Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Glimpses of Darkness ❯ Aftermath ( Prologue )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: shattered-words 
The people left behind are the ones that suffer the most when tough decisions are made.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 157 | Status: Work In Progress
The people left behind are the ones that suffer the most when tough decisions are made.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 157 | Status: Work In Progress
Glimpses of Darkness
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (The OC and verse “Aftermath” belong to me. n.n)
Summary: The Kakurezato are on the brink of war and certain events leave several lives hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, what’s the fire wielder’s fate, and who is the deadly Oto Oinin that has suddenly appeared? (Sequel of “Glimpses of Fire”)
AN: The long awaited sequel! Sorry for the wait. -sigh- I hope this does better than the first part. If you haven’t read Glimpses of Fire then read it first or this won’t make sense! Thanks to my ever faithful beta, Shadows-upon-Sand! Chapter one wouldn’t have even existed without her. This one’s for you, Dina. The original story line changed so the title Glimpses of Darkness doesn’t really relate to this new storyline, but I didn’t want to change it. Btw, if this story has no success, it will be removed. So, please leave a review. And while I really do appreciate those that leave only a simple one (example: Good. Please update soon.), but this doesn’t help me with what can be improved or if the reader sees any mistakes. Please, leave something that can help me deliever a better story. Thank you.
‘But you know, Chouji. You’re kinder than anyone. I’m sure that someday you will find a friend who sees that in you.’ His father, speaking to him so long ago. Now his lips turned up into a smile despite the pain coursing through him.
‘Then, you will treat him well and become friends who can trust each other.’ He felt wetness slip down his cheeks even as the smile continued to stay on his almost gaunt features.
He had stayed behind to fight the enemy and had won. There had been some sacrifice and he’d taken three pills to help him defeat an opponent that would have been too much for him otherwise. The others had left at his persistence and he’d promised his best friend that he’d catch up. The tree before him proved that they fully expected him to do so.
‘Hurry up and come, dattebayo!’ He chuckled and knew that Naruto had been the one that had done this one.
‘We’re all waiting.’ That had undoubtly been Kiba.
The only other thing that had been carved into the trunk was an arrow pointing him in the right direction. It had no doubt been caved into the wood by his best friend, Shikamaru.
As he smiled, he let the memories of their Academy days fill his mind. Eating with Naruto as they hid behind their textbooks. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and him jumping out the window after they had stayed after class for extra training with Iruka-sensei for not paying attention. Fleeing from an enraged Sandaime with Shikamaru as he ate his chips. And having lunch with his newly assigned Genin squad.
He laughed softly even as he tried to choke back sobs, tears falling without shame down his features. The sorrow and happiness mingling into one emotion that was almost too much to contain. ‘Chichi-ue, I made lots of friends.’
He gasped back a cry of pain as another wave of agony washed over him and he moved toward the tree and crumpled against it as he slid into a sitting position. ‘Gomen, Shikamaru. I don’t think I can catch up.’ His hand clutching the front of his shirt loosened and went limp, and his other hand released the tight grip he had had on his hitai-ate as he slumped forward.
The last thing Akimichi Chouji saw was the clearing in front of him and the flowers littered across it. A ray of sunlight bathed it in a beautiful scene as butterflies fluttered around the blossoms and the light was reflected against their soft wings and made them glow. Then the darkness came.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He gasped and clutched his side where the arrow had pierced him, the blood staining his fingers crimson. Only when his opponent had collapsed would he let the exhaustion take over and fall to the already blood splattered ground.
The battle had been hard and he’d received more damage then he ever had before, and he had almost been overcome with despair. His opponent had been very skilled and had quickly discovered his weak point, the only blind spot his Byakugan possessed. It had gotten to a point that he wasn’t even able to use Kaiten.
Kidoumaru smirked even as blood ran down the sides of his mouth. “You’re about to die too.”
He reached out his hand to his hitai-ate and dragged it toward himself, remembering his father’s words to him long ago. That he had been graced the most by the talent of the Hyuuga Clan. ‘Neji, you must survive.’
“I can’t die that easily,” he gasped as he turned to his downed opponent. He was seized by another cough and more blood splattered the ground.
The dark skinned shinobi chuckled and his lips lifted into another smirk. “Even if you resist, you can’t change the flow of time. Sasuke-sama ran off with the Sound Four of his own will,” he said smugly. “Sasuke is within the darkness.”
His eyes returned to normal as the other spoke. As he thought of this there was the lifting of his own lips into a knowing smile. “No,” he assured the other. ‘Naruto, you have better eyes than me.’ He looked at him with that same expression lifting his mouth. “There is someone who can find Sasuke in the darkness and save him.”
“Sasuke-sama is Orochimaru-sama’s possession,” Kidoumaru argued as a nearby bird took flight in fright. “No matter who, he won’t be sa-”
“He will be saved!” the Leaf-nin exclaimed, startling the Sound shinobi into silence. The Oto-nin watched him lift his face to the sky and let the sun’s light wash over him. ‘It’s because, Naruto, you saved me from the darkness.’
He coughed up more blood and his opponent groaned as a wave of pain washed over him and he collapsed back down. Soon, he was lost within his thoughts and the life quickly left him nothing but a cold, empty shell of his former self.
The Konoha Genin felt his knees and arms give way so he crumpled to the ground, his headband still clutched firmly in his hand. He shuddered as the coldness started to seep into his limbs.
His mind wandered back to when he’d first laid eyes on Hinata. To the time he had first seen the affects of the seal being used on his own father and the angry tears he’d shed that day. To when he had participated in the Chunin exam and he’d fought against Naruto. The blonde had changed his view on life, and shortly after he’d learned the truth about his father’s death.
‘Minna, I leave the rest to you.’
The penetrating eyes slid closed as he lay battered on the cold ground merely five feet from his defeated enemy, whom had taken his last breath. A few strands of Hyuuga Neji’s black hair fell over and obscured his face as if it would keep him safe from the death surrounding him as a nearby bird took flight into the never-ending heavens. Its feather floated down and landed into his outstretched palm, and had the darkness not taken him already, he might have closed his hand around it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three figures came to land in the clearing after they had passed the remains of a battlefield and the body of a dead Oto-nin. They had seen no one and had continued on but they had been directed by their guide here. A still frame was collapsed against a tree and he didn’t appear to be moving.
“Check him,” the one in the middle ordered the two at his sides. The other male moved forward quickly to heed the command and made sure that the downed figure was dead. He paused as he gasped in surprise.
“He’s alive...barely,” he confirmed and turned to the two behind him, readjusting the bundle at his back. “Should we...”
“Iie, we have to keep moving,” the leader of the three told him. He turned to the side and frowned a bit, knowing that they also couldn’t leave him here where he would be an easy target. “One of you stay with him. We will continue on.”
Two more figures appeared behind them and the red head turned to see that their eyes were not kind when trained on him. He almost chuckled since he knew what they were thinking. They were always thinking it. ‘You will die.’ It wasn’t a threat, but a promise that had been made.
“Come,” Sabaku no Gaara told his siblings. He jumped off and the other two only hesitated a moment before following.
Itagaki Amane and Erizawa Iwane glanced at one another and the earth user nodded as the wind user jumped after the others. Then the emerald eyed girl turned back to the fallen shinobi and realized that she recognized him. He had been one of the ones that had participated in the preliminaries, one of the Rookie Nine. Akimichi Chouji, if she remembered correctly.
Iwane sighed and moved forward to help the injured ninja. They would have left him if he had been dead and so she planned on keeping him that way or staying behind would have only been a waste of time. ‘Well, let’s see what I can do for you until the iryou-nin arrive,’ she mused silently as she crouched in front of him, a frown twisting her features.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It didn’t take them long to find another battle torn area. This time it was more spread out and there were noticeable craters. It had obviously been between two strong opponents. The blonde was the first that spotted the fallen figures, one an Oto-nin and the other a black haired shinobi from Konoha.
Temari moved forward at the nod from Gaara and she checked for any signs of life. They were faint but still there. “This one’s alive as well,” she called out to her younger brother. She straightened and waited for his decision. More than likely he would make the other stay and they’d continue forward to assist the rest of the Leaf-nin.
“Itagaki-san,” Gaara called out as she knew he would. She appeared beside the other kunoichi so suddenly that Temari gasped in shock. Amane merely ignored her and leaned forward to see who the downed ninja was. Her eyes hardened the slightest bit but it went unnoticed. “Stay with him.”
He said nothing more and jumped off in the direction that he knew the others would be heading, toward Otogakure. Meanwhile, the wind user stood motionless beside Neji’s body as the others left the clearing and when they had gone she crouched down and turned him onto his back. She almost hissed when she noticed the wounds, and she had already seen the ones that had been inflicted upon his back.
“I see,” she muttered with a hint of a forced smile. She quickly started to tend to his injuries. There was no need to check the other one because she knew he was dead. “So even you get hurt at times, Hyuuga-san.” Her voice however, lacked any emotion as her fingers opened his shirt carefully.
She had to be careful and make sure that he didn’t bleed to death or she’d never get the chance to deck him for what he’d done to her in the Forest of Death. Her bangs fell over her hitai-ate and into her eyes as she silently tried to keep him alive and her fingers were soon covered in his blood as she tried to fight back a shudder of fear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto knew only darkness and suffering in the first few moments after he opened his eyes. He could still clearly remember Sasuke’s Chidori as it had pierced the right side of his chest. However, the thing that had hurt the most were his eyes. They had been lifeless slates. Something had been horribly wrong with his friend.
‘Dosh’te, Sasuke?’ he wondered, but no answer came. ‘Has everything we’ve gone through meant nothing to you?’ He sat up in the hospital bed as he felt pain surge through him, but he only knew the sorrow. The blonde was glad that there was no one else in the room. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to see the tears streaking his whiskered face or the soft sobs that escaped his lips.
‘Come back, you bastard...’
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her eyes widened as she stood and felt her knees buckle. She might have collapsed from shock if her brother’s arms hadn’t wrapped around her. There was a moment where she tried to fight against him but then she went limp as tears ran down her face.
“It’s okay, Sana-chan,” Anzai tried to reassure her quietly as her weeping reached his ears. “He’s going to be okay.” The teenaged Genin realized in that moment that his sister truly loved the Akimichi.
“I have to go to him...I need to see him!” she gasped as she pushed away from her brother. She glared at him through her tears and he saw the determination in them. “Take me to him.”
Anzai hesitated and glanced outside, seeing that the sun had already set. It was clearly past visiting hours but the girl before him seemed determined to go. “Sana-chan...It’s very late-”
“I don’t care,” she growled and moved to slip on her sandals before fastening her hitai-ate around her forehead. She had just left the bath a few minutes ago and was dressed in black shorts and a sleeveless white shirt. It was hardly proper attire to be in while wandering outside at this hour.
“Sana-chan...”
He stopped as the door opened behind him. “I’ll take you,” a voice spoke up. Anzai knew it was their teammate and adopted sibling, Takejiro. The younger male turned to look at him. “But you have to change into warmer clothing, Sanako-san.”
Anzai sighed when he told her this and saw that she was listening to him as she nodded. She quickly shoved both boys out of the room and even through the door they heard her rushing around as she got ready. He turned to look pointedly at the taller boy. “What will Okaa-san say when she finds out?”
Take smiled that smile that could turn his stomach inside out. “I have already spoken with Akiko-san and she will speak with your father about the situation,” he reassured the short haired boy. “Do not worry yourself, Anzai-kun.”
The Hideaki didn’t miss the change in the honorific and cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his head and ducked to try and hide his blush. He turned down the hall toward his room so the other wouldn’t notice his flustered state. “I’m gonna go change too,” he muttered, not seeing the smirk the other gave his retreating back.
Takejiro, whose real name was Haku, followed the other boy but went into his room only after Anzai had disappeared into his. He closed the door and ran a hand through his shoulder length brown hair as he gave a sigh. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to hold his feelings back any longer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ojama shi mass,” a voice called out as the door was slid open and two kunoichi peered into the room and realized that it was empty. They moved inside and saw that the hospital gown had been thrown on the bed along with a few blood-soaked bandages, and the window was open. It wasn’t that unexpected since they had been told that he might not be there. He had been restless to leave the hospital ever since he had found out that his friends were out of danger.
The shorter of the two figures entered inside anyway and moved toward the window as she leaned out of it. She closed emerald eyes as a breeze floated through the open pane of glass and pushed back the strands of her ebony locks. “Do you sense it?” she muttered quietly.
She heard her companion enter and then saw her stop beside her out of the corner of her eye. The other was taller by two to three inches and dark brown hair flowed to her shoulders. Her black eyes were fixed outside and what she was able to see of the village. She could see the sorrow in her dark orbs which she felt herself. “I hear it.”
Iwane let a strained smirk lift her mouth and nodded. “I can understand,” she conceded and sighed. “Too many died during that invasion that didn’t need to.” She sat on the window ledge and leaned back against the frame. “I don’t like returning here.”
Amane’s eyes darkened and she nodded. “Neither do I.” She turned away from the scene of a nearby building being rebuilt. “He might be in the training grounds.” Her body flickered and she was gone. The other soon disappeared in the same way. A nurse peered inside a few seconds later, but all she would find would be an empty bed and an open window. The wind was blowing the curtains inside and they looked like two hands clawing at the empty space where the two girls had been standing moments before.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The blonde Genin stopped his training when he sensed two presences coming toward the training ground he was using. He could sense that they were fast since he felt their chakra as it neared and then it stopped at the edge of the clearing. Before he could call out to them, two figures appeared in front of him. He was slightly startled when he realized that he knew them.
“You’re...” He frowned and dropped his guard, remembering that the Godaime had told him Suna had come to Konoha’s assistance while fighting against the Sound Four. However, he hadn’t seen them since he had already gone after Sasuke while Rock Lee had fought against Kimimaro. “Where’s Eizan-nii-san?”
He saw the kunoichi flinch and knew something was wrong. “That’s precisely why we’re here,” the shorter of the two responded. “We hear that you’re going to train with Jiraiya outside of Konoha.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
Naruto frowned and nodded after a moment. “Hai, we’re leaving after he finishes his...research.” The way he said that made them not want to ask what type of research he was doing. Naruto felt it prudent not to tell them or Ero-sennin might regret ever writing the Icha Icha books.
“We need to talk, Uzumaki-san,” the taller ninja finally spoke up. “We’ll start at the beginning.” They led the younger male away from the training ground and toward the shade of some trees.
“Nani!?” was heard loudly through the forest. Birds took flight and squirrels ran for cover before silence settled over the area once more.
Amane winced as she finally removed her hands from her ears after seeing Iwane nod. She glared at the blonde but he didn’t look at all sheepish and only waited for an explanation. “Are you serious?” he demanded.
“I would not joke about such things,” the wind user assured. There were shadows under her eyes and she looked exhausted. Her companion didn’t look any better and the teasing grin that always wanted to stretch over her face was no where to be seen.
Iwane took that time to speak, since she had been the one that had done most of the speaking anyway. “We saw the end of your fight with the Uchiha,” she changed the subject. She didn’t want to remember the events that had taken place after the invasion. “Your teammate has gone off with Orochimaru so we were thinking that we could help each other.”
Naruto winced at her words but then perked up at hearing the last part of her statement. “What do you mean?” If there was a chance that he could get Sasuke back then he was going to take it.
“You’re going to most likely be traveling quite a bit with Jiraiya-san,” Amane said before the other could speak. “Thus you will be able to gather information better than if you were to be stuck in Konoha.”
The blue eyed Genin grinned and nodded. “Yeah, dattebayo!” he exclaimed and paused as if he remembered something. “How are we supposed to communicate?”
Amane smirked as if she knew something he didn’t and she did. “We’ll let you know later. For now, do you have any idea where you might be going?”
He quickly told them the only things the old pervert had said about the training trip. After a moment, they sensed that he wanted to say something as he glanced between the two as he leaned in closer to them.
“What?” Iwane asked him, moving back a bit as her teammate did the same. They were still sitting indian style under the tree’s shade.
“Sasuke-teme...he has a...” Naruto started but quickly clamped his mouth shut as his eyes fixed on the emerald eyed kunoichi. “Never mind!”
He was grinning to himself while the others gave him confused looks but he refused to divulge any information. After all, the Uchiha had made him swear secrecy when he’d revealed that particular information. He didn’t plan on breaking that trust, even if Sasuke had defected to Sound.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
Kakurezato: hidden villages
Chichi-ue: very polite way of saying father.
Minna: everyone
iryou-nin: medical ninja
Ojama shi mass: I’m disturbing you (said when entering a room)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End, Prologue
Author: shattered-words
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it’d be called ‘Gaara’. So, isn’t it a shame that I don’t own it? (The OC and verse “Aftermath” belong to me. n.n)
Summary: The Kakurezato are on the brink of war and certain events leave several lives hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, what’s the fire wielder’s fate, and who is the deadly Oto Oinin that has suddenly appeared? (Sequel of “Glimpses of Fire”)
AN: The long awaited sequel! Sorry for the wait. -sigh- I hope this does better than the first part. If you haven’t read Glimpses of Fire then read it first or this won’t make sense! Thanks to my ever faithful beta, Shadows-upon-Sand! Chapter one wouldn’t have even existed without her. This one’s for you, Dina. The original story line changed so the title Glimpses of Darkness doesn’t really relate to this new storyline, but I didn’t want to change it. Btw, if this story has no success, it will be removed. So, please leave a review. And while I really do appreciate those that leave only a simple one (example: Good. Please update soon.), but this doesn’t help me with what can be improved or if the reader sees any mistakes. Please, leave something that can help me deliever a better story. Thank you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The scattered scent of blossoms,
are the only thing that’s left.
Their colors bright against the gloom,
that’s left behind this time.
I hear only silence in the aftermath,
and what a glorious thing to see,
as I lay here at the end.
~*~*~*~*~*~ Prologue: Aftermath ~*~*~*~*~*~
His hand gripped his shirt over the symbol on it and he felt his knees buckle. He gasped and struggled to cling to the breath that threatened to escape his very lungs. A groan passed his lips at the pain tearing his senses to bits. All he knew was the agony for several seconds, until voices started to gather in the darkness seeping into his sight.The scattered scent of blossoms,
are the only thing that’s left.
Their colors bright against the gloom,
that’s left behind this time.
I hear only silence in the aftermath,
and what a glorious thing to see,
as I lay here at the end.
~*~*~*~*~*~ Prologue: Aftermath ~*~*~*~*~*~
‘But you know, Chouji. You’re kinder than anyone. I’m sure that someday you will find a friend who sees that in you.’ His father, speaking to him so long ago. Now his lips turned up into a smile despite the pain coursing through him.
‘Then, you will treat him well and become friends who can trust each other.’ He felt wetness slip down his cheeks even as the smile continued to stay on his almost gaunt features.
He had stayed behind to fight the enemy and had won. There had been some sacrifice and he’d taken three pills to help him defeat an opponent that would have been too much for him otherwise. The others had left at his persistence and he’d promised his best friend that he’d catch up. The tree before him proved that they fully expected him to do so.
‘Hurry up and come, dattebayo!’ He chuckled and knew that Naruto had been the one that had done this one.
‘We’re all waiting.’ That had undoubtly been Kiba.
The only other thing that had been carved into the trunk was an arrow pointing him in the right direction. It had no doubt been caved into the wood by his best friend, Shikamaru.
As he smiled, he let the memories of their Academy days fill his mind. Eating with Naruto as they hid behind their textbooks. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and him jumping out the window after they had stayed after class for extra training with Iruka-sensei for not paying attention. Fleeing from an enraged Sandaime with Shikamaru as he ate his chips. And having lunch with his newly assigned Genin squad.
He laughed softly even as he tried to choke back sobs, tears falling without shame down his features. The sorrow and happiness mingling into one emotion that was almost too much to contain. ‘Chichi-ue, I made lots of friends.’
He gasped back a cry of pain as another wave of agony washed over him and he moved toward the tree and crumpled against it as he slid into a sitting position. ‘Gomen, Shikamaru. I don’t think I can catch up.’ His hand clutching the front of his shirt loosened and went limp, and his other hand released the tight grip he had had on his hitai-ate as he slumped forward.
The last thing Akimichi Chouji saw was the clearing in front of him and the flowers littered across it. A ray of sunlight bathed it in a beautiful scene as butterflies fluttered around the blossoms and the light was reflected against their soft wings and made them glow. Then the darkness came.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He gasped and clutched his side where the arrow had pierced him, the blood staining his fingers crimson. Only when his opponent had collapsed would he let the exhaustion take over and fall to the already blood splattered ground.
The battle had been hard and he’d received more damage then he ever had before, and he had almost been overcome with despair. His opponent had been very skilled and had quickly discovered his weak point, the only blind spot his Byakugan possessed. It had gotten to a point that he wasn’t even able to use Kaiten.
Kidoumaru smirked even as blood ran down the sides of his mouth. “You’re about to die too.”
He reached out his hand to his hitai-ate and dragged it toward himself, remembering his father’s words to him long ago. That he had been graced the most by the talent of the Hyuuga Clan. ‘Neji, you must survive.’
“I can’t die that easily,” he gasped as he turned to his downed opponent. He was seized by another cough and more blood splattered the ground.
The dark skinned shinobi chuckled and his lips lifted into another smirk. “Even if you resist, you can’t change the flow of time. Sasuke-sama ran off with the Sound Four of his own will,” he said smugly. “Sasuke is within the darkness.”
His eyes returned to normal as the other spoke. As he thought of this there was the lifting of his own lips into a knowing smile. “No,” he assured the other. ‘Naruto, you have better eyes than me.’ He looked at him with that same expression lifting his mouth. “There is someone who can find Sasuke in the darkness and save him.”
“Sasuke-sama is Orochimaru-sama’s possession,” Kidoumaru argued as a nearby bird took flight in fright. “No matter who, he won’t be sa-”
“He will be saved!” the Leaf-nin exclaimed, startling the Sound shinobi into silence. The Oto-nin watched him lift his face to the sky and let the sun’s light wash over him. ‘It’s because, Naruto, you saved me from the darkness.’
He coughed up more blood and his opponent groaned as a wave of pain washed over him and he collapsed back down. Soon, he was lost within his thoughts and the life quickly left him nothing but a cold, empty shell of his former self.
The Konoha Genin felt his knees and arms give way so he crumpled to the ground, his headband still clutched firmly in his hand. He shuddered as the coldness started to seep into his limbs.
His mind wandered back to when he’d first laid eyes on Hinata. To the time he had first seen the affects of the seal being used on his own father and the angry tears he’d shed that day. To when he had participated in the Chunin exam and he’d fought against Naruto. The blonde had changed his view on life, and shortly after he’d learned the truth about his father’s death.
‘Minna, I leave the rest to you.’
The penetrating eyes slid closed as he lay battered on the cold ground merely five feet from his defeated enemy, whom had taken his last breath. A few strands of Hyuuga Neji’s black hair fell over and obscured his face as if it would keep him safe from the death surrounding him as a nearby bird took flight into the never-ending heavens. Its feather floated down and landed into his outstretched palm, and had the darkness not taken him already, he might have closed his hand around it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Three figures came to land in the clearing after they had passed the remains of a battlefield and the body of a dead Oto-nin. They had seen no one and had continued on but they had been directed by their guide here. A still frame was collapsed against a tree and he didn’t appear to be moving.
“Check him,” the one in the middle ordered the two at his sides. The other male moved forward quickly to heed the command and made sure that the downed figure was dead. He paused as he gasped in surprise.
“He’s alive...barely,” he confirmed and turned to the two behind him, readjusting the bundle at his back. “Should we...”
“Iie, we have to keep moving,” the leader of the three told him. He turned to the side and frowned a bit, knowing that they also couldn’t leave him here where he would be an easy target. “One of you stay with him. We will continue on.”
Two more figures appeared behind them and the red head turned to see that their eyes were not kind when trained on him. He almost chuckled since he knew what they were thinking. They were always thinking it. ‘You will die.’ It wasn’t a threat, but a promise that had been made.
“Come,” Sabaku no Gaara told his siblings. He jumped off and the other two only hesitated a moment before following.
Itagaki Amane and Erizawa Iwane glanced at one another and the earth user nodded as the wind user jumped after the others. Then the emerald eyed girl turned back to the fallen shinobi and realized that she recognized him. He had been one of the ones that had participated in the preliminaries, one of the Rookie Nine. Akimichi Chouji, if she remembered correctly.
Iwane sighed and moved forward to help the injured ninja. They would have left him if he had been dead and so she planned on keeping him that way or staying behind would have only been a waste of time. ‘Well, let’s see what I can do for you until the iryou-nin arrive,’ she mused silently as she crouched in front of him, a frown twisting her features.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It didn’t take them long to find another battle torn area. This time it was more spread out and there were noticeable craters. It had obviously been between two strong opponents. The blonde was the first that spotted the fallen figures, one an Oto-nin and the other a black haired shinobi from Konoha.
Temari moved forward at the nod from Gaara and she checked for any signs of life. They were faint but still there. “This one’s alive as well,” she called out to her younger brother. She straightened and waited for his decision. More than likely he would make the other stay and they’d continue forward to assist the rest of the Leaf-nin.
“Itagaki-san,” Gaara called out as she knew he would. She appeared beside the other kunoichi so suddenly that Temari gasped in shock. Amane merely ignored her and leaned forward to see who the downed ninja was. Her eyes hardened the slightest bit but it went unnoticed. “Stay with him.”
He said nothing more and jumped off in the direction that he knew the others would be heading, toward Otogakure. Meanwhile, the wind user stood motionless beside Neji’s body as the others left the clearing and when they had gone she crouched down and turned him onto his back. She almost hissed when she noticed the wounds, and she had already seen the ones that had been inflicted upon his back.
“I see,” she muttered with a hint of a forced smile. She quickly started to tend to his injuries. There was no need to check the other one because she knew he was dead. “So even you get hurt at times, Hyuuga-san.” Her voice however, lacked any emotion as her fingers opened his shirt carefully.
She had to be careful and make sure that he didn’t bleed to death or she’d never get the chance to deck him for what he’d done to her in the Forest of Death. Her bangs fell over her hitai-ate and into her eyes as she silently tried to keep him alive and her fingers were soon covered in his blood as she tried to fight back a shudder of fear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Naruto knew only darkness and suffering in the first few moments after he opened his eyes. He could still clearly remember Sasuke’s Chidori as it had pierced the right side of his chest. However, the thing that had hurt the most were his eyes. They had been lifeless slates. Something had been horribly wrong with his friend.
‘Dosh’te, Sasuke?’ he wondered, but no answer came. ‘Has everything we’ve gone through meant nothing to you?’ He sat up in the hospital bed as he felt pain surge through him, but he only knew the sorrow. The blonde was glad that there was no one else in the room. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to see the tears streaking his whiskered face or the soft sobs that escaped his lips.
‘Come back, you bastard...’
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her eyes widened as she stood and felt her knees buckle. She might have collapsed from shock if her brother’s arms hadn’t wrapped around her. There was a moment where she tried to fight against him but then she went limp as tears ran down her face.
“It’s okay, Sana-chan,” Anzai tried to reassure her quietly as her weeping reached his ears. “He’s going to be okay.” The teenaged Genin realized in that moment that his sister truly loved the Akimichi.
“I have to go to him...I need to see him!” she gasped as she pushed away from her brother. She glared at him through her tears and he saw the determination in them. “Take me to him.”
Anzai hesitated and glanced outside, seeing that the sun had already set. It was clearly past visiting hours but the girl before him seemed determined to go. “Sana-chan...It’s very late-”
“I don’t care,” she growled and moved to slip on her sandals before fastening her hitai-ate around her forehead. She had just left the bath a few minutes ago and was dressed in black shorts and a sleeveless white shirt. It was hardly proper attire to be in while wandering outside at this hour.
“Sana-chan...”
He stopped as the door opened behind him. “I’ll take you,” a voice spoke up. Anzai knew it was their teammate and adopted sibling, Takejiro. The younger male turned to look at him. “But you have to change into warmer clothing, Sanako-san.”
Anzai sighed when he told her this and saw that she was listening to him as she nodded. She quickly shoved both boys out of the room and even through the door they heard her rushing around as she got ready. He turned to look pointedly at the taller boy. “What will Okaa-san say when she finds out?”
Take smiled that smile that could turn his stomach inside out. “I have already spoken with Akiko-san and she will speak with your father about the situation,” he reassured the short haired boy. “Do not worry yourself, Anzai-kun.”
The Hideaki didn’t miss the change in the honorific and cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his head and ducked to try and hide his blush. He turned down the hall toward his room so the other wouldn’t notice his flustered state. “I’m gonna go change too,” he muttered, not seeing the smirk the other gave his retreating back.
Takejiro, whose real name was Haku, followed the other boy but went into his room only after Anzai had disappeared into his. He closed the door and ran a hand through his shoulder length brown hair as he gave a sigh. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to hold his feelings back any longer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ojama shi mass,” a voice called out as the door was slid open and two kunoichi peered into the room and realized that it was empty. They moved inside and saw that the hospital gown had been thrown on the bed along with a few blood-soaked bandages, and the window was open. It wasn’t that unexpected since they had been told that he might not be there. He had been restless to leave the hospital ever since he had found out that his friends were out of danger.
The shorter of the two figures entered inside anyway and moved toward the window as she leaned out of it. She closed emerald eyes as a breeze floated through the open pane of glass and pushed back the strands of her ebony locks. “Do you sense it?” she muttered quietly.
She heard her companion enter and then saw her stop beside her out of the corner of her eye. The other was taller by two to three inches and dark brown hair flowed to her shoulders. Her black eyes were fixed outside and what she was able to see of the village. She could see the sorrow in her dark orbs which she felt herself. “I hear it.”
Iwane let a strained smirk lift her mouth and nodded. “I can understand,” she conceded and sighed. “Too many died during that invasion that didn’t need to.” She sat on the window ledge and leaned back against the frame. “I don’t like returning here.”
Amane’s eyes darkened and she nodded. “Neither do I.” She turned away from the scene of a nearby building being rebuilt. “He might be in the training grounds.” Her body flickered and she was gone. The other soon disappeared in the same way. A nurse peered inside a few seconds later, but all she would find would be an empty bed and an open window. The wind was blowing the curtains inside and they looked like two hands clawing at the empty space where the two girls had been standing moments before.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The blonde Genin stopped his training when he sensed two presences coming toward the training ground he was using. He could sense that they were fast since he felt their chakra as it neared and then it stopped at the edge of the clearing. Before he could call out to them, two figures appeared in front of him. He was slightly startled when he realized that he knew them.
“You’re...” He frowned and dropped his guard, remembering that the Godaime had told him Suna had come to Konoha’s assistance while fighting against the Sound Four. However, he hadn’t seen them since he had already gone after Sasuke while Rock Lee had fought against Kimimaro. “Where’s Eizan-nii-san?”
He saw the kunoichi flinch and knew something was wrong. “That’s precisely why we’re here,” the shorter of the two responded. “We hear that you’re going to train with Jiraiya outside of Konoha.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
Naruto frowned and nodded after a moment. “Hai, we’re leaving after he finishes his...research.” The way he said that made them not want to ask what type of research he was doing. Naruto felt it prudent not to tell them or Ero-sennin might regret ever writing the Icha Icha books.
“We need to talk, Uzumaki-san,” the taller ninja finally spoke up. “We’ll start at the beginning.” They led the younger male away from the training ground and toward the shade of some trees.
“Nani!?” was heard loudly through the forest. Birds took flight and squirrels ran for cover before silence settled over the area once more.
Amane winced as she finally removed her hands from her ears after seeing Iwane nod. She glared at the blonde but he didn’t look at all sheepish and only waited for an explanation. “Are you serious?” he demanded.
“I would not joke about such things,” the wind user assured. There were shadows under her eyes and she looked exhausted. Her companion didn’t look any better and the teasing grin that always wanted to stretch over her face was no where to be seen.
Iwane took that time to speak, since she had been the one that had done most of the speaking anyway. “We saw the end of your fight with the Uchiha,” she changed the subject. She didn’t want to remember the events that had taken place after the invasion. “Your teammate has gone off with Orochimaru so we were thinking that we could help each other.”
Naruto winced at her words but then perked up at hearing the last part of her statement. “What do you mean?” If there was a chance that he could get Sasuke back then he was going to take it.
“You’re going to most likely be traveling quite a bit with Jiraiya-san,” Amane said before the other could speak. “Thus you will be able to gather information better than if you were to be stuck in Konoha.”
The blue eyed Genin grinned and nodded. “Yeah, dattebayo!” he exclaimed and paused as if he remembered something. “How are we supposed to communicate?”
Amane smirked as if she knew something he didn’t and she did. “We’ll let you know later. For now, do you have any idea where you might be going?”
He quickly told them the only things the old pervert had said about the training trip. After a moment, they sensed that he wanted to say something as he glanced between the two as he leaned in closer to them.
“What?” Iwane asked him, moving back a bit as her teammate did the same. They were still sitting indian style under the tree’s shade.
“Sasuke-teme...he has a...” Naruto started but quickly clamped his mouth shut as his eyes fixed on the emerald eyed kunoichi. “Never mind!”
He was grinning to himself while the others gave him confused looks but he refused to divulge any information. After all, the Uchiha had made him swear secrecy when he’d revealed that particular information. He didn’t plan on breaking that trust, even if Sasuke had defected to Sound.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Translations:
Kakurezato: hidden villages
Chichi-ue: very polite way of saying father.
Minna: everyone
iryou-nin: medical ninja
Ojama shi mass: I’m disturbing you (said when entering a room)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
End, Prologue