Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ HitMan (ItaNaru SasuNaru) ❯ Bloodbath! FOUR ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: yaoifan01 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action / Angst / Suspense | Type: Shounen-ai | Uploaded On: 12.08.2006 | Updated On: 01.31.2007 | Pages: 9 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 516 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action / Angst / Suspense | Type: Shounen-ai | Uploaded On: 12.08.2006 | Updated On: 01.31.2007 | Pages: 9 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 516 | Status: Work In Progress
WARNING: If you have a weak heart or a love for everything happy and beautiful then I would advise you to turn back now! (This author is fucking insane!) I am serious! There is absolutely no fluff mushy, love crap here! (maybe just a hint) also…..
Please enjoy the show, and once you are finshed please be kind to tell me what you think!
Chapter FOUR
Kabuto walked up the expensive marble steps of The Pink Cobra. He was followed by eight anonymous-looking men dressed in black suits; each one was carrying a huge briefcase. The men looked as if they where on their way to a funeral, the slow way they walked with their heads hung so their fedoras covered their faces in shadows. Kabuto stopped suddenly and turned to face the men behind him.
“Remember your instructions,” Kabuto said bluntly. “Kill everyone but Sasuke and Naruto.”
The men nodded their heads gravely, walked past Kabuto and pushed the doors open. They roamed the halls until they found Orochimaru’s dining hall. They casually put their briefcases down on the long table, and from them began assembling their semi-automatic machine guns. They strapped together with a series of loud cracks and snaps.
Curious to what the noise was the table clerk ran into the room to ask what time their appointment was. She stopped short once she realized what it was each of the men had in their hands. Her eyes widened as the weapons were directed at her and she turned around to run.
“Guns!” she shouted, trying to raise the alarm. She didn’t get very far before one of the men shot her down. Blood spilled across the floor and soaked into the carpet as he looked at what was left of the woman, kicking her in the head with his boot. He then signaled four of the men up the stairs and the remaining three down the left hall.
In a cold, calculated fashion, the men kicked down every door, one by one, and searched the people’s faces before gunning them down. Screams were heard, followed by gunshots in every part of the house. Running could be heard as people frantically tried to escape the massacre.
Sitting on the porch swing, Kabuto was languidly smoking a cigar. He tilted his head to get a better view of the falling cherry blossom petals. He then closed his eyes and listened to the chorus of wails and gunshot fire inside of the house.
This is music to my ears, Kabuto thought. They should be proud, to die on such a beautiful day.
Kabuto sighed and pulled him self up from the swing. He tossed his cigar and ground it out under his shoe and slowly walked inside the house. I better make sure these idiots don’t kill Sasuke or Naruto.
-ooo-
Neji sat, staring out the window; unaware of the bloodbath going on just a few floors below him. He was bored without Naruto around and was considering giving Tenten a visit, if she wasn’t already busy entertaining customers.
Finally, he heard it: people screaming and running through the halls, and the echoes of what sounded like gunshots. He got up slowly and cracked open the door to see what all the commotion was about.
Recognizing one of the prostitutes running in the hallway outside, he grabbed her and dragged her into his room. He looked into her terror-filled eyes and asked “What the hell is going on around here?”
“Men,” she cried breathlessly. “…with guns!”
“Who?” He demanded, shaking her.
“I don’t know! Just Run!” The young prostitute suddenly shouted at him, angry and scared. She pushed her way past the shocked Neji aside and runs towards the only exit in the building.
Instead of following her and the others like her, like his instincts told him, he ran up the stairs to warn Tenten. It was then that he glanced down the steps and looked on with horror as the men in dark suits shot down the line of people who where trying to escape from the building.
Tenten…He had to get to Tenten.
Neji ran up the stairs in such a hurry he tripped over the hem of his kimono, nearly sending him toppling down the stairs. He pulled himself up using the railing for leverage and continued up the stairs. When he reached Tenten’s door his head was buzzing with fear-induced adrenaline and he was breathing heavily. Without any hesitation he started banging on the door like a mad-man, trying to knock it down.
“Tenten! Open the door! It’s me, Neji!” He yelled.
“Neji?” Tenten asked in surprise, opening the door. “What brings you here?”
She blushed and pulled her loose robe up over her bare shoulders.
Neji didn’t have time to waste on formal greetings. He grabbed her by the arm, locked the door behind him, and shoved her toward the large window at the far wall; he threw it open and looked down.
“We have to jump out the window.”
“What are you talking about? Are you crazy? I’m on the forth floor!”
Neji got very angry at that point—stress and adrenaline brought on by fear could do that to a man—and he felt the need to yank her hair for even daring to question him, but instead he took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart and slowly tried to explain the situation to her.
Tenten stood shocked, her mouth half open and her brown eyes filled with tears. The gunshots where getting closer to the room, causing Tenten to flinch.
“Why?” she asked desperately, her voice trembling, her body shaking with fear. “Why? Why would anyone want us dead?”
“I don’t know.”
There was noise out in the hallway, telling Neji and Tenten that the men with guns had arrived outside their door. Neji was taken by surprise, he was sure he and Tenten would have more time. The man kicked down Tenten’s door breaking it in half with the heel of his boot, like so much cardboard; the machine gun in his hands was pointed toward Tenten.
Neji pushed Tenten out of the way of the weapon, telling her to run. She fled into the other room while Neji remained behind. He wasn’t about to die with out a fight, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Tenten if he could help it.
Taking a breath to steady himself, Neji charged at the man and pulled out a sheath from underneath his kimono. The man evaded him easily, grabbing Neji by the hair and kneeing him in the stomach, which sent Neji rolling on the ground, gasping for air.
The man leveled his gun at Neji, who was still on the ground. A trickle of blood escaped his split lip, Neji sat there; glaring up at the man about to kill him. He smiled and said, “Bring it on asshole.”
Time seemed to slow as Tenten threw her body knocking Neji on the ground. She wrapped her one arm around his head and held onto his waist with the other, effectively keeping him from moving, as the bullets pierced her body, ripping her insides apart.
I feel better this way, Tenten thought. I would like to be like this for ever; holding on to you. Tenten’s grip around Neji waist became tighter.
You’re so warm, so tender, I feel so relaxed when I’m with you. Before you came here I was suffering a lot, but when I’m with you, Neji, I feel like everything is ok. I’m sorry it has to end this way. I'm sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I guess it wasn’t in the hands of fate.
“Neji…I’ve always liked you as more then just a friend…could we….have ever become more, you think?” Tenten, choking on her own blood, gave the man she secretly loved one last smile before falling limp in his arms.
“You idiot!” Neji shouted. “I told you to run away! Why!” He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her forehead. “Why! Damn it…Tenten!”
The intruder was now smiling, watching the performance. He picked up his gun and aimed it at the emotionally wounded Neji. The stranger put his finger on the trigger when a hand reached out and lowered his gun.
It was Kabuto; even though his spectacles obscured his eyed, Neji could see that he was displeased.
“They are not here. Tell me where they are,” he ordered.
“You?” Neji whispered. “You’re a customer… I’ve seen you around.”
“I need to know where Sasuke is. Tell me, and maybe I’ll keep you alive.”
Naruto is with Sasuke; I don’t care about Sasuke, but if I tell him where Sasuke is then... then Naruto will die.
“Fuck you.” Neji said, then he spat on Kabuto’s shoe.
“Wrong answer,” He turned to the man. “Do what it takes to make him talk just without killing him. Well, at least not until we get what we want.”
They were interrupted by Kabuto’s cell phone ringing, the tune was a Mozart waltz. He flipped open his cell phone and pressed it to his ear.
“Ah, hello, Sasuke-kun,” he said, cheerfully.
Sasuke? Neji thought.
“Boss, do you want us to clean up the blood?”
Kabuto didn’t answer the man, instead he gave him a look that seemed to question the oaf’s intelligence, and continued talking to Sasuke on the cell. “Sorry Sasuke-kun, but could you repeat that for me please.”
Neji could hear Sasuke shouting into the phone on the other end.
Kabuto laughed, but his face twitched with anger.
“The table is set, my friend. There is no turning back now. I just can’t wait to see little Naruto’s face when he finds out the one he trusted the most sent him to hell.”
Kabuto didn’t hang up the phone; he stood still for a moment, looking at the device in his hands and started laughing again.
“Heh heh heh…the idiot didn’t hang up the phone, it looks like I’ll just have to wait here until tomorrow morning.” Kabuto looked down at Neji. “Kill him. I have no further use for him alive. No, fuck it, I’ll do it myself.”
Gunshots rang throughout the room, lost in the symphony of screams below.
-ooo-
“Yes, Orochimaru will know what to do. We will go back home and everything will be as it was before.” Sasuke said to himself, trying to convince himself more so than anything.
Sasuke looked at the doll; he bundled all the shattered pieces up in a cloth and tossed the whole thing into the trash. He would just tell Sakura that it was her fault for leaving it on the table.
Sasuke quickly turned around to face Tsunade and Jiraiya standing in the hallway. They looked at him with concern.
“Sasuke,” Tsunade said. “If you leave this place-”
Before she could finish Naruto came trotting up to them, absolutely dripping, leaving a trail of salty puddles behind him, carrying an equally sodden Sakura on his back.
“Naruto, Sakura, go pack your things,” Sasuke ordered. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving?” Naruto complained, sounding perturbed. “We just got here!”
“Listen to Naruto, Sasuke,” Jiraiya told him.
“Naruto, I want you to stay here, with us.”
“Thank you, Tsunade, but I want to stay by Sasuke’s side,” He then turned to Sasuke. “I will follow him to the ends of the earth, if I have too.” Naruto leaned over towards Sasuke, who was smiling, and slipped his hand into Sasuke’s own, larger, hand.
“Then leave Sakura here, and--”
“No! I wanna stay with Nii-san!” Sakura wrapped her arms Naruto’s neck, and constricted tightly, almost choking him.
“Heh heh. Okay, okay, Sakura-chan! I won’t leave you behind. I promise.”
They packed there things and left.
Naruto gave one last wave to Jiraiya and Tsunade; Naruto took one last look at them, trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach.
I’m just a little anxious. Nothing bad will happen if I’m with Sasuke.
Still, in a dark part of his mind he couldn’t help but feel like this would be the last time he saw them.
They crossed bridge before the center of town and turned left; the interstate opened like a wide grey river in front of them. Sasuke gunned the engine, speeding—speeding so that they left the on-ramp at seventy and climbing. Sasuke stared straight ahead, as though all that remained of the world lay at the end of the road.
Naruto glanced at the speedometer: one hundred miles per hour and still climbing.
“Sasuke…”
“Go to sleep Naruto.”
For a while they where alone on the road, then in a flash they passed by a truck and other anonymous cars started turning up on the side of the highway, before sooner or later, pulling off at some rest stop or another.
Sasuke was getting tired himself, so he decided it wouldn’t hurt if the pulled over on the highway to get some sleep.
“We will rest here tonight.”
-ooo-
A ray of sunlight seeped through the pearly white curtains and onto the sleeping man’s face. He groaned and turned his back to the window.
A Rooster crowed.
Wearing nothing but a pair of blue boxers, he sat up from his comfortable twin bed and placed his feet on the throw rug. He sat there for a moment and ran his fingers through his puffy, dark brown hair before grabbing his dark glasses and sliding them up his nose.
He stared blankly at an old painting that hung on his wall above his bed. Other than that painting and an iron cross, the walls where completely bare.
Under the stained-glass window stood an ancient piano covered in a thick layer of dust and to the right side of the room, a bookshelf stacked neatly with ancient books from all walks of life. There were books of poets, religion, science, cooking and cleaning, even women’s magazines, and books with plays of stories with princess and dragons in a far away distant land. Any book published he owned it, or was at least looking to own it.
Once he was fully clothed, he made sure to put on the white collar under his black long-sleeved shirt, and then he shoved a crystal bead rosary into his pocket.
“Father Shino,” a soft voice said, accompanied by a tapping lightly on the wooden door.
“What is it, Hinata?” Shino said calmly.
“Your breakfast is ready.”
She opened the door with one arm and handed Shino a large platter of eggs, bacon and hotcakes.
“Many thanks, Hinata.”
The young Sister blushed, nodded and folded her palms over another. Her long blue hair was hidden underneath her black veil, and she was dressed in a modest black habit, the only ornamentation she wore was around her neck: there dangled a golden crucifix. Despite the modesty of the garment she wore, it was still easy to discern the beautiful curve of her large breasts and wide, child-bearing hips. Shino, or any man for that matter, was not blind to this or the twinkle in her eye that was reserved for Father Shino alone.
“Not at all. I’m more than happy to do it, Father Shino,” Hinata answered with a happy smile.
Without another word, Shino sat down to eat his food while Hinata stood in the corner patiently watching him to finish his meal, so she could take the plate to the kitten on the other side of the church.
She observed from where she stood that on the chair by the bookcase were freshly picked roses already placed neatly in a hand-woven basket. Seeing the concerned look in Hinata’s eyes, Shino answered her question before she could ask it.
“Yes,” Shino said. “After breakfast I plan on taking a walk behind the church and putting fresh roses on the graves.”
“Of course Father,” Hinata said.
It was an old routine; every Monday Shino would take a walk and put fresh flowers on the graves. When Hinata was little, she had followed him one day; she could never forget the look on his face. It was filled with so much sadness and pain.
When she finally got the courage to ask who the graves belong to, he told her that they belonged to his wife and two children. This had surprised the little girl as Shino himself looked no older than twenty-five—hardly old enough to have children—which meant that he had had a family very young.
Over ten years had passed since that day, and for the life of her, Hinata had yet to notice Shino ever looking any older than he did then.
She was about to pick up the now empty plate when she remembered that Shikamaru asked her, while she was making breakfast, to tell Shino to meet him in the church hall, but Shikamaru arrived to tell the head priest himself before Hinata could get the words out.
“Shikamaru!”
Shikamaru entered Shino’s room and closed the door behind him. His hair seemed to contradict his lazy nature: pulled back into a ponytail in such a way that it stood straight on end. However, he wore the same modest church clothes as Shino, which toned down the flamboyancy somewhat.
“I got call this morning from Demon Watch.” Shikamaru said. “There is a case five exorcism needed in downtown L.A. You and Kiba are to--”
“No, I’m going to need you for this mission.”
“Ugh,” Shikamaru groaned. “This is too troublesome for an early morning assignment.”
“A level five demon? Father Shino! I…” Hinata still stood behind Shino, hands clasped tight with worry.
“Hinata, there will be nothing for you to worry about,” Shino told her, reassuringly. He walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, so she had to look up at him to see his face. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Hinata’s heart stopped in her chest. She smiled then looked past Shino at Shikamaru who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’ll leave the flowers in your care.” He handed the basket of flowers to Hinata whose face was still full of worry.
Honestly, I wish those two would just admit that—
“Shikamaru, stop.”
“What?”
“You were about to step on a beetle.”
“What is with you and bugs?” Shikamaru asked. “How troublesome.”
Shino bent down and picked up the lady bug and gently stroked it with his finger. “Bugs are fascinating creatures, they roamed the planet before humans existed and will be here when we are long gone.”
“Um …Okay.”
Shino ignored Shikamaru and continued walking down the hall until he reached the wide open field that met him at the front of the church.
“Father Shino!” Hinata shouted. “Please,” Hinata placed her hand over her heart. “Please be safe.”
Shino looked at her and nodded. He then looked at the church that was his home. It wasn’t very big, as far as cathedrals go, but it was home to the few priests and the thirty or so orphan children Sister Hinata had brought back from the city. It was built in 2007, making it one of the oldest churches to have survived the war.
“What about me?” Shikamaru pointed to himself. “Honestly, women are so troublesome.”
Hinata knew Shikamaru meant it differently. Well, she hoped he did anyways. She gave one last wave and walked back through the large church, her tiny foot steps echoed in the stillness. She stopped at a door and cracked it open to still see Kiba still sleeping in bed.
“Kiba,” Hinata said. “It is yours and Choji’s duty to do early morning mass today and—”
“What? That bastard left me to do mass!” Kiba yelled, almost falling out of the bed.
“Please Kiba, don’t speak ill of Father Shino.”
She walked into the room and threw open the curtains. Looking out of the window at the roses that were in full bloom, a great feeling of peace came over her. A gust of air blew inside Kiba’s chambers ruffling her veil and habit.
Kiba had to turn away from her, due to the ‘unholy feeling’ he got in the pit of his stomach every time he looked at her. It was forbidden for a priest to fall in love with a nun.
He looked down at his stuffed dog, Akamaru, that sat on the corner of his bed. That’s what he would name his dog, if he ever gets the chance to own one.
He heaved a great sigh and apologized to her. “You’re right,” Kiba said. “If it wasn’t for Shino we wouldn’t be here, would we?”
Hinata bowed her head and walked out of Kiba’s room allowing him to dress and prepare for mass. She wandered around for a bit, toiling over her daily morning chores. She finished sometime after noon and took the basket full of fresh roses on her walk around the solemn grave site.
Hinata pulled out the weeds that threatened to encroach on the graves and picked up the old flowers, replacing them with the new ones.
The grave stones were so old that the etchings of the names had long faded into nothing and it looked as if they would shatter into dust if a person so much as sneezed.
Hinata couldn’t understand it. Shino looked so young and yet the graves as old as time. Maybe she would never understand.
She felt a presence behind her, and standing up, realized it was the strange silver-haired man, Kakashi who always came by for afternoon mass.
“Honestly, I don’t know why you even bother coming to church; you’re a non-believer just like the rest of the world.” Hinata said angrily, her gaze never leaving the old gravestone in front of her.
“You know, I’ve come to repent my sins and all that other crap.”
“No, I believe you come because you’re guilty and you want to find answers that can only be found here. But the fact is that you’re angry at the world and its people.”
“I can’t really blame the rest of the world. With nothing but tragedy and hardship in life wouldn’t anyone become a non-believer?” Kakashi asked his remaining eye gazed at Hinata who kept her back to him.
He folded his arms and then leaned against the white picket fence, continuing on when Hinata made no response. “Like today, I was flipping through the pages the news paper this morning and I read that people in New York want to rebuild the Statue of Liberty. I find it funny that France built the thing and then blows it up three hundred years later.”
“I don’t see any amusement in it.”
“I’m sure you’re aware of what’s happening around the world, despite the fact that you live in a church taking care of orphans, half-an-hour from east L.A. Another war is coming.
“China just recently took over Japan, and England just declared war against France. We lost World War III, what if there is a World War IV? Where is god when you need him?”
“That is not the point. So, tell me then, why do you come here still?” Hinata asked.
“I came for confession.” Kakashi said bluntly.
“Really? I hardly dare ask what you did; I’m very sure your job is more than sinful enough.”
“It’s not what I did now, but what I am going to do later. Actually, it’s not even me who is going to do it.”
“What then?”
“I hired a Hitman to kill my father, the chief of police.”
“Why? Why would you do something like that?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I woke up one morning and just decided out of the blue to kill my father. He’s a corrupt cop. He takes money just to turn a blind eye to the crimes.”
“It’s a sin to—” Hinata, for some reason, seemed unable to finish the sentence. She looked up at Kakashi finally, only to find him looking at her with anger.
“Don’t you think I know that? But you’re not the one who had to see that woman who was still clinging to her child, even with five bullets in her head. You’re not the one turning a blind eye to the mass killings just for money. It’s always about money!
“When I was little I looked up to my father. He was the very person that made me want to become a—” At that moment Kakashi’s cell phone rang, cutting him off. He answered it, listening to the man on the other end, but said nothing.
“I have to go, do me a favor and tell Shino I was here.”
“I will.”
“Thanks.”
-ooo-
Kisame picked up the phone and dialed Itachi’s phone number. Kisame’s eyes never strayed from the holographic screen that portrayed the image of one Hayate Kakashi.
“This better be good, Kisame,” Itachi hissed from the other end of the line.
“You where right, Itachi. Kakashi is a fucking pig: a cop out to hit the chief of police. This could be trouble.”
“So, you got lazy and hacked into the computer system again, Kisame.”
“I’m not ready to go to prison again; I don’t think I would be able to handle that again. Plus, it was a bitch to break out of and if you weren’t there I might have never been able to do it.”
Itachi made no response, but he hadn’t hung up yet, either.
“I’m telling you it’s a big risk. Can you do it, Itachi?”
“Yeah, I can do it. Tonight for sure. Tonight I’ll hit the old man.”
-ooo-
“This is why I love the country,” Shikamaru said, leaning out the car window, and smiling slightly. “I don’t have to breathe in the filthy smog the city has to offer.”
Shino said nothing; looking straight ahead. His face showed no emotion, and nothing of his thoughts.
“Is this the place?” Shikamaru asked as the car began to slow and turned into a driveway, partially hidden by the trees.
Shino nodded his head and said in the same toneless voice he always used, “Yes.”
Shikamaru got out of the car and grabbed a bag from the back of the seat.
“What a dump.”
They were greeted by a hysterical woman. She ran out of the house and grabbed hold of Shino, speaking in rapid Spanish. Shino didn’t flinch, except to grab hold of her wrists: he listened intently to every word the woman had to say.
“What is she saying?” asked Shikamaru, who didn’t speak a word of Spanish. The woman grinned toothlessly, pushing her greasy hair back over her shoulders before motioning toward the house.
“She says that her son is possessed. She needs our help and—” He became distracted as the woman was still speaking and motioning with her hands “and her older sons have tied him to the bed. She said she had no choice…he was not himself.”
The priests followed the woman into the filthy house. The floors littered with trash and dirty clothes. Cockroaches scurried everywhere; the floors were practically alive with them. The sinks were piled high with unkempt dishes, as were the filthy kitchen counters.
Shikamaru had to refrain from holding his nose. The whole house smelt of cat piss and drying vomit. He scanned the room, but he didn’t see any cats around or the sons that the woman had mentioned earlier.
The room the woman lead them to was dark, and, if possible, even worse smelling than the kitchen had been.
Shino could see that the boy was tied up with rope; his skin was discolored and pale. His eyes black pools of emptiness. The young boy smiled up at them and spoke with a voice not of this world.
Shikamaru pulled the bible out of the bag he was carrying on his shoulder and started speaking psalms making a continuous sign of the cross. He sprinkled holy water on the boy.
“It will not work,” Shino said “its way too late to save the boy. His soul has been devoured by whatever has taken over him.”
“What makes you say that? How can you tell by just looking?”
“Don’t question me, it will get you killed,” Shino extended his arms. “Release! Show yourself, demon!”
So, you came after all, Father Shino. I’m glad. The boy gave an eerie grin, although his mouth never moved once to form the words. His body stretched and pulled apart, revealing the demon within.
The creature had short, malformed forearms that ended in three-fingered claws, capable of rending flesh from the bone. Its eyes were yellow and bird-like, which matched the crane-like beak, although its ears were depressed on his head like those of a wolf.
My brothers told me of you, and how you killed my demon brethren. I want revenge! You killed my comrades! Now I’ll kill you! The spines that protruded from its back quivered with anger, preparing for the attack.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Shikamaru asked. “Shino!”
“I don’t know.” Shino lied.
Shikamaru was so focused on the demon; he failed to notice that the woman sneaking behind him. The woman hit Shikamaru over the head with a metal pan. Shikamaru’s head swam with the force of the blow, and he toppled to the floor.
I’ll kill him after I kill you.
Fuck, that woman was just a puppet; this whole thing was nothing more than a setup.
The Demon fled the building. Shino followed behind, not wanting it to escape. Shino, upon catching up to the thing, threw a cross at the demon.
The demon mocked the priest. Do you really think your petty crosses will work on the likes of me?
Shino stood calmly and watched as thick metal wires shot out from the ends of the cross and wound themselves tightly around the demon, constraining its limbs to its body, effectively binding him.
What? What did you do to me, you fucking—?
“Those garrote wires are like magnets to demon energy, they will continue to constrict until they cut through your flesh and bone, eventually tearing you to pieces. I hope you don’t mind becoming demon sushi.”
The demon laughed, showing the row upon row of sharp fangs, rather like the inside of a shark’s mouth, Shino thought.
Heh heh… You take me as a fool? I know all about your dirty tricks.
The demon flexed his muscles, forcing his arms up and away from his body. The wires that bound him strained and broke like so much tooth floss.
Despite being faced with a losing battle, Shino’s face remained as calm as it always was. His nonchalance only served to anger the demon further, and without thinking he charged at Shino.
The demon grinned, its tail twitching in annoyance. A moment later, the limb sliced through the air, cutting through Shino’s arm like a hot knife through butter. The arm went flying; landing a ways away, blood arced through the air, splattering across the tiled roof.
Shino frowned, annoyed by the loss of his limb. He sauntered over to his arm and lifted it back into place. The flesh grew and stretched, reattaching his arm to his shoulder, without so much as a scar.
“So, the rumors are true. You are an immortal… but in order for a human to become immortal they must make a pact with the Devil.”
“It is true, I am a cursed human: damned to forever wander the earth. And when it ends I will stand outside Heaven’s Gates until the end of Time. But I will continue to fight demons until my time on earth is up.”
“Well, this changes everything. The world will end sooner then you think, Damned Priest. The Demon Prince is born! The world as you know it will soon be at its end!
“It’s a shame we won’t get to finish our little game. But on the Night of the Blood-Red Moon we will meet again.”
The demon extended its arms to the sky. Bat-like wings ripped through the flesh just under his shoulder blades and extended out with sickening sounds. Shino could only watch as the demon as flew off into the distance. Then he remembered.
Shikamaru…
Shino ran down the halls to find Shikamaru still passed out unconscious on the dirty floor.
He shook the younger man, and when he got no response, shook him harder, calling out his name. But Shikamaru made no response. Shino couldn’t figure think of anything else to do, so he slapped his associate hard across the face.
“OUCH! What the hell, man?”
“You did not wake when I called your name.”
“Hey… Shino, what happened with that demon?”
“He got away.”
“How troublesome. Well,” Shikamaru yawned. “You can’t win them all so let’s go back—”
“I’m not going back.”
“What do you mean ‘not going back’? What about Hinata? She’ll be worried if you don’t return home.”
“Tell her I’ll be back soon. Here, take the car. It might take some time before I am able to return.”
“Ugh,” Shikamaru scratched his head. “You’re serious aren’t you? Well come back, okay.”
Shino nodded and handed the keys to Shikamaru. He walked past Shikamaru and continued down the hall stepping over the body of the possessed woman, he knew she was dead.
So, the Anti-Christ was born? Shino’s mind raced as he turned the corner, walking in the same direction the demon had flown.
Sasuke slowed down and turned onto the road to The Pink Cobra. A feeling in his stomach nagged at him, telling him, for some reason, to turn back, to just keep driving. But he ignored it and drove on.
Upon pulling into the long drive of the whore house, Naruto quickly undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the car before the vehicle had even stopped moving.
I can’t wait to tell Neji and Tenten what a—
Naruto ran up the gravel drive and hopped up, over the porch steps and casually walked inside of the Pink Cobra.
What he saw would forever haunt his nightmares. Blood splattered in arcs across the walls and dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the floor, under the bodies mutilated by multiple gunshot wounds that littered the floor. The house was silent, filled only with the dead. Naruto looked up at Sasuke who just entered the room, holding Sakura by the hand.
Sasuke dropped to his knees on the floor and buried his face in his hands. Sakura knelt down beside him, tears streaming down her face.
Naruto stumbled back, away from the bodies; he was too numb to cry. Instead he ran up the stairs, screaming. “Is anyone here? Is anyone alive?”
He frantically searched through every bedroom, calling out to his friends while Sasuke and Sakura stayed down stairs.
“Neji? Tenten? Anybody!”
He tripped over what looked to be a human torso, and collapsed in puddle of now cold blood. Naruto looked around himself and screamed. Ignoring what was now splashed on his hands and knees, he got up and ran into Neji’s room.
Thank God nobody is here. He clung to hope, anxiously searching the halls, praying that Neji and Tenten where still alive. He tripped again, falling to his knees. Looking up, he noticed a man standing in front of him.
The man looked at him through gleaming spectacles, hiding behind a trick of the light. His clothes were completely unsullied by the disgusting amounts of blood that surrounded him, his shoes were even still polished and gleaming.
“Kabuto! Thank God! Thank God you’re still alive!” Naruto shouted desperately. “Who would do this? Do you know?”
Kabuto said nothing. He smirked down at the trembling boy who was soaked to the skin in day old blood, eyes still hidden by his shining glasses.
“Kabuto? Are you okay?” Naruto walked up to him and touched his vest.
“There is only one person to blame, Naruto. And that is the one care for, the one you love: Sasuke.”
“…Kabuto, what? I don’t understand…”
“I may have killed every one here, including your precious Tenten and Neji. But it was Sasuke who wanted it. Sasuke’s decision was the reason for it.”
Naruto’s face crumpled with rage and pain and lastly, the confusion of denial.
“You’re lying!” Naruto sobbed, ducking his head. He started hitting the man with the flat of his hand. “You’re a fucking lair!”
Naruto was too hurt and confused to think anymore. His attention was snatched by the scream he heard in distance.
Naruto, coming back to himself, backed away from Kabuto, only to bump into a much larger man. The smirking stranger wrapped his huge, impossibly heavy arms around the small boy.
Naruto struggled in vain, trying his best to wiggle free. He even went so far as to bite the man restraining him, but his efforts were useless attempts.
Kabuto snickered.
“It’s no use, Naruto-kun. He is a cyborg I built. He feels no pain, and if you continue to struggle, well… he can crush a car with his bear hands.”
Naruto’s eyes widened. He stopped struggling.
Naruto was carried into another room, following the sounds of Kabuto’s expensive shoes on the blood-splattered floor. There he saw Sasuke and Sakura surrounded by a group of men in black with their guns pointed inwards at them.
“Let go of them, you bastards!” Naruto yelled, beginning to struggle again.
Sakura’s face lit up and she ran toward Naruto, only to be stopped when one of the cyborg men grabbed her by the hair and violently threw her into the nearest wall. She twitched for a moment then stopped moving altogether.
“Sasuke! Sasuke, don’t just stand there! Do something: take Sakura and run!” Naruto yelled. Sasuke remained staring in a stupefied daze. He stared blankly, not moving to help Sakura.
Kabuto smiled serenely and took something out of his pocket. He kneeled down next to Sakura and hugging her to his chest, injected something into her neck.
“Get your hands off of her, you fucking bastard!”
Naruto felt so angry, and helpless. He knew he was on the verge of crying; his eyes burned with frustrated tears threatening to leak out. He wanted to kill each and every one of them for hurting the ones he cared about most, but more than that he wanted to kill Kabuto.
“There, there little one,” Kabuto said, patting Sakura’s hair. He then stood up, using his hands on his knees for leverage, and sauntered over to where Sasuke stood. He leaned in close to Sasuke’s face and whispered: “I injected into her blood stream a very, very tiny bomb.”
Still smiling he pushed a foreign object against Sasuke’s palm, and manually closed the boy’s fingers over it. Lifting it to his face, Sasuke saw that it looked rather like an everyday click-pen.
“You have a choice, Sasuke-kun. Push this button, and her head goes ‘ka-boom’ or this boy can die here tonight just like every other whore in this shit-hole.”
Sasuke looked from the device in his hand to Naruto who was still squirming in the cyborg’s arms. He then looked at Sakura who was only now recovering from the fall.
“Tick tock, tick tock… Time is running out. What will you do, Sasuke?”
Sasuke bit down so hard his lips turned white and split, bleeding. He held clenched his fists, pressing the device into his palm.
“I –I can’t,” he whispered.
“For shame, Sasuke-kun. I had such a high hopes for you, too.” Kabuto turned to the cyborgs. “Kill him.”
The cyborg that held on to Naruto let him go. Naruto’s first instinct upon being released was to run to Sakura. She stood up and sprinted towards him, arms outspread.
The cyborgs surrounding them pointed their guns at Naruto, their fingers ready on their guns triggers.
Sasuke closed his eyes.
Sasuke-kun!
“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura shouted. “Looky! Looky at what I found!”
Sasuke sat up from his bed annoyed that Naruto had gone and left the loud girl in his care.
“What is it, Sakura?” He answered in a bland voice.
“I found a pretty flower! Doesn’t it look like Nii-san’s hair?”
Sasuke glanced at the dandelion. It was nothing more than a weed that Sakura had found in the lawn, nothing special.
“Yeah, it kind of does, doesn’t it?” Sasuke smiled and patted the girl’s head. “You should give it to him.”
Sasuke still shaking, closed his eyes, and pushed the button.
Sakura’s head exploded.
Blood and tissue splattered across the walls and floors and onto Naruto, whose eyes were wide open staring at what was left of Sakura. He stopped short, his body suddenly too stiff to function. His arms were still reaching out to Sakura, who was already dead on the floor.
“Sakura…chan.”
Kabuto looked perplexed; he pulled out a pen and a black note book from his back pocket and scribbled down his observations.
“Hmmm, the explosion wasn’t as big as I hade hoped it to be,” Kabuto said talking to himself. “But, it killed in an instant, like I hypothesized.”
What happened next startled even Kabuto. Naruto collapsed to his hands knees in the puddle Sakura’s blood and began laughing like a maniac. Finally he broke down crying screaming cradling to his chest the pile of still oozing flesh that only a few seconds ago had been Sakura. His heart hurt so much that he felt like he could die from the pain.
“Sasuke” Naruto whined, into the gore of Sakura’s shoulder. "Help me! It hurts!"
“I’m sorry, Naruto. But this…this is what I wanted.”
Before Naruto could even respond to what Sasuke said he felt the blow to the back of his head and he could hear his own head bang against the wooden floor. His eyes closed and he fell into darkness.
Sakura…
Naruto woke up in a start. He was in his room: there was no blood on the walls nor were there gory bits and pieces of body parts littering the floor, and sleeping soundly curled up in a ball next to him was Sakura in her favorite pink nightgown covered with a pattern of ducks. She was smiling sucking on her thumb.
“Calm down, Naruto. Calm down it was just a dream, just one big nightmare. It wasn’t real.” The pain in his chest didn’t leave, it still felt constrictive and painful, and like he would never be okay again.
“Nii-san, what’s the matter?” Sakura asked. “You’re shaking. Did you have a bad dream again?”
“Yeah, it was the scariest dream I ever had in my life.”
Naruto combed his sleep-mussed blond hair with his fingers, and smiled at the girl.
“What was it about?” Sakura asked.
“It doesn’t matter, it was just a dream.”
Sakura wrapped her small arms around Naruto and pressed her head against his chest.
“I love you,” she whispered over and over.
Naruto could feel her small body trembling against him as he kissed her soft colorless cheeks. The warmth of her body in his arms faded; her body was suddenly as cold as ice.
“You were always protecting me, weren’t you, Nii-san? You tried your hardest right to the very end. That made me very happy.”
“What are you talking about, Sakura?”
“Please don’t hate Sasuke-kun. He’s hurting inside. I’m glad to have met you when I did, because I was very lonely.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t do this to me, Sakura!”
Sakura!
Naruto woke up again. This time it wasn’t a dream. He could tell by the pain throbbing in his skull. He slowly sat up and touched his hand to the back of his head and looked at his hand which was covered with fresh blood. Not Sakura’s, but his blood.
He examined at his new surroundings, careful not to jar his head.
It was the sort of dungeon that one only heard about in fairy tales. The room itself was small and suffocating, with walls that were made of rock, and there was only one window thickly barred to prevent escape.
Naruto wanted to walk up to the window and breathe in the fresh air, but his foot was securely chained to the wall making it impossible to take more than two steps in any direction. Naruto could hear the cars on the busy road outside. He curled up in the corner and rolled himself up in the blanket, allowing himself to cry.
Naruto lay waiting an hour, maybe longer he couldn’t be sure. He heard thick footsteps walking up the stairs. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed.
Please pass my door please! Please!
Ignoring the laws of Karma, the footsteps stopped right in front of his door, the keys jingled and clattered in the large key hole and the door flung open with a loud creak.
It was Kabuto, this time he was dressed in a white lab coat, eyes still hidden behind unnaturally glinting spectacles.
“Where is Sasuke?” Naruto snarled. The chains that bound his ankles rattled as he tried to attack Kabuto.
“I wouldn’t be worried a bout Sasuke, if I were you. He will be just fine,” Kabuto said coolly.
“What are you going to do to me?”
Kabuto smiled with soft sadism.
“First, I’m going to inject you with a demon. And if you live, you’ll eventually be free to go.”
“Demon?”
Kabuto yanked Naruto up by his tangled golden locks and pushed a needle into a blue vein in his neck, injecting eerily glowing red fluid into the boy’s blood.
The pain was unimaginable. Naruto screamed bloody murder from his cell. Clawing at his hair and balling up on the floor, as if trying to close in on the pain. Whisker-like scars grew out of his cheeks and his teeth extended painfully into fangs.
Kabuto watched Naruto convulse and change, happily puffing away on a cigar. The boy’s actions reminded Kabuto of when he was a little boy how when he would swing cats by their tails the weight of the cat ripped the tail completely out of its body, bones of the spine parting and breaking away from the body. Kabuto was always so fascinated by the tail, because it would twitch for a moment then stop moving. The cat however, would die due to blood loss and the damage to the spine. Such good memories…
No! I will not become a demon! I will not become a guinea pig for this sick bastard! The effects of the demon injection were starting to fade and Naruto fell helplessly to the floor unable to move due to the sheer amount of endorphins and adrenaline running through his body.
“Good job, you managed to stay alive, as a reward you get to be free as promised, but—”
Naruto had his eyes clenched tight against the pain, he was covered in sweat, his muscles bunched from strain but he could hear Kabuto clearly.
“Why don’t we make a game out of it? A game of cat and mouse, if you don’t kill me within three years I will detonate this bomb in your brain, making you and a whole city block disappear from the face of the planet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh? I didn’t tell you? While you where a sleep I took my time to put a bomb in your skull. It’s so much stronger than Sakura-chan’s.” Hearing Kabuto say her name like he was a close friend made Naruto strain against his chains and snarl in anger.
“I’ll give you a two week head start, and then I’ll send every assassin and demon after you.”
He unlocked the chains and tossed Naruto out into the cold streets outside.
To Be Continued…
Next chapter: Neji's alive! Keep reading to find out how!
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Please enjoy the show, and once you are finshed please be kind to tell me what you think!
Chapter FOUR
Kabuto walked up the expensive marble steps of The Pink Cobra. He was followed by eight anonymous-looking men dressed in black suits; each one was carrying a huge briefcase. The men looked as if they where on their way to a funeral, the slow way they walked with their heads hung so their fedoras covered their faces in shadows. Kabuto stopped suddenly and turned to face the men behind him.
“Remember your instructions,” Kabuto said bluntly. “Kill everyone but Sasuke and Naruto.”
The men nodded their heads gravely, walked past Kabuto and pushed the doors open. They roamed the halls until they found Orochimaru’s dining hall. They casually put their briefcases down on the long table, and from them began assembling their semi-automatic machine guns. They strapped together with a series of loud cracks and snaps.
Curious to what the noise was the table clerk ran into the room to ask what time their appointment was. She stopped short once she realized what it was each of the men had in their hands. Her eyes widened as the weapons were directed at her and she turned around to run.
“Guns!” she shouted, trying to raise the alarm. She didn’t get very far before one of the men shot her down. Blood spilled across the floor and soaked into the carpet as he looked at what was left of the woman, kicking her in the head with his boot. He then signaled four of the men up the stairs and the remaining three down the left hall.
In a cold, calculated fashion, the men kicked down every door, one by one, and searched the people’s faces before gunning them down. Screams were heard, followed by gunshots in every part of the house. Running could be heard as people frantically tried to escape the massacre.
Sitting on the porch swing, Kabuto was languidly smoking a cigar. He tilted his head to get a better view of the falling cherry blossom petals. He then closed his eyes and listened to the chorus of wails and gunshot fire inside of the house.
This is music to my ears, Kabuto thought. They should be proud, to die on such a beautiful day.
Kabuto sighed and pulled him self up from the swing. He tossed his cigar and ground it out under his shoe and slowly walked inside the house. I better make sure these idiots don’t kill Sasuke or Naruto.
-ooo-
Neji sat, staring out the window; unaware of the bloodbath going on just a few floors below him. He was bored without Naruto around and was considering giving Tenten a visit, if she wasn’t already busy entertaining customers.
Finally, he heard it: people screaming and running through the halls, and the echoes of what sounded like gunshots. He got up slowly and cracked open the door to see what all the commotion was about.
Recognizing one of the prostitutes running in the hallway outside, he grabbed her and dragged her into his room. He looked into her terror-filled eyes and asked “What the hell is going on around here?”
“Men,” she cried breathlessly. “…with guns!”
“Who?” He demanded, shaking her.
“I don’t know! Just Run!” The young prostitute suddenly shouted at him, angry and scared. She pushed her way past the shocked Neji aside and runs towards the only exit in the building.
Instead of following her and the others like her, like his instincts told him, he ran up the stairs to warn Tenten. It was then that he glanced down the steps and looked on with horror as the men in dark suits shot down the line of people who where trying to escape from the building.
Tenten…He had to get to Tenten.
Neji ran up the stairs in such a hurry he tripped over the hem of his kimono, nearly sending him toppling down the stairs. He pulled himself up using the railing for leverage and continued up the stairs. When he reached Tenten’s door his head was buzzing with fear-induced adrenaline and he was breathing heavily. Without any hesitation he started banging on the door like a mad-man, trying to knock it down.
“Tenten! Open the door! It’s me, Neji!” He yelled.
“Neji?” Tenten asked in surprise, opening the door. “What brings you here?”
She blushed and pulled her loose robe up over her bare shoulders.
Neji didn’t have time to waste on formal greetings. He grabbed her by the arm, locked the door behind him, and shoved her toward the large window at the far wall; he threw it open and looked down.
“We have to jump out the window.”
“What are you talking about? Are you crazy? I’m on the forth floor!”
Neji got very angry at that point—stress and adrenaline brought on by fear could do that to a man—and he felt the need to yank her hair for even daring to question him, but instead he took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart and slowly tried to explain the situation to her.
Tenten stood shocked, her mouth half open and her brown eyes filled with tears. The gunshots where getting closer to the room, causing Tenten to flinch.
“Why?” she asked desperately, her voice trembling, her body shaking with fear. “Why? Why would anyone want us dead?”
“I don’t know.”
There was noise out in the hallway, telling Neji and Tenten that the men with guns had arrived outside their door. Neji was taken by surprise, he was sure he and Tenten would have more time. The man kicked down Tenten’s door breaking it in half with the heel of his boot, like so much cardboard; the machine gun in his hands was pointed toward Tenten.
Neji pushed Tenten out of the way of the weapon, telling her to run. She fled into the other room while Neji remained behind. He wasn’t about to die with out a fight, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Tenten if he could help it.
Taking a breath to steady himself, Neji charged at the man and pulled out a sheath from underneath his kimono. The man evaded him easily, grabbing Neji by the hair and kneeing him in the stomach, which sent Neji rolling on the ground, gasping for air.
The man leveled his gun at Neji, who was still on the ground. A trickle of blood escaped his split lip, Neji sat there; glaring up at the man about to kill him. He smiled and said, “Bring it on asshole.”
Time seemed to slow as Tenten threw her body knocking Neji on the ground. She wrapped her one arm around his head and held onto his waist with the other, effectively keeping him from moving, as the bullets pierced her body, ripping her insides apart.
I feel better this way, Tenten thought. I would like to be like this for ever; holding on to you. Tenten’s grip around Neji waist became tighter.
You’re so warm, so tender, I feel so relaxed when I’m with you. Before you came here I was suffering a lot, but when I’m with you, Neji, I feel like everything is ok. I’m sorry it has to end this way. I'm sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I guess it wasn’t in the hands of fate.
“Neji…I’ve always liked you as more then just a friend…could we….have ever become more, you think?” Tenten, choking on her own blood, gave the man she secretly loved one last smile before falling limp in his arms.
“You idiot!” Neji shouted. “I told you to run away! Why!” He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her forehead. “Why! Damn it…Tenten!”
The intruder was now smiling, watching the performance. He picked up his gun and aimed it at the emotionally wounded Neji. The stranger put his finger on the trigger when a hand reached out and lowered his gun.
It was Kabuto; even though his spectacles obscured his eyed, Neji could see that he was displeased.
“They are not here. Tell me where they are,” he ordered.
“You?” Neji whispered. “You’re a customer… I’ve seen you around.”
“I need to know where Sasuke is. Tell me, and maybe I’ll keep you alive.”
Naruto is with Sasuke; I don’t care about Sasuke, but if I tell him where Sasuke is then... then Naruto will die.
“Fuck you.” Neji said, then he spat on Kabuto’s shoe.
“Wrong answer,” He turned to the man. “Do what it takes to make him talk just without killing him. Well, at least not until we get what we want.”
They were interrupted by Kabuto’s cell phone ringing, the tune was a Mozart waltz. He flipped open his cell phone and pressed it to his ear.
“Ah, hello, Sasuke-kun,” he said, cheerfully.
Sasuke? Neji thought.
“Boss, do you want us to clean up the blood?”
Kabuto didn’t answer the man, instead he gave him a look that seemed to question the oaf’s intelligence, and continued talking to Sasuke on the cell. “Sorry Sasuke-kun, but could you repeat that for me please.”
Neji could hear Sasuke shouting into the phone on the other end.
Kabuto laughed, but his face twitched with anger.
“The table is set, my friend. There is no turning back now. I just can’t wait to see little Naruto’s face when he finds out the one he trusted the most sent him to hell.”
Kabuto didn’t hang up the phone; he stood still for a moment, looking at the device in his hands and started laughing again.
“Heh heh heh…the idiot didn’t hang up the phone, it looks like I’ll just have to wait here until tomorrow morning.” Kabuto looked down at Neji. “Kill him. I have no further use for him alive. No, fuck it, I’ll do it myself.”
Gunshots rang throughout the room, lost in the symphony of screams below.
-ooo-
“Yes, Orochimaru will know what to do. We will go back home and everything will be as it was before.” Sasuke said to himself, trying to convince himself more so than anything.
Sasuke looked at the doll; he bundled all the shattered pieces up in a cloth and tossed the whole thing into the trash. He would just tell Sakura that it was her fault for leaving it on the table.
Sasuke quickly turned around to face Tsunade and Jiraiya standing in the hallway. They looked at him with concern.
“Sasuke,” Tsunade said. “If you leave this place-”
Before she could finish Naruto came trotting up to them, absolutely dripping, leaving a trail of salty puddles behind him, carrying an equally sodden Sakura on his back.
“Naruto, Sakura, go pack your things,” Sasuke ordered. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving?” Naruto complained, sounding perturbed. “We just got here!”
“Listen to Naruto, Sasuke,” Jiraiya told him.
“Naruto, I want you to stay here, with us.”
“Thank you, Tsunade, but I want to stay by Sasuke’s side,” He then turned to Sasuke. “I will follow him to the ends of the earth, if I have too.” Naruto leaned over towards Sasuke, who was smiling, and slipped his hand into Sasuke’s own, larger, hand.
“Then leave Sakura here, and--”
“No! I wanna stay with Nii-san!” Sakura wrapped her arms Naruto’s neck, and constricted tightly, almost choking him.
“Heh heh. Okay, okay, Sakura-chan! I won’t leave you behind. I promise.”
They packed there things and left.
Naruto gave one last wave to Jiraiya and Tsunade; Naruto took one last look at them, trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach.
I’m just a little anxious. Nothing bad will happen if I’m with Sasuke.
Still, in a dark part of his mind he couldn’t help but feel like this would be the last time he saw them.
They crossed bridge before the center of town and turned left; the interstate opened like a wide grey river in front of them. Sasuke gunned the engine, speeding—speeding so that they left the on-ramp at seventy and climbing. Sasuke stared straight ahead, as though all that remained of the world lay at the end of the road.
Naruto glanced at the speedometer: one hundred miles per hour and still climbing.
“Sasuke…”
“Go to sleep Naruto.”
For a while they where alone on the road, then in a flash they passed by a truck and other anonymous cars started turning up on the side of the highway, before sooner or later, pulling off at some rest stop or another.
Sasuke was getting tired himself, so he decided it wouldn’t hurt if the pulled over on the highway to get some sleep.
“We will rest here tonight.”
-ooo-
A ray of sunlight seeped through the pearly white curtains and onto the sleeping man’s face. He groaned and turned his back to the window.
A Rooster crowed.
Wearing nothing but a pair of blue boxers, he sat up from his comfortable twin bed and placed his feet on the throw rug. He sat there for a moment and ran his fingers through his puffy, dark brown hair before grabbing his dark glasses and sliding them up his nose.
He stared blankly at an old painting that hung on his wall above his bed. Other than that painting and an iron cross, the walls where completely bare.
Under the stained-glass window stood an ancient piano covered in a thick layer of dust and to the right side of the room, a bookshelf stacked neatly with ancient books from all walks of life. There were books of poets, religion, science, cooking and cleaning, even women’s magazines, and books with plays of stories with princess and dragons in a far away distant land. Any book published he owned it, or was at least looking to own it.
Once he was fully clothed, he made sure to put on the white collar under his black long-sleeved shirt, and then he shoved a crystal bead rosary into his pocket.
“Father Shino,” a soft voice said, accompanied by a tapping lightly on the wooden door.
“What is it, Hinata?” Shino said calmly.
“Your breakfast is ready.”
She opened the door with one arm and handed Shino a large platter of eggs, bacon and hotcakes.
“Many thanks, Hinata.”
The young Sister blushed, nodded and folded her palms over another. Her long blue hair was hidden underneath her black veil, and she was dressed in a modest black habit, the only ornamentation she wore was around her neck: there dangled a golden crucifix. Despite the modesty of the garment she wore, it was still easy to discern the beautiful curve of her large breasts and wide, child-bearing hips. Shino, or any man for that matter, was not blind to this or the twinkle in her eye that was reserved for Father Shino alone.
“Not at all. I’m more than happy to do it, Father Shino,” Hinata answered with a happy smile.
Without another word, Shino sat down to eat his food while Hinata stood in the corner patiently watching him to finish his meal, so she could take the plate to the kitten on the other side of the church.
She observed from where she stood that on the chair by the bookcase were freshly picked roses already placed neatly in a hand-woven basket. Seeing the concerned look in Hinata’s eyes, Shino answered her question before she could ask it.
“Yes,” Shino said. “After breakfast I plan on taking a walk behind the church and putting fresh roses on the graves.”
“Of course Father,” Hinata said.
It was an old routine; every Monday Shino would take a walk and put fresh flowers on the graves. When Hinata was little, she had followed him one day; she could never forget the look on his face. It was filled with so much sadness and pain.
When she finally got the courage to ask who the graves belong to, he told her that they belonged to his wife and two children. This had surprised the little girl as Shino himself looked no older than twenty-five—hardly old enough to have children—which meant that he had had a family very young.
Over ten years had passed since that day, and for the life of her, Hinata had yet to notice Shino ever looking any older than he did then.
She was about to pick up the now empty plate when she remembered that Shikamaru asked her, while she was making breakfast, to tell Shino to meet him in the church hall, but Shikamaru arrived to tell the head priest himself before Hinata could get the words out.
“Shikamaru!”
Shikamaru entered Shino’s room and closed the door behind him. His hair seemed to contradict his lazy nature: pulled back into a ponytail in such a way that it stood straight on end. However, he wore the same modest church clothes as Shino, which toned down the flamboyancy somewhat.
“I got call this morning from Demon Watch.” Shikamaru said. “There is a case five exorcism needed in downtown L.A. You and Kiba are to--”
“No, I’m going to need you for this mission.”
“Ugh,” Shikamaru groaned. “This is too troublesome for an early morning assignment.”
“A level five demon? Father Shino! I…” Hinata still stood behind Shino, hands clasped tight with worry.
“Hinata, there will be nothing for you to worry about,” Shino told her, reassuringly. He walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, so she had to look up at him to see his face. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Hinata’s heart stopped in her chest. She smiled then looked past Shino at Shikamaru who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’ll leave the flowers in your care.” He handed the basket of flowers to Hinata whose face was still full of worry.
Honestly, I wish those two would just admit that—
“Shikamaru, stop.”
“What?”
“You were about to step on a beetle.”
“What is with you and bugs?” Shikamaru asked. “How troublesome.”
Shino bent down and picked up the lady bug and gently stroked it with his finger. “Bugs are fascinating creatures, they roamed the planet before humans existed and will be here when we are long gone.”
“Um …Okay.”
Shino ignored Shikamaru and continued walking down the hall until he reached the wide open field that met him at the front of the church.
“Father Shino!” Hinata shouted. “Please,” Hinata placed her hand over her heart. “Please be safe.”
Shino looked at her and nodded. He then looked at the church that was his home. It wasn’t very big, as far as cathedrals go, but it was home to the few priests and the thirty or so orphan children Sister Hinata had brought back from the city. It was built in 2007, making it one of the oldest churches to have survived the war.
“What about me?” Shikamaru pointed to himself. “Honestly, women are so troublesome.”
Hinata knew Shikamaru meant it differently. Well, she hoped he did anyways. She gave one last wave and walked back through the large church, her tiny foot steps echoed in the stillness. She stopped at a door and cracked it open to still see Kiba still sleeping in bed.
“Kiba,” Hinata said. “It is yours and Choji’s duty to do early morning mass today and—”
“What? That bastard left me to do mass!” Kiba yelled, almost falling out of the bed.
“Please Kiba, don’t speak ill of Father Shino.”
She walked into the room and threw open the curtains. Looking out of the window at the roses that were in full bloom, a great feeling of peace came over her. A gust of air blew inside Kiba’s chambers ruffling her veil and habit.
Kiba had to turn away from her, due to the ‘unholy feeling’ he got in the pit of his stomach every time he looked at her. It was forbidden for a priest to fall in love with a nun.
He looked down at his stuffed dog, Akamaru, that sat on the corner of his bed. That’s what he would name his dog, if he ever gets the chance to own one.
He heaved a great sigh and apologized to her. “You’re right,” Kiba said. “If it wasn’t for Shino we wouldn’t be here, would we?”
Hinata bowed her head and walked out of Kiba’s room allowing him to dress and prepare for mass. She wandered around for a bit, toiling over her daily morning chores. She finished sometime after noon and took the basket full of fresh roses on her walk around the solemn grave site.
Hinata pulled out the weeds that threatened to encroach on the graves and picked up the old flowers, replacing them with the new ones.
The grave stones were so old that the etchings of the names had long faded into nothing and it looked as if they would shatter into dust if a person so much as sneezed.
Hinata couldn’t understand it. Shino looked so young and yet the graves as old as time. Maybe she would never understand.
She felt a presence behind her, and standing up, realized it was the strange silver-haired man, Kakashi who always came by for afternoon mass.
“Honestly, I don’t know why you even bother coming to church; you’re a non-believer just like the rest of the world.” Hinata said angrily, her gaze never leaving the old gravestone in front of her.
“You know, I’ve come to repent my sins and all that other crap.”
“No, I believe you come because you’re guilty and you want to find answers that can only be found here. But the fact is that you’re angry at the world and its people.”
“I can’t really blame the rest of the world. With nothing but tragedy and hardship in life wouldn’t anyone become a non-believer?” Kakashi asked his remaining eye gazed at Hinata who kept her back to him.
He folded his arms and then leaned against the white picket fence, continuing on when Hinata made no response. “Like today, I was flipping through the pages the news paper this morning and I read that people in New York want to rebuild the Statue of Liberty. I find it funny that France built the thing and then blows it up three hundred years later.”
“I don’t see any amusement in it.”
“I’m sure you’re aware of what’s happening around the world, despite the fact that you live in a church taking care of orphans, half-an-hour from east L.A. Another war is coming.
“China just recently took over Japan, and England just declared war against France. We lost World War III, what if there is a World War IV? Where is god when you need him?”
“That is not the point. So, tell me then, why do you come here still?” Hinata asked.
“I came for confession.” Kakashi said bluntly.
“Really? I hardly dare ask what you did; I’m very sure your job is more than sinful enough.”
“It’s not what I did now, but what I am going to do later. Actually, it’s not even me who is going to do it.”
“What then?”
“I hired a Hitman to kill my father, the chief of police.”
“Why? Why would you do something like that?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I woke up one morning and just decided out of the blue to kill my father. He’s a corrupt cop. He takes money just to turn a blind eye to the crimes.”
“It’s a sin to—” Hinata, for some reason, seemed unable to finish the sentence. She looked up at Kakashi finally, only to find him looking at her with anger.
“Don’t you think I know that? But you’re not the one who had to see that woman who was still clinging to her child, even with five bullets in her head. You’re not the one turning a blind eye to the mass killings just for money. It’s always about money!
“When I was little I looked up to my father. He was the very person that made me want to become a—” At that moment Kakashi’s cell phone rang, cutting him off. He answered it, listening to the man on the other end, but said nothing.
“I have to go, do me a favor and tell Shino I was here.”
“I will.”
“Thanks.”
-ooo-
Kisame picked up the phone and dialed Itachi’s phone number. Kisame’s eyes never strayed from the holographic screen that portrayed the image of one Hayate Kakashi.
“This better be good, Kisame,” Itachi hissed from the other end of the line.
“You where right, Itachi. Kakashi is a fucking pig: a cop out to hit the chief of police. This could be trouble.”
“So, you got lazy and hacked into the computer system again, Kisame.”
“I’m not ready to go to prison again; I don’t think I would be able to handle that again. Plus, it was a bitch to break out of and if you weren’t there I might have never been able to do it.”
Itachi made no response, but he hadn’t hung up yet, either.
“I’m telling you it’s a big risk. Can you do it, Itachi?”
“Yeah, I can do it. Tonight for sure. Tonight I’ll hit the old man.”
-ooo-
“This is why I love the country,” Shikamaru said, leaning out the car window, and smiling slightly. “I don’t have to breathe in the filthy smog the city has to offer.”
Shino said nothing; looking straight ahead. His face showed no emotion, and nothing of his thoughts.
“Is this the place?” Shikamaru asked as the car began to slow and turned into a driveway, partially hidden by the trees.
Shino nodded his head and said in the same toneless voice he always used, “Yes.”
Shikamaru got out of the car and grabbed a bag from the back of the seat.
“What a dump.”
They were greeted by a hysterical woman. She ran out of the house and grabbed hold of Shino, speaking in rapid Spanish. Shino didn’t flinch, except to grab hold of her wrists: he listened intently to every word the woman had to say.
“What is she saying?” asked Shikamaru, who didn’t speak a word of Spanish. The woman grinned toothlessly, pushing her greasy hair back over her shoulders before motioning toward the house.
“She says that her son is possessed. She needs our help and—” He became distracted as the woman was still speaking and motioning with her hands “and her older sons have tied him to the bed. She said she had no choice…he was not himself.”
The priests followed the woman into the filthy house. The floors littered with trash and dirty clothes. Cockroaches scurried everywhere; the floors were practically alive with them. The sinks were piled high with unkempt dishes, as were the filthy kitchen counters.
Shikamaru had to refrain from holding his nose. The whole house smelt of cat piss and drying vomit. He scanned the room, but he didn’t see any cats around or the sons that the woman had mentioned earlier.
The room the woman lead them to was dark, and, if possible, even worse smelling than the kitchen had been.
Shino could see that the boy was tied up with rope; his skin was discolored and pale. His eyes black pools of emptiness. The young boy smiled up at them and spoke with a voice not of this world.
Shikamaru pulled the bible out of the bag he was carrying on his shoulder and started speaking psalms making a continuous sign of the cross. He sprinkled holy water on the boy.
“It will not work,” Shino said “its way too late to save the boy. His soul has been devoured by whatever has taken over him.”
“What makes you say that? How can you tell by just looking?”
“Don’t question me, it will get you killed,” Shino extended his arms. “Release! Show yourself, demon!”
So, you came after all, Father Shino. I’m glad. The boy gave an eerie grin, although his mouth never moved once to form the words. His body stretched and pulled apart, revealing the demon within.
The creature had short, malformed forearms that ended in three-fingered claws, capable of rending flesh from the bone. Its eyes were yellow and bird-like, which matched the crane-like beak, although its ears were depressed on his head like those of a wolf.
My brothers told me of you, and how you killed my demon brethren. I want revenge! You killed my comrades! Now I’ll kill you! The spines that protruded from its back quivered with anger, preparing for the attack.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Shikamaru asked. “Shino!”
“I don’t know.” Shino lied.
Shikamaru was so focused on the demon; he failed to notice that the woman sneaking behind him. The woman hit Shikamaru over the head with a metal pan. Shikamaru’s head swam with the force of the blow, and he toppled to the floor.
I’ll kill him after I kill you.
Fuck, that woman was just a puppet; this whole thing was nothing more than a setup.
The Demon fled the building. Shino followed behind, not wanting it to escape. Shino, upon catching up to the thing, threw a cross at the demon.
The demon mocked the priest. Do you really think your petty crosses will work on the likes of me?
Shino stood calmly and watched as thick metal wires shot out from the ends of the cross and wound themselves tightly around the demon, constraining its limbs to its body, effectively binding him.
What? What did you do to me, you fucking—?
“Those garrote wires are like magnets to demon energy, they will continue to constrict until they cut through your flesh and bone, eventually tearing you to pieces. I hope you don’t mind becoming demon sushi.”
The demon laughed, showing the row upon row of sharp fangs, rather like the inside of a shark’s mouth, Shino thought.
Heh heh… You take me as a fool? I know all about your dirty tricks.
The demon flexed his muscles, forcing his arms up and away from his body. The wires that bound him strained and broke like so much tooth floss.
Despite being faced with a losing battle, Shino’s face remained as calm as it always was. His nonchalance only served to anger the demon further, and without thinking he charged at Shino.
The demon grinned, its tail twitching in annoyance. A moment later, the limb sliced through the air, cutting through Shino’s arm like a hot knife through butter. The arm went flying; landing a ways away, blood arced through the air, splattering across the tiled roof.
Shino frowned, annoyed by the loss of his limb. He sauntered over to his arm and lifted it back into place. The flesh grew and stretched, reattaching his arm to his shoulder, without so much as a scar.
“So, the rumors are true. You are an immortal… but in order for a human to become immortal they must make a pact with the Devil.”
“It is true, I am a cursed human: damned to forever wander the earth. And when it ends I will stand outside Heaven’s Gates until the end of Time. But I will continue to fight demons until my time on earth is up.”
“Well, this changes everything. The world will end sooner then you think, Damned Priest. The Demon Prince is born! The world as you know it will soon be at its end!
“It’s a shame we won’t get to finish our little game. But on the Night of the Blood-Red Moon we will meet again.”
The demon extended its arms to the sky. Bat-like wings ripped through the flesh just under his shoulder blades and extended out with sickening sounds. Shino could only watch as the demon as flew off into the distance. Then he remembered.
Shikamaru…
Shino ran down the halls to find Shikamaru still passed out unconscious on the dirty floor.
He shook the younger man, and when he got no response, shook him harder, calling out his name. But Shikamaru made no response. Shino couldn’t figure think of anything else to do, so he slapped his associate hard across the face.
“OUCH! What the hell, man?”
“You did not wake when I called your name.”
“Hey… Shino, what happened with that demon?”
“He got away.”
“How troublesome. Well,” Shikamaru yawned. “You can’t win them all so let’s go back—”
“I’m not going back.”
“What do you mean ‘not going back’? What about Hinata? She’ll be worried if you don’t return home.”
“Tell her I’ll be back soon. Here, take the car. It might take some time before I am able to return.”
“Ugh,” Shikamaru scratched his head. “You’re serious aren’t you? Well come back, okay.”
Shino nodded and handed the keys to Shikamaru. He walked past Shikamaru and continued down the hall stepping over the body of the possessed woman, he knew she was dead.
So, the Anti-Christ was born? Shino’s mind raced as he turned the corner, walking in the same direction the demon had flown.
Sasuke slowed down and turned onto the road to The Pink Cobra. A feeling in his stomach nagged at him, telling him, for some reason, to turn back, to just keep driving. But he ignored it and drove on.
Upon pulling into the long drive of the whore house, Naruto quickly undid his seatbelt and jumped out of the car before the vehicle had even stopped moving.
I can’t wait to tell Neji and Tenten what a—
Naruto ran up the gravel drive and hopped up, over the porch steps and casually walked inside of the Pink Cobra.
What he saw would forever haunt his nightmares. Blood splattered in arcs across the walls and dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the floor, under the bodies mutilated by multiple gunshot wounds that littered the floor. The house was silent, filled only with the dead. Naruto looked up at Sasuke who just entered the room, holding Sakura by the hand.
Sasuke dropped to his knees on the floor and buried his face in his hands. Sakura knelt down beside him, tears streaming down her face.
Naruto stumbled back, away from the bodies; he was too numb to cry. Instead he ran up the stairs, screaming. “Is anyone here? Is anyone alive?”
He frantically searched through every bedroom, calling out to his friends while Sasuke and Sakura stayed down stairs.
“Neji? Tenten? Anybody!”
He tripped over what looked to be a human torso, and collapsed in puddle of now cold blood. Naruto looked around himself and screamed. Ignoring what was now splashed on his hands and knees, he got up and ran into Neji’s room.
Thank God nobody is here. He clung to hope, anxiously searching the halls, praying that Neji and Tenten where still alive. He tripped again, falling to his knees. Looking up, he noticed a man standing in front of him.
The man looked at him through gleaming spectacles, hiding behind a trick of the light. His clothes were completely unsullied by the disgusting amounts of blood that surrounded him, his shoes were even still polished and gleaming.
“Kabuto! Thank God! Thank God you’re still alive!” Naruto shouted desperately. “Who would do this? Do you know?”
Kabuto said nothing. He smirked down at the trembling boy who was soaked to the skin in day old blood, eyes still hidden by his shining glasses.
“Kabuto? Are you okay?” Naruto walked up to him and touched his vest.
“There is only one person to blame, Naruto. And that is the one care for, the one you love: Sasuke.”
“…Kabuto, what? I don’t understand…”
“I may have killed every one here, including your precious Tenten and Neji. But it was Sasuke who wanted it. Sasuke’s decision was the reason for it.”
Naruto’s face crumpled with rage and pain and lastly, the confusion of denial.
“You’re lying!” Naruto sobbed, ducking his head. He started hitting the man with the flat of his hand. “You’re a fucking lair!”
Naruto was too hurt and confused to think anymore. His attention was snatched by the scream he heard in distance.
Naruto, coming back to himself, backed away from Kabuto, only to bump into a much larger man. The smirking stranger wrapped his huge, impossibly heavy arms around the small boy.
Naruto struggled in vain, trying his best to wiggle free. He even went so far as to bite the man restraining him, but his efforts were useless attempts.
Kabuto snickered.
“It’s no use, Naruto-kun. He is a cyborg I built. He feels no pain, and if you continue to struggle, well… he can crush a car with his bear hands.”
Naruto’s eyes widened. He stopped struggling.
Naruto was carried into another room, following the sounds of Kabuto’s expensive shoes on the blood-splattered floor. There he saw Sasuke and Sakura surrounded by a group of men in black with their guns pointed inwards at them.
“Let go of them, you bastards!” Naruto yelled, beginning to struggle again.
Sakura’s face lit up and she ran toward Naruto, only to be stopped when one of the cyborg men grabbed her by the hair and violently threw her into the nearest wall. She twitched for a moment then stopped moving altogether.
“Sasuke! Sasuke, don’t just stand there! Do something: take Sakura and run!” Naruto yelled. Sasuke remained staring in a stupefied daze. He stared blankly, not moving to help Sakura.
Kabuto smiled serenely and took something out of his pocket. He kneeled down next to Sakura and hugging her to his chest, injected something into her neck.
“Get your hands off of her, you fucking bastard!”
Naruto felt so angry, and helpless. He knew he was on the verge of crying; his eyes burned with frustrated tears threatening to leak out. He wanted to kill each and every one of them for hurting the ones he cared about most, but more than that he wanted to kill Kabuto.
“There, there little one,” Kabuto said, patting Sakura’s hair. He then stood up, using his hands on his knees for leverage, and sauntered over to where Sasuke stood. He leaned in close to Sasuke’s face and whispered: “I injected into her blood stream a very, very tiny bomb.”
Still smiling he pushed a foreign object against Sasuke’s palm, and manually closed the boy’s fingers over it. Lifting it to his face, Sasuke saw that it looked rather like an everyday click-pen.
“You have a choice, Sasuke-kun. Push this button, and her head goes ‘ka-boom’ or this boy can die here tonight just like every other whore in this shit-hole.”
Sasuke looked from the device in his hand to Naruto who was still squirming in the cyborg’s arms. He then looked at Sakura who was only now recovering from the fall.
“Tick tock, tick tock… Time is running out. What will you do, Sasuke?”
Sasuke bit down so hard his lips turned white and split, bleeding. He held clenched his fists, pressing the device into his palm.
“I –I can’t,” he whispered.
“For shame, Sasuke-kun. I had such a high hopes for you, too.” Kabuto turned to the cyborgs. “Kill him.”
The cyborg that held on to Naruto let him go. Naruto’s first instinct upon being released was to run to Sakura. She stood up and sprinted towards him, arms outspread.
The cyborgs surrounding them pointed their guns at Naruto, their fingers ready on their guns triggers.
Sasuke closed his eyes.
Sasuke-kun!
“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura shouted. “Looky! Looky at what I found!”
Sasuke sat up from his bed annoyed that Naruto had gone and left the loud girl in his care.
“What is it, Sakura?” He answered in a bland voice.
“I found a pretty flower! Doesn’t it look like Nii-san’s hair?”
Sasuke glanced at the dandelion. It was nothing more than a weed that Sakura had found in the lawn, nothing special.
“Yeah, it kind of does, doesn’t it?” Sasuke smiled and patted the girl’s head. “You should give it to him.”
Sasuke still shaking, closed his eyes, and pushed the button.
Sakura’s head exploded.
Blood and tissue splattered across the walls and floors and onto Naruto, whose eyes were wide open staring at what was left of Sakura. He stopped short, his body suddenly too stiff to function. His arms were still reaching out to Sakura, who was already dead on the floor.
“Sakura…chan.”
Kabuto looked perplexed; he pulled out a pen and a black note book from his back pocket and scribbled down his observations.
“Hmmm, the explosion wasn’t as big as I hade hoped it to be,” Kabuto said talking to himself. “But, it killed in an instant, like I hypothesized.”
What happened next startled even Kabuto. Naruto collapsed to his hands knees in the puddle Sakura’s blood and began laughing like a maniac. Finally he broke down crying screaming cradling to his chest the pile of still oozing flesh that only a few seconds ago had been Sakura. His heart hurt so much that he felt like he could die from the pain.
“Sasuke” Naruto whined, into the gore of Sakura’s shoulder. "Help me! It hurts!"
“I’m sorry, Naruto. But this…this is what I wanted.”
Before Naruto could even respond to what Sasuke said he felt the blow to the back of his head and he could hear his own head bang against the wooden floor. His eyes closed and he fell into darkness.
Sakura…
Naruto woke up in a start. He was in his room: there was no blood on the walls nor were there gory bits and pieces of body parts littering the floor, and sleeping soundly curled up in a ball next to him was Sakura in her favorite pink nightgown covered with a pattern of ducks. She was smiling sucking on her thumb.
“Calm down, Naruto. Calm down it was just a dream, just one big nightmare. It wasn’t real.” The pain in his chest didn’t leave, it still felt constrictive and painful, and like he would never be okay again.
“Nii-san, what’s the matter?” Sakura asked. “You’re shaking. Did you have a bad dream again?”
“Yeah, it was the scariest dream I ever had in my life.”
Naruto combed his sleep-mussed blond hair with his fingers, and smiled at the girl.
“What was it about?” Sakura asked.
“It doesn’t matter, it was just a dream.”
Sakura wrapped her small arms around Naruto and pressed her head against his chest.
“I love you,” she whispered over and over.
Naruto could feel her small body trembling against him as he kissed her soft colorless cheeks. The warmth of her body in his arms faded; her body was suddenly as cold as ice.
“You were always protecting me, weren’t you, Nii-san? You tried your hardest right to the very end. That made me very happy.”
“What are you talking about, Sakura?”
“Please don’t hate Sasuke-kun. He’s hurting inside. I’m glad to have met you when I did, because I was very lonely.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t do this to me, Sakura!”
Sakura!
Naruto woke up again. This time it wasn’t a dream. He could tell by the pain throbbing in his skull. He slowly sat up and touched his hand to the back of his head and looked at his hand which was covered with fresh blood. Not Sakura’s, but his blood.
He examined at his new surroundings, careful not to jar his head.
It was the sort of dungeon that one only heard about in fairy tales. The room itself was small and suffocating, with walls that were made of rock, and there was only one window thickly barred to prevent escape.
Naruto wanted to walk up to the window and breathe in the fresh air, but his foot was securely chained to the wall making it impossible to take more than two steps in any direction. Naruto could hear the cars on the busy road outside. He curled up in the corner and rolled himself up in the blanket, allowing himself to cry.
Naruto lay waiting an hour, maybe longer he couldn’t be sure. He heard thick footsteps walking up the stairs. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed.
Please pass my door please! Please!
Ignoring the laws of Karma, the footsteps stopped right in front of his door, the keys jingled and clattered in the large key hole and the door flung open with a loud creak.
It was Kabuto, this time he was dressed in a white lab coat, eyes still hidden behind unnaturally glinting spectacles.
“Where is Sasuke?” Naruto snarled. The chains that bound his ankles rattled as he tried to attack Kabuto.
“I wouldn’t be worried a bout Sasuke, if I were you. He will be just fine,” Kabuto said coolly.
“What are you going to do to me?”
Kabuto smiled with soft sadism.
“First, I’m going to inject you with a demon. And if you live, you’ll eventually be free to go.”
“Demon?”
Kabuto yanked Naruto up by his tangled golden locks and pushed a needle into a blue vein in his neck, injecting eerily glowing red fluid into the boy’s blood.
The pain was unimaginable. Naruto screamed bloody murder from his cell. Clawing at his hair and balling up on the floor, as if trying to close in on the pain. Whisker-like scars grew out of his cheeks and his teeth extended painfully into fangs.
Kabuto watched Naruto convulse and change, happily puffing away on a cigar. The boy’s actions reminded Kabuto of when he was a little boy how when he would swing cats by their tails the weight of the cat ripped the tail completely out of its body, bones of the spine parting and breaking away from the body. Kabuto was always so fascinated by the tail, because it would twitch for a moment then stop moving. The cat however, would die due to blood loss and the damage to the spine. Such good memories…
No! I will not become a demon! I will not become a guinea pig for this sick bastard! The effects of the demon injection were starting to fade and Naruto fell helplessly to the floor unable to move due to the sheer amount of endorphins and adrenaline running through his body.
“Good job, you managed to stay alive, as a reward you get to be free as promised, but—”
Naruto had his eyes clenched tight against the pain, he was covered in sweat, his muscles bunched from strain but he could hear Kabuto clearly.
“Why don’t we make a game out of it? A game of cat and mouse, if you don’t kill me within three years I will detonate this bomb in your brain, making you and a whole city block disappear from the face of the planet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh? I didn’t tell you? While you where a sleep I took my time to put a bomb in your skull. It’s so much stronger than Sakura-chan’s.” Hearing Kabuto say her name like he was a close friend made Naruto strain against his chains and snarl in anger.
“I’ll give you a two week head start, and then I’ll send every assassin and demon after you.”
He unlocked the chains and tossed Naruto out into the cold streets outside.
To Be Continued…
Next chapter: Neji's alive! Keep reading to find out how!
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