compare it to. Its really bright, almost too much to look at."
She blinked a few times, before meeting his eyes.
"Their chakra points aren't normal. They have more tenketsu than I've ever seen, clustered together in several areas, mostly concentrated around major organs, though the big guy with the veins on his arms had them bunched in shoulders and along his forearms," she paused to wipe her watering eyes again, "the channels that chakra flows through were moving, almost as if they were trying to avoid my strikes. They disconnected and reconnected to other points. Some were as thin as strands of hair, others wider than I've ever seen."
The bush behind them shuffled. A subdued Sakura moved over to the pair, wiping blood from her hands and arms with an dirty piece of cloth. She met his gaze, urgency in her eyes.
"Naruto we need to-"
"We're leaving now." he confirmed immediately, "Gather the wounded and I'll grab the targets, we'll travel through the night."
xxxxxx
May 23, 2009
The group returned to the village shortly before dawn. The Anbu collected their targets, whisking the creatures away without a word.
The injured villagers were surrounded by the medical team the moment they reached the hospital doors, Tsunade leading the charge. In the lobby of the medical facility, she did a quick check of the three returning ninja before issuing orders, the former Hokage easily slipping into the role of command.
"Naruto, head to the Hokage for report and debriefing. You too Hinata. Any information or observations you've made with your Byakugan will be helpful. Sakura, come with me." without waiting to see if her orders were followed, the Sannin turned with a swish of blonde hair and marched through the double doors of the operating rooms.
Sakura followed her sensei into the empty hall, dread coiling in her gut. There were two more lives hanging in the balance. Two more suffering human beings that might have to be put out of their misery. Sweat beaded her upper lip, her head swimming the closer they moved to the intensive care unit. She struggled to keep her breathing even, to tamp down on the panic rising, scared she was about to embarrass herself while lives hung in the balance.
They passed four doors before her blonde mentor stopped. Tsunade turned, concerned honey eyes meeting hollow green.
"Sakura, go home." Tsunade told her gently.
Shock widened her eyes at the softly spoken words.
"Let Shizune and I take over from here. Go home and rest, put the piece back together, and when you feel calmer, when you feel you're back in control, come back."
Tsunade placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I wish I could take a moment to help you work through this, but there are people that need my help more," she squeezed her shoulder, "I know what you're going through, I've been there time and time again. Let it out, work through the pain and sorrow, and after, reaffirm your resolve to the oaths you took."
xxxxxx
In the darkness of her bedroom, Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, staring down at her hands.
The blood coating her palms didn't alarm her.
Dull emerald eyes took in the familiar hallucination with disinterest. It was always like this after she lost patients through euthanasia or their bodies giving out before she could heal their injuries. Her hands painted with the blood of every life that had slipped away beneath her hands. Soul searing guilt, heartbreaking sadness, and the suffocating grip of shame. And each time she returned to the field, fear would tighten her throat, panic sweeping over clammy skin. Scared she'd lose another person. Terrified she'd have to accept the stain of failure once more. That she'd have to hold their hand while they slipped away, or worse, have to stop their heart to end their suffering as she'd done with those in the village, those during the war.
Her lips trembled, teeth clenching as pain exploded in her chest.
After the war, Naruto had sensed her pain. Her longtime friend had been dogged in his questions of what had put the desolate look on her face. He knew it stemmed from the war, but he didn't have the details about the mental wounds she'd received during that time. She hadn't been able to tell Naruto what she'd done.
To tell him what she'd had to in the village to ease the agony of their unavoidable death, that she'd had to make that decision over and over during the war. Had ended the lives of those that couldn't be saved.
She felt sick.
She despised herself. Despised her failure. Her weakness.
She wrapped her hands around her arms as the tremors began.
Her lungs seized, anxiety blooming, swarming, pulling her under. Her stomach lurched, dizziness slamming into her overtaxed brain. Emerald orbs wide, she hyperventilated in the quiet of her apartment, wheezing through the collision of emotional desolation.
'Calm down.' she coached herself.
Her body shook, sweat beading her forehead as she struggled to breathe.
'Its not your fault.'
Her chest heaved as she gulped in great gusts of air.
'You can't save everyone.'
Her fingernails dug into her skin, her gaze focusing on the window across from her, sunlight bleeding into the darkness.
'You can't save them all.'
Her breathing slowed as the sun rose, illuminating her bedroom, beating back the shadows.
'It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.'
Calmer, hollow inside, Sakura stood. Moving to the mirror over her dresser, she wiped the tell tale streaks of tears from her bloodless cheeks. There was nothing she could do about her puffy eyes and red nose, but hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone she knew. She left her apartment and began her short trek through the village, keeping her head down and her pace quick. Ino's place wasn't far from her own and with her mind in chaos and the threat of another anxiety attack looming on the horizon, the distraught medical-nin needed her best friend now more than ever.
She reached the Yamanaka's front door minutes later. She knocked, shuffling her feet as she waited for an answer.
No answer.
Desperate, she knocked again.
Several minutes passed, feeling weepy, Sakura turned, ready to head home. She stopped as the doorknob rattled and a moment later, opened.
Green orbs widened in shock at the sight of her friend.
Ino looked haggard, her blue eyes haunted. Her blonde hair was mussed and gathered in a sloppy ponytail. Her loose fitted floral dress was wrinkled, something the priming and prideful woman would never have allowed. There were bags under her eyes, dark smudges of exhaustion.
Her closest friend looked worse than she did.
Sakura's spine straightened, concern beating back the near crippling depression she'd been cloaked in on her way over.
"Ino, what happened, my God you look terrible!" she gasped.
Her eyes filled, and with a small sob, the woman threw herself into her arms. She was trembling, shaking all over. Her quaking hands clutched at the shocked pinkette.
xxxxxx
May 24, 2009
Sasuke paused, unease skating over his skin. The dark Uchiha had been in the midst of settling down for the night when he'd felt the disturbance a distance away.
The hair at his nape stood on end.
His red and lavender gaze shifted over the night sky, searching for the source of his disquiet. Dark clouds parted, a ball of light plummeting from the sky. Sasuke raised his arm, shielding his eyes from the glow of the meteor. Even from a distance, he could tell this wasn't normal space debris. The streaking orb was a bright pale, cutting through the darkness of night. Its shape was shifting, elongating, becoming humanoid the closer it fell to earth.
He was moving a second later, dashing towards the anomaly. It slammed into the ground beyond a batch of trees, the explosion sending wind and rubble flying his way.
The air felt charged, stinging his skin as he drew near.
A figure stood a distance away, bent double and vomiting. Sasuke crouched in nearby brush, watching the humanoid. His eyes squinted against the bright silver glow surround the white robed figure. The tall, thin individual had long white hair gathered in a low, waist long ponytail and two protrusion from his head. The figure stumbled, a harsh cough leaving its chest before collapsing.
Minutes ticked by.
The figure didn't move as the silvery glow slowly began to fade before extinguishing completely.
He watched a moment longer before he stood.
Sasuke moved over to the downed intruder, muscles tense as he neared. Kneeling next to the silent body. Brushing away soft hair, he pressed two fingers to the cool skin just above the carotid pulse, waiting silently. Not a beat tapped his fingertips. The person, whoever, whatever it was, was dead. Shifting his weight, he gripped the slender shoulder and flipped the corpse over with a thud. Shock washed over him as he got a look at the male's face.
His eyes moved over the sightless whites eyes of the Byakugan, took in the curving horns jutting from the white main and ashen skin. Dark green liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth and nose.
No mistake.
He was of Kaguya's origin.
An Otsutsuki.
His gaze narrowed. Beneath the gray robes, something small and red was flashing. Reaching out, Sasuke slipped his hand into the cloth, rummaging around until he found the opening of an inner pocket. Something round and warm brushed his fingertips. He gave a careful, inquisitive, squeeze. It felt smooth, almost metallic, and yet spongy. Confused, he fished out the palm sized sphere.
It was shiny and reflective, a crimson light blinking at the top.
The object whined.
Pain exploded in his left eye, a bright flash blinding the throbbing orb. He dropped the sphere, clutching his eye, turning away from the corpse. Molten shards of agony stabbed his pupil, warm liquid sliding from his tear ducts. He closed his eye, pulling his hand away. His hand was coated in small droplets of blood. Panting against the pain, he reached for a cloth in his inner pocket.
His hand froze inside the linen pocket.
The pain in his eye receded, replaced with a warm, vibrating sensation. He felt his Rinnegan shift, the spreading of his tomoe, the dilation of his pupil.
The world faded away, replaced with a hazy sensation of irreality.
Darkness surrounded him.
Dread crawled over his skin, the uncomfortable sensation setting his teeth on edge. The black void in which he stood wasn't normal.
It felt...alive.
The sudden, unnatural silence of his world clawed at his mind. Sweat slid down his temples, the moisture irritating his skin. His chest heaved, each breath a struggle. The air felt heavy and wrong. Panic slithered up his spine, slipping around his neck. He took a step in retreat, unsure of where he was going, what there was to escape.
A moment later, confusion bloomed, his fear fading, leaving him wondering if he'd really been afraid at all. If he had imagined the sensation.
He shook his head.
His thoughts were jumbled.
Stumbling, clashing and making little sense.
What was he supposed to be doing?
Dark brows creased in thought, mind straining to recall the last few moments of time. Emptiness filled his brain.
A single light cut through the darkness.
His head turned sluggishly. He felt tired and awkward, his body slow to react to his commands. He took a careful step towards the shining object far into the distance, only to come face to face with it the moment his foot touched the solid surface of what he assumed to be the ground.
His Rinnegan grew warm, shifting in his eye socket.
The orb grew large, expanded until the black void was burned away by bright, pale green light.
A man stood before him.
An Otsutsuki male.
The one from the other reality, the other time. The one that had died. His white eyes stared right through the Uchiha, as though he didn't exist. His face was panicked, the deep veins of his Byakugan blackened, green liquid sliding from his lips to his chin. His mouth moved, imparting a message Sasuke didn't hear with his ears, but instead echoed directly into his brain.
"Home world is dead," his voice was desperate, "Cyilo comes. Finish it. Now."
The Otsutsuki turned, looking over his shoulder.
He turned back, opened his mouth to speak. A rattling cough shook his thin frame. He covered his mouth, hacking, green liquid seeping between his pale fingers. The hazy figure of the deceased male shimmered then winked out, taking with him the surreal world.
Sasuke stood starring into the distance.
Slowly awareness slipped through his body, control of his muscle returning gradually. He blinked, his dry eyelids moving over his aching orbs like sandpaper. It was long moments before his brain began to churn, thoughts, memories and reality colliding, his sluggish mind working to piece it all together. His feet ached, his limbs stiff and tight.
He looked around, shocked and distantly confused to see sunshine, a blue sky and fluffy white clouds.
The night had vanished.
He spun around, searching for the body, and the metal like sphere that had taken his mind elsewhere.
The metallic type globe was on the ground, tucked away in the rubble of last night's crater creating crash. His dark eyes moved over to the pile of ash next to the sphere. The remnants of the Otsutsuki were blowing away with each gust of wind, scattering among the air and dirt, leaving behind only the perfectly pressed gray garb he'd worn.
Reaching down, Sasuke retrieved the orb.
With his Rinnegan deactivated, the device was silent. His dark eyes moved over the reflective surface before he placed it into his pocket.
His eye felt tender, but the information unfurling in his brain overshadowed the throb. The mirror like object was a communication device, transmitting messages, to where he didn't know. His Rinnegan had activate the orb, allowing him to receive the pre-recorded message. Unfortunately, the transmission hadn't identified the recipient, nor the identity of the sender.
But he sensed there was more stored in the alien object.
He'd learn what he could from it. Navigate the device and uncover more information, and piece together why this Otsutsuki had made it to their plane of existence only to die the moment he landed. What, if anything, the Otsutsuki had to do with the pockets of tears in reality and the beasts that slithered through.
And more importantly, how many of them were here already and what nefarious plan were they concocting.
With this new development, he'd had some of his suspicions confirmed.
At least partially.
Even so, he had more questions than answers. His brows creased in thought.
That name had come up again.
Cyilo.
Who or what was Cyilo?
xxxxxx
Naruto groaned, lips sliding over the damp column of his lover's neck as he thrust into the wet warmth of her body. His own sweat slick form covered her slight figure, heaving chest to her back, his groin slapping against the pale globes of her bottom. Engulfed in the tight clutch of her sex, the blonde pumped his hips, eyes closed in ecstasy.
Eager hands reached beneath the moaning female, squeezing the soft mounds of her breasts.
His fingers pinched the hardened peaks, drawing a low groan and heated moisture from the pale beauty. His tongue traced the delicate curve of her jaw, slipping between her lips when she turned to meet his exploring mouth. They shared groans of bliss, tangling tongues slipping and sliding against each other.
Lust pooled in his gut. Turned on, his thighs widened her own, spreading her legs, exposing her saturated core to each stroke of his cock.
"Ohhh, Naruto-kun," she moaned against his mouth, her fingers reaching back to slide through his short locks, "Ohhh yessss, ohhh,"
Her bottom lifted, the fierce clenching of her insides warning of impending climax.
Shivers crawled up his spine, his balls tightening in anticipation of the first wave of orgasm. It crashed into her seconds later, her glistening sex squeezing his, moisture bathing the thrusting cock in slippery excitement. She cried out, raising her hips for more, milking his throbbing length with desperate pulls of her pussy.
"Fuck..." he panted into the darkness of the room.
He rose, gripping her hips with rough hands as he gained his knees. Lifting her bottom, he pounded into her, ecstasy crashing through his veins with each slap of their flesh. Her hands gripped the sheets, her screams of pleasure muffled in the plush pillows of his bed. The sight of her smaller formed glistening with sweat stirred his ardor.
Head down, bottom raise, she posed an erotic picture.
An aphrodisiac he was powerless to ignore.
Need slid over his skin.
He deepened his strokes, rapt gaze moving over the fleshy jiggle of her bottom, the shinny curve of her back and the dark mane plastered to her damp flesh. His cock throbbed as he retreated from her clutching body before slamming home again, hot friction driving coherent thought from his lust glazed brain. He set a hard pace, lunging into each thrust with mounting pleasure. The nearly muted wail of his name left the pillow. The soft squeak of the bed joined her subdued cries and his own panted groans.
The aching stiffness of his sex engulfed in the searing grip of her core sent gut wrenching shards of bliss up his spine.
The warning signs of his own culmination were unmistakable.
Sweat dripped down his temples, air sawing in and out of his lungs as pleasure built, threatening to take him under. His hand slipped over her soft skin, fingers seeking her pleasure button. The easy glide against her bundle of nerves at odds with the intensity of their melding flesh. Her body contorted as he rubbed her clit, the slow roll of his fingers and the pounding thrusts of his cock forcing her body to climb to the peak of zenith again.
"Yes, yes, yes, oh God!" she wept into the pillow.
She trembled in his grip, rocking back into his hammering hips.
He closed his eyes, blonde brows creasing with agonized rapture.
His pace quickened, the stroke of his fingers at her clit following suit. She pressed her palms into the rumpled sheets, using the leverage to meet his feverish humping with her own frantic shoves as they chased orgasm.
"You feel so good, Hinata." he groaned, fighting his own brimming explosion, wanting to feel the tight spasms of her body again before giving in to the pleasure thrumming through his cock.
She seized, inner muscles clamping down on his working length, coating him in wet orgasm. Naruto gripped her hips, plunging into her with the force of a horny teen. Ecstasy crashed through his veins, his head swimming as reality spun away in a rush of ejaculate, filling her clenching sex with heated passion.
Muscles straining, body shuddering, Naruto groaned as relief washed over him.
He lowered his body, molding his form over hers. Her soft hand slid around his neck, gentle fingers caressing the damp hair at his nape. Strong arms wrapped around her smaller frame, his weight pressing her into the mattress.
"Mmmm," he sighed, lips pressed to the shell of her ear, riding the receding waves of his orgasm with slow pumps of his hips.
Their harsh breathing gentling, the young couple cuddled, basking in the afterglow of shared passion.
xxxxxx
Unease crept up his spine, goosebumps pebbling his flesh. The replete Uzumaki popped up, blue eyes wide. He was in his bed, Hinata tucked at his side. No intruder stood over his bed. No indication of what had disturbed his rest other than the unease sliding over his skin. Confused, Naruto glanced around the room. It was dark, but he could see enough to know there was nothing out of place in his bedroom. Hinata shifted in his arms, her own sleep disturbed. Pale lids lifted, revealing unfocused lilac.
'Naruto.'
Kurama's rumbling voice vibrated in his mind.
"Naruto?" she murmured, exhaustion and confusion coating her voice.
Leaning down, Naruto pressed his lips to his drowsy girlfriend's brow.
"Go back to sleep." he encouraged softly.
She blinked slowly, her eyes slightly crossing before she drifted off once more. Naruto rolled over, sitting up on the side of the bed. His sharp blue eyes searched through the darkness, alighting eventually on his discarded boxers. He slipped them on and padded to his bedroom door.
'What was that, Kurama?' he questioned his friend.
'A shock wave of extinguishing energy.'
Confused, Naruto shuffled through his living room, and out to the doors leading to his balcony. The air was cool against his exposed skin, the chill of the air deepening his initial unease.
'What does that mean?'
Naruto felt what amounted to a shrug in his mind.
'Its merely a description.'
Naruto mulled it over.
It had felt like something, some kind of energy had exploded suddenly into existence for a brief moment, then vanished into thin air. What it meant he could only guess. Disquiet churned in his gut.
'It felt familiar.'
That, he couldn't say, resonated with him. The sudden blast of energy wasn't one he recognized in any capacity.
'Familiar? How?'
Another impression of a shrug.
'Can you pinpoint where it came from?'
'No, much like the creatures, its presence was everywhere with no direction.'
'There wasn't any screaming this time,' he mulled, 'I didn't feel any vibrations or anything.'
Naruto wasn't sure if this had anything to do with the monsters he'd brought back, or something else entirely. He was waiting for a report on what the intelligence team had uncovered as well as the status of the villagers they'd manage to save but he would make stop to Kakashi-sensei tomorrow morning and see if it was something new he needed to be concerned about.
He glanced at the sky.
Dawn would be breaking soon.
He'd grab some breakfast and then head to the tower. It'd be easier for him to get things hashed out before he rounded up his genin team. His students had taken time off after the traumatic incident that had been their first mission out and were scheduled to return to active duty that afternoon.
He'd need to have a clear mind when he met up with the trio. The last thing he needed was to be stewing over this new mystery while trying to reassure the bunch.
'It had have been something powerful to have woken you up, Kurama.' he pondered absently.
'With as much noise you and your mate make, how can I sleep?' the kyuubi huffed, 'You humans are a confusing breed. Kushina was quick tempered and loud by day, yet quiet when mating. Your mate is quiet by day, but is loud when mating. Contradictory creatures.'
Naruto was torn between embarrassment that his..."mating" was loud enough to wake Kurama and being mortified that the fox had volunteered some really personal, unwanted information about his mother.
"I thought we agreed no peeking when we're...uh...busy!" he sputtered aloud, "A-And would you please spared me the details about what my parents got up to?!"
The bellowing rumble of laughter echoed in his mind, leaving the bright faced Uzumaki to stew. An instant later, a small smile curved his lips. His grin lasted only a moment, Kurama's laughter trickling off soon after.
Both grew quiet, calling back the memory of the uneasy sensation that had awakened them in the dead of the night.
Worry churned in the jonin's gut.
xxxxxx
Took a little longer for this chapter than normal. Sorry guys, got distracted a lil bit XD Black Ops 2 is still fun as hell years later.
Just a reminder. The events of the Last, Boruto Movie and Boruto series does not take place in this fic. That's why Toneri is not on the moon. That'll be explained later though.
Think that's all for now.
Anyway, let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Laters
~Sessakag